Saint Mary’s College student shares story of struggle with anxiety, depression

Due to the sensitive nature of the topic, the Saint Mary’s College student who shared the story of her struggle with anxiety and depression preferred to remain anonymous.
On Monday morning, I woke up with the sense of dread and panic that I was about to take an exam that I did not study for at all. This might not be an uncommon occurrence on a college campus, except that I did not have an exam scheduled for Monday — or any other day that week. I frequently wake up with my mind and heart racing because I suffer from an anxiety disorder.

ABOUT THE COMMUNITY BLOGGER

On each day of May — Mental Health Awareness Month — Oaklawn will share a story about mental health in hopes of raising awareness for the issue, providing information about resources available in our community and framing mental illness in a more positive light. You can read all of the stories on Oaklawn’s Elkhart Truth community blog, State of Mind.

Due to the sensitive nature of the topic, the Saint Mary’s College student who shared the story of her struggle with anxiety and depression preferred to remain anonymous.

To learn more about Oaklawn, a mental health center that serves Elkhart and St. Joseph counties, visit the organization’s website.

I have struggled with managing stress for what feels like my whole life. I have always been tense and serious, unable to relax and have fun. I am a chronic worrier. I lose sleep over everything from my grades to the well-being of my friends and family to whether ISIS will ever be defeated.
One of the most frustrating things about anxiety (and his friend, depression) is that there is a portion of my brain that knows my fears are irrational, that everyone else is correct when they tell me everything will work out, that I am the abnormal one. I cannot unload my concerns on my own, even though I can realize my anxiety is greater than the situation warrants.
Austrian psychiatrist Victor Frankl, a Holocaust survivor, likened human suffering to a gas. While my experiences cannot compare to someone who has experienced such evil firsthand, mental illness is a suffering in its own right, and the metaphor holds. Anxiety or depression, like oxygen or carbon dioxide, diffuses to fill the shape and size of its container. When that vessel is a human being, the pain can be overwhelming.
During high school, my anxiety began to manifest itself in physical symptoms: headaches, muscle aches and constantly shaking legs. I struggled with asking for help with my as-yet undiagnosed general anxiety disorder when I arrived at Saint Mary’s because it can be difficult to distinguish between the normal stress that comes with being a college student and a more serious condition. I did not want to look like I was making a mountain out of a molehill by asking for help, but it was a matter of recognizing the mountain for what it was. I could give myself an entire Saturday in the library to work ahead for the next week, then I would look at my assignments and feel like my heart was beating right out of my chest and I had forgotten how to breathe.
It is so easy to look around a high-pressure environment like Saint Mary’s and think, “Everyone here is amazing. Everyone has an amazing GPA and job prospects. I can’t risk asking for help because then I’ll fall behind.”
So I tried managing my illness on my own. I did — and still do — my best to avoid caffeine and alcohol, and I train for half marathons in an attempt to burn off some of my nervous energy. This semester, I’ve even enrolled in a yoga class. I spent time in prayer daily, thanking God for the day’s blessings. Unfortunately, the reluctance to ask for help can be intensified in the Christian community.
Talking about mental illness can be especially hard at church, because so many who mean well say things like, “What reasons do you have for feeling depressed? God has given you so many blessings!” Or, “You should spend more time in prayer, then.” Mental illness is not a choice, and it especially not a sinful choice. It is an illness, like any other physical malady, only less visible. And as hard as these words are to type, the answers to coping with anxiety or depression are not found in the Bible. I have come to believe that mental illness, like all other suffering, is a consequence of living in a broken world. God has blessed doctors with the knowledge to treat mental illness and blessed scientists with the expertise to develop medicines.
I put off asking for clinical help for as long as I could. But after one panic attack too many, I spoke to my family doctor, who prescribed medication. It doesn’t make my anxiety go away, but it does help to manage my symptoms. I also have incredibly supportive parents and friends. Being intimately acquainted with an anxiety disorder as I am, I could not imagine dating someone with similar brain chemistry. Yet my boyfriend begs to be on the other end of the line when I break. How undeservedly blessed I am.
The past few years have seen major advances in the treatment of mental illness, and increased national dialogue to bring this topic into the light where it belongs. There’s still a lot of work to be done, but with making known the resources available to those who struggle with mental illness, and resources for the people who love them so they know how best to show support. I have an overwhelming faith in humanity — we’re going to get there.
Source: http://www.elkharttruth.com/living/Community-Blogs/State-of-Mind/2015/05/26/Saint-Mary-s-College-student-shares-story-of-struggle-with-anxiety-depression.html

Google Sniper Review

Program Name : Google Sniper 2.0

Official Site:  http://linktrack.info/.12gme

Program Author: George Brown
Price: $47 | 60 Day Money Back Guarantee.
Core System: Creating small “sniper” sites that rank high is Google quickly, monetize your sniper sites by promoting affiliate marketing products.
Training Method: step-by-step manual along with video training series, checklists, process maps and live Q & A webinars.
Source:  Source: http://www.agooglesniperreview.com/

What is Google Sniper?

Google Sniper is the make money online training course, by George Brown, that teaches you how to make money through affiliate marketing by creating small “sniper” sites that rank high in Google quickly.

These “sniper” sites that you will be creating are more like micro niche sites that are laser focused around one keyword and one keyword only.
Unlike traditional authority sites that target hundreds of keywords and a wide range of topics, every page, post, tweet, like, everything you do for this site will be focused on your one keyword (or synonyms of that keyword).
Google Sniper 2.0 comes complete with a 104 page step-by-step Google Sniper Manual which is accompanied by video training, process maps, checklists, live Q & A webinars along with further training video series.
The Google Sniper training program is one of the longest running and most proven affiliate marketing training programs that has ever hit the market, while other product creators have to launch product after product to keep money coming in, George Brown hit it out of the park with Google Sniper 2.0 and like the old saying goes “If I Aint Broke, Don’t Fix It”.
While other make money online courses come and go, Google Sniper is in the elite group that has been around for a couple of years and is still one of the most popular affiliate marketing training courses available, for one reason, IT WORKS!!!

