As we goes through life our circumstances such as job, friends, death of someone close, family and relationships gradually change.  All these can cause Depression.  Most often depression effects us physically and well as emotionally.  Usually, it’s so subtle we don’t even notice it.  Then one day we find it getting harder and harder to even get out of bed. Some Boomers feel like they don’t know where they fit into the working world, their role in their family and society, and they worry about the future, retirement, and health.  They are entering into a time of life very different that anything they’ve ever experienced.  It’s difficult to have your body age and not being able to do things that used to be so easy.  If you think about it, your 50th birthday is truly the mark of middle age.  You have your life or less to live.

When it gets to that level, it’s time to do some soul searching and re-evaluating of your life.   Make sure you’re living life by your standards and expectations not someone else’s.  Ask yourself are you investing time in your relationships, and things that you enjoy, such as photography, music, hiking, running or exploring the world.

Depression, according to Merriam-Webster is, “a state of feeling sad : dejection (2) : a psychoneurotic or psychotic disorder marked especially by sadness, inactivity, difficulty in thinking and concentration, a significant increase or decrease in appetite and time spent sleeping, feelings of dejection and hopelessness, and sometimes suicidal tendencies.”

So, what causes us to feel this way?  Webmd.com says, “Depression is an extremely complex disease. It occurs for a variety of reasons. Some people experience depression during a serious medical illness. Others may have depression with life changes such as a move or the death of a loved one. Still others have a family history of depression. Those who do may experience depression and feel overwhelmed with sadness and loneliness for no known reason.”

So, what do we do about these feelings?  Depending how severe it is, definitely see your doctor.  There are a wide variety of medications that can you you feel yourself again.  In addition, there are simple steps to help you start feeling better.

One of the most important things you can do, and it can be hard but well worth it, is to pull the Positive Thinking and Talking to Yourself card.  I can’t stress enough how important this is.  It’s up to you how you react to situations, what you believe in, what you believe you are and what you say to yourself and to others.  One of the most powerful quotes I’ve heard, and I use everyday is that “Thoughts Become Things”.  Our brains are Creating Machines, and WE decide what we Create with our Thoughts and Words.   Admittedly, this can be hard, especially if your depression is in your family genetics or a chemical imbalance.  That’s no reason to give up and not try to help yourself feel better!

Your quality of life is in your “hands” (brain, thoughts, words).  You are creating your Tomorrow with the thoughts and words you have Today!  Make your thoughts work For you rather than Against you.

Here is a great article from psychcentral.com to help you get started.  A better life awaits you!  Thanks for reading, John

After trying 23 medication combinations, 7 psychiatrists, two hospitalization programs, and every form of alternative therapy available–from homeopathic remedies to yoga, I assumed I was one of those unfortunate statistics with treatment-resistant depression, a Humpty-Dumpty type that would never recover from the fall of a nervous breakdown.

There was no magic that happened between then and now, the month my book about my recovery hits the shelves. I just kept on getting out of bed. Even on the days where my thoughts were cemented in the black stuff, in negativity and toxic emotions, I tried to pick up one foot and place it in front on the next.

Here are the tools I picked up along the way, the basic lessons that help me in my mission to stay Beyond Blue, or at least out of black for as long as possible.

1. Laugh.

From my 12 years of therapy I have learned at least one thing: I use sarcasm as a defense mechanism. But I’m keeping the jokes and the acerbic tone because Abe Lincoln and Art Buchwald, two of my mental health heroes, said wit was essential to sanity, that comedy can keep a person out of the psych ward (not really). And if you’re laughing, you’re not crying … even though the two look similar from 10 feet away.

2. Sweat.

As a recovering addict, I love any buzz I can get. Working out–any exercise that gets my heart rate over 140 beats per minute (into the cardiovascular zone) does the job. And in a safe way, so I don’t have to cheat on my sobriety. I’m probably as addicted to exercise as I was to booze, but this is one mood-altering activity that doesn’t deteriorate my marriage and my other relationships.

The right kind of exercise actually acts like an antidepressant: increasing the activity of serotonin and/or norepinephrine in your brain and releasing those coveted endorphins and other hormones that reduce pain, induce euphoria, have a calming effect, and combat stress.

3. Eat the right stuff.

The more I investigate–both through research and nonscientific experiments with body–the more I realize how my diet affects my mood.

Here are the bad boys: nicotine, caffeine (it’s a drug, which is why I’m addicted to it), alcohol, white flour and processed food (what you live on when you have kids who won’t touch tofu and spinach); and sugar … that’s a whole other blog post.

Here are the good guys: protein (eggs, milk, cheese, yogurt, meat, fish, chicken, seeds, nuts); complex starches (whole grains, beans, potatoes); vegetables (broccoli, spinach, squash); vitamins (vitamin B-complex, vitamins E and C, and a multivitamin); minerals (magnesium, calcium, and zinc); and omega-3 fatty acids.

4. Sleep!

Sleep is crucial to sanity. Let me repeat: Sleep is crucial to sanity.

Because sleep disturbances can contribute to, aggravate, and even cause mood disorders and a host of other illnesses. You see, if you’re not sleeping, your brain doesn’t have an opportunity to do all the stuff it needs to do without the constant interruption of your thoughts. The brain works night shifts. And when it doesn’t get all the work it needs to do done … well, it gets a tad irritable, like you do when you can’t get your work done. And it takes it out on you.

According to one recent study, sleep deprivation can cause a decline in cognitive performance similar to the intoxicated brain. That’s right! Drunks can reason and judge better than you if you’ve gone too long without getting some zzzzs.

5. Light up.

Have you ever noticed all the crabby behavior in November and December?

Changes in the amounts of daylight a person gets alters circadian rhythms, the internal biological clock which governs fluctuation in body temperature and the secretion of several hormones, including the evil one, Cortisol. When a person gets less daylight than she needs, her circadian rhythm starts to act like a high-maintenance houseguest – getting all flustered over small stuff (i.e. the wrong kind of soap). That’s why light treatment is so effective for fragile human beings like me. If I can’t get outside for at least a half hour a day, I try to sit under my mammoth HappyLite, a lamp with 10,000 lux, and think happy thoughts.

6. Rely on friends.

I used to be a loyal support-group kind of girl. But since I’ve had kids, getting to meetings is much more difficult. So I’ve found my support in other ways–in phone calls and e-mails and visits to friends and relatives who also suffer from depression or bipolar disorder. That lifeline kept me alive during my suicidal days, and continues to empower me every single day.

During the darker days of my depression, I walked around with six phone numbers in my pocket. Because I didn’t want to wear out any one friend or relative, I’d call two people a day, and rotate the numbers. I spent hours on the phone and writing e-mails and visiting friends because I needed constant support.

(from http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2010/01/25/6-steps-toward-freedom-from-depression/)