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In my humble opinion, emotional health is one of the most important components of Walking a Healthy Path. Today, I’ll write a short introduction to this side of being healthy and the challenges created by depression..

 

It has long been known that what we think and how we feel not only affects our mental health but also our physical health.  With all the craziness going on in our world, almost everyone experiences bouts of depression, anywhere from just occasionally to chronically.  Whether a person’s depression is caused by a life situation or has a biochemical origin, being “down” can cause a number of physical symptoms such as a lack of motivation,sleep problems, fatigue, chronic pain and digestive issues

 

After suffering the grief of losing my youngest son last year, sadly, I’m speaking from experience.  I would say grief of any kind leaves us very susceptible to some level of depression. In my case, I felt unmotivated and lost for several months. Since Aaron was diagnosed with cancer and passed 8 months later, I have had digestive issues, sleep deprivation, brain fog and 2 bouts of vertigo. Even though I have pulled out of the depression for a while, the next “first '' would come along and I would go back down.  I’m not typically a depressed person, but it does takes some real effort to consciously pull myself out of the hole.   It's been a tough year and I’m pretty sure I’ve aged physically more than a year over this time and I don’t know yet how much permanent damage this trauma has done to my over all physical health.

   

During these times, a person’s support community is so very important!  I’m not sure what I would have done without my wonderful friends and family, while I’ve gone through this natural state of grief.  If a person suffering from grief doesn’t have this kind of support, or even if they do finding a good grief counselor to talk to is very important

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Many people who suffer from more than occasional depression tend to self medicate, using alcohol or other drugs. This usually starts at a young age, creating a dependency on these substances.  Self medication is a subject for another blog about the things that derail a person’s walk on a healthy path and what can be done to help get him or her back on track. Ironically, liquor and many drugs are considered depressants so a person who self medicates is just making their problem even worse.

 

No doubt the saddest effect of chronic depression is suicide, which is on the rise in the U.S.. According to a CU Boulder study, almost 50,000 people in the U.S. took their own lives in 2022, up 3% from the previous year.  95% of all suicides can be linked to depression or some other mental disorder. It’s important to recognize the warning signs of depression, which can include feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and isolation.  If you recognize these signs in yourself or in someone close to you, it is very important to seek help before these problems escalate into serious plans to commit suicide.

 

If this is a subject that you can relate to or just interests you, stay tuned for future blogs about how a person’s emotional state can affect their walk on a healthy path and how to get back on the right path. 

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Til later then...

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