By: Peter Palmaer
Just getting through a day can be a struggle for someone suffering from a depression. There are different forms of therapy and medication that can help the patient suffering this disease. Both can be given separately or in combination.
These treatments and therapies will, generally speaking, have the biggest impact on someone's healing process.
Nevertheless there are also actions that sufferers of a depression can take to help themselves feel better. For instance:
Avoid alcohol: Alcohol can make a depression much worse and it interferes with the action of many anti depressants
Do not take (illegal) drugs: These can lead to addictions and substance abuse and in many cases will not solve the problems you have. More likely they will just ad to your problems.
Do activities you enjoy: It is very important for you to keep undertaking the activities you used to enjoy like walking, shopping, going to a movie. Take a trusted friend along. Even small pleasurable activities will ad up.
Exercise: Keep your body healthy with regular exercise. Whatever you feel like. You can go to a gym, you can do some walking each day or cycling. You will notice that exercising will also have a positive influence on your mental health and overall feeling of well-being.
Set realistic goals. You should plan ahead. But your planning should not lead to (more) disappointment. So if you plan activities and goals, be sure to make them realistic. They should be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and tangible. Realizing your goal will certainly prove to be a mood enhancing factor in your life
Keep a journal: Keep a diary of your life. Take note of the good and the bad that happens. Take a note of your thoughts. This will enable you to think things over by taking some necessary distance. Writing things down sets the events in perspective. Is your life really that bad? Are there certain patterns you notice in your diary? Is there room for improvement?
Recognize early signs: It is very important for you to notice the early signs of depression. Early intervention is always a good thing. Start working on your problems when they are still small. So that treatment can start before your condition worsens or the symptoms become more severe. This will decrease your chances on further relapse in the future.
Remember although no one is immune for depression it is very important to avoid the possible causes of depression and reducing the risk of developing a depression.
