Depression in Women
Watch Your Thoughts 

Depression in women is real.  Sometimes it’s tough just to stay positive.  Do you feel that life seems stacked against you?  Do you awaken in the middle of the night with your mind racing, thinking about one of life’s recent unfair situations?  The mind can be a haven for great comforting thoughts and then again, it can be a reminder of hurts.  How can we deal with thoughts so that they don’t become harmful enemies adding to the negative depressive cycle that has already begun?

Realize that life is not a fair game.
We live in an imperfect world and bad things happen to good people.  And sometimes it appears that people—friends, neighbors, relatives—all seem to get the lucky breaks.  But what about us?    If we accept that life is not always going to give us the best breaks, we can be mentally prepared to deal with the situations as they arise.  We can be prepared for setbacks that will happen.  We can prepare alternative solutions to life’s problems so that we can handle changes that might have to be put into place.  One of the ways to combat depression in women is to stay proactive in how you handle life being unfair.

Stop the negative thoughts.
We realize that  depression in women is caused by a combination of biological and environmental factors and that the onset can be triggered by illness, genetics and/or stressful situations.  Negative thoughts also play a role in the depressive cycle.  People who have continuous pessimistic and negative thoughts can find that a depressive mood will snowball into a full-blown depressive episode.  What to do?  

Develop a short list of positive spark-thoughts that you can use to remind yourself to snap out of the negative spiral.  Spark-thoughts can be any positive reminder of life’s blessings, such as good health, kids doing well in school, supportive friends, or a paying job.  Any little reminder that you can say to yourself can stop the negative thoughts from crowding into your mind.  Just a quick thought can be uplifting and a positive spark.  People, by and large, will become what they think about themselves, so practice positive thinking and short circuit the negative thoughts with spark-thoughts.

Network with friends and family.
Depression in women can be a challenge to handle but there are many ways to cope.  Developing a support network is an important way to guard against retreating into isolation.  Share your issues and get some objective advice.  Supportive friends and family members can help you gain reassurance that you do not have to handle life’s challenges on your own!  Read How to Cope with Depression for more advice.

You know that pets can be a great source of comfort because of their unconditional love and their faithfulness to their owners.  We have many examples of pets being a source of stress relief in How Pets Provide Stress Relief.  There are many stories of pets lessening the effects of depression in women.

Last, but not least, try to stay positive and find purpose in life transitions.  Enjoy the process of striving for your dream.  Wake up every morning excited, because every day is another opportunity to chase your dreams.  End you days with smiles on your face; knowing that you did all you could with what you had. Depression in women can be devastating.  Hopefully, you find comfort in knowing that there are solutions available and this reason is why we write these pages.

Daily Life Stressors that Affect Women

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