Are you feeling blue and down in the dumps? If so, it might be worth exploring the history of depression and deep states of sadness. It’s worth perhaps noting that depression isn’t a new concept or problem. It’s been around for countless generations, but our understanding of this condition has grown and evolved over time.
The earliest record of depression dates back to the second millenium in B.C.E. Back then, depression was seen as a spiritual issue rather than a physical condition. With little understanding of mental health, societies then believed it to be caused by demonic possession. Interestingly, greek and roman doctors treated depression in similar ways as we do today including diet changes, music and massages.
Unfortunately, by the 18th century, the understanding of depression had shifted for the worse. Depression was viewed as a condition that could not be altered and that was inherited over generations. Those suffering from this condition were locked away and shunned. By the 19th century, doctors gained a deeper understanding but treatments were still misguided including water immersion for extended periods. The causes of depression wouldn’t be fully understood until 1895 when Emil Kraepelin first diagnosed manic depression, now referred to as bipolar disorder.
Understanding the causes of depression and deep states of sadness can help resolve the issue. Whether you are suffering from this condition yourself or you have noticed signs in a member of your family, here are the causes you should be aware of.
Food
It’s true that one of the things that could be causing your low mood is the food that you are eating. We’re sure that you have heard the expression ‘you are what you eat’, and it’s not to be taken literally, but it does hold weight. If you are constantly eating processed foods that are full of sugar, fat and salt, you’re more likely to feel lethargic, fatigued and a number of negative things. Bloating is common, your skin will start breaking out, and you’re not going to have the energy you need. On the other side, if you are eating healthy food most of the time and giving your body the nutrients and vitamins that it needs, you’re going to feel so much better. You will have energy to get through the day, and your mood will dramatically improve.
The reason that a lot of people avoid healthy food is because it has a bad reputation as tasting bad. This simply isn’t true, and while not everyone will like everything, we’re sure that there are at least a couple of healthy foods that you will enjoy. Keep in mind that there is more than one way to cook everything, so it’s just a case of trying new things until you come across what works the best for you.
Lack Of Exercise
Your body needs to move if you want to stay healthy, and staying healthy is a good way to get your mood up. When you exercise, your body releases endorphins which are a natural mood enhancer. It helps to get rid of some of the stresses and anxieties that you are facing in your everyday life, and gives you relief from your low mood, at least for a little while. It might not last all the time, but when you finish your workout, you should feel refreshed and ready to face whatever life is waiting to throw at you.
Keeping yourself in good physical condition is one way to make sure that your mental health is stable. While it’s not always this easy, the mental impacts the physical and vice versa. This means that if you want to look after one, you’ve got to take care of the other. It’s important to understand here that we don’t mean you have to head to the gym every other day and complete a massive, high-intensity workout. If exercise isn’t really something you enjoy, start off small and build yourself up until you are at a level that you’re comfortable. It’s going to be worth it when you feel better!
Poor Health
Your health could be another reason that you’re feeling low. It might be the case that you have been diagnosed with a condition, and you are finding it hard to cope. The thing that you’ve got to keep in mind is that you are never alone. There are medical professionals around, your friends and family will want to support you. Even if you don’t want to talk to these people about it, there are support groups available for a number of different conditions so that you can speak to people you know understand what you’re going through. It’s not always easy to explain yourself to someone who has never experienced what you are, which is why support groups are often a good idea.
Or, you might just feel like something is off with your health and you are finding it difficult to accept. It’s never easy to accept that there could be an issue, and it’s an extremely scary time. It might just be something simple, like the fact that you need glasses because your eyes are straining too much. All you need here is an eye test, and then they will give you a card with a visit website link that you can go to and find some glasses. Or, the doctor might need to do some more tests to determine what the issue is. We know it can be hard when there is something that isn’t quite right, but knowledge is power, and we highly recommend getting as much of it as you can.
Low Confidence
If you have low self-confidence, this is one of the biggest causes of low mood. Loving yourself is a challenge these days unless you look the way that the women in the magazines do and have the personality of a TV star. The truth, though, is that you don’t have to have any of this to be worthy of love and attention. You simply are worthy because you exist, but this isn’t always easy to believe. In some cases, it gets to a point where you don’t want to go outside because you feel as though people are judging you.
You’ve got two options here: you can either buy the fashion that you see in the magazines and style yourself after these people, or you can just stop caring about what others think. Trust us when we say that while it isn’t easy, as soon as you let yourself be free from expectations you’re going to feel so much better. Confidence is all about loving who you are no matter what anyone else thinks, and if all else fails, you can try the whole fake it until you make it approach.
Toxic People
Have you noticed that there are certain people around you who are simply toxic? If your mind went straight to someone, you’ve got to get them out of your life sooner rather than later. Toxic people are dangerous to have, and they are often what is responsible for your low mood. One of the things that they are good at is making you feel bad about yourself in an attempt to feel better about themselves. Or, they may make fun of the things that you do and get you to change them simply because they are jealous. You have no room in your life for these people, even if they are members of your family. You don’t deserve the way they treat you, nobody does. Remember this when you are cutting them off because although you’re doing the cutting, they handed you the scissors.
We are pretty confident that once you get rid of these people from your life, you are going to feel a lot better. There will be less of a negative presence in your life, and you might even start noticing more of the compliments that people give you.
Stress
The final thing that we are going to look at is stress. Stress is extremely instrumental when it comes to mood, and it is often the reason that people end up snapping at one another. If you’re doing a lot and trying to manage a whole wealth of different things, then you might get overwhelmed. When this happens, your mood will take a nosedive because dealing with all the stress can be extremely difficult. It’s essential that if you get to this point, you find a healthy outlet for your stress. This can be exercise such as running, playing a sport or even taking up something like boxing, it can be sitting in the bath with some candles, or really whatever you find helpful. It’s about how you best cope and what makes you feel relaxed.
You want to feel your stresses melt away, even just for a little while, and when you do, you will notice that you feel a lot better in yourself. Make time to do whatever stress reliever you’ve decided on each week to avoid the build-up becoming too much.
We hope that you have found this article helpful, and now have a better understanding as to some of the things that might be causing your low mood. When you figure out exactly what it is, take action sooner rather than later. There’s nothing worse than feeling low and not knowing why, so it’s time to put an end to that.
Leave a Reply