Depression can wreak havoc in anyone’s life. It not only brings relentless hopelessness, but can also alter the life of a person. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) reveals that more than 7% of young adults suffer from depression without their knowledge.

The cardinal symptoms of depression include feeling sad or disinterested in his or her surroundings for most of the time during the day. This may happen with or without nay stressor. Depression is also characterised by changes in day to day routines like having lack of sleep or more sleep, loss of appetite or eating more than needed, not getting happiness of previously pleasurable activities, getting annoyed and irritated easily, having abrupt mood swings, having feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, worthlessness, having death wishes and ideas for committing suicide etc.

If a person deals with the below mentioned symptoms for more than once a week, it is wise to visit a psychiatrist in order to treat it.

Eating irregularities: Loss of appetite is very common in those suffering from depression. A person might find himself withdrawn most of the time. This results in loss of interest in cooking or eating. Too many negative thoughts can curb hunger, resulting in weakness. On the other hand, depression can also lead to overeating. Affinity towards caffeine, chocolates, and ice cream dramatically increases. Studies have shown that these food items can give a soothing feeling. This being said, they are also responsible for weight gain in a person in a very short span of time.

Sleeping irregularities: A depressed person might find himself sleeping too much or too little. The disengagement from daily lives and sudden energy drop makes a person fatigued for the better half of the day, resulting in more sleep. This also serves as an escape mechanism for many. There is also the other lot who can hardly sleep due to depression. Irrational thinking and a sense of vengeance can cause this problem. This is a far worse problem. Lack of minimum amount of sleep can disturb the body’s internal clock, resulting in fatigue and tiredness.

Frequent agitation: If your friends complain of frequent snapping and agitation from your end, you might be suffering from depression. A load of heavy emotion results into frequent mood swings and force a person to behave irrationally. The sense of understanding and empathy tends to take a back seat and gets replaced by irritation and pain during this phase. A person can find himself on the edge with small and little things.

Challenge in concentrating: Forgetting a deadline or losing focus in work is a common tendency witnessed if faced with depression. Concentrating on a job becomes a major challenge. Since the mind is preoccupied with negative thoughts, a person portrays risky behaviour and poor decision-making. Reiteration of the same thoughts can make concentration extremely challenging for a person suffering from depression.

Hard to enjoy a hobby: If a person finds it difficult to enjoy things he previously loved doing, he might be suffering from depression. Depression makes it difficult for a person to seek pleasure in fun activities. It creates a vicious cycle of despair and loneliness. Isolation from any company is what a patient of depression longs for.

One of the major pitfalls of modern professional as well as personal life is stress. With obesity and bad diet, stress completes the unholy trinity of the three pronged problems which contributes to many modern lifestyle related disorders. Even if you control obesity and diet through lifestyle changes, stress is inherent in our everyday life and mostly is not in your control.

However, Ayurveda has some great methods through, which you can limit or minimize stress and limits its effect on your mind, body and soul.

Ayurveda - The holistic approach to stress
Ayurveda has been around for thousands of years and is thus, a great tool to fight or reduce many of the physical and mental ailments that afflict you. Ayurveda’s approach at busting stress is thus, very well rounded. These methods help keep your mind still to reduce stress and also reduce the ill effects of stress on your body. Some of the elements of this holistic diet are mentioned below:

1. Change your diet: Stress creates craving for unhealthy food, which is either very spicy or has a lot of processed sugar or fat. It is a temporary fix, which is again required when the next bout of stress hits, resulting in a pattern akin to addiction. One of the first steps is to break the cycle by changing eating habits. Stress occurs as a reaction to adversities in the world and rather than food aggravating the vata, pitta and kapha doshas, it should pacify and balance them. Whole and healthy food is what you need in such a case and it can comprise of

Soups

Root vegetables

Stews

Simple foods such as rice or roti

Green vegetables among others

2. Drink herbs in form of beverages to reduce stress: There are many forms of Ayurvedic herbs, which can help combat stress. One natural response among many people when stressed is to consume coffee or tea in large quantities, which may actually aggravate the problem. Try drinking Ayurvedic herbs as tea, which have been specially formulated to combat stress and correct the unbalanced doshas within the body.

