The reason why can’t i cry is because it causes anxiety. Anxiety is a feeling of unease or fear. People experience anxiety from time to time. When you are anxious, your body reacts with physical symptoms such as sweating, shaking, trembling and other signs of stress. These symptoms may be caused by feelings of tension in your chest, stomach or throat and they may cause shortness of breath or difficulty breathing which results in coughing up blood. Other symptoms include nausea, vomiting, dizziness and loss of balance. Some people may feel like they have a heart attack or stroke. If you suffer from any of these symptoms then it is best to seek medical attention immediately.
When you are anxious, your body releases endorphins which are natural chemicals produced in the brain and spinal cord called “opioids”. Endorphins act as painkillers and reduce the perception of pain. They also increase feelings of well being and euphoria. They are often referred to as “natural” opiates. They decrease the desire to do things that would normally make you feel uncomfortable such as eating, sleeping, or urinating.
Anxiety disorders are common among children and adolescents and they affect many aspects of their lives including sleep patterns, eating habits, social interactions and sexual activity. There is currently no cure for anxiety disorders but there are treatments available that can help relieve some of the symptoms. There are several ways to help treat your anxiety. These include therapy, relaxation techniques, or medication.
Your brain and central nervous system play important roles in regulating and controlling many of your body systems. When you experience stress or anxiety it causes changes in various parts of your brain and in other parts of your body. The hypothalamus is a part of the brain that helps control the sympathetic nervous system. It is connected to the pituitary gland which releases hormones that affect how your body reacts to stress. It also affects the hippocampus which plays a role in memory and learning.
It is normal for people of any age to feel sad or depressed when they experience a loss, whether it be minor or major. Grieving is the process of accepting and adjusting to life changes that are beyond your control such as death, divorce, or loss of a job. These changes are often accompanied by sadness, anxiety, and other strong feelings. When these feelings begin to interfere with your daily routine and cause you to feel stressed or unhappy despite the fact that you have no real reason to feel this way then you may be suffering from depression.
It is normal for people to cry as a result of feeling sad or depressed. The ability to express emotion is an important aspect of communication and it can also help you to feel better. When you do not have an outlet for your emotions, then they can build up and become ‘trapped’ causing you to feel even worse.
Everyone cries to a certain extent but when certain situations are likely to make you cry more often, this can be a sign of depression. These situations usually refer to something that has happened in the past such as a break up, divorce or death of a family member or friend.
It is natural for people to think more about the things that cause them to feel sad than the things that make them feel happy or content. This can lead to a ‘depressive mood’ where you begin to think negatively about yourself and your life. The way you think can have an effect on how you feel. If you think positive thoughts, you are more likely to feel less depressed. If you think negative thoughts, it can make you more depressed.
Everyone has ups and downs in their mood but if you’re feeling down for more than two weeks you should seek help.
Natural remedies such as herbs and vitamins are used to support the body’s normal functions without causing negative side effects. These can be found in the form of food, drink, or pill. It is important to remember that these supplements are not monitored by the FDA so their effectiveness and safety are not guaranteed. Talk with your doctor before taking any type of supplement.
Physical exercise is important and beneficial for everyone. It helps to relieve stress, increases energy, promotes positive moods, and enhances your overall physical health. Exercising releases endorphins which are hormones that affect your brain to relieve pain and produce a feeling of general well-being. These chemicals can also decrease the symptoms of anxiety and depression. Most doctors recommend starting slowly by walking for a few minutes a day and slowly increasing.
It is important to find an activity you enjoy such as swimming, biking, or even shopping!
If your depression is caused by a medical condition such as hormonal imbalance or auto-immune disorder, your doctor might prescribe an antidepressant medication to increase the amount of chemicals in the brain that affect mood and behavior. When taking these drugs it is recommended that you:
1. Don’t stop taking the drug suddenly.
Always taper off gradually when stopping.
2. Tell your doctor about any other medicines, supplements, or alcohol you use.
3. Be aware that antidepressant drugs can cause side effects.
These side effects usually go away after a few days but be sure to tell your doctor if they don’t.
