There are many treatments for depression, including therapy, medication and other alternative treatments.

First and foremost is to recognize, acknowledge and accept your depressive disorder and deal with it squarely! Do not escape your depression by turning to alcohol or drugs. Your depression will worsen and you may find yourself six feet under the ground!

The standard prescribed antidepressants are not the cure. It has been proven that these prescription drugs have serious risks and side effects and cause more harm than good! Depression can be healed naturally and safely! There are also safe and all-natural alternatives to these commonly prescribed drugs, without the side effects or health risks. Their ingredients are all natural and no prescription is needed.

The best road to take in effectively treating and overcoming your depression is the one that addresses the underlying environmental and psychological factors that cause you to be depressed. Your whole person must be healed! These can include:

Develop a support system. Ask for help from your family and friends. Let them know your problem and how they can help you. Join and participate in support groups. Do not isolate yourself!

Go out and enjoy yourself. Talk to positive and cheerful people who make you laugh (avoid negative people). Visit old friends and reminisce happier times.

Exercise regularly and get adequate sleep.

Eat a well balanced diet and take vitamins regularly.

Change your surroundings (redecorate your room, make it more colorful),

Learn relaxation and meditation techniques. Take a break from your daily routine which could be monotonous and depressing. If possible, change it.

Get out of your bed in the morning and take a refreshing shower.

Last but not the least, pray!

Why are you feeling depressed? What causes your depression?

There is no single cause of depression but rather, a combination of many factors - genetic, biochemical, environmental and psychological.

Depression may run in families - meaning it can be hereditary. Some people may inherit genes that make them susceptible to depression. The genes do not cause the depression but increase the risk when certain psychological and social factors come into play at the same time. The genetic tendency to depression can be triggered by some stressful life experience.

Studies indicate that depression may be caused by chemical imbalance in the brain. The human brain operates on fluids called neurotransmitters, some give energy (adrenalin) and some control body movements. The neurotransmitters associated with depression is called Serotonin which regulates mood, sleep, appetite, alertness among others. When a person is overly stressed for a period of time, the brain uses Serotonin faster than it can create and when the level of Serotonin drops, you become depressed. Other studies indicates that depression can also be caused by elevated stress hormone called Cortisol, and by other biological contributors.

These genetic and biological causes do play certain roles in depression but social and psychological factors have more enormous impact. The causes and risk factors for depression may include:

Stressful life experiences like sudden severe loss (of a loved one, job, friendship).
Loneliness
Marital or relationship problems
Financial problems
Health problems or chronic pain
Childhood trauma or abuse
Alcohol or drug abuse (including prescription medications)
Intense physical or mental trauma
Failing at some important task

Knowing and understanding the underlying cause (or causes) of your depression can help in overcoming the disorder. If your depression is caused by loneliness, you can socialize more - go out with friends. If it is your job that is depressing you, change to a more satisfying career. You can remedy your depression by changing your situation!

Common signs and symptoms of depression can include:

Diminished or loss of interest in almost all daily activities. Friends, hobbies, sports social activities and sex don't interest you like they used to. You have become numb to pleasure, joy and happiness.

Sleep disorder. You either cannot sleep (insomnia), or you wake up in the early hours of the morning, or you oversleep and struggle to get out of bed (you just like to bury your head under the pillow).

Concentration problem. You find it difficult to concentrate, focus and make decisions.

Loss or Decreased Energy. You are so fatigued, sluggish and feel like a zombie all the time. You drag yourself to work. Simple tasks become difficult and longer to accomplish.

Eating Disorder. Either you have lost your appetite to eat or you cannot stop eating. You become severely underweight or overweight.

Understanding Depression

The first step in effectively overcoming depression is to understand it. What is it, how does it affect you, what causes it?

Depression is an illness! It is the most common of all mental health problems. Researchers estimate that 17 million Americans, or even much more, suffer from depression at some point in their lives.

You are not alone!

It is not just a passing blue mood, or the normal pain and sadness that follows loss of a loved one, or the "downside" in life's ordinary ups and downs. The feelings of emptiness, helplessness, worthlessness, hopelessness and despair are intense, unrelenting and pervasive to such an extent that these affects your the day-to-day life, affecting your ability to work, study, eat, and sleep.

"I've had enough, I can't take it anymore!" 
"It's useless, there is no point in going on!" 
"I am hopeless, I give up!" 
"I can't cope anymore!" 
"I can't stand my life anymore!" 
"My life is not worth living anymore!" 
"What's the point in living?"

If these feelings and thoughts of emptiness, despair and worthlessness are intense, prolonged and overwhelming that you find it difficult or even impossible to function normally and enjoy life like you once did; and you walk around sad and tired for most of the day and going through it is an ordeal, then you are "depressed". You are suffering from depressive disorder or clinical depression.


How can you fight and overcome your depression?

Sad poetry are often written by people. The cause for a writer to write sad poetry can be because of depression, the death of someone or the feelings of anger. A lot of times people like to read sad poems because they can relate to it.

When a person is feeling depressed they may turn to writing sad poetry. Their depression can come from a number of things such as loneliness, failure or desires. Poems about loneliness are usually based on the writer having few to no friends. Because so many poets in the world deal with loneliness this type of poem is often written. When writers fail in something such as a test, a game or fail to impression somebody it can cause them to write sad poetry. When most people write a sad poem about failure they describe what the failure was about which can help someone who reads the poem identify why the writer wrote the sad poem. When people want something such as a new car but cannot afford to buy one it can lead to them writing a sad poem because of their desires.

People write poems about the death of a family member or somebody they knew a lot. When it comes to these types of poems they may be about the poet's grandmother or grandmother. Even though it is sad poetry a lot of times in the poem will be good things that the writer has remembered about their family member. So some sad poems can be both sad and happy. When poets lose someone that they knew such as a friend it can cause them to write sad poetry. These types of poems may both describe the person and how they died. Because most people lose friends to death in their life time a poem such as this can be easy for the readers to relate to.