INFORMAL LETTER: DEPRESSION

                                                                                     Siti Hazimah Binti Kamaruzaman

                                                                                     JK 16 Batu 3, Jalan Tampin,

                                                                                     72000, Kuala Pilah,

                                                                                     Negeri Sembilan.

                                                                 

                                                                                     17 August 2011.

Dear Seri,

       I am sorry only now I can reply your letter. I had read your letter. Seri, you had a big problem my dear friend. I feel sorry for you. I only can give you an advice and encourage you. So, you can face it effectively. In your letter, you said you always sad and moody right? It is okay to be moody once in a while. You also said you have lack of interest in life activities, loss of weight, loss of appetite and loss of sleep right? Do you know that are the primary symptoms of depression. My friend, you need to help yourself before anybody help you. You do not have to worry my friend. This is because depression is a medical condition that is treatable.  

       Seri, for your information the physical and emotional problems in depressed people can upset their day-to-day activities, careers, interest and personal relationship. They are also highly prone to suicidal tendencies and often talk to death when they had faced it for a long time. Sometimes, depression is universal but in serious cases genetics and family history play a role. As we know there are studies that show women are more prone to depression than men. Scientifically, depression is believed to be caused by an imbalance in the brain chemical called neurotransmitter.

       I have suggestion for you to handle it my dear. You just take it easy okay. First, you must practice to exercise everyday or at least three times a week. Exercising is a Time-tested method to beat stress. Scientifically, while exercising, endorphins are produced which is good antidote for depression. Exercising also enhances your self esteem. For your information, moderate activity is known to lower stress and produce sleep. So, you must try to moderate your activity. With that you will get enough sleep and rest needed by your body. Lastly, you can think positively and efficiently the way you can do to handle your problem.

       Besides that, to handle your depression, you can keep pets. Keeping pets one of the most effective ways to handle depression. By keep pets, you can counter loneliness and depression. Seri, to encounter your problem, you must be a social person. In my opinion, depressed people are always not lonely but lonely people tend to be depressed. You must ensure you network with people and stay in touch with friends and family.

       Seri, this is my last suggestion for you. If you had tried several ways and you still cannot handle it and your problem becomes worse, this is the last way I suggested. Now, if you search internet, there is one pace maker for depression treatment. That is Vagus or nerve stimulation. It cans resistant depression. From internet, I know that this device sends electrical impulses to the brain and stimulates the Vagus nerve. This produces the feel-good chemical and eases the patient’s depression.

     Seri, I hope my suggestion can help you settle your problem. I hope you will settle it soon and start new life happily. That’s my entire letter today. I hope you will write to me soon. Lastly, you must forget and take the lesson from the past and turn over a new leaf.

Yours Sincerely,

SITI HAZIMAH BT KAMARUZAMAN

http://www.esp-world.info/Articles_26/Original/Difficulties%20in%20learning%20english%20as%20a%20second%20language.pdf

HOW TO LEARN ENGLISH, A FOREIGN LANGUAGE, EFFECTIVELY

          We Malaysians find it hard to learn English, the second language in our country and the international language. However, there are only some of us who can communicate well in this language.

           What are the effective ways to learn this foreign language? First, read more to improve your reading skills. Reading many articles in English may improve your proficiency of reading. If it is too difficult for you to do so, just read the articles of the event which you are interested in from the newspaper or magazines.

          Speak in the language as often as you can. Perhaps, there will be peccadilloes in your conversation and thus invoke laughter. Do not be afraid, the more you speak the more mistakes you make, the more you will learn.

          In fact, there is an interesting way of learning. If you enjoy English movies, listen to the conversations of the characters and copy down the speeches into your notebook. Then, try to read them the way the actors do in the films. If you are able to catch what your English teacher says, it is not wrong to note down her speeches and practice it on your own. You may make minor modifications and utilize it in your daily conversations. Nevertheless, avoid using any of slang words, such as, ‘loco’, ‘phat’, and ‘sus’. Furthermore, you are not advised to use translation forms of idiomatical sayings of other languages in your essays.

