Depression is a serious but common illness that impacts the way you feel, how you think and how you behave.  Rather, the good news is that depression is curable, and in most likelihood it can be treated without medication. Counseling with a qualified psychologist, will empower you with behavior modification techniques to end depression.

Furthermore, it causes you to have a lack of interest in hobbies and activities that you previously enjoyed. Depression leaves you with a feeling of sadness and morose.  In addition, it can result in physical and emotional problems that can affect the way you function in life, whether at work or at home and how you interact with people.

First of all, it is especially relevant to note that some of the common causes of depression are as follows:

Seasonal changes: Change in the weather, and the season results in some individuals feeling depressed

Smoking: Surprisingly smoking is a chicken and egg story, depressed people smoke cigarettes and smoking cigarettes causes more despondency

Thyroid disease: Hypothyroidism, i.e. the reduced production of the thyroid hormone can lead to gloominess, fortunately a quick blood test can rule this out, and a course of medicine from your doctor can relieve these symptoms

Social Media Overload: Too much facebook and other forms of social media can cause depression

Location Depression: Where you live, can be a cause of depression

Sibling / family / relationship problems: Strained relationships with siblings, parents and spouse etc can also lead to depression

 Medication: Certain medication such as birth control pills etc., can result in despondency, any hormone impacting medication can also result in depression

In conclusion, if you or anyone you love is suffering from depression, please do not attempt to treat it yourself, but consult an experienced psychologist who will guide you on the best course of action, consequently, therefore if required your psychologist will refer you to a medical doctor for anti depression medication as a last recourse.

 More about Dr. Prerna Kohli

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About Dr. Prerna Kohli

Dr. Kohli believes that “You can talk with a close friend or relative about what’s troubling you; but it’s not the same as professionally-trained experienced psychologist who knows exactly what kind of help you need.”

She is a 100 women Achievers Award Winner (2016) from the Honorable President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee.

Dr. Prerna Kohli is a Clinical Psychologist, a Public Speaker, a Workshop Facilitator and a Holistic Practitioner. She offers Heart-based workshops and lectures that focus on Life Balance, Self-awareness and Inner Peace. Dedicated to sharing her knowledge and compassion with others, Prerna blends intuitive wisdom with solid understanding, creating a powerful holistic approach, specializing in the areas of Emotional change.

Dr. Prerna Kohli is a leading Psychologist in India and provides families, individuals, parents and children counselling on being happy.

First of all, people fake depression because it allows them to gain sympathy, compliments, pity, attention and many other monetary and non-monetary gains. Wives fake depression due to the fact that they believe it will get a piece of jewelry, girls till they get their personal car, or an agreement from their parents to marry an unsuitable spouse.

Fake depression may not be real, but it still important to find the underlying symptom for the fake depression, whether low esteem, greed, misplaced romantic notions among others.

Hence, below are the seven signs of fake depression:

Creating drama or falling sick when something is refused to them

Self-harm such as  cutting themselves, but the cuts are superficial, more like scratches

The “depression” is short-term

Only depressed about certain things they enjoyed in the past

Blaming others for all their problems

Passive aggressiveness

Acting helpless

Faking Depression – Dr Prerna Kohli, India’s Leading Psychologist

In conclusion, faking depression is in itself a symptom of depression or some other mental issue. Hence, it is important to meet with an experienced Psychologist to determine if your loved one is suffering from clinical depression, or there is some other underlying problem which needs to be addressed. Lastly, never diagnose or treat depression yourself, it mandates meeting a qualified psychologist.

Read other relevant articles

• Depression: It is Real!
• Seven Foods That Help Fight Depression
• Ways to Help a Friend or Family Member Overcome Depression
• Living with someone Suffering from Depression?
• Treatments for Depression

Learn more about Dr. Prerna Kohli

“You can talk with a close friend or relative about what’s troubling you; but it’s not the same as a professionally-trained experienced psychologist who knows exactly what kind of help you need” – Dr. Prerna Kohli.

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About Dr. Prerna Kohli
Firstly, she is a 100 women Achievers Award Winner (2016) from the Honorable President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee.

Moveover, Dr. Prerna Kohli is a Clinical Psychologist, a Public Speaker, a Workshop Facilitator and a Holistic Practitioner. She offers Heart-based workshops and lectures that focus on Life Balance, Self-awareness and Inner Peace. Dedicated to sharing her knowledge and compassion with others, Prerna blends intuitive wisdom with a solid understanding, creating a powerful holistic approach, specializing in the areas of Emotional change.