4. If you have thoughts of suicide or harming yourself in any way, it is very important that you tell your physician immediately.
Join a support group. Depression can make you feel very isolated from the world and having people who understand what you’re going through can really help ease this feeling. There are many different types of groups that can help such as peer-support, self-help, religious, online, etc… You don’t have to suffer in silence!
Speak with a counselor or therapist. If you feel comfortable doing so, these are trained individuals that are adept at helping people with problems such as depression. They can help you learn new ways of dealing with situations and emotions.
Try meditation or yoga. There are many different types of meditation and the one you choose is completely up to you. They can teach you focus and relaxation techniques. Yoga has a 4,000 year history of success in calming the mind and reducing stress which can contribute to depression.
Spend time with someone you care about. Interacting with people can boost your mood and decrease feelings of depression. Call an old friend or spend time with your family. There is always someone who will be willing to listen.
Try to get better sleep. Some people suffer from sleep apnea, insomnia, or other sleeping disorders. These can make it very difficult to concentrate and withdraw into yourself which can contribute to depression. Talk to your doctor about these disorders and ways to fix them.
Reduce the amount of stress in your life. If you are having problems at work, school, or home then it is best to try and resolve these conflicts. Think through the issues and see if there is anyway to solve them. If not, try to organize a compromise. If all else fails, change your routine to avoid these problems as much as possible.
Reduce your daily responsibilities if possible. If you have a job that requires a lot of mental energy, try to cut down your hours or take time off. It is also best to avoid activities such as parenting that require a lot of responsibility and can be mentally taxing. Instead, try to engage in relaxing or mentally lighter work and free yourself of unnecessary tasks.
Do some light exercise. Even just a little bit can improve your body’s ability to fight off depression. It also increases the release of endorphins, which as a result, increases your sense of well-being.
Spending time outside in nature can be very beneficial. Research has shown that being in an urban area can increase your chances of becoming depressed so getting out into nature whenever you can is very important.
It is important to keep a positive outlook on life. If you start feeling negative emotions, try to find the source and eliminate it. Everyone has bad things happen to them but the way you deal with them can make a world of difference in how they affect you. While bad things are bound to happen, you have the choice of either letting them destroy you or simply using them as lessons learned and moving on.
Make sure you practice good hygiene. This includes showering, brushing your teeth, and cleaning your clothes. Not only does this make you physically more healthy, it can give you a psychological lift as well.
Ask for help when you need it. This can be help around the house, with schoolwork, or whatever else you may need it for. Don’t be afraid to admit that you need assistance because everyone does at one time or another.
Avoid situations that may cause you to experience depression. If you know that a situation, location, person, or event always causes you to become depressed then it is best to either avoid it if possible or at least minimize your time there. Put in a little effort to create a more positive environment for yourself.
Find new hobbies. This can be anything from learning an instrument to taking up a sport. The key is to find something that will take your mind off of your current situation and occupy it with something else.
Make sure you remain social. While being social can at time be stressful, it can be beneficial as well. Not only can you share your problems with others, but you can also help them with their problems as well. Try to make time for friends and family on a regular basis.
Make sure to keep yourself occupied with some sort of activity. If you work a nine to five job then try to do some recreational reading or learning something new during your spare time. If you are a student, this means doing your schoolwork on a regular basis and not waiting until the night before it’s due. Always make time for the things that are important to you.
Remember that life is 10% what happens and 90% how you react to it. No matter what situations you may find yourself in, you always have the choice of how you are going to react. Choose wisely.
Positive Thinking
One of the best ways to prevent depression is by keeping a positive outlook on life. By doing this, you make it more difficult for depression to take root in your life. This is why it is important to focus on the things that are good in your life rather than the problems.
It is inevitable that you will experience problems in your life. It’s just a part of life. However, how you choose to perceive these problems can make a great difference. Rather than seeing them as something awful or negative, view them as an opportunity to grow and become stronger.
