More Self Help Articles
What Causes Depression?
Let there be no doubt that depression is a serious mental illness that requires months and sometimes years of treatment on the path to a cure. Millions of Americans across the United States are affected by depression each and every year. To make things worse it is estimated that only a third of those who suffer the disease will ever seek treatment. Depression has always been classified as a mental affliction. Therefore, many Americans choose not to be placed into that category. They would rather deal with the problem on their own than risk being stereotyped should they seek assistance. Depression is more common- place than you might think and it will not go away on its own.
So, what causes depression? The answer can get very complicated because you have to take many factors into consideration. There are so many things factored into the cause of this disease. Lets examine some of the most notorious. Many medical professionals believe that depression is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. This may be the case, but what causes that imbalance? Typically the causes stem from biological, genetic, physical, mental and environmental implications. There are those inflicted that never really determine what spurned their depression. Many become depressed when they are diagnosed with a very serious medical condition. This is especially the case if the diagnosis presents the possibility of death or impairment.
Another cause of depression can be the emotional pain felt after losing a loved one. In many cases the loss can be very traumatic. Some depression is brought on after years of physical, emotional or sexual abuse. In addition, many cases of depression are given birth by substance abuse, rather it be drugs or alcohol. The mental state of a human can be very fragile depending on their environment and the life events that they have been exposed too. In many cases depression is passed on genetically. Those afflicted have a family history of the disease. There are even some prescribed medications that can bring on depression. It has been clinically proven that some high blood pressure medication can cause depression.
One of the major causes of depression is stress. Stress can derive from many different areas in our life. Some of that stress can even be related to positive events in our lives such as promotions, graduation or moving into a new house. People tend to stress when they face the unknown, like a new job or new financial obligations. In addition, many are stressed from personal conflicts with their loved ones, associates in employment or friends. There are a great number of people who are stressed from simply trying to perform their jobs to satisfaction and trying to support their families from week to week. By determining the cause, medical professionals have a much better chance of administering a treatment. If you or someone you love suffers from depression-please seek medical assistance.
Depression is caused by biological, genetic, emotional and environmental factors. Stress certainly plays a major role in the advent of depression. There are wide ranges of stress related issues that affect us every day in our lives. The online depression test can only assist you in identifying the prospects in your case. It can only educate you to the potential threat and give you the opportunity to follow up on it. There are medications like anti-depressants and natural herbs on the market to treat depression. Medical professionals offer talk therapy and depression support groups offer a way to share those feelings with others who suffer the same disease. If you or someone you love thinks they may be suffering from depression take a depression test and see where you stand.
To learn much more about the different types of Depression, visit http://www.insightintodepression.net where you’ll find this and much more, including treatment and cure.
More infomation at WikipediaHow Affirmations Can Bring You Success
Positive affirmations are powerful tools to help you manifest what you desire into your life. Everything that exists is made up of energy in the form of radiating wavelengths. The denser the form, a rock for example, the lower the energy levels, at the other end of the spectrum there exists things that have high levels of energy. These high energy level forms are things like light, colors, and thoughts.
Yes, thoughts!
Have you ever had a day off work and did a lot of thinking, and then found at the end of the day you was exhausted? On a day you hoped was for rest, it tired you out just by thinking.
So if you ever needed confirmation that thoughts were powerful, then they can tire you out. If we flipped that scenario slightly, if thoughts can reduce your energy, we must therefore have thoughts that can fill you with energy.
Expanding on that theory that thoughts give us energy, we must consider what out thoughts can project onto others. If we are sad for example and enter a room with happy people, we can sometimes see their happiness subside as my sadness energy over powers their happiness energy. That can also work the other way. Should I walk into a room bounding with happiness the other people’s energy may try to over power mine but invariably if the energy is positive, my happiness will flow through the room.
So if we can see first that thoughts alone are powerful, we can begin to understand where affirmations sit into this system of using energy to empower our life.
