Help Yourself

(Ways to combat stress and depression)

Here are many ideas for you to try out. If your stress and depression are mild enough, you may be able to cure them with just these practices and without resorting to medication and frequent trips to the doctors. However, I cannot stress enough that if your stress and/or depression is severe then you MUST seek professional medical advice.

These are some tried and tested methods for easing stress and depression. Here I have included things that will help you to get better sleep, to give you more energy, and to help you relieve the aches and pains asociated with stress depression.

They basically all work on the same things, so any of these will be helpful with depression and stress. There are so many things you can do to improve matters. It took me a while to get around to doing this (I already practiced most of it, but it's when you're stessed and depressed that you just don't feel like doing any of it, but you have to force yourself to make the effort. Once you've started doing it, it gets easier and easier and you'll wonder why you put it off for so long, but the truth is with depression that anything seems like such a huge effort. Once you're past that initial dread and you're on your way, you'll find things improve enormously - just doing something will help you think more positively.

Nutrition:

The first thing you can improve is your eating habits. This will sound like torture for some people, but it will be worth it in the end! I know you won't want to hear this, but sugar, caffeine, alcohol and nicotine are very bad for you when you're under stress - they're not good news at the best of times, but when you're under stress or depressed, they make you feel so much worse. Do what you can to cut them out of your life. You must be aware though that if you cut them out dead instead of gradually you will actually get withdrawal symptoms.. and that goes for the sugar!!! It's not uncommon to have headaches and feel tired when you're cutting out sugar, and you'll most probably feel more moody than usual too, so it's best to eliminate it gradually. Yes, you'll miss your 'sugar highs' for a while, but will you miss the lows that follow the highs? No.

Make sure you are getting an adequate intake of vitamins and minerals. Did you know that deficiencies of the B vitamins can in part be responsible for depression? Or that under times of stress the body's reserves of these B vtamins are used up more quickly, leading to deficiencies? Make sure that you are getting enough B vitamins in your diet, those particularly at risk of not getting adequate intake of B vitamins are vegetarians and vegans. If you are a veggie, make sure that you take a B vit complex, as vitamin B12 is very hard to obtain naturally for those avoiding animal produce.

Low Calcium and Magnesium levels can leave you susceptible to depression, so make sure you're getting enough of these two minerals. These two minerals are also good for combatting stress as they are muscle relaxants and strengthen the heart. Taking a calcium supplement is particularly important if you are vegan, as most calcium is found in dairy products (and if you aren't doing so already, make sure you get some soya milk in your diet, to replace the calcium you lose by boycotting dairy products).

Vitamin C is vital when under stress as it helps keep your immune system functioning properly. It also plays a vital role in the manufacture of the brain's neurotransmitters, so is helpful for those suffering from depression, too.

Help with trouble sleeping:

In addition to improving your nutrition, trouble sleeping can also be relieved with things such as drinking chamomile tea a little while before you go to bed. A few drops of lavender oil on your pillow (not in your mouth!) works wonders too. If you don't see an improvement with these suggested methods, breathing exercises can also be helpful.

Exercise:

Argh! The dreaded exercise! I know it's difficult to do anything when you're depressed let alone exercise, but it will make you feel better as it releases endorphins. This doesn't have to be aerobics or some other equally punishing exercise regime - a slow walk in the park can be just as good, and it will get you up and out of the house instead of sitting bored. One of the best things you can do to relieve your aches and pains caused by stress and depression is to practice yoga. This also has a calming effect on your mind, too, so is by far the best exercise for these conditions... however, make sure that you select a routine that is suitable for your condition - consult a yoga book that has advice on using it for common ailments, as these will give you the correct exercises to do. You could also try pilates and tai chi as these are supposed to have a calming affect on the whole body and mind, too.

Breathing exercises can also be benificial in easing stress, as can meditation... however, DON'T meditate if you have depression - it's not advisable (been there, done that, won't be doing it again until I'm cured!).

