Saturday, March 23, 2024

Things To Do When You Are Depressed

Identity And Shadow Work

10 Subtle Signs You May Be Depressed

This blog focuses on some deeper domains, including reflecting on ones identity and philosophy of living, defenses and shadow works, and concludes with a general approach to psychological mindfulness. This is our last official entry, although I will offer a final summary of the blog tour summary that includes links to the entire blog series so that in the future folks can just click on one link.

The principles of active change explored in the second half of this series have been focused on pragmatically reversing cycles of shutdown and finding more adaptive ways of being in the world.

This final entry is a bit more abstract, broad, and deep. It focuses on developing your philosophy of living and a fuller understanding of yourself. It is based on the idea that if we are going to truly organize our lives in a way that really allows for a growth-to-goodness trajectory, we need a core understanding of our place in the universe, a framework to make sense of right and wrong or to assess valued states of being, and ways of reflecting on things larger than our lives.

This is the moral/ethical, existential, spiritual, and/or religious dimension to living. It deals with questions such as: What makes human life valuable and worthwhile?What is our place in the cosmos? How do we know what kind of life we ought to lead? What is authentic well-being? What is evil? Who am I really? And, given that, how should I live my life?

How Is Depression Treated

The first step to getting treatment is to see your GP. If your GP thinks you have depression, they will talk to you about the treatments they can offer.

What are talking therapies?

Talking therapy is a general term to describe any psychological therapy that involves talking. You may also hear the terms counselling or psychotherapy used to describe talking therapy.

Therapy should offer you a safe, confidential place to talk about your life and anything confusing, painful or uncomfortable. It allows you to talk with someone who is trained to listen attentively and to help you improve things.

Talking therapy often takes place face to face. But you may also be able to have therapy over the phone, by video call or online. There are different types of talking therapy that you might be offered. These include:

  • cognitive-behavioural therapy,
  • mindfulness based therapy, and

The type of therapy you are offered will depend on the cause of your symptoms and their severity. Therapies may also have different levels based on how long or intense the treatment is.

Ask your GP about therapy if you think it might help. Some of these therapies will be available in your area. Some areas offer a self-referral option for NHS talking therapies. Please refer to your local Improving Access to Psychological Therapies service to find out about this option.

You may also be able to access therapy privately or through your employer in an Employee Assistance Programme.

How can antidepressants help?

Dont Just Think Do Something

Its easier to say than to follow it.

But, believe its the right approach to follow when youre feeling depressed in life. In such a hard situation, when you keep thinking about your failures and losses, and is proof that youre completely in control of your negative thoughts.

As said earlier, simply thinking is not the solution, you have to do something about it.

Thinking about problems, just makes your problems bigger and nothing else. So, stop overthinking and take some right move for your better. Get yourself busy in actual work, rather than in tension and worries. Moreover, you can change your work to something that youre passionate about.

Read Also: How To Keep Going When Depressed

It Doesn’t Make Moral Sense

Self-rule leads to relativism and subjective morality. When you do not give your allegiance to God, but instead decide you will live by your own set of rules and standards, everything becomes subjective. There is no longer any objective morality or truth by which to stake a claim.

The even bigger issue is that when I am at the center of my moral system, my moral system, which is based on self, leads to choices based on selfishness.

God’s system is based on unconditional love. The entire climax of the biblical story is even while we were in rebellion against him, he took our punishment, bore our pain, and died in our place on the cross. He loved us self-sacrificially he didn’t do what was best for himself but chose the thing that was the most selfless loving thing he could have done.

Something in us knows selfless love is deserving of honor. The scriptures say it is only when we mimic this selfless love of Christ that we are able to find our life and experience the richness he created us to experience in the community. It was only by sacrificial love that he could turn our hearts away from selfishness to see the beauty of his ways.

Lawlessness, self-determining morality, and subjective morality lead to evil because they, by definition, stem from selfishness/self-focus.

The center of self-rule is selfishness. You are basing your morality on yourself and the central decision-making factor is what you want, not what is best for others.

Turn And Look At The Beast Rather Than Fight It Or Run From It

41 Things Those With Depression Want You to Know

Lets face it, depression sucks. It feels miserable, it drains ones motivation, and it orients people to want to escape and withdraw into an inner cave. Unfortunately, withdrawal into the cave has the ironic consequence of feeding the beast. Because of this, we need to develop a frame that orients toward the beast, at least somewhat. That is, rather than trying to hide in the cave or trying to publicly smile through ones depression, the advice I offer is to look squarely at what is going on.

A metaphor from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy might help. Imagine yourself currently in a tug of war with the beast of depression. On one side is you, on the other is the beast, and between the two of you is a nasty pit. You are trying to pull the beast into the pit and be rid of him. He is trying to pull you into the pit. You are trapped in an epic struggle.

Related: 6 Concrete Ways To Improve Your Emotional Health

Recommended Reading: Things To Do When Depressed And Anxious

Recognize Depressive Reactions Depressive Disorders And Depressive Diseases

If depression is a state of behavioral shutdown, then it makes sense that we should ask, with an attitude of curiosity, What might be causing my emotional-motivational system to shut down? I distinguish between three broad kinds of causes and classify them in terms of 1) depressive reactions 2) depressive disorders and 3) depressive diseases.

