How to Fight Depression
How to Fight Depression
How to fight depression when you have a constant feeling of sadness and a loss of interest is incredibly challenging. Depression often stops you from doing the normal activities you used to find pleasure in.
As common as depression might seem, how to fight depression varies from person to person. Being depressed can make people feel helpless. Along with therapy, embodied movement, and sometimes even medication, there are some ways on how to fight back against depression below!
Get in a Routine
Depression can strip away the structure from your life.
By establishing a gentle, daily schedule, it can help get you back on track and prevent the days from bleeding into one another. Even the smallest day to day routine can help break the negativity depression holds on your life.
Set Small Goals
When you are depressed, you may feel like you cannot accomplish anything. Even if it is the smallest task, depression wants you to believe you cannot do it.
In return, this often makes individuals feel worse about themselves.
So to get started, set daily goals for yourself. Start small and make it an easy task you can succeed at!
- Making the bed most mornings.
- Doing the dishes every other day.
- Going to bed at the same time.
As time passes, individuals fighting depression report that they start to feel better when they can accomplish small steps. Don’t add too much to your plate, and realize that adding more challenging goals to your day can increase depression side effects
Moving Your Body
By exercising in a healthy way and moving your body in a way that doesn’t exacerbate it, the brain creates endorphins, which temporarily boost your mood.
This can have long term benefits with people struggling with depression.
Regular movement can help rewire your brain in a positive way.
Even just going for a walk three times a week could be enough on how to begin fighting depression.
Emotion does follow motion!
Eat Balanced
There is no magic diet on how to fight depression.
However, it is a good idea to be mindful of what you eat. If your depression tends to cause you to overeat or undereat, getting in control of eating habits may help you feel better overall.
Foods with omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon, and folic acid, such as spinach and avocados, could help ease depression. Be mindful if you have allergies to some foods though!
Get Enough Sleep
Depression can make it hard to get enough quality sleep, and too little sleep can make depression worse.
Start by making changes to your lifestyle.
Establish a routine so you are trying to go to bed at the same time each night and waking up at the same time each morning. Try and avoid taking a nap and remove all distractions from your bedroom.
By taking these few steps, you may find your sleep improves over time.
Take on Small Responsibilities
When you are depressed, you may want to withdraw and give up on responsibilities at work and home.
If full-time school or work seems like too large of a commitment, try part-time. Sometimes even the smallest accomplishment can give your mental health a boost.
Similarly, challenge your negative thoughts! When learning how to fight depression, a lot of the work is noticing and changing how you think. The next time you are feeling terrible about yourself, try adding the opposite side of the argument to balance out.
An example might be that someone believes no one likes them, yet there is any evidence. By thinking about why you feel this way, you may beat the negative thoughts before they spiral. Add in the reasons why people would want to be friends with you.
Do Something New
When you are depressed, getting out of bed might be a struggle.
Yet, if you push yourself to do something new or different, it can help get you out of the rut and boost your mental health.
It can be as simple as reading a new book or going to a museum.
When you challenge your brain to do something different, there are chemical changes that occur in the brain. By challenging your brain, it alters the level of dopamine which is associated with pleasure and enjoyment.
Having dinner with friends or taking an art class can challenge the negativity that depression puts on a person. If you are depressed, making time for new things, or things you used to enjoy, can help. With depression, it is common to feel as if nothing is engaging anymore.
The most important part is to not give in and keep trying.
It might sound strange, yet you have to work at having fun sometimes.
Prime your mind and plan something, even if it feels like a chore. Baby steps are key when it comes to fighting depression.
Try gradually adding to your routine and responsibilities, as a way to feel accomplished and better about yourself. Also, if none of this works, see a mental health provider as a way of fighting off your depression symptoms.
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