Ruth Semilore
10 ways to beat depression for good are natural skills you can practice at home to help you win the blues without going the depression treatment route. Since depression can be difficult to treat is the more reason you should try the following 10 ways to beat depression for good.
Stay Within Your Positive Stress Limits
When you’re feeling the blues some tasks can become overwhelming. So rather than stress too much about not meeting your goals, split them into more manageable tasks. Besides, pick tasks you enjoy doing first, leaving the mundane boring ones for when your mind and body can handle them. By setting small enjoyable and achievable goals, you can maintain a self-care habit that promotes your sense of achievement. For instance, if a daily one-hour jog seems too much, make it a daily 30 minutes instead. If 30 30-minute jog feels impossible some days, try a 10-minute stretching at home instead. This will still rejuvenate you. Exercise is supposed to rejuvenate you, not stress you.
Exercise Your Body
Physical exercise can be as effective as anti-depressants in some cases of depression. While beginning any exercise routine when depressed can be challenging, once you can pull yourself to start, the benefit is valuable to your health. Even walking for as little as ten minutes is an exercise routine that will benefit your mental and physical health.
Don’t Self-Isolate
Connections with your social group are essential for your mental and physical health. You don’t have to be a social butterfly, but people who experience social isolation have an increased risk of depression. If you can’t see people in person, connecting through technology like texting or video chat provides some of the same benefits.
Enjoy the Outdoor
Going outside has a lot of proven mental health benefits even if just the front yard or the backyard. The fresh air and easy feeling calms you, lowers your stress level, and opens you up to the environment, luring your mood. Spending more time in a green and natural environment gives you a deep sense of happiness and well-being. Therefore you’re more likely to feel like your life has a meaning.
Practice Meditation
Stopping being judgmental of what you’re thinking, feeling, and experiencing can help you combat depression. So practice meditation that focuses on reducing worry and repetitive thoughts. For instance, a typical meditation visualizes a symbol of your depressive symptoms and then you can imagine letting them float away like a balloon.
Stop Your Mind Drifting Into Depression
Be Thankful
Being thankful is considered polite but can also improve your mental health. You can keep a gratitude journal by setting aside a few moments daily to write down things you’re grateful for. A gratitude diary can help you feel better about your life, improve your relationships, and reduce your visits to the doctor.
Eat Healthy
When you’re depressed, there is the tendency to lose your appetite or overindulge in food using food to freeze your emotions. As such, while a Mediterranean-style diet can help lower the risk of depression, cooking healthy meals while depressed can be difficult. Therefore simplify your cooking. For instance, choose foods you can cook in the microwave oven like fish and mixed vegetables, finishing off with an apple or banana is quite suitable. The preparation requires minimal effort and is good for your body and mind.
Are You Getting Enough Vitamin D?
You will be fatigued if your vitamin D level is low. Not only that, you will feel pain, weak, and prone to mood changes like depression.
So If you feel like nothing is helping to lift your mood, consider getting your vitamin D levels checked. A blood test by your doctor will show if a Vitamin D supplement will be of benefit, particularly when over 5% of adults are severely deficient in vitamin D.
Unleash Your Creativity
Art therapy is a part of a treatment plan for many mental illnesses, including depression. Hence, art, crafts, or other creative projects can help you express your feelings, give structure and purpose to your day, and a sense of positive accomplishment. So it’s time to unleash your creativity, whether painting, writing, jewelry, pottery making, etc.
Tidy and Clean Your Home
Clutters in your home can be stressful making it more challenging to function. So, cleaning and tidying can help you have a sense of control over your environment, reduce stress, and make it easier to perform daily tasks. Your house doesn’t have to be perfect to see the benefits. Even little tidying like getting stray trash into the garbage can outside is important.
Photo Credit: Creative Commons
