In simple words Depression is a state of mind that makes you feel demotivated, depressed and lack of any objective and energy in life. But do you know how to treat depression?
- Depression is like a sheet of black feelings that cover your mind and leave you with no energy and positivity for the rest of your life.
- You feel that this is the end of everything in your life.
- There is no hope, no faith and no enthusiasm.
If you have ever read Harry Potter books in your life, then you must have also read about Dementors in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The Dementors are the perfect description about the feeling of depression in the life of a human being. Let us not go into detail of how depression is. It is indeed a negative feeling that blocks your mind and does not allow you to do anything. We will know how to treat depression.
Depression Can Be Caused Due To Various Reasons
- It Could Be A Failure
- A Break-Up
- Loss Of Loved One
- Financial Crisis
- Emotional Problem, Or
- Any Kind Of Hormonal Changes
It is always better if you identify the root cause of your depression. Sometimes, people are grabbed with the feelings of emptiness and vanity in life. These feelings can also lead to depression.
When you are well-versed with the causes of your depression, you can take the next step to treat it. It is advisable to consult a psychiatrist to resolve this issue. However, many people do not feel it right to consult a psychiatrist and would like the problem get resolved at home itself. Going to a psychiatrist is also a social stigma in many countries.
Secondly, it is also necessary to understand the difference between being sad or low and being depressed. Depression is beyond sadness or being low. In depression, you lose interest in each and every aspect of life, even in your favourite activities. You do not feel like talking to or sharing your problems with your relatives. You become stubborn, doubtful and the pessimist in life. Hence, do not consider your short-term sadness as depression. People casually say ‘I am depressed’ but that is not the actual thing they are feeling.
Depression has adverse effects on body and mind of an individual. The mind is entangled in negative thoughts and feelings. As there is no positive energy left, the person does not indulge in any activity. On the same parlance, depression affects overall health. You tend to eat less and do not take proper care of your health. As a result, a person suffering from depression is always low. It leads to problems such as heart diseases, diabetes, and so on. It also affects skin and hair of a person.
So, our primary task is to know how to treat depression and iron it out from our life. We have given you certain useful tips to adopt in your life for treating depression. It takes the time to treat depression and discard it completely. You will have to be patient and also be kind with yourself while treating it.
How To Treat Depression?
1. Get Out Of The Depressed Zone
Yes, depression is a kind of zone in which a person sits the whole day and keeps brooding over all negative aspects of life. The person can’t see any future ahead but all the negative memories keep hitting his or her mind. Hence, the first step is to come out of this zone.
We are familiar with comfort zone in which you are not willing to take any daring step. Similarly, in depressed zone, you do not want to indulge in any activity. But you have to kick off the floor and indulge in something. Read something motivating, watch an engrossing movie, listen to nice music, or just have a chat with your friends or family member. You will feel better.
But for that, you have to motivate yourself and get out of it. You should be the one to involve in some kind of activity and not just think ‘I will never get out of this.’ Every small effort will count.
2. How To Treat Depression With Exercise? – Hit The Floor
Well, you must be thinking that when a person is so depressed and low, how can he or she think of hitting a gym’s floor? But that makes sense. When we exercise, we release a hormone known as endorphins. This hormone helps in elevating our mood and also gives us energy for the rest of the day.
When you exercise, you mind gets diverted from the negative world to the present world. Whether you dance, do yoga or lift weights, do not count in the number of calories burnt but in the form of enthusiasm earned. You focus on the present activity and are not taken back to the past or forward to the future.
Give yourself at least 30 minutes in a day in some kind of physical activity.
3. Eat Healthy
Does it sound silly? No, it is not. Our thoughts are influenced by what we eat. When you are depressed, try to avoid junk food. It is likely that in order to elevate our mood, we will take help of comfort foods such as pizzas, sweetened beverages, chocolates, cakes, tarts, and so on. You feel that when you eat these foods, your mood becomes better. But you are actually playing with your sugar levels and making yourself unhealthy. Also, it is advisable to stay away from alcohol and tobacco. There are people around us who convince us to take help of alcohol and tobacco when we are depressed. Neither of them is a solution to your problem. Stay away from such people.
You need to take care of what you eat. Eat fibrous foods such as oats, barley, pulses, cereals, legumes, brown rice, etc. Eat fish, eggs and lean protein to earn proteins from the diet. In case you want to drink something, then go for fresh fruit juices made at home. You can even have a chamomile tea or green tea. The aroma of such teas will definitely elevate your mood.
4. Get A Good Night Sleep
During the depression, people tend to suffer from insomnia. They have difficulties in falling asleep or they get disturbed in sleep at irregular intervals. You have to treat insomnia by adopting a bedtime routine and inculcating healthy daytime habits. You need to sleep for at least seven to eight hours at night.
