Experience the day 11/10/2015

Live your day:

Stellar Event:

Today enjoy hide n seek with the moon. Remember those childhood days in our villages sleeping outside beside our parents? Remember asking them intellectual questions hoping they will be path breaking inventions?

Surely your parents might have asked you to count the stars to avoid our silliness. Then surely you might have started counting them before slipping into sleep.

Tonight get onto your terrace and stare into the sky. Don’t expect to see the moon, because today is amavasya. Sometimes what you expect the most will step aside to give way to experience much more beautiful twilight of the stars.

Believe me; you need not be in the hills of ladakah or in planes of munnar to experience the stars. Have a short walk in the evening with your close friend and just live in the moment. 

Tomorrow is a new moon day. Live your life... 

Read more stories by scrolling below.. 

Things Successful People Do on Weekends

If you think that the best thing you can on weekends is absolutely nothing, you are completely wrong. Sure, you need to time to relax and rest but this doesn’t mean that you should sit down on a coach and do nothing but watch TV for all day long. You should take control of your weekends and do the things you enjoy the most. If you do things that make you happy on weekends, you can start your workweek happier. As a result, you can be more productive and in the end much more successful.

Plan Your Weekend:

You plan your career, vacation and workday. Why not plan your weekend? Don’t try to plan every hour but schedule two-three events for your weekend such as meeting up with friends for dinner or visiting a museum or going to a concert. This will help you prevent being locked up in the house and give you an excuse to go out for a change.

Spend Time with Your Loved Ones: 

You are generally busy during the week so spending your weekend with loved ones is one of the best options. This can be your family or friends or both. Spending time with them will help you relax, refresh your mind and simply be happy. Therefore, you will start your workweek as a more peaceful person.

Unplug Yourself: 

Stay away from stress. Turn off your computer and smart phone for at least a few hours and force other people around you to do the same. In this way, you can spend more quality time with each other and enjoy your weekend freely.

Get Ready for the Rest of the Week:

Take Saturdays off for having fun and relaxing but use Sundays to get the errands done and make a strategy for the rest of the week. For example; on Sundays do your laundry, clean the house and cook a great meal so when Monday comes, you are ready to go.

Do Something Different:

Your weekends should feel different than your workweeks. For this reason, find yourself hobbies to do on weekends like swimming or playing tennis or painting. If you don’t have any hobbies, you can go to the gym and exercise. This will help you clear your mind and let your body recover from the stress of the workweek.

Read more about enriching your life: Self Help to a Fresh Life

Reference from: Entrepreneur , click the link to read more. 

Self-help for depression

Self-help for depression:

You can make a huge dent in your depression with simple lifestyle changes: exercising every day, avoiding the urge to isolate, eating healthy food instead of the junk you crave, and carving out time for rest and relaxation.

Feeling better takes time, but you can get there if you make positive choices for yourself each day and draw on the support of others.

Read about: What and How to Identify Depression

Expose yourself to a little sunlight every day. Sunlight can help boost your mood. Take a short walk outdoors, have your coffee outside, enjoy an al fresco meal, people-watch on a park bench, or sit out in the garden. Aim for at least 15 minutes of sunlight a day. If you live somewhere with little winter sunshine, try using a light therapy box.

• Talk about your feelings to someone you trust, face-to-face. Share what you’re going through with the people you love and trust. Ask for the help and support you need. You may have retreated from your most treasured relationships, but they can get you through this tough time. If you don’t feel that you have anyone to confide in, look to build new friendships. Start by joining a support group for depression.
• Try to keep up with social activities even if you don’t feel like it. When you’re depressed, it feels more comfortable to retreat into your shell. But being around other people will make you feel less depressed.
• Get up and moving. Studies show that regular exercise can be as effective as antidepressant medication at increasing energy levels and decreasing feelings of fatigue. You don’t have to hit the gym. A 30-minute walk each day will give you a much-needed boost.
• Aim for 8 hours of sleep. Depression typically involves sleep problems. Whether you’re sleeping too little or too much, your mood suffers. Get on a better sleep schedule by learning healthy sleep habits.
• Practice relaxation techniques. A daily relaxation practice can help relieve symptoms of depression, reduce stress, and boost feelings of joy and well-being. Try yoga, deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, or meditation.

4 Fast mood boosters that can lift you out of a funk:

Getting the blues can happen to anyone, but it doesn't mean you have a chronic medical condition like depression. A little diversion might help you feel like yourself again. "If you're down about something, step away from it for a period and do something else," suggests Dr. Michael Craig Miller, assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Consider these boosters, and take the steps to fit them into your life.

Mood booster 1: Exercise

Exercise is healthful right down to the cellular level. It improves circulation and nerve function, it helps to regulate mood, and it makes you feel better about yourself

Action steps: For a quick pick-me-up, try a medium- to high-intensity workout such as a brisk 30-minute walk, an aerobics class, or a game of tennis. For a remedy that will stay with you, go for a daily activity you can sustain, such as a daily lower-intensity walk.

Mood booster 2: Meditate

Meditating produces brain changes that promote positive emotions and reduce negative emotions such as fear and anger. It can lower your heart rate, blood pressure, breathing rate, oxygen consumption, adrenaline levels, and levels of cortisol, a hormone released in response to stress.

Action steps: Many health centers offer meditation classes. Sign up for one, or consider taking yoga, which combines physical and mental practices. If it's hard for you to get to a class, buy a guided meditation book or CD, which can introduce you to meditation practice.

Mood booster 3: Socialize

Being isolated can lead to loneliness, which can make you sad. Spending time with others helps improve mood. We're wired to be social. Focusing on others can move you off a preoccupation with self-defeating thoughts.

