Depression has been called the worst form of emotional and psychological suffering. Hopelessness, helplessness, sadness, lack of pleasure and enjoyment, lack of motivation and concentration, feeling lethargic and having negative thoughts about self and also the world, depression can feel for example a bottomless pit of anguish. But, is depression really best treated with anti-depressants, or can in fact depression be treated just as well or better by training depressed people to look at things from another point of view?

By becoming more positive, optimistic and learning how to see the glass as half full rather than half empty, can people get out of depressive mood and stay symptom free? Recent clinical studies provide strong evidence with the use of such methods with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) as being extremely effective with clients recovering quicker and more completely with low figures of relapse compared to anti-depressants or analytical psychotherapy.

CBT is a therapy based on the principle that your thoughts create your feelings and your feelings create your actions. So, for example, in case you think to yourself “What are the point?” or “Things will never get better, life really sucks” or “Even if I would try to create myself feel better it probably wouldn’t work so I might as well do nothing”, this would make anyone feel deflated, sad, empty, and so on, which in turn will obtain the effect of avoiding making changes or trying new things, and would probably make you just want to pull the duvet over your head and stay in bed all day.

Negative thinking does have a negative effect on our feelings and our actions. Activities become meaningless and pointless in the mind of a depressed person, and therefore they are reluctant to engage even in activities they previously found enjoyable. Basic activities for example getting dressed or tidy up in the home might feel unimportant or pointless due to the downward spiral of negative thinking “there’s no point, what good will it do?”. The truth is that any activity no matter how small will do the world of good. Doing something is of major importance for someone suffering from depression as it will act to be a catalyst. Doing something, for example getting dressed in the morning will create some sense of satisfaction and feeling good and it will be an achievement in itself. Also, it will be easier to take the next step of going outside, trip around the shops maybe. One small step will help with another small step and enhance the motivation to continue for the treatment.

So, how can a depressed person have their negative thoughts turned into positive ones and obtain motivated to take charge and solve their problems? Negative and unhelpful thoughts must be acknowledged and written down to find out in detail what they are about. Those thoughts can then be evaluated and graded in terms of how useful, true or constructive they are. Questions for example “Is it possible that this way of thinking is not 100% true or realistic? Are you discounting the positive and only focusing on the negative?” where negativity is challenged, will provide reflection on the validity of what the person is saying to themselves. If it’s not completely true or realistic; “Why not? and next why would you reckon that way?”.

Crucially, it is also important to come up with a positive and realistic thought, such as; “Well, it’s not completely useless, there is a possibility something good could come out of it” which would be a good begin to recognize there are solutions and rewards if one takes a logical and objective ways to a situation. Motivation can be enhanced by asking a depressed person what they would be doing tomorrow or next week if they were not feeling depressed. This can make the mind shift forward and make them think of pleasant things, which can then be incorporated and worked with to be a goal. Small steps and stages are also good for keeping motivation going, by breaking down tasks and doing little by little. Reward and praise for any progress no matter how small will also make sure steady progress is made.

Recommended reading for cognitive ways to depression: Feeling Good by David Burns.

distress with my wedding – can you help?
distress with my wedding – can you help?

Mary Kay said it best. “We spend more time planning our vacations than we do planning our lives.”

Let’s change your perspective in 2009 as you realize, self help needs to be more important than dwelling on the economic crisis. Our current economy is not within your control.

Too many people live according to external circumstances, and fall into that “sticky” trap of uncontrollable occurrences. When this happens, you become a victim and rather than finding a strategy to help yourself, you blame the external world – the economy, the boss, politics, etc.

No matter what has happened to you or what will happen to you in 2009, it simply happens and there is little you’ll be able to do about it. start to accept the economic crisis for what it is and realize it is not within your control unless you made it happen.

Self help is within your control, and you decide what happens next. Self help steers you toward living your life with the inside-out, and taking over the controls.

You must believe in yourself and accept your individuality. Firstly, it’s best you recognize yourself as the most important person in the world, after which your family, friends, co-workers and boss.

An economic crisis is not within your control but can have an impact on your daily life. It is easier to allow external circumstances to take control than to create a plan of action with the future. in case you don’t bring self assist with the table, you could become your own worst enemy and your life will be a downward spiral.

Your reaction to any crisis is very much within your control.

If you react negatively, you become a victim and you are definitely not in control of your life. You are more likely to externalize, and you could attract more negativity into your life, continuing on that downward spiral.

Do not waste any thought or energy on the things that are not within your control. It is a futile time investment but will not alter the economic crisis.

If you react positively, then you take control of your life knowing that things happen for a reason, and that there is always something better waiting for you. A strong, optimistic outlook will attract more positive incidents into your life. Self help enables you to enjoy an overall happier life.

The statement that “self help is more important in 2009 that dwelling on the economic crisis” is true. We obtain the ability to control our thoughts, to construct a contingency plan and to concentrate on a future that works.

Self help provides a future built by believers who dwell on the things we can control. Self help are the best time investment you’ll be able to make, but will get you where you need to go.

Foremost, it’s best you know where you need to go, and how to take control of your life.

