Depression is not about being unhappy. It is a lot more than that. You feel hopeless, doubtful and worthless. You don’t enjoy anything, not even what you enjoyed in the past. Sufferers have described the disease as being entirely numb. It is not always easy to get out of it. Taking medications alone won’t help either. You have to take initiatives on your part as well. Here are a few tips that can help you. They may not treat or cure your depression but will surely make your day some bit better.
- Engage Yourself in Productive Activities
Try to spend your time doing something that has some positive result. It can be anything you are good at. And keep on trying different things, even your old hobbies. Repeated positive results will help you to get rid of the feelings of being worthless.
- Exercise
It is a proven scientific fact that exercising makes you feel better about yourself. Endorphins are released which improve your mood and immunity. Not only this, exercise contributes a lot towards your overall health. You don’t have to do a hard workout. Just do what you can comfortably, even if it is just a brisk walk. It will definitely help.
- Spend Time With Your Loved Ones
Being alone all the time can make even a non-depressed person feel low. So make sure to spend some time with your loved ones. They are the people who truly love you and care for you. They will help you to see the positive in your life. Talk to them when you feel down. Communicating your feelings is a healthy way to deal with depression.
- Avoid Negative Self Talk
It is common to have negative thoughts when you are feeling down. The result is negative self talk. It only makes you more depressed. Instead, learn to acknowledge that it is normal to have such thoughts and that if you try to find a positive every day, no matter how hard you find it, you will start diminishing the negatives.
- Practice Journal Writing
Expressing your feelings in writing can help you a lot in fighting depression. It will make you aware of your own thought patterns. Try focusing on writing about positive things that happened in your day. You will realize that a lot of good things happen in your life but you may just have had a hard time acknowledging them of late.
- Have a Good Diet
Your diet has a direct influence on your health and how you feel. So keep it healthy and full of nutrition. And don’t forget to include your favorite dishes in your diet. A research published in Archives of General Psychiatry, indicates that a healthy diet can reduce the feelings of sadness and anxiety by 50 percent.
- Get Enough Sleep
Lack of sleep results in irritability, stress and fatigue. On the other hand, getting enough sleep improves your health, productivity, mood and overall energy levels. So make sure you sleep well every night, preferably 7.5 to 9 hours.
- Forgive Others
Intentionally or unintentionally, when someone does something that hurts you, it is an obvious reaction to feel negative. But if you keep holding a grudge against them, you will keep on hurting yourself. When you forgive them, you let go of the negative thoughts and free yourself.
- Practice Gratitude
Spend some time focusing on the things in your life that you are grateful for, be it your house, family or anything. And most importantly, be thankful for them. You will find that when you practice gratitude, you feel good about yourself and see the beauty around you.
- Be Easy on Yourself
When you set goals and are not able to achieve them, you feel negative about yourself. And then you beat yourself up. That is not going to improve anything. Instead, try to set achievable goals and learn from your mistakes in case you fail. Acknowledge the fact that nobody is perfect, not even you.
This will relieve you from the pressure of being successful all the time. You see, practicing these tips on a daily basis may not be easy. But if you give them a try, you can make your day a lot more positive than it generally is.
Sourced from: Alot
Photo by: ^@^ina (Irina Patrascu Gheorghita) / CC by