What Can You Do For Depression At Work
First, dont beat yourself up.
This is not a character flaw or weakness. It is a medical issue that requires treatment.
If this isnt your first go-round with depression and anxiety, you may have some tools at your disposal for positive mental health and well-being.
Maybe youre on antidepressants keep taking them, or speak with your doctor about adjusting your dosage.
Ask your therapist to coach you through your bad periods while working they may be able to meet with you during your lunch break or over email.
Substance Use And Motivation: Low Balance In Life
Another mental illness that can make you lose drive is substance abuse and mental addiction. Abusing a substance like alcohol or another drug, legal or illegal, can lead to mental illness, substance abuse and mental issues, and other health issues. If you’re addicted, it can lead to various health issues, but there are ways to overcome them. Here are some ways to overcome your addiction.
Focus On Your Environment
You may not be able to control everything in your workday, but you can often influence your workspace.
Keep it clean and simple, says Amelia Alvin, a psychiatrist at the Mango Clinic in Miami. Clutter tangles the thoughts.
Research supports the idea that the physical work environment has a direct impact on wellness and job performance. In addition to keeping things organized, consider mood-boosting features, such as pictures, plants, or soft lighting.
Don’t Miss: How Do Doctors Diagnose Depression And Anxiety
Speak With Your Work Counselor
Not all jobs provide access to a mental health professional. If yours has one on-site, you may find an occasional meeting beneficial to work through feelings of depression on the job.
If you arent able to have on-site meetings, your company may offer mental health incentive programs that support speaking with a professional on your own time.
Improve Your Energy And Well
Don’t be so hard on yourself. You can’t control your negative thoughts about yourself, but you can catch them, and reframe them into positive ones. If you find yourself criticizing yourself harshly for lacking the motivation to complete a task, you can take a step back. We take on daily challenges in life, regardless of how big or small or good or bad we perceive them as. The reality is, with every decision we make in life, there poses a risk for a positive or negative outcome. Therefore, moving forward you should always try your best and make the best decision that you believe is right. Try to counter self-criticism with positive praise, especially with even your smallest accomplishments throughout the day.
Treat people how you would like to be treated. Be kind to others. Try to get involved with community events or even help a stranger today. People appreciate an unexpected helping hand. You will also gain fulfillment by helping others but gain a bigger reward knowing you made a positive difference in someones life.
Surround yourself with supportive people. Supportive and positive people have a huge effect on our energy, motivation level, and well-being. When surrounded by loved ones, we are more likely to feel empowered and experience greater self-confidence. When surrounded by negative people, we are more likely to lose motivation or experience low self-worth.
You May Like: Can Being Lonely Lead To Depression
How To Ask For Help
You could start with, Can I tell you something thats kind of hard for me to admit?
When they give you the green light, you can say:
I feel like were close enough that I can let you know that Im living with depression, and I could really use some help. Id like to learn how to make a budget and stick to it. I thought of you because I know youre great at it. Do you think you could come over for an hour and help me start one?
Overwhelm is no joke. By strategically organizing your tasks, it may breathe new life into your to-do list and help you feel more motivated to get things done.
To make things easier on yourself, try:
- Task batching: Doing similar things at the same time, like going to the post office if its right next to the grocery store.
- Habit stacking: When you focus only on one habit until it becomes intuitive, then layering on another one until that feels solid, and so on.
- Microtasking: Breaking down your to-do list into bite-size chunks.
You may find it useful to steal this authors box method, a system that helps with microtasking.
Heres why it may work:
- each micro task creates a win
- confidence leads to new habits
- habits lead to lifestyle changes
- lifestyle changes lead to success
To try it, divide a sheet of paper in half or draw a line down the center of a whiteboard.
On the right side, you can do a brain dump and write out everything you want to get done that day. Try to circle the three most important things on that list.
Consider Getting Treatment For Your Mental Health
This might sound obvious, but a way to be more productive if youre depressed is to not be depressed anymore or be less so. Almost universally, people wait far too long before accessing treatment for their mental health. When I was a therapist, I would ask clients when the onset of the problem was. Frequently, the answer would be years ago, not months or weeks.
There are a variety of approaches you can try, including Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or medication. Taking a broad-based multivitamin and mineral supplement can also help you be resilient to stress and is a simple option, especially if your eating habits have worsened due to your depression. Learning self-compassion skills can also be extremely beneficial for depression, stress, and anxiety if you tend to be self-critical. Skills for identifying and disrupting rumination are important to master as rumination impairs mood, productivity, and problem-solving.
