Monday, July 30, 2007

You Must Learn How To Die Before You Can Live!

Ours is a amalgamated up human race based on materialist ends and ego-centered accomplishments. Subsequently, it is very easy to acquire pulled into the "vortex" created by the dramatic events in our lives. We get to dwell the play of our life. The worst portion of it all is that you can travel about life your life, without the slightest thought or impression of what is truly meaningful.

I thought I had it all. I was living the dream, talking the talk, and walking the walking as they say. But I was just another individual caught up in the "worldly" ownerships and life my ain play drew the six-figure income, I had the clothes, the statute title and was portion of the "who's who." I poured my bosom and psyche into my occupation and I got the money, powerfulness and acknowledgment I so craved in return. I had made it and now what else was there left for me to accomplish?

I never noticed the trail of envious, and ego-driven people I was accumulating along the way. These were negative people, driven by green-eyed monster that would halt at nil to destruct me professionally and personally. I continued down my "path" not realizing what was going on around me.

Then, one twenty-four hours it all came tumbling down, without any thought of what was about to occur, I was called away from my business office down to a meeting, where I was subsequently accused of being dishonest and corrupt to set it mildly. I was so aghast that I couldn't speak. Before I knew what was happening, I was removed from my station and warned not to speak, compose or pass on with anyone. If I chose to ignore, the "commands" I would repent it, especially if I ever returned to my position.

My life as I new it, unraveled yarn by yarn right before my very eyes, and there was not one single eremitic thing that I could make to run up it up. Both my household and I suffered and endured public humiliation via our local newspaper and television stations. This cut like a knife with a jagged border through my being. The fact that what was written was all prevarications and insinuations did no halt the outpouring of soiled looks, disgusting words, and unkind and hurtful electronic mail sent to my household and me. This went on for an ageless Hell of 2 years.

I realized that who I was or had been was dying twenty-four hours by day. I did everything possible to throw my life together, what little I had left. Daily, my battle was to do it a good day, despite what people thought of me. Iodine prayed, I meditated, I practiced yoga, I chanted, I wrote day-to-day affirmations, I visualized, and I did every Negro spiritual thing that could possibly be done. I literally walked around, remembering the poetry in the Bible that told me to turn the other cheek. I felt numb.

Then one twenty-four hours I realized that I was not the individual that was in the media. I was not this ugly, monstrous, uncaring and oblique person. I had to allow travel of this illusion. It was at that minute that I knew I had to die. I had to mourn the loss of the individual who I once was. I surrendered and I released that individual into the achromatic light. I relinquished every spot of who I was to a higher source. I had to forgive myself and state good-bye. I had to allow this individual dice and set her spirit free. Once I did that many good things began to happen. The end of this legendary female leader came silently and sadly.

It was at that very minute that I realized I had a 2nd opportunity at life. I had escaped my ego. I began to see through new eyes. I began to have got new life with new friends and newfound love within my household and marriage. The journeying that had brought us here had awakened a new love and regard for each other. Life was beautiful, love was more than vivacious and I was becoming a new person, vivacious and healthy.

I began to emerge from my cocoon. I was learning how to dwell through the eyes of a new life here on earth. I learned to be present in all that I do, to experience with emotion and exhilaration every waking moment. To recognize that I can make anything my bosom desires and be in a topographic point of tremendous chance and great regard gave me a new apprehension of what it intends to be alive and to dwell fully.

Life is better now and so am I. Life is good, and I am happy to be portion of this new life.

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Saturday, July 28, 2007

Cure For Depression - There Is No Cure For Depression, However These May Help...

Do you endure from depression? Don't experience alone. Unfortunately, there are billions of us that have got this mental disorder, of one type or another. There is no remedy for depression at this clip either. There are different medicines available for depression, depending on the type of upset you endure from. The lone job is that these medicines are lone effectual with approximately 70% of depressive patients and even then, most only acquire some benefit, not completely cured.

