Help for Dealing with Depression
Even if your depression is severe and persistent there are several simple lifestyle steps you can make to achieve the recovery. The things that help the most are often the things that are hard to do, e.g. going to the gym or healthy diet.
1 Relationships and social life
The very nature of depression makes it difficult to communicate and seek for help. Isolation from your loved ones and friends and the loneliness make depression even worse. Therefore maintaining relationships and social activities is one of the most important coping strategy for depression.
Spending time and engaging in worthwhile activities with friends could give you a very satisfying feeling. Nothing feels better than having group support. If friendships are a challenge, find some interest groups and commit to attending them for a period of time. Often, when stuck in depression, all social activity ceases and "getting out" can feel very uncomfortable. This is normal. Just keep getting out and week after week you'll find the depression melts away. Communicate your needs to the people you love and trust. Ask for help when you need it.
2 Listen to music, make music or sing
Music heals "the blues". Music reduces negative emotions, improves the mood, and lifts the spirit. Bright, sprightly music (e.g. Mozart, Vivaldi, Klezmer) is a very poweful help for depressive symptoms.
3 Diet: make healthy choices
Certainly, the diet alone is not an alternative way to treat depression. But if the fuel you are providing for the body, including your brains, is healthy, than the body will function more efficiently. Eating a Mediterranean diet may lower the risk of depression by almost one-third, according to the research data. The Mediterranean diet includes lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats.
4Exercise
When you are sad or depressed - exercise seems like the last thing you want to do. But once you get motivated, exercise can make a big difference. In fact, numerous studies show that regular exercise can be as effective as antidepressant medication.
Anything that gets you off the couch and moving is exercise, including bicycling, swimming, lifting weights, playing basketball, dancing, gardening, or washing your car.
Research shows that regular exercise leads to improved mood and feelings of wellbeing. Being more physically active will help you find a new zest for life, became more stress-tolerant, and improve your self-image.
5 Get busy and inspired
If you have nothing to do all day, you will tend to ruminateon your problems. It is much easier to overcome the feeling of depression if you are too busy or actively engaged. Engaging in any activity that you are passionate will take your mind of your problems and allow other creative thoughts enter your mind.
6 Change negative thinking to realistic
Try to replace negative thinking with realistic thinking. The moment you change the way you think about an event, you will change the way you feel about it.
Self-talk is the endless stream of automatic thoughts that run through your head and can be positive or negative. You can train your brain to think differently and more positively.
You can do this by identifying the cognitive distortions you tend to use, and systematically challenging them with the facts. This is a key component of cognitive behavior therapy, one of the most successful treatments for depression.
7 Get enough light and sunshine
It is well known that depression is much worse in the winter because there is less light. A lack of exposure to sunlight is responsible for the secretion of the hormone melatonin, which could trigger a dispirited mood and a lethargic condition.
8 Set goals and purpose
Setting goals encourages you to plan for the future, improves your confidence and boosts your self-esteem. Creating a firm purpose and realizing a clear reason why you want to achieve it, is a right way to get motivated to do nearly anything.
9 Learn to "Let Go"
Release negative feelings and emotions. Learn how to let go of any limiting beliefs that may be holding you back.
Depression often results from a long-term build-up of feelings that lead a person to feel overwhelmed, insecure and stressed. The easiest - and possibly most effective - solution is to learn a process called the Release Technique. It's effectiveness has been documented by researchers at Harvard University and the program is recommended by a number of highly renowned psychologists.
Last updated: July 2010
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