I am suffering from severe depression. 24 hrs negative feelings about myself. Feeling of loneliness .lost interest interest in each and every work. Always feel that my life has no worth now. I cannot do anything in my life. No self interest. Lost all hope that I can ever feel happy now or I can get better. 0% hope left of getting better. Feeling of fear from life. Don't want to live this life. Feeling of guilty .feeling that now no one can help not even doctors. Counselling is also not helping me. I use to keep myself busy then to m not getting better. Please suggest me something doctor please. No one is able to help me now.

Ms. Rachna MishraPsychologist7yrs exp

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Hello Lybrate User. Step 1: Get 9 Hours of High Quality Sleep You?d be amazed at how big of an impact sleep has on your mental health and well being. If you aren't currently getting 7.5?9 hours of high quality sleep, then this is the ONLY thing you should focus on in order to start overcoming depression. Consider the fact that sleep deprivation has been linked to: Depression Delirium Hallucinations Impaired Cognition and an Increased Risk of Preventable Accidents Not to mention, an increased risk of infections, cancer, and overall mortality. Now consider that similar studies were conducted with subjects who received more than enough high quality sleep. The results were: Improved memory Lower systemic inflammation Improved immune function Elevated mood Learning and problem-solving abilities improved I don?t think I need to spell this out any further. Sleep is incredibly important. Sleep in a dark room. Get to bed before midnight. Turn off all electronics 1?2 hours before bed. Supplement with Magnesium and fish oil. And turn the thermostat down. I promise you will feel like a different person with just this simple switch. Also, it?s important to note that regulating your hormones requires that you wake up around the same time every single day. It doesn't matter when you go to bed as much, just that you wake up around the same time. If you need to get less sleep to wake up on time, that?s fine. Just make up for it with a nap later in the day to keep your hormonal secretion consistent. Step 2: Exercise Outside for 60 Minutes a Day One of the biggest causes of depression is lack of physical activity. As they say, ?Motion creates emotion?. If you are stagnant and stuck behind a desk all day, it?s hard to stay happy no matter who you are. Study after study after study has illustrated the tremendous importance of daily exercise. From: Decreased depression Elevated mood, reduced stress, and less anxiety Improved blood flow to the brain The production of new brain cells Improves memory Improved discipline, impulse control, and decision making In fact, there are SO many benefits to exercise, that the Harvard Business Reviewhas stated that regular exercise should be a mandatory part of any job description. Luckily, studies have shown that you don?t have to exercise for hours every day to reap these benefits. In fact, just 150 minutes of weekly exercise (that?s 30 minutes every weekday) is more than sufficient to improve your mood, and general well being. I highly recommend that you exercise outside if at all possible. Stanford researchers found that walking in nature quantifiable reduced symptoms and feelings of depression among all patients. Step 3: Clean Up Your Diet Most people underestimate the impact that their food choices have on their mental and physical health. Studies have shown that by changing nothing other than their diets, 32% of patients were able to completely eradicate their depression COMPLETELY. While this might not be a cure all, it?s a huge part of beating depression and living a happy life. Here are a few guidelines to get you started. Eliminate as many processed foods as possible Consume slow burning foods such as raw vegetables and fibrous carbohydrates throughout the day to properly regulate glucose levels in the brain Consume your biggest and highest carb meal after your workout or at dinner Skip breakfast and opt for coconut oil coffee or eat a very protein and fat rich breakfast (no carbs!) That?s it! Step 4: Spend More Time With People Depression breeds isolation and isolation breeds depression. It?s a vicious cycle that can be hard to escape from. If you have taken action on all of the previous steps, then you should have overcome your depression enough (if not completely beaten it) to start getting back out with your friends and family. Start small and set the goal of going out with friends once or twice per week. The more time you spend around other people that you enjoy the harder it will be to stay depressed. Ideally, I?d recommend that you find friends at the gym or at a local workout group since fit people tend to be mentally healthy as well as physically healthy. Empty Your Mind with a Daily Journal Your brain is the most important complicated and important organ in the human body. It?s the command center for everything in your life and every function that your body has. However, most of us have no idea how to maintain a healthy and optimized brain. We were never taught how to clean and declutter our minds so that they can function at the highest levels. Journaling is like whispering to oneself and listening at the same time. ~Mina Murray And as a result, most of us are carrying an endless amount of baggage, confusion, and frustration that is hindering us from living normal and exciting lives. According to a significant amount of peer-reviewed research, journaling is one of the best ways to declutter your mind, manage stress, and