          Listening to English songs is a way to master your listening skill of this language. But, please bear in mind that you should, somehow, do understand what the lyrics mean.

          Is there any other secret way to excel in English within a very short period? There is. According to a famous author of love-stories, Chong Su Han from Hong Kong, the finest way of learning a foreign language, is to learn from the person whom you admire most. It is because you will pay 100 percent attention to every word she utters. Her words will remain in your mind for a long time. Well, the way Miss Chong has recommended is true. I have tried before and it was how I started learning English. With nine month, from an extremely limited English user, I was drilled to become a normal English users who can speak and write, by learning from the girl I swooned over. Anyway, the person whom you admire has to be good in English, otherwise you ought to give up is method out of frustration.

            In conclusion, listening, speaking, writing and reading have to be synchronized in the process of mastering the language. Write letters in this second language, you will realize your writing skill has improved, eventually. Rome was no build in one day, please be patient, if you really put in effort in improving your language skills, you will become an excellent English user.

            The belief that those who come from non-English speaking family will remain in competent-users of this language until the end of the day, is not true. Trust yourself, nothing in this word is impossible to achieve. Finally, my advised to everyone learn English and improve your language-skills before it is too late, otherwise you will be left behind.

   THE POWER OF TIME

          Time. What is time? It’s only a word but it can control a world. Control our life. Control everything. Time is the one who taught us the meaning of life. Time is precious. Time can tells us about past, present or future. Time is very value to people.  Everyone have to appreciate it and know how to handle it perfectly. Fail to handle it will affect people.

          In this modern world, anybody who complains that he or she has nothing to do is simply downright lazy. There are books to read, film and video tapes to watch, music to listen and games to play. In fact, I find that I have not enough time to do all the things I want to do. Therefore, a lot of things are left undone. If only time is a transferable commodity, may be those who have too much time can pass over to me. There are many activities which can be done in limited time. As a university student, classes take up more than daylight hours. I need to slog late into the night to complete the assignment. Very rarely lecturers not give homework.

         When evening comes, sports and games come alive. Everywhere young people and a good number of older ones, indulging in some of exercise. Be it simply kicking a beat-up football or cycling does not matter very much. What matters is doing them. The doers know that time is precious and they spend it joyfully in the things they love to do. The no doers prefer to sit inside the coconut shells and wonder why there are nothings to do. For these unhappy people I suggest that they could at least be spectators. Even if they just watch sports and games, it is also a good way of spending time. It is a form of entertainment and recreation. If for nothing else, at least they know that they are among living human beings, not dead ones.

          Besides that, an average housewife has tons of chores to do. When I look at my mother, I realize that the amount of work she has to perform each day is enormous. She gets up at dawn and works right through the day cleaning, cooking and washing. When the cleaning, cooking and washing is done, there is more to do. Besides this back-breaking work, she has to go to market to buy food for her ever-hungry children and then look after their general well being. Anybody who finds that he or she has too much time can help their mother in her housework. Then they will realize the preciousness of time and how some people simply squander it away. Then, they will learn to appreciate the toils of a loving mother and how she works for nothing in return.

           I suppose most people who find that they have too much time on their hands are people who do not find interest in life itself. Their attitudes need correcting. If they look at life with pessimism and then feel depressed about it, obviously things are not going to look interesting. On the other hands, if they look at life optimism and feel thankful that they are alive, the likelihood will be that they will go out to do the things they love and enjoy every moment or minute of it.

          Of course life itself is filled with obstacles. If one allows such barriers to prevent one from living then one might as well be dead. The tricks are to look beyond these obstacles and beyond the black clouds of depression. The sun shines for people who can do this. Life is never dull. There is plenty to do. Time is always precious. Time is always powerful. We as human being should always spend our time wisely even if it is only one minute. As we know the power of the time, it would never be there for eternity. As we know it wasn’t that hard to appreciate every single lad and lass.