How to cope with Depression
Many people feel upset or fed up for a few days, however depression is when feelings of sadness are persistent for a number or weeks or months. Depression can come with an array of both physical and psychological symptoms, such as feelings of hopelessness and helplessness, feeling unmotivated and uninterested, changes in appetite and weight, lack of energy and reduced sex drive.
Depression has been categorised into various diagnosis, however it is important to remember that in the grand scheme of things, depression all boils down to feeling low, and there are lots of possible reasons as to why that is. Upsetting and stressful life events such as experiencing the loss of a loved one, a traumatic event, relationship breakdown, illness or losing a job are all possible reasons as to why someone would feel in a low mood and become depressed.
It is important to consider the things you can do to help yourself cope with your depression. Some useful tips to help you cope with your depression are:
Regular exercise can help to release the feel good chemicals (known as endorphins) into your body and help improve your mood and reduce feelings of stress and anxiety.
Eating a healthy diet can also help to improve your mood.
Reduce alcohol consumption.
Talk about how you are feeling to others, this can be with friends, family, support group or a mental health professional. If you don’t feel comfortable talking about your depression with others, writing it down can also be helpful. Talking treatments have been found to be very helpful for people with depression.
Reflect on times where you don’t feel as low. Are there any activities that you were doing to help you feel less depressed? If you can identify what these activities are then do them more often..
Make small choices that could have an impact on how your feeling. For example, if you feel like you want to stay in bed all day because you are feeling low and unmotivated, make an effort to get up. Even if it is go get up and complete a small, ordinary task such as having a shower, washing dishes or getting dressed. Take note of how you feel after doing these things – you may notice a change in your mood.
Learn your triggers so you can identify them. Think of different ways to deal with your thoughts/feelings in these situations to give you a more positive outcome (reduced feelings of depression).
Seek professional help. If by doing all of the above you do not experience relief in your symptoms then seek professional help, namely psychological therapy