Feeling Down? Here's How to Lift Your Mood in 3 Easy Steps Without Using Drugs

Feeling down and want to get your life back? In this article, we'll take a look at why prescription drugs may not be the best solution and how you can use a simple, natural, 3 step program to reclaim your life and positive outlook.

First let's take a look at prescription drugs because they seem to be the preferred method of treatment for depression in this country. Before we do, however, it's important to point out that there is a difference between feeling sad and being depressed. People who are sad are usually temporarily mourning something that happened. This could be the loss of a job, a loved one or the realization that things have not turned out the way that you planned.

Feeling sad may come and go and although this emotion may be at the forefront of your life from time to time, it is not chronic like depression. People who are clinically depressed are not sad, they are numb. They feel indifferent or apathetic about their lives. It is these people for whom prescription drugs often work the best.

Before you learn about how you can use the three step program to lift you up and move you past feeling sad, let's take a closer look at antidepressants. If you have thought about asking your doctor about them, here are a few important things that you should know. First, drugs do not cure depression; they only suppress the symptoms which will return when you stop taking the drug.

Next, finding the right drug that works for you can be hit-or-miss. This means that you may need to try drug after drug until you find the one that lifts your mood without creating side effects. Side effects can be a problem with prescription drugs. All drugs have side effects. What differs is a person's ability to tolerate them. Some common ones include a feeling of impending doom, weight gain and even thoughts of suicide.

This is why if you are just feeling down and are not really depressed, taking prescription drugs could make you worse. Instead of taking drugs, you might want to try a natural remedy. These remedies contain herbs that have been used for hundreds of years to lift mood. In this sense, they have stood the test of time, and of course, they have also been proven effective in clinical trials.

To find a good remedy, look for one that contains St. John's Wort and Passion Flower. There are many supplements that just contain the first ingredient, but Passion Flower actually boosts the mood-lifting properties of St. John's Wort, so look for a formula that contains both. This is the perfect antidote for feeling down because it increases the production of neurotransmitters that create a balanced mood and a positive outlook by using all natural ingredients.

Once you start feeling better, take a closer look at your diet. Try to eliminate processed food as much as possible because it has little nutritive value. Plus all the chemicals can adversely affect your brain. Choose lean meats, wild caught fish, vegetables (especially leafy greens), fruit, nuts and whole grains. The phytonutrients in the fresh produce and protein and healthy fats will feed your brain, repair cellular damage and boost the power of the natural remedy.

The third step is to do some sort of exercise. Three to four times a week for thirty minutes each time is enough, but if you want to refresh yourself with moderate exercise daily, this is even better. Walking is a good way to start. As you know exercise reduces stress, moves the lymph and relaxes and rejuvenates your mind and body.

So that's it. A simple 3 step program that will turn feeling down into feeling good about your life again. Give this simple, easy-to-follow program a try by getting started today.

Has Your Antidepressant Pooped-Out?

When people are looking for how to treat depression, they usually discover that antidepressant medications will be at the top of their doctor's treatment recommendations. Because of all the advances in drug therapies, doctors readily prescribe antidepressants to ease symptoms of depression.

But depression isn't like a headache where just one dose of medication is all you need for relief. Even if your sadness and others discomforts improve with a particular medication, you can't stop taking it just because you feel better. Taking an antidepressant is a long-term proposition. An adequate level of the drug must be maintained in your system in order to prevent the return of symptoms.

However, many people who've been on a depression medication for a long period of time often discover that its effectiveness will "poop out." This phenomenon is known as "drug tolerance."

You see, continuous use of a medication for an extended length of time can cause your brain's nerve cell receptors to become saturated with a particular type of neurotransmitter (brain messenger).

In order to compensate for this excess, the total number of brain receptors decreases. And researchers have discovered that the receptors that are left behind don't work as well as they did before. This means that vital communication between receptors is lost, along with the ability to absorb sufficient amounts of medication.

But drug tolerance isn't the only reason an antidepressant can stop working. Experts who examine the best ways for how to treat depression have found other reasons why a depression medication ceases to be effective. Some of these reasons include:

"Breakthrough" Depression

Many people who are being treated for depression often find that their symptoms will come back, sometimes, even worse. Medical professionals have noted that this "breakthrough depression" can be caused by increased stress.

