It happens to everyone to feel sad or down in the dumps. It can happen to be disappointed by others, have bad days, lose someone or give up important dreams. However, when sadness does not go away despite weeks or months, it manifests itself frequently, interferes with one's ability to interact with others and enjoy life, it is possible that it is a form of depression. Provided that you are able to inform yourself well about it, are followed by a good doctor and have a support network, this pathology is absolutely treatable, even in its most serious forms.
Steps
Part 1 of 4: Diagnosing and Treating Depression
Step 1. Look for classic symptoms of depression
If you have not sought help to treat it so far, it is essential to consult a specialist and avoid trying to deal with it on your own. There are many symptoms commonly associated with depression. If you find at least one in the following list, make an appointment with a psychotherapist. Here are some hints:
- Inability to deal with everyday life in a normal way.
- Inability to appreciate activities you once loved, such as reading, playing video games, drawing, and so on.
- Lethargy, fatigue and the feeling that the activities carried out absorb a lot of energy.
- Persistent sadness, including uncontrollable or easily occurring bouts of crying, feelings of anxiety or emptiness.
- Feeling of sadness, melancholy or general dejection that lasts for at least two weeks.
- Sense of worthlessness, self-denigration and lack of self-esteem.
- Sleeping much more or less than usual, or insomnia.
- Unusual weight gain or loss, a tendency to overeat or a decreased appetite.
- Difficulty thinking or concentrating, "clouded" thoughts, inability to make clear decisions or forgetfulness.
- Pessimism or a feeling of having lost hope, that life is useless and meaningless. This can also lead to a feeling of numbness.
- Pain, cramps, digestive problems, headaches and other aches that do not go away with specific medicines or treatments.
- Irritability or restlessness that occurs over prolonged periods.
- Thoughts of suicide or death, suicide attempts.
Step 2. Ask your doctor to analyze the possible underlying causes of depression
In some cases it derives from other pathologies or treatments that are conducted for other disorders, or it can be a side effect. It may happen that some health problems have symptoms similar to depression. It is important for your doctor to identify the physical causes of the disorder that require specific treatment, or to help you solve other problems causing the condition. Here are some ailments that could trigger depression:
- Lack of vitamins or minerals, especially for those on a restrictive diet. B vitamins are associated with depression, but it is unclear whether it is a deficiency (especially B12) that causes depression or if it is depression that causes the deficiency. Also, according to a lot of recent research, vitamin D is a powerful regulator for mental health. However, if you know your vitamin and mineral intake is not optimal, remedying is the first step.
- Thyroid problems, hormonal disorders or imbalances (including premenstrual ones).
- Medicines. Depression is among the side effects of some medications. Read the package insert and discuss your concerns with a doctor.
- Coexisting diseases. Depression often accompanies anxiety disorders (such as post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, social phobia, etc.), alcohol and other substance abuse, cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer, HIV / AIDS, diabetes and Parkinson's. These conditions can precede, cause, or be a consequence of depression.
- Purely female pathologies, including postpartum depression, premenstrual syndrome (PMS) or premenstrual dysphoric disorder (DDPM).
Step 3. Research depression to fully understand it
Learn all you can about it. Documenting yourself thoroughly on the pathology will allow you to defeat it. Knowing is essential to reassure you that depression is real, that it is a disorder that must be treated seriously, and that there are many ways to overcome it. A firmer understanding will help you reduce some fears and worries. It will also give you many tools to try out in your specific case.
- Go to the library and borrow books on depression, anxiety, and happiness. Check out the sections devoted to psychology, self-help, psychotherapy and medicine. If you are under 18, look for texts written specifically for teens and children. You can also consider online auctions or bookstores to buy cheap books on depression.
- Visit reputable websites that feature articles and other resources to help you understand depression better. Make sure the site is trusted. Check out the following: APC, Ipsico, State of Mind and Project Ithaca. Apart from these, there are many other good resources online. The important thing is to verify its validity.
- Trying to heal from depression through reading is a technique called "bibliotherapy". If you have the right motivation to follow this path, it can be very helpful in healing. This method is particularly suitable for those who always rely on research to explain their life experiences.
