A vast majority of people experience depression at one point or another in their lives.
Depression can be short-lived and last a few days, or it can be persistent and last for months, possibly years.
It can affect individuals in a variety of ways.
Some people with depression will lack the physical and mental capabilities to handle routine tasks on a daily basis while others can experience a lack of feeling for others and themselves; the results of both will lead an individual to self-inflict physical and psychological harm.
It is a common belief in society that depression is a mental illness; however, it should not be treated as one.
Depression should be considered more of as a phase in a person's life where he or she temporarily experiences a change in behavior.
If a person is depressed for a few years, that time may seem too long to be considered temporary; however, it is temporary if the life time of an average human being is taken into account.
The root cause of depression is an individual's encounter with negative influences.
These negative influences can inflict feelings of sadness, anger, loneliness, and many others.
Depression is nothing more than having great and prolonged experiences of these negative feelings.
So, how should one handle depression? 1) Removal of the negative environment Most of the causes of depression comes from environmental factors.
These factors can range from school or work-related issues to family and friend complications.
A negative environment will only foster more negativity.
Removing the depressed individual from a negative environment will lessen the negative feelings inside them.
Over time, all of those persistent and negative feelings will be replaced with much more enjoyable feelings.
In addition, a supportive environment is best for a depressed person to regain him or herself.
2) "Distractions" The term, in this scenario, is used to represent events that an individual can do to forget or suppress their negative feelings.
These events can be fun in nature or repetitive.
Some examples would include watching movies or online videos, playing indoor or outdoor games, listening to music, or browsing the Internet.
The point of this method is to consume one's free time during the day where an individual has nothing to do.
Taking up this time will not allow any negative feelings or thoughts to consume the individual.
3) Goal setting This method is similar to distractions in the form of giving the depressed individual something to do in his or her free time, but the task is to encourage work effort to achieve an accomplishment.
Working toward the goal could possibly give depressed people some confidence in themselves to work through their issues.
4) Consultation Consultation is the act of discussing issues with another individual who usually has experience or expertise on the subject matter.
The individual would express any and all concerns he or she may have and receive advice from the listener.
The thought of having someone to talk to is a massive help to the depressed individual.
They will understand that they are never alone and that someone knows their pain.
5) Medication The most common method for handling depression is to get medication, known as antidepressants.
The gist of it is simply that these drugs alter an individual's mood by restricting certain chemicals that interact with certain parts of the brain that cause people to feel emotions.
As a note to remember, all of these methods are not foolproof and require time to implement.
There are no easy and quick methods to handle depression.