Google Sniper Review: Who Is George Brown?

George Brown is the creator and author of Google Sniper, George got his start in internet marketing at the age of 17 and by the time he was 18 he was already considered by many to be a super affiliate.

George released Google Sniper 2.0 at the young age of 20, and by then was already a millionaire. Google lives in the United Kingdom and runs his multi-million dollar internet marketing business full time.

George Brown claims that in 2010 alone he has made over $500 million from his internet marketing businesses, which include his sniper sites and the sale of Google Sniper 2.0.

My guess is that a good portion of that came from the sale of Google Sniper, and rightfully so, he released a product that the internet marketing world had been waiting on, one that worked.

For so long and even to this day we are bombarded by internet marketing get rich quick scams and push button miracle software that never work, so it was refreshing for myself and all of the others who have purchased and implemented the training inside Google Sniper 2.0.

There are now hundreds of people who have fired their boss because of Google Sniper and are now making a full time income online.

What You Will Learn In Google Sniper

While other make money online training programs teach you anything from push button miracles to creating authority sites that take forever to see results from Google Sniper is unique in that you will learn how to quickly create micro niche sites that ranks high and rank fast.
Google Sniper does not boast that you will make a fortune overnight but it does say that if you follow the techniques exactly as provided that you will see quick results and make on average $300-$500 per month per site, again if you follow the step-by-step blueprint provided.
George will show you how to:

• Find A Profitable Opportunity (Market and Keywords)
• How to Setup Your Sniper Site (Start to Finish, Picking Domain, Installing WordPress, Plugins, Themes)
• Increasing Conversion Rate
• Setting Up Site For Google Domination (Site Structure, Optimizing Your Site, Configure Plugins)
• Affiliate Links (Placement and Anchor Text Links, Cloaking)
• Step by Step Guide Guide To Adding Content To Your Sniper Site
• Getting Ranked (On Page and Off Page SEO, YouTube, Pinging, Bookmarking)
• Scaling Up (Super Affiliate Secrets, Scaling, How To Take Sniper Sites To Next Level)

So we have covered What is Google Sniper 2.0 and what you will learn, now lets take a look at why it is so effective:

• You can get started for just the cost of a domain and monthly hosting fees
• These sites are super easy to build, once you have built a couple you will be pumping them out in a couple of hours for a complete sniper site. So you can build as many as you would like and add income streams
• You will be promoting products that have the traffic and buyers to make you a lot of money for a long period of time
• The sales copy strategies taught inside Google Sniper 2.0 are proven to work and will have customers hungry to buy your products.
• Google Sniper is so popular and effective for one main reason, this program works, it works over and over (you will not have success with every sniper site but I would say that at least 7 to 8 out every 10 sniper sites you create will produce good results if you follow the system).

No course in perfect so here I will cover a few of the negatives with Google Sniper 2.0

• You will need to spend a good amount of time finding the right keyword/ products to promote (trust me the extra time you spend on this step will pay for itself over and over once you start receiving sales)
• Google Sniper is so popular that there are a lot of snipers out there who are trying to do the same thing that you are doing, this can discourage some, but I have found that this system is so powerful that it causes some marketers to get lazy and adding a few extra back links will quickly outrank them.
• It sounds to good to be true, trust me folks, It is as good if not better than you think it is.

Google Sniper Review: My Experience With Google Sniper

My experience with Google Sniper began about a year ago when I first purchased the Google Sniper 2.0 system.

I have to admit in advance that I have the worst case of A.D.D. I have ever seen and cannot stay focused on one thing for long before my mind has me checking out other things and getting distracted.

So I bought the course and started reading the manual and watching training videos, wasn’t long before a week went by and I was still on chapter 1 and only watched 2 videos.

I actually had the training manual printed out and put in a nice 3 ring binder but did not do anything with the program for at least 3 months after purchase.

I continued building out my authority sites in the make money online and fitness niches, well after 3 months of that I was not making any money from those sites and I had to give myself an intervention.

The next day I stopped all work on the authority sites and picked up Google Sniper 2.0 again, I committed to going through all of the training and building at least one sniper site before I moved on to anything else.

I will be honest it took me about a 6 days to go through the training and build my first sniper site, a little longer than the couple of hours that George talks about =)

My site was indexed within 24 hours in Google after publishing first blog post and pinging it, the next day I added posts 2 and 3 and a YouTube video pointing back to my site (it was just a simple power-point presentation) and within 3 days of this I was at the bottom of page two for my keyword which is a buyers keyword with over 3,000 monthly searches.

I did all of the social bookmarking and added my fourth blog post the next day and with 48 hours made it to top of page 2.

The next day, I wrote final post and then I kind of cheated the system and added about 30 high page rank back-links to my money page (I knew these would not have an immediate impact on my site’s rankings but once they all got indexed would be what kept me at the top)

Within 3 days I was in top 5 in Google for my keyword, I continued adding social bookmarking over the next few days and within the next week my sniper site reached its target, The #1 SPOT ON GOOGLE, YEAH FREAKING BUDDY!!!!

but then it bounced down to number 3 and back to 1 and back to 4 and back to 1, a little thing I found was called the Google Dance, kinda like the #1 spot was a carrot that Google was dangling in front of me, but as the high page rank back-links I built started to fall in place, my site settled right were it was supposed to be, #1.

It took me a little less than 20 days to start the training, go through the manual, the videos, build my sniper site, and achieve #1 Google ranking for desired keyword, this site is still numero uno and is consistently making me $400-$600 per month and I have not touched it in months.

I have gone on to make about 10 more sniper sites since this first one and 7 of them are making or are track to making as much if not more than the first one, 3 of them which I felt were the best did not have as much success and either do not get enough traffic or do not convert well, I will have to go back and modify these and see where I went wrong.

I mainly target high end physical products and the occasional Clickbank product, Clickbank products are very competitive and you have to work a lot harder to get to page one than you do for a physical product in most cases.