However, there are some cases where doctors are not able to find any apparent cause for this worsening of symptoms.

In either situation, the dosage of prescribed antidepressant is often increased to treat the reappearance of symptoms.

Aging

Just getting older can sometimes cause depression to become worse. Your body may not process medicine as efficiently as it did when you were younger.

And if you're older, it's likely you're not taking just one medication. Having a variety of medications working and interacting within your body can certainly impact the severity of depression symptoms. The chemicals contained in some medications can alter the way your body metabolizes antidepressants, making them less effective.

Other Physical Conditions

There are some health problems which can make depression worse. Some of these medical conditions include heart disease, Parkinson's disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, thyroid disorders, Vitamin B12 deficiency, dementia and Alzheimer's disease, lupus, and multiple sclerosis.

Adjusting dosage, augmenting with an additional antidepressant, or switching medicines completely, can often improve the return of symptoms. You might also want to ask your doctor about counseling psychotherapy to give your pharmaceutical treatment a boost.

No matter your situation, the best ways for how to treat depression that's come back will always include a thorough discussion with your doctor.

How to Take a Pre-Employment Personality Test

The good news is, you have an interview...

The bad new is, you have to take a pre-employment personality test.

What's the purpose of a pre-employment personality test? Do you want the real truth, or do you want me to make you feel better?

The real truth is that the purpose of the personality test is to absolve the Human Resource departments of various hiring agencies of making a mistake in hiring someone. Yes, you heard me right. Many HR departments have gone to the issuance of the various forms of these tests in lieu of a human being personally evaluating whether or not you would be a good employee for their company.

At one time, a personal interview was all it took to let a company know if you would be a good fit or not. Along comes the personality test. "I'll tell you if they're good or not."

An applicant can come in and appear to have the perfect personality, friendly,gregarious, and the hiring manager thinks, "I want this person on my team!" Unfortunately, a personality test is required prior to the official hiring. Do you know how many companies are missing out on hiring perfectly acceptable candidates? Far too many.

The truth is that because of our economic crunch, HR departments have been slashed. Most companies rely on pre-employment personality tests to give a good indicator of how well a potential employee will do in your company. Unfortunately, these tests have very little to do with how well an individual will do in any given job.

So, how do you get around these new "facts of life"?

You learn how to take a pre-employment personality test.

Strongly Agree or Strongly Disagree

First, you never, EVER answer "somewhat agree, mildly agree, somewhat disagree"...you always answer either "strongly agree" or "strongly disagree. You need to see these types of questions as True or False. Nothing else! Seriously...any other answer is simply designed to put you in the wrong. And if you answer anything BUT Strongly Agree or Strongly Disagree, the answer is WRONG!

Oh wait! There are no Right or Wrong answers...they said! They lied! If you don't answer the question correctly, you're wrong, and you won't get hired.

It's a total crock when they assure you that there are no right or wrong answers. There sure are!!!

True False

These are easier...sometimes. If there are words like:

"try", or "yell" or "shout" or "attempt" or "hope"...you can be sure that these answers are wrong. You are either right or wrong. If you have to try, or shout, or yell, or attempts, or hope, you WILL NOT GET THE JOB!

Do I Like Crowds and People?

You betcha!

The personality tests want to know if you like, even thrive on chaos, being with a lot of people, the answer is yes, Yes, YES!!! They want to know that you LOVE being with people. They want you to want to be able to do multiple things, while standing on your head, while handling a lot of tasks and people ALL at the same time! Any question that is asking if you like any of these things, the answer is YES!

Honesty Above All, Right?

It would be nice to believe this, but not so. You want the job? You have to learn to take the test. If possible take the test alone, and ask the questions out loud. That will help you to determine what the right answer is. The idea is to present yourself as honestly as possible, but the real truth is that you want...even NEED to get the job. In order to do that, you need to learn to take the test.

Your next personality test, try my suggestions. They'll at least get you the interview. I've worked with a number of people who were PERFECTLY qualified for the position, but failed the test because they answered it HONESTLY! How sad. A personal interview would have vetted them as perfect for the job, but the computer test, designed to filter out the dregs of the applicants, only serves to really level the playing field of the perfect applicants vs. the OMG NO WAY applicants.

