7-Ways To Make Yourself Depression-Proof: Alternatives To Anti-Depressants

Posted on October 30, 2008 
Filed Under Health & Wellness, It's all about Happiness

Statistics say that 1-in-10 Americans experiences depression. If you’re not depressed, you probably know people who are. But, whether you’re depressed right now or not, there’s always a chance you could experience depression unless you understand what it is and have strategies or techniques to keep you from falling into depression and getting “stuck” there. By focusing on the principles of wellness – and avoiding the traps of depression – you can easily sidestep a very common pitfall that snares millions of Americans each year. Here are 10-ways you can make yourself depression-proof:

1. Focus on others, not yourself. All suffering, including depression, comes from an inward focus – focusing on ourselves and our problems. By putting your attention on others you move from being the “helpless” to being the “helper.” Trust me; it’s better to be able to help than to be the one needing it!

2. Focus on building strong, relationships with family, friends, co-workers, clients, etc. We can draw strength and joy from these things; and it is difficult to dwell on yourself when you are building with others.

3. Focus on what you have, not what you’ve lost, or what you’ve never had at all. The positive resource state of gratitude is a powerful energy that helps us attract and create whatever we want. Focusing on what’s missing is not the same as planning to acquire it.

4. Focus on possibilities, not difficulties. When you create possibilities, your mind operates in a completely different way than it does when you reaffirm and compound your problems by dwelling on them. See opportunities rather than obstacles.

5. Focus on gratitude and acceptance rather than complaints, fault-finding, and judgment. Whatever you focus on will grow; that is simply a law whether you realize it yet, or not. By focusing on gratitude, you become the kind of person who attracts and creates situations that will inspire more gratitude.

6. Focus on your response, not events and outcomes. You cannot control what happens; but you can control what you do about it. What happens doesn’t matter; all that matters is what you do. Your actions are the results of your thoughts and attitudes; and those are your choice.

7. Focus on staying active doing things you love. All you have in this life is time and what you do with it. There’s nothing more depressing than a wasted life.

Depression is said to be the result of a chemical imbalance; but those chemicals are naturally released inside the body in response to conscious and unconscious thought-processes. In other words, the chemical imbalance is secondary to a “thinking-imbalance.” Depression is, quite simply, chronic sadness. These actions will help you create the kinds of thought-patterns that create healthy and balanced body chemistry. Focusing on ourselves, our problems, what we’ve lost, what went wrong, and how we’ve been victimized, are all great ways to activate the stress response and keep it active – causing the chemical imbalances we experience as depressed emotional states. Think about thinking differently; and you too can make yourself depression-proof.

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