Help With Feeling Well Again- Guest Post

February 21, 2018

With the annual #BellLetsTalk recently behind us and an ever growing awareness of mental illness, I believe it’s important to continue the conversation surrounding mental illness and work toward removing the stigma that prevents people from getting help when they need it. The following post is a guest post by Melissa Howard from http://stopsuicide.info/ and outside of my scope of practice as a massage therapist, however as a health care practitioner, it’s also important to encourage the awareness of health concerns, whether physical, mental or both, and to seek outside support when necessary. Please feel free to check out the website above and contact them, or myself for any questions you may have.

While we all struggle with feeling down from time to time, there’s a difference between the blues and a mental health issue. Mood disorders are serious health conditions that should not be ignored. Sometimes, ignoring mood disorders can have fatal consequences.

If you’ve been struggling with depression or suicidal thoughts, you’re not alone. According to Canada’s 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey on Mental Health, 5.4 percent of the Canadian population 15 and older reported symptoms that met the criteria for a mood disorder in the past 12 months, including 4.7 percent for major depression and 1.5 percent for bipolar disorder.

Mood Disorders Society of Canada has published a report that lists the symptoms of depression, including:

• Loss of interest in or enjoyment of your favorite activities. Did you used to love knitting or running but can’t make yourself do it anymore?
• Feeling worthless. Negative self-talk can make you feel like your life isn’t worth living.
• Excessive or inappropriate guilt. Do you feel guilty over something you can’t control?
• Thoughts of death or suicide. This is an emergency. Call a suicide hotline immediately.
• Trouble making decisions. Do you usually find yourself making decisions pretty easily, and suddenly you can’t decide which errand to run first or which email to read?
• Trouble concentrating. You find your mind wandering away from the things you are trying to focus on, such as work or a conversation.
• Feelings of irritability. Every little upset in your life is making you very angry.
• Fatigue or lack of energy. You’re just so worn out all the time.
• Aches and pains (such as headaches, stomach pain, joint pains or other pains).
• Sleeping too much or too little. Getting adequate sleep is healthy until it becomes something you do all the time. Being depressed also can make you wake up several times in the night for no real reason. Or, you wake up worried about the stressors in your life, anxious about the negative possibilities.
• Change in appetite or weight. Sometimes, when you’re depressed, you just can’t make yourself eat. Or, can’t make yourself stop eating.
• Feelings of restlessness or being slowed down. Do you feel restless but can’t figure out what to do about it?

All of these are warning signs, but if you have multiple symptoms, it’s time to seek help. Talk to your doctor to see what options are available to you. It might be a simple solution such as medication or talk therapy, but it might be a more serious illness and you should be in the care of a psychiatrist.

Those who suffer from depression often self-medicate with drugs or alcohol. Having a drink at the end of a rough day can sometimes lead to having many drinks at the end of every day. This is not a healthy way to cope. The most obvious reason is that you might drink to feel better, but discover that alcohol is a depressant. You feel worse after drinking than you did before. Then there is the potential for addiction, which will only make the problems in your life worse. So, avoid using alcohol and drugs as way to feel better.

If you are in crisis, call your local suicide hotline or emergency number. They will be able to help you get your distress under control and get you the help you need. If you’re not in a crisis but you still feel awful and don’t see a way out, get in touch with either your family doctor, a local counseling center, university counseling center, family mental health agency or faith leader.

The most important thing to remember is that having depression or another mood disorder is not a personal failure on your part. Many people suffer from these illnesses, just like many have physical ailments. Getting help can give you the healthy boost you need to enjoy life again.

Tags: anxiety, depression, mental health, mental illness, suicide

Categorized in: Uncategorized