- Capitalize on the knowledge you have gained to explain the challenge you are facing to those around you. If you can share the full picture and present hard facts about depression, it will be easier to avoid embarrassing or disapproving comments.
Step 4. Try psychotherapy
One of the most effective ways to fight depression is to see a therapist. There are numerous types of treatment and each specialist has their own style. If the expert makes you comfortable, it will be easier to get positive feedback from therapy. Talk to several professionals before choosing one to work with. Here are three of the treatment approaches that have been shown to be most effective for treating depression:
- Cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy involves the psychotherapist and the patient working together to identify, combat and change negative mental patterns. It has been shown to be as effective as antidepressants, or better, for treating acute (severe but not chronic) depression. Furthermore, patients who undergo this therapy are less likely to have relapses.
- Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, an offshoot of cognitive behavioral psychotherapy, is aimed at overcoming unhealthy or destructive behaviors. It teaches the skills needed to learn to better adapt to stressful situations that will arise in the future. It is a useful therapy for those forms of depression that resist other types of treatment.
- Interpersonal psychotherapy is a time-limited treatment based on empirical research. It aims to combat mood disorders and focuses on the dynamics in which the symptoms of depression affect an individual's interpersonal relationships. Interpersonal psychotherapy is most effective for treating mild or moderate forms of depression.
Step 5. Consider taking prescription medications
Many doctors prescribe drugs. Ask questions about it, for example inquire about the duration of treatment and side effects. If you notice anything strange or adverse reactions, be sure to report it to the specialist: it may be necessary to change the doses or switch to a different drug.
- If you don't want to take antidepressants, make it clear right away. Before you go to the doctor, do some research so that you can discuss the alternatives with knowledge of the facts. You will need to convince him that you can effectively process the mental patterns associated with depression without the help of drugs.
- If you don't want to take prescription drugs, you may want to consider alternatives to antidepressants. Hypericum, or Hypericum perforatum, is a non-prescription herbal remedy that is popular enough to treat mild forms of depression. It should not be taken with other antidepressants because it can cause serotonin syndrome, which has symptoms such as chills, confusion, seizures and / or high fever, and which, if left untreated, can be fatal. In case you think you have this syndrome, call a doctor right away or go to the emergency room.
Step 6. Try alternative therapies or remedies
Learn about the potential of treatments such as art therapy and acupuncture. In combination with the other treatments you have chosen, alternative remedies can sometimes help restore a good emotional balance. Whichever technique you want to try, it is important to consult a respected expert. But don't be surprised if some doctors turn up their noses at these therapies.
- Music, a form of self-help therapy, is known to help change one's mood. Choose some music that will improve your mood. If you really have to listen to sad songs, after a while switch to the more upbeat ones.
- Art therapy is another popular technique for treating depression. Draw, paint or create projects that allow you to vent your emotions on a canvas or paper. If necessary, there are qualified experts who can help you.
- Pet therapy can also be effective. Pets help not to feel isolated and do not judge. According to some studies, they promote a greater feeling of well-being among those with depression. Even if you don't have a pet, try to spend time with someone else on a regular basis.
Part 2 of 4: Changing Your Lifestyle
Step 1. Sleep better
Rest is essential to having a healthy and fit body. Lack of sleep can exacerbate the tendency to have negative mental patterns. If thoughts keep you awake and prevent you from getting enough sleep, they can cause a vicious cycle. Many people with depression report that they wake up feeling poorly rested and tired. Sleeping more than necessary can also leave this feeling of fatigue.
- Breaking this vicious circle involves implementing rigid habits: you have to go to bed and wake up at the same time all the time, avoid caffeine and alcohol, do not exercise three hours before going to sleep, eliminate all distractions from the bedroom and set an adequate temperature.
- Read this article for more information. It will not be easy to remedy this problem and many factors can cause you to fall back into insomnia or disturb sleep again, so it is important to follow certain habits with extreme caution and to forgive yourself when you cannot sleep.