If you are not sleeping adequately, it will increase your depression. You need to set targets for the day, achieve those so that you get satisfactory and deep sleep at night.
5. Share Your Problems With Your Closed Ones
Even if we know that we have to be emotionally self-dependent in life, we have to seek social support from our closed ones. They can be our family members, friends, mentors, teachers, and so on. It does not mean that you have to share your life stories with each and every one you meet across. But if you feel that a certain person can sort out problems for you, then seek help from him or her.
You also need to be social enough. In depression, people become reserved and less social. They don’t feel like interacting with other people as they are vulnerable or feel inferior. Remember that it is you who know you are depressed. The others are not aware of your depression. Hence, when you are out talking with someone, behave like a normal person as if you are living a normal life. Chat with them and enjoy your time with them!
6. How To Treat Depression? – Beat The Stress
Sometimes, there is no other reason for depression than stress. Perhaps, you have a busy life but it is not productive. You are so engrossed in your work life that you don’t get time for your husband and kids, and that’s making you depressed. Suppose you always aimed to be a painter and you ended being a front desk executive, then it must be bothering you now. Your past regrets, your unachieved dreams, or your existing relationship can be a reason for depression. It is making you stressed out and also depressed.
Identify the root cause of stress and depression and fight against it. If you are being just busy and not productive, then find out ways how you can make your life meaningful. If you are not finding time for your family, then prefer a part-time job and balance your family life. If you are not having time for passion, then choose something that fetches you job satisfaction and meaning in work life.
Let’s explore 10 daily tips to handle stress & stay calm through a day!
7. Get Out Of Toxic Relationships
Depression can also be the outcome of being in toxic relationships. If your partner is selfish and does not consider your life and constantly looks you down, then you might get depressed. If your work environment is not healthy and you suffer from low morale, then you need a job change immediately. If you are surrounded by friends who are self-contained, cynical or depressed themselves, then you have to keep a safe distance from them.
There is no need to be in a toxic relationship with a life partner, friend or work colleague with a fear of being left alone. If the relationship is creating havoc in your life, then get out of it and live a peaceful life.
8. Learn To Mediate
Give time for yourself to meditate or at least think about yourself. If you are thinking that you are in a big problem, then just look around the world. There are less fortunate people in this world. Help others, and you will more about this world and life.
Get up early morning and mediate for at least 10 minutes. Try to focus on a particular aspect and not about you. You have to concentrate hard. If you cannot achieve in the initial days, don’t get disappointed but keep practicing it till you achieve your target.
9. Find Purpose In Life
Some people are sufficient. They have a stable relationship with family, have good friends, a well-paid job, a house and a sufficient bank balance. Still they feel vacuum in life. They do not have a true purpose or meaning in life. As a result, they get depressed.
We do not have a one-stop solution for this problem. A person himself or herself needs to find the true purpose of life. It is a long journey of self-discovery but one should consider it as essential as well as interesting.
10. Spend Time In Nature
When you depressed, do not block yourself at home. Go for a nature walk in the outside in the morning. Or go for a hike near your area. When you spend time with nature noticing the beautiful flowers, trees, greenery, birds and animals, you will feel better. You will understand that the world in which you live is indeed a beautiful place. The early sunlight will also provide you with necessary nourishment for your body and mind.
11. Travel To A Different Place, Or Country
We feel that our life is the only world that exists. We are not aware of the world that exists on the other side of the globe.
You need to take a break from your busy routine and travel to a different country or to a state or province. Get to know the life of those people, get acquainted with their culture, language, issues, lifestyle, etc. If you go on a tour, you will forget your worries and anxiety and will be cheerful to meet new people.
12. Practice Gratitude
Don’t count your worries and problems. Instead, count your blessings in life. You need to be grateful for being blessed with a life, a healthy body, a house to live in, a family, friends, and countless things. You should know that there are less fortunate people in the world surviving only on hope and faith. They are viewing life as a challenge and fighting against it with a dream. You should consider their lives as sources of inspiration and bring the same vitality to your life.
13. How To Treat Depression By Setting A Routine?
If you think that getting up at any time, eating anything at any time, and going to sleep at any hour will throw out depression, then you are not correct. You need to have a systematic routine at least for basic activities. If you are a student, then dedicate time for learning. If you are a working professional, then go to the office and find meaning in your work. Along with it, dedicate time for your family and also for yourself. The schedule prescribed timings for waking up, exercising, sleeping so that you won’t live a random life.
As we have seen how to treat depression, it can be treated by an individual if he or she implements the following steps. The individual should take the complete initiative to identify the cause and iron out it completely out of life. So, enjoy a peaceful and beautiful life!
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