Google Sniper 2.0 Review: Final Thoughts

I have bought and tried a lot of make money online training products in my day and can honestly say that George Brown’s Google Sniper 2.0 is by far one of if not the best I have ever invested in.

It is so good in fact that I have changed my whole internet marketing strategy to building sniper sites and making as many as I can.

Google Sniper is for newbies, intermediate and advanced marketers looking to get started in internet marketing or to add income streams to your online business.

The concepts are so simple and George Brown makes them seem so easy that I would say that anyone who has a computer, internet connection, a few bucks for a domain and hosting, and the commitment to stick at it and follow the step-by-step blueprint can use this course to make money online.

What are you waiting on, there has never been a better course for making money online than Google Sniper 2.0, so click the button below and get stated,
You will thank me soon, oh yeah and buy with confidence because the Google Sniper program comes with a 60 day money back guarantee, you will not need it but its good to know its there….

Further information: http://linktrack.info/.12gme

Anxiety at Work: A Career-Busting Condition

Katrina Gay always worried about her on-the-job performance, but she used the anxiety to her advantage by pushing herself to produce quality work. After the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, however, she felt a little less in control.

"I would wake up in the middle of the night and my heart would be racing. I'd be sweating and I'd feel like I was having a heart attack," says Gay. At work, she felt physically and emotionally drained, and found it difficult to talk and listen at meetings.

Fortunately, as the chief of field operations for the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI), Gay recognized her symptoms right away and visited a psychiatrist. She was diagnosed with anxiety disorder.

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illnesses, affecting 19 million children and adults in the U.S., reports the Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADAA).

ADAA also reports that the ailment consumes almost a third of the total $148 billion total mental health bill for the nation. That's not surprising, given people with anxiety disorder are three to five times more likely to go to the doctor, and six times more likely than non-sufferers to be hospitalized for psychiatric ailments.

Although anxiety disorder describes a group of illnesses such as generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and phobias, there are some symptoms that characterize the illness as a whole.

According to the American Psychiatric Association, when people suffering from anxiety disorders talk about their condition, they often include these descriptions:

• Unrealistic or excessive worry
• Exaggerated startled reactions
• Sleep disturbances
• Jitteriness
• Fatigue
• Dry mouth
• Lump in throat
• Trembling
• Sweating
• Racing or pounding heart

In the workplace, these symptoms could translate into difficulty working with colleagues and clients, trouble concentrating, preoccupation over the fear instead of focusing on work, and turning down assignments because of fear of failure, flying, going in to the elevator, or public speaking.

For people who think they might have anxiety disorder, Jeffrey P. Kahn, MD, a clinical psychiatrist and author of Mental Health and Productivity in the Workplace, recommends the following first steps of action:

• Talk about the problem with someone you feel comfortable with. Also ask that person what he or she notices about you.
• Take a break from your worry by playing sports, listening to music, praying, or meditating.
• Join a self-help group.
• If talking about the problem or relaxation techniques don't work, seek professional consultation.

Source: http://www.webmd.com/anxiety-panic/guide/anxiety-at-work

This Is Your Brain on Happiness

Circuits in your brain light up when you're happy. One groundbreaking researcher has discovered how to keep them lit.

There are no dark corners in Madison, Wisconsin, a university town that sparkles with endowment and research dollars—more than $900 million last year—as well as just plain Midwestern niceness. The grants are well earned: It was at the University of Wisconsin–Madison that the first bone marrow transplant was performed and the first synthetic gene was created. It was here that human stem cells were isolated and cultured in a lab for the first time. And for more than a decade, one of the campus's most productive hit makers has been the Laboratory for Affective Neuroscience, run by a 56-year-old neuroscientist and professor of psychology and psychiatry named Richard J. Davidson, PhD, who has been systematically uncovering the architecture of emotion.

Davidson, whose youthful appearance and wide-open smile give him more than a passing resemblance to Jerry Seinfeld, has been studying the brain structures behind not just anxiety, depression, and addiction but also happiness, resilience, and, most recently, compassion. Using brain imaging technologies, in particular a device called a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) machine, a sort of Hubble telescope for the brain, Davidson and his researchers have observed the areas associated with various emotions and how their function changes as an individual moves through them. His "brain maps" have revealed the neural terrain of so-called normal adults and children, as well as those suffering from mood disorders and autism. Davidson has also studied a now rather famous group of subjects: Tibetan monks with years of Buddhist meditation under their gleaming pates.

Probably his most well-known study mapped the brains of employees at a biotech company, more than half of whom completed about three hours of meditation once a week led by Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, founding director of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. After four months, the meditating subjects noticed a boost in mood and decrease in anxiety, while their immune systems became measurably stronger. What made headlines, though ("The Science of Happiness" sang a January 2005 Time magazine cover), was that Davidson vividly showed that meditation produced a significant increase in activity in the part of the brain responsible for positive emotions and traits like optimism and resilience—the left prefrontal cortex. In meditating monks, he'd separately found, this area lit up like the lights in Times Square, showing activity beyond anything he and his team had ever seen—a neurological circuit board explaining their sunny serenity.

These and other findings of Davidson's have bolstered mounting research suggesting that the adult brain is changeable, or "plastic," as opposed to becoming fixed in adolescence. What this means is that although an individual may be born with a predisposition toward gloominess or anxiety, the emotional floor plan can be altered, the brain's furniture moved to a more felicitous arrangement; with a little training, you can coax a fretful mind toward a happier outlook. It's a new understanding of the brain that represents a paradigm shift of seismic importance, and one that's sent a steady stream of reporters out to Madison like pilgrims on the road to Santiago. Perhaps just as seismic is Davidson's "coming out of the closet" (his phrase) as a highly regarded, marquee-name brain researcher with a focus on contemplation, and a commitment to putting compassion and spirituality on the scientific map.

