Depression is not the same as simply feeling unhappy.
It’s a serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and the way you act. It’s as if your mind is fighting against you! But fortunately, it is treatable. Depression often strips many people of their rewarding traits and engenders a drop in interest, in the things they once enjoyed doing.
It could easily lead to emotional and physical problems and can even hinder a person’s performance at work and at home. Here are some of the symptoms of depression:
- Feeling sad or having a depressed mood
- Loss of interest or pleasure in activities once enjoyed
- Changes in appetite, weight loss or gain unrelated to dieting
- Trouble sleeping or excessive sleeping
- Loss of energy or increased fatigue
- Increase in purposeless physical activity (e.g., hand-wringing or pacing) or slowed movements and speech (actions observable by others)
- Feeling worthless or guilty
- Difficulty thinking, concentrating or making decisions
- Suicidal thoughts
Here are 5 effective ways to deal with depression
1. Exercise regularly
Regularly exercising has been proven to aid in the recovery from depression. Any simple exercises like taking a brisk walk in the park, a short jogging session, or even some yoga. Most times, when you’re dealing with depression, being active in the last thing in mind, but try your best to do it. Perhaps ask a friend to exercise together and motivate you! It takes 28 days to break and also start a habit. Try your best to be consistent and you’ll see an improvement in your mood
2. Connect with your friend
Talking to someone about your feelings might or might not be one of the hardest things for anyone dealing with depression to do. Some take months, some even take years before that silence if finally broken. There are constant thoughts around your head that tells you to be alone and that you shouldn’t bother anyone with your problems, but don’t listen to that voice. Never feel like you are less than anyone else or different from anyone else. Take that leap of faith and talk to that one person you trust most.
3. Think positive
Most people deal with depression due to a painful memory. Their constant trip down memory lane can easily trigger emotional catatonia. The biggest tip to counter this would be to counter it with a happy memory. It could be your favourite birthday, graduation, or even a favourite person or memory. When that painful memory starts kicking in, close your eyes for a second or 2 and visualize all of it slipping into a black hole and replace it with that happy memory you remember so fondly about.
4. Look forward to something
There had been a study done in the year 2007 that showed that there is a sense of emotional lift in people who constantly look forward to a future fun event. It could be planning an upcoming concert, a birthday party, or for any other special occasions. The point of constantly looking forward to something is to counter that thought of nothing good ever happening to you. But, every cloud has a silver lining, and in a matter of time things will always get better.
5. Don’t. Ever. Give. Up
The last thing you should do is give up hope. Depression makes u want to just disappear from the world but know that depression can be contained and cured! There is so much more to life beyond depression. do not give up on hope, let it find you. Do not worry about the future, and live in this day, this moment. Take care of today and let the future take care of itself. Everyone. yes everyone gets depressed from time to time, some of us just get it a bit worse than others.
If any of you are ever dealing with anything and need someone to talk to you may contact Befrienders at 03-7956 8145 for counselling.
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