overcome internal struggles. By regularly journaling about your depression, and about your life in general, you are able to organize and prioritize your thoughts and emotions. It gives you an opportunity to detach yourself emotionally and analyze your experiences, thoughts, and feelings on a logical level. It?s kind of like a form of cerebral urination. If you drink a ton of water over the course of the day and don?t take the time to relieve yourself, your bladder is going to explode and you will experience excruciating pain. Your brain is the same way. If you are continually filling your mind with new information, stimulus, and experiences, you will need to empty it occasionally to ensure that it continues to function properly. Unless you take a ?Brain dump?, your brain will eventually become so cluttered and frazzled that your mind will explode into a state of stress, disorder, and chaos creating an environment for depression to thrive. Take 10 to 15 minutes a day and simply write about what you?re feeling. 6. Work with a Professional Coach To Get Faster Results in Half the Time One of the biggest life hacks for escaping depression and living an amazing life is, without a doubt, leveraging the power of professional coaching to accelerate your results and move forward faster. When I was trying to work through and overcome my depression, I found that it was difficult to gain perspective on my problems and internal struggles. I didn?t know what questions to ask myself or how to approach the underlying causes of my depression because, frankly, I?d never been shown how. By working with a professional coach, I was able to see my depression for what it really was. I learned about the power of state management and focusing on the positive aspects of life versus the negative. I was able to accelerate my path to healing and shortcut my personal growth by working with someone who had been there and done that. If you want to beat your depression as fast as humanly possible, I strongly recommend that you work with an experienced life coach. The right coach will help you identify and eradicate the patterns leading to your depression and, more importantly, help you create a life that is not only free from depression but filled with joy and excitement. Although I?m pretty biased towards the amazing coaches that we have here at Knowledge for Men, I want to make sure that everyone reading this understands the importance of finding the right coach. If you go through the application process with our team and decide that you need someone with a different skill set and expertise that?s fine! The important thing is that you get help and find a coach with whom you feel comfortable. 8. Free Yourself of Worry, Endless Concerns and Anxiety (Meditation) In meditation, I can let go of everything. I?m not Hugh Jackman. I?m not a dad. I?m not a husband. I?m just dipping into that powerful source that creates everything. I take a little bath in it ~Hugh Jackman Meditation is the equivalent of shutting out all of the open tabs and programs on your computer to free up the RAM and increase your processing power. It is one of the single most powerful weapons in your arsenal to fight depression Extensive research has been conducted that have shown some pretty amazing and surprising findings regarding the effects of meditation. Increases the production of neurotransmitters like serotonin Shrinks the brain?s fear center Deactivates the anxiety and depression centers of the brain Rebuilds the hippocampus of the brain Stimulates the same Alpha and Theta brain waves Doctors use to combat depression And that?s just the tip of the iceberg. Meditation is proven to help: (source) Lower blood pressure Alleviate symptoms of insomnia Reduce depression and anxiety Reduce pain Reduce symptoms of IBS Aid in smoking cessation The bottom line is that meditation is a wildly positive habit that can improve nearly every area of your life if it?s practiced with consistency. But how do you actually get started meditating and how often do you need to do it to reap the benefits? While there is no conclusive evidence prescribing an exact method or length of time in order to achieve optimal results, most experts agree that 10-30 minutes of meditation per day is all that is necessary to experience real and lasting changes. I?m a great supporter of Transcendental Meditation. I?ve been using it for almost 40 years now ? and I think it?s a great tool for anyone to have, to be able to utilize as a tool for stress. ~Clint Eastwood Personally, my favorite way to meditate is to pick an instrumental song that gets me into a positive (but relaxed) mental state, set a timer, and then simply get present in the moment for 10-20 minutes. I don?t do any sort of fancy visualization techniques or chant weird mantras from an audio tape. I just sit in silence, feel my body and my breath, and pay attention to the present moment. Anytime I notice my mind wandering, I gently redirect it back to the present moment by noticing the music and the rhythm of my breath. And that?s it. If you want a more in-depth and comprehensive guide to meditation and mindfulness then I recommend that you check out Leo Babauta?s Beginner?s Guide to Meditation. Leo is one of the most profound and inspiring guests that I?ve ever interviewed and his simple approach to life and happiness will rock you to your core and challenge the fundamental ways in which you view life. If nothing else, I highly recommend that you give his blog a read and learn from his wealth of wisdom and experience. If you are willing to commit to this practice for 30 days, alongside a comprehensive diet, exercise, and social regimen, I promise that your depression will be dramatically reduced (if not completely eradicated). 