Depression – What Is It Good For?
I have had many periods in my own life when I have been downright miserable and unhappy. The stress of everyday life has taken its toll and I have struggled to see any light at the end of the tunnel.
Before I continue on with this article I would like to point out that I am not involved within the depression industry or sector, I personally work within DVD authoring, as well as offering cheap holidays and on a part basis helping people to obtain cheap calls.
Over the last few months I have worked extremely hard to find solutions to eradicate my issues with depression. I am now much more able to cope with these type of situations. I still do find myself becoming down but now have various techniques and methods to help me to quickly return to happiness.
The first thing I do when I start to feel a bit down or unhappy is to write a list of all the things that are making me feel this way. Instead of doing what I used to do, which was to stress so much about each of them, which only makes each problem even bigger, I now look at each item on the list and try to find a solution.
To say that this is hard to do would be an understatement. After living one way for so long it is far from easy to suddenly change. But change I must and change I have - I have realised that there is only one way to think in life and that it to think positively. There are a number of items on the list where it is actually quite difficult to find a solution. I then try to tell myself that worrying is not the answer and that all I can do is to give it my best shot to improve the situation. At the end of the day what is the worst thing that can happen?
I have realised that I seem to get down and depressed when I am over tired. Now when I feel over-tired, I ensure that I go to bed a lot earlier than normal over the next few days and try to avoid drinks like coffee, late at night, which can keep me awake. To help me to sleep I always read a book which not only tires my eyes but also helps to take my mind off the things that I am worried about. I have also been known to have a small snooze in the afternoons to help me to catch up on any lost sleep.
I feel fortunate to have two young children. They seem to be full of life and do not seem to have a care in the world. Both children have totally changed my life in a positive way and are a bundle of fun and joy. When starting to feel a bit down and depressed, I spend as much time as I can with my children as they are what makes me happy and smile. I am now able to fight back against the demons in my head and I am also able to bounce back to good effect when something goes wrong. Possibly the most important change however is the fact that I now really appreciate what I have in life rather than doing what I used to do which was to focus on what I believed I did not have.
Stress and Fight or Fright Reaction
Lets look at three different scenarios.
A sales rep is having a difficult time during the recession. The last three months sales were disastrous. He is due to meet a big and important new client who could be his saviour. The ouicome will decide whether he still has a job or not.
A man is madly and desperately in love with this popular and attractive female. He cannot see a future without her but there are other men trying to attract her attention. The table is set for two, the ring is in his hand and the red roses lie near by. She is due any minute and he will propose to her and he does not know whether she will say yes or no.
A woman walking home alone late at night. The street is dimly lit. Suddenly she hears footsteps ahead of her. She can see a group of people wearing hoodies walking towards her. She now hears footsteps behind her. Turning around, she sees some young people walking towards her.
In all three situations a person becomes very alert and focussed even though potential danger is only in one of these scenarios. This is the fight and fright reaction.
This is a reaction in humans and animals that developed a long time ago to protect us from life threatening dangers. In this reaction, the brain triggers the release of the hormones adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisone.These hormones cause a remarkable change in the body.
The heart rate speeds up, the breathing become faster and deeper, the mouth becomes dry, the pupils dilate, skin becomes cold and clammy and hairs on the back of the neck stand up.
You may have an urge to urinate, open your bowels or vomit. This is the brain trying to lighten the load to move faster during 'flight'.
These changes are preparing the body for action. You are in a state of heightened awareness. All your senses are sharpened. Your hearing, sense of smell and your sight are all sharpened. Your body is primed and ready to go.
Your rapidly beating heart pumps extra blood to the muscles and brain. By breathing faster and deeper, more oxygen is transported by the blood to the muscles and brain. In addition blood is shunted away temporarily from other important organs such as the gut, the kidneys and the immune system to make more blood available to supply the muscles.
Although the fight and fright reaction is primeval and developed when early humans had to confront huge and dangerous reptiles and mammals, it is still present today. Unfortunately the brain cannot differentiate between real and percieved dangers or threats. The reaction is the same.
In all three scenarios above, the fight or fright reaction is triggered.
Panic attacks are severe episodes of the fight or fright reaction and, to the individual during an attack the threat or danger is very real. Rational thoughts go out the window and there is nothing to fight and no where to run to.
In stress, even though there is no threat to our lives, the fight or fright reaction is triggered and can harm the body. Persistent stress caqn cause disease.
Understanding how the fight or fright reaction is triggered in stress will help you make some sense about the symptoms of stress you experience with stress.