Living With Depression
Over ten percent of the general population is living with depression symptoms. How can a person keep functioning with a debilitating condition like depression? The fact is, DEPRESSION saps a person’s energy and motivation, making every day a battle just to get through. Depression self care techniques can be very helpful, but without support, it can seem like a monumental task just to face these techniques!
Self treatment of severe depression starts with basic healthy life practices. For instance, getting aerobic exercise on a regular basis can make a big difference in a person's mood. Yet when depression is wiping out a person's energy, getting out for a walk is very difficult. If you are depressed, try to make the effort. Don't expect the moon - just require yourself to walk for ten or fifteen minutes at first. Do it in the fresh air if the weather is nice. If it is someone you love who is living with depression, encourage them to take a walk with you.
Getting adequate sleep can also help normalize a person who is suffering from symptoms of depression. Again, insomnia is often one of the major symptoms. People living with depression sometimes are able to get to sleep, but they wake in the wee hours and are unable to get back to sleep. The lack of rest makes the depression symptoms even worse.
Follow good sleep habits to counteract this tendency with depression self care. Good sleep habits include unwinding in the evening with a boring book instead of watching a shoot-'em-up movie. The movie will undermine any relaxation you might feel. Also, a hot bath shortly before retiring can help relax you for a good night of sleep. If your work schedule allows it, going to bed at the same time each night is also helpful for developing a consistent cycle of sleeping and wakefulness.
To feel better when living with depression, one must be a little tough with themselves. It is necessary to literally force yourself to get out of bed and to eat a healthy breakfast. In fact, providing yourself with depression self care really amounts to making little decisions throughout the day and following through.
When living with depression, one of the decisions you must make throughout the day if you are to get better is to change what you are thinking about. Dwelling on negative thoughts only makes symptoms of depression worse. Changing your mental habits takes discipline, but it can be done, and it's worth it. A start is to write some positive affirmations that mean something to you personally, and hang them around the house where you will see them frequently so you can remind yourself to think positively.
A simple example of such a depression self care habit is to get into the routine of saying "I believe, I believe, I believe" every morning just as soon as you get out of bed. Then take time to mentally list the good things you believe. Hopefully it won't be long until you are no longer living with depression!