9. Reconnect with Nature to Unlock Your Primal Side I personally believe that one of the biggest causes of depression in the modern world is our society?s disconnection from the natural world. 10,000 years ago, we had no choice but to spend time in nature. We were constantly surrounded by plants, animals, and awe-inspiring views that reminded us of our place in the cosmos and of the insignificance of our troubles. But today, we live in a world where nature is scarce and a narcissistic focus on the self is abundant. We forget that we are nothing more than animals and are only a small part of this planet that we call home. According to research published by the Journal of Extreme Physiology and Medicine in 2013, exercising outdoors will not only produce endorphins but has the ability to improve self-esteem, reduce feelings of depression, anger, and tension. In fact, a recent study conducted by researchers from the University of Essex found that walking in nature reduced depression scores in nearly 71% of patients! But here?s where things get really interesting. When the researchers compared the effects of walking in nature to a control group that walked through a shopping center, they found that only 45% of shopping center walkers reduced their depression scores with 22% of them actually citing increased feelings of depression! This is wild! By combining regular exposure to nature with the already mentioned tactics, you will have a powerful tool for combatting depression in any form that it takes. Make it your goal to spend at least 3 hours in nature each week. Personally, I try to ride my bike by the beach for at least 60 minutes a day, however, for those of you on a tighter schedule, simply getting out of the city for a long hike once a week can work wonders for your physical and mental well being. To top it off it?s a great place to meditate and journal in absolute solitude! 10. Create an Environment of Anti-Depression One commonality that I?ve noticed among all of my depressed clients or friends is that they live in depressing environments, and I mean this in every sense of the word. Their homes and apartments are poorly lit, filled with crap, and about as clean as the inside of a Detroit alley dumpster. The music that they listen to is depressing, angry, and nihilistic. The movies and video games that they play are filled with gratuitous violence and depressing plotlines (seriously guys, Schindler?s List is a great movie, but it?s not worth watching on repeat if you?re depressed). Even the people that they hang out with are in a similarly depressed and sad state, after all? misery loves company. If you are going to overcome depression once and for all, then your environment needs to reflect your commitment. According to an article from Psychology Today, there is a strong correlation between an unclean and negative environment and chronic depression: As they put it clutter: Bombards our minds with excessive stimuli (visual, olfactory, tactile), causing our senses to work overtime on stimuli that aren?t necessary or important. Distracts us by drawing our attention away from what our focus should be on. Makes it more difficult to relax, both physically and mentally. Signals to our brains that our work is never done. Makes us anxious because we?re never sure what it?s going to take to get through to the bottom of the pile. Creates feelings of guilt (?I should be more organized?) and embarrassment, especially when others unexpectedly drop by our homes or workspaces. Inhibits creativity and productivity by invading the open spaces that allow most people to think, brain storm, and problem solve. Frustrates us by preventing us from locating what we need quickly (e.g. Files and paperwork lost in the ?pile? or keys swallowed up by the clutter). Looking back at my own battle with depression, it?s funny how easy it was to allow my home environment to slip into chaos. When I was depressed, dishes piled up in the sink, my bed and clothes were unkempt, and laundry left undone for weeks. In much the same way that you someone battling chronic illness would want to keep their environment clean and bacteria free, if you want to beat depression, you must create an environment where depression cannot thrive. Clean your apartment. Open the windows and the shades. Paint your living space a bright and inviting color. Remove any negative images, photos of exes, or other pictures that conjure negative emotions. Get rid of the junk! Minimalism is not the lack of something. It?s the perfect amount of something. ~Nicholas Burroughs Start listening to happier music. Watch comedies instead of horror flicks. Buy indoor plants and fill your home with them. Do whatever you need to do to transform your environment so that it creates a state of happiness, peace, and serenity. I?d highly recommend that you check out Joshua Becker (from Becoming Minimalist) Ryan Nicodemus, and Johnathan Fields (the minimalists) for tips and tricks to live larger with less. Life isn?t meant to be wasted in the pursuit of more ?Stuff? and the profound lessons that I learned about minimalism from these three men cannot be overstated. In fact, my minimalist philosophy is one of the primary reasons that I?ve been able to experience the levels of joy and abundance in my life today. Conclusion I hope this helps. I?ve been where you are and I know how hard it can be. Hang in there. It can only get better from here. Stay Grounded,  

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