If you have depression, you may feel hopeless. It can leave you feeling like happiness is something you will never have again. Fortunately, there is hope. Here’s some advice to help you live with your depression, and to make your life a little brighter.
During the times you feel down and depressed keep away from all sugars, even the “healthy” ones like molasses, honey and fruit juice. Compared with complex carbohydrates, these simple sugars are absorbed more quickly into the bloodstream. This will result in an initial energy burst followed by a crash of fatigue and depression.
Do not let your depression control your social life by keeping up with normal social outings and activities. Depression may cause you to want to avoid these activities. It is very important to keep up with these things. You want to make certain you maintain your normal activities. If you avoid them, it can add to the severity of your depression.
If you suffer from depression, it is important that you talk to someone about how you feel. This can lift a huge weight off your shoulders.
Take a bath if you have depression symptoms that are not passing quickly. Sitting in the bathtub with your favorite book or listening to soft, soothing music can help to make you feel better. Try to have the water as warm as you are comfortable with, as these warmer temperatures will help relax the muscles.
Remember the importance of your diet, exercise and adequate sleep in preventing depression. When you feel the blues coming on, take a walk, go for a ride or engage in an enjoyable activity. Over a period of time, the right exercise, eight hours of sleep and a diet without processed foods could help you more than you think.
Diet therapy has been successful in treating certain types of depression. If you are not getting the vitamins and nutrients you need, your body could suffer from fatigue and your brain might not be oxygenated properly. Try avoiding fattening foods to eat more healthfully.
Always keep in mind that you are in complete control of your thoughts if you feel down. Take the word “depressed” and remove it from your vocabulary! This is such a bad word to tell people how you are feeling. Instead, use “low mood” or a similar phrase that doesn’t hold so much negative power, and this will help your outlook become more positive.
Put the words “depression” and “depressed” away and fill your vocabulary with words that make you happy and focus on them. Even though they are real words, they carry quite a few extra meanings and that can make feelings of hopelessness seem a lot worse than they really are. Instead of depressed, when you are not feeling well, think of it like you are just in a bad mood. Improving your mood will make your depression symptoms better.
Multiple ways of treating depression exist today. You may feel that there will be no end to the depression, but there is. You have to work on finding it. Regardless of the treatment you choose, these tips will greatly help you.