In conclusion, Dr. Prerna Kohli is a leading Psychologist in India and provides families, individuals, parents and children counseling on being happy.

Diwali, as we all know is the Hindu festival of lights, it occurs during the months of October and November. Thus, Diwali is associated with Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity, and marks the beginning of the financial year in India. Hence, for most Hindus, Diwali is a period of festivities and joy and happiness. Thus, people celebrate by exchanging gifts with friends and family, going to parties, decorating their homes, painting their homes, buying new clothes, jewellery and other beautiful things for themselves, their loved ones, and their homes. The air is filled with the feeling of festivity, joy and happiness.

Unfortunately, some people suffer from depression during this period, while, everyone else seems to be beaming, bursting with Diwali joy and you’re feeling wretched and exhausted.  Those people who are suffering from depression or who have had depression in the past, need to be especially careful when coping with Diwali stress.

 Here are seven steps to manage Diwali Stress: 

Keep it simple: Reduce the number of parties you attend, reduce the number of gifts you give

Do something different: Travel, go out of town, do something different to avoid the madness of Diwali

Don’t do the unimportant stuff: Don’t be under pressure to do everything that was a tradition in the family, cherry pick and do only those activities you enjoy

Don’t worry about things outside your control

Find positive ways to remember loved ones who are no more

Don’t look for the perfect gift, it is the thought behind the gift that counts

Stick to a budget, don’t allow the financial strain to cause you mental anguish

Remember that during the Diwali period, stress is caused by media, social media, friends and relatives who create unnecessary expectations. So, If you are feeling overwhelmed with the Diwali season stress, it is best to meet an experienced psychologist, who can help you manage the stress.

“You can talk with a close friend or relative about what’s troubling you; but it’s not the same as professionally-trained experienced psychologist who knows exactly what kind of help you need” – Dr. Prerna Kohli.

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About Dr. Prerna Kohli

She is a 100 women Achievers Award Winner (2016) from the Honorable President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee.

Dr. Prerna Kohli is a Clinical Psychologist, a Public Speaker, a Workshop Facilitator and a Holistic Practitioner. She offers Heart-based workshops and lectures that focus on Life Balance, Self-awareness and Inner Peace. Dedicated to sharing her knowledge and compassion with others, Prerna blends intuitive wisdom with solid understanding, creating a powerful holistic approach, specializing in the areas of Emotional change.

Dr. Prerna Kohli is a leading Psychologist in India and provides families, individuals, parents and children counselling on being happy.  

A common management term is FIFO, which means First In, First Out. This term simply means that the item which comes first must go first. This term is also applicable to human beings, to maintain the equilibrium that those who are born first should also die first. When this order of nature is broken, it leads to immense sorry.

In my private practice, I observe that parents who have lost their children are the neediest of psychological counselling. Thus, the death of a child is the most devastating loss. So, the parent mourns the loss of his or her child’s life, the missed potential and future together.

Hence, there are some steps which the parents can take to make to be able to cope with the death of their child.

Be Gentle with yourself: Firstly, don’t blame yourself for the death of your child.

Get Plenty of sleep: Secondly, Science has shown that a loss of this magnitude is equivalent to a major injury, and your body needs rest to recover

Remember to eat: In this grief, there is a loss of appetite, make sure that your body receives enough nutrition to sustain

Drink Water: It is very important to keep your body hydrated to function correctly

Avoid Alcohol and drugs: Also, don’t use abuse alcohol and make it a crutch to cope with this grief

Medication: Most importantly, don’t self-medicate, use antidepressants under the guidance of a doctor only

Meditation: Lastly, Meditate. It brings solace and the ability to cope with the loss

For a parent, death of their child is the worst possible pain, and they most likely need professional guidance to cope with this pain. I strongly urge the surviving siblings and parents to seek professional help from an experienced psychologist.

“You can talk with a close friend or relative about what’s troubling you; but it’s not the same as professionally-trained experienced psychologist who knows exactly what kind of help you need” – Dr. Prerna Kohli.

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About Dr. Prerna Kohli

She is a 100 women Achievers Award Winner (2016) from the Honorable President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee.

 Dr. Prerna Kohli is a Clinical Psychologist, a Public Speaker, a Workshop Facilitator and a Holistic Practitioner. She offers Heart-based workshops and lectures that focus on Life Balance, Self-awareness and Inner Peace. Dedicated to sharing her knowledge and compassion with others, Prerna blends intuitive wisdom with solid understanding, creating a powerful holistic approach, specializing in the areas of Emotional change.

Dr. Prerna Kohli is a leading Psychologist in India and provides families, individuals, parents and children counselling on being happy.