3. Try Aromatherapy: Incense sticks and other specially formulated aroma candles can be used to create a relaxing atmosphere in your home where you can sit and meditate while the pleasant aromas and the herbs within them can lower your stress level and act as a release point.

4. Abhyanga: This is a form of self-massage with the help of specially medicated herbal Ayurvedic oils. It helps the body by relaxing the muscles, lubricating connective tissues and also improving circulation. Abhyanga reduces stress within the body and keeps you calm and relaxed. This will help you to reduce stress and also handle it better on a daily basis.

5. Pranayama, yoga and exercise: One of the most effective tools to combat stress and improve your physiological condition is through yoga and pranayama. Pranayama in particular is one of the most effective methods to regulate multiple functions of the body and to ensure your mind stays still and calm. Certain yoga poses can also be emphasized on to ensure better stress relief. Also ensure that you diligently follow your exercise routine daily as it is proven to be one of the most effective ways of combatting stress.

6. Herbs: Certain herbs can be used as medications, which can restore the balance of doshas. Sometimes, stress is caused due to internal problems rather than incitement from the outside world. Some of the herbs that can be used in medicated combinations in such cases are triphala, ashwagandha and brahmi. However, it is best to consult with an Ayurvedic practitioner who can prescribe tailor made medications for you.

Emotional problems make direct tasks and simple errands harder. High feeling, bubbling disappointment and hurt emotions motivate the person. Certain people become very protective. Protectiveness causes us to pry on others. Others might want to disconnect completely and resolve issues in a different manner. A great many people manage their emotional issues by opposing, quelling and overlooking them. At this point, your brain feels uneasy and you end up making rash decisions. However, there are ways to deal with emotional problems. These are as follows:

Be aware: Try to stay active and be aware of solid feelings and sentiments. Work on improving them as they show up and quickly misidentify with them. Advise yourself that you are not your feelings and that they are only temporary.

Use labeling: Utilize naming. Research has demonstrated that naming and surveying a feeling changes the feeling into a subject of examination and consequently diminishes its power on you. So in case you are feeling furious, essentially let yourself know that this is you being angry and you will in all probability see that the force of the inclination instantly drops.

Get curious: Rather than opposing the emotions and sentiments, get inquisitive about them. Focus on how they affect you. Where in the body do they show? How do the diverse muscles in your body feel? How is your breath? Hold your emotions and sentiments in present mindfulness and simply let them do their thing without judging or sticking to them. Utilise the possibility of your brain as the sky and your emotions and sentiments as clouds that are passing by.

Face-to-face interaction: Up close and personal social interaction with somebody who thinks about you is the best approach to quiet your nervous system and calm anxiety. It additionally relieves stress-busting hormones, so you will feel better regardless of the possibility that you cannot change the upsetting circumstance itself. The key is to collaborate with somebody who is a decent audience or someone you can consistently talk with face to face, or who will hear you out without a prior motivation for how you need to think or feel.

Exercise and meditation: The brain and the body are inherently connected. When you improve your physical well-being, you will consequently encounter more prominent mental and enthusiastic betterment. Physical movement likewise discharges endorphins, intense chemicals that lift your state of mind and make you happy.

Normal exercise or action can majorly affect mental and enthusiastic medical issues, mitigate stress, enhance memory, and help you to rest better.

In case that you continue facing this frequently, you will soon find that your relationship with your mind will begin to change. You will build up an intense metacognition (the capacity to face your reasoning) which helps you to handle your emotions and feelings in a great manner.

In the fast paced world today, everyone is in a hurry to get things done and thus, sleep disorders, chronic stress and anxiety are natural outcomes. They may appear to you as very common and do not concern much. But in reality, they can be extremely harmful to your health. High blood pressure and diabetes are some of the most serious results of chronic anxiety and so these must not be neglected. Though there are uncountable ways of treating these problems, it is better to start with Ayurvedic home remedies as they can cure you completely of anxiety and depression without causing any side effects.

