How Do I fight Depression: 10 Tips to Manage Depression
Depression is something that visits about 20% of people at some point in their lives. The question is, what do you do with it if you recognize it in your own life? The following are 10 tips to help you fight depression.
Have a Daily Routine.
Depression can affect our daily lives, like sleeping, eating, and self-care (even showering can be a great feat when one is depressed!). If you start to recognize signs of depression in your life, start by focusing in the basics of day to day living. By being intentional about your day, you can ensure you are taking adequate care of yourself. As a bonus, each thing you do becomes a goal you’ve achieved- and don’t forget to give yourself the kudos you deserve!
Exercise
Research shows that exercise is as effective as medicine in combatting mild to moderate depression, and helps keep the blues away once a person has recovered from the depressive symptoms. With side effects like a better mood, and better health, it’s enough to make any antidepressant envious!
(SOURCE http://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/exercise-and-depression- report-excerpt)
Eat.
Studies have shown omega 3s, such as EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid), as well as vitamin D play a role in preventing depression. And these nutritional superstars are as close as your local grocery store- fish, for instance, is packed with both. Want more omega 3s? Pick up some grass fed beef, or try adding chia or flaxseeds to a smoothie. Want more vitamin D? Cheese, egg yolks, and soy or dairy milk are chockfull of it! Not ready to grocery shop just yet? Get outside and enjoy some good ol’ sunshine to get your daily dose of the ‘D’.
(SOURCE OMEGA3s http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19499625
SOURCE VIT D https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/reading-between-the-headlines/201307/vitamin-d-deficiency-and-depression)
Check your levels
Are you on hormone replacement therapy? If you have been feeling down your levels might be out of balance. Check in with your doctor and make sure your prescription is correct and that you are using the correct dose. And, remember our friend Vitamin D? Studies have found that otherwise healthy individuals who had low vitamin D levels also had symptoms of depression. If this is the case, adding more vitamin D filled foods or taking a supplement could help you beat the blues.
Just Say No
While depression may drive you towards substances, do your best to avoid or limit drugs and alcohol. At best, they can temporarily numb you from the pain you may be feeling, but in the long run they can do more harm than good. If you find yourself unable to stop using drugs or alcohol you may have developed an addictive pattern. Do you need some help in this arena? Programs like Alcoholics Anonymous, SMART Recovery, or Coherence Associates Inc.’s Journey to Wholeness offer help to get you out of dependence and on the road to recovery.
Express Gratitude
Research has shown that people who spend some time reflecting on what they are grateful for feel better about their lives and are more optimistic, unlike the experience of depression, which can leave someone feeling sad and without hope. Gratefulness can be expressed by writing it out in a journal, expressing it verbally to someone you are thankful for, or praying or meditating on what you are grateful for. Let yourself notice the simple things in life you are grateful for!
(SOURCE http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/in-praise-of-gratitude)
Meditate
And speaking of meditating, research has found that meditation is as effective as antidepressants in treating depression. Meditating can increase emotional balance and decrease stress responses, all for free, and with no negative effects. Beginning a meditation practice can seem daunting, but there is help out there. UCSD’s Center for Mindfulness offers recorded guided meditations you can listen to anywhere. Grab your headphones and find a place to sit! (http://health.ucsd.edu/specialties/mindfulness/programs/mbsr/Pages/audio.aspx)
Try some Self-Compassion
Self-compassion means meeting your own suffering with kindness, as we would with a good friend. By practicing self-compassion, we can increase our psychological resilience, improve our mood, and get unstuck from destructive thought patterns. For an added benefit, you can meditate on compassion and get the benefits of both. Try Kristen Neff’s self-compassion meditations. (http://self-compassion.org/category/exercises/#guided-meditations)
Play
It seems that video games may do more than just improve hand eye coordination and annoy parents. New research has found a link between playing video games, which activate the motivation and goal-oriented parts of our brain, and fighting depression.
These are the same parts of our brains that are under-stimulated and may shrink due to depression. But be careful, there is such thing as too much of a good thing. If you are using video game play to escape everyday life, you can suffer some negative effects like anxiety and social isolation. As with most things in life, balance is key!
Check Yourself
Challenge those negative thoughts bouncing around in your head. Bad habits like overgeneralizing, black and white thinking, magnification, as well as mind reading and/or fortunetelling can keep you mired in negativity, and they certainly are not accurate assessments of the world around you! Challenge those thoughts by recognizing the pattern of thinking you are experiencing, and then examining the evidence by asking yourself, “Is this really true?” It may help to bounce your ideas off of another person and get an outsider’s perspective as well.
If you have tried these tips and are noticing that a low mood or depression symptoms are still lingering, or if you want some help implementing them, it might be time to talk to a therapist. A therapist can walk this journey with you, helping you figure out what role depression is playing in your life, how to fight it, and supporting you on the way to health and wellness. And, if you are going to give therapy a try, consider choosing an EMDR therapist.
EMDR Therapy, (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a type of therapy well known for its effectiveness with PTSD, but did you know that research has shown it to be superior to Prozac for treating depression?
And when you choose to be treated with EMDR Therapy, the improvement effects continue even after therapy has stopped, unlike with antidepressants. Your brain continues to heal, your mood continues to improve, and you continue on your path toward health and wellness even after discontinuing treatment.
If you have questions and would like to speak to therapist, give Coherence Associates a call, 760–942–8663. A trained counselor will help you figure out the best next step.
Connie Glenn, LMFT
Coherence Associates Inc.