Another drawback of antidepresseants is that they take 3-4 hebdomads to fully absorb into your organic structure and after that clip travels by the medical specialty that you're taking may not be helping you at all. In this lawsuit you'll have got to be weaned off your electric currents Masters of Education and then seek something else. Your physician may even order respective different antidepressant drugs at one clip for you in order to conflict each individual symptom. For illustration you could be taking Sertraline for your depression, Busbar for your anxiousness and Trazadone or Hydroxizine to assist you sleep. Trazadone is the best slumber aid, but it have some awful side effects. Also, you'll get to construct up a tolerance to both of those fairly quickly.

The underside line is that if you're having problem with feeling down and have got for more than than a couple weeks, you necessitate to see a physician right away. It's very of import that you make this because since there is no contiguous remedy for depression, you necessitate to acquire on antidepressant drug Masters of Education as soon as possible in order to seek and control it.

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Thursday, July 26, 2007

Herbal Dietary Supplements and Depression Treatment

Depression impacts many work force and women in the United States and of those affected very few are aware there are diet addendums that tin aid their depression. Too often people just desire to travel to the physician and acquire a prescription that they overlook all the herbal diet pills that could assist them with their depression while economy them money and being healthier overall. There are quite a few herbaceous plants that have got got been used as a treatment for depression in the past although there are only a few that have been researched enough to cognize they really are good treatments for depression.

St. John's Wort is perhaps the most researched herbaceous plant in the treatment of depression. In fact, many surveys have got consequences that show that the herbaceous plant is very effectual in its treatment of depression and that it is very likely that the herbaceous plant have similar consequences as tricyclic antidepressant antidepressant drugs but fewer drawbacks or side effects. The side personal effects that were experienced from using St. John's Wort were not too hard to handle. They included oversensitivity to the sun, tummy problems, fatigue, and more. St. John's Wort is great for depression although if amalgamated with other drugs it can be very dangerous. It should never be amalgamated with unwritten contraceptives, other antidepressants, warfarin, reserpine, theophyline, indinivir, as well as others.

There are quite a few other drugs that professional herb doctors believe can assist with depression. Keep in head that if you are visiting a professional herb doctor you should listen carefully to his recommendations and even compose them down. It is too easy to bury or make a error if you don't. So, maintain a paper and pen handy. The other drugs include Damiana, Valerian root, ginseng, and others. Each of these herbaceous plants have its ain particular consequence on the organic structure and on depression. If you have got been using these herbaceous plants and you experience they are really working for you then go on using them because they just may be. One thing is for certain and that is that St. John's Wort have been identified by men of science and docs that it plays an of import function in treating depression and may be even better than the prescription drug method for curing depression.

Those are the rudiments when it come ups to herbal dietary addendums and depression treatment. If you are feeling down then see St. John's Wort after discussing it with your doctor. More than likely you can take it and in no clip feel better about your situation.

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Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Ready to Die: Suicidal Thoughts Among Young, Black Males

I learned some annihilating news respective hours ago. Randy Parker, the boy of the great MC/teacher/activist KRS-One died in an evident suicide. I was basically raised on the music and instructions of KRS-One and Boogie Down Productions. I considered KRS-One to be one of Hip-Hop's top MCs and I have got huge regard for him. My commiserations travels out to him, his married woman and his full family.

This calamity compelled me to compose about self-destruction and depression among immature achromatic males. I have got gone through turns of depression in my life. I didn't turn up mediocre but I was raised by a hard-working single female parent who struggled at modern times to supply for me during a important part of my childhood. I've battled feelings of anger, resentment and hate toward my father for as long as I can remember. That, along with other experiences in my life, made me depressed, even self-destructive at times.

