How to Overcome Depression 

Opinions of Others

Within 5 hours of posting a couple questions online, I received over 10 replies. The questions,

- What are some of the best ways to overcome depression?

- What role does Religion play as a solution or as a cause for depression?
- Are you happy?

These question were simple, but many had personal opinions on the matter.

Exercise

Elle Woods said "Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't shoot their husbands, they just don't."

​The most common answer that I received on how to overcome the effects of depression, was through exercise.

Some cool things happen when you exercise. A couple of different things happen to your body. One of them, is adrenaline. Adrenaline increases your heart rate, which helps circulate the oxygen in your blood. This helps you brain function clearly, and can help other problems. This website gives more information on the benefits of exercise over depression.

https://sbrsport.me/2013/07/16/exercise-vs-depression/

 

 

One of my close friends said this. "When we help others we tend to forget about our own problems and it allows us to focus on others. If we are constantly doing this, even something as small as holding the door open for those behind us, we won't have time to dwell in the negativity life throws at us from time to time"

 

 

Service vs Depression

 

This friend has suffered for some time with depression, and has finally been able to overcome the effects. He still has bad days, but he is able to keep going.

 

Other things were said, but the second question was the focus on this experiment. I received much info and opinion on what religion does for them personally, and collectively. The next couple slides will tell the story.

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"Religion is major component in depression but not as a cause. Religion can actually get rid of depression because religion or a belief in a higher power, gives us hope and light in a world filled with darkness."

This came from my aunt, who has suffered from depression for some time. What she is talking about it that most religions, have a firm belief that there is a purpose to life, and that there is something greater in the future. That Hope and belief, allows people to continue through the hard times.

A study done for the purpose of finding out the correlation between religion and depression found that people who are religious actually have a greater chance to have depression, but those who do not have religion have more recurring episodes with depression. They do not fully understand this, but at first glance, it seems as though religion actually helps them through the hard times, even though those hard times came more often.

Other things said

 

"As far as religion goes, I am 100% a believer that gaining a personal understanding and relationship with Christ and the Atonement will not immediately cure you in the traditional sense, but it will lift the weight that depression bears on you and make it a temporary downturn instead of a debilitating condition."

"Solution, it helps me find ways to look outside my current state to progress and move forward. It brings me hope and eternal perspective."

"Religion can play a role in solving depression by the unity it brings and feeling a sense of belong."