It’s hard to believe that you can be surrounded by so many people yet still feel alone. We have all experienced this phase at least once in our lives. It is a common and debilitating mental health condition that affects millions of people worldwide.
Depression affects your passion, hope, and strength, making it challenging to perform actions that will improve your morale. Once a wise man went to hospital and discussed his health problems with the doctor. He said that he couldn’t sleep properly and was always feeling lonely.
Having gone through multiple tests, the doctor informed him that his health was fine and gave him a ticket to the circus near the hospital to watch the clowns perform. So that he could feel better.
Doctor, I’m the clown, replied the wise man with a smile. With surprise, the doctor asked, “You are the reason for everyone’s happiness, so why can’t you be happy?” So now everyone thinks clowns are always smiling while performing their acts. Therefore, they will be the happiest people on earth. In reality, a depressed person will act like a normal person, but deep inside they suffer through pain.
When you have depression, everything feels more difficult. It can be challenging just to get out of bed, go to work, or interact with friends. To manage your symptoms and raise your quality of life, however, there are a few things you should do. Here are the tips to deal with depression.
1. Exercise
It is important to exercise, not only for your physical health, but also for your mental health. Depression makes it difficult for people to be active. Exercise will help you to relieve stress and can make you feel better. By doing exercise, feel good hormones are released and this can boost your mood. Exercise will strengthen your mind and body and improve you in the fight against depression.
2. Keep Yourself Engaged
Make yourself busy while you are in depression. When you are busy with the work you love more, you don’t have time to think about your problems. Overthinking about your problems is the ultimate cause of depression. Being engaged with your work will help you to forget about your problems and simultaneously reduce the depression caused by those problems.
3. Learning a new skill
Learning a new skill or taking up a new hobby can help take your mind off negative thoughts and improve your mood. Consider trying something like painting, cooking or playing a musical instrument.
4. Get enough sleep
In order to be healthy physically and emotionally, we need to sleep. People with depression will face sleeping problems. They either do not have enough sleep or oversleep. Getting enough sleep will make you more active. Aim to get 7-8 hours of sleep each night to help improve your mood and reduce feelings of depression.
5. Spend time outdoors
Get some fresh air and sunlight by taking walks or doing outdoor activities. Sunlight will increase your serotonin level and improve your mood. Whenever you have time, take a walk for 15 – 20 minutes to refresh your body and mind. Being surrounded by nature can help improve your mood and reduce feelings of depression.
6. Don’t reside on problems
It can feel better when you open up your problems to your close friend. But avoid talking only about your concerns. Discuss some positive things as well. Take the time to change your negative thoughts into positive ones and more optimistic ones. Accept reality and try to move on. This might improve your mood.
7. Volunteer
You can boost your self-esteem and achieve a sense of purpose by helping others. Volunteer at a local charity or community centre to make a positive impact on someone’s life.
8. Eat a healthy diet
A nutritious diet can help to boost energy levels and improve your mood. Avoid processed foods and sugar, and focus on eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein.
It’s important to remember that everyone experiences depression differently, and what works for one person may not work for another. When you are in depression, keep in mind that you’re not alone. It can be painful to overcome that phase, but remember one thing that time heals everything.