I never talked much with anybody about my time periods of depression. I kept my feelings bottled up inside of me. On the surface I was a normal every twenty-four hours cat but deep down I was suffering. Being young, achromatic and male, I always felt that I had to be "strong", I had to be tough. Though it's never stated, it looks like common cognition in the achromatic community that achromatic work force don't acquire depressed, right? In malice of the struggles, owed to both physical environment and/or psychological issues, we're calm just too cool and too tough to ever actually see suicide, right?

Wrong.

Depression and self-destruction is existent within the lives of achromatic men. There necessitates to be more than treatment and outreach around these issues that are annihilating and cutting short the lives of many achromatic men. Depression and self-destruction are yet two more than issues that tin be exposed and explored through the medium of Hip-Hop music and other word forms of Hip-Hop expression.

"Suicidal Thoughts" by the late, great Ill-Famed B.I.G. is a personal, graphic and superb song about a immature achromatic man, surrounded by poverty, who combats with his interior demons, contemplating suicide. Ill-Famed B.I.G. was a masterful narrator and the experiences and feelings that he rimes about in Self-Destructive Thoughts may be a work of fiction and yet they are very existent for many of us.

When you believe about the epidemics that immature achromatic males face; law-breaking and terrible punishment, deficiency of quality education, deficiency of employment opportunities, racism, discrimination, racial profiling, police force brutality, animus and bitterness by or directed toward achromatic women and the aged generation, growing up fatherless, absent from their ain children's lives, the conflict with ego to make good versus evil, AIDS, drugs, violence…..

It looks highly likely to happen immature achromatic males all over United States who are depressed and suicidal!

The tragical self-destruction of the boy of one of Hip-Hop's top and most well-thought-of MCs gives the Hip-Hop coevals an chance to convey consciousness to the issue of depression and self-destruction by immature achromatic & brownish males (and females) who turn up within Hip-Hop culture. Hip-Hop have always told the often rough worlds of the lives of the youth. Hip-Hop can expose depression and self-destruction in the unrecordeds of its young person and more than importantly it can lend to ending despair, giving hope, and ultimately-saving lives before it's too late.

Randy Hubbard Charlie Parker and to all of the other blood brothers who have got struggled with depression and whose lives tragically ended far too soon…. Rest in Peace.

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Monday, July 16, 2007

The Startling Facts Revealed About Why You Don't Need To Suffer With Depression

Depression is an extremely common mental upset which impacts both sexual activities and all ages and the per centum of people who endure depression is on the increase. At its worst, depression can take to suicide, a grievous fatal result associated with the loss of 100s of one thousands of lives each year.

Many people inquire the question, "Why make people go depressed?" There are all sorts of statistics you can dissect and analyse. Personally, I believe "WHY NOT."

If you dwell anything even fold to a typical life, things are probably pretty helter-skelter on a day-to-day basis. Amid working, taking attention of the children's demands and your societal life, it is so easy for pressure level degrees to rise, and this is all right for a little clip period of time. Debris nutrient is consumed far too often, creating mediocre nutrition and the mass media bombardons people's heads with tragedies, bad news and gossip. So many people dwell lives of quiet despair because they dwell in a rut, make not believe in themselves and therefore have got no hope for the future. It never discontinues to astonish me when people are surprised that so many people endure from depression. Stress is a natural response to things that are happening in your environment. It is your body's manner of telling you that there is something in your life that demands to be dealt with. From clip to time, emphasis can acquire the better of you and then it is imperative to cover with it before it begins to impact your health. Many people can be simply uninspired and just necessitate some encouragement and focusing whilst others have got an instability of internal secretions or clinical depression and will necessitate treatment.

When person is suffering from depression they often experience like giving up because they experience powerless, desperate, of no value and shattered.

If you or person you care about is feeling uninspired and down the followers suggestions could help:-


  • Play some happy music.

  • Work the down feeling off by doing some jobs while hearing to music.

  • Confide in a trusted friend or household member.

  • Write down all the things you are thankful for in your life.

  • Count your approvals in the lavish every morning. Having an mental attitude of gratitude is absolutely astonishing and beneficial.

