Living with Depression

Depression is the demon  and many people can relate to what it is like to be caught in the grips of it.

Depression is often misunderstood unless you happen to have suffered from it. Many people who are ignorant about the disorder believe that a depressed person can just "snap out of it" when the truth is that it is not that easy.

read more about how depression impacts your life here

The news is not all hopeless because depression is a treatable mental illness. Therapy does work.

 The latest research shows that there are genetic links to depression .

This is good news because major depression affects about 20% of people at any given time in their lives and for 4% of people, their depression is chronic and harder to treat. Exploring this genetic connection can help researchers to develop treatments that will help those whose depression is harder to treat.

These findings won't make new medications available immediately; it will take another decade at least but the good news is that progress is being made.

In the meantime the best treatment for depression is a combination of efforts. These include lifestyle changes which means switching to a healthier, all-natural diet, avoiding over-consumption of alcohol and regular exercise. Learning stress reducing techniques and practicing them is another key to successful depression treatment. Therapy, especially cognitive behavioral therapy in which a professional teaches you how to change your reaction to situations can help you to gain a more positive outlook. Lastly, an anti-depressant can be useful, especially in the beginning of treatment. This can help give you the "fight" to face your inner demons and work to pull yourself out of this often debilitating condition.

Depression that goes untreated will not go away on its own. 

If you have been experiencing symptoms of depression for several weeks and it is not lifting, seek out help for your depression!

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