Source: http://www.oprah.com/spirit/Finding-Happiness-How-to-Beat-Depression-and-Anxiety

How to beat depression – without drugs

Dr Steve Ilardi is slim and enthusiastic, with intense eyes. The clinical psychologist is 4,400 miles away, in Kansas, and we are chatting about his new book via Skype, the online videophone service. "I've spent a lot of time pondering Skype," he says. "On the one hand it provides a degree of social connectedness. On the other, you're still essentially by yourself." But, he concludes, "a large part of the human cortex is devoted to the processing of visual information, so I guess Skype is less alienating than voice calls."
Social connectedness is important to Ilardi. In The Depression Cure, he argues that the brain mistakenly interprets the pain of depression as an infection. Thinking that isolation is needed, it sends messages to the sufferer to "crawl into a hole and wait for it all to go away". This can be disastrous because what depressed people really need is the opposite: more human contact.
Which is why social connectedness forms one-sixth of his "lifestyle based" cure for depression. The other five elements are meaningful activity (to prevent "ruminating" on negative thoughts); regular exercise; a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids; daily exposure to sunlight; and good quality, restorative sleep.
The programme has one glaring omission: anti-depressant medication. Because according to Ilardi, the drugs simply don't work. "Meds have only around a 50% success rate," he says. "Moreover, of the people who do improve, half experience a relapse. This lowers the recovery rate to only 25%. To make matters worse, the side effects often include emotional numbing, sexual dysfunction and weight gain."
As a respected clinical psychologist and university professor, Ilardi's views are hard to dismiss. A research team at his workplace, the University of Kansas, has been testing his system – known as TLC (Therapeutic Lifestyle Change) – in clinical trials. The preliminary results show, he says, that every patient who put the full programme into practice got better.
Ilardi is convinced that the medical profession's readiness to prescribe anti-depression medication is obscuring an important debate. Up to 20% of the UK population will have clinical depression at some point, he says – twice as many as 30 years ago. Where has this depression epidemic come from?
The answer, he suggests, lies in our lifestyle. "Our standard of living is better now than ever before, but technological progress comes with a dark underbelly. Human beings were not designed for this poorly nourished, sedentary, indoor, sleep-deprived, socially isolated, frenzied pace of life. So depression continues its relentless march."

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Our environment may have evolved rapidly but our physical evolution hasn't kept up. "Our genome hasn't moved on since 12,000 years ago, when everyone on the planet were hunter- gatherers," he says. "Biologically, we still have Stone Age bodies. And when Stone Age body meets modern environment, the health consequences can be disastrous."
To counteract this Ilardi focuses on the aspects of a primitive lifestyle that militate against depression. "Hunter- gatherer tribes still exist today in some parts of the world," he says, "and their level of depression is almost zero. The reasons? They're too busy to sit around brooding. They get lots of physical activity and sunlight. Their diet is rich in omega-3, their level of social connection is extraordinary, and they regularly have as much as 10 hours of sleep." Ten hours? "We need eight. At the moment we average 6.7."
So we should all burn our possessions and head out into the forest? "Of course not," Iladi shudders. "That would be like a lifelong camping trip with 30 close relatives for company. Nobody would recommend that."
Instead we can adapt our modern lifestyle to match our genome by harnessing modern technology, such as fish oil supplements to increase our intake of omega-3. All well and good. But I can't escape the feeling that the six-step programme seems like common sense. Isn't it obvious that more sleep, exercise and social connectedness are good for you?
"The devil is in the detail," replies Ilardi. "People need to know how much sunlight is most effective, and at which time of day. And taking supplements, for example, is a complex business. You need anti-oxidants to ensure that the fish oil is effective, as well as a multivitamin. Without someone spelling it out, most people would never do it." Ilardi practises the programme himself. He's never been depressed, he tells me, but it increases his sense of wellbeing and reduces his absentmindedness (his college nickname was "Spaced").
It all makes sense, but will I try it myself? I don't suffer from depression, but wellbeing sounds nice. I'm not so sure about the fish oil, but I might just give it a go.

Enjoy the sunshine, get plenty of sleep – and be sociable

▶ Take 1,500mg of omega-3 daily (in the form of fish oil capsules), with a multivitamin and 500mg vitamin C.
▶ Don't dwell on negative thoughts – instead of ruminating start an activity; even conversation counts.
▶ Exercise for 90 minutes a week.
▶ Get 15-30 minutes of sunlight each morning in the summer. In the winter, consider using a lightbox.
▶ Be sociable.
▶ Get eight hours of sleep
Source:  http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/jul/19/beat-depression-without-drugs

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How Starting an Online Business Aids With Depression

Depression is a real problem for thousands of people young and old. There are lots of remedies and treatments put forward to sufferers to try and help. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t. Many sufferers fall into a spiral of no work, therefore no income, and these increased feelings of worthlessness and despair begin their cycles. It is incredibly hard to hold down a job working for someone else when you are suffering the various depressive cycles that regularly debilitate you. Everyone has a different reason for getting this destructive disease and no one is immune to it.
One way people have found to cope with depression and earn a living, is by setting up an online business from the comfort of their own homes. This way self worth and a useful income can be achieved and help your situation immensely. Let’s discuss the beauty of this and how it helps with coping with the negative mindset someone suffering usually feels as well as ways of making your online venture a successful one.
How to Do It
Starting an online business is a matter of finding something to offer. You need to find some sort of product or service or product that you can sell into a thriving market. Everyone has something to offer. Find out what your product or service is and start making your website.
Here are a few examples of what you may decide to set up:

• An online store selling products into a particular market place
• A business site advertising and explaining a particular service that you are able to offer. Writing or plumbing services for example
• A blog that specialises in an interest of yours. Work to build a community and monetise through advertising and memberships.