  • Eat a healthy and wholesome diet to give your organic structure all the healthy nutrition it needs.

  • Read a good ego improvement book instead of all the trash and chitchat in newspapers and magazines.

  • Treat yourself to a small clip out for yourself each twenty-four hours for speculation and relaxation.

  • Watch the "Secret" and be amazed as you larn about the Universal Joint law of attraction.

If you or person is more than than feeling down and possibly clinically down it is extremely of import to acquire professional help. As the Bible says, Seek and you shall find. From a physician you will probably be given chemical drugs which make not always assist and chemical drugs can sometimes make more than injury than good. Seek other ways. I would highly urge seeking out a good C.R.A. (Contact Automatic Analysis) practician who will acquire to the root of the problem.

With clip and help, you will experience better.

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Saturday, July 14, 2007

Beating The Daily Blahs and Emotional Ups and Downs

Are pills the reply to the jobs of life? Are prescription drugs the solution to each people mundane problems and emotional strains? Are the Doctor going to state you the existent reply to that question? Probably not. Why make I state that? With all the drugs out there numbing people to world and life's circumstances, are the people who are taking these merchandises able to come up to a point where they no longer necessitate the drugs anymore, and can get by with life? Some, yes, but more than than and more are not.

What we necessitate to make is start dealing with the ground behind the symptoms and acquire to the job core. For many, the emotional ups and down feathers may be caused by mediocre nutrition. For some it may be hormonal, and often enough, caused by thyroid gland abnormalities. For many, it may be dealing with substantially hard states of affairs in life, and when the really hard modern times come, we are going to have got to work on keeping it together. During these times, don't do alibis for your actions, acknowledge them and take stairway to change the situation. Figure out what it was that set you off. Often it may be as simple as keeping a diary and authorship down what happened, what was the result, your feelings on the episode, and finally, what you might make differently adjacent time.

Sometimes we necessitate to take a measure back and measure what necessitates to be changed. If you are in a hurtful relationship, you necessitate to do stairway to change that. If you are in an insulting relationship, it is not your fault, unless you take not to make something about it. Get aid Today! Don't remain there! You make not rate to be mistreated, and that is no manner to love anybody! Don't endanger to leave, just acquire the aid you need, and leave! Call your local maltreatment support hot line for aid and information. There are people who have got been there too, and who can assist you make up one's mind what steps you necessitate to take.

Sometimes it is as simple as determination the right nutritionary support to supply your organic structure what it necessitates to be healthy. For most people, this is probably the case, so before you travel to the medical professional for a wellness detrimental merchandise that is going to asleep you to your world and messiness with your mind, seek nutrition. What is it that your organic structure necessitates that you are not getting? Univera LifeSciences is working difficult to come up up with the merchandises that are covering the alkalis to what our organic structures are needing. The nutrition provided in a merchandise called Ageless Xtra is going a long manner in relieving peoples high emphasis emotional reactive situations. This astonishing merchandise was created to make four things: advance critical energy, support mental lucidity and focus, aid pull off stress, and advance joint comfortableness and flexibility. This merchandise may travel a long manner in helping you cover with nerve-racking states of affairs and improving your overall wellness condition.

Other ways to work at improving your state of affairs include: getting sufficient remainder without overdoing it, eating healthy nutrients without a batch of high sugar, high fat content, proper hydration without overexploitation of caffeinated products, regular exercise, a right human relationship with God, doing good for others, and taking your head off your fortune and instead thinking of others. Of course, supplication is still answered these years too!

Check out the merchandises produced by Univera LifeSciences, which are making a difference in many people's lives, including mine, at www.univerahealthylife.com Oregon http://tamling-seffroode.agelesscatalog.com while you're there, bank check out how the concern chance can make a difference in your fiscal state of affairs as well.

