Men And Depression – Macho, Macho Man
More than 6 million men in the United States will experience at least one episode of major depression each year. Yet, because of the idea that depression is a “woman” thing, men don’t always recognize the symptoms and seek treatment.
Suck It Up, Dude!
Men tend to believe that they must hold their feelings inside and not express them. We have to “buck up” and “be a man.” We’re not supposed to express our emotions. We must be “macho.”
What happens to this pent-up emotion? For the most part, it’s going to come out at some point. How? Growing anger, aggressiveness, and substance abuse. Or, we take up risk taking activities and addictive behaviors.
Men also fear the stigma of mental illness. We are afraid of how it may affect our careers. What is my family going to think? What are my friends going to think?
“It starts slowly and the only person you’re talking to is yourself. You’re lost. It’s dark, the pain is twenty-four seven…you just want it to end…I’d drink and…I tried to numb my head…but you have to deal with it. It doesn’t just go away.” – Patrick McCathern First Sergeant, U.S. Air Force, Retired
You Can’t Handle The Truth!
Although men may think these coping strategies are effective, they don’t get rid of the depression. Often, the result is suicide.
The Center for Disease Control reports that men in the United States are about four times more likely to commit suicide than women. Men are likely to:
- use methods that are more deadly (guns)
- act faster on suicidal thoughts
- show fewer warning signs (such as talk of suicide)
Once I was diagnosed with depression, the stigma thing hit me very hard. As I have mentioned before, my self-esteem was already in the toilet. Adding depression to the list of inadequacies compounded the problem. I mean, I really am not much of a man, am I? I’ve been diagnosed with depression.
Those feelings have completely changed. It took a long time, however. We’re talking years. We’re talking serious counseling. Yes, counseling! It led me to make a choice.
I chose to take charge of my life. Notice the word “I.” I chose to stop letting other people be in charge of my life. I choose to make my own choices. I choose to deal with my weaknesses and my strengths.
It’s not easy to do that. But, if you don’t, things build up inside. Ultimately, there will be an “explosion.” Something has to give. That’s how I lost my friend, Chris!
Ladies and gentlemen, stop worrying about what other people think. Stop being afraid to ask for help. You don’t have to be diagnosed with depression to ask for help. As a matter of fact, asking for help will probably keep you from developing depression.
Talk to your spouse. If he or she isn’t willing to listen, go to your spiritual advisor. He or she should be willing to help and point you in the right direction for other assistance.
There is information on the Tools and Resources page which may be of some help. They continue to help me today. I wouldn’t be where I am without them.
A Quick Look at Teen Depression
Being unhappy, moody, and angst-ridden has somehow been a typical trademark of a normal teenager. To some extent, it is normal for teenagers to be in a dark mood sometimes, and for this mood to change a lot, primarily because teenagers are dealing with many physical and sociological adjustments and developments happening in and around them. However, teen depression is a very dangerous thing to contend with. Many teens who suffer from severe depression engage in dangerous activities, associate with the wrong crowd, develop drug or alcoholism problems, hurt themselves, or even commit suicide. Many parents are heartbroken over the fact that they didn’t see it coming, and they weren’t able to help their child about it.
Turning Winds has dealt with numerous cases of teen depression in their program. One has to recognize that teens who are depressed often cannot help themselves out of it, and they need to be helped by their families and through therapy.
To know whether your teen is suffering from depression or not, you must learn to look out for the signs. At first they may be subtle, and at other times, they may be a bit confusing because they look like behavior any normal teenager may exhibit. One classic sign of teen depression could be a change from their normal sleeping habits. While it’s normal for teenagers to adjust to the demands of school and their developing social life by getting more sleep, depressed teenagers show a marked change in their sleeping patterns. They may stay up extremely late in the night and then wake up extremely late in the morning. They may spend an inordinate amount of time sleeping in their room even if they didn’t have a long night.
- Depressed teens may also withdraw from family and friends. If your teen never had a problem about relating with his/her siblings but then all of a sudden just stops communicating or interacting with them, something may be up. If your teen stopped asking friends over, or if he/she has stopped accepting phone calls and keeps more to him/herself, maybe it’s time to talk to them and ask them what’s wrong.