Make a conscious effort to look at the things that are good in your life rather than the bad. Take a moment to sincerely thank the things and people in your life that have helped you reach where you are today. Count your blessings as this will help keep your mind in a place of happiness rather than depression.
Positivity is also one of the most effective ways of combating negative thoughts. Everyone experiences these from time to time. However, it is important to make sure they do not get out of control. Even the most positive people experience them at one time or another. The difference between those that are positive and those that are prone to depression is that the positive person will not dwell on them and instead realizes that these types of thoughts simply are just a part of life.
Learn to Let Go
It is also important to learn to let go of the things you cannot control in your life. This may include people, events, or situations. Letting go does not mean that you no longer care, it simply means that you have accepted that you have no control over the situation. When you blame or hold on to anger over things that are out of your control, it causes negative energy within you which can increase the chances of depression.
It is common for people to have a hard time letting go of things that happen in their lives. It’s human nature to want to have some control over the situations you find yourself in. However, it’s important to remember that you do have control over how you choose to respond in any given situation. When you are able to let go of anger and blame, it is amazing how much stress you can avoid in your life. Letting go is not easy, but it will ultimately make you happier in the long run.
Stay Active
One of the best ways to eliminate or reduce the chances of depression is to stay as active as you can in some sort of positive pursuit on a daily basis. This might include things such as exercising on a regular basis, volunteering for a charity, reconnecting with old friends, or even taking up a musical instrument. The important thing is to stay busy and engaged in positive activities.
Staying active on a regular basis has a positive impact on your mental health for several reasons. For one thing, it helps to keep your mind focused on the present rather than the past or future. When you spend all your time dwelling on the things that are wrong in your life or things you cannot change, it can lead to depression. When you focus on the present, you are more likely to be content with your life and less likely to be depressed.
Exercise has also been scientifically proven to release endorphins in your brain that helps to make you happier. It is very similar to the way that some people abuse drugs like cocaine and morphine because they lead to a sense of euphoria. It may not last as long, but the important thing is that it helps to improve your mood.
Even regular exercise such as walking has been proven to help prevent or reduce symptoms of depression. There are a number of reasons why this helps. For one thing, it gets you away from the stresses in your life and gives your mind a break from the things that are causing you stress. It is also good to get outside for vitamin D and the positive impact it has on your mood. In addition, the exercise itself releases endorphins, which as mentioned above, help to improve your mood.
When you are depressed it is easy to fall into a downward spiral where you don’t want to do anything. However, doing some regular exercise can really help you to turn this around and start feeling better about yourself.
Get Rid of Things That Are Bringing You Down
It may seem rather strange, but getting rid of things from your life that are causing you to feel sad, angry, or otherwise negative can help to bring you out of the depression. This may include friends, jobs, or other relationships that simply are not good for you. It can also include personal items like photographs or mementos from a past relationship that is no longer working for you.
It may be difficult to do, but getting rid of the things that are weighing you down will help you to move on and improve your outlook on life. This is especially true of personal relationships such as friends or family members who do not seem to be supportive of you. It can be painful to let go, but it really is better in the long run. Trust me. I’ve been through it.
Begin a Regular Exercise Regimen
I know I mentioned this above, but I feel it is important enough to emphasize it again. Exercising on a regular basis will not only help to improve your mental health, it will improve your physical health as well which can only help to make you feel better about yourself and your life in general.
There are many types of exercise that you can engage in, it doesn’t have to be anything extreme. Walking is a great form of exercise and one that many people don’t do enough of. Swimming is another excellent form of exercise because it puts no strain on your joints and works just about every muscle in your body.
If you want to kick it up a notch, try jogging, running, swimming, bicycling, or join a gym and work out with equipment. It really doesn’t matter how you do it, as long as you are doing it on a regular basis. If you are not used to exercising, try to work your way up to 30 minutes of exercise 3 times a week. Then, after a month or two you can increase it to 4 times a week and then from there work your way up until you are exercising for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour a day (if you are able. As with anything, you should listen to your body and not over do it!)
