It may come in waves, it may control our lives. Depression is something that many of us struggle with.

For some people, depression has been a part of their experience for so long that they've begun to believe it's what they are. They become experts at "doing" depression--hiding it, working around it, even achieving great things (but at the price of great struggle and little satisfaction).

Recent research suggests some genetic cause, or other biological pre-disposition towards depression. However in my work with depressed clients, I have not found a single paradigm that explains all of its elements.

Here is an outline of a more holistic approach that has worked for many of my clients.

1) Feel your feelings (depression is the suppression of feelings -- acknowledging those feelings often causes depression to improve). I find that what limits a person's capacity for love or recognition is what they are afraid to feel. Wherever I go, whomever I talk with, their ability to stay in a marriage, to work consciously, to be without fear and to experience joy depends upon what they have the capacity to feel.

Remembered pain is hostility and anger, anticipated pain is fear and anxiety, pain directed at yourself is guilt. The depletion of energy with all of the above is depression.

(2) Realize that nothing comes out of the blue (your depressed state has a root cause that you should look for in events or situations).

(3) Challenge your depressed thinking by questioning your assumptions, especially ones that center on meaningless perfectionism.

(4) Establish priorities so that your energy focuses on what's most important to you.

(5) Communicate as directly as possible to everyone around you. Depressed people are often poor communicators who don't get their emotional needs served. With better communication, they can experience a more supportive emotional environment.

(6) Take and expect the right responsibility for yourself -- for your own actions. Depressed people often feel guilty about things that they have no responsibility for (like the death of a parent or the divorce of their parents). Eat good whole foods. A new study published in the February 15, 2005 issue of Biological Psychiatry shows that certain foods are better at treating depression than antidepressant drugs. The study found that omega-3 fatty acids and foods high in a compound called uridine were able to reduce the symptoms of depression as well as or better than three different antidepressant drugs that were tested. In addition to the omega-3 fatty acids, these health enhancing substances are found in walnuts, molasses and fish, according to researchers. This research was conducted at the McLean Hospital, affiliated with Harvard.

(7) Look for heroes. These role models can empower you to see the way to improve, especially if they were also depressed like Abraham Lincoln.

(8) Be generous. Helping others puts your own situation into perspective.

(9) Cultivate intimacy. This means letting down your defenses so people can see you as you are, and accept you for that. Depressed people often feel disgusted with their true selves, and hide that self from everyone.

(10) Get help when you need it. This may be the most important piece of advice since so many people do not. Medicine often has value and can help a person achieve a level of stability so that they can tackle the other causalities of their depression. A severely depressed person should seek professional help and find a medication of some kind before starting this work. It could be very overwhelming for someone who is in complete despair.

There are many other actions that you can take to lessen, lift, and heal your depression.

Opening to your feelings, communicating your needs, and cultivating intimacy are powerful life tools for healing and for living.

? Christopher Stewart

Christopher Stewart is a Clairvoyant Counselor and Medical Intuitive assisting others in their healing process.

His work is compassionate, uplifting and empowering. You can visit Christopher's website at http://www.clairvoyantguide.com for further information and to schedule a private consultation.

You can also look for frequent updates to his blog at: http://intuitiveliving.blogspot.com/

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