When I Finally Admitted I Was Depressed And Cured It.

Winter has always been a difficult time for me in Michigan, with its many gray days, and not much sunlight. I awoke, feeling heavy, sluggish, and still exhausted. I wanted to pull the covers back over my head and return to my secure sleep state. I sensed something was wrong but really didn't seem to care what it was. I knew I did not want to face another grueling day, outside the world of sleep. I felt scared, but didn't know why. I dragged myself, out of bed, and into the bathroom. I could not decide whether I wanted to shave or shower first, then I made that extremely difficult decision to shower. Typical thoughts that would run through my head every morning, would I ever get over this feeling? Why was I feeling like this all the time? Maybe this is normal and I will eventually get over it?

Finally, I was fully awake small tasks seemed monumental, drudgery and overwhelming but I pushed on. I started my day by looking for faults in everything but myself. I was very short tempered with those closest to me and I didn't even realize it, then out the door to work I go. The rest of the day, at work, I felt numb people were talking to me, asking questions, but nothing was getting thru. On the outside I put up a great front so no one could see, but I was trapped inside a deep dark world, a personal hell.

I was forgetting things very easily, even if I wrote them down. Organization, no matter how I organized things, didn't seem to matter, because I was depressed and felt hazy. I couldn't decide exactly what to start on because it all seemed overwhelming. When I did start something it was like climbing a mountain and I couldn't see the top. Sometimes I felt a sinking feeling or a sense of little hope for anything. I felt like no one knew what I was going through or could help me. I would easily get angry and irritated at everything and everyone. There were times of Panic/Anxiety attacks in the middle of the night, those were not fun.

My typical day was like that movie "Ground Hog Day" with Bill Murray where he had to keep repeating the same day over and over till he got it right. What I found out later was that somewhere, I allowed myself to tumble into a state of depression and had not realized it or even truly acknowledged it. When I did finally acknowledge I was depressed and needed to do something it took me along time to find the right solutions by trial and error. The only person that can drag you out of depression is you, but I have to tell you the big secret to my success was the pharmaceutical grade St. Johns Wort that I took for about 6 months. If you need to know more about what I was taking come to my forum I go into more detail there.

Now I am doing great, I have focus, drive, energy and care what happens to myself and others. I jump out of bed, can't wait to face all of the issues at hand (They are issues now, before they were monumental problems). I don't have the emotional tendencies that I had before. I am by no means walking around with "rose colored glasses", but more like a clear view now without the numb hazy feeling.

Depression is an emotionally draining journey that many will go through in their lifetime, but depression does not have to rule your life there is plenty of help available. Answers and treatments will vary from person to person what works for one person may not work for another. Allowing the state of depression to control you and be the norm will negatively affect you and others. Depression drags you down to depths that you feel you don't have the energy to accomplish anything or even beat depression itself, a vicious cycle. Depression appears to cause many physical illness's that can be over come with treatment. It's time now, for you to pull out of the emotional numbness and rollercoaster that you step on to, but can't remember where.

Being able to feel normal and handle life is your right. When people look at others that are cool and calm they appear to have everything under control that might not be the case, because many of us can put of a really good front. Putting up a good front is ok for a while, but you need to address the disorders. "Depression slowly erodes your will and breaks down any attempt at your happiness for a normal life this is not what anyone wants.

Finally, I want all of you to know that depressed people are highly intelligent, loving and sensitive people that have a lot to contribute to the world, but they need to realize that they are depressed, admit it and find a solution.

- Thomas Fullerton

http://www.toolsfordepression.com/phpBB2

About The Author
Thomas Fullerton is a unique individual with experiences in many area of business and in life. Experience came very young with his talents in music to running a Cider Mill and Apple Orchard at age 11. He continues to excel.
pd@toolsfordepression.com

Anxiety Relief Starts with this Belief

If you have anxiety, congratulations – identifying the condition of anxiety for what it is may be the most difficult step in moving beyond it. The next step is to determine why anxiety has arisen in your life, and then implement a strategy to reverse the trend.

In most cases, the cause of anxiety will lie in your thought processes, meaning the way you mentally perceive your world and what you expect from it. An anxious mind is often dominated by fear based thinking and negative expectations. Aside from anxiety, are you also a worrier? A nervous Nelly? Do you experience stress often? If so, don't be surprised. Anxiety, worry, stress and nervousness are all kind of the same thing – fear based expectations about future events or the immediate environment. Now some worrying is okay, as it is worry that can motivate us to take action to improve our lives. And it's nervousness that helps keep us alert and on guard in truly dangerous situations. However, problems arise if we develop a mental habit of worrying about trivial matters, or if normal everyday situations like socializing cause us to become nervous. Theoretically, everything we do in every moment of our lives has the potential for creating worry, nervousness, or various anxiety symptoms. There's always the possibility that something might not go the way we want it to. If we let the perpetual flow of negative possibilities dominate our thinking, then sooner or later anxiety will arise. Eventually, even when involved in relaxing activities, the overload of negative thoughts, worries, and fears continuing to linger in our subconscious mind creates a constant anxiety or stress sensation. You can learn more about the long-term symptoms of anxiety, including panic attacks, agoraphobia, depression and derealization, at http://www.MC2Method.com/Anxiety.

However, while understanding the origin of your anxiety symptoms may be comforting, you'll probably be more interested in treating the anxiety and getting on with your life. Of course, the logical solution would be to start thinking thoughts that are more positive. However, if you've tried this over simplified and outdated advice before, you've probably discovered that it's nearly impossible to think positive thoughts all day long, when the little voice in your head constantly argues back - and intensifies anxiety. What you really need is a replacement belief that can forever free you of that negative, fearful inner voice. You need a replacement belief from which thoughts, realistic thoughts, will be drawn – a belief that will be the basis of your new inner voice.

In order to begin reversing anxiety disorder, the belief that I suggest you start cultivating is one that says "I can handle it". Whatever you're worried about, whatever you're nervous about, whatever that negative possibility is that you fear happening, realize that you could handle it if it did happen. In fact, this is the truth. You've probably been through quite a bit in your life already to be where you are now. For all the situations and emotional events that have come along so far, there obviously hasn't been one yet that you couldn't handle. You're alive; you're reading this article about anxiety; you have survived everything so far. And if the past is any indicator of the future, you'll survive many more. So why surrender the beauty of your present moment to faulty thinking and anxiety? The human mind's ability to solve problems and endure emotional adversity is enormous. And when it comes to emotional possibilities, the belief that "I can handle it" is a true one. The only reason you're encountering excessive anxiety or nervouness is because you've started to falsely believe otherwise. Try cultivating a real feeling in your heart that "I can handle whatever happens". Start seeing your world, your future, and your every moment in the light of this new perception, and in the presence of this one true belief, your worry thoughts will lose their power and you will overcome anxiety.

About The Author
Reid Reichardt is a self-development author with a specialty in anxiety issues. His online anxiety treatment programs can be found at http://www.MC2Method.com and http://www.AnxietyAway.com.
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