Hope in Depression

What if you’ve been feeling awful for a while? You feel intensely tired,
sad and perhaps also with no prospect of getting better. You may be
angry or disappointed in yourself or in other people. You may feel that
you no longer have control over your own life. Sometimes that can
even lead to you not finding your life too valuable. Yet there is hope! In
this article I will explain you why.

Chances are you have depression. That can be because of things that
you have been through or that you are still in the middle of. Such as the
loss of your job, a divorce, problems with your health or things that
have been done to you such as abuse, cheating or low self-esteem.
Stress, fatigue and anxiety can also contribute to your negative feelings.

Many people hide these feelings from others. If you do too, then the
feelings can slowly take over your life and blind you to a hope for a
better future.

You look like a mountain against everything. You feel tired and don’t
feel like doing anything. Almost everyone suffers from this from time to
time and usually it goes away on its own. But sometimes it takes longer,
sometimes weeks or months and you have the feeling that it won’t go
away. Your emotions can get the upper hand, causing your image of
your situation to spiral into a negative spiral.

Self pity
You may find yourself in a situation where you can no longer think of
solutions. When you develop pity and anger about it, depression can
develop.

An important cause for depression is how you view your situation. The
risk when you are prone to depression is that your thinking pattern is
too focused on yourself. A depressed person usually feels self-pity as
well. When sad circumstances create anger, frustration, and self-pity,
the door to depression is open.
You may feel that no one cares about you anymore and that you are on
your own. While there are always people who love you and for whom
you have meaning. You can easily lose sight of that because of the
attitude that is focused on yourself. You will only look for confirmation
of your difficult situation. Even if you don’t know it yet, there is always
someone who cares about you. If you read further on this website you
will be able to discover more about it.

Talk about your depression

It can also be quite difficult for your partner, family and friends to deal
with your depression. You don’t just have depression, it will also affect
the people around you. Many people find it difficult to ask and that can
make it all the more difficult for you to share your feelings. Don’t blame
them either. Try to indicate how they can help you, so that they know
what they can do.

Depression is not a shame

Depression can happen to anyone. It can be associated with anxiety
and low self-esteem. With the feeling that you never do anything right.
you may feel that you cannot or are not allowed to enjoy the moment.
If you don’t bring these feelings out, they will eat you up from the
inside. Shame can be paralyzing.

Don’t be ashamed of your depression. About 1 in 5 people will suffer

from depression at some point in their lives. So you are not alone.
Depression does not always have an identifiable reason. But even if
you’re depressed for an embarrassing cause, it’s still good to share your
feelings with someone you can trust. For example, if you have been
abused or have done things yourself that you know are not right. If you
don’t have anyone close to you who can trust, you can go to a
professional counselor.

Not everyone is able to get out of depression on their own. This often
requires help from relatives or a professional. Depression is not a flaw
in one’s character, a mental disorder or an emotional dip. Sometimes
deep emotional wounds or mistakes from the past lie behind it. Then
often professional help and sometimes medicines are needed to get
out of the depression again.

But this can lead to fighting symptoms, without really solving the cause
of the problem. To really get to the heart of the matter you will have to
look for the reason that you exist. What is your basis? If you read
further on this website, you can discover more about that.

Is your partner or close friend depressed?

If you don’t have depression yourself, but would like to know what your
partner or a close friend is going through, hopefully the following tips
will help you;

 Take the depression seriously. Don’t think too easily that the
other person is faking it; it’s a heavy time that he or she is going
through.

 Ask how you can help him or her. There are no ready-made
solutions, but by talking about it together you can discover what
you can help with.

 Be there for him or her. Don’t avoid your partner or friend

because you find it hard to respond in the right way. Maybe
you’re afraid it will make you depressed yourself. Help him or her
by being a window of hope. Just be there for him or her and show
him or her that there are also beautiful and nice things in life.

Steps to a positive and meaningful future

You will have to start to discover again why your life is not hopeless.
You may start to experience that your existence is meaningful. You will
have to take steps and make conscious effort not to get stuck in your
own misery.

Often you are too attached to your self-worth and certain expectations
you have of yourself or that you think others have of you. You will have
to learn to let go. Only then will you move forward with your life.
The most important thing is that you (re)discover who you are and why
it is important that you exist. If you read on, I would like to help you to
discover why your life is important as well.