If you are having serious emotional disturbance and difficulties, then by all means, acquire professional help, but inquire what you can do to change the problem, before you hold to any type of prescribed medication. If the physician insists, you may desire to acquire a 2nd opinion. Use care, because those medicines that are being prescribed are not as fantastic and good to your wellness as they do them sound. Remember, the #2 Killer in the United States is physician prescribed medication, and just because the physician is willing to compose out the prescription doesn't intend that it is safe or healthy.

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Friday, July 13, 2007

Managing Depression With Food and Nutrition

While many wellness attention workers are aware that there is a nexus between some physical unwellnesses and nutritionary deficiencies, not many people are aware that mental upsets also have got a nutrition link. Most believe that mental unwellnesses are strictly emotional and have got no metabolic or biochemical association. Nutrition, however, may play a greater function in depression than is widely known. Some research workers believe that nutrition can play a cardinal role, both in the onset, severity, and continuance of depression, including day-to-day temper swings.

Many of the same nutrient forms that come up before depression are the same nutrient forms that happen during depression. These forms may include skipping meals, mediocre appetite, and a desire for sweets. People who are stiff in their feeding and follow very low saccharide diets also may be at hazard for developing symptoms of depression, because the encephalon neurotransmitters (tryptophan and serotonin), that are involved in modulating depression are obtained from saccharide rich foods. Almost all anti-depressant drugs work by increasing the degrees of these encephalon neurotransmitters.

Which nutrients impact temper and cause depression is not fully known but some people are more than sensitive than others. In general, nutrients such as as refined saccharides (simple sugars, chocolates) supply an contiguous but impermanent temper improvement. These nutrients have got to be eaten continuously to prolong the temper elevation. This may not be practical and safe in the long tally as one can easily derive weight and develop bosom disease. Other options are to eat complex saccharides such as as cereals, pasta, fruits and vegetables. Although, not as appetising as chocolates, they are more than than likely to have got a more drawn-out temper elevating benefit.

Depression have long been known to be associated with lacks in neurotransmitters such as as serotonin, Dopastat and noradrenaline. The aminic acids tryptophan, tyrosine, phenylalanine and methionine are often helpful in treating depression. Tryptophan is a forerunner to 5-hydroxytryptamine and is usually converted to serotonin, inducing slumber and repose and in some lawsuits restoring 5-hydroxytryptamine degrees to decrease depression. Tyrosine is not an indispensable aminic acid since tyrosine can be made from the aminic acid phenylalanine. Tyrosine and possibly its forerunner phenylalanine are converted into Dopastat and norepinephrine. Methionine compounds with adenosine triphosphate to do S-adenosylmethionine (SAM), which facilitates the industry of encephalon neurotransmitters.

As ingestion of omega-3 fatty acids from fish and other beginnings have declined in most populations, the relative incidence of major depression have increased. Supplementing with omega-3 fatty acids containing 1.5 to 4 g of Environmental Protection Agency per twenty-four hours should be sufficient for temper lift in down patients. Though, high doses of omega-3 addendums may not be suitable for some patients such as as those on anti-clotting drugs.

Other nutritionary lacks can lend to depression. Notably, vitamin B, vitamin Bc and Mg lacks have got been linked to depression. It have been reported that rapid recovery from major depression is possible in less than 7 years by treating patients with 125-300 milligram of Mg (as glycinate and taurinate) with each repast and at bedtime.

Note: Statements in this article may not be approved by the FDA, and should not be considered as professional medical advice.

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Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Winning Through The Storms Of Life

As I sit down here writing this article, it takes me back to a clip recently within my life where I had lost my intent for living. I felt like I had lost my manner and the violent storms of life were whipping me down. I felt drained and alone with no 1 to share my ideas or feelings with.

Then while on springtime interruption from my job, I got the surprise of my life—after 31 old age of life I had double pinkish eye. Can you believe it? I had never had pinkish oculus before in my full life and while lovingness for my yearling I caught it from him. All Iodine could make was screaming inwardly as he had been ill so often at his day attention installation and with my work agenda I was not able to take off clip to remain place with him.