Depression – help without going to GP?
Depression – help without going to GP?

Anyone who’s experienced an anxiety attack does how disruptive they can be. The person suffering the episode experiences overwhelming fear, and even if they know rationally that there’s no basis for the experience is still terrifying. Getting anxiety attack help is first and foremost on the mind of anybody who’s ever suffered through such an episode.

Because the attacks feel so overwhelming and powerful as they’re happening, some sufferers believe that they will be difficult if not impossible to eliminate. They feel as if these episodes are completely beyond their control. Fortunately this is not true. There are a lot of things that can be done to help. The treatments available today are more effective than they’ve ever been in the past.

Sometimes people have a tendency toward anxiety attacks because of past life experiences. Occasionally it’s worth exploring this as part of the treatment but it isn’t always necessary – you can eliminate episodes of anxiety without ever having to know why they happen in the first place. In fact, most people who experience anxiety attacks have no history of significant psychological, to explain them.

Our culture tends to look to medications as the fix for everything. While they can have roll in treating anxiety, they’re definitely not the answer in and of themselves. It is much better to address the underlying causes and mindset then to treat the symptoms of medications.

Every person who suffers from anxiety should learn proper breathing techniques. Deep, diaphragmatic breathing can be extremely effective in improving anxiety, especially if it is begun in the very early stages. You can learn the technique at the site our reference in a moment. You should practice several times a day when you’re not anxious so you will easily be able to apply the technique when you need it.

These days the most effective mainstream psychological intervention is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. The underlying premise of this approach is that most of our distress comes from distorted perceptions. If we clear up our perceptions, the distress, including anxiety, goes away. While it is possible to learn Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on your own, a therapist trained in this method can be very helpful if one is available in your area.

Apart from this, there are also certain unconventional and alternate natural ways to cure anxiety attacks. These are all mostly self-help programs that rely on making you understand that you can control these anxiety attacks yourself. These treatments can be remarkably effective and have helped thousands of people

(MUSIC-FREE VERSION) Self-Esteem: A Guided Relaxation Session

I. Introduction

A. What is a typical American raw food diet

The raw food diet is defined as a type of diet of which at least 75% of the daily diet must be unprocessed and uncooked foods or foods can not be heating above 115 degree of Fahrenheit or 40 C, including fresh fruit and vegetables and raw meats. A typical American raw food diet contains mostly yin and dampness pathogen, including mostly raw fruits, vegetables and nuts and seeds.

B. What is a person with yang constitution

According to traditional Chinese medicine, yang constitution is genetic passing through pattern which you inherited from either one of your parent. It represents in the deep layer in your body. A person with yang constitution tend to have

1. Red tongue

2. Red face

3. Constipation

4. Dense menstrual flow

5. Nightmare

6. Prefer cooler drink.

7. Etc

II. How raw foods affect fertility

A person with yang constitution may initially benefit from raw foods diet. Since the body is slightly yang excessive, raw foods help to reduce the yang, thus balancing the yin and yang imbalance. But over a prolong period of raw foods intake, it will cause yang qi imbalance, although, it is not severe than a person with yin constitution.

1. Spleen

Spleen is considered as an organ in aiding the digestive system in absorbing vital nutrients and convert them to energy for the body’s need. Although person with yang constitution may take longer and symptoms may not be as severe as a person with yin constitution, but over a prolong period of time in taking raw food diet, it causes dysfunction of spleen in foods digestion, leading to nutrients deficiency of which triggers the primitive brain function in diverting blood aways from the reproductive organ for energy conversation.

2. Liver

According to traditional Chinese medicine, people with yang constitution can benefit from taking a large amount of raw foods everyday to balance the excessive yang constitution in the body. But unfortunately, prolong period of raw diet deplete the yang constitution, leading to yang deficiency. While spleen is damaged due to prolong intake of raw foods, it interferes with liver function in blood transformation, leading to insufficient blood that required to support our body’ daily activity, causing irregular menstruation and weakening the reproductive organs in perform their function in conception depending how much raw food intake.

3. Blood deficiency

As liver is no longer function as it should be, caused by spleen abnormal function in absorbing nutrients to nourish the production of blood, leading to blood deficiency that triggers the brain primitive reaction from diverting the blood away from the reproductive organs, leading to irregular menstruation. in severe case, it causes absence of period, affecting fertility in women and reducing the sperm quality and quantity in men.

4. Blood and qi stagnation

Since raw foods are considered as dampness pathogen, it impairs the spleen function in controlling the interior damp-cold, resulting in qi and blood stagnation, leading to delay menstruation and menstrual pain and cramps.

5. Kidney Yang deficiency

Kidney is considered as an organ helping to moisten, nourish the organs and tissues. Prolong intake of raw foods may decrease the yang qi in the kidney, leading to symptoms of fluid retention, that interferes with function of lung in absorbing enough oxygen for our body, causing nervous tension such as fatigue, tiredness and loss of memory and reducing the production of progesterone and testosterone, leading to lower sperm count in men and abnormal in the yang phrase in women menstrual cycle.