Depression -- a brief primer

Nasty weather abounds and more and more of you are able to get out a little bit and take care of it for people --- good !  -
- and i hope some of you have been  implementing a few of the small tips and tricks i have suggested earlier regarding eating on the road, and getting in at least 20-30 minutes of maintenance level exercise at least 4x a week


Today i'm going to hit on a somewhat depressing topic -  no cute pictures and not too many metaphors either - this topic is dead serious for many of us -  and its only a very small % of the population who is not hit with it at some point or another 

   Depression

I've tried to throw out some decent , but relatively common, wisdom on some current dietary principles, and tried to make some exercise suggestions along the way,  --- but there are some things that can hit us hard in life, and can tend to keep us on the ground when we want to soar with the eagles

Chief among these is stress and depression

I've briefly touched on stress in an earlier entry   (  http://fitclaimspro.blogspot.com/2014/01/harmonious-living-with-global-terror.html )
  but do recognize that the mere act of change can produce large amounts of stress -- change in the form of cleaning up your diet and trying to exercise more effectively, in the short run, can contribute to elevated cortisol  -- but given enough time to adjust, - the effects of these positive stressors start to balance out and supercede the negative stressors


This segueways me directly  into Depression --- and many times  depression can result from the accumulation of stress and cortisol

I readilly admit that i am not a doctor, psychologist, or therapist, so i cant diagnose these things for anybody -- and the observations i am about to put forth are concerning depression and its effects on athletes,  - but there are plenty of  parallels wih our career paths as  claims professionals,  and specifically , catastrophe storm adjusters .
       Like an elite athlete, we often lead nomadic, introverted lives and are expected to perform at a high level regardless of exterior circumstances,  and for long durations

Like i said, i do not have the formal training to diagnose depression, but there are some commonly published signs of depression, -- and as a collective group, i think we are smart enough to be able to look inward and say yes or no if any of these apply to us

Depression is defined and characterized by the presence of either a depressed mood or markedly diminished pleasure or interest in almost all activities for at least two weeks, and at least four of the following symptoms for at least two weeks:

• Significant weight loss or weight gain
• Insomnia or hypersomnia (excessive sleeping)
• Agitation and restlessness or slowed movements
• Fatigue or loss of energy
• Feelings of worthlessness or inappropriate guilt
• Impaired concentration, difficulty making decisions
• Recurring thoughts of death or suicide

We know that depression is influenced by both genetic factors as well as life circumstances. Major life events can trigger a depression, as can loss, illness, and substance abuse. Why a particular pattern triggers a depression in one individual and not another is not very well understood, but here are some general guidelines that have been found to be preventative:

1. Aerobic Exercise: 20 minutes per session, 4x or more a week reduces the risk of depression and anxiety, but 45 minutes per session  is even more effective.
   
2. Clean  Food:   see my other posts on this
   
3. Friends and Family: Social connectedness is also protective against depression. Note that this is not how many Facebook friends you have, but people with whom you actually spend time.
   
4. Coping Skills: internal  defense mechanisms such as finding humor in situations, anticipating stress, and using creative outlets to cope with stress are all helpful.

Though athletes exercise, lead a healthy lifestyle and may have mature coping skills and wide social circles, endurance athletes are by no means immune from depression. Certain habits and personality traits of endurance athletes may even predispose them to depression.

When we look at the characteristics that lend themselves to successful athletes we often see introverted perfectionists who adhere to rigid schedules and have much of their self-esteem invested in their performance.   (sound familiar ?) 

Healthy perfectionists set high standards for themselves and use their goals to squeeze the best that they can out of themselves. This is usually associated with high self-esteem and good social adjustment.

 Unhealthy perfectionists, however, set unattainably lofty goals and can feel that no level of achievement is enough. This latter form of perfectionism has a high rate of depression and hopelessness,      . Elite performers, (either athletes or career high achievers)   of both types can certainly be found, but there are plenty  who fall into the unhealthy perfectionist category.

There are a lot of "win or die tryin' " personality types in every aspect of life, -- from sports all the way down to the more mundane career choices.   

       There are guys bagging groceries out there who have an intense drive to be the best bagger in their store

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As i mentioned above , i am not a psychologist or a doctor ,  --- my interest in this topic is how it affects my friends and family (my extended family being the readership of this column) 

Whats all this mean for us ?    Lots -- stress and depression affect everything to one extent or another

We already live in a society that rewards  those who can handle the highest amounts of stress , but not everyones psychological makeup is the same.

For some , the stress of this career is enough to put you at your near breaking point -- when you factor in the long hours, - months without pay, long separations from family, and customers who are never satisfied ---

   If that is you and you dont understand how you could possibly add in the stress of handling a succesful exercise program and structured diet while all this is going on --- then the very short and abrupt answer is -- "you can't"

You cant -- thats not an answer i like anywhere,  - but the added stress of clean livin' on top of what you are already going through can push you over the top ,  --------  

So what do i advocate in this case?  --- more effective career management first -- usually this ties in to more effective time management skills, 

    People claim not to have the time for the life changes i am advocating, but will regularly hang out at the restaurant bar to catch the last few innings of the ball game   (which is a coping mechanism if thats how you relax sometimes)

If you dont have your daily scheduling dialed in before implementing my techniques,  -- you are more open to failure

So what would be my partial solution?

Dont try to take on too much at once  -----    

While you are cleaning up your daily scheduling parameters, start in on cleaning up your diet with a focus on high quality proteins , plus figuring out the ideal meal frequency for your body

For a period of 3-4 weeks ,  - this is enough .   Continue working on the other aspects of life that are creating negative stress for you and by the end of 4 weeks, you should start feeling some positive benefits from eating better

At this time, as long as you have been striving to clean up everything else, ideally your total daily stress load will have gone down enough that you can take on the exercise portion of the equation with your head held high, and without fear of failure

Schedule will be cleaned up enough hopefully  that the extra hour per day you need  (45 minutes for exercise plus 15 minutes shower and cleanup)   will not be coming at the expense of the time you need to spend on your work duties, or time you need to spend with your family

Your career in claims handling (many other career choices too)  is a marathon, not a sprint ---

 When you continue to push yourself too hard trying to squeeze out an extra 35-40 minutes of paperwork, or an extra appointment  in a day,  at the expense of well regulated rest, a structured diet, and exercise,  ---- you may just fall on your face at mile 18 (with 8 miles left to go ) 

Taking a balanced approach will have you finishing all 26.2 strong !  (metaphorically speaking)

Thanks again for reading this week 

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---- Doug

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disclaimer:    The information contained here is not intended to replace the medical advice of your physician and is not intended as medical advice.  This newsletter/blog is a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of the staff of Fitclaimspro.com and professional colleagues unless otherwise noted