Depression is a modern age disease. On average, it's estimated that 1 in 2 people will have experienced Depression by the age of 60. that's half of the population. And this issue is caused by the massive changes in society today. Because the generation of people who are currently 60 years old living a very different life from you guys. They had no access to the internet, no smartphones, no forms of social media like Facebook and Instagram, and no way to order things suitable to their front door. This sudden change in the environment causes Depression. So what exactly can we do to Cure Depression? Well, a professor named Steven Ilardi dedicated his entire career to figuring out this question. He and his team conducted dozens of studies and concluded.
There are six things you need to work on to cure your Depression. These six things are all results of the massive amounts of change we've undergone in the past couple of decades.
1. Physical Activity
Physical Activity is something we used to do a lot of. If you think about it, not too long ago, we were busy out in the fields tending to our crops all day or in the woods hunting for food. On average, we used to exercise for at least 4 hours a day. Think about your own life … how many hours are you exercising per day? Most people with office jobs have virtually no exercise. This is a huge difference. Researchers compared Zoloft (one of the leading pharmaceutical drugs on the market right now) with aerobic exercise. In this case, it wasn't even a lot of practice. It was only 30 minutes of brisk walking, three times a week. The patients who have prescribed the procedure did just as well as those who took the
Medication. Funny enough, the patients on Zoloft were found to be three times more likely to become depressed again after a 1-year follow-up. One of the reasons researchers think exercise is so effective in what it does to your brain. When you exercise, essential neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin have increased activity levels. These same neurotransmitters cause Depression when they are at low levels. And These are the same neurotransmitters all those anti-depressants out there are targetting.
2. Omega-3 Fatty Acids
The supplement community is often split between which supplements you should take. However, it's almost universally accepted that Omega-3 Fatty Acids (usually come in Fish Oil) are a must-have supplement. These fats are called essentials fats because we are unable to produce them on our own. We must get them from outside sources. Omega-6 fats are pro-inflammatory, while Omega-3'sare anti-inflammatory. Omega-6's are found in grains and seeds, animals that eat them or are fed, and fast food cooked in them. Omega-3's, on the other hand, are found in grasses, plants, algae, and the animal that eat them, such as fish and free-range animals.
The ideal balance of Omega-6 to Omega-3'sis anywhere from 1:1 – 3:1. If you look at all of the major diseases that plague the modern world, like cancer, heart disease, allergies, they're all under the category of inflammatory diseases. So with this knowledge, scientists hypothesized that maybe if you started supplementing Omega-3's you could combat all of this. They conducted dozens of studies and found that the ideal dosage for those who have Depression is 1000-2000mg EPA. It is essential to note that if you decide to purchase fish oil supplements, you must refrigerate them, or else they will oxidize and become toxic for your body. You must also make sure the brand of fish oil you are purchasing uses some method to purify the oil, as most fish nowadays are farm-bred and contain many toxins.
3. Sunlight
Sunlight is essential for two reasons. The first reason is pretty well known. It deals with a particular little vitamin called Vitamin D. However, researchers have also found that lack of vitamin D will cause problems such as cancers, diabetes, and especially mental health. Vitamin D is becoming a massive problem as so many of us are spending more and more time indoors. Over 40% of people nowadays have a vitamin D deficiency to some degree. That's a lot of people. So that's reason number 1 to getting more sunlight – to get more vitamin D. Reason number 2 is something you wouldn't expect. See, there's something extraordinary about sunlight than usual indoor light.
Cannot provide for us. Sunlight is many, many times brighter than indoor light. It turns out that our bodies need sunlight to set our circadian rhythms right. This is essentially the body's internal clock that makes sure you feel tired at the right time, makes sure you get certain hormones at the right time, and makes sure you feel sleepy at the right time. All of these problems have been shown in studies to be a direct link to Depression. Imagine feeling tired all day and being unable to sleep. These are common problems that most people with Depression have. The only problem is that this clock needs to be adjusted all of the time.
4. Healthy Sleep
Researchers found that disrupted sleep was one of the most potent triggers of Depression. They found that people who slept at extremely abnormal times that differed every day were more prone to developing Depression. This means that if you're the type of person who stays up all night watching shows or playing games, you fall into this category. Healthy sleep translates into 7-8 hours of sleep, with some people being outliers.
5. Anti-Ruminative Activity
Researchers found that the more we meditate (essentially thinking about the past), the more likely we are to get depressed. You might think, well, it's perfectly normal to think about your history a lot. Well, in small quantities, it's okay, but with the uprising of technology and the internet, more and more people are spending more time alone. The problem with spending time alone is that you tend to ruminate a lot. You think about something embarrassing that happened over a year ago. You think about how you used to be bullied in the 5th grade. It's these types of thoughts that can bring you into Depression if repeated enough. To combat these, researchers suggest that you find engaging activities to partake in. This covers a broad spectrum of things such as any social gathering like clubs, sports,
parties. This also includes Any Solo engaged activities like working on your art/projects. The great thing about finding engaging activities is that they are exciting enough that you don't have time to think about the past. And if they are interesting enough, by the end of the day when you're about to go to sleep, you won't spend an hour in bed rolling around thinking about that time so and so said something means to you. You'll be tired enough that your mind will be quiet and you'll quickly to sleep.
6. Social Connection
The 6th and final factor is probably the essential Social Connection. We, humans, are social creatures. We've always been stuck in groups. What made us so durable as a species was our ability to work as a team and overcome any obstacle. This level of teamwork meant humans used to spend the majority of their days with other humans. This is not the case anymore. Researchers have also found that social isolation will cause your brain to shrink. Socializing is simply that important. One of the main reasons I believe social connection is such a big problem nowadays is a lack of face-to-face interactions. We spend so much time on social media communicating, but we barely spend any time face to face. Communicating over social media isn't nearly as satisfying as speaking with someone in person.
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