A few powerful and wise thoughts to reflect and contemplate on about the causes for depression. Read it, understand it and digest it into your system, live it and experience it.

There is a lot of suppressed and denied anger, resentments, fear and guilt in depression. Depression, which is suppressing negative emotions, causes fatigue.

Solutions -

1. Identify and differentiate your feelings.
   Emotional – Acknowledge and experience them. i.e. be a witness to your emotions. Communicate your feelings to the person concerned directly or to a therapist, or in writing or drawing.
   This puts you in charge of the situation rather than being the helpless suffering victim.
2. Physical - Exercise daily. An absolute must against depression is physical exercise to maintain good health.
3. Mental – Learn to accept and to integrate both the desirable and undesirable of self image. Do this by self observation, self acceptance and self improvement.
4. To recognize and to live your own thoughts, values and beliefs. The power of thought cannot be ignored in healing the mental self. Maintain positive thoughts through positive affirmations. (see below)
5. Guilt breeds fear and resentment, stress and tension, anxiety and conflict. Guilt is a major obstacle in healing a relationship. For a relationship to heal both must be free of all guilt feelings.
6. Forgiveness is the major key to healing, peace of mind and healthy growth.
   
   If you are hard on yourself, others will be hard on you. If creativity is stifled, inner conflict, depression and illness ensues. If you constantly try to be less than what you are, do less than what you are capable of, you will be forever unhappy.
7. Sunshine is a great healer for depression. Get as much sun as possible, walk or sit in the sun and breathe it in with awareness into every cell of your body. Let the sun shine on your chest and on your back. As you breathe in think 'I am healthy and strong', exhale (longer) and think ' I breathe out all negativity out of every cell of my body' inhale deeply again and think 'I breathe in health, vitality, and strength into every cell of my body' exhale long and slow and think 'I breathe out all tiredness, all fear, all worry and negative emotions out of my body and mind' inhale again and think 'I am happy to be alive. Life is a gift. I am grateful.' repeat as often as possible. The key is to breathe with awareness. Try to develop and integrate the art of breathing with awareness and being grateful into your daily life.

Affirmations –

Here are some basic affirmations to repeat as often as possible. You can repeat these anywhere anytime, aloud or quietly mentally.

Choose the ones that correspond with your own need.

I am healthy
I am happy
I am creative
I am a beautiful person

I love myself
I love life
I love my body
I am happy to be alive
I am master of my life
I am thankful for everything I have

I love people
I love being active
I love being with myself
I love being with people

I do everything that is good for me
I am in touch with my higher self
I am in touch with the Divine within me
I am in touch with my intuition
I always know what is good for me

I am free of the past
I am free of fear
I am free of all anxiety
I am free of all negativity
I have faith in myself
I have trust in myself

My body is healthy
My mind is strong and healthy
My organs are healthy
I sleep peacefully

I am strong full of energy and vitality
I feel inner peace and harmony
I am in control of my thoughts
I am in control of my emotions
I am fully aware
I am master of my life

I am a beautiful being
I am happy to be me
I am full of love (the energy of love is a universal healer)

NB. You can make up your own affirmations. Always remember to be in the positive.
Ex. I am wealthy. I am fearless. I am slim. etc. etc.