Thoughts, when focused on and combined with passion, in time, are manifested into reality. That is the power of positive affirmation, it is the repeated reading of a statement or thought that gets into the sub-conscious mind and radiates from us to attract the necessary means to bring forth that thought into reality.
Affirmations are simply statements that we make to ourselves; it’s our self-talk. You use affirmations all the time, whether you’re doing so intentionally or unintentionally.
Successful people think successful thoughts. They know that entertaining thoughts of failure and defeat is a waste of time. Successful people think of future possibilities, not of past set backs.
Many people think that the way you change your life is by changing your thinking. Many people instead think that once they get the success that they desire, then will be able to be positive and think thoughts of success.
Affirming positive thoughts using positive affirmations dramatically improves life outcomes. Think negative and your life will be negative. Think positive and your life will be a success.
Affirmations help to print within your sub-conscious mind that positive is better than negative.
This link between attitude and outcome is well supported by medical and scientific research. Affirmations are not just a fad, but supported by scientific research.
It does not matter which aspect of life you choose to examine, health, relationships, prosperity, a positive attitude is a key factor in success. “I have done great work today that will advance my career” – not “I hope I get something right today otherwise I’ll lose my job”
Positive affirmations are words that offer power to the subconscious mind … to read more please visit this site: http://www.GlobalTop5.com/affirmations.html
Mr. P. Booker Senior Affirmation Advisor For more information on
More infomation at WikipediaDaring to Be Different: Making a Difference in the World
Difference is needed in our world now more than ever. The democracy of difference is afoot. We are at a turning point, personally and collectively in our world. If there is one idea that sums up this election it is the desire for change and the desperate need to embrace a “different” approach. Honoring and respecting difference is crucial to creating positive change. It all begins by understanding and accepting our own differences.
Webster’s defines Difference as 1) a significant change in or effect on a situation: 2) a distinguishing characteristic; distinctive quality, feature: 3) the act of distinguishing; discrimination; distinction. Notice, it doesn’t connote “the opposite or the enemy” it simply implies a different experience, thus it involves change.
If we are to create positive change and make a difference in our world we must begin with ourselves. There are two keys that are crucial to celebrating difference in your self and others. They are your willingness to change and to face your fears of difference.
The first key is a willingness to change. Being different involves change. Change is always desired intellectually. However, the emotional experience of change requires that we feel chaos and uncertainty. Most people are afraid of chaos and recoil from it, thus resisting real change. All genuine change produces chaos; the bigger the change the greater the chaos. Remember that once the changes are made the chaos will subside and empowerment will prevail.
The second key is a willingness to face the fear of “being different”. As children we sought security by conforming to others; “being different” threatened our sense of security. We tried to be the same as everyone else, denying our own difference. Then, in our adolescent years, we usually rebel in order to try to breathe a breath of individuality after all those years of denying our difference. But deep down we continue to deny the value and importance of our uniqueness.
Fear of being rejected or humiliated by our difference is a challenge we all face. In order to make a difference in life, we must respect our own and each other’s difference. This involves looking deep inside our selves and revealing the buried treasures of our God- given uniqueness and making the choice to value our difference instead of fearing it.
Everyone feels the pain of “being different” to some degree. “I am too tall, too short, too thin, too fat, too smart, too dumb, too –”… name your difference. It is a part of being alive. Everyone feels either “too much” or “too little” of something. Why? Because we are made to be different! The analogy of a snowflake comes to mind. We are all made of the same substance, Soul and Spirit, but express ourselves differently, as unique expressions of life. Honoring and respecting difference is the greatest source of personal freedom.
How to Honor Difference to Create Positive Changes in your Life.
One: Remove the judgment you have toward difference. When our ego encounters difference we either elevate it to a position of “superiority” or we diminish it to a position of “inferiority”. In other words, we think we are either “better than” or “less than” respectively, rather than simply different. The ego loves to categorize things either right or wrong, and is uncomfortable with neutrality.
