How To Fight Depression?
- mp50081
- Feb 19, 2021
- 5 min read
Let’s explore how to fight depression?! Is it temporary or is it long term like clinical depression. What are some symptoms of depression?
Is it a normal response to a life event or is it something more serious?
What can you do about it? Let’s find out!!
What Is Depression?
Depression is a mood disorder. It causes persistent feelings of sadness as well as loss of interest you enjoy.
It’s also known as major depressive disorder as well as clinical depression. It affects how you feel, think as well as behave.
Depression can make it hard to do day-to-day activities. Also it may make you feel that life is not worth living.
Having depression is not normal sadness and also it’s not a weakness. It’s a medical condition that may need to be treated by a medical professional. Also there are things you can do to help fight depression.
Before you can fight depression let’s learn about the symptoms.
What Are Some Symptoms That Ruin Your Mood?
Everyone will deal with a depressed mood at least once in their lives. When it does happen there are many symptoms.
Symptoms Include:
Feeling Sad, Empty As Well As Hopeless
Angry Outbursts Or Frustration Over The Smallest Things
Sleep Issues Including Either Sleeping Too Much Or Too Little
Unexplained Body Issues Including Aches And Pains
Lack Of Energy As Well As Tiredness
Slowed Thinking As Well As Slowed Body Movements
Anxiety, Restlessness As Well As Agitated Mood
What Are Some Causes?
When you’re fighting depression it’s vital to know what causes it.
Imbalance of Brain Chemistry:
In a previous post “Tips For Helping A Bipolar Brain” we talked about brain chemicals.
These brain chemicals are called neurotransmitters. Their job is to help nerve cells talk to each other and examples include serotonin as well as dopamine.
If your brain either has too much or too little of these chemicals it leads to depression as well as anxiety.
Poor Gut Health:
An unhealthy gut causes a lot of problems. These include digestive issues as well as mental health issues.
It’s an interesting fact that 90% of your body’s serotonin is made in your gut. It plays a role in your mood as well as digestion. An imbalance of serotonin has been linked to depression.
Life Events:
It’s a normal part of life to feel sad. For example life events such as death of a loved one as well as job loss can trigger sadness.
Feeling sad short term is normal. However if you’re crippled by it and it affects your daily functioning there’s a problem.
Stress and Anxiety:
Anxiety is your body’s fight-or-flight response to stress. It alerts you to any potential as well as perceived danger.
Over the long-term anxiety causes your brain to release too many stress hormones. As a result it leads to symptoms such as headaches, dizziness as well as depression.
Symptom Of Another Mental Illness:
Clinical depression has been linked to other illnesses. These include anxiety disorders, panic disorder as well as social phobia.
Depression is also linked to bipolar disorder. It’s a mood disorder marked by extreme highs (mania) and extreme lows (depression).
Past Trauma:
The long-term effects of trauma can cause problems. For example something that happened to you in the past can lead to depression later on.
Trauma also leads to other problems other than depression. For example trauma leads to PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) and also puts you at a higher risk for heart problems.
How To Fight Depression?
It’s true that being in a depressed mood is hard. It’s also true that you can’t just “snap out of it”. Luckily there are things you can do put yourself on the path to recovery.
Depression saps your energy, hope as well as drive. As a result it’s hard to take the steps you need to get better.
Even thinking about what you have to do seems to be exhausting. As a result it may be hard to take action.
The things that help the most are the ones that are the hardest to do.
Recovering from depression isn’t quick or easy. However you have more power to fight depression than you realize.
It’s still important to work with a therapist, but it also helps to do things on your own as well.
Tips For Fighting Depression
Here are some tips for fighting depression.
These tips are intended to be a part of your overall recovery. Also they’re not meant to replace professional help.
Tips Include:
1. Staying Connected With Others:
It’s really hard to stay connected these days because of social distancing. As a result more people suffer from a depressed mood than ever before.
Lack of social connection over the short term is normal. However when it’s over the long-term you might have problems with anxiety as well as clinical depression.
Having a depressed mood might be caused by another issue such as bipolar disorder or social anxiety. When this happens not being connected makes depression symptoms worse.
There’s a link between staying connected and improved symptoms. It’s hard to stay connected when you’re in a depressed mood. Even when you’re not up to it, it’s still vital to connect with others.
Tangible benefits include not only improved depression symptoms, but also higher self-esteem as well as finding purpose.
Here is an interesting article, “Why Connection is Important For Mental Health”.
2. Do Whatever Makes You Feel Good:
Things that make you feel good include hobbies as well as taking care of your health.
Hobbies are good for your mental health. It’s hard to find free time from day to day. However, when you have a free moment it’s a good time to indulge in a thing you enjoy.
Taking care of your health helps your mood. For example two problems that lead to a depressed mood are lack of sleep and also stress.
Aiming for 8 hours of sleep every night not helps you recover, but also helps to prevent depressed moods.
It helps to keep stress in check as well. Figure out what stresses you out and find ways to manage it.
3. Get Your Body Moving:
In a related post, “Tips For Helping A Bipolar Brain”, it talked about exercise’s role in brain health.
Exercise helps with the creation of new connections in the brain. When brain circuits and nerve cells talk to each other better this results in better memory as well as better mood. As a result it can improve clinical depression symptoms.
4. Eat A Healthier Diet:
There is a link between mood and diet. A diet rich in red meat, refined grains and sugar as well as high-fat dairy products has been linked to depression.
It helps to eat a diet rich in fruits, whole grains, vegetables, fish, olive oil as well as low fat dairy. As a result it lowers your risk for depression.
It also help to introduce supplements into your diet. A depressed mood is linked to an imbalance of brain chemicals. Supplements such as multivitamins, omega 3’s and also probiotics help promote better brain health.
Talk to your doctor before taking anything.
5. Get More Sunlight:
The sun is not only important for sustaining life on our planet, it’s also important for your mood.
Being exposed to sunlight helps your brain release serotonin. As a result your anxiety and depression gets better. However, when there’s less sunlight your brain produces melatonin. As a result you’re sleepier and you’re at a higher risk of clinical depression.
6. Change Negative Thought Patterns:
In a related post, “Can Anxiety Become A Superpower”, it talked about how to change thought patterns.
Changing thought patterns is achieved through reframing. It’s a process where a negative thought is identified, then it’s replaced with a positive or empowering one.
Reframing teaches you how to see anxiety as well as depression as a picture. When you make a picture either bigger or smaller it can change how you see your thoughts.
How Do You Fight Depression?
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