Advice to depressed people
By katie0
@katie0 (5203)
Japan
February 19, 2011 5:34am CST
A good thing I would say to people who are sad right now is
Decide to act, feel and be happy for this minute. Then you try the next minute.
Life is created by moments, don't think about being happy for now on that could be too much, but if you commit to be it for just ONE MINUTE, you are beginning everything.
Happiness don't come from happenings, to win something, to accomplish something,to find the love of our life...
Happiness come as a state of spirit.
4 people like this
20 responses
@Galena (9110)
•
19 Feb 11
while you're at it, why not advise people with diabetes to try and produce insulin.
after all, depression is an illness caused by a malfunction in a body part too.
depression is a medical condition, not an emotion.
people don't seem to understand this. because one of the symptoms caused by the organ of the brain not manufacturing the right chemicals is a feeling of intense sadness.
depression isn't sadness. it can't be got rid of by thinking happy thoughts because it's a chemical inbalance in the brain.
1 person likes this
@thinkingoutloud (6127)
• Canada
19 Feb 11
I was going to post a response but I couldn't have said it better than you, Galena. So many people believe that depression is something you can "snap out of" if you just try hard enough. It's so frustrating. During my first bout of depression, many years ago, my mom actually said to me, "You have a lovely home, beautiful children, a good job... what on earth do YOU have to be depressed about???" I was so hurt by that. My answer to her was, "If I had a broken arm, you could see it and then you would understand what was wrong with me. You can't see what I "have" so you just won't get it." People so frequently mis-use the term "depression." They make a heavy sigh and say "I'm so depressed" when they really mean they are just unhappy or tired or disappointed, etc. A truly depressed person is not going to feel better on their own, any time soon. Depression requires diagnosis and then treatment such as therapy and medication. As you said, it's a chemical imbalance and that needs to be corrected.
1 person likes this
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
23 Feb 11
sometimes your just screwed with the chemical imbalance and thinking happy and changing things wont cut it
1 person likes this
@daveyboy54 (518)
• United States
19 Feb 11
Just wondering if you have ever been diagnode with depression or worse, clinical depression. If not, you may want to find out more about and possibly reevaluate your post.
@rodmarqc24 (78)
• Philippines
20 Feb 11
Depression happens to everyone and could be overcome if one knows how to deal with it. It's just a state of mind. Just forget things that make you feel low. Never entertain depression thoughts. Be happy !
@Galena (9110)
•
20 Feb 11
you are wrong.
depression is not a state of mind, it's an illness. a physical malfunction of the body.
sadness is a state of mind.
depression is not the same as sadness.
when someone has the medical condition known as depression, their brain doesn't work properly. I don't mean that it doesn't work right mentally, it has a physical flaw. it doesn't work right, it doesn't produce the right chemicals. a bit like when someone has diabetes they can't produce insulin. it's JUST as much a physical condition.
the sadness that comes with depression ISN'T the illness. it's a symptom of the illness. it's caused by the thing that is wrong with the body.
sadness is an emotion.
depression is a physical condition that has a symptom where the person suffering from it feels uncontrollably sad. not because they are sad but because the chemicals in their brain artificially create feelings of sadness.
they can't help it. it's not their fault, and they don't bring it on themself by their actions or thoughts.
unfortunately there is a great deal of stigma about depression, because people think that it's just being sad, and is caused by a negative attitude.
it's a physical illness. it's not their fault.
@daveyboy54 (518)
• United States
20 Feb 11
Better go bck and do do some serious research on the different types of depression. Are you familiar with clinical depression? Try telling anyone who has been diagnosed with clinical depression that it's all a state of mind and get their reaction. You might be very surprized.
1 person likes this
@hlgmdt (300)
• Philippines
19 Feb 11
I like your concept of committing to be happy even just for a minute until it lingers within you. This post is very apt and timely for me. I have had been feeling so blue and so low. Most of the time, I attribute my depression to the changes in my life, which have been quite unpleasant. However, I try to adopt a different perspective. As they say, it's not that what happens to you but how you deal with them and how you think about them. I'm starting to believe in the law of attraction - which emphasizes that positive thoughts attract positive outcomes and negative thoughts are powerful roots of negative things.
@CJscott (4187)
• Portage La Prairie, Manitoba
4 Mar 11
Happiness is not made by getting something, happiness is made by becoming something.
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
8 Mar 11
That is great advice! 