When youre depressed or experiencing emotions like grief or anxiety, you wont always be able to be as productive as youd ideally like. Give yourself grace about this. Try a 5 minute self-compassion meditation if you need it. Be patient with yourself but also give the recommended advice a try. Depression often causes people to have negative expectations, which can include expecting advice not to work for you. If you know this, you can avoid this trap and experiment with the strategies provided.
You May Like: How To Treat Anxiety Depression
Schedule Daily Sources Of Accomplishment And Pleasure
For mood health, we need two types of activities: those that provide a sense of accomplishment and those that provide pleasure. A well-researched therapy for depression called Behavioral Activation is based on this principle.
As a general rule, try to have one source of accomplishment and one source of pleasure in each of your mornings, afternoons, and evenings. These can be very simple. For example, a source of pleasure could be sitting in a sunny window to drink your morning coffee. A sense of accomplishment could come from a workout, vacuuming under your bed, or a work task.
Some people find it helpful to schedule activities in advance so they can more easily hit the recommendation of one pleasure activity and one mastery activity, per morning, afternoon, and evening.
If youre depressed, the pleasure you get from activities will typically be muted compared to normal. So, it may be a little harder to identify activities you would enjoy. This is another reason to schedule in advance. Start by brainstorming a list of the activities that provide either pleasure or a sense of mastery or accomplishment for you. Ask someone who knows you well to help if you feel stuck.
This tip benefits productivity in direct and indirect ways. Activities that provide a sense of mastery or accomplishment are productive, and the structure of this approach will benefit your biological rhythms and your mood.
Amazing 777 Royal Eagle Sweepstakes Sign Up
So if you’re going to compare yourself with someone else, compare yourself with someone whom you perceive to be similar in some way. Maybe you both grew up in a small town. Or went to the same school. Or studied with the same teachers. Or won the same competition. We have seen an example of this in the NBA recently. The success of players …Below are the lifestyle changes that you can make to reduce the effects of this crippling disease. 1. Eat healthily. If there’s one effective way that can help improve your overall mood, that’s eating healthily. The more you watch your eating habits, the better for your mental health. Thus, feed your body with the right kind and amount of …Eat a heavy meal. After eating, food moves in your stomach, and as a reflex, your colon will begin to contract in an attempt to make enough room by pooping. Eat a fiber-rich diet. Oats, rice, whole grains, and fibrous fruits and vegetables like peas, lentils, blackberries, pears, and avocados are some of the food you can include in your diet.Here’s the gist of how it works: Select a task you want to complete. Set a timer for 25 minutes. Work uninterrupted until the timer goes off. Take a 5-minute break. Complete this cycle 3 more…
Recommended Reading: What Alcohol Is Not A Depressant
Make It As Easy As Possible For Yourself
The hardest thing is task initiationto get started, Forand tells me. Give yourself a chance to succeed by setting up your environment in a way where it makes it easier to do the hard thing. Hence, wearing the running attire to bed. If Im already dressed, all my depressed, sluggish ass needs to do is to walk out the door. Do whatever you need to do to eliminate all obstacles that could make you want to give up and go back to bed, he says.
Why Is Dealing With Depression So Difficult
Depression drains your energy, hope, and drive, making it difficult to take the steps that will help you to feel better. Sometimes, just thinking about the things you should do to feel better, like exercising or spending time with friends, can seem exhausting or impossible to put into action.
Its the Catch-22 of depression recovery: The things that help the most are the things that are the most difficult to do. There is a big difference, however, between something thats difficult and something thats impossible. While recovering from depression isnt quick or easy, you do have more control than you realizeeven if your depression is severe and stubbornly persistent. The key is to start small and build from there. You may not have much energy, but by drawing on all your reserves, you should have enough to take a walk around the block or pick up the phone to call a loved one, for example.
Taking the first step is always the hardest. But going for a walk or getting up and dancing to your favorite music, for example, is something you can do right now. And it can substantially boost your mood and energy for several hourslong enough to put a second recovery step into action, such as preparing a mood-boosting meal or arranging to meet an old friend. By taking the following small but positive steps day by day, youll soon lift the heavy fog of depression and find yourself feeling happier, healthier, and more hopeful again.