I establish myself giving my boy "quick care". Basically, we would head off to the physician after person would name from his day care installation and travel consecutive to the pediatrician's office. By the end of the each visit, I would consistently inquire his physician when was the soonest he could go back to school. It got so bad (the frequence of our visits per month) that I began playing "doctor". If his thorax or back did not sound congested, he went to school. If the drainage from his olfactory organ was not greenish or yellow, he went to school. My small male kid had to be very ill before I would name in from work as I had limited ill leave of absence time.

Gradually, I felt like a complete failure as

(1) I was working at a occupation where my love and desire had decline and

(2) I was not protective for my child the manner I wanted to because of my current work situation. Like a short ton of bricks, I just collapsed in desperation and began crying. Iodine cried so much that I believe my crying cried their ain tears.

Then out of nowhere it just hit me. I was ill and tired of being ill and tired. I needed a alteration and I needed one immediately. I then looked over at my boy as he slept in his bed and vowed to him that we were going to do it. He quietly turned over and grunted in his slumber as if he approved.

With a fleet chink of the mouse that evening, I chose to struggle back the violent storms within my life. I began taking control of the oar on my boat and I became the captain of my ship and not fear. I began the procedure to changing my life and my career.

I traded in fearfulness for peace. Religion and hope are now my guiding visible lights and I am able to see my course of study more clearly. Now I am back on path to rebuilding my life's intent all thanks to a childhood unwellness called pinkish eye.

Lessons learned from weathering the storm:

(1) Never give up: When you are faced with adversity, the common yarn is to give in and experience like a failure. Rather than giving into the storm, pushing onward and upward as there will be light at the end of the tunnel if you take to never give up. Endurance is cardinal to any obstruction you incur and triumph is readily standing by.

(2) Trust your intuitions: If something makes not experience right, than opportunities are they are not right. Take clip out to research and believe about what you are feeling before making any necessary changes.

(3) Strike while the Fe is hot: As I was going through this procedure of reconnecting with my life's purpose, a very stopping point friend of mine by the name of Krista P. reminded me that I should never wait for chance to drop into my lap as if I waited I might lose it. Instead, I should leap into opportunity's lap so that it catches me.

Just retrieve that as long as there is breath in your organic structure you are equipped to win over the violent storms of life.

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Monday, July 9, 2007

Depression Is Not The End Of The World, But It Can Seem That Way

It is easy to disregard depression as weak minded or something that just doesn't impact you, however if you or person you care about have ever suffered from depression, you cognize that depression is very existent and often not something that volition just travel away. Depression have been portrayed in movies, t.v. and books since they were introduced to the human race and is often the butt end of the joke, but what makes it intend today when we mention to a depression or a depressive disorder.

Unfortunately, many people make not recognize that depression is a treatable illness, a serious medical unwellness that tin be overcome. It's not something that you have got just made up in your caput no substance what anyone says. The first measure in fighting depression is to understand what it is, how it impacts you, and what do it. Most people with a depressive unwellness make not seek treatment for that reason, that they don't believe there is a treatment, the great bulk even those whose depression is extremely terrible tin be helped. Serious depression can destruct household from the interior out as well as the life of the individual affected. Depression is 2nd lone to bosom disease in causing years off work in America, which is a large statistic. So you have got to inquire just what it is that impacts so many people.

It was reported in a major medical study, that depression caused important jobs in the operation of those affected more than often than did arthritis, hypertension, chronic lung disease, and diabetes, and in two classes of problems, as often as coronary arteria disease. Depression is not just "feeling blue" or "down in the dumps. It is a medical upset as much as is diabetes, high blood pressure, or bosom disease. It is something that twenty-four hours after twenty-four hours impacts your thoughts, feelings, physical health, and whether you cognize it or not, your behaviour. Depression symptoms are characterized not only by negative ideas and moods, but also by specific alterations in your body's mathematical functions such as as, irregular eating, sleeping, crying spells, and decreased sexual activity drive. If nil is done it can increase the hazard of developing coronary arteria disease, HIV, and asthma, among others. Much more than than than just a sad mood, if not adequately treated, it can go terrible in affecting an individual's emotions and feelings, and the thing is, that everyone is at risk.