Life is full of little joyous moments and we must concentrate on them in order to be happy. Another reason for depression can be the chemicals in the foods that people are eating. Too many chemicals in processed foods can lead to chemical imbalances in the brain which cause depression. I know quite a few people who have gotten over their depression by replacing the junk food with organic raw vegan foods.
Getting out and becoming closer to nature also helps us to be happy...well it works for me anyway and sunlight is known to bring happiness. 
Life is full of little joyous moments and we must concentrate on them in order to be happy. Another reason for depression can be the chemicals in the foods that people are eating. Too many chemicals in processed foods can lead to chemical imbalances in the brain which cause depression. I know quite a few people who have gotten over their depression by replacing the junk food with organic raw vegan foods.
Getting out and becoming closer to nature also helps us to be happy...well it works for me anyway and sunlight is known to bring happiness. 
@hardworkinggurl (37063)
• United States
20 Feb 11
Absolutely we can all attempt and while some can accomplish others have a farther difficult time. There are many who choose to be negative at all times and it causes sadness.
Then there are others who cannot control their depressive state no matter how hard they try.
It would be of course happier if they try and or for those who need the additional to seek some help.
@MsPatriciaDV (636)
• Philippines
2 Apr 11
it's easier said than done. you don't know what's running in the mind of a depressed person, do you? happy thoughts won't help.
@juniorstringbean08 (455)
• Philippines
20 Feb 11
you are right. we do not have to base our happiness on something that we force to have, instead we put happiness in every minute of our lives. happiness is a choice we make, if things become turbulent it is normal to worry but not too much. since things are already complicated, we must not intend to complicate it even more. be happy and deal with problems the way it should be without hassling yourself but keeping a smile on your face. 
@whatrow (792)
• United States
30 Apr 11
I don't know about committing to be happy, but living for the moment is a very powerful tool. I am often so depressed and withdrawn that I am almost catatonic. I know how to bring myself out of it. Don't try to solve your problems. Just take one small step. Make one tiny motion--like moving your finger a few millimeters. After a few minutes, do it again. Very quickly you will feel you are able to take a larger step. Having taken some steps away from where you were, you will soon feel more relaxed and you will become more aware of your environment. That will enable you to take bigger steps and your depression will (at least temporarilly) be relieved. It works for me.
@KentarouKawasaki (14)
• United States
13 Mar 11
It's not that easy for those who are depressed. Depression is a result of a chemical imbalance in the brain. Low levels of various brain chemicals such as dopamine and serotonin can cause serious mood changes that are difficult to understand unless you are going through them yourself. It's like, you know that normal feeling you have? The feeling of just being alive, a new day? For people with depression, like me, that feeling is sadness. The norm is sadness and feeling happy just doesn't feel right, as sadness would not feel right to you. It reminds me of a quote that I think explains it fabulously. "Telling a person with depression to 'just be happy' is like telling a blind man to 'just look harder' or a deaf man to 'just listen closet'." In other words, contrary to some people's beliefs, it's not as easily controllable as you may think.
@jennifersangabriel (25)
• Philippines
4 May 11
my advice is to eat 100grams of chocolate a day. it is scientifically proven to uplift the mood of a sad/depressed person ^^
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
20 Feb 11
You seem to believe in the unproven ;idea that depressed people make themselves depressed and they should snap out of it. IOt does not matter ;how much they do, and how helpful they are to others, whether they go and sing while they clean house, they will still be depressed. A depressed person can smile, but he is still depressed. For them, forming the mouth into a smile is a grin, because they still have the sadness inside. So I can make my mouth into a smile, and someone can see me and think that I am happy, but I still feel depressed. The only thing that keeps me from going further in is that I know that God loves me and when I die when I am extremely old, iunless the second coming comes soon, I will last get rid of this depression.
@rameshchow (4426)
• India
20 Feb 11
Sadness is a state which is mostly commonly playing with human minds, no age limit, no stage limit, it will play with all.
And motivating a person to bring out him/her from the sadness is a great job, you are doing this, all the very best.
And
who are in sadness my advice is "Don't give a big solution for a small problem...".
@jasper40t (468)
•
19 Feb 11
I agree with every word you say, acting makes it better for you, well as long as it is a positive act! i just cmon here whether im sad or happy!
@jhaidro (877)
• Philippines
19 Feb 11
I think that one thing that would also help is to use our defense mechanisms. But for people who are not getting any better given many interventions by the people around, I think that medical help would not hurt.
At times, I think it would be best to be open for anything that might come. Good or bad, we just have to accept that some things are beyond our control. In this way, it will somehow lead us away from depression.
