Depression or major depressive disorder is a common and serious medical illness affecting how you feel, think, and act. It can turn your viewpoint very negative in almost everything. Luckily, it is treatable, and how we can overcome this is totally in our hands. Through this blog, we will provide you 7 tips for dealing with depression
Feelings of sadness and loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed are outcomes of depression. It can lead to various emotional and physical problems and negatively affect your ability to function at work or home.
Reasons For Depression & Its Impact On Life
Some studies show that depression affects, on average, one in 15 adults and one in six people each year. Depression can occur anytime, but studies show that it mostly appears in the late teens to mid-20s. Some studies also suggest that one-third of women experience a major depressive episode in their lifetime.
Depression is also happening because of heredity; the chance of getting depressed becomes higher when any first-degree relative has depression. We mostly think that depression and sadness are the same, but sadness or grief differs from depression. The sadness is natural, varies from person to person, and shares some features of depression. To deal wisely with depression, we must know the symptoms of depression.
Some Symptoms Of Depression
Depression symptoms can be very mild to severe and include,
- Having a constant negative dominating thought or feeling sad.
- Loss of interest in the activities that were once enjoyed.
- Change in appetite.
- Sleeping too much or sleeplessness.
- Low energy.
- Doing purposeless physical activities such as the inability to sit properly or slowed movement or speech.
- Suicidal thoughts.
- Difficulty in concentration and decision-making.
- Estimating your low worth or feeling worthless.
Depression ranges from severe to light, from temporary sadness to severe, persistent depression.
What Is Clinical Depression?
It is a more serious form of depression, also known as major depression. But it is not the same as the sadness caused by the death of a loved one, loss of a job, or a medical condition such as thyroid disorder.
Signs and symptoms of clinical depression are the same as depression but in severe form, and these are severe enough to get noticed, as they will create a difference in your day-to-day life, that too in a negative manner. But we do not have to fear; depression is among curable diseases.
Dealing with depression is not easy, but it is also not impossible. Try to follow the below-mentioned ways to depression; you will be able to cope with depression in a better manner.
Depression piled up due to poor mental health, you can do various things to improve your mental health click here to know more.
7 Untold Tips On How To Deal With Anxiety & Depression?
1. Eat a nutritious, depression-fighting diet
Our food has a direct impact on our brains. Reducing the intake of food that can harm your body and mind. Unfortunately, there is no specific diet plan that can certainly cure your depression completely, but having a healthy diet planned will surely help you to cope with depression. It may include eating freshly cooked vegetables, and raw fruits, keeping yourself hydrated avoiding eating preserved or junk food and food which is overcooked.
2. “Smart Carbs,” have a calming effect on serotonin
A mood-boosting brain chemical directly linked with our intake of carbohydrates. Even experts suggest that carb craving sometimes suggests low serotonin activity. Choose your carbs smartly. Increase the intake of whole grains in your diet such as Bareilly, Millet, Quinoa, and brown or red rice, and avoid eating processed food, sugar-rich food.
3. To boost alertness, have Protein rich food
Turkey, tuna, and chicken have amino acids like tryptophan, which helps our body make serotonin. Try to include protein in your day-to-day life. It will help you to recover from depression. Peas, beans, poultry products, and fish are very good sources of protein.
4. For vitamin B, try Mediterranean food
Many studies show that there is a relationship between vitamin B and depression. Mediterranean diet consists of legumes, dry fruits, and dark green veggies, which contain folate and can be a good source of vitamin B which helps you to reduce your depression rate.
5. Routine helps you to adopt healthy habits
For people with hectic schedules, having a daily routine can add some healthy habits to their schedule, like packing lunch before work or sleeping at a fixed time. These healthy habits keep you busy and channel your energies which in turn lowers your depression rate.
6. A schedule helps you to combat burnout
The gradual accumulation causes stress, which can cause mental and emotional exhaustion, weak interpersonal relationships, and less productivity at work. Burnouts happen to everyone differently. For some people, it can cause serious health issues. Having a routine will certainly help you cope with burnout.
7. A schedule helps in alleviating anxiety.
Creating predictable scenarios in your mind helps your brain to adjust and prepare, understand what will happen, and alleviate anxiety.