It is also important to find an exercise that you ENJOY doing. If you don’t enjoy it, you are never going to be consistent with it and ultimately will give up on it which will defeat the whole purpose of trying to improve your mental health by exercising. So, if you like listening to music while you run, do it. If you like reading while you swim, do it. Find what works best for YOU and your lifestyle.
Join Some Support Groups
Joining a support group can help you in more ways than you may think. First of all, support groups help to show you that you are not alone in this battle that you are facing. When you are depressed it can be very easy to feel that you are the only one who feels this way or that what you are battling is a personal failing that only you have to deal with.
Support groups help you to see that depression can affect anyone. No matter their race, gender, age, economic status, etc. Depression does not discriminate. So, when you feel like the odd man out, realize that there is a whole group of people who can identify with how you feel.
It also helps to share your experiences with others who are dealing with the same thing. It is very therapeutic to be able to discuss what you are going through with someone else who truly understands and doesn’t judge. This is especially helpful if you don’t have a spouse, family member or friend that understands what you are going through.
Another benefit of support groups is that many organizations offer support groups specifically for caretakers of those who suffer from depression. This can be very important for spouses, significant others, parents or main friends of someone who suffers from depression.
Sometimes, people who care about someone who suffers from depression need support as well. They may feel helpless in how to help the person that they care about and yet they want to help. This is why these support groups can be so beneficial.
Join an online support group through websites such as this one. There are several different message boards where you can share your experiences with others who are battling depression and caretakers of those who suffer from depression.
There are also online classes where you can learn different techniques and strategies to cope with your depression. Some of these are free and others you have to pay a small fee. If money is an issue, check to see if there is any financial assistance that you may qualify for.
Make a Commitment to Help Yourself
The best way to ensure that you are successful in taking care of your own depression is to make a commitment to do so. This means setting aside time each day, each week that you will do something that will work to improve your condition. This may seem like it would be easy to do but when you live with depression, everything seems hopeless and pointless.
This is why you need to take steps to hold yourself accountable for your commitment. Tell one or two close friends or family members that you would like their help in keeping you accountable. Give them permission to call you out if they notice that you are not sticking with your commitment or if they notice that your condition is worsening.
Another way to hold yourself accountable is to give someone else permission to make changes in your life if you aren’t sticking with your commitment. This person could help you to make appointments with your doctors, make sure you are taking your medication or see that you are sticking to your treatment plan.
This doesn’t mean that the person has permission to be abusive or demeaning to you. They just need to know that they have your permission to intervene in your life if need be.
Without holding yourself accountable, the chances that you will make progress in overcoming your depression are greatly reduced.
Seek Professional Help Whenever You Need It
There is no shame in seeking professional help if you find that you are struggling with taking care of your depression or your loved one is struggling. This doesn’t mean that you are “weak” or a failure, it just means that right now you need extra help to do things that you can’t quite seem to do on your own.
There are many different kinds of professionals that can help you during this time. The most common are psychiatrists, therapists and counselors. There are also support groups that you may find helpful in your journey such as depression support groups.
Most insurance plans cover mental health issues so don’t let cost be a factor in whether or not you seek out professional help. It is more important to take care of yourself so that you can live the life that you want to live. If you cannot afford insurance, ask your doctor about low cost clinics in your area or government assistance that you may qualify for.
Your loved one’s depression does not have to be a death sentence if you are willing to make the commitment to taking care of yourself.
Depression is a very serious disease but it is not a death sentence. There is hope and there is help if you are willing to take that first step towards recovery.
More Help Pages
Sources & references used in this article:
Here’s data now, happening by KB Amatucci – Cultural Studies? Critical Methodologies, 2013 – journals.sagepub.com
Here’s looking at you: Hollywood, film & politics by N Bilton – 2011 – Currency
Nevermind the Beatles, here’s Exile 61 and Nico:’The top 100 records of all time’–a canon of pop and rock albums from a sociological and an aesthetic perspective by ED Giglio – 2010 – books.google.com