Action steps: Avoid isolation. Get together with a friend, family member, or group at least once a month. Visit with friends at home. Get out of your house, go to a movie, or check out an art exhibit. If you don't have someone to spend time with, go to church or take a class.

Mood booster 4: Find purpose

Dedicating time to a meaningful activity improves mood, reduces stress, and keeps you mentally sharp. The activity can be as simple as taking up a new hobby or volunteering your time. You worry less about every little ache and pain in your own life when you move the focus to a new interest.

Action steps: Volunteer for a library, hospital, school, day care center, or charitable group. Tutor neighborhood kids. Babysit. Contact the chamber of commerce to mentor young business people. Take up gardening, painting, dancing, or gourmet cooking.

Lets talk about depression

Life isn't always pleasant or easy but being unhappy all the time is a problem you can overcome. Learn what you need to know to identify, understand, and successfully solve the challenges of depression.

Depression can make you feel helpless, hopeless, or empty and numb; but there’s a lot you can do to change how you feel. With help and support, you can overcome depression and get your life back.

The key to recovery is to start small and take things one day at a time. Feeling better takes time, but you can get there if you make positive choices for yourself each day and draw on the support of others.

The normal ups and downs of life mean that everyone feels sad or has "the blues" from time to time. But if emptiness and despair have taken hold of your life and won't go away, you may have depression. Depression makes it tough to function and enjoy life like you once did. Just getting through the day can be overwhelming. But no matter how hopeless you feel, you can get better. Understanding the signs, symptoms, causes, and treatment of depression is the first step to overcoming the problem.

What is depression?

Sadness or downswings in mood are normal reactions to life’s struggles, setbacks, and disappointments. Many people use the word “depression” to explain these kinds of feelings, but depression is much more than just sadness.

Some people describe depression as “living in a black hole” or having a feeling of impending doom. However, some depressed people don't feel sad at all—they may feel lifeless, empty, and apathetic, or men in particular may even feel angry, aggressive, and restless.

Whatever the symptoms, depression is different from normal sadness in that it engulfs your day-to-day life, interfering with your ability to work, study, eat, sleep, and have fun. The feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, and worthlessness are intense and unrelenting, with little, if any, relief.

Are you depressed?

If you identify with several of the following signs and symptoms—especially the first two—and they just won’t go away, you may be suffering from depression.

• you feel hopeless and helpless
• you’ve lost interest in friends, activities, and things you used to enjoy
• you feel tired all the time
• your sleep and appetite has changed
• you can’t concentrate or find that previously easy tasks are now difficult
• you can’t control your negative thoughts, no matter how much you try
• you are much more irritable, short-tempered, or aggressive than usual
• you’re consuming more alcohol than normal or engaging in other reckless behavior

What are the signs and symptoms of depression?

Depression varies from person to person, but there are some common signs and symptoms. It’s important to remember that these symptoms can be part of life’s normal lows. But the more symptoms you have, the stronger they are, and the longer they’ve lasted—the more likely it is that you’re dealing with depression. When these symptoms are overwhelming and disabling, that's when it's time to seek help.

Signs and symptoms of depression include:

• Feelings of helplessness and hopelessness. A bleak outlook—nothing will ever get better and there’s nothing you can do to improve your situation.
• Loss of interest in daily activities. No interest in former hobbies, pastimes, social activities, or sex. You’ve lost your ability to feel joy and pleasure.
• Appetite or weight changes. Significant weight loss or weight gain—a change of more than 5% of body weight in a month.
• Sleep changes. Either insomnia, especially waking in the early hours of the morning, or oversleeping (also known as hypersomnia).
• Anger or irritability. Feeling agitated, restless, or even violent. Your tolerance level is low, your temper short, and everything and everyone gets on your nerves.
• Loss of energy. Feeling fatigued, sluggish, and physically drained. Your whole body may feel heavy, and even small tasks are exhausting or take longer to complete.
• Self-loathing. Strong feelings of worthlessness or guilt. You harshly criticize yourself for perceived faults and mistakes.
• Reckless behavior. You engage in escapist behavior such as substance abuse, compulsive gambling, reckless driving, or dangerous sports.
• Concentration problems. Trouble focusing, making decisions, or remembering things.
• Unexplained aches and pains. An increase in physical complaints such as headaches, back pain, aching muscles, and stomach pain.

Depression in Genders:

 Depression often looks different in men and women, and in young people and older adults. An awareness of these differences helps ensure that the problem is recognized and treated.

Depression is not "one size fits all," particularly when it comes to the genders. Not only are women more prone to depression than men, but the causes of female depression and even the pattern of symptoms are often different. Many factors contribute to the unique picture of depression in women—from reproductive hormones to social pressures to the female response to stress. Learning about these factors can help you minimize your risk of depression and treat it more effectively.

Understanding depression in women

Depression is a serious condition that can impact every area of your life. It can affect your social life, relationships, career, and sense of self-worth and purpose. And for women in particular, depression is common. In fact, according to the National Mental Health Association, about one in every eight women will develop depression at some point during her lifetime.

If you’re feeling sad, guilty, tired, and just generally “down in the dumps,” you may be suffering from major depression. But the good news is that depression is treatable, and the more you understand about depression’s particular implications for and impact on women, the more equipped you will be to tackle the condition head on.

Signs and symptoms of depression in women

The symptoms of depression in women are the same as those for major depression. Common complaints include:

Depressed mood Loss of interest or pleasure in activities you used to enjoy Feelings of guilt, hopelessness and worthlessness Suicidal thoughts or recurrent thoughts of death

Sleep disturbance (sleeping more or sleeping less) Appetite and weight changes Difficulty concentrating Lack of energy and fatigue

Know about: Self-help for depression

I have taken the reference from the following link, helpguide.org

Please do visit that link for more information.

Wish you fight the odds and grow strong.