How to Cope With Grief When You Have Clinical Depression

On Sunday night May10th 1998 at 9:18 pm, my life as I knew it changed forever. My beautiful wife of 21 years had died unexpectedly. She was a wonderful human being and she was my soul mate. Words cannot describe the feelings I experienced right after she passed away and for quite sometime to come. What made it worse was that I had already been diagnosed with clinical depression 12 years before my wife's death. Further, it never occurred to me at the time that grief and depression share a few of the same characteristics. During the time I was experiencing the normal signs of grief, I thought that my depression was getting worse. It wasn't until I talked with my doctor that I learned grieving was normal but I also had to be made aware that I could go into a deeper depression.

Suffering from depression and trying to cope is stressful enough. But if your spouse has just passed away, getting through the day can seem like an impossible task. Very understandable. So close your eyes, clear your head for a moment and take several deep breaths. Now, there are some steps that you can take to get you through the day and to help you in the long run so you can lead a more productive life even while your grieving and working through your depression. The first step covers the difference between grieving and depression, the next step focuses on your clinical depression, and the final steps deal with your grief. Yes, it can be done. If I could do it, so can you and here's how.

The following are 9 time tested steps that you need to take while you are grieving and you have clinical depression:

1. Learn to distinguish between grief and depression - Please keep in mind that if you've just lost a loved one it's only natural to experience intense sadness. The problem is that this emotion plus many of the other symptoms associated with grief also mimic those associated with depression including fatigue, sleep and appetite disturbances, low energy, loss of pleasure, and difficulty concentrating and making decisions. Here's an important point to remember, during grief you should still be able to interact with others, experience pleasurable experiences from time to time, and continue to function while coping with your grief. However it is a sure sign that you are depressed if you disconnect from others, you have no pleasurable experiences, a persistent negative self esteem /self confidence, and you all but shut down. Negative emotions will block your ability to deal with stressors on a daily basis so I strongly suggest that you follow and adhere to the next 8 steps just as soon as possible.

2. Readjust treatment for your clinical depression - During your time of grief more than likely you will suffer some increased and more intense bouts of depression. Be prepared to make some necessary adjustments to your current treatment plan including, but not limited to, (grief) counseling, medication, and coping skills. The period of adjustment varies with each person. If you've been seeing a psychotherapist in the past, he is probably qualified for grief counseling as well. If not ask him for some recommendations to a grief counselor. Since grief counseling is different from your regular counseling sessions you might want to write down some thoughts and questions prior to your first session. Here's a tip. Plan ahead for the "firsts" and how to cope. I'm referring to your first wedding anniversary, holidays, birthdays, etc. without your spouse. Those can really pack an emotional punch to your feelings.

3. You need to mourn before healing - You've probably figured it out by now so please remember that expressing your thoughts and emotions openly either in public or in private is not only natural but it is also essential to your healing process. Never let anyone try to tell you how long you should or shouldn't mourn. You grief is your own, no one elses. When your time comes to heal you will know it. Allow the healing to begin and remember that healing does not mean forgetting. Personally, I knew my healing started when I was able to look back on some of the good and not so good times my wife and I shared with more smiles than tears.

4. Give yourself time to mourn - The answer to the question, "How long should I take to mourn?" should always be, "As long as it takes." Take it one day at a time and grieve at your own pace. You might have heard that there are certain stages of grief. I don't buy into that because grief should not be sectioned or broken down into compartments since they could very well be repeated.

5. Join a grief support group - This is an extremely important step. Emotionally, it will help you to know you are not alone. The purpose of the group is to discuss your feelings with individuals who are also grieving. You might not want to participate at first and that's fine. Just listen to what some of the other members are experiencing. You'll be participating before you know it. Having the support of other people is the biggest factor that contributes to your healing process. Ask your therapist for some recommendations.

6. Talk to family and friends- To help you even further with your healing, go beyond your support group and talk to trusted family and friends about your spouse's death and how that makes you feel. Share your memories both good and bad along with your feelings. If help is offered from them, take it. That also includes any help regarding funeral arrangements, legal issues, etc.

