How to Cope with Depression

Feeling down or blue is a natural part of life. When people let us down, things go wrong, or we lose people we love, or the dreams we've valued, it appears. This sadness becomes a problem when it fails to pass and we don’t bounce back. If the sadness stretches over weeks, is occurring frequently and interferes with your ability to interact with people and enjoy your life, it is likely that you're experiencing some form of depression. Provided that you're able to access information and have a good doctor and support network around you, even severe depression is a highly treatable condition.Here are various strategies to help you cope with depression.


Identify whether or not you have depression and seek help if necessary. If you haven't already sought help for your depression, it's vital that you do so and don't try to go through this alone. There are many common symptoms associated with depression. If you identify with one or more of those listed below, seek advice from your doctor. Signs of depression include:

1. An inability to function normally in everyday life
2. Lethargy, fatigue, and the feeling that doing things takes a lot of your energy
3. Persistent sadness, including fits of crying either uncontrollably or being set off easily, feelings of anxiety or emptiness
4. Feeling blue, sad, and generally down over a period of at least two weeks
5. Feelings of worthlessness, self-blame and a lack of self esteem
6. Sleeping a lot more or less than usual, or experiencing insomnia
7. Unusual weight gain or loss, overeating or appetite loss
8. Finding thinking or concentrating difficult, "foggy" thinking, inability to make clear decisions or forgetfulness
9. Pessimism, or feeling a sense that life is hopeless, pointless and futile This may even lead to a feeling of numbness
10. Body pains, cramps, digestive problems, headaches, and other aches that don't go away with medication or treatment
11. Being irritable or restless a great deal of the time
12. Suicidal thoughts, thoughts about dying, or attempts at suicide

Take care of your body:Your body needs to be well-nourished, well-rested, and cherished. If you've been neglecting it or pushing it too far, you will pay a price and part of that will result in lowered resiliency and openness to depressive thoughts. The following things matter a great deal when trying to cope with depression:


Sleep well: Sleep is essential to a healthy, balanced body. Lack of sleep can aggravate negative thinking and easily becomes a vicious cycle whereby your negative thoughts keep you awake and disable your ability to get enough sleep. Waking unrefreshed and feeling tired is a commonplace complaint during depression, and even too much sleep can leave depressed persons feeling tired.[28] Breaking this cycle requires enforcing a strict sleep routine of the same bedtime and waking time every day, avoiding caffeine and alcohol, not exercising three hours prior to bed, removing anything distracting from your bedroom and keeping your room at a suitable temperature, etc


Exercise: A recent study showed exercise to be as effective as Zoloft (a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor or SSRI) in treating depression.Exercise releases a natural anti-depressant chemical in your brain and gets you into doing something active. Start small with a simple walk to the local store or around the block, or to your garden gate might be the way to begin. Gradually work up to a routine that fits with your needs and enjoyment.


Help others:This can be a good way of moving through your depression once it's under better control, and is often an ideal technique to use when your healing seems to have temporarily "plateaued." In helping other people going through hardships, you will be able to channel some of your sadness and inability to cope into ensuring that other people can. This removes the concentration from you to others, which can be good if you're prone to too much introspection.

Change your thinking: As part of progressing, recognizing and defeating negative thinking patterns is a very important aspect to concentrate on. Cognitive behavioral therapy, psychotherapy, or other forms of psychological therapy are helpful when you're unlearning negative thinking and establishing patterns of thinking that support your self-esteem and increase your self confidence. While it is best to read up in this area and speak with someone qualified to help guide you through the ways to change your thinking, there are some important things to keep in mind.



Acknowledge the feeling will pass. This can be a very difficult step, but it's vital because it helps you to start banishing thoughts of hopelessness.

List all of your good points.

 When you're depressed, it's easy to understate the positive things about yourself. 
Turn this around by listing everything that is good about you. 
Include achievements from the past and hopes for the future, however few or random they may seem. 
If you can't write this list, have a trusted friend or family member start one for you. This is a list to keep building upon as you work through your depression. 
Self-acceptance is a vital part of recovering from depression because you acknowledge that there are good things about yourself, but also that you cannot be perfect. 
This will help you stop judging yourself more harshly than anyone else.
Make decisions, however small, and act on them. 
Again, while this is very difficult to do during depression, it is a vital element in facing the sense of helplessness that tends to overwhelm depressed persons.
Small decisions like getting out of bed, calling friends or cleaning up the kitchen all add up. Once you act on them, they become achievements.