DEPRESSION
The evidence surrounding the importance of mindfully taking the time out to unwind – either on your own or in a therapy room – has been mounting steadily over recent times. Here’s a look at what the experts have to say.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), more than 264-million individuals worldwide are affected by depression. It is not an easy illness to define, reveals the American Psychiatric Association (APA), because symptoms can vary from mild to severe and can include all, or some, of the following:
- Feeling sad or low in mood
- Loss of interest or pleasure in favourite activities
- Changes in appetite
- Insomnia or sleeping too much
- Loss of energy or increased fatigue
- Increase in purposeless or slowed movement/speech
- Sense of worthlessness or guilt
- Distorted thinking, difficulty focusing/making decisions
- And, most seriously, thoughts of death or suicide
Medically referred to as ‘major depressive disorder’, depression has an impact on how we feel, think and act. It differs from the usual ups and downs we all experience when life is exciting (happy) or challenging (stressed), as it can be long lasting and affect how we function at school, work, the home and within our greater communities.
As a major symptom of depression is lack of motivation, it’s important to find a therapy, activity, or support organization – or all three – that helps to lift the heaviness of having to function every day when you don’t have any incentive to do so. There are many therapies recommended by, amongst others, the WHO. Sadly, most individuals look at the list and don’t have the motivation to start any of them. Finding a therapist who listens and understands your particular circumstances can help you find the motivation and help you to cope with the debilitating effects that depression brings.
Increasingly, research is revealing the importance of relaxation in the reduction of depressive symptoms. Many suffering from depression are encouraged by organisations to make times during the day to relax and there are some companies who encourage their staff to take time out to meditate. Unless there is support most of us do not have the will power, or self-discipline, when in a depressed state to try to relax or mediatate. For a long time there’s been an unhealthy work ethic rampant in the business world that you have to be seen working very long hours. This leads to excessive tiredness which, in turn, leads to depression. Fortunately, the tide is turning and the benefits of relaxation are being considered in many businesses. What was thought of as being ‘lazy’ is now acknowledged as being healthy!
Although exercise has long been known to help those with depression because it unwinds muscles that become stressed and gives them an opportunity to relax back into their normal length, lack of motivation once more has to be taken into consideration. Many companies in Japan have introduced short exercise programmes for employees to incorporate into their working day to encourage health (and productivity, of course) and this has also resulted in workers saying that they look forward to exercising with workmates and feel their spirits are lifted with the interaction. A few companies in the Western world are also looking into this form of activity to improve conditions for their employees.
However, where do you start if the company you work for doesn’t have facilities to exercise or relax? Or, you work on your own.
Probably the best place to start is to experience a deep relaxation session. You’ll feel the benefits immediately. My Deep Relaxation Therapy helps you to access a place where you’ll feel a deep sense of calm and of confidence. Up until fairly recently, it was thought that the brain couldn’t change, couldn’t learn new structual ways of working. Ongoing research is proving that the brain can, and does, change according to how we live and think thoughout our lives. Being in a deep state of relaxation allows the neural pathways, which are the links that give information to the brain, to change. In time, the pathways gradually change the brain to cope more positively to the stresses of everyday life.
Each person is unique and by listening to clients and encouraging them to try some of my relaxation techniques on their own, as well as experiencing total relaxation in a session, my intention is to help them see their uniqueness.