7. Dealing with your spouse's belongings - Deal with your spouse's belongings only when you are ready to dispose of them. Again, that's in your own time. Don't let anyone decide for you when that should be done. I left my wife's clothes and her other items in my closet and chest of drawers for three years before I donated them to Goodwill.

8. Remember that grieving is normal - There will be times, either in private or in public, when you will encounter emotional "triggers". Something or someone will remind you of your spouse and you will begin to grieve. Afterward, you might feel confused, fearful, disoriented, frustrated, guilty, angry or even relieved. That's perfectly normal and is also part of the healing process.

9. Take care of yourself- Grieving is an emotionally and physically draining process so go easy on yourself. You might not feel like it but you must make sure to eat well balanced meals and get plenty of rest. If friends or relatives offer to cook some meals for you take them up on it. To avoid cabin fever take a brief walk just to stretch your muscles and get some fresh air..
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There are millions of people (including those who are clinically depressed) who have made it through the loss of a spouse, including myself. Follow the steps outlined in this article and over time you will make it through as well. Trust and believe in yourself. Life does go on so ensure that you continue living in the healthiest, most productive way possible by helping yourself now.

The Spiritual Meaning of Depression

Depression is a sensitive topic. My personal and professional experience has afforded me first-hand knowledge in navigating the emotions associated with depression. My work with a sports psychologist in a mentoring program provided an insightful understanding into the inner mind and human behaviour.

It is interesting to note that amongst the general population, 1 in 3 people will experience some form of depression at some stage of their life. Depression may range from a mild to chronic state. Among the two, mild depression is most common in people. It is worth noting that at some stage in one's life, you may have experienced a 'depressive mood.' It may be triggered by a host of causes, mainly due to external situations which were beyond your control.

I recall one summer I experienced a depressive mood that lasted some weeks. I didn't want to exercise; I sat on the couch, found it a challenge to socialise, had very little appetite and slept in on most days, fearing getting out of bed. It was a passing stage, which I neither fought with nor resisted. The most important thing was I never identified with it by holding the thought in my mind that 'I was depressed.' In my case, it was a period of time fraught with stress and anxiety, which I refused to deal with.

Exercise is usually a good activity to involve oneself during these periods, since it facilitates the connection of mind and body. Caution needs to be taken that you don't overtrain or over-exercise, since that may trigger additional symptoms. It is still largely unknown how much exercise is good for the depressed person. Research has shown that individuals benefit from as little as 15 minutes of exercise three times a week ranging up to 30 minutes of exercise everyday.

According to research studies when the deep limbic system is overactive, negativity and pessimism is usually evident in the depressed person. This overactivity is closely linked with depression. The hippocampus within the brain is responsible for memory and assists the brain learn and retain new information, while the amygdala controls fear and anxiety. There is evidence to suggest that a hormonal link between the hypothalamus and the brain could be linked to depression. The message to note is that depression may be triggered during periods of intense stress in one's life.

Depression reveals spiritual transformation

Depression may be referred to as the dark night of the soul which was a term coined by a mystic priest St John of the Cross. The inference is depression is a passage from darkness to light. It is the releasing of the ego's grasp on the soul. The spiritual definition behind depression should not be viewed as negative, rather as a test of faith - a move toward transformation. It is wise to seek those people whom you trust if you believe you are experiencing depression. They may include: counsellors, therapists, psychologists, family, friends and loved ones. Many people develop a strong sense of self and meaning after they've recovered from depression.

There is a spiritual transformation which occurs deep within their soul - as they discover their true nature. They discover a silent voice within - a deep, impenetrable love that will not die. There is a realisation that we are greater than the story we tell ourselves. Hope emerges out of darkness and suddenly the soul reconnects to the higher self which was always there beneath the veil of misery. We discover a deeper compassion for oneself and others.

My own period of experiencing low levels of depression taught me faith, courage and hope in the universal energy of life. I trusted I was deeply loved and cared for. How can a universe which created me and others not want to serve my growth? What creator or intelligence would be so cruel as to abandon me during my time of need? Know and trust that any experience unfolding in your life is drawing you closer to the light. Darkness serves to show you there is light at the end of the tunnel. That the transformation you undergo will serve your greatest potential as someone worthy of love.

