Getting Help With Clinical Depression

Like many others, I have been through my share of low moments in my life so far including emotional abuse when I was young as well as the loss of my mother due to suicide. However, despite these major adversities, I never suffered from clinical depression and I'll probably never really know the exactly why I was spared from this common mental health condition either. Was it because of a unique biochemistry in my head? Was it my attitude? Or was it because of certain actions I took?

I'm very much aware that there are many people out there who are not so fortunate. I have had friends, relatives and significant others who suffered from clinical depression. And of course, there was my own mother who basically lost her battle against a severe case. So even though I have not personally suffered from clinical depression, I have had a front row seat to it many times to know that this is real.

One thing that I have personally noticed with many people who are depressed is that they are not often utilizing all the tools that are available to them for combating their ailment. Some folks just think that taking a pill will take away all their troubles. But in reality, medication is only one piece of the treatment pie. Other pieces include counseling, using a support network, exercise, diet and the most neglected piece by my observation, the personal effort and will required to manage their conditions. Some folks simply wish that their mental health condition would go away rather than actively work on doing everything available and possible. A totally committed decision to manage and possibly get rid of depression is therefore absolutely necessary in order to move forward in a healthy way.

My own thoughts on this are that I had some great passions in life that filled my time. Even during hardships, I still looked forward each day to pursuing one of my passions. I had my martial arts, skiing, music, my dogs and other interests. I had no room in my mind to be depressed. In addition, some of these passions required staying fit and continued learning. I believe that these activities kept me going. But then again, I can't prove this scientifically. It's only my guess. Whatever the case, I do think that for anybody who doesn't already have any passions in life, it is beneficial to go out and explore the world to find some, particularly activities that combine with a healthy lifestyle.

If you suffer from clinical depression and want to be a peak performing life champion (a term that I use in my book, The Life Champion In You), please do everything possible and use everything at your disposal to clear or at least manage your condition in order to go on with your other goals in life. Consult with the appropriate health professionals, as this beast can’t be beat on your own. There's too much at stake to simply sweep this issue under the rug. Get all the help you need and put 110% effort behind yourself. Needless to say, managing your mental health condition should most definitely be one of the major goals in your life. Ask yourself the question in this case. What will you do this week to improve and get better? What about the next week and the following week? Success is still within your grasp.

Clint Cora is an inspirational speaker, author and martial arts karate world champion. His book, "The Life Champion In You", is about how to overcome challenges and achieve life success. It is one man's journey from personal tragedy to becoming a karate world champion. More information about his speaking programs, books, videos, articles on motivation and success can be found at www.clintcora.com