Depression: First Steps — Four Actions to Help Your Neurons

When you feel there is no mood, no energy, no strength to function normally, it helps to understand: this is not a curse or some misfortune. At its core it is a signal that your neurons are not working the way they should. The good news is that their work can be restored — and there is a clear sequence of steps for that.

Step 1. Know the enemy

The main hallmark of depression is the absence of specific signs. Some people have increased appetite, others none at all; one sleeps endlessly, another cannot sleep. One person's thoughts spin without rest, another's head is "like cotton wool," unable to work out what two plus two is. Mood can be crushed, sad, even irritable. And some arrive wearing a "mask of a smile" — which does not mean there is no depression.

That is why we should move away from the old approach, where depression was a "basket" into which all the symptoms were dumped without understanding where they came from. The more you study it merely as a set of symptoms, the less you understand it. Today science lets us find the real culprit — the neurons.

Step 2. Stop killing them

Once you realize that neurons are tiny living creatures, the first thing to do is stop poisoning and overdriving them. Remove toxic influences: food, medications, drugs — all that junk.

But toxic agents can also be the people close to you, and work itself. When the load is enormous, the neurons are "like a driven-out horse" — they can't cope, and the brain "shuts down." This is what we call burnout, though the principle is simple: the neurons are simply overdriven.

Step 3. Give your neurons the best conditions

Next you must let these creatures live as well as possible: feed them, let them rest, clear out everything they have "produced."

• Nutrition — so neurons can synthesize neurotransmitters and other needed substances.
• Oxygen — hence the importance of walks.
• Good environment — time with good people, beautiful music: from this the neurons come alive.
• Support — remember the B vitamins (B1, B6, B12) and omega-3 (fish oil).
• Sleep — it should be ideal: during sleep neurons resolve their internal tasks and do their housekeeping.

Don't make one mistake: when the neurons work better and it gets easier, don't load them up again — ease the load gradually.

Step 4. Change the "software"

When the basic measures are done, the fourth step is to change the "software." This is exceptionally important, because the brain — your "kingdom of neurons" — has often been living in a state of civil war.

Here it is worth involving a competent specialist whom you trust. And if doubts arise — ask for a second opinion: "one head is good, but two heads are better."

Practice

1. Know the enemy. Note your own changes — in sleep, appetite, thoughts, mood — without trying to cram them into one label.
2. Remove the toxic. Name the toxic agents: food, substances, work overload, relationships that "drive you out."
3. Create conditions. A walk for oxygen, proper nutrition, support (B vitamins, omega-3), time with good people, beautiful music.
4. Protect sleep. Make sleep a priority — it is the time for the neurons' "internal housekeeping."
5. Find your specialist. If in doubt, get a second opinion; ease the load gradually rather than piling on more.