You have the flexibility to take time off as and when you need it when you run your own business from home, though you will need to keep to some kind of serviceable hours to ensure clients are well taken care of. This can help you cope with any periods of time where your depression may well take its toll on you. If you are looking to open your own online shop, blog or business site you will need to make sure that it is optimised correctly to rank well on the search engines. This will get you traffic from the various search terms that you target through your what your business offers its potential clientele. To do optimise your website read through Google’s guidelines on proper Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).
There are good websites everywhere on the internet, and that means competition for that important search engine traffic. 
You could also set yourself up a pay per click or media buying campaign to advertise directly to traffic for your chosen search terms. If you don’t fancy managing this yourself you can always get an agency to do this for you. Outsourcing work you are not so competent with gives you more time to focus on the areas of your business where you have greater strengths. This will minimise feelings of desperation and worthlessness by reducing the chances of you getting things wrong with your business due to tackling things that you are not your forte.
Why is it So Good?
You can get started straight away with a minimal amount of investment. Digital marketing and building a website requires time, but you can do it for almost nothing. There are plenty of sites offering simple webdesign solutions that you can build yourself. You’ll find yourself paying less than £30 to host your website per year, and can play as little as $50 marketing your finished site.
Serotonin High
Serotonin is what many of us call the happy hormone. It’s what makes us happier. People who’re depressed have low levels of serotonin. The key to dealing with depression is through achieving something. Being somebody. Showing the world you have a purpose and a point. A successful online business that allows you to take charge of the hours you work and way you do business is a massive help in gaining a balance regarding this important emotional chemical.
Spend Time with Family
By starting your own venture you can spend more time with family. The Help Guide Organisation recommends creating a regular support group within family circles. It keeps you busy and distracted during times of trouble. You can do the same thing with friends. You may also find that there are avenues through friends and family to gain business for your new venture.
Since depression can strike at any time being able to run your own business from home with the minimum of risk can really help get you back to feeling like you are achieving something worthwhile and importantly earning good money. You will find plenty of success stories online to get you motivated.
Failure and Online Businesses
The US Small Business Administration revealed half of all small businesses go under within the first five years. There are currently no numbers for online businesses due to a lack of regulation and documentation.
One of the biggest reasons for this is because of a lack of capital. Someone with depression is more exposed to the knock-on effects of failure than a happy and healthy person so being able to minimise your risk, like yo can with your own internet venture, can help eliminate the possibilities of this happening or effecting you so badly.
Online businesses offer a safety net. Your money isn’t tied up in physical assets and you can drip-feed money into the business as and when you need it. You’re less exposed to market trends and you have a greater level of control over your direction.
The reduced chance of failure and the greater control allows you to tailor your activities to your current state of mind. If you’re struggling, you can afford to take a few days off to recover. Such a high level of support is why starting an online business is the ideal option for people who are dealing with this awful disease.
Source:  http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/how-starting-an-online-business-aids-with-depression

How to Combat Stress at Work

According to research studies the number of people who are stressed at work is not only exceedingly high but is continuing to grow each and every day.  Numbers show that those who are “extremely” stressed at work range between 29-40%.  And when asked, in many recent polls, over half of respondents said they are so stressed at work that they feel close to complete and total burnout much of the time.  Stress at work is not only hinders you from getting your job done and focusing on the task at hand but it can also cause significant health problems that range from benign cold and flus to more serious illnesses, such as: heart disease and metabolic syndrome.  Because stress at work is so common, finding a low-stress job is nearly impossible so a more simpler and realistic choice is to adopt more effective strategies to reduce stress at work so let’s discuss them.

First off, start your day off right.  While you might be exhausted from the previous tedious day at work, try getting up a little early from time to time and having some alone time to yourself.  Go for a walk or grab a cup of morning coffee, especially in the spring or summer when you can sit outside in the nice weather and catch some relaxation and a cool breeze.  If you have a family, spend some time with them.  Have morning breakfasts together and catch up on personal things you’ve missed hearing out on due to constantly being consumed by work.

Stop worrying.  Don’t project what your day at work will be like before it begins.  If you imagine the stress before it starts, you are only likely to create it and make it a reality or rather, a self-fulfilling prophecy.  Learn to live one day at a time.  You don’t have to get everything done all at once.  Set priorities and create a task list.  Do the most important things first so that you don’t get overwhelmed.

Learn to set limits.  You can only get so much done in one day.  Take time for yourself if you can manage to pull yourself away from your desk.  Try to take a lunch break or at least a fifteen or twenty minute stroll around the block.  If you have some downtime, maybe even go to the gym for a workout or answer some personal emails or check your social media accounts.  While you can’t be doing this all the time, it’s O.K. to do it once in a while.

Get organized.  Before you leave work for the day, try to plan out the next day’s routine or think about the tasks you have to get accomplished on your commute to the office.  Clean up your desk and put all important reminders in your calendar.  Create to-do lists and stick to them.  In essence, get rid of the clutter.  Being organized with your times means less stress when you leave for work in the morning and when you head home for the day.

Make yourself comfortable at work.  Bring some pictures of loved ones to put up on your desk or bulletin board.  Order a comfortable chair or back or footrest.  If you can, try listening to soft, soothing music as you work.  Office noise can be distracting so do whatever you need to do to tune it out.  It’s not just your body that needs comfort but your brain too.

While learning how to multitask is key to workplace success and getting the job done quickly and efficiently, you don’t always have to.  As I said, do the most important things first so they get all your time and attention and you’ll find that you can then do your job to the best of your ability.  Splitting your focus and attention too much, can leave you feeling frazzled and disorganized.

Keep perfectionism in check.  While it’s good to be Type-A at times and have a meticulous eye for detail, don’t beat yourself up if everything you do isn’t perfect.  Learn the difference between was needs to be perfect and what doesn’t.  Important documents that go out to clients need to be perfect to an extent but interoffice work such as memos or specific office documents don’t need to be 100% clean.  Remember, we all make mistakes and sometimes being too much of a perfectionist can be a hindrance and only add stress to your work-life.  If you constantly feel the need to be perfect, you can’t achieve your long-term goals and at the end of the day, it simply wastes time.

Think positively.  Don’t beat yourself up unnecessarily.  Believe you can get the job done, and you will.  Avoid negative co-workers and office gossip that take your focus away from the tasks at hand.  Give yourself a pat on the back every once in a while for the goals you have achieved.  Be your own biggest advocate and cheerleader.  A self-pep talk from time to time never hurt anyone either.