You May Like: What Are Ways To Help Depression
Prayer Points For The Church
Drink ice-cold water repeatedly. Do not eat anything – Be on a complete fast. Overexert yourself by doing some exercise beyond your capacity. Take a bath in cold water, do not dry yourself and sit in an AC or the open-air with minimal clothes on the body. Repeat this 2-3 times.Jun 27, 2011 · Eat a varied diet: Nutritional deficiencies can make depression worse. So focus on eating a variety of foods, including whole grains, vegetables, fruits, lean meats, and low-fat dairy products …
Set Your Messages Aside
A common symptom of depression is difficulty concentrating. If a constant flow of e-mails and phone calls is interrupting your train of thought, you may be diverted from the more important tasks you need to accomplish. If this is a challenge for you, resist the urge to constantly check your e-mail, and allow your phone calls to be handled by voicemail. Set aside several times throughout the day to respond to these messages.
Also Check: Does Depression Cause Erectile Dysfunction
Cut Yourself Some Slack
Expecting perfection is setting yourself up for disappointment and stress. Forgive yourself for being human and set reasonable standards that keep you comfortable and sanitary.
You don’t need to disinfect the bathroom so you can eat in there, right? If the laundry gets folded and put away, that’s great. Don’t stress that the drawer needs to be cleaned out so clothes can be donated.
Designate this secondary task for another day. It will get taken care of, but there’s no need to overwhelm yourself right now.
How Losing Motivation Is Related To Feeling Depressed
The signs and symptoms of depression on legion.
Depression can create feelings of apathy, discontent, hopeless, sadness and guilt. Depressive episodes can affect your sleep cycles, leading to restlessness, insomnia or excessive sleepiness. Behaviorally, in a depressive state, individuals experience more frustration and agitation.
Depression can influence your appetite , your cognitive functioning , and your level of energy .
If you want to learn more about depression, youre recommended to read Anxiety vs Depression: Whats the Difference and How to Deal with Them?
Next, lets explore some of the potential reasons why we get depressed.
Don’t Miss: Can Depression Be Treated Naturally
Set Small Goals And Reward Yourself
When depression drains your motivation, you have to work to create new incentive to replace what existed naturally before your mental health deteriorated. This starts with setting small goals. For example, your goal could be cleaning out your closet. If you succeed in that, reward yourself by cooking your favorite meal or watching an episode of the latest TV show. This process of small accomplishments and rewards will help restore your motivation.
As you begin to feel better, steadily increase the difficulty of the goals. Try going on a long run, for example, and rewarding yourself with a small dessert. This makes way for accomplishment which leads to a very good feeling. If you start to feel overwhelmed, stop and re-evaluate your expectations. Eventually the goal can be something as challenging as learning a new skill or trying something youve never done. Try different options and see what works.
Put Your Thoughts On The Witness Stand
Once you identify the destructive thoughts patterns that contribute to your depression, you can start to challenge them with questions such as:
- Whats the evidence that this thought is true? Not true?
- What would I tell a friend who had this thought?
- Is there another way of looking at the situation or an alternate explanation?
- How might I look at this situation if I didnt have depression?
As you cross-examine your negative thoughts, you may be surprised at how quickly they crumble. In the process, youll develop a more balanced perspective and help to relieve your depression.
Also Check: What Do People Do When They Are Depressed
How To Motivate Yourself To Exercise
So how do you motivate yourself to exercise when youre depressed? According to DeLissio, it helps to create a fitness routine centered around activities you actually enjoy. This makes it much easier to create and sustain motivation.
If you like hiking but you keep forcing yourself to lift in the weight room, and find yourself skipping days, youll be worse off than if you were to start training for something you love, she said.
DeLissio also suggests examining the two main types of motivation.
- Extrinsic Motivation relies on external sources, like rewards or avoiding punishment.
This source of motivation is weak and usually deteriorates when people stop validating your habits, she said. An example would be aiming to lose 10 lbs so you can post a hot picture on Instagram. You are forming your goals over the opinions of others, not the need to achieve based on your own values.
- Intrinsic motivation occurs when the behavior and reward are internal, not external.
An example is a weightlifter who trains because they enjoy weightlifting, DeLissio said. They enjoy it, so it feels effortless to train for it. This form of motivation is much stronger and leads to better adherence than extrinsic motivation.
Daily Strategies To Combat A Lack Of Motivation
Don’t Miss: What Medication Is Used To Treat Depression