Drink a cupful of chamomile tea when you are feeling anxious

Chamomile contains apigenin and luteolin, which are known for promoting relaxation. A recent study conducted at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Centre reports that the patients who are detected with generalized anxiety disorder and took chamomile tea supplements for 2 months, experienced a significant reduction in anxiety and depression symptoms as compared to those patients who were given a placebo.

Try to have about 3 grams of Omega-3 a day

There is enough evidence that Omega-3 fatty acids help in easing anxiety symptoms as well as lifting your mood by reducing the stress chemicals like adrenaline and cortisol in the body. You can have canned fatty fish like tuna, salmon along with a handful of walnuts and flax seeds with warm milk as these are all great sources of Omega-3 fatty acids.

Breathe in lavender when you are stressed out

People who receive a regular massage with lavender oil are found to be more confident and optimistic and less anxious. It can even lower down the systolic blood pressure, which is related to the stress levels. You can also add a few drops of lavender oil in your bath as well as your pillow. If you want an immediate release from stress, then adding a few drops in a cup of hot water and inhaling it right away can be a great option. Lavender oil can be used in any form you want. So you may dab a few drops right on your skin as lavender is one of very few essential oils that can be directly applied.

Anxiety itself is very harmful, and it even paves the way for more severe ailments. If you had been suffering from anxiety and chronic depression for quite some time, then it is advisable to try these home remedies before popping in those anti-depressants with loads of side effects.

Depression is a very common phenomenon in contemporary times. It mostly affects those in their teenage and even those who are in their early thirties. Depression can be caused due to many reasons and must be treated quickly to prevent it from turning into a chronic illness with other side effects. Common symptoms of depression include less socialising, less talking with people and sitting at home or locked behind doors for long duration. At times, one even reduces the intake of food and remains in an agitated mood for a long period of time. When it becomes severe cases, medicines need to be administered to the patients to bring them out of their depression.

The interesting part of this condition is that the patient sometimes knows that he/she is suffering from depression and should try to get out of it.

Homeopathy for Depression and Anxiety

Homeopathy is one of the most popular holistic systems of medicine. The selection of remedy is based upon the theory of individualization and symptoms similarity by using holistic approach. This is the only way through which a state of complete health can be regained by removing all the sign and symptoms from which the patient is suffering. The aim of homeopathy is not only to treat depression and anxiety but to address its underlying cause and individual susceptibility. As far as therapeutic medication is concerned, several medicines are available for depression treatment that can be selected on the basis of cause, condition, sensation and modalities of the complaints. For individualized remedy selection and treatment, the patient should consult a qualified homeopathic doctor in person. Some of the commonly indicated homeopathic medicines are listed here:

1.Aurum Metallicum- This medicine helps recover from deep-seated depression. The patient requiring this medicine is likely to have lost interest in life. There is a sense of loathing for life, lack of joy, loss of smile, loss of hope. He may have seen a very hectic and even successful career; and due to some triggers, there would be a U-turn and the person falls into deep valley of depression.

2.Manganese- This metal medicine has ample of gloominess, depression and sadness.

Here are some of the tips and tricks of coping with depression:

1.Overcome your thoughts with positivity: When in depression, one feels lethargic, is overcome by negative thoughts and cannot focus on doing anything. This needs to be challenged and battled with. During this time, you need to repeatedly convince yourself that there will good and bad times and there is always a way to deal with it. The bad phase would disappear just as it had come, and there is no point sulking on it now. Don’t let the negativity lead to more depression, as a healthy person still lives inside you.

2.Get fresh air daily: Going out for a walk or even sitting in the balcony to get some fresh air and morning sunlight can do wonders when you are suffering from depression. Light slowly eats away the darkness in you and helps you see the positive side of things.

3.Eat healthy food: There is a tendency to either give up on food or to eat a lot of junk food like pizza, chocolate and ice cream during this phase. This must be avoided. What is seen as depression eating is actually binge eating and can have serious consequences on your health and weight. Instead, healthy and regular meals should be eaten and meals should not be skipped at all.

4.Stay connected: You must stay connected with people, even if it means bringing a forced smile on your face. This can do wonders in helping you cope with your depression.