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First steps of healing depression

First steps of healing depression

Christian Counselling for depression in Calgary.

Has it been a while since you really felt good, since the world looked bright and you really felt pleasure? Are you feeling down, depressed, irritable and unable to think straight?

Have your normal sleep patterns completely disintegrated? Does it seem like exhaustion and immobility of depression have become your new normal?

 

Are thoughts of death becoming more and more common for you and has your depression progressed even to the point that you have thought about suicide?

If the above sounds way too familiar for comfort for either yourself or a loved one, then perhaps it's time to take action and to see how Henze & Associates can offer you a way out of depression:

  • Depression counselling in Calgary
  • Christian depression counselling in Calgary
  • Counselling for depression and suicide.

Depression is hard.

If you've never experienced depression yourself, imagine with me for a moment.

Imagine what it would be like to be unable to laugh, and unable to cry. To feel like your head is in a grey cloud that follows you everywhere and all of your thoughts just echo in a dark depressed way inside of it. Imagine living with the sense that you have no impact and the world has no impact on you -- where your only release from the fog of depression is sleep but the idea of waking up for another 16hrs fills you with dread. Imagine living inside a glass cell that you can see out of but no one else seems to be able to see you inside of or hear your pleas to get out.

That's depression...

That's why, for so many people who struggle with depression, thoughts of taking their own lives actually feel comforting.

If you, or someone you love is experiencing this, know that things don't have to stay this way. There is a way out of depression and here is a map of the first steps on that journey.


You must reach out!

Recognize that doing nothing will make depression worse. It's a mark of strength and courage to reach out for help. Reaching out for help is simply admitting that depression is a real problem and that your mental health matters both to yourself and your family or friends. It's an act of bravery to look deep inside yourself, find the last kernel of hope and belief that you can still live and then draw upon such to reach out for help for your depression.


Find emergency contacts.

Make an emergency call list. Set up an agreement with at least 3-5 key family members or close friends that you will call them if you become suicidal, if your depression or mood suddenly gets worse or if you feel extremely vulnerable. Try to ensure that at least some of them could be available for face-to-face contact and could take you to the hospital if necessary.


Cut all possible stress out of your life.

There are times to play the hero and rescue others, and there are times to let go of anything unnecessary and just focus on taking care of yourself. Healing from your depression must come first. Do an evaluation of your life and make the changes needed to get stress down to the lowest level possible. Consider learning how to meditate. Mindfulness based meditation is well recognized for having positive effects on depression.


Push yourself to exercise.

It really doesn't take much to start changing your depressed mood. Even a brisk 30min walk and a few stretches, taken daily, can do dramatic things for depression -- if you maintain the routine. Exercise is well recognized for boosting endorphin and serotonin levels in the brain and easing the effects of depression. Yes, it's incredibly hard to do, but it works - especially when done with groups of people with whom you can connect.


Fix your diet.

Depression and junk food cravings are virtually synonymous. Carbs and sugars can instantly boost you out of a depressed mood - but the blood sugar crash that follows simply isn't worth it. Focus on high fat proteins (especially those rich in Omega-3 fatty acids), vegetables, and primitive carbohydrates. Barry Sears' book - The Anti-Inflammation Zone Diet - is one work I recommend for every person who struggles with depression.


Get enough sleep.

Sleep deficits and depression are strongly linked. Try a regular schedule of turning off the computer/TV a couple of hours before bed and reading a real bound-paper book in bed under dim lighting. If sleep disruptions continue, consider talking with your family doctor about sleep medication and/or a possible sleep study referral to see if something more serious is going on. Sleep and wellbeing are integrally linked with the successful treatment of depression!


Consider anti-depressant medication.

Anti-depressant medications will not fix depression. They will, however, take the distress levels of such down considerably and have been proven to significantly speed up recovery when combined with weekly counselling. If you are not recovering from depression by way of the above and counselling alone, they are worth considering.


Get into Christian Counselling for depression.

Christian Counselling for depression can not only offer the standard skills and techniques needed to address the depression and allow you to sustain your own mental health, it can also address the roots of depression. So much of depression is rooted in guilt and shame issues - areas of life that are deeply linked to the elements of faith we are uniquely positioned to address.

When you fix the roots of the problem you can finally end the cyclical patterns of tolerable recovery followed by yet another relapse into depression. The unique perspective we offer through 17 years of practice in Calgary as Christian Counsellors can help you to simultaneously address both the mental, emotional and the spiritual aspects of depression and empower you to change your life for good.

If you're looking for counselling for depression that really works and fully addresses all parts of who you are, then perhaps it is time to reach out and see what Henze & Associates can offer to you?

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403 819 3545 (Text message capable)

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403 819 3545, (Toll Free) 1 877 922 3143

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