Through the years I get periods of extreme fatigue, and an unclear thought pattern. These patterns would last months at a time; it felt as though I had a clear thought, or the intent of a clear thought but it was unclear at the same time. For months at a time I started to describe this phenomenon as "brain fog". I knew something was wrong so I did my homework.
A few years ago I was talking with a co-worker about general health and the topic of stress came up. He taught me a bit about breathing with your diaphragm and how it generates some feel good hormones. A few years later I was talking with a psychologist and I learned even more about this style of breathing. As I researched more about this topic, and started putting it into practice, I found myself even breathing this way in everyday life, resulting in an overall increase in quality of life; and my state of being was much more peaceful.
I want to talk to you about something that has changed my life and may have the potential to change yours. Chances are this article will affect one in four people. I remember going to the doctor with symptoms of extreme fatigue. I would only want to sleep; I would be slow, sluggish; I would be sore all the time, and depressed. Having a rather physical job, and working outside all the time, I thought it might have been my job, working hard and always being on my feet; however a blood test showed different results.
I remember when I was thirteen years old; it was my first father’s day after my father past away. It was a hard time and still is. I remember looking on old social media accounts like, Nexopia, and seeing others with their fathers, photos popping up, or even the next Monday in class, class mates telling each other their class mates what they did for fathers day as I sat there in envy.
This simple animation tells some of the hardships of those with depression. Some people may say, “so what”, “suck it up”, or “think positive”. What some of these people need to know is it’s more then a mood. It’s when the depression sticks with you for weeks without any relief and it interferes with your everyday life, some times in almost all aspects of life, and that mood becomes a temperament or apart of your personality if it stays long enough.
So… you want a good nights sleep? I am seeing a lot of people complaining about not getting enough sleep or not waking up rested on many social media posts. This is bad because it affects our overall mood/ mental health and it can even result in physical illness. What you may not realize about an ongoing lack of sleep is it can lead to things like depression and or anxiety; it can wreak havoc on our relationships (learned by personal experience) and give us a poor work ethic at our jobs.