- Depressed teens may also begin acting out in ways that they’ve never done before. They may be caught vandalizing properties or shoplifting even though he/she doesn’t need to. You may catch them smoking or drinking, or you may find drugs when you look through their things. They may lie about it, but the fact that they have the substances in their possession may be a red flag that you shouldn’t ignore.
- Some teens show a preoccupation with death and dying. They may talk a lot about it with their friends and siblings, or experiment with self-mutilation. They may say their subtle goodbyes to the people that they love, for example, telling a younger sibling that they will always love them and that they should always take care of themselves. They may start giving their prized possessions away. All these are classic signs of suicidal tendencies and need to be addressed immediately.
Turning Winds help parents provide a safe environment where underlying issues to teen depression are explored and dealt with. In this kind of environment, teens are encouraged to open up to therapy and to people who want to help them.
The Latest News on Depression
Depression can be completely cured thanks to the method of dream interpretation discovered by Carl Jung. I greatly simplified his method for you, and today you can immediately understand the meaning of all dreams. This simplification was based on new scientific discoveries that clarified the origin of all mental illnesses.
You can find relief and understand on what is happening to you by analyzing the meaning of your own dreams. You don’t need to go anywhere or pay anything to your doctor. You doctor is the wise unconscious mind that produces your dreams in order to save your mental stability.
After mastering the dream language like my students, you will clearly understand what is really causing your depression. The unconscious mind is a doctor who gives you explanations and answers, instead of asking you questions like ignorant human doctors do.
Carl Jung was a real genius, but his method of dream interpretation is too complicated and obscure. This is why until today it was not recognized as the only correct method. My work gives Jung the merit he deserves. He was the only one who did manage to discover the mysterious meaning of the symbolic dream language. He also discovered the extraordinary healing power of dreams.
You will immediately understand what is going wrong with your life when you translate your dreams. You will also understand what you should do in order to overcome your depression.
The unconscious mind shows you truths you ignore, by analyzing your past and your present life. You will be surprised to discover the reason why you are suffering today was originated a long time ago. The problems you are facing today wouldn’t torture you if you had the right attitude. However, you made many mistakes for being influenced by your wild nature. You couldn’t understand what was happening to you. Today you feel the burden of all the mistakes you made, and of their consequences.
You may believe that you didn’t make any mistake, but you certainly did. You have inherited too much absurdity in your anti-conscience, which is your primitive conscience that didn’t evolve like your human side. This primitive content keeps invading your human conscience and bothering you. You don’t have the chance to think logically because your conscience is influenced by the craziness imposed by your anti-conscience.
On the other hand, you are ignorant. You may believe that you know many things, but you ignore too many things that you should be attending to. The unconscious wisdom will show you everything about your inner-self.
You will also find out how to change your life. This point is basic if you want to feel fine. You cannot stop suffering if your life is marked by painful situations or bad relationships.
You may believe that you suffer because of various factors that you cannot change. However, the unconscious wisdom will show you how to modify what you dislike. You will also learn how to discover new alternatives in life. There are many solutions for all problems.
The positive news on depression should be encouraging. Now you don’t need to accept the human ignorance and try many different therapies, without understanding anything. The unconscious psychotherapy will give you many explanations and practical solutions. You will also become more intelligent with everything that you’ll learn.
Healing Depression
Countless millions suffer from different mental disorders such as bipolar, anxiety, stress, and depression that drastically affect their quality of life. These mental conditions rob people of the joy of living, damage the quality of their work and the success of their careers, lead to friction and ill will among friends and family, result in physical disorders such as high blood pressure, and insomnia, and can even lead to death or suicide. Many people face additional suffering from a perceived social stigma of mental disease, hiding their daily suffering and torment beyond a false façade of normalcy.
