Anyone can feel down from time to time and this is perfectly natural. However, when you have depression, you have to look for effective ways to overcome it or the condition can develop into a more serious disorder. Is overcoming depression hard? The answer to this question depends on you completely. Provided that you use the right guidance and have the willpower to get better, you will enjoy the desired results. Here are some behaviors you need to change, that will help you.
The vital feature of a significant depressive episode is at least two weeks in which there is either a depressed mood or absence of mind in nearly all activities. This will make it tough to find the power to do much of anything.
Mental Depression can negatively impact employment, school, relationships, and other important areas of functioning. Depression can make it tough to even get out of bed in the morning. And depression might make you feel like staying in bed all day is the only option, researches show that easy exercise (walking 20-40 minutes, 3 times per week) is effective in moderating depression and develops long term results for discouraged people. Easy exercise boosts the “feel good” neurochemicals dopamine and serotonin.
Sleep disorder is one of the symptoms of depression, and it can set a negative sleep cycle in motion. Sleep trouble can take the form of either difficulty staying and falling asleep, or sleeping too much. To complicate things, continuous sleep loss is also a trigger of depression. Sleep disorder is both a symptom and a trigger of depression.
One study of adolescents found that a reduced quantity of sleep increases the risk of depression, which in turn increases the risk of reduced sleep. Set up a good sleep habit and stop the negative sleep cycle associated with sleep deprivation and depression.
Keep sleep and wake times consistent, shut off all electronics a few hours before bedtime, and remove all screens from the bedroom.
When life is overwhelming, it’s natural to turn inward. It’s difficult to reach out for social support when getting out the door in the morning feels like an impossible chore. Significant social support is, specifically what you need during this time.
Research shows that social support moderates genetic and environmental vulnerabilities for mental illness by providing coping strategies and building up resilience to stress.
Social support is more than just a quick phone call to check-in. Time spent with supportive friends or family members can help you work through your thoughts and feelings in a safe environment.
The food you eat can also impact negatively your emotional health. A study in The American Journal of Psychiatry found a link between diets high in processed foods, refined grains, sugary products, and beer and increased rates of depression and anxiety among women.
Many people go for “convenience” foods when striving with hard emotions, and one of the symptoms of depression involves changes in eating habits resulting in vital weight loss or weight gain. It helps to track eating habits by journaling appetites, food choices, and emotional responses to get a baseline of eating habits.
People with depression are likely to dwell on negative thoughts. Negative thought patterns include dwelling on the rejection, loss, failure, and other sources of stress. Dwelling on difficult problems compulsively exacerbates symptoms of depression. The best bet for putting an end to rumination is to seek professional help.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy can help pessimistic people identify adverse thought patterns and learn to follow them with positive thoughts and adaptive coping strategies. Changing habits alone won’t “cure” depression, but they can support you in the treatment process.
Related article: How to keep your feelings in control?
