Am I Depressed?

“Am I depressed?” This is the question that sad people may ask themselves when they feel at loss as to what they can do about it. Sadness, however, is a normal feeling. Even overwhelming sadness is standard to someone who has just experienced the death of a loved one. Sadness though becomes abnormal when it comes out of the blue and the person can’t really explain the reason for his despair. “Am I depressed?” then becomes an inquiry that signifies that it may be crucial for an individual to see a doctor who has the authority to address his concerns. Some of the things that doctors may say about depression are as follows:

• Characteristics of depression include persistent feelings of inadequacy, a low mood and a general loss of interest in pleasurable things. People who are troubled by the disorder don’t necessarily ask themselves “Am I depressed?” but because they may not understand how they feel, it’s possible for them to not know what they should do about it. It’s important for those around them to help them by communicating and bringing to their attention the availability of health services for their distress.

• Some of the factors that affect depression are negative thinking and low self-esteem. Because of this, there are mental health facets that try to encourage individuals who may be on the verge of depression to engage in self-esteem activities that can boost this aspect of their personalities.

But what are self-esteem activities?

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How Can We Change Our Brain and Therefore Change Our Life?

Linda’s fear of social contact has tremendously debilitated her life since it’s onset. She would not speak in front of people nor would she look anyone in the eye. She is afraid of going out of her house because she thinks that people will mock her. She is worried that they do not like her and the way she is. Seeing how this problem has incapacitated my friend Linda, I made a decision to convince her to read a book by Dr. Amen entitled Change Your Brain, Change Your Life. I could have easily given her a copy of the book, but I thought otherwise. Linda was already frustrated because of her irrational beliefs about people insulting her, presenting the book to her would have given her more reasons to be perturbed.

To make Linda read, I decided to “accidentally” leave my copy of the book behind after one of my visits with her. I knew that she was going to read it because of her passion for books. The week after, I went to her house again to retrieve the book I also set a new motto for myself Change Brain Change Life. To my pleasant surprise, I saw that she had made notes on some of the things that Dr. Amen wrote about in his book.

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