When your spouse dies your life changes immensely. Thus, you are in a state of mourning and grieving feeling the sorrow of this loss. You may feel shocked, numb and fearful. This is a misnomer among people that if the death of the spouse is after a prolonged illness there is ample time to say goodbye and prepare for death, vs. a sudden death. Whether sudden or not, the death of a spouse leaves scars that take time to heal.

For some this grief leads to depression, and this depression needs to be handled under the guidance of an experienced psychologist.  What is depression? Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person’s thoughts, behavior, feelings and sense of well-being. It is important to understand the difference between grief and depression. Grief is an overwhelming sense of loss post the death of a loved one, grief comes in waves, and then recedes and returns when a memory, incident, or emotion triggers a recollection of the deceased. Over a period of time the grief reduces, and one is able to rekindle memories of the deceased with joy and happiness. A perpetual grief is an indication that the remaining spouse is under depression.

 If you or someone you know is depressed after the death of a spouse, you need to take the following steps to manage the stress:

Start exercising, go for long walks, bicycle or start some form of exercise

Get sufficient sleep, 7-8 hours each day

Explore a new skill which involves group activities such as a cooking, photography class etc

Meet with friends and loved ones who can offer support

Join a support group, in the Indian context, become a regular at the “kirtan / bhajan” session. Very few support groups for spousal death are available in India, so the kirtan / bhajan sessions provide a similar support

If despite these interventions you still have:

difficulty performing everyday activities

feeling guilty or blaming yourself for your loved one’s death

feeling as if you have no purpose in life

losing desire to engage in social activities

wishing you had died as well

feeling as if your life isn’t worth living if you don’t have your loved one

You must seek professional help, and meet an experienced Psychologist.

“You can talk with a close friend or relative about what’s troubling you; but it’s not the same as professionally-trained experienced psychologist who knows exactly what kind of help you need” – Dr. Prerna Kohli.

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About Dr. Prerna Kohli

She is a 100 women Achievers Award Winner (2016) from the Honorable President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee.

Dr. Prerna Kohli is a Clinical Psychologist, a Public Speaker, a Workshop Facilitator and a Holistic Practitioner. She offers Heart-based workshops and lectures that focus on Life Balance, Self-awareness and Inner Peace. Dedicated to sharing her knowledge and compassion with others, Prerna blends intuitive wisdom with solid understanding, creating a powerful holistic approach, specializing in the areas of Emotional change.

 Dr. Prerna Kohli is a leading Psychologist in India and provides families, individuals, parents and children counselling on being happy.

Every human being from time to time will feel low; it is important to be able to distinguish between depression and a feeling low. Hence, It is very important to understand what depression is and when to seek skilled professional guidance.

What is depression? 

Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person’s thoughts, behaviour, feelings and sense of well-being.

If you or someone you love is exhibiting some of these signs given below, please consult with a qualified psychologist at the earliest. Untreated symptoms of depression can have very serious consequences.

Thus, Below are seven signs of depression to watch out for:

Feeling hopeless and helpless

Lost interest in friends and activities that you previously enjoyed

Also, You feel tired all the time

Sleep and appetite patterns have changed

Inability to concentrate

Unable to control negative thoughts as much as you try

Consuming more than normal alcohol or engaging in other reckless activities 

Please note depression is controllable and reversible, but you need professional guidance. Just like you wouldn’t perform surgery on yourself, or ask an unqualified person to do it for you, similarly don’t try to treat yourself for depression, you need to meet an experienced psychologist.

“You can talk with a close friend or relative about what’s troubling you; but it’s not the same as professionally-trained experienced psychologist who knows exactly what kind of help you need” – Dr. Prerna Kohli.

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About Dr. Prerna Kohli

She is a 100 women Achievers Award Winner (2016) from the Honorable President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee.

Dr. Prerna Kohli is a Clinical Psychologist, a Public Speaker, a Workshop Facilitator and a Holistic Practitioner. She offers Heart-based workshops and lectures that focus on Life Balance, Self-awareness and Inner Peace. Dedicated to sharing her knowledge and compassion with others, Prerna blends intuitive wisdom with solid understanding, creating a powerful holistic approach, specializing in the areas of Emotional change.

Dr. Prerna Kohli is a leading Psychologist in India and provides families, individuals, parents and children counselling on being happy.