Have some fun once in a while.  Try to find the humor in your work.  Relax and take a breather and realize that deadlines aren’t always life and death.  Think about what you enjoy about work and what you’re good at and take advantage of the opportunities you’re given and the work you’re entrusted with.

Lastly and most importantly, remember what work truly “means” at the end of the day.  It’s not just about the money you make; it’s about the sense of value and accomplishment it adds to your life.  If you realize that your efforts are making a positive impact on the company you work for, that can only add to your self-esteem and help you combat the day-to-day stresses of work.

So what have we learned here today?  Have you used some of these methods before to derail stress at work or have you found more effective means that work better for you?  Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts.  Let’s start up a meaningful conversation!

Source:  http://businessinthecity.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/how-to-combat-stress-at-work.html

Social Causes of Depression

Many people suffer from depression at one point in their life. It is inevitable, the feeling of hopelessness, sorrow, or being alone. These are all common emotions associated with depression. For a select few, depression can be hard to overcome, and this is where depression becomes a disorder that requires active treatment. Those 'selected few' account for over 100 million people worldwide and result in 75% of all psychiatric hospitalizations (Gotlib & Hammen, 1992). Yet the question remains, why did these people become depressed? How did they become depressed? One of the answers that lead to the cause of depression would be a person's interpersonal relationship with their surroundings and the people around them. There are many interpersonal instances that can have the ability to lead to the onset of depression, such as the family environment, the socialization setting, and the discrimination against gender in certain cultures and instances.

Family

One could argue that out of all the interpersonal cases that can contribute on the onset of a depressive disorder, the ambiance of a family has the most weight and impact on a depressed individual. In the case of spouses, the well being of one spouse will have a notable impact on the other spouse and on the welfare of their marriage. For example, in 30% of all marriage problems, there is one spouse that can be described as clinically depressed. The reason why a spouse might have a unipolar mood disorder could be due to their relationship being "characterized by friction, hostility, and a lack of affection" (Gotlib & Hammen, 1992). Martial distress can also be caused by the impact of having a child. When a woman is pregnant, she can experience a whole range of emotions due to the changing of interpersonal relationship with husband and the building of a new relationship with the unborn child. For example, the building of a new interpersonal relationship with the child can be very tasking and become a major stressful life event that can cause a mood disorder to develop (O'Hara, Lewis, Schlechte, & Varner, 1991).
Aside from the martial distresses of spouses, the impact of depressed parents can have an effect on their children as well. In a study on the relation between depressed adolescences and depressed mothers (Hammen & Brennan, 2001), they found that the depressed children of depressed mothers had more negative interpersonal behavior as compared with depressed children of non-depressed mothers. This is reinforced when a study (Chen & Rubin, 1995) shows that the parents of depressed children are less warm and caring and more hostile than parents of non-depressed children. Because of this negative interpersonal relation between kids and their parents, children can develop a negative view of their family. This negative view can lead to the feeling of lack of control and having a high risk of conflict, rejection, and low self-esteem (Asarnow, Carlson, & Guthrie, 1987).
Cummings (1995) stated that any changes in a family environment due to parental depression increase the risk of developing a mood disorder in children. The result of this can be found as early as preschoolers and infants, due to the insecure attachment they develop with their parents. The emotional distress of children can also have an effect on their parents, causing depression that in turn will also affect the children, theoretically creating a never-ending cycle unless they seek treatment. Sometimes It is not the depressed parents that lead to the onset of depression in their children, but rather it is the change in the family environment that stems from the parents' depression that causes the children to become depressed. Some studies suggest that martial troubles are a better predicator for the onset of depression than the depression of the parents or the children themselves (Cummings, 1995).
Experiencing depression while as a child or an adolescent can also lead to reoccurring slips as an adult. Depressed persons often perform poorly in marriage and relationship with family members and they also might respond negatively to others, which have the ability to create stressful life events, which as a result might drive the person further into depression. Depressed people are dependant on other people and constantly seek reassurance in such a way that drives people away. Hammen and Brennan (2001) found that 13% of the sons and 23.6 % of the daughters who were depressed had depressed mothers as compared to 3.9% of the sons and 15.9% of the daughters who were depressed lacked a depressed mother.
Many people believe that children and parents suffer differently from depression, but not so. Depressed children can be like depressed parents, expressing sadness, anger, shame, and self-directed hostility (Brown & Siegel, 1988). Just like adults, depressed children tend to blame themselves for bad events and accredit the environment for good events--they do not give themselves credit when due (Blumberg & Izard, 1985). This is why oftentimes, children will feel guilty if their parents get divorced and they believe that they were at fault but realistically, it was the parents' martial distress that was the cause of the divorce, not the children's depressive mood disorder.

Socialization

As in the family environment, socialization is key to maintaining healthy relationship and feeling well deserved and part of someone's life. Depression can have an adverse effect on the social capacity of depressed persons, affecting their social functioning and ability to react and deal with stressful situations. Gotlib and Hammen (1992) discussed the social functioning of people with depressive disorders and found that people with the symptoms of depression are found to test low in social activities, close relationships, quality close relationships, family actives, and network contact, yet they test high in family arguments. One major part in the development of mood disorders in a social setting would be how well one could deal with stressful events. Normally, this is called coping strategies and it allows a person to manage their troubles and not be overwhelmed. Oftentimes, people can become depressed when unable to deal with "drama" from their friends-especially in children. Depressed children reported significantly higher level of hopelessness, lower general self-esteem, and lower coping skills than non-depressed children. Their ability to be unable to cope with stress can lead to fewer and less adaptive coping techniques (Asarnow, Carlson, & Guthrie, 1987).
Social settings can also include one-on-one interactions and the rejection that occurs. In a study performed by Joiner, Alfano, and Metalsky (1992), they tested whether a depressed individual would have an affect on other people in one-on-one interactions and they found that affected people did have such an influence on other people. This influence could be described as responding negatively to their constant searching of reassurance and rejecting them, which in turn will "confirm" the affected person's belief that he or she is unworthy as a person.
A depressed individual can impact their social settings by exhibiting a lack of self-esteem, becoming more sensitive to the opinions of others, and more importantly (and interestly), become less physically active (Lewinsohn, Gotlib, & Seeley, 1997). This means that they will not want to go out, that they do not want to exert themselves. A prime example of this would be an athletic in school that becomes depressed. He does not want to participate in athletic activities because he is depressed, but his coach forces him to. As a result, he performs poorly, and his teammates heckle him for his poor performance. As an affected person, the athletic becomes overly sensitive to his teammates' heckling and his self-esteem plummets and he drops out of sports and begins to withdraw and fight with everybody he knows.
The social class can also have a subtle effect on depression. Brown and Harris (1978) reported that the females with children in the working class were more prone to depression than females with children in the middle class. This can be attributed to the working class mother having to leave home to work, having to leave her child alone. This interpersonal relation can cause excessive worry and guilt that the women is not being a good mother as compared to the middle class mom, who can afford to stay at home and take care of the children/her family.
Okazaki (1997) found that Asian Americans are more depressed in a social and academic setting because they have to face more pressure than their white American peers due to the fact that they are part of a visible minority that has different culture values than others. This interpersonal relationship between the two "cultures" can be defined as competitive and stressful due to the fact that in America, white people "have it made" while as other ethnic groups have to work twice as hard to get their foot in the door. This extreme indicator of stress can lead to the dejection of many ethnic groups because they might have failed at succeeding in a competitive environment.

