Let me start by qualifying the topic here. When we suffer loss or disappointment, a certain amount of upset and discomfort is normal and healthy, what is not normal is when these patterns continue for years at a time, long after a reasonable mourning period has occurred. This is the type of depression I am referring to here.

A master key to overcoming this is understanding that depression is caused by thought patterns and generally our thought patterns are habitual, they are habits. What occurs is this, we suffer setback, we then re-run the event in our mind so many times that we get stuck in a pattern of thought that is harmful. Then, years later, long after the loss of the event has left us, the negative thought pattern remains and we find ourselves in a depressed state for no apparent reason. If we repeat this with a number of negative events from our life, well, pretty soon it can begin to feel hopeless and we begin to reach for the bottle or call the doctor.

So, the answer then is in changing our thought patterns, at least to some extent anyway. First step in this or any aspect of life really is to accept responsibility for the situation. It’s your life, accept the fact that you are in control and you have the power to enact change. Empower yourself. The easiest way to break habitual thought patterns is to change your daily activities, do something different. My advice would be do something different that is bigger than you. Volunteer for something, contribute to helping others in some way. This is going to be fantastic, this gives us the opportunity to feel good about ourselves while at the same time helping others, a true win win scenario.

Next, Exercise. Not what anybody want to here, but absolutely essential. If you can do this your life will change, guaranteed. Movement is very important. When we become depressed our movement tends to slow or even stop. This is no coincidence. Increase the volume and intensity of your movement and your situation will begin to improve. We will break the cycle and start it moving in the right direction.

Improve your diet and drink less alcohol, most people when upset do the opposite, they eat junk and start drinking. This just adds fuel to an already burning fire. Avoid it, this is no more than a form of self harm and it will only compound the problem. As basic and obvious as it sound, fresh fruit, vegetable and lots of water really will do much more for you than any chemical the doctor can prescribe.

Lastly, use good language and self talk to describe your situation, do not continuously tell of your woe’s and misfortune to others or yourself. Talk and think in terms of what you want and were you want to be. Think about how bright the future is and not how dark the past was.

This is obviously a large subject and this is just an introduction. Find out more on this and other topics at Dream-Life-Coaching.com