Available treatments through conventional medicine are expensive, ineffective, and can have damaging side effects. Some people are reduced to taking a host of medications each and every day to try and make their life livable while at the same time taking additional medications to combat the side effects of the first. Others see therapists or counselors for years without a definitive relief of their condition. Both methods require yearly costs of thousands of dollars and with little hope or no hope of real recovery.
For the people who suffer from mental disorders, meditation provides a ray of light and hope to illuminate their dark situation and transform their pain and anguish into happiness and joy.
Meditation works on different levels, treating each person as individual with different causes for their conditions. The first step is to provide immediate relief and clarity through the Esoteric art of Energy Transmission and the Secret Code.
The compassionate, healing life energy, provided by the Holy Master during meditation classes has the effect of calming the mind, relaxing it and providing the clarity that students need to reflect on themselves and find their way out of their condition. This energy can also mitigate their physical conditions, lowering their blood pressure, chronic pain, and allowing them to get a good night’s sleep.
The initiation of the Secret Code connects the meditator with the collective consciousness of the cosmos, allowing a new stream of thought and reflection to occur in their minds, opening them up to new perspectives and cathartic realizations that can transform their mental landscape.
Those suffering from depression, anxiety, and other mental disorders, upon attending a meditation class can come away with a new feeling of happiness, peace, and joy that can lift them temporarily out of suffering and give them the sustenance and hope to practice the daily meditation that will keep them energized and connected, and ultimately let them escape entirely their mental suffering and replace it with ever deepening level of joy, freedom, and realization.
Raw Food Helps in Depression
I’ve heard a lot of positive feedback about raw food, that it cures all sorts of illnesses including mental health problems like depression disorder.
So now I’m trying to look into it.
You are considered a raw foodist when you eat at least 75% of your food uncooked and unprocessed. And if you imagine that this means you graze on salad leaves all day long, you can scrape this image off your mind straight away.
Raw food cuisine can be extremely rich and intense but let’s face it – it’s hard work and requires pre-planning and preparation. There are pizzas and pastas and cakes and chocolate goodies as well, but it’s all raw.
Raw foodists say that our body acidic, and to balance it and keep it healthy we need alkaline environment. Raw food is alkaline, cooked food is acidic. The more acid builds up in our bodies, the more bodies struggle with processing it until it get’s to the point when they can not do it anymore and slowly fall apart and degenerate.
There are talks that even cancer is essentially an acid build up, and with proper detox program and raw food diet, the process can be reversed.
So far, so good.
However, supermodel Carol Alt who’s been on the raw food diet for years, wrote a book about it and launched her own products says that we are individual and have to bear in mind our heritage. Where did we come from? What our ancestors were eating? For some people going completely vegan makes sense, for others – they need slightly seared fish or a plate of Carpaccio as well.
The point I’m trying to make is that before you decide to try raw food as a miracle cure, find a specialist who will test you and determine what you need exactly.
A lot of points telling us why raw food can help with depression and anxiety, panic attacks, bipolar disorder, etc. make perfect sense. You body gets healthier, receives all these necessary enzymes, vitamins and minerals, detoxifies itself and balances the chemicals in your brain responsible for your depression.
On the other hand there are still situational causes for depression (like some traumatic experience, a stressful job or dealing with people who you can’t stand) that can not be helped with just changing your diet. That’s where relaxation techniques and depression therapy changing your attitude to your environment come handy.
Overall, raw food diet can fix a lot of things that went wrong with your body, but don’t forget to use every other aspect of treatment to deal with all the causes of your depression.
How a Psychotherapist Can Help Ease Depression
If you are suffering from depression, and/or anxiety, you know how it can quickly take over your world. Your family and loved ones also suffer, as they feel helpless and don’t know what to do.
With the help of a psychologist, you will be able to identify the source of your depression, if you haven’t already. You will also be able to come up with some solutions and answers that may indicate why you are prone to this illness (genetics, etc…). Addiction is closely related to depression, and this may be your way of coping, or ‘self-medicating’ yourself. You are actually doing more harm than good when you add drugs or alcohol to your problems.
There are different types of depression, from mild (think of the February ‘blahs’) to much more serious types like manic-depressive or bi-polar disorder. The effectiveness and length of treatment will depend on the severity of your depression.
