WHAT ARE THE SIGNS OF DEPRESSION?

If your temperament has a mix of melancholy, then there is the tendency to worry, be in despair, criticize and condemn. If not curbed, this constant approach to life may be a warning sign for potential depression. Here are some signs you may encounter when depressed:

Appetite and Sleep Changes: Depression altars a person's appetite, frequently causing a lack of appetite, but occasionally increasing hunger. Depression also causes disruption of a person's sleeping patterns. A person may tend to over sleep, but sleep for a shorter time period.
Changes in Energy Level: There are two extremes concerning energy levels in depressed people. Some find themselves fidgety and easily agitated, while others become sluggish and inactive. A person may experience difficulty in thinking, poor concentration and problems with memory.
Poor Self-Esteem: A depressed person is often overwhelmed by feelings of worthlessness, guilt, self-blame, and helplessness. The person maintains a distorted view of reality; they see an ugly person when they look in the mirror, a complement becomes a criticism, and life becomes too difficult to live out. Seriously depressed people often contemplate suicide.
Psychotic Symptoms: Delusions (false beliefs) and hallucinations (false sensory perceptions) are sometimes prevalent among seriously depressed people. People with such symptoms need to be hospitalized. When they are released from the hospital, they are often moody when they get out and still consider suicide as a viable way out of their misery.
The warning signs of depression mentioned above have a common link: your mental approach to life. You may think: "How simple, all I have to do is have a better outlook on life?" Not so fast, if a negative mental attitude has been your first defense or your only approach to life up till now, it is going to take considerable doing to reverse it. Do not try to overcome this depression on your own; ask God to help you in the renewing of your mental attitude and the refocusing of your entire life in accordance with the purpose He has for you.

COPING WITH DEPRESSION:THERAPY OPTION

There are also therapy options for coping with depression, such as talking with a qualified counselor who can talk through problems with you, teach coping skills, and provide support systems. I went to a Christian therapist. At times, this was a challenge for me. He would tell me to look to my faith for answers and I wanted to scream. I was looking to my faith, but I was not finding the answers. Or perhaps, I was getting answers, but I wanted different ones! We were able to discuss circumstances and I learned how to cope in various situations. My depressed feelings began to lift and I began to cope with challenges in my life. I began finding strength in my faith.

COPING WITH DEPRESSION; FINDING YOURSELF WORTH

One thing is certain in this world – we’ll all face trials. How do we deal with them? Do we merely provide objective solutions or do we dig in to help with emotional support. Read this and see where you can grow!A big means of coping with depression came through finding my true self worth. I had previously based my self worth on the approval of my friends and on my ability to perform in my job. When I could no longer fulfill my work responsibilities due to a very wrong decision I had made, I felt worthless. Over time, I began to realize that my true self worth does not come from within me. It comes from God-my Creator. God loves me. Through this tremendous love, I have once again found worth and significance in my life. He is my significance!

PACKAGED AS WE EXPECTED

This is a story an inspiring story about a young man. you should read it!!!!!!!!!

Many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer's showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was all he wanted. As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited signs that his father had purchased the car. Finally, on the morning of his graduation his father called him into his private study. His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told him how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautiful wrapped gift box. Curious, but somewhat disappointed the young man opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible. Angrily, he raised his voice at his father and said, "With all your money you give me a Bible?" and stormed out of the house, leaving the holy book. Many years passed and the young man was very successful in business. He had a beautiful home and wonderful family, but realized his father was very old, and thought perhaps he should go to him. He had not seen him since that graduation day. Before he could make arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to his son. He needed to come home immediately and take care of things. When he arrived at his father's house, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart. He began to search his father's important papers and saw the still new Bible, just as he had left it years ago. With tears, he opened the Bible and began to turn the pages. As he read those words, a car key dropped from an envelope taped behind the Bible. It had a tag with the dealer's name, the same dealer who had the sports car he had desired. On the tag was the date of his graduation, and the words...PAID IN FULL. How many times do we miss God's blessings because they are not packaged as we expected?

DETERMINATION COMES WHEN YOU FIND YOUR PURPOSE IN LIFE

In life, we often let our dreams go down the drian because of the huddles we have to cross in achieving them. this is a story of a man that so inspired me. its a story on determination.