Step 2. Exercise
A recent study showed that physical activity is as effective as Zoloft (a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor or SSRI) for treating depression. It releases natural chemicals that have antidepressant efficacy and promotes dynamism. You can start with a simple walk to the nearest supermarket, in your neighborhood or to the gate of your home. Gradually adopt new habits based on your needs and preferences.
- Look for friends or group sessions to train in company: having someone by your side will allow you to feel more motivated. You can also try activities that allow you to release your accumulated pent-up emotions, such as kickboxing.
- Playing sports is very useful for moving regularly, keeping busy, focusing on your personal improvement and meeting new people. According to some studies, sportspeople experience fewer symptoms commonly associated with depression. Choose a very tiring sport to silence the voices in your mind and feel exhausted at the end of the workout; however, the important thing is not to overdo it. Try joining a team or signing up for a class. Make a commitment to be as consistent as possible, even if some days you don't feel like it.
Step 3. Eat healthy
Cut back on sugar, high fructose corn syrup, fast food, and processed foods. Eat more fruits, vegetables, and whole foods. Drink lots of water. Research foods that have been shown to be effective in improving your mental state and well-being. Improving your nutrition can become a real project to focus on something constructive while battling depression. Additionally, many healthy foods are effective for improving mood.
Step 4. If you have neglected yourself, start taking care of yourself again
If you are depressed, it can be easy to let go, not pay attention to your physical appearance and the clothes you wear. Starting to heal again can improve your mood and give you a feeling of well-being. Get a new haircut or buy some clothes to try to cheer you up. Focus on what you love about yourself, rather than worrying about what you don't like.
Step 5. Cultivate a good support network
The support of those who love you is essential to the healing process. People you trust need to be aware of your situation, to know that you would appreciate their understanding and solidarity. When you keep everything inside and have behaviors that seem inexplicably strange, it will be harder for others to help you. If they know what's going on, they'll be more likely to understand and support you as much as possible.
Try to honestly explain the reason for your irritability and lonely behaviors to people you trust. They need to know that it's nothing personal, but that you need space or time every now and then
Step 6. Surround yourself with optimistic people
Talk to friends, family and colleagues who make you feel good and who offer you pleasant company. Spend time with people who see the world in pink glasses! Invite them to share their views, ideas, and approaches with you. Individuals who are well disposed will be more than happy to reveal the secret of their positivity and optimism to you. Learn from them.
For the unhappy, it is a consolation to have companions in pain. It can be quite difficult to keep your distance from negative people who feel just like you, but try to avoid them. If you only confirm your fears and pessimism, you will not do yourself a favor at all
Part 3 of 4: Changing Attitude
Step 1. Keep busy
Keeping busy is helpful in avoiding getting obsessed with negative thoughts. For those with depression, the first step is often the hardest, so forcing yourself to keep moving can make a huge difference in your day-to-day life and motivate you to change.
- Find a hobby that you enjoy or think you can enjoy. Immerse yourself completely in this activity. It doesn't have to be expensive or difficult - as long as it's interesting, it will do the job.
- Take care of a pet. A four-legged friend regularly needs food, care and games. Such a routine can be very satisfying for a depressed person, especially since an animal does not judge, only reciprocates with love and acceptance.
- Try to have a more structured daily life. Decide in detail what to do every day, even the most mundane activities. Once you start feeling better, gradually enrich your days. It doesn't matter if you work or not. A structured schedule can point you in a direction to follow on those days that would otherwise be empty or meaningless.
Step 2. Have fun and pampered activities
Sadness feeds itself. It will soon become a vicious circle that will convince you that you don't deserve anything. The antidote is to do activities that you enjoyed or shared with other people. One funny thing a day keeps the sadness away!
- As with all other things, go step by step. Doing an enjoyable activity each day, like watching a comedy you love or reading a funny book, can help you get better, at least for a while.
- Try to make pleasant plans. Go out for dinner, to the movies or for a walk with your friends.
- Proceed calmly. If you enjoyed gardening, plant a tree. If you enjoyed taking long walks, start over with a short one. Gradually move on to more enjoyable experiences.