Diagnosing Depression

First of all, there are exams and tests which can help rule out other problems that could be causing your symptoms, pinpoint a diagnosis and check for any related complications:

• Diagnosing Depression by Physical exam. Your doctor may do a physical exam and ask questions about your health. In some cases, depression may be linked to an underlying physical health problem.
• Diagnosing Depression by Lab tests. For example, your doctor may do a blood test called a complete blood count or test your thyroid to make sure it’s functioning properly.
• Diagnosing Depression by Psychological evaluation. Expect your doctor or mental health provider to ask about your symptoms, thoughts, feelings and behavior patterns. Also, You may be asked to fill out a questionnaire to help answer these questions.
• Diagnosing Depression by DSM-5. Your mental health professional may use the criteria for depression listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), published by the American Psychiatric Association. Thus, This manual is used by mental health providers to diagnose mental conditions and by insurance companies to reimburse for treatment.

Types of depression

Symptoms caused by major depression can vary from person to person. To clarify the type of depression you have, your doctor may add one or more specifiers. A specifier means that you have depression with specific features, such as:

• Anxious distress — depression with unusual restlessness or worry about possible events or loss of control
• Mixed features — simultaneous depression and mania, which includes elevated self-esteem, talking too much and increased energy
• Melancholic features — severe depression with lack of response to something that used to bring pleasure and associated with early morning awakening, worsened mood in the morning, major changes in appetite, and feelings of guilt, agitation or sluggishness
• Atypical features — depression that includes the ability to be cheered by happy events, increased appetite, excessive need for sleep, sensitivity to rejection, and a heavy feeling in arms or legs
• Psychotic features — depression accompanied by delusions or hallucinations, which may involve personal inadequacy or other negative themes
• Catatonia — depression that includes motor activity that involves either uncontrollable and purposeless movement or fixed and inflexible posture
• Peripartum onset — depression that occurs during pregnancy or in the weeks or months after delivery (postpartum)
• Seasonal pattern — depression related to changes in seasons and reduced exposure to sunlight

Other disorders that cause depression symptoms

Several other disorders, such as those below, include depression as a symptom. It’s important to get an accurate diagnosis, so you can get appropriate treatment.

• Bipolar I and II disorders. These mood disorders include mood swings that range from highs to lows. Thus, It’s sometimes difficult to distinguish between bipolar disorder and depression.
• Cyclothymic disorder. Cyclothymic (sy-kloe-THIE-mik) disorder involves highs and lows that are milder than those of bipolar disorder.
• Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder. This mood disorder in children includes chronic and severe irritability and anger with frequent extreme temper outbursts. This disorder typically develops into depressive disorder or anxiety disorder during the teen years or adulthood.
• Persistent depressive disorder. Sometimes called dysthymia (dis-THIE-me-uh), this is a less severe but more chronic form of depression. While it’s usually not disabling, the persistent depressive disorder can prevent you from functioning normally in your daily routine and from living life to its fullest.
• Premenstrual dysphoric disorder. This involves depression symptoms associated with hormone changes that begin a week before and improve within a few days after the onset of your period, and are minimal or gone after completion of your period.
• Other depression disorders. This includes depression that’s caused by the use of recreational drugs, some prescribed medications or another medical condition.

In conclusion, depression is a treatable medical problem but needs treatment by an experienced psychologist.

Learn more about Dr. Prerna Kohli

“You can talk with a close friend or relative about what’s troubling you, but it’s not the same as a professionally-trained experienced psychologist who knows exactly what kind of help you need – Dr. Prerna Kohli.”

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About Dr. Prerna Kohli

First of all, Dr. Kohli believes that “You can talk with a close friend or relative about what’s troubling you, but it’s not the same as a professionally-trained experienced psychologist who knows exactly what kind of help you need.”

Furthermore, she is a 100 women Achievers Award Winner (2016) from the Honorable President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee.

Dr. Prerna Kohli is a Clinical Psychologist, a Public Speaker, a Workshop Facilitator and a Holistic Practitioner. She offers Heart-based workshops and lectures that focus on Life Balance, Self-awareness, and Inner Peace. Consequently she is dedicated to sharing her knowledge and compassion with others. Prerna blends intuitive wisdom with a solid understanding. And creating a powerful holistic approach, specializing in the areas of Emotional change.

Dr. Prerna Kohli is a leading Psychologist in India. Consequently, with over 20 years of experience and has been providing families, individuals, parents and children counseling on being happy.

Inevitably every living being will die; and when humans are in the sunset of their life, and sitting on their death bed, there is a sense of depression, regret and feeling that many desires and ambitions have been unfilled.

Our life is full of choices, and many of them come with uncertainty as well as a lack of clarity of what the outcome of that choice will be. Unfortunately, we can never come to know what would have happened, if we had made a different choice.