According to many studies, depression is much more common in women than in men, but the ground for this, still stays unclear. Besides the fact that adult female generally make endure more than often than men, women can be given to believe they can work through the depression on their own. Sometimes this tin work, but ultimately it come ups down to the cause of the depression in the first place. Depression is an unwellness that tin be successfully treated in more than than 80 percentage of the people who have got it. It is unfortunate that most people with a depressive unwellness make not seek help, as sometimes even just talking about it can ensue in the symptoms reducing.

If you happen that nil is working for you, there is an herbal addendum called Thyromine, which is claimed to be able to cut down depression. Thyromine additions the production of thyroid gland internal secretions and stimulates the immune system so that you can acquire alleviation from depression.

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Monday, July 2, 2007

How Bad is Your Online Habit?

Communicating with someone is tough if you're shy or not feeling too good. The internet is much easier. You can chat online without worrying about how you look, how your voice sounds or how to maintain eye contact. It isn't threatening. You are anonymous in a chat room, just as you are on MySpace, Facebook and Bebo. Or you can lose yourself in an online game.

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University found that just a few hours on the internet each week can increase a persons experience of depression and loneliness. This seems far-fetched, since the internet is such a sociable place. So are the researchers' conclusions correct?

Initially the researchers found a drop in time spent interacting with family and friends, in direct proportion to the amount of time spent on the internet. That much is intuitively obvious. But relationships built via the internet are typically more shallow than face-to-face relationships, and they do not have the support and reciprocity that is vital for psychological security and happiness. So the result is a decline in the feeling of being connected with other people.

Another study, published in April this year, concludes that Internet addiction is correlated with symptoms of depressive disorders. This begs the question of which comes first: depression or heavy internet use? Is using the internet a coping strategy for depression or an explanation or part explanation for its cause? Some research concludes that heavy internet use is causal. Other studies don't go so far, but still find the same correlation between being online and depression. Of course a person's activities on the internet will explain variations away from the norm. Someone who frequents gambling sites is more susceptible than someone using the internet for research.

If you use the internet a lot, here are some questions to ask yourself:

* when you are offline do you think about getting back online?

* do you often stay online longer than you intended or said you would?

* does the Internet provide relief or help you to escape from your depression?

* does your online habit put strain on a significant relationship, your job or other important area of your life?

* have you lied to your partner, family, therapist or others to conceal the amount of time you spend on the internet?

One researcher describes the hook of an addiction as giving you "feelings and gratifying sensations that you are not able to get in other ways. It may block out sensations of pain, uncertainty or discomfort. It may create powerfully distracting sensations that focus and absorb attention. It may enable a person to forget or feel "okay" about some insurmountable problems. It may provide an artificial, temporary feeling of security or calm, of self-worth or accomplishment, of power and control, or intimacy or belonging."*** It's understandable that people come back for more. They enjoy the benefit that addiction brings, no matter how temporary it is or that the problem worsens in the long-run.

If this describes you then you need to cut your internet hours right back and seek some professional help. Quite seriously. Internet addiction is similar to other addictions with respect to the potential for damage. In the last few years the problem has been labeled "Internet Addiction Disorder", and while many clinicians aren't on board with the term, there is consensus that excessive online activity can be terrible for your mental well-being.

For the Record

In March 2005 the Chinese government opened a clinic for Internet addicts, to treat the effects of long hours on gaming and chat sites. They reported the effects to be anxiety, depression, and lack of sleep. Treatments have included total internet bans, counseling, physical activity, antidepressants, and enforcement of strict, regular sleep times.

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