Feeling Depressed or Lonely?

If you are feeling a little lonely or depressed, try adopting a dog or cat from the animal shelter. You wouldn't believe how much it helps to have a little being in your life or a puppy to take care of and love. Just knowing that you have a reason to get up in the morning and take the dog out can make a world of difference in your life. Feeding and taking your dog for a walk a couple times during the day can be very good for your mind as well as your physical well being. It will give you a new purpose in life, someone to talk to, someone to cuddle with, and something to spoil. Yes I went through a depression period as allot of people do in their lives, actually it was pretty bad, I didn't even want to get out of bed, life seemed meaningless to me, I just didn't care about anything. I did seek some counseling which really didn't help me,  and was costing allot of money. So I decided to get a puppy. I paid way too much for the cute little thing, but guess what my husband says she has paid for herself many times over. She has been here with me sitting on my lap, sleeping with me, going for rides in the car, and just sitting behind me as a write my blog. Just watching her tear around the house playing, running, and buying her toys put a big smile on my face. I understand that some people are just not cut out for having a pet, and that's fine. I am just making a suggestion and telling you what worked for me. I have seen several older people who said they would never have a dog or a cat, but after a pet was giving to them that was the most important thing in there life. Something to talk about, something to live for.
     Another way to fight depression is to help others ,or get involved in groups or nonprofits that focus on helping the community. Is there something that you really believe in? or something you really care about but thought there was nothing you could do about it? Get on the internet and do a search about it, or go onto your city's homepage and that should have a volunteer area listing on it. Get involved in your neighborhood, meet your neighbors, and see if their are elderly people that may need some help with mowing their lawn, or rides to the store. Helping other's can really make you happy and make you feel like you have a very important purpose in this world, letting someone know you care can also create allot of happiness for them as well as self fulfillness for you. Once you  throw yourself into something like volunteering you will focus your mind on something besides your own problems and learn that your problems might be allot smaller than someone else's. You will learn that everyone has problems and that they are usually temporary bumps in the road. Don't try to hide if your feeling depressed or lonely, expressing your feelings is one of the best things you can do, so that other's can be there for you also. Family members or friends may not know how you are feeling unless you tell them, because like allot of us we are very good at putting on a good face. When you are depressed or lonely sometimes just having something to look forward to can really turn things around. Plan something you really want to do and invite someone you love to go with you. It doesn't matter if its a month from now or a year. Just knowing you are gonna do something fun might help a little bit. Please be careful not to start using drugs or alchohol to mask your feelings, there are alot of people that do this to cover up the depression they are having, it will just make things worse in the long run and you will never be able to sort out what is causing it and fix it.
     No, I am not an expert on this subject, I am just stating things that have helped me from my past experiences. I have experienced allot of pitfalls and unhappiness during my lifetime and it has taken me several years to figure out what works for me. Everyone is different, what works for me may not work for you. If nothing seems to help and it's getting worse, please seek help from a doctor. There is no reason you should feel this way for a long period of time when there is help out there. You just need to seek it. Anyway, these are just my opinions. Let me know what you think.