Most Depression Is Diet Related

It seems strange to think that depression is diet related. But it has been estimated that 90% of chronically depressed people are deficient in proper nutrition.

Depression is a serious and debilitating illness which can break families apart. It can cause problems at work and often leads to suicide. The trend is, alarmingly, on the rise.

Depletion of the neurotransmitter called norepinephrine can result in loss of alertness, a poor memory and clinical depression.

The medical solution is to prescribe anti-depressants. These not only take time to work, but are toxic in nature. They do not deal with the cause of depression. Side effects can be extremely unpleasant. And one of them compounds the depression, making it worse.

There are as many causes of depression as there are people with it, so this is a complicated area to venture into. Everyone needs a different solution, to match their individual needs. And the best way to resolve the cause of your depression, on an individual basis, is through homeopathic treatment.

However, there is also something you can do yourself. Dr Abram Hoffer and Dr Andrew Saul (author of Fire Your Doctor) have discovered that depression can be significantly improved, if not cured, by increasing your nutrient intake.

It has been said that the west has never been do well fed but so poorly nourished. Not only do most people lack the knowledge of good nutrition, the modern farming methods are focused on quantity rather than quality. However, there are ways around this.

The production of norepinephrine can be increased dramatically by increasing your levels of vitamin C and the vitamin B complex. However, before you rush out and buy these vitamins as supplements, you need to be aware of problems they can cause.

The majority of nutrient supplements on the market today are isolated and synthetic. They are made in a laboratory. They can give you a short term favourable result, but can be harmful in the long term. Your body does nor recognise nutrients in isolation as it has been designed to get all its nutrition from the perfect balance of healthy food.

All nutrients are co-dependent on a complex array of other nutrients. So your best source of perfect nutrition is to eat healthy foods. With 90% of depression diet related, discover the way to cure it, along with any other ailments, with healthy eating.

By the way, all medical drugs upset the absorption of nutrients, further compounding your depression.

The Most Conclusive Depression Tests You Can Take

Life is like a roller-coaster, where the periods of happiness and sadness defined variety of emotions in our life. According to statistics, more than 16 percent of the global population is afflicted by depression and if left untreated, this problem will escalate into a global mental pandemic. You should be doing everything you can to find out whether you are clinically depressed and the depression tests will give a solid clue.

There are many common symptoms associated with clinical depression. The more obvious emotional symptoms are prolonged feelings of sadness, loss of interest in your previous hobbies and people around you, irritability, anxiousness, self-guilt and hopelessness. There are also physical symptoms you might be suffering from as well, including disturbed sleeping patterns, chronic headaches, drastic change in weight, nausea and so on. There is a possibility that severe heart problems may occur if depression continues for a prolonged period of time.

Depression is perceived to arise in a person due to different reasons. People who are hit by a traumatic incident, like the loss of a loved one, divorce or relationship problems, accident or natural disaster victim are more likely to go into depression. There are also claims that depression might also be hereditary. If the depression sufferer has a family member who is suffering or has suffered from depression, it is more likely that he or she might be suffering from it too.

Although depression is a serious mental illness, it can be cured with the proper effective treatments. However, for the treatments to be effective, you must first find out with the depression tests whether you are really suffering from it or just the normal 'blues'. Depressed people feeling constant worthlessness and lose confidence in help of others will tend to be anti-social and refuse to share their problems. Sometimes, it could be that their symptoms are caused by some physical problem and they are not even aware of it. It is vital you detect whether what you are suffering from is depression, so you could opt for fast and effective recovery.

The vital questions you need to answer in all depression tests are:
o Do you suffer from sleeping problems at night?
o Do you feel anxiety, constant stress or irritated all the time?
o Does any of your family member suffers/suffered from depression?
o Do you cry often without any specific reason?
o Do suicidal thoughts cross your mind constantly?
o Do you feel constant fatigue although there is no reason to be?
o Have you lost passion in your previous hobbies?
o Are you having problems in your sex life?
o Do you feel hopelessness and self-guilt all the time?

Self depression tests are extremely beneficial to people who feel that they have depression and is in need of a helping hand. If the tests shows probable disposition towards depression, one should quickly consult a specialist as soon as possible. Only an experienced specialist would be able to provide you with the effective treatments with permanent success.