Failed relationships, missed opportunities, and poor judgment calls are emotions and depressions that each one of has to live with. Thus, some choices seem easy at the time that the choice is made, but later turn out to have been poorly selected; but, other choices are difficult from the beginning.

There will be many regrets in life but different regrets will have magnitudes of the sense of lost opportunities and be reasons for depression.

Here is a list of seven potential regrets that people have expressed on their deathbed, best to make sure that you avoid them and this depression:

Not spending enough time with loved ones: choose what you do with your time wisely

Worrying too much:  worry has never gotten anyone anywhere.

Not forgiving enough: forgive them for your own peace of mind

Not living your life to it’s fullest: you only have one life, live it.

Worked too much: work enough to live. Thus, have hobbies to enjoy your life.

Wasting time on the unimportant: and not achieving your fullest potential.

Not living in the moment: people don’t live in the present but are focused on the mistakes made in the past or fearing what the future holds. and you also suffer from same problem so you need to meet with  Depression Counseling

You know you will die, and it important to not reach the end of life with regrets, start changing your life today itself, and make these changes in your behaviour from today, from now!

Learn more about Dr. Prerna Kohli

“You can talk with a close friend or relative about what’s troubling you; it’s not the same as professionally-trained experienced psychologist who knows exactly what kind of help you need – Dr. Prerna Kohli.”

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About Dr. Prerna Kohli

She is a 100 women Achievers Award Winner (2016) from the Honorable President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee

Dr. Prerna Kohli is a Clinical Psychologist, a Public Speaker, a Workshop Facilitator and also a Holistic Practitioner. She offers Heart-based workshops and lectures that focus on Life Balance, Self-awareness and Inner Peace. Thus, Dedicated to sharing her knowledge and compassion with others, Prerna blends intuitive wisdom with solid understanding, creating a powerful holistic approach, specializing in the areas of Emotional change.

Dr. Prerna Kohli is a leading Child Psychologist in India and provides both parents and children counselling on raising healthy and well rounded children.

Sleep plays a vital role in good health and well-being throughout your life. Getting enough quality sleep at the right times can help protect your mental health, physical health, quality of life, and safety and helps avoid Depression lack of sleep.

The way you feel while you’re awake depends in part on what happens while you’re sleeping. During sleep, your body is working to support healthy brain function and maintain your physical health, and help prevent Depression. In children and teens, sleep also helps support growth and development.

The damage from sleep deficiency can occur in an instant (such as a car crash), or it can harm you over time. For example, ongoing sleep deficiency can raise your risk for some chronic health problems. It also can affect how well you think, react, work, learn, and get along with others.

Sleep is essential for a person’s health and well-being, according to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF). Yet millions of people do not get enough sleep and many suffer from lack of sleep. For example, surveys conducted by the NSF (1999-2004) reveal that at least 40 million Americans suffer from over 70 different sleep disorders and 60 percent of adults report having sleep problems a few nights a week or more. Most of those with these problems go un-diagnosed and untreated. In addition, more than 40 percent of adults experience daytime sleepiness severe enough to interfere with their daily activities at least a few days each month – with 20 percent reporting problem sleepiness a few days a week or more. Furthermore, 69 percent of children experience one or more sleep problems a few nights or more during a week.

A good night’s sleep is incredibly important for health.

In fact, it is just as important as eating healthy and exercising.

Unfortunately, the Western environment is interfering with natural sleep patterns.

People are now sleeping less than they did in the past, and sleep quality has decreased as well.

Sleep has an impact on depression. There is a clear link between sleep and depression as well.  60-80% of patients with depression report experiencing sleep disturbances of some kind.  Persistent sleep problems can significantly increase the risk of a relapse of depression, and may also delay your response to treatment. 

Learn more about Dr. Prerna Kohli

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About Dr. Prerna Kohli

Dr. Kohli believes that “You can talk with a close friend or relative about what’s troubling you; but it’s not the same as professionally-trained experienced psychologist who knows exactly what kind of help you need.”

Dr. Prerna Kohli is a 100 women Achievers Award Winner (2016) from the Honorable President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee.

Dr. Kohli is a Clinical Psychologist, a Public Speaker, a Workshop Facilitator and a Holistic Practitioner. She offers Heart-based workshops and lectures that focus on Life Balance, Self-awareness and Inner Peace. Dedicated to sharing her knowledge and compassion with others, Prerna blends intuitive wisdom with solid understanding, creating a powerful holistic approach, specializing in the areas of Emotional change.

Dr. Prerna Kohli is a leading Psychologist in India and provides families, individuals, parents and children counselling on being happy.