Day Ten Of Christmas--Pray For Those Suffering From Depression

Depression is a condition over which we may have little control. The brain, like any organ of the body, is subject to disease, and some of us may be more genetically prone to clinical depression than others.

But no matter what triggers this plague of emotional darkness and despair, depression not only affects our feelings, but our functioning, i.e., our sleep, appetite, energy, and motivation. Here are ten ways we can at least limit its impact, in descending order:

10. Anti-depressant drugs can be helpful for some, in spite of their occasional negative side effects, and the fact that many have been proven to be only only slightly more effective than placebos in clinical trials. Some people also report feeling better from taking over the counter medications like St. Johns Wort and certain herbal products or natural food supplements. But sometimes the line between reputable fish oil and questionable snake oil is not as clear as we would like.

9. For persons with severe and prolonged clinical depression, older therapies like electroconvulsive treatment (ECT) or newer variations like Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) are producing positive results for some.

8. In cases of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a move to a more sunny climate appears be helpful, or the use of light therapy.

7. A positive placebo effect can also be a part of any therapy for depression. Whatever increases a sense of hopefulness in any of us can result in increased dopamine, serotonin and endorphin production in our brains.

6. Some people find journaling helpful as a way of expressing their laments, naming and externalizing their distresses and writing down some of their own best wisdom for dealing with their condition. see https://harvyoder.blogspot.com/2011/08/wise-selfworried-self-journal.html

5. Avoiding being sedentary, getting plenty of good physical exercise is a proven way for the body to produce mood enhancing endorphins.

4. Avoiding being solitary by nurturing good relationships with others is extremely important to mental health. Depression often makes us want to withdraw from others, which inevitably makes the condition worse. Seeking help from friends and from members of our faith community as well as from professional counselors and medical professionals can make a major difference.

3. Changing our vocabulary, purging them from habitual words like 'terrible', 'horrible', 'awful', is also very important, along with avoiding too many generalizations like 'never', always', and forever'. And its always a good idea to replace the over-use of 'I can't' with something like 'It's really hard, and I haven't found a way yet'.

2. Observing regular mini-sabbaths from life stresses, but especially from the stress of worry, is vital. Or setting aside an hour a day for some serious worrying, then declaring the rest of the time as a sabbatical from worry and anxiety, is sure to help. see https://harvyoder.blogspot.com/2017/11/rx-for-anxious-dedicated-worry-hour.html

1. Taking time to meditate, pray, sing, reflect on the goodness of God and of all creation, and on all the blessings we can possibly record on the assets side of our memory ledger needs to become a priority. And then to reach out to share those blessings with others as we are able.