Challenge yourself to let difference be neutral. Consciously let go of judgments and begin to change your preconceived ideas, so that truth can reveal itself. A good analogy is language. There is Spanish, French, German and English only to name a few of the hundreds in our world. Which one is “better than”? Which one is “less than”? They are simply different forms of communication that benefit different societies and cultures. One isn’t inherently superior to another. When you can feel the same neutrality for all people who are different then you, then real healing and change is underway.
Two: Understand the Paradox of Difference. In order to honor difference, we must be aware of our commonality. In order to feel the value of our uniqueness we must also understand and experience our sameness. We have both qualities within us.
Everyone has experienced a different childhood. Even identical twins have different experiences and perceptions of their past. No two are alike. Agreed? If everyone has had a different past, then how do we relate to each other? We must look to discover the sameness or oneness that unifies us. It is most easily found within our emotional natures.
Regardless of your different experiences everyone has felt pain, loneliness, rejection, love, joy and peace. Our emotions unify our differences. Because we know what it feels like to be hurt or comforted, we can easily relate to others pain or joy. Emotion is the universal bond that unites us while still honoring our difference. Love is the greatest unifier of all — a mature love that seeks to be understanding rather than to be understood. Love would be equivalent to a smile that transcends all language barriers.
Three: Embrace the Dignity of Difference. Owning the uniqueness of yourself and others will create a feeling of value. Focusing on value versus, “better or less than” begins to build the dignity of difference. Begin to witness the value of different people, cultures and beliefs in our world rather than blindly fearing and judging them. Look for the truth that unifies our difference, find the oneness and you will feel love.
Spiritual arrogance is perhaps the most destructive state of mind. Simply put, “My God is better than your God”, thus I have the authority (appointed by MY God) to kill you, if you worship differently than I do. This has been the source of every war between nations. It has always been a spiritual crisis rooted in the lack of respect accorded the dignity of difference?
If we need different languages to communicate in our personal societies, wouldn’t it also make sense to have different ways to communicate with God? Isn’t that really the true purpose of religion, a system designed to relate and communicate with God? The arrogance of assuming that your native tongue is better than other languages would carry over to religion.
Another paradox to face when resolving the dignity of difference is to take some time to reflect on how being different has been a source of pain and at the same time a source of your power, respectively. Rejecting your difference or accepting it leads to pain or power. Go deep inside yourself and explore the depth of your difference. Write about it. Start from a distance, write about your childhood and then work your way to your current reality. How do you feel different today than you did back then? Has it changed? Have you been able to recognize and transform the feeling of being different into a positive and empowering experience? Explore your feelings of being different from a physical, sexual, emotional, intellectual and spiritual perspective.
God has created us unique and unified at the same time. We share commonality with others like the water that makes up a snowflake (emotions) and yet, like every snowflake, we each have our unique individual patterns of expression. These opposing forces challenge us to either resolve this paradox by adding love and understanding or to ignore them and remain the same.
Those who dare to think, feel and value their difference are truly the leaders in our world. In order to make a difference we must embrace our uniqueness and heal the fear and pain of being different.
Where would we be if it weren’t for Christopher Columbus who dared to believe that the world wasn’t flat? Look at the contributions all the way from Einstein to Oprah, these courageous souls dared to support and value their difference. All great leaders who have made a huge impact in the world chose to value their difference. What if they had decided to be safe and didn’t honor their uniqueness or share it with our world?
It is time for each of us to face our fears and to accept, and value difference in our lives. Perhaps this is unconditional love: Choosing to Support, Honor, Accept, Respect and Experience (SHARE) the beauty and power of difference in our selves and with each other. What is the common challenge to all of our destinies is the need to embrace our differences and to share them with others. It is only through being different that we can honestly make a difference in the world.
Michaiel Patrick Bovenes is a personal empowerment teacher, speaker and author. Since 1994, he’s published a popular series of guided meditations and teahes classes called, “Soul-utions”. Michaiel lives in San Francisco, CA and teaches throughout the USA. Receive Free Meditation MP3 Download at his website at: RelaxationMeditations.com
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