Back to Articles

BOOST YOUR CONFIDENCE

WE ALL have days when we feel deflated, but turning your mope into action can restore your confidence. As you gain confidence in one area of your life, it builds your momentum and translates to even bigger, bolder actions.

Take on a small challenge. "Run a little further than you thought you could; or if you are not mechanical, spend a little time fixing a broken appliance," says psychologist and productivity expert Susan Fletcher. "Giving yourself the opportunity to accept and succeed at small tasks builds your confidence to manage the bigger, unplanned challenges."

Support a cause: Giving back boosts confidence because you see how your actions are helping others. Charitable work also gets you focused outside of your own needs as you put other people first.

Relive past success: "Recall or relive experiences where you excelled at what you did. Perhaps it was a great presentation or a moment as a parent where you felt you did something really well," says Amanda Gore, stress management expert.

Start a business: If you haven't already, starting a business is the biggest confidence-booster out there. The mere action steps involved in starting a business fuel your sense of self-reliance because you are taking action, learning, growing and moving toward controlling your own income. The results and payoffs of your business success will make your confidence surge.

Challenge your challenges: "You are only limited by someone else's views of you if you agree with those views. Agree not! Do not put artificial limitations on your potential," says Robin Meade, author of Morning Sunshine: How to Radiate Confidence and Feel It Too and host of CNN Headline News' Morning Express with Robin Meade show.

UNDERSTANDING DEPRESSION

DEPRESSION is one of the most common illnesses and is amongst the most important causes of decreased productivity worldwide. According to Dr Shyam Lulla, Consulting Psychiatrist, PD Hinduja Hospital and Ramakrishna Mission Hospital, Mumbai, "Life time prevalence of depression is as high as 20-25 per cent. It can occur at any age and is twice as high in women as in men." Everyone has some ups and downs and sadness is a natural emotion. The normal stressors can make anyone feel sad but these reactions are usually brief and go away with a little care. But depression is more than occasionally feeling blue. It is a strong emotion, involving sadness, discouragement, hopelessness and despair that lasts for weeks, months or even longer. It interferes with a person's ability to participate in normal activities. Dr Lulla, who is also the director of Cozy Clinic and Nursing Home, a specialised psychiatry clinic in Mumbai talks about the signs to look out for depression. .

• Feeling sad, low or irritated for most of the time • Loss of interest in hobbies and activities that were once enjoyable
• Feeling worthless, having negative and self critical thoughts • Difficulty in concentration, remembering and making decisions
• Decreased appetite or over eating
• Decreased or excessive sleep
• Getting tired easily
• Increased smoking, increased consumption of alcohol
• Persistent physical symptoms like headaches, body ache or digestive problems
• Recurrent thoughts of death or suicide
Major depressive episodes are a combination of various symptoms that last for at least two weeks in a row, says the doctor. Such episodes can occur once, twice or several times in a lifetime. Dysthymia is a less severe but long lasting type of depression. It does not disable, but still prevents the affected person from functioning at full steam and feeling good. Bipolar depression includes mood switches between feeling high and feeling low.

Depression can be caused by various biological, psychological and social factors. The level of neurotransmitters like serotonin, noradrenaline, dopamine which are critical in regulating mood is decreased when depressed.

Depression may run in families. There is 50 to 75 p cent risk to a person to have an episode of depression if both parents face depression and a 20-25 per cent risk if one parent has depression.
Certain medical conditions like hypothyroidism can present itself with depression. A lot of stressful life events like death, divorce and disease can predispose to depression How we deal with these situations determines ho predisposed we are to depression. People who are insecure, anxious, pessimistic, obsessive and dependent are more likely to be depressed.