Gender

There are a lot of interpersonal relations when it comes to gender, such as the discrimination against gender in an academic setting. This is very prominent in females, where girls can face increased expectations to conform to the standards set forth by society, to pursue feminine type activities and occupations. It appears that parents tend to have "lower expectations" for girls when it comes to school. As a result of that lowered expectations, parents tend to not push their daughters toward a high-profile job, instead attempting to make their daughter conform to the stereotype of society, like become a teacher or a nurse. In fact, in 1986-1987, women only garnered 15% of the bachelor's degrees awarded in engineering as compared to 76% and 84% for education and nursing, respectively (Nolen-Hoeksema, & Girgus, 1994). Breaking the social norm can also lead to depression (Nolen-Hoeksema, 1991); the more intelligent a girl is, the more likely she is to become depressed. This positive correlation could be attributed to the more intelligent girls being able to out-perform the boys yet get punished for doing so. Being depressed as a female adolescent can have consequences in the long run in terms of social functioning, career, and enjoyment of life. Theoretically, if one were to be depressed in high school, then their grades would suffer. If their grades were to suffer, then their chances of entering a good college would dwindle. If they cannot enter a top-notch college, then they might not be able to get the career they want, and with that they would not be able to enjoy their job and feel like they have missed out on life. The different experiences of each gender can also be the cause of a mood disorder. The experience can vary by the age of the children, adolescences, or adults. For example, after the age of 15, females are twice as likely to become depressed as compared with men and in another study of 11-year olds, only 2.5% males met the criteria for major depression while only 0.5% females met the criteria, however in a study of 14-16 year olds, 13% of the females met the criteria while 3% of the boys did (Nolen-Hoeksema, & Girgus, 1994). This abrupt rise of depressive disorders in females during the mid-to-late adolescence years can be attributed to the more concerns a girl has as compared to boys. These concerns and worries can range from their achievements or lack of, body dissatisfaction, sexual abuse, and low self-esteem (Lewinsohn, Gotlib, & Seeley, 1997).
This is reinforced when another study found that between the ages of 15-18, the prevalence of depression in girls will increase to twice the prevalence of boys (20.69 to 9.58) but will taper off during 18-21 years of age for both genders (15.05 and 6.58) (Hankin, Abramson, Moffitt, Silva, Mcgee, & Angell, 1998).
Do not be mistaken that females are the only gender that that can become depressed; a good number of males can develop a unipolar mood disorder. In the average lifetime, 49% of all males will experience a depressive episode (as compared with 63% of all females). Males will become sad and dejected for different reasons, such as intimate relationships. When an intimate relationship ends, males are more likely to become depressed at the loss than females (Hankin et al., 1998). This could be attributed to the male's primal desire to have a mate so he will be able to continue his family name.
Depression has been around for a long time, spanning over thousands of years, dating back to the time of Saul I (Eaton, 2001), yet even though Depression is a disorder that is hard to understand. Even with all the studies conducted, there is still not much to regarding the causes of depression. There are so many ways one would be able to become depressed, but the most common and most prevalent way thus far would be the interpersonal relationships of a person and their family, social lives, and the relationship between their gender and the discrimination they suffer at the hands of others. Perhaps a better understanding of those relationships can open up new avenues where new options for treatment can be conceived and new ways of interacting to people to create a equality amongst people where they will not feel depressed.
Source:  http://www.personalityresearch.org/papers/beattie.html

101 Ways To Fight Depression

1. Read the following 100 tips.
2. Smile. Smile. Smile. Observe how you cannot be depressed and smile at the same time.
3. Wake up in the morning, look into the mirror and say loudly – this is going to be a great day. I am happy and I will be happy throughout the day.
4. Make a list with all the crazy stuff you want to do. Do it.
5. Get a pet and start talking about all your woes to this pet, who will be the greatest listener in the world.
6. Have a full body massage. Soft hands rubbing your back, the back of your neck will make you forget your name, leave alone depression.
7. Call a friend and pour your heart out. Don’t worry if the friend is bored out of his head with your whining; what are friends there for, if not listening to your woes once in a while at about 2 AM in the morning?
8. Dance with wild abandon. Go to the nearest (best) discotheque, night club, fun place and dance. Dancing is an excellent depression repellent.
9. Start walking – as an exercise. Find a place where you get enough eye candy “whatever your poison is” and you will find walking to be immensely therapeutic.
10. Treat yourself to something that you have been putting off for long.
11. Take the first flight/ bus/ train out and explore a new place for a week.
12. Get a sexy hairdo.
13. Volunteer your time to help the underprivileged in your vicinity. If nothing else, you will feel better that you are not at the receiving-end yourself.
14. When you wake up, first thing in the morning look into your own eyes (in the mirror) and do not stop until you listed top 20 blessings that you have been taking for granted.
15. Make a plan to discover what the eateries in your region serve – be adventurous.
16. Learn and practice meditation. If you cannot fight depression – at least you will get philosophical about it and attract appreciation.
17. Find a great book and read it.
18. Go on a blind date. Be honest form the beginning about your marital status, lest you will really gain an additional reason for depression.
19. Find comedy movies and watch them with friends. Laughing together is very therapeutic.
20. Join a laughter club and learn to laugh even when you do not feel like it.
21. Plan and play a practical joke on your friends.
    