It is a good idea to book appointments for the same day and time if possible; this will create a routine, and will probably become something you actually look forward to. A psychologist will engage you in conversation so you can come up with some of your own answers and solutions. They know the most effective questions to ask, in order to get you thinking and remembering.
Psychologists don’t just bombard you with questions; that is not the entire reason they are there. Based on your unique situation and lifestyle, they will come up with techniques and tips to use in your everyday life to help you deal with your depression. They may recommend certain breathing techniques, or even some books to read. They will provide you with strategies on how to deal with certain situations. They may even recommend that you join a local support group: this is extremely beneficial if you’ve suffered the loss of a loved one, and that is the cause of your depression.
Many times, you are able to tell your psychologist things that you would never tell the people that are close to you. They provide an objective view of your life and your situation. Loved ones and friends can be harsh, and even though they are trying to help, can make things worse.
Meet with a few psychologists in person to get a feel for how you get along. You’ll need to be completely at ease with them, so you need to meet with them first. Ask about their credentials, how long they’ve been in business and what their rates are.
What Is Depression?
Wikipedia defines depression as a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person’s thoughts, behaviour, feelings and physical well-being. There may be a loss of interest in activities that once were pleasurable. There may be a change to appetite – a loss of appetite or over-eating. There may be insomnia or excessive sleeping. There may be loss of energy and unexplained aches and pains. There may be contemplation of self-harm or suicide. For all these reasons, it is important to understand that depression is real – it is a medical condition.
For me depression has always been quite physical. A weightiness. A darkness. And a familiarity such as you might feel with a loved animal come to share your lap.
But what is depression really? Perhaps it would be easier to eliminate what depression is not.
Depression is not about having a bad day, a ‘blue’ day. That is actually just normal life! The difference is how long those feelings last. Because they shouldn’t last for days or for weeks…. or for months. And if you suffer from depression, they do indeed last for long, long days…
Neurotransmitters in the brain help nerve cells communicate. These neurotransmitters are called serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine. And these substances can change and get out of balance. Why? The reasons are many. It could be an illness. It could be hormonal changes. It could be medication. It could be ageing. It could be the result of an injury.
Or, it could be a reason which is not so easy to understand. A failed business venture. The death of a loved one. The ending of a relationship.
Whatever the reason, the change in the way that the nerve cells communicate, the change in the balance of the chemicals produced in the brain, results in what is called depression. The imbalance is a chemical one. The condition is real. And whether it has been triggered by something tangible or something not quite so tangible, it is diagnosable and treatable.
Depression knows no boundaries and has no favourites. It affects people of all ages, genders, races and socio-economic background. Is it reaching epidemic proportions? Consider this – by 2020, it is believed that depression will be the second most common health problem in the world.
So if you suffer from depression, know that you are not alone. And know that there is excellent help and plentiful resources available to you now.
Can Reiki Heal the Root Cause of Depression?
Depression is a mental or psychological disorder that changes the emotional state to doom and gloom and affecting how a person physically functions and interacts socially. Different types of depression include major depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder, bipolar disorder, seasonal affective disorder, postpartum depression, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, and atypical depression.
Having mentioned all the types of depression, medical research and studies have been conducted to determine what causes depression. The pharmaceutical industry has a pet theory that the brain’s deficiency of serotonin is the source of depression or in a more general/basic term, a chemical imbalance in the brain. This theory was created when depressed people are found out to have a reduced amount of monoamines (i.e. serotonin and norepinephrine), which is a certain type of neurotransmitters. Unfortunately, this chemical imbalance is more of a symptom than a cause. To appreciate it better, a simple explanation is that these low serotonin levels is a result of carrying out more negative contemplation and seldom participating in activities that gives an individual self-contentment or happiness. In this regard, there really isn’t any study yet that has conclusively confirmed or substantiated the exact or precise root of depression.
