I recently watched a TV documentary talking about depression. I actually watched it twice. I knew that depression affected many but I was astounded at the statistics. These are Canadian stats but I'm sure they are similar every where in the world.

Are you one of these people? Do you fit into the stats? What are they?

Answer the following questions:

• Do you have sleep disturbances? Do you have trouble sleeping or you sleep for a short time, wake up and can't get back to sleep?


• Are you are tired all the time? Do you find it difficult to make it through the day?


• Do you have trouble focusing?


• Do you have trouble making decisions?


• Do you have a change in your appetite? Not eating or eating all the time?

If you answered yes to any or all of the questions then you could be depressed.

Did you know:

• Depression is four times higher in men ages 20 to 29?


• 24% of all deaths related to depression are in the age range of 15 to 24 year olds?


• In Canada in 2005 drugs for depression  were the 2nd most prescribed drug?


• 50% of all people presenting themselves at an emergency department have depression related symptoms?

Why is this happening?

It appears that depression is starting in our lives at a very early age. More and more of our kids are experiencing depression at younger and younger ages. Our lives revolve around both parents working, kids in daycare for most of their waking hours, kids coming home to an empty house, kids involved in activities all the time, having no downtime and having no quality family time.

The adult world is about the same. Rush... rush... rush seems to be the norm now. We are stressed to the limit to provide for ourselves and our families. There are those of us who have more than one job just to make ends meet. Our relationships suffer, our health is deteriorating and our love of life is disappearing.

That's all well and good, but what can we do about it?

The answer is to keep our life in balance. How do we do that? It all comes down to choice. Our choice. This comes in a three-fold package. We must first make the decision to do something about our depression. If we need to... get help. Where do we go for that? There are many places and people you can turn to:

1. Talk to a friend/partner. Sometimes when we can vent our feelings we feel better.


2. See your doctor and ask for help. I know that there's a waiting list for adults of up to one year to see a psychiatrist. Maybe your doctor can prescribe something just to get you started. I don't like using drugs on a long term basis because they are a bandaide and mask the true reason we are depressed. By being true to ourselves we can then seek help to resolve the underlying reasons for our depression.


3. Look for alternatives. There are so many therapies that will help resolve the underlying concerns.

 Check out these links to find out more:

ENERGY MEDICINE

ENERGY AND EINSTEIN

THERAPEUTIC TOUCH

MERIDIAN TAPPING TECHNIQUES

Llyn Wren RN