    Plan and play a practical joke on your friends.
22. Chat with someone anonymously; hugely therapeutic.
23. Take a hot, hot bubble bath. If possible with someone you can ask to rub your back.
24. Go to the local animal shelter and save a pet. Bring it home and enjoy its company.
25. Write your troubles on a paper; then tear and throw it. Say to yourself, that you will overcome them all just like that.
26. Redo your home’s interior decor with bright and welcoming colours and furnishings.
27. Learn cooking. Phenomenal hobby – perhaps the best way how to fight depression.
28. Bunk work and use the day to do something you always wanted. The crazier the better – but sane stuff helps as well.
29. Buy a set of postcards and send a few lovely words to your family and friends.
30. Visit a chiropractor and re-align your body. Superb feeling.
31. Learn to taste and drink wine – both red and white, but best is the red wine.
32. Pick up a camera and start clicking funny and candid pictures. Will help you overcome depression any time.
33. Have a foot massage. If possible, every day.
34. Have a manicure/ pedicure with the foot massage.
35. Call friends over for a party and potluck. Lots of music, good friends, lots of chatting, good times.
36. Stop all alcohol. Alcohol is the worst weapon to battle depression. In fact this brings it on, instead of chasing it away.
37. Sing loudly in shower and out of the shower.
38. Use humour to describe your own woes. After a while they would not look as gargantuan.
39. Learn a new language.
40. Learn a new skill.
41. Get yourself a great one among the latest gadgets in the market. Learn all about it and use it.
42. Get a Nintendo Game and unleash the joy of playing games.
43. Have a massage by the opposite sex, i.e. males should get a massage by a female, and vice versa.
    

    Have a massage by the opposite sex, i.e. males should get a massage by a female, and vice versa.
44. Take random walks in different parts of your city; discover new places to eat, to have fun, to shop, etc.
45. Tell your mind to any jerk, who is rude to you or others. Feels superb.
46. Go bungee jumping or any such crazy stuff. Always keep your safety in mind.
47. Pick up the phone and call your parents, spouse, friends and/ or anyone dear and tell them you called because you wanted to say “I love you”.
48. Walk barefoot on green grass lawn.
49. Start a new saving method – stash some money there.
50. Find a way to earn money online. Pursue it as a residual income source.
51. Ensure you get at least 6-8 hours sleep in 24 hours, preferably at night. Use homeopathy medication if you are not sleeping well.
52. Learn and follow life’s best 2 rules. Rule No.1 – Don’t sweat small stuff. Rule No.2 – All stuff is small stuff.
53. You can make a difference in someone’s life. Do it. Be someone’s guardian angel. Do at least one good deed every day.
54. Learn yoga for anti-depression. Potent stuff.
55. Listen to any Self Hypnosis on youtube.
56. Buy a down comforter. Pure heaven.
57. Take one step at a time. Do not force yourself to speed things up.
58. Try a new dish every day. Discover the joy of discovering new stuff.
59. Read good comedy books. Witty comedy is the best.
60. Watch some great comedy serials such as Friends, M*A*S*H, etc.
61. Have some sinfully rich chocolate dessert.
62. Hug a friend/ family/ pet – hugs are excellent way to fight depression.
63. Get a brain-tester puzzle book and apply yourself to it. Excellent pastime; very exhilarating when you solve the puzzles.
64. Stop putting yourself down. Learn to forgive yourself.
65. Buy balloons. Be the kid once you were.
    

    Buy balloons. Be the kid once you were.
66. Spend time with people who love you.
67. Visit a fortune-teller or psychic and talk stuff.
68. Think positively. Chase all negative thoughts away, and replace them with positive thoughts. This is the key to how to fight depression.
69. Tell yourself, “You are No.1″. You need to pay attention to your own needs in your own life.
70. Have a thorough medical check-up.
71. Make it your job to help someone in need.
72. Get together with some like-minded people and disappear some place for an adventure weekend.
73. Learn martial arts for self-defense. It calms your mind and gives you a great sense of control.
74. Learn to play a musical instrument.
75. Give yourself an off day/ off week/ off month/ off year. Use it to do stuff you wanted.
76. Plan for the off month/ year.
77. Change your job. Fire the boss.
78. Find a new hobby.
79. Use your hobby to earn money.
80. Write a list of 100 blessings you have in your life.
81. Write “thank you” notes to all your family and friends for being there for you.
82. Write an appreciative note and send it your best friend.
83. Give coupons with wishes that they can ask of you to your children, siblings, spouse, friends.
84. Have an impromptu picnic.
85. Buy a goldfish. Buy more goldfish
    

    Buy a goldfish. Buy more goldfish
86. Learn to cook your favourite dish.
87. Take a holiday overseas.
88. Learn a new sport.
89. Learn sign language.
90. Make new friends – offline.
91. Learn to set up a vertical garden indoors.
92. Set up a small herb garden indoors or outdoors.
93. Go for a body detox program.
94. Go for eating raw food for 30 days.
95. Go for ‘taste a new dish every day’ for a month.
96. Do something new every day for a month/ 3 months/ 1 year.
97. Laugh with abandon – as often as you can.
98. Talk. Talk with someone whom you trust and let it all out.
99. Visit a doctor and do something to fight depression – if it persists over 7-10 days.
100. Visit your childhood’s best places.
101. Finally Get a tattoo that you’ve always wanted even if not get one.

Chase the blues with these 101 fun tips. You will be back on your feet before you even know it.