Action leading towards achievement makes a lasting impact against your foes.
In a society bent on the “pursuit of happiness”, it’s no wonder why “happiness” drugs from prescription Zoloft to alcohol are used in almost in every class to escape into a little bit of heaven. No matter you wealth, position or background it’s this pursuit that binds all of us together like nothing else.
What is depression?
Well, according to dictionary.com, depression is the condition of being depressed (leave it to a dictionary to clearly explain something huh?)… but there is more, depression is a condition of feeling sad or despondent characterized by inability to concentrate, insomnia, loss of appetite, feelings of guilt, helplessness, hopelessness and thoughts of death.
Why do we get depressed?
Drug companies I believe are doing a big disfavor in this regard, there is that minority (like obesity) that no matter what they do, they will feel like crawling under a rock and staying there – for those people drugs are the answer but for everybody else, I believe drugs are the WRONG answer.
Evolutionarily speaking, depression is that stick that gets us off our butts and into action to feel “happy” again. Had a tough day on the Savannah and the kids are driving you nuts? Go hunt for some meat and make everybody happy with full bellies. You must remember that Mother Nature really doesn’t care if we are happy or not, our species survival does not depend on our emotions, it depends strictly on how many kids we can produce for the next generation.
What would happen if we where always happy?
This is like asking somebody what it’s like to always have money, you get use to it and it looses its value. If you are always in “happiness” mode, you will forget what it felt like to be in the “sad” mode so the value of happiness becomes lesser of value to you as time goes on. This is where I have a problem with drugs (prescription or otherwise), if you are always “on”, then you are dependent on artificial means of staying “on” so when you get “off” you crash and burn. Artificial joy is a fantastic recipe for disaster in my opinion… just ask your local drug addict 
Triggers for depression
Lets recap, nature doesn’t care about your depression and if you don’t get depressed then there is something wrong with you (not the other way around). I believe the root cause of depression in a society of plenty is people leading predictable and unsatisfying lives – I also believe this is also the root cause of obesity in our society. Unhappiness about your marriage, unhappiness about your job, tired of kids, tired of dealing with everyday problems… you name it… it all slowly builds up. Instead of SOLVING the problems doing simple lifestyle changes, we have been “marketed” to simply go to the doctor and ask for our “happiness” drugs, or worse yet, go to the local drinking hole and get our happiness by drinking away our sorrows. If you look as our society, avoiding action towards problems doesn’t seem to be working so well.
How to treat depression
I believe that 95% of depression that is not caused by a clinical condition out of the control of the patient can be easily treated by lifestyle choices. If you are in a bad marriage… GET OUT, if you are sick of your house… MOVE, if you are tired of the kids… SEND THEM TO A BABYSITTER AND GO ON VACATION. People saying “well, you can’t do that” are usually the same people who have their own problems as well and fear the unknown. Remember, I “preach” that instability is good for us – and I live what I preach
Basically, when our lives get so comfortable that they become predictable, that is when the zest for life (ei: happiness) tends to diminish in peoples lives… the longer they do nothing about it, the worst it gets. How do you treat depression? TAKE ACTIONS AGAINST IT… not words or half-assed steps… LASTING ACTION!
My personal bouts
I like every other human have had bouts with depression… I was once in a marriage that was in shambles, my life was a financial nightmare and everything I would touch would turn to muck. Just to give you an idea of how bad things where, I was so stressed out that my appendix decided it had enough and wanted out of my body… a few hours later it got its wish and I am still waiting for the post card of it on a beach somewhere
How did I get out of it? I didn’t resort to alcohol or drugs, I pushed myself DAILY towards turning things around, got a divorce (toughest thing I ever did), got my diet back into order, did lots of “house cleaning” and looking back today, there isn’t a day that I regret doing what I did… I fear how my life would have turned out if I wouldn’t have stepped to the plate and taken action. Was it easy? Hell no… but it had to be done and like many other things in life, the only person who can change your life is YOU. Since then, I never felt a hint of depression… and that was almost 6 years ago! Action leading towards achievement makes a lasting impact against your foes.
The Bottom Line
Nobody can treat your depression other then you… make the changes you are fearing to make in your own life and you will see that your depression will become a thing of the past.
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