Step 3. Start keeping a journal about your experience with depression
It will allow you to document your emotions in a personal and private space. It will allow you to vent your darkest thoughts without restrictions, because you won't have to worry about being judged for it. A diary can become an ally in the fight against depression: in the end it can show you what are the most effective methods to improve your mood and what are the causes of your sadness. If possible, try to write to us every day.
Step 4. Help others
Once you are able to better control depression, volunteering can be an effective way to overcome it. It is often an ideal technique to use when the healing process appears to have temporarily stabilized. Helping others overcome adversity helps you worry less about your situation and focus more on people. If you are a particularly introverted person, this can be helpful.
Do not overdo it. If you get too involved with charity or volunteering and feel exhausted or exhausted, chances are you are overworking or not ready to help others yet. It doesn't mean you'll never be able to do this, but for now you need to take care of yourself first
Part 4 of 4: Changing Negative Mind Patterns
Step 1. Imagine it is a path to well-being
When lethargy takes over and everything seems complicated, depression can seem endless. For this reason it is important to consider it a gradual path rather than looking for an instant cure. There will be times when your resolve will be challenged by doubts and despair, but that's when you need to do your best to avoid getting depressed by depression. Here are some good starting points.
- Name your monsters. Winston Churchill baptized his depression with the expression "black dog". By turning her into a pet, he made her become tameable. If you give it a name, it will become a passing status rather than a definition of your identity. For example, instead of saying "I'm always cranky", you can say, "My black dog makes me feel cranky today."
- Look for a role model. Do you think you are the only one with depression? Go to the library and grab five random biographies. It is highly probable that at least one of these great historical figures has suffered from depression. Do some research online to find out which famous people have won this battle. Read stories about the many celebrities who have claimed to have battled depression. Rest assured that other people have had similar experiences to yours. Now, you have a chance to tap into their paths as well.
- Be kind to yourself. Life is not a race or a competition. The truth is that you are important, you are a person full of qualities, so complicating your life means mistreating you. Don't obsess over depression and don't use it to hide when everything seems to be too difficult. Being angry at yourself for being depressed will create a vicious cycle of despair and anguish, which will only make the torment worse. Remember to name your monsters and separate them from who you are. Accept that a gradual journey is essential to feel good.
- Make a list of everything that worries you beyond depression, such as unpaid bills, inability to go on vacation, or a difficult job. In another column, write down some practical actions you think you can take to deal with whatever is bothering you. For example, find ways to pay these bills, plan a trip, or figure out how to find a new job.
Step 2. Understand why it is important to overcome negative mental patterns
This is a key part of dealing with depression. As Aaron Beck would say, depressed people tend to exhibit "information processing bias". This is the tendency to always choose distorted and negative points of view, further entrenching depression.
Step 3. Change your thinking
In order to progress, it is very important to focus on recognizing and canceling negative mental patterns. Cognitive-behavioral therapy, psychotherapy, and other forms of psychological treatments are useful for defusing negative thoughts; they also help create mental patterns that support the patient's self-esteem and build confidence. While it is better to read up on it and talk to a specialist who can show you techniques to change your way of thinking, there are some important factors that you can start to keep in mind right away.
- Recognize that these emotions are fleeting. It can be a very difficult step, but it is essential because it allows you to start chasing away the despair.
- Make a list of all your qualities. When you're depressed, it's easy to underestimate your strengths. List them to reverse the trend. Include your past successes and future goals, no matter how small or insignificant they seem. If you can't write this list, ask a trusted friend or relative to start doing it for you. You will have to keep enriching it throughout the journey you will take to defeat depression. Self-acceptance is essential to recover from the disease: it makes you recognize that you have positive qualities, but also challenges to overcome. This will help you stop judging yourself more fiercely than anyone else.
- Make decisions, even small ones, and act accordingly. If you are depressed, this step can also be very difficult, but it is essential to deal with that feeling of hopelessness that tends to overwhelm depressed people. Small decisions, like getting out of bed, calling your friends or cleaning the kitchen, make all the difference. Once you have them in place, they will become conquests.
