Many people suffer from depression, or grief at this time of year mostly due to family issues. The information in this article may help you cope with this type of emotional situation.
The following excerpts are from my depression article: read the whole thing here. I have also included a YouTube video that I made to accompany it many years ago.
Having suffered from bouts of depression early on in life, I decided to help myself through study, therapy and natural remedies – the following is what I discovered. I hope these self help tips for depression are useful for you too.
The PTSD Connection
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a result of tremendous stress after a trauma (e.g. the death of a loved one, abuse of any kind, a natural disaster, war time experiences and so on). It is characterized by a mixed bag of many negative emotions (anger, fear, guilt, sadness), as well as insomnia, nightmares and ‘flashbacks’ of the traumatic occurrence(s). These symptoms may arise immediately after the event(s) or it may be a delayed response by days, weeks, months or years. Depression can be one of the most crippling effects of PTSD especially when it involves an inability to function as well as suicidal thoughts and/or attempts. If you are at this stage you must seek professional assistance as you will require more help than what is mentioned below.
A Simple Definition
Depression is almost always anger turned inward. It is about not getting what you want but instead of externalizing the hurt you hold it in thus experiencing disappointment and disillusionment. This may involve self-pity. If you do not get out of this frame of mind you will most likely experience despair (i.e. hopelessness).
Sometimes depression is confused with grief because of the heaviness of both of these emotions. Grief is a natural response following a loss – sadness and sorrow in relation to what/who has been lost. Depression usually involves self-hatred. Hate is related to anger – this is what you are directing at yourself. This self-directed loathing is often anger that you feel toward someone else but believe that it is inappropriate to lash out at that person (e.g. a loved one, your boss, God etc). That is, you feel guilty about being angry with this individual. (Tips on expressing anger appropriately are listed in the section “Emotional Releasing and Reinforcing Techniques.” Go to the end of the article for this information.)