Think positive:

Much easier said than done when you're suffering stress and even harder when you have depression. Positive realisation is supposed to be very useful.. if you can actually get the hang on it! Some people may find it works, but others won't - you probably won't even feel like trying it! If you fit into the latter catagory, take comfort in the fact that when you start to see improvements from other things you are doing to ease your stess and depression, you will begin to think more positively automatically.

Depression - Other supplements:

Here's where we get to the next stage - if your depression is a little more persistant and needs more than the ideas set out before, but is not serious enough to warrant a trip to the doctors, you may want to try taking a supplement. This is where St John's Wort comes in. This is very successful in treating mild to moderate depression. It's said that doctors in Germany have so much faith in this supplement that it's prescribed for depression more often than conventional anti-depressant medication. When buying it, make sure that you go for a preparation that is standardised to contain 0.3% hypericin.

Please be aware that it's been said that taking St John's Wort has been found to increase the chances of damage to the protein in the eyes from excess sun exposure, so always remember to take care if using this supplement - make sure you wear sunglasses on sunny days if you don't already do so. If you have fair skin, avoid prolonged exposure to sunlight whilst taking the herb. Side effects are rare, but if you develop headaches, a rash or allergies, stop taking it. In a very small minority of cases, the herb may cause breathing difficulties - in this case seek medical help. Please DO NOT take this supplement for treatment of Seasonal Affective Disorder.

When you need more than just self-help:

OK, you're at the point when you know you need more than just self-help measures. You think you may have serious depression, so it's time for a trip to the doctors. They should know what to look for, but some aren't as clued up as they should be, so remember to tell them which symptoms you are suffering (I set these out earlier in the 'Symptoms of Depression' section), and why you're feeling so down. If this is the first time you've suffered depression, the chances are that it's reactive depression i.e. caused by outside influences and not a severe chemical imbalance. If it is reactive depression then a full recovery is well expected, but it WILL take a lot of effort and you need as much support as you can get - you need someone to be there for you. Reactive depression, if coupled with severe stress can at times be as alike in severity as manic depression (also known as bi-polar), so you need as much support as you can get your hands on. The most effective treatment for reactive depression is counselling, but anti-depressant medication may well be prescribed too. Be sure to continue everything set out in the nutrition, sleeping and exercising sections if you can as in many cases of RD, medication may not be effective.. BUT just because the medication is cr#p, it doesn't mean that the self-help techniques are - yoga is way more effective in treating reactive depression than conventional medication. You may have to wait a while for your counselling, but you will hang in there and make it - you are stronger than you could ever imagine - you just have to find that strength and hold onto it.

I myself am suffering from reactive depression as a result of what I have been through and I'm still currently holding out for my counselling to come through. It's been a while, more than a while, and there were times when I thought I wouldn't be able to make it through, but I am still strong and feel that I am actually at the point where I'll have recovered before my counselling gets here! They say that depression is anger without enthusiasm and to a certain extent it's true. Once I found a way of taking my anger and depression and making it useful, I began to see my condition improve - this is what I decided to do to make my anger constructive - this site. It's because of what I've been through and what Steve went through, that I decided to create this site, to raise awareness. I hope that with this information you will be able to get help earlier, so you won't have to go through as much as Steve and I have done, and am still going through. Knowledge is a very powerful thing - make sure you take note of everything in this section as it will make your time easier if you know exactly what depression is and why you're going through it, and also why you're experiencing some of the symptoms.

Update: "..feel that I am actually at the point where I'll have recovered before my counselling gets here!" Boy, was that a positive day when I wrote this page - there have been so many times when I thought there was no way on this earth I was ever going to make it before I got my counselling, but I did.I am actually in counselling now and will be detailing my own thoughts about that compaired - and in addition to - meds.

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IMPORTANT NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER: This information is just that - information. This is not intended to be used instead of qualified medical advice. If you think you have moderate to serious depression you must seek medical advice from a qualified professional.

This is a section of the Steve Clark In Loving Memory Website. If you would like to learn a little more about Steve, please visit the main contents page via the above link. Thank you for visiting.
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