Coping With Depression Requires Action!Please Read This NowI want to talk about coping with depression, sadness, mood disorders, postpartum depression, and/or the "baby blues." Depression is serious! Please help yourself by learning about depression. I want you to know to see a doctor if there is any chance that you are depressed. Do not put it off, make an appointment with your doctor today. I am not a doctor. I have NO medical training of any kind. I am an ordinary woman who has suffered with depression, and sadness, and postpartum depression, and anxiety at different times in my life and I know how it feels. I know exactly how bad it hurts. I know how dangerous depression can get. I have personally experienced coping with depressions of varying degrees since I was 19 years old. On this web site, on this page, and in this article, I am a friend talking to a friend. ALWAYS talk to a doctor, no matter what you read on this, or any, web site. Please do not substitute any advice or information from this web site with that from your doctor. Your doctor is your best source for learning about coping with depression. Coping with depression means that you have to respond to your feelings of sadness, "mood disorders" (anxiety, irritability, feelings of hopelessness or worthlessness, and many others of which I know nothing because I am not a doctor), and baby blues by seeing a medical doctor. It does not matter that you do not feel like going to the doctor, make the appointment and make yourself keep the appointment. You are a strong woman and you are going to cope well with this illness. Even if you are only experiencing mild postpartum depression, you need to see your doctor if the baby blues have not started to go away after two weeks. Coping with depression requires you to get help for yourself.
YOU MUST HELP YOURSELF WHEN COPING WITH DEPRESSION!If you are experiencing sadness and have been for several days without a reasonable explanation for feeling sad, go see a medical doctor. (Don't go longer than two weeks of feeling sad without seeing a doctor.) Tell your doctor exactly how you feel. If your doctor does not respond to what you say, go to and tell a different doctor.
If something traumatic has happened in your life and you feel gloomy and cannot shake off the sadness, tell your doctor. It is normal to feel melancholy after or during a separation or divorce, or finding out your child has a serious disease, or after the death of a loved one, etc. But, if your sadness does not subside and begin dissipating after two weeks, please go and tell your doctor. You may not be depressed. It is possible that you have some other "mood disorder" that may be even more easily treated than depression.
If you feel upset inside, anxious, nervous, unable to eat, find it hard to fall asleep, or cannot remain asleep all night, or you wake up but cannot go back to sleep because of the misery you are feeling -- go tell your doctor. Your body may be coping with depression.
Or, you may not want to do anything but sleep. If all you want to do is sleep and/or if you no longer feel like doing the activities you once enjoyed, please talk to your medical doctor.
If you cannot stop crying, tell your doctor. A sadness that is so deep that it causes you to cry without being able to stop is serious.
If you feel hopeless and/or worthless, please go tell your doctor. These mood disorders may mean you are coping with depression.
If you would rather die than continue living because of the way you feel, please go immediately and tell your doctor.
If you feel like there is no hope that you will ever feel normal again, tell your doctor.
Could You Be Going Through Postpartum Depression?If you have had a baby recently and find yourself crying often or experiencing feelings of sadness, please go tell your doctor. You could be experiencing postpartum depression. If your gynecologist or medical doctor are not helpful, talk to your baby's pediatrician about how you feel. Pediatricians may understand the "baby blues" or "postpartum depression" better than other doctors. Pediatricians see new moms with their newborns every day. I remember reading during and after my pregnancies that babies sense their mother's moods. If you are upset, nervous, and stressed, your baby may react to your emotions. Your well-being is paramount to your baby's well-being -- so talk to your baby's pediatrician. If your body and mind are coping with depression for longer than two weeks after giving birth to your baby, it is time for you to seek medical help. (I will talk to you about postpartum depression more in the near future because it is REAL and can be, in some cases, extremely serious.)
NEVER remain in a state of misery without going to see a doctor. In order to be a woman coping well, you must force yourself to seek medical help for coping with depression. No one else can do this for you. At this time when you really do not want to do what is necessary to make yourself well, this is the one time when you MUST help yourself. YOU must take care of yourself. No one else in the world really knows what you are going through personally as you are coping with depression.
Remember, Doctors Are HumanNot every doctor is good at treating every illness. There are some doctors in this world who do not understand depression because they do not know how depression feels, or they are uninformed. A doctor cannot see depression like he can see a cut, or a bullet wound, or a broken bone or tumor through an x-ray. And, a doctor cannot read your mind. Tell your doctor how you feel and what you are going through. Do not be embarrassed or feel ashamed to tell your doctor anything that concerns you. If your doctor does not respond in a way that helps you, go see another doctor and another doctor -- until you receive the medical treatment you need.
Depression is an odd illness. There are unlimited levels of depression. You could have a deep, serious, and toxic depression or you could have such a mild depression that you do not even know that what you are experiencing is depression. You might just be wondering why you have been in a bad mood for so long. The milder the depression, sadness, or baby blues, the easier coping with depression is possible, obviously. If you think your depression or sadness is mild and you can cope with it on your own; go see your doctor if you have been feeling sad for two weeks or longer. A doctor can help you stop a mild depression from turning into a major depression. And, if you are dealing with a major depression, it is possible that only your doctor can help you.
I Hope By Now You Know I Want You To See A Doctor If You Are Depressed!For now, I want to leave you with this: Please, please go see a medical doctor for help when you are hurting on the inside. If he suggests medication for you, that may be exactly what you need. If you have any fears or questions about taking an antidepressant, talk to your doctor about it. Talk to your pharmacist. Research the medications. Educate yourself and make the decision you are most comfortable with. But, consider carefully what your doctor suggests. He is trained to treat you for depression. If your medical doctor suggests counseling for you, do it. You might have to see different counselors before you find one you are comfortable with. Talk to trusted friends and family about your feelings and pain. Do not suffer in silence. Take control of what is going on with you. Be your own advocate. Love yourself enough to fight for your life and fight for a life that is joyful to live rather than painful. Don't accept the idea that you have to live in a state of coping with depression and painful agony for the rest of your life.No matter what, please know this:
YOU CAN OVERCOME DEPRESSION AND LIVE A HAPPY, PEACEFUL LIFE!YOU CAN BECOME FREE FROM CONSTANT SADNESS!YOUR SITUATION IS NOT HOPELESS, NO MATTER HOW HOPELESS YOU FEEL!AND, YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY WORTH SAVING!YOU CAN BE WELL AGAIN, IF YOU TAKE THE STEPS NECESSARY FOR COPING WITH DEPRESSION!Click here to read about my personal battle with depression. This illness brought me to my knees. I had a frighteningly difficult time coping with depression. If by telling you my experiences with depression helps you, then I know my struggles with depression were well worth it. Click here to learn how eating honey may help with depression. Click here to return from Coping With Depression to the Home page.
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