Depression — Page 2

Effective Methods Of Treatment For Depression And Heart Failure

August 6, 2012 by admin

Congestive heart failure, or CHF, is one of the most common chronic diseases in America. Almost five million people suffer from this condition, and half a million others develop it every year. This condition may be mild, or it may become disabling and interfere with normal life.

Individuals with CHF have numerous deviations from their previous daily routines. They must take medicines to decrease water accumulation and to decrease the work performed by their heart tissue. Many of these result in depression and fatigue. These medications may also hinder physical intimacy with a life partner.

One other problem that persons with CHF encounter is the need for major dietary changes. Many must quit eating beef, stay away from foods with a lot of fat or salt, or restrict the amount of fluids they consume every day. They are encouraged to diet and work to stay as healthy as they can.

Unfortunately, however, individuals with congestive heart failure no longer possess as much energy for physical activity as before. Rather, they must watch as friends and relatives play volleyball, swim, or jog. This leads to despair and loneliness. Furthermore, many sufferers grieve their loss of physical strength and energy.

The majority of individuals who experience this and have not yet reached retirement age also have to quit working. In addition to creating financial stress and anxiety, this can increase emotions of separation and seclusion. They are completely alone. Rather than of chatting with the worker at the next desk, they stare at TV while everyone else continues their live.

At times, people take depression or anxiety medicines to cope with these losses. Alternatively, people may opt for counseling or group treatment to assist them with meeting socialization needs and processing the mourning induced through their newly changed lives.

A better way of coping with this form of depression, however, has gained recent attention and achieved practically immediate approval among individuals who have trialed it. Additionally, unlike medicines or counseling therapies, this technique is quite inexpensive. People are able to learn to use it without encountering further financial hardship.

This approach, which uses a combination of Ericksonian hypnosis and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), assists people to learn to relax and seek peace and tranquility in the midst of daily life. These therapies guide clients to accept the new restrictions in their lives while aiding them to go on living life as completely as possible. Even depressed moods that result from medicines can be easily lessened through the successful application of the techniques utilized by hypnosis and NLP. Two of these strategies are anchoring and the Flash.

Ericksonian Hypnotherapy is often known as conversational hypnosis. It offers techniques for providing post-hypnotic suggestions rooted in a conversation or metaphor. The benefit of this technique is that it eliminates the resistance to direct suggestions that is almost always encountered when using more conventional forms of hypnotherapy.

Through anchoring, hypnotists and NLP Practitioners teach people to concentrate on positive thoughts and situations from the past in which they felt calm and capable. As the client is progressively engrossed in these memories, they can experience these emotions once more. The person then learns to make a concrete anchor for these emotions by touching two fingers in contact with one another. The unconscious mind makes a link between the physical touch of these two fingers, and the positive emotions. Afterward, upon encountering an anxiety-producing or upsetting moment, an anchor is triggered through touching together the two fingers, re-creating feelings of peacefulness and tranquility.

The Flash technique is also quite helpful to people who are struggling to overcome depression. The Flash technique trains the brain to automatically utilize the negative thoughts that are creating stress and sadness, as triggers for beneficial perspectives that stimulate relaxation and happiness. With practice, clients soon become almost unable to have negative thoughts!

Summary: Individuals with congestive heart failure typically experience sadness as a result of mourning the decline of their physical healthiness and well-being. Other elements that sometimes contribute to depression are medicines and financial stresses. Both Ericksonian Hypnotherapy and NLP offer excellent techniques for assisting people to manage sadness without having to spend enormous quantities of time and money.

Alan B. Densky, CH specializes in stress and depression related symptoms as a certified hypnotherapist and NLP Practitioner. During his 30 year career he’s helped thousands of clients. He offers CDs for self hypnosis therapy for depression. Visit his Neuro-VISION self hypnosis site for the hypnosis article library, or watch his free videos on hypnosis.