- Learn to replace negative or erroneous thoughts by focusing on them. Ask yourself questions like, "Do I always expect the worst?", "Am I condemning myself because something bad happened?", "Do I focus more on my weaknesses than my strengths?". It is useful to organize negative thoughts in one column and rationalize them in another, so that you can compare yourself with them and erase them. In one column you could write "I am a failure", while in the other you could refute this thought with: "I made a mistake. I have made others in the past and everything has gone well. I also have many triumphs behind me."
- Once you have overcome the most difficult challenges of negative mental patterns, learn techniques to become assertive. They will teach you to stand up for yourself without giving in to emotions like anger, fear, or helplessness. Knowing how to be assertive is important to avoid falling back into depression in the future.
Step 4. Try to think about the positive aspects of your life
Stop for a moment and list all the beautiful things you own. Regardless of their nature, they are worth looking for. Review this list regularly and keep updating it. During your early recovery phase, you may have only a couple of things to be grateful for, like your house or your wife. Over time, as you start enjoying the beauty of life again, it should get longer.
Replace negative thoughts with happy memories. You control what you think: only you have the power to prefer positive and happy memories to negative thoughts
Step 5. Change the way you speak
Change your language to help you look at things from a more positive perspective. For example, using the conjunction "but" or the adverb "at least" will immediately transform a negative sentence. You can try another trick as well. Instead of repenting because of a mistake and thinking that you have failed, ask yourself, "What have I learned from this experience?"
Step 6. Accept that depression may return
If you have already suffered from it, you are vulnerable to the reappearance of this condition, so you are more likely to start tormenting you again if you do not manage its causes. Recognize the alarm bells and take constructive actions to deal with it right from the start, preventing it from getting worse. Try to reduce its impact and duration.
If you believe depression may return, speak to your doctor, psychiatrist, or psychotherapist right away to start treatment
Advice
- Always keep busy or engage in constructive activities. Sitting alone or thinking about all the bad experiences in your life without talking to anyone will exacerbate your depression.
- Avoid comparing yourself to others.
- Surround yourself with beautiful things. Eliminate anything that hurts or saddens you. Sometimes it is enough to throw away the unnecessary things, other times it is necessary to make a more complex change, such as redecorating. Light up a dark room or let in fresh air. Allow the outside world to leave a small footprint on your interior.
- If the therapist you are treating isn't helping you, try going to a different one. It can take some time to find a specialist that suits your particular needs. Look for an expert who can guide you to solve your specific problem.
- If psychotherapy makes you uncomfortable, imagine that the therapist is an aunt or uncle who does not judge you and who allows you to let off steam completely without making negative comments. It's good for you to share your thoughts with someone - if you can't find the right person in your circle of friends or family, a psychotherapist will be a capable and reliable substitute.
- If you don't connect with your therapist, this is sometimes good. It is possible that this happens because it tells you truth that you don't want to hear or projects things onto yourself that you find uncomfortable.
- Upon awakening, write down a simple but meaningful goal that you intend to achieve throughout the day and strive to succeed, regardless of everything. Reward yourself for good results and forgive yourself for mistakes.
- Get your family and close friends involved. Even if you feel embarrassed at first, hiding your depression from those who love you means depriving yourself of a precious network of support. You may be surprised at the amount of people who will understand what you are facing.
- Pray and look for a quiet place to find peace, such as a church, temple, mosque, or any other place.
Warnings
- When you find someone willing to help you fight depression, always make sure to check their qualifications. Also, learn to understand the difference between the various types of psychotherapists: if a certain treatment is not right for you, it may be necessary to change psychotherapist or therapy. Keep trying until you find the right one for you.
- Avoiding treating depression in the hope that it will go away on its own is the worst choice you can make. The more time passes, the more exacerbated he will get. Most, if not all, types of depression intensify over time. If you find that you may have this condition (or you are sure of it), get help immediately.
- Depression can often lead to self-harm and even suicide. Remember that you have several effective ways to let off steam and heal yourself, such as talking to others, asking for help from those around you, or seeing a professional.
