Beating Depression

Depression is a serious illness and people generally have the wrong idea about what it means to be depressed. There are different types of depression, and a depressive person can have a far better life, if they ask and get help. Unfortunately a lot of people still see the stigma of having a mental illness, and would rather suffer in silence than seek any professional help.

When a family member has a depressive illness it will affect the whole family, and it can even destroy the family life together. A person who is depressive will need to get medical help. If they had any other type of illness they would ask for the medical help and this should be no different.

The other problem that a depressive person faces is seeing the media's interpretation on the subject. A person has a day when they are feeling sad, and it is said they are depressed. They might be, but it could also be they are just feeling sad, which happens. A person has a stressful time, and they are unable to cope. They are also said to be depressed, again it might be true but it could be that they need to manage their time and stress.

People will often use the term depressed when they have no idea what the term means medically. The result is that the person who is medically depressed will think, their symptoms are totally different from what they see and hear, and they will try and work out what is wrong with them. They might have heard horror stories from the past and these will keep them from asking for the help they need.

Each one of us has to learn how to deal with stress in our lives, and we might even have times of depression. How we deal with these times can be important, and often people will turn to food as their source of comfort. Food, stress and depression are linked and there are times when we need to stop and see how we can change the way we react to different situations.

Chapter One

All of us have to deal with stress, and many people suffer from depression. Food may something that is not on your list of priorities at the moment. The thought of sitting down to a meal or, worse still, having to prepare one, is enough to kill your meager appetite.

Maybe you are someone who doesn't bother to eat because of your depression. You might be struggling through the day on cigarettes and endless cups of coffee, or even alcohol.

On the other hand, you could be one of those people who go straight for the fridge or larder the minute you are feeling down. Your day is spent eating vast amounts of filling foods, you eat even if you are not particularly hungry, and hoping that feeling full will dull the pain.

There again you might be someone who will go to extreme and eat nothing all day, but find yourself in the kitchen at two in the morning cooking bacon sandwiches.

Eating too little or too much is not going to help to make you feel less depressed in fact; it will do just the opposite. If you virtually starve yourself you will feel more tired and listless. You could even end up being physically ill. Overeating will make you uncomfortable and gain weight.

Every time you look in the mirror and see your pasty face and obese body you will hate yourself. And if your depression has been triggered off by weight problems you will feel even worse and it will be harder to control your urge to stuff.

First, recognize how useful food is. The right food eaten in the right amounts will give you energy and keep you healthy, and you need both these things now. Food can also be a great comforter. Think back to your childhood and remember how a meal or a particular food could often make you feel so much better. But before you decide what you are going to eat, you need to cope with the problem of how to eat.