Overcoming Depression

“Why do you stay in prison when the door is so wide open?” Jalal ad-Din Rumi Persian poet

While everyone experiences sadness due to a variety of reasons from disappointments to the loss of a loved one, a severe prolonged sorrow that interferes with the ability to function, maintain interests or feel pleasure is in fact an illness of depression.

Depressive illness comes in many forms and is common amongst millions of North Americans. For every person that suffers from this illness, there are three to four relatives, friends and/or employees who are adversely affected.

There are many causes of depression, most significant of which are genetic inheritance, biological imbalances and / or as a result of environmental stress such as job loss. It can also be caused as a result of physical illness or substance abuse.

There are a myriad of depressive illness symptoms ranging from lethargy, inability to experience enjoyment, exaggerated sadness, feelings of worthlessness to extreme irritability, unpredictable emotional change and impulsive high risk activities.

Overcoming Depression involves maintaining a positive outlook, being optimistic, gracefully accepting failure as a learning experience, being courageous, pursuing social, cultural, intellectual interests, motivating and rewarding oneself on goal accomplishments in addition to other strategies.