Depression is a common mental health condition that affects people of all ages, races and genders. It can also be overwhelming to deal with on your own, which is why you should seek professional help if you or someone close to you is suffering from depression.
The good thing is that there are many things that you can do to overcome depression, such as lifestyle changes or medication, or both.
Depression affects millions of people each year. Unfortunately, it is not easy to overcome, and people who suffer from depression could tell you how challenging it is to engage in day-to-day activities when you are suffering from the disease.
You want to learn more about how to overcome depression. The five-minute read will give you a good understanding of how to overcome it and live a comfortable life.
1. Stop worrying about past
When you suffer from depression, your thought process tends to move back to stressful situations that happened in the past, sometimes many years ago. Those situations can resurface during an episode of depression and cause you to hold a grudge, remain in a negative state of mind, and kick yourself for not handling the situation better.
Although depression can be hereditary, it can manifest itself from exposure to abuse early on in your life. Some of these situations will resurface if you suffer from depression in later life.
The best way to help to overcome depression is to resolve these issues and block out the conditions when you begin to think about them.
If the problems are more than you can handle, seek the help of a professional. Letting things go that happened in the past allows you to look toward a brighter future.
2. Do not blame yourself for everything
Sure, you may have made some errors in the past. But stop blaming yourself.
We all make mistakes, and sometimes it is part and parcel of life—people with melancholy blame themselves for being unable to manage.
Stop trying to find out the mistakes you made. Learn to take your flaws without focusing too much on them. Accept that you had openings and that nobody is perfect and made mistakes in the past – no big thing!
3. Take a break, make walking a habit to overcome depression
If you suffer from depression, exercising is likely the last thing you feel like doing. Although challenging, try to force yourself to start by going for walks. The fresh air helps you mentally, and the walk will do your body right. Make it a point to take a walk on sunny days because sunlight can mitigate your symptoms.
If you can manage it, increasingly work up to taking brisk walks that will increase your heart rate. Walking will help your body to get more oxygen and help you to gain an overall sense of well-being and learn how to overcome depression.
4. Change your outlook
Individuals suffering from depression usually focus on the negative side of everything. They imagine a gloomy future for others or themselves. Altering your appearance is not easy but has to be done if you would like to overcome depression.
An important trick is to stop focusing on what went wrong. Thinking about your past will only make you sadder and more depressed. Start thinking about what you’d like your potential to be. Which things you’d like to happen in your life will make you happy? Notice that this type of thinking is different from daydreaming or wishful thinking.
5. Engage in acts that make you feel good
When you have depression, you do not find joy in anything.
So an important thing would be to bring back feelings of fun and happiness into your life.
Think of activities which you enjoy doing. It could be reading, cooking, browsing the net, spending time with close friends, sitting in a garden, going for a walk, etc.
Locate an activity that makes you feel rested and even brings a smile to your lips. When you identify one or two of these actions, create a commitment to indulge in these actions without fail every day for no less than 30 minutes. Initially, this may appear pointless. But persist with this and see the difference in behaviour and your feelings. If the action seems stupid or not much pleasure to others, do not be worried.
6. Friends help to overcome depression
Friends are good in many ways, so why not for depression?
Although this may seem more straightforward, when you suffer from depression, make a point to go out from home at least once a week to visit with friends that you know are supportive.
Spending time with friends can help you focus on something else for a while and help you feel like you are not alone. If you do not feel like making a lot of conversation, engage in an activity where you do not have to contribute to the discussion consistently.
7. Eat foods that help to overcome depression
One of the main issues with depression is you crave junk food, which has a domino effect on your health. Eating unhealthy food gives rise to many other health conditions. So you need to control your eagerness to eat junk food and overeat. What you need is to eat a nutritionally balanced diet.
Your diet needs to be rich in micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals. The deficiency of Vitamin D has been recognized by health professionals as a cause of depression. Also, fish oil and evening primrose oil can be beneficial in helping with brain neurotransmitters.
8. Keep your body hydrated
Hydration will make a significant improvement in how you feel. Although this seems very easy, many people often forget to drink water. So the best thing is to have a bottle of water close to you where you will see it and remember to drink water. Drinking an adequate amount of water has many other benefits. If you are interested, you can read about the importance of drinking water here.
Also, avoid beverages such as coffee and alcohol that can dehydrate you and make depression symptoms worse.
Remember that depression is real, and you are not alone. Every person may experience it at different times in their lifetime. There are a handful of ways to overcome depression. You need to understand your feelings and take steps to overcome them.
The Bottom Line
Depression is a mood disorder. It is not the same as being unhappy or in a bad mood. People with depression feel sad, hopeless, guilty, irritable and restless. They may lose interest in activities that used to be enjoyable.
Depression can affect people of any age, but it is more common in older adults because of biological changes that can occur with age.
There are several steps (discussed in the article) you can take to reduce your risk for depression.