In 1883, a creative engineer named John Roebling was inspired by an idea to build a spectacular bridge connecting New York with the Long Island. However bridge building experts throughout the world thought that this was an impossible feat and told Roebling to forget the idea. It just could not be done. It was not practical. It had never been done before.
Roebling could not ignore the vision he had in his mind of this bridge. He thought about it all the time and he knew deep in his heart that it could be done. He just had to share the dream with someone else. After much discussion and persuasion he managed to convince his son Washington, an up and coming engineer, that the bridge in fact could be built.
Working together for the first time, the father and son developed concepts of how it could be accomplished and how the obstacles could be overcome. With great excitement and inspiration, and the headiness of a wild challenge before them, they hired their crew and began to build their dream bridge.
The project started well, but when it was only a few months underway a tragic accident on the site took the life of John Roebling. Washington was injured and left with a certain amount of brain damage, which resulted in him not being able to walk or talk or even move.
"We told them so.""Crazy men and their crazy dreams.""It`s foolish to chase wild visions."
Everyone had a negative comment to make and felt that the project should be scrapped since the Roeblings were the only ones who knew how the bridge could be built. In spite of his handicap Washington was never discouraged and still had a burning desire to complete the bridge and his mind was still as sharp as ever.
He tried to inspire and pass on his enthusiasm to some of his friends, but they were too daunted by the task. As he lay on his bed in his hospital room, with the sunlight streaming through the windows, a gentle breeze blew the flimsy white curtains apart and he was able to see the sky and the tops of the trees outside for just a moment.
It seemed that there was a message for him not to give up. Suddenly an idea hit him. All he could do was move one finger and he decided to make the best use of it. By moving this, he slowly developed a code of communication with his wife.
He touched his wife's arm with that finger, indicating to her that he wanted her to call the engineers again. Then he used the same method of tapping her arm to tell the engineers what to do. It seemed foolish but the project was under way again.
For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife's arm, until the bridge was finally completed. Today the spectacular Brooklyn Bridge stands in all its glory as a tribute to the triumph of one man's indomitable spirit and his determination not to be defeated by circumstances. It is also a tribute to the engineers and their team work, and to their faith in a man who was considered mad by half the world. It stands too as a tangible monument to the love and devotion of his wife who for 13 long years patiently decoded the messages of her husband and told the engineers what to do.
Perhaps this is one of the best examples of a never-say-die attitude that overcomes a terrible physical handicap and achieves an impossible goal.
Often when we face obstacles in our day-to-day life, our hurdles seem very small in comparison to what many others have to face. The Brooklyn Bridge shows us that dreams that seem impossible can be realised with determination and persistence, no matter what the odds are.
Even the most distant dream can be realized with determination and persistence.

Positive thinking is the first step towards a happy life

Jeff is the kind of guy you love to hate but he’s life is so….. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!" He was a unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jeff was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jeff was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.
Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jeff and asked him, I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?" he replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, Jeff, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood. I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life. "Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested. "Yes, it is, "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live life." I reflected on what Jeff said. Soon thereafter, We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.

WHAT MAKES GOD SMILE?

Have you ever in your life time thought of the things that make God smile? Here are few tips to keep God smiling at you.
The smile of God is the goal of your life. Since pleasing God is the first purpose of our lives, it’s important that we discover how to do it.

God smiles when we love him absolutely
God smiles when we obey him wholeheartedly
God smiles when we praise him and thank him always
God smiles when we use our abilities.
God smiles when we trust him completely.
What he looks at is the attitude of our heart and I’m sure we want God pleased by the goals of our lives.

Live your life with a purpose.

Many people today are still trying to find their purpose in life. When life has no meaning, it becomes unbearable. A young man in his twenties wrote,” I feel like I’m a failure because I’m struggling to become something, and I don’t even know what it is. All I know how to do is to get by. Someday, if I discover my purpose, I’ll feel I’m beginning to live.” the greatest tragedy is not death but a life without purpose.
Hope is essential to your life as air and water. You need hope to cope. Hope comes from having a purpose.
If you have felt hopeless, hold on! Precious and wonderful changes are going to happen in your life as you start to live it on purpose.
If touched by this write –up? Comments will be appreciated.

What drives your life?

I observed that the basic motive for success is the driving force of envy and jealousy!
The man without purpose is like a ship without a rudder. Everyone’s life is driven by something. The verb “drive” is to guide, to control or to direct. What is driving you life?
You may be driven by a problem, a pressure, or a deadline. You may be driven by a painful memory, a haunting fear or an unconscious belief. There are values and emotions that you could be driven by too. Here are five of the most common ones:
Many people are driven by guilt
Many people are driven by trepidation
Many people are driven by need of recognition and approval
Many are driven by anger and umbrage.
Many people are driven by materialism.
Think!!!!!!!!! Which of these are you driven by? Send in your comments it will be highly appreciated.

IT ALL START WITH GOD.

God is not the starting point of your life but the source of it. To discover your purpose in life, you must turn to his word, not world's wisdom. You must build your life on eternal truths not psychology.

A JOURNEY WITH PURPOSE.

Its not about you.

The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment and your peace of mind. if you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God. You are born for his purpose and by his purpose.

I once got lost in the mountains. when i stopped to ask for directions, i was told,"you can't get there from here. you must start from the otherside of the mountain!" in the same way, you cannot arrive at your life's purpose by starting with a focus on yourself.