Recent studies have shown that depression is often caused by not feeling good enough. It can also be down to not following our hearts desire or having the life we want and thus being full of regrets for the things we did not do, bringing on apathy, inertia and depression.
So what causes depression? Recently Catherine Zeta Jones and the cricketer Michael Yardy have both been in the news suffering from debilitating depression. People who appear to have it all suffer with depression because of the pressure to be perfect .
What Causes Depression – Low Self-Esteem
Not feeling worthy enough or believing we are good enough is the curse of the modern world, we believe we aren’t pretty enough, smart enough, rich enough etc – even when we have it all.
That’s why so many comedians are depressed, they put on the act of being happy and funny and then feel so much pressure to be funny all the time it actually makes them unhappy and depressed.
Sportsmen feel pressure to be peak performers all the time. Robbie Williams became very depressed once he had it all, because when you don’t have it all you have hope that one day your life will be great and then when your life is great and you are still depressed you feel even more worthless. You can also feel that you don’t deserve your success.
Women who are beautiful can never have a day off which makes them want do what Britney Spears did — cut off their hair get fat and give up.
Many beautiful women retire into seclusion. Liz Taylor , Rita Hayworth, Greta Garbo, Ava Gardner, Anita Pallenberg all did because they could not cope with peoples disappointment when they saw the older version and this lead them to suffer with depression.
Chemical Depression
Chemical depressions are all to do with our modern diet and modern lifestyle making us ill, but much more commonly depression is about not feeling loveable enough or good enough just as we are.
People who feel unlovable are often drawn and driven to fame as they feel it will cure them but actually fame increases the feeling since the feeling of “I’m not loveable but if I am famous everyone will love me” changes to “I am not loveable, everything I have is a fluke. My fans love my voice, body, lifestyle they don’t really love me” and of course in the public eye everyone gets to see the destructive behaviour so it can make everything worse.
Loss of Control
Depression is also about being unable to control events, when something like a partner getting ill and almost dying happens we realise we can’t control anything and this brought on the depression suffered by Catherine Zeta Jones. We can’t control outside events, the weather, traffic or even our bodies but we can control our thinking and learning to think positively and to take control of our thoughts is very effective at curing depression.
How to Cure Depression
Follow my simple steps to being free from depression:
Tell yourself you are enough
Tell yourself you are enough every day; do it when you are in the shower or whilst cleaning your teeth, our mind believes what we tell it repeatedly so the more you tell yourself you are enough the better you will feel. When you believe you are good enough and loveable enough so will others. It’s not about what you look like or have, it’s about how you feel inside. Telling yourself every day ‘I am enough I am loveable enough and good enough’ can and will change your life. all the clients I have encouraged to say this, including some who were almost suicidal, tell me it changed the depression for good. You can listen to my CD/Download Free From Anxiety and Depression to hear everything you need to make you feel better.
Follow your heart’s desire.
- If you always wanted to work with animals, but being a vet is beyond you — become a dog walker.
- If you wanted to act and have left it to late — work in amateur dramatics.
- If wanted to be a doctor, train to be a hands on healer or reiki consultant.
I Am Always in Control
Remember you are always in control if you can control your thoughts and the download Free from Anxiety and Depression will do this for you.
Essential Oils
Eat essential oils every day. The clue is in the word ESSENTIAL. Our body can’t make them and they are literally essential for our mental health.
Take fish oils with omega 3 in them or eat avocado, olives raw nuts and seeds or oily fish at least 3 times a week. (Omega 3 makes your body burn fat too.)
See the Light
Get some daylight as it boost serotonin a natural anti depressant.
Work Out
Exercise as it release endorphins which are a natural anti depressant.
Get Pleasure
Orgasms releases oxytocin: a natural anti depressant and happy hormone even DIY orgasms cause the same happy hormones to be released. Touch and massage release oxytocin. Even stroking a pet can release oxytocin.
Other ways to ease depression
- Tell yourself every day that you like yourself.
- Don’t try to be perfect, people who try to be or appear perfect are the most depressed, the most stressed and the most unhappy.
- Do what you love if that’s cooking, gardening, animals, children anything; fit it into your life remember it’s the simple things that give us the most pleasure.
- Praise yourself very day.
- Praise other people, pay them compliments every day.
- Take B vitamins, vitamin D and omega 3 if you are not eating foods full of essential oils.
If you’d like to know more on what causes depression, read my page on Free Yourself From Depression.