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How can I be less depressed?Aug 29, 2018 |
| From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham
Q: I have recently lost two friends who overdosed on drugs. It has made me depressed and most of my thoughts are unhappy. I can’t do anything for them now, so how can I change my thinking? — H.I. A: Grief can kill a person emotionally and physically. If not counteracted with God’s strength and power, our personal weakness may debilitate us. An onslaught of grief can cause people to think they are losing their minds. The grief-stricken person can lose the ability to concentrate, which adds to his or her panic. This may lead, then, to emotional paralysis. Guilt, anger, resentment and panic are some of the faces of grief. None of these reactions are abnormal. Like soldiers going into battle, we need to be prepared for grief, but the culture of today does not prepare us for it. What we need more than anything else during times of grief is a friend who stands with us; someone who will not leave us. Jesus is that friend. The Lord prepares us to weather life’s storms. He tells us to have faith in Him. He has told us that He will be with us always and never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). Often it takes that “knife in our heart” to drive us to Him. Our faith is dependent upon God, and when we enter the valley of grief, we need His help or we will never overcome the sorrow that weighs us down. If you belong to Christ ask Him to give you joy. The Bible says to fill our minds with things that are true, honorable, pure and lovely and “His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7, NLT). |
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From Dr. Michelle Bengtson:
After receiving a diagnosis of depression, the very next question my patients want answered is “What do I do about it?”
Perhaps the two most common recommendations to manage depression are psychotherapy and medication. Both of those can be very helpful for an individual suffering from depression. But there are also other things that are within an individual’s direct control that can have a positive impact on mood and emotional functioning.
Be Aware of Your Body’s Needs
Many medical conditions (including thyroid disease, heart disease, stroke, and vitamin deficiencies among others) can cause mood changes. Getting a general medical physical is important, to ensure that there isn’t something medically causing depression.
It’s generally good advice for anyone to ensure that you aren’t skimping on your vitamins. It’s important to ensure that your body doesn’t become deficient in vitamins which adversely affects our immune system, mood and our thinking. For example, a deficiency in vitamin D can negatively impact mood, while a deficiency in vitamin B can negatively impact energy.
Staying hydrated is also very important. Even mild levels of dehydration can increase anxiety, adversely impact mood, deplete motivation, and decrease attention and concentration.
Get Regular Physical Exercise
Research shows that as little as 15 minutes of exercise a day can impact our brain chemistry and improve our mood. Individuals who are depressed often lack energy and motivation. While it takes energy to make ourselves exercise, exercising will actually increase our energy level, and increase the production of mood-stabilizing chemicals in our brains.
Exercising outdoors has the added bonus of increasing our exposure to sunlight which helps increase the production of Vitamin D. Sufficient vitamin D can improve our mood, ward off feelings of weariness, and help ward off physical illnesses and ailments. Getting outdoors for exercise also provides uninterrupted time to converse with God which can allow for an infusion of His peace and joy despite our circumstances.
Maintain a Consistent Sleep Schedule
Rest is referred to in the Bible over 100 times. We are given a Godly example of the importance of rest in Genesis 2:2 which tells us that God rested on the seventh day.
A consistent sleep schedule – going to bed about the same time every night and getting up about the same time every morning – helps our brains repair themselves. This is the time when the brain reproduces the chemicals (neurotransmitters, hormones) which directly impact our mood.
Sleep allows the perfect opportunity for us to trust God and allow Him to take care of us and sustain us. Psalm 3:5 tells us, “I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.”
Engage In Social Activities
Frequently, one of the hardest things to do when we are suffering through depression is to get out and socialize. It’s important, however, because socializing helps us ward off isolation and withdrawal, both of which make depression worse.
Getting out and being around others also allows others the chance to help meet your needs and share your burdens. We are called to help carry each others burdens as believers, but when we become withdrawn others often don’t know we are either in pain or in need.
Recite God’s Word
During a particularly difficult and emotionally painful time in my life it did not help to have others spout scripture to me. Yet in my desperation I found that by reciting God’s word, especially His promises, I gained strength to keep going. Faith comes by hearing, and by reciting God’s promises, we bolster our own faith.
By reciting His promises, we also come into agreement with God about our situation. Agreeing with God is the first step to surrender. It is in our times of surrender to God, that He has the greatest freedom to intervene on our behalf.
Prayer
Have you ever experienced a time when others couldn’t relate to you or your situation because they hadn’t gone through it themselves? In the midst of depression our pain is magnified when we feel like no one understands. But the Word tells us in Isaiah 53:3 that He is acquainted with our grief. God understands and He is near to the broken hearted (Psalm 34:18). He’s just waiting for you to share your pain with Him.
The wonderful thing is that God created prayer. Because of prayer, we always have someone to talk to who will not only listen, but who has the answers we need. Prayer brings us into the Father’s presence, which helps mitigate any loneliness we may feel. And prayer opens the door to allow God to comfort us in our sorrow.
Journal
The Bible says that “out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45). That is frequently what happens when we journal. Depression often begins because we push down our thoughts and feelings without adequately expressing them. Journaling at times is like a process of bleeding onto paper…letting our emotions out, so that together, you and the Lord can deal with them.
Journaling also offers an additional advantage. When we journal, we have a record of our past experiences that we can refer to at a later time. This offers an opportunity to look back and see just how far you’ve come, and how faithful the Lord has been. This then serves as an encouragement from which we can draw strength.
Try New Activities
Trying new activities offers us an opportunity to experience pleasure, which helps fight off the blues. When you open yourself up to trying new things, you never know when a new activity will bring you joy and delight during an otherwise down time.
Trying new activities doesn’t necessarily have to be something major like mountain climbing or pursuing a degree. It might be something as simple as learning to play a new game, reading a book from a new author, or trying a new recipe.
Laugh and Play
It’s important, especially during a period of depression, to intentionally seek out the opportunities to experience pleasure. Have you ever noticed how much young children laugh? I have to wonder if that’s part of the reason we rarely see depressed young children?
When we put ourselves in situations where we remind our brain and body what it feels like to experience joy and pleasure, we actually begin to crave more of that sensation. As we crave it more, we will seek it out more and thus combat the inertia that often accompanies depression. Maybe it’s playing a silly game, or climbing a tree, or having coffee with a friend. The point is, explore what brings you pleasure.
Practice gratitude
In being intentionally grateful, you come to appreciate the expanding opportunities to be grateful. Being grateful opens our eyes to all we have to be grateful for.
In truth, it’s hard to stay down when we’re practicing gratitude. Intentionally practicing gratitude helps us stay focused on the positive, and allows us to remember the good things in life, while de-emphasizing the negative.
I’ve offered you several tips to help ward off depression. I do not want you to feel like you have to do all of these things at once. Choose one, then another, until eventually perhaps you will be incorporating all of them in your regular schedule and enjoying the abundant life Christ came to give.
(For more hope and posts like this, visit Dr. Bengtson’s website: www.DrMichelleBengtson.com or follow her on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/DrMichelleBengtson)