Marriage counseling and managing depression

Marriage Counseling - Recovering form depression

In marriage counseling depression is addressed by helping a spouse to acknowledge the existence of feeling melancholy. Once this is done the next step is to start the process of recovery. A pre-requisite for the process of recovery is the understanding of how melancholy occurs. A person must first understand that chronic depression is the result of accumulation of perceived predicaments, adverse lifestyle and the physiological and the psychological state of mind. It is for this reason that people's reactions to the same predicament vary. Predicaments are generally unavoidable and there is no point in pretending otherwise, nothing can be done to prevent this, however, what can be done is to change ones own perception of these predicaments. The physical state of being directly effects the psychological state of mind, therefore dealing with melancholy starts by making small lifestyle changes. The first lifestyle change comes about through the dietary and medicinal changes that are recognised as being depressants. These include alcoholic beverages, some drugs and certain foods. This however will not be easy to do, as most substances that cause depression are also highly addictive. The next step is to address the physical state of being. Although the last thing someone suffering from melancholy would like to do is to get out of the house and exercise, it is nevertheless vital to the recovery process. Research has shown that regular exercise is as effective as any anti-depressant. This is because when exercising the body releases hormones into the blood stream that has the same effect as an anti-depressant drug. To benefit from exercise it is important to aim for about 30 minutes a day. The exercise should start gently and as your fitness develops then so should the intensity of the exercise. A 10 minutes walk can improve a person's mood by as much as two hours.

As certain foods and substances have depressant qualities, there are also foods that help to boost the mood. The type of food you eat can have a direct effect on melancholy. Research has shown that a deficiency in vitamin B complex can lead to melancholy. Therefore it is advisable to consume foods rich in vitamin B complex, such as eggs, citrus fruits, wholemeal bread, chicken, beans etc. Conversely, foods high in sugar and refined carbohydrates can trigger melancholy. This is because these types of foods release energy far too quickly into the blood stream, which results in an initial feeling of high followed by periods of depression as the blood sugar falls. Foods rich in essential oils also help to stabilise the hormones that regulate emotions such as aggression and depression. It is therefore important that oily fish such as Salmon, herring, Sardines, anchovies and Mackerel are consumed on regular basis. However, this consumption of seafood must be restricted to 2 servings per week, in order to avoid the possibility of ingesting excess toxins such as mercury. The frequency of the eating habit also has a bearing on an individuals' mood. It is important to adopt an eating habit of Little-and-Often (ideally small portions of food should be consumed every 2 to 3 hours). This will ensure the body gets regular intake of nutrition and that there is little fluctuation in the blood sugar levels.

Once exercise and diet is addressed, the next step is to look at the habitual lifestyle. It is important to make time to do the things that generate a feeling of happiness. These could range from making time to enjoy a hobby or simply socialising with friends or family. Sleep pattern also has a direct effect on the mood. It is important to have 8 hours undisrupted sleep every night. Too little or too much sleep can trigger the fight-or-flight hormones that eventually lead to feelings of melancholy. Lack of sunshine also triggers the feeling melancholy in some people. It is important to take a few minutes a day in the sun. If this is not possible then artificial stimulations should be considered, which can done by installing Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) light bulbs. The reason SAD bulbs have been shown to improve melancholy is because research has shown that people who are not exposed to the full spectrum of light are at greater risk of depression than normal. The sunlight is one example of a light source that emits in a full spectrum of light (a full spectrum of light is one which contains all the visible light colors in equal amounts). However, most artificial light sources only emit light rays in a limited range of spectrum, in cases of a Fluorescent light source the light emitted is primarily dominated by the green and the blue lights. However, the SAD light bulbs are designed to emit the full spectrum of light to resemble that of the sun.

Once the physical causes of melancholy are addressed, the next step is to address the psychological triggers. A long-term exposure to stress is usually one of the biggest causes of Melancholy and it is therefore important to learn to initially acknowledge their existence and then to manage them. The most common causes of stress are work, family, relationship, career and financial. Although stress can never be totally avoided, it can still be managed. The first step to managing the stress is acknowledging its existence. Once this is done it then becomes a question of identifying actions necessary to address it. Another common cause of melancholy is due to a behavior known as Self-perfectionism. People who are perfectionists tend to set themselves unrealistic goals, which ultimately lead to extreme bouts of stress. The accumulation of these stresses will eventually cause melancholy. People who suffer from depression tend to generally have a negative perception as a whole. It is therefore important to make a conscious effort to introduce a positive spin to every thought. This positive thinking re-programs the mind into seeing the good in all things, which should ultimately prevent depression. Although this will seem hard at first, and as such it is important to be surrounded by people with positive outlooks. Any association with negative people should ideally be avoided.

The final step to recovery would be to talk to others about any negative feelings and thoughts. Isolation and loneliness is another common cause of melancholy. It is therefore important to socialise with others at every opportunity possible, either by join a social club or taking up an activity that involves socializing. Helping other people has also been shown to greatly contribute to the recovery process. Helping others creates a feeling of self-gratification and satisfaction that greatly influencing the emotional welfare. Finally, if the feeling of depression becomes overwhelming, it is important to seek professional help.