Others perceive depression as a biological disorder but it is not nor is it a virus that can be acquired or passed on by others. In the 2003 book edition of “Human Givens” by J. Griffin & I. Tyrrell, it was often repeated and emphasized that depression is not a disease neither a chemical imbalance. They have described depression as an individual’s spontaneous response to specific emotional introspection. In the absence of a defined or a clear cut explanation and understanding of the cause of depression, people somehow stick to the closest or nearest medical explanation there is.
Recent statistics about depression is very alarming showing that there are an estimated 70 million people who suffers from its symptoms that includes but not limited to uselessness, having a hard time sleeping, feeling of moroseness, lack of energy, and poor attitude toward life. These and other symptoms lead to destruction of oneself starting from being pessimistic, lacking enthusiasm and having no initiative. As a result of these negativities, the body and mind receives and also sends out negative energies. Illnesses, disease and other medical conditions are sometimes a result of this situation. Other consequence may be despair, irrational or thoughtless decisions and actions which the individual later on regrets.
As alarming as it sounds, each individual must take heed to lower the figures and to prevent it from increasing it more. While the cure is different for each depressed individual, the common goal is to reverse the condition and give back the normal life that each and every one of us deserves. With its different causes, there are spiritual ways that will help pull the depressed people up from the situation they are in and be able to live a vibrant, happy and full life.
As explained earlier, depression is not a chemical imbalance. It is not a cause of depression but merely a symptom. Having said this, some people say and believe that it is all in the mind or it is a state of mind. The individual being in a state of depression has lost connection to what eternity, bliss and knowledge is really all about as part of quality of life. No medication or science can really be a solution to changing and overcoming depression because the point here is that attitude and behavior are the ones in question here.
To see a more holistic view of depression, the following should be taken into consideration as causes or part of the cause of depression:
a. Medical Factors – Physical or health factors can trigger a person to have a different perspective in life or mental disposition in life. They are starting to feel and think negative thoughts and eventually stop trying to feel positive about their condition. Hormonal imbalance, improper diet, weak nervous system can hamper one’s positive outlook in life.
b. External Factors – Social status, culture, system, traumatic experience or as simple as the weather can be causes of being depressed. People do sometimes get sad and depressed when it’s cloudy or raining. There is just something in the weather that attracts melancholy.
c. Emotional or Psychological Factors – Mistakes that one can’t get over with are also a cause of depression. When a person tends to dwell on guilt and mistakes that can’s be undone, surround themselves with negative people, holds grudges, jealousy and envy will likely to have depression.
According to an associate professor (Harold Koenig, MD) at the Duke University Medical Center, spiritual force and holistic healing plays a significant role and cannot be ignored as a variable in helping patients cope with depression. Studies have revealed that strategies which include spirituality or religion provide a better result as acknowledged in the American Psychiatric Association annual meeting conducted last 2002.
This remarkable result paved the way to see spiritual support in a different light. One should then pay attention to a patient’s beliefs and spiritual practices to better find the right solution or cure for them. Although spirituality is not the sole answer to depression it is indeed a great help if not curing it 100% then at least making it in a lesser degree and eventually solving it.
Here are some ways and tips on how spirituality can uplift a person from the depressed state of mind:
Analyze the root cause of the problem – To determine the real cause, one has to reflect and spend time over the concern. It may even take days and it would be helpful to take note of thoughts and have someone who can help you find the root problem.
Right cure for the right problem – Once the root problem is determined then one can already address and find the right solution. If the problem is physical or health-related then you can go and see the doctor to resolve the difficulty or the pain that triggers the depression. Exercise, nourishing diet or strengthening the nervous system by relaxation or regular prayer can help out in giving you the energy for a more refresh and invigorating physical and mental individual that aids in overcoming the weak body and depressed mind.
If the problem is external, emotional or psychological, one should avoid habits that are undesirable. Try to live a simple, pure and righteous life by associating or surrounding yourself with the right group of people or friends who has the same values, spiritually inclined and has only positive outlook in life. These people will help you face your difficulties and problems to be free of the negativities that you have been holding on to.