6 Tips To Improve The Mental Strength
1. Have some social connections
If you have depression, please do not withdraw from having a social life. Just try to be in touch with your friends and family or any well-wisher of yourself, this would certainly help you in dealing with depression as you will have someone when feeling low. When in depression, you will prefer to retreat in a shell but being around people, and discussing your problem with them, will help in coping with depression. these are some ways that will help you out in socializing,
- Voluntarily help someone.
- Ask a close one to check on you regularly.
- Go for a coffee date with a friend.
- Plan family gatherings.
- Meet new people by enrolling yourself in a class or a club.
- Try participating in a team task.
2. Adequate sleep will ease your depression
There is a direct connection between sleep and depression; these are hard to tear apart. You may have depression if you have many restless or sleepless nights or because you are depressed, you cannot sleep properly. The fact is that even a minor sleep issue can drag your mood down; it will happen so slowly that you would not even realize it. Even poor sleep makes your depression treatment harder. Here are some tips to get better sleep and help you in dealing with depression,
- Try to avoid the use of electric devices 2 hours before you sleep.
- Try to have a fixed sleeping schedule.
- Get sunlight in the daytime to keep your natural sleep-wake rhythm on track.
- Try, not to shift the times of your daily meals.
- Exercise every day to get more sleep and wake up refreshed.
- Try to have heavy or dark curtains in your bedroom.
- Do not talk about some stressful things before bed.
- Take a bath with lukewarm water before sleep, water on the skin gently absorbs tension, anxiety, and depression. You will feel fresh and positive.
3. Say no to alcohol, or cigarettes to deal with depression and anxiety
A Spanish study found that the rate of depression tends to increase in men, especially smokers, as they get less folate. Which may increase your body tension and slowly you take a deep dive into the ocean of depression.
I find it very weird that people normally smoke to reduce their day-to-day tension. Recent studies have suggested that cigarettes not only harm our body physically but it opens the doorways to depression. People who smoke are likely to be more depressed than people that do not smoke.
The same goes for consuming alcohol. For people with depression, according to their perspective, alcohol is like medication; by the consumption of it, they will get a burst of energy, their anxiety will reach a low level, and they will feel relaxed.
But the flip side is that people who consume more alcohol are more likely to be depressed, and if we see with the medical eyes, alcohol worsens your depression. People who are depressed and drink more often are more likely to have very serious episodes of depression and are more likely to have suicidal thoughts. Even regular and heavy use of alcohol can make antidepressants less effective. To deal with depression wisely, you have to say no to alcohol.
To quit alcohol, you can try the concept of mindfulness or meditation. Initially, try to cut down your alcohol consumption, and then slowly, you will see the results.
4. Sit with yourself, practice meditation
Enjoy your company, sit in peace with no time limit, and try to concentrate on anything, it may be a tree, an idol image, etc. Focus your energies, and your mind will heal when you feel conscious enough. If you cannot meditate, do this exercise; it will help you and improve your mental strength.
5. Enjoy listening to good music
Music is the best way to heal your body inside and out. Try listening to soulful music; your senses will automatically elevate to the next level. This exercise will distract you from depressing thoughts, increase your creativity, and eventually help you become happy.
6. Eat healthily, stay close to nature and think better
Earlier in this blog, we focused on the foods we should eat. Stay close to nature as much as possible, and eat natural healthy things. If we have a diet chart, we should stick to it and eat things necessary for our existence, especially foods that are rich in Vitamins and Proteins. Stay away from junk food and practice to stay empty stomach. Our body heals itself when it is not loaded or empty stomach, so give it a chance.
These are tips to improve your mental strength, which slowly and gradually improves the way you take this life.
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Conclusion
We all know that dealing with depression is not a piece of cake, yet it is not impossible to cure depression. You can fight depression by consistently following the ways suggested to deal with depression, and you can opt for medications to cure depression altogether.
It would help you and for that, you had to be mentally strong and consistent. Just try to get yourself more involved in public meetings, parties, or hang out with friends or family; approach your loved ones and try to share your inner feelings with them; it will boost your happiness and make you engaged throughout the day, stick to a healthy protein-rich diet, take adequate amount of vitamin B and protein to cope with depression.
While planning your day try to write down all of it in a notebook; it will help you in having a more systematic day, which will eventually boost your mood and reduce anxiety. Journaling is also suggested as it will make you feel positive about yourself more and, most importantly, realize your self-worth; every individual is unique and has some speciality; there is nothing to feel bad about yourself and be depressed over the same. Try to follow these tips, soon you will be able to overcome depression.