– Alan B. Densky, CH

SAD – When Seasonal Depression Gets Out of Control

August 5, 2012 by admin

Do you worry that your struggle with seasonal blues is lasting longer, or has become more intense than usual? How can you tell if this is merely a temporary ‘down time’, or if you may have an actual problem with Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD? Should you get treatment from a physician? Educate yourself about the symptoms of this condition, how this disorder can affect you, and what treatments are most useful.

Seasonal Affective Disorder is not just feeling “down” because winter is coming. This disorder begins when fall heads toward winter and the days become shorter. Symptoms usually start sometime during late summer or early fall. Furthermore, because of the severity and consequences of SAD and other types of depression, doctors need extensive evidence of the condition before they are willing to make a definite diagnosis. Although symptoms may be quite severe, doctors do not usually diagnose a person with this condition until after he or she shows symptoms for at least three winters in a row.

Individuals who suffer from SAD begin to experience emotions of sadness, decreased motivation, and often sleep for excessive periods. Furthermore, they report a craving for sugar or sweets. Additionally, the majority of persons diagnosed with SAD also have poor immune system functioning. Frequently, they find themselves becoming ill much more easily than persons who do not have SAD.

This disorder can negatively affect a person’s ability to function professionally or educationally. This decreased motivation can make it difficult for a person even to get out of bed and tend to normal activities. Sufferers have trouble participating in social encounters, or even at home. They frequently experience times of extreme anxiety and negativity. Occasionally, symptoms become severe and disabling enough that some sufferers even think about suicide and have to be hospitalized for treatment.

Not surprisingly, females seem to experience SAD more frequently than men do. Additionally, this disorder seems to get better yearly when spring arrives. In fact, in March or April, symptoms usually subside or resolve altogether – until autumn returns again. This is true even in states that tend to be cloudy or rainy throughout the entire year. In fact, almost one-fifth of those who are diagnosed with seasonal depression will eventually exhibit symptoms of bipolar disorder.

These sufferers primarily tend to be depressed in the winter months, but report normal moods during the remainder of the year. At times, however, individuals describe instances of unexpected elation, also known as mania. Like any other type of depression, this condition may become quite severe and even disabling if left untreated. Moreover, some persons experience very low-grade forms of SAD; they may struggle with sleepiness, decreased vigor, and loss of appetite. These individuals, however, do not usually endure instances of depressive moods or anxiety.

This kind of depression is fairly rare in sunny areas such as Tennessee, southern California, and even Colorado. In contrast, people who live in states with a large number of cloudy days, such as Indiana, Michigan, or Washington are much more likely to develop SAD. Citizens of countries such as Denmark, Germany, and Ireland also struggle with seasonal depression.

Scientists have tried many alternative strategies to help people recover from this debilitating problem. They have tried placing people under artificial light in an attempt to help them manufacture more serotonin and decrease depression symptoms. Researchers have also worked with medications such as antidepressants, and supplements, such as melatonin, in an attempt to relieve these symptoms of depression. Many individuals who experience Seasonal Affective Disorder also visit counselors when their condition is at its worst.

Each of these approaches have been used with varying degrees of success. All, however, are definitely more expensive and time-consuming than two more recent, innovative methods. Hypnotherapists have perfected the art of coaching clients to learn both NLP and hypnotherapy methods for depression. Using the latter method, people learn to talk themselves out of a depressive period and resolve their symptoms. These innovative therapies, hypnotherapy and Neuro-Linguistic Programming, have proven to have an astonishing degree of success in assisting people to recover from, and avoid future problems with SAD.

Summary: SAD is a kind of winter blues that recurs every year at almost the same time. Only persons who face this illness can determine whether they will continue fighting the symptoms alone, year after year, or to look for help in resolving this condition forever. Hypnosis and Neuro-Linguistic Programming for seasonal depression are both effective, innovative therapies that promise a rapid escape from depression without spending enormous amounts of money or energy.

Alan B. Densky, CH specializes in stress and depression related symptoms as an NGH certified hypnotist. He has helped thousands of clients since 1978. He offers CDs for hypnotic depression therapy. Visit his Neuro-VISION hypnosis website for the hypnosis article library, or watch his free videos on hypnosis.

– Alan B. Densky, CH