October is recognized as National Depression Awareness Month. The purpose is to increase knowledge and understanding, reduce stigma, and educate on signs, symptoms, and treatment for depression.
Depression is one of the major mental health issues affecting people today.
Unfortunately, most do not actively seek nor receive proper treatment which can result in severe impairments that interfere with or limit your ability to engage in your life.
Maybe you feel like the sadness and emptiness comes out of nowhere, or that it can be triggered by something, or that it ebbs and flows throughout your life. You feel like the hopelessness won’t go away, you have lost the drive and motivation in your life, and you are not sleeping or eating well.
You seem to have lost yourself in the deep, dark, abyss. You cannot see a light at the end of the tunnel, just a long dark lonely tunnel. But you do not have to go through the tunnel alone.
It is important to get support and help as you live with this debilitating disorder.
Some Basic Groundwork that Help Fight Depression:
It is essential to begin by taking care of yourself and doing some basic self-care. These are basics for a reason, they are easy to implement, and are the foundation of any good self-care plan for now or in the future. Here are some important basics that are imperative for you to focus on. These include sleeping, eating, movement, and self-talk.
Tip #1 – Improving Your Sleep
Depression can cause you to oversleep. You end up feeling tired, and exhausted, and staying in bed seems like the only and best option for you. However, prolonged sleep can interfere with your body’s natural circadian rhythms, cause you to be even more tired, and fall deeper into depression.
What will help?
- Set a pattern of regular times to sleep and wake up and stick to it daily
- Make sure there are sufficient hours to sleep (7-8 hours)
- Create an environment for good sleep including a dark room, no noise or sleep noises as you prefer, comfortable beds and bedding, etc.
- Prepare a bedtime routine to let your body know it needs to get ready for sleep by using quiet activities before bed.
- Limit caffeine/no caffeine after noon. Try some herbal teas, especially before bed to calm and soothe yourself.
- Take a relaxing shower or bath before bed
- Disconnect from technology, at least 30 minutes before bed. And make sure to be mindful of too much blue light before you go to sleep or if you wake up and can’t fall back to sleep do not use devices at this time.
- Identify what gives you energy. What are the sources that feed your energy and increase that in your life, while decreasing what drains your energy?
Tip #2 – Improving Your Eating
Depression can cause overeating or a loss of appetite. It is important to get nutrition and protein in your diet.
What will help?
- Don’t skip meals. Even if you can only eat a small portion or only a few bites
- Have snacks throughout the day, preferably something with protein. That can be cheese and crackers, toast or a bagel with peanut butter, nuts, etc.
- Eat whatever you can at first to give your body energy. Do not worry about calories, fat, etc.
- Then begin to add nutritious meals, healthy snacks, and more protein into your diet
Tip #3 – Increase movement in your life
Depression has a job to do, and it is to keep you where it wants you. It may feel impossible, but staying where you are is only going to keep the depression taking more and more from you. The less you do when you are depressed, the less you will do.
What will help?
- Reversing the depression spiral has an immediate effect because movement automatically stimulates the brain.
- Go for a walk or ask someone to go for a walk with you
- Go up and down your stairs more often
- Join a gym and get a workout buddy
- Do yoga, stretching, or muscle relaxation techniques
Tip #4 – Improving your self-concept and self-talk
Depression can cause negative self-talk, and low self-worth, and get you to focus on “all the things you are doing wrong.”
What will help?
- Focusing on what you appreciate about yourself
- Stop speaking the language of negativity/Stop saying bad things about yourselfMake a list of 10 things that you appreciate/like about yourself, carry the list with you, and pull out the list and read it to yourself every day, or several times a day.
- Please stop comparing yourself to others and interrupt yourself when you notice that you are comparing yourself to someone else.
- Identify and list your strengths by writing them down
- Identify and list the opportunities to use your strengths
- Identify and list the ways each day you were able to do them
Use your strengths by noticing what you are already doing or what is working. Examples could be I am working, I am taking care of my family, I am reading a book, I am getting up every day, I take care of my personal hygiene, I went shopping, I went to work, I called a friend, I went to counseling, etc.
Depression Does NOT mean you are weak
Please know that depression is not a weakness, it is not something you can just “get over,” or “move on from,” or “snap out of it.” If that were the case, you would have done that already. You are not at fault, you are not just “being dramatic,” you are suffering and there is help for you.
To learn more about depression, the tools and techniques to help manage depression, and to have someone who understands and cares, walk with you through this, please contact Life Giving Counseling Services now for an appointment at 267-217-3199.
