Emotional Self-Care (Part 3)

Everyone feels down occasionally, but if these feelings linger too long, it can be a sign of serious depression.
When I was a your girl my mother had a friend who came over on occasion to talk to her.  She would often cry and when I asked my mother why - mom would say - "She is just having a blue Monday."  I always wondered what she meant.  As I got older I came to understand what she was talking about.  There are times in all our lives when we have reason to be down, but be careful these feelings do not linger too long.  You may need help.
There are a lot of things you can do if you are truly just having a down time, but if it is considered clinical depression, that is much more than just a "blue Monday."  Clinical depression is an illness that affects a person in many different ways.  Depression can drain your energy, hope and drive.  It can affect your appetite, your power of concentration, and sleep patterns.  Depression often brings on sadness, a numb-empty feeling, anxiety, hopelessness, and loss of self-esteem, inability to make decisions or a combination of theses.  Unlike a blue mood, depression can dominate your life and bring everything to a complete halt.
There is a time when "positive thinking" helps but usually not that much if that is all you do.  Telling someone to just be a more "positive person" can be equated to telling a diabetic to just skip dessert on occasion and the diabetes will go away.
Why don't people get help if they are depressed?  Probably for the same reason most won't, because they are being told by society, friends, and family, along with their own misconceptions, that depression is just a mood they should be able to control.
There are many physical reasons that can contribute to depression such as diabetes, heart disease, thyroid dysfunction, cancer, infectious diseases, and other immune/autoimmune disorders.  You could have a vitamin or mineral deficiency or possibly a problem with prescription or over-the-counter drugs.
Recovering from any form of emotional problem requires action.  The key to recovery is to start with the simple things you need to do and slowly build to the larger things.  Take one day at a time.

Suggestions that may help:

• Keep your stress in check.  Try to identify everything that stresses you.  Once you have identified your stressors you can make a plan to avoid or minimize their impact on your life.  Don't just sit around and dwell on your problems.  Do something about them.
•  You are probably your greatest enemy.  Face it, what is going on in your head may not be what is factual.  Talk to someone about it.
• Try working hard towards something that matters to you by creating goals.
• You need to learn how to relax.  There are a lot of way to relax but find out what works for you.  If you like animals, get a pet.  Playing with a pet is usually very relaxing.
• Join a support group with other people having the same problems you are having.
• Turn to trusted friends and family first then try to make new friends.  Ask a friend out to lunch.
• Do some volunteer work. 
• Get involved in something your interested in.  Go to a movie, e-mail a friend, take a class in something and invite a friend to go with you. 
• Go to a few social events even if you don't feel like it.
• Go for a walk - sunshine is good for you - spend a little time in nature.
• You could always do exercises.  Exercising is good for your health and your mood.
• Read a book, listen to music, watch a funny movie, and/or get a hobby.
• Consider everything bad in your life and compare it to those less fortunate, maybe the issues you seem to have will not be as bad as you think.  There is always someone who has it worse then you do.  Be thankful for what you do have.
• Try changing your environment.  I used to do a through cleaning of my whole house.  It made me feel better.  You might try painting a room or add a few decorations to change the mood of the room or house.
• Diabetics need a good healthy diet.  What you eat has an impact on how you feel.  Reduce your intake of caffeine, alcohol, trans-fats, saturated fats, and try to stay away from foods with high levels of preservatives.
• Make sure you are getting enough continuous restful sleep.  Your body needs this time to flush out toxins and other dangerous things from your system.

The best way to help yourself is to TAKE ACTION!  Once you stop moping around and get busy doing something about your problem, the faster you will start to feel better.