Depression comes with all manner of feelings. Frustrations, discouragements and helplessness. To beat it, you must be willing to unshackle yourself from those emotions. Understand the facts and endeavor to fight.
In as much as depression is a medical condition like any other, one can comfortably beat it at home.
Now, if you are reading this article, chances are you understand what you are going through. Other than majoring in the medical perspective, we bring you the top 10 ways you can beat depression 100% at home. However, if you are already under any prescription, you shouldn’t abandon it immediately. If you start practicing our recommendations, you should continue taking your prescription. Then later you can talk to your doctor about how to stop the medication.
What is depression: Depression is a mood disorder characterized by a constant feeling of sadness and loss of interest. Bereavement, loss of a job among other major negative happenings can trigger depression. Although, grief is considered a depression if it occurs consistently. Otherwise, it’s a normal feeling if it goes away after a short while.
Top 10 ways to beat depression at home
If you are depressed, you can treat yourself starting right from this moment. By practicing the coping tips we’re about to share with you, you can be happy and normal again. For maximum results, we recommend combining several tips at once. You may feel unmotivated, but you must resist it. Besides, it is one of the major symptoms of depression. So, follow these tips and you will win against depression;
Meditate/Pray
Setting some time to pray and recollect your thoughts equips you perfectly for the day. Several studies have shown that meditation helps to fight stressful and depressing situations. For your meditation to be effective, you need a quiet place with minimum external distractions. This could be in a special room at your home, study room or patio.
Sit down and block all thoughts, stay focused, then take a deep breath.
Meditation is best effective when done in the morning. It gives you more energy to face hard situations.
If you are a believer, no matter your religious affiliation, you can combine your meditation and prayer. Surrendering your depressing situation to a higher authority is relieving. Several psychiatric research and findings back this assertion.
Eat healthy
Eating healthy doesn’t mean there are magic foods that can eradicate depression. However, there is an interrelation between the food one eats and depression. The absence of certain dietary foods can escalate depression whereas their presence can ease it. A good example is foods consisting of omega-3 and folic acid. To use diet in your war against depression, make sure your diet has at least one of them. These include foods such as;
- Fish e.g., Salmon and tuna
- Green leafy vegetables such as Spinach
- Dairy products
- Avocado
- Onions
- Whole grains
- Nuts
The same way, there are foods that ease depression, others can worsen it. You should avoid these by all means. They include;
- Sugary foods
- Cakes
- Pastries
- Artificial juices
- Alcohol
Exercise more
Exercising has proved to be effective in making the body more active and changing moods. You don’t need to engage in intense workouts to achieve this. You can set aside like 30 minutes daily to engage in a simple exercise. This can be even better when done outdoors especially for people dealing with seasonal affective disorder.
Exercising is both a preventive and healing mechanism. Although, it may be hard to start a new routine when you are already depressed, below are a few tricks that can help you stay afloat even when the hardest hit;
Get an accountability partner: Having a friend to walk with you through the journey can help you beat the mood changes and fatigue. As you perfect your routine, you’re also creating a social connection which is very important.
Start small: Do not start by undertaking a rigorous exercise that may discourage you. You can start by walking a few miles then gradually increase. This way, you’ll remain motivated.
Socialize with positive people
To deal with depression, you need positive people around you. People who understand your weaknesses, strengths and encourage you to move on. People who accept and value you are incredible assets when fighting depression. They’ll make you laugh, joke and forget all your depressing thoughts. You can plan a visit, hang out or talk to them via social platforms like Skype.
Volunteer
Spending your time on a charitable course is a good way to fight depression. The few hours you spend helping others helps you lift the weight from your shoulders. You get to divert the attention from yourself. In short, you break the cycle of negative thoughts. You can raise money for a charity organization, walk for a course among others.
Practice good sleep hygiene
Without enough sleep, whether depressed or not, your mood will flag. That’s how paramount adequate sleep is. According to experts, good sleep hygiene entails consistent sleep and a wake-up schedule. Your bedroom should also be well organized for ample sleep. That means it's dark, quiet and arranged. A good sleep should be at least 8 hours.
Set goals
Consider setting up simple and attainable goals. A heavy list of tasks when you are already depressed will worsen the feeling. And in the end, you may end up doing nothing at all.
Also, when you achieve the simple tasks, you’ve set for yourself, congratulate yourself. Don’t rebuke yourself. You should cheer up as you move to the next task and the next until you’ve done them all.
Learn to control your thoughts
Depression not only destroys your mood; it also makes you think more negatively. Therefore, if you can learn to control your thoughts to be positive, your mood will improve.
Practicing Cognitive behavioral therapy is possible. This is a form of therapy that aims at changing the common negative thinking pattern to eliminate depression. You can also research more on other ways to change the negativity in your thoughts.
Create a routine
Having a routine can help you achieve more things that will boost your positivity. Depression causes people to develop negative thinking pattern. Beating this pattern requires the consistent effort of positivity. With a routine and accomplishing more things, your thoughts will change. So, you’ll be more challenged to continue on that path.
Have a Wellness Toolbox
This is a collection of tools that boost your mood whenever you are depressed. Everyone has different ways to soothe their spirit when feeling low. So, it's upon you to compile a list of things that can get rid of that bad feeling. These can be;
- Cuddling your pet
- Playing music
- Writing
- Taking a warm bath
- Read a book
Take away
You don’t have to gulp those antidepressants forever. You can beat depression by yourself at home if you follow these simple tricks. If you can’t practice all of them at a go, you can start bit by bit. You can start with the diet, company and scheduling of your chores. With time, add others on the list and continue until you no longer strangle. By this time, you should be depression-free.
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