Helping Your Teen Through Depression
We all know the teenage years can be difficult, with unaccountable mood swings, periods of apathy, rebelliousness or anger. We have all been there, so it is nothing new to us. That’s why it is easy to miss the signs of stress and anxiety that can lead to depression in teenagers. We need to be attentive to what they are saying and to the way they are acting.
Take time to listen
The most important thing we can do to help our teens through depression is to take time to listen. At the start it may be hard to get them to open up, as they might be used to us in our parenting role of correcting or admonishing rather than just listening. They may not be used to the idea of our listening in a caring, non-judgemental way. In fact, our relationship with them might be one of their problems. They might feel they cannot talk openly to us because we would not understand. In addition to that, they may feel foolish and think we will make light of their problems and not take them seriously.
Hopefully, with kindness and patience, we will be able to build understanding, so we can help our young people get through this difficult period without any longterm effects. Once they see we are giving them this respect and are willing to work with them to get through their issues, they are more likely to trust us. We can then give them real support. If we cannot build this trust we need to find someone who can. They need someone to listen to them and to take their concerns seriously.
Here are some other things we can do:
- Encourage them to do the things they like doing
- Make sure they are eating properly and going to bed at a reasonable hour
- Praise them when they get things right or do things that are positive – build their self-esteem
- Encourage them to get help from a professional. The family doctor is a good place to start, but some might prefer a stranger. If this is the case, talk to your doctor and get them to recommend someone else. Maybe they can refer a professional who is experienced in dealing with teenage depression. Go with them so they do not feel alone
- If you cannot influence your child to go for help then you should go to get some guidance as to the next steps you can take
- Any talk of suicide or of people who have committed suicide should be taken seriously
- Any actions which have a finality about them should be taken seriously – giving away special possessions; meaningful goodbyes; getting affairs in order
In helping your teen through depression, you are really trying to change your child’s view of the world from a negative to a positive one. Mostly, you will be able to do this with love, understanding and patience, but if you feel the whole problem is getting beyond you, call in anyone who may have some influence on your child. Look for people with a special relationship – a school counsellor, a family friend or a favorite relative. Even if your child objects to involving these people, you still need to do it, as it could be matter of life or death.
How Losing Weight Can Provide Help for Depression
Did you know that help for depression can come from something as simple as losing weight? A review of thirty-one studies on weight loss by American researchers presented evidence that depressed obese or overweight individuals who shed pounds also end up shedding symptoms of depression, as well.
Lest you think it takes the loss of significant amounts of weight to improve your mental and physical well-being, studies show noticeable improvements can be achieved by losing even a small amount of weight.
Even though most research into weight loss doesn’t usually take subjects who are suffering from depression into account, it is a well-known fact that obesity presents an increased risk factor for depression.
Researchers were interested in what the 31 studies documented about depression symptoms prior to, and after subjects lost weight. The total amount of weight loss, along with which weight-reducing methods were used, were also analyzed.
According to their findings researchers learned that improvements in symptoms were greater with programs based on healthy eating and exercise than even medication. This finding remained true no matter how much weight was lost. Experts believe the reason for this may be a built-in threshold level of weight loss that’s sufficient to improve your mental state without the need for additional weight loss.
Additionally, it is a well-recognized fact that exercise stimulates the release of endorphins which increase serotonin levels. This brain neurotransmitter is known for regulating mood. It is also thought to play a role in the prevention of negative thoughts and to provide a natural shield against stress.
One point the authors of this study wanted to make clear was that any help for depression achieved by weight loss should never be used as a substitute for treatment in cases where individuals are seriously depressed. However, in some instances, the research indicated symptoms of depression can be eased by losing weight.
An individual who achieves a fitter, slimmer body through weight loss often experiences a positive impact on their physical and psychological well-being. This can translate into increased confidence and optimism for their lives.
Nowadays, people looking for the most effective ways to lose weight have a vast array of methods to choose from. A wide variety of gastric surgeries, special eating and exercise programs, as well as, behavioral therapy to understand deep-rooted issues with food, allow the obese person to choose a program which is best suited to their particular needs.