Each of these domains can contribute to depressive feelings, and it is very important to understand what they are and why.

Depressive reactions refer to shutdowns that follow serious psychological injuries, such as the death of a loved one or other major losses, such as a divorce or job loss or other major life event that is experienced as a core life failure. Depressive reactions also include shutdown responses to brutally difficult or oppressive life situations, such as living with an abusive partner or dealing with chronic pain.

Related: Mental Health: The 10 Types of Sleep Disorders

Depressive disorders are the second class of causes that drive people into depressive caves. Depressive disorders involve maladaptive patterns of acting, reacting, relating, and coping with stress that actually makes things worse. These are vicious cycles that drive people into dead ends.

A vicious cycle involves the following:

stressors or difficulties or losses in a persons life cause them to

adjust and cope in problematic ways, which lead to

more trouble functioning and greater distress that then results in

even more problematic coping.

Time To Leave Your Comfort Zone

Facing such failures and challenges in life, are not actually to put down, as you perceive right now. These are just for realizing that youre lacking something. You need to train and grow yourself even a bit.

Maybe youre living in your comfort zone or doubt yourself, but such hard times are actually to redesign your life. More than that, this is the phase to know your mistakes and limits in life.

Dont feel too depressed, try to collect the lesson and focus to improve yourself. Thats the right option. Try something new in life, take more challenges. But, now with extra practice and focus.

Don’t Miss: How To Get Diagnosed With Depression Without Your Parents Knowing

Feeling Depressed What To Do When You Feel Depressed

Knowing what to do when you’re depressed can mean the difference between slipping into a serious depression or turning things around early. When you’re feeling depressed it can be difficult to take positive steps, but even the most depressed person can find even tiny steps useful.

Professional help should always be sought for any serious depression or any depression that lasts more than two weeks. However, even while getting professional help, there are things you can do to stop feeling depressed.

Note: Any feelings that you may harm yourself or others should be dealt with by a mental health professional immediately.

Stop Overreacting And See Whats Happening

How to get stuff done when you are depressed | Jessica Gimeno | TEDxPilsenWomen

Sometimes, situations are not that worse as we think it is. We are following our chained thinking to any situation and that creates troubles for us, too. So, take a moment and re-think the same case, but from a different perspective.

Change your thinking and change your approach in life.

Maybe youre wrong, maybe youre overreacting at it, and that can be true. So, stop, give yourself some time to think. Analyze, and realize the situation better. It is also possible that you may get any productive solution by following a changed perspective.

Recommended Reading: How To Get Someone To Eat When They Are Depressed

Remember That You Wont Be The Fixer

Its important to speak with your loved one about your concerns, but its also important to realize that you arent going to be the person who ends up curing their depression. Only the person who is depressed can ultimately choose to seek help, especially if they are an adult.

While your words can encourage the person to seek help, be prepared for the possibility of resistance.

Go To Sephora And Smell All Fragrances Youre Curious About Scents Help Us Detense And Feel Generally Better Get A Free Make

44. Go shopping. If you cant afford shopping, just browse through the stores you like.

45. Take a short walk in nature and breathe in all the fresh scents.

46. Hug someone you love, if thats something you can do. Hugs that last longer than 10 seconds are scientifically proven to heal.

47. Take a long shower. Warm water soothes our tired bodies and invigorates our cells.

48. Try a 10 minute yoga exercise for depression and loneliness.

49. Lay in bed. Cover yourself in nice smelling sheets. Warmth brings us comfort.

50. Talk to a stranger on Quora if you have no one to talk to. You can even do it anonymously. Most people there will offer great life advice.

Also Check: How To Get Out Of Chronic Depression

Knowing How Depression Works Can Help You Better Support Loved Ones Who Are Struggling

If youve never experienced clinical depression, it is hard to understand what it is like. Well-intentioned people will say things like, just think positive, or just snap out of it. Though they may not say it out loud, some people think a person with depression is just being lazy, or just trying to get attention. However, major depressive disorder is a serious psychological condition.

Before I became a clinical psychologist, I experienced a depressive episode after a divorce. The depression completely hijacked my thinking and feelings, and I even seriously contemplated suicide. A family member encouraged me to seek psychotherapy, and it really helped. This is what inspired me to become a psychologist, and I eventually became a board-certified clinical psychology professor. Through my research, writing, and international speaking, one of my personal life missions is to validate peoples struggles and walk with them on the path to recovery from depression.

If you know someone who seems depressed, it can be very difficult to understand, and it can be hard to know what to do. With more knowledge about how depression works, youll be in a better position to offer the most helpful support.

Relating To Your Emotions

10 Things To Cut Out Of Your Life If You

This entry is about emotions and learning how to process them adaptively. We explore what emotions are, why emotional awareness and regulation are key skills, and briefly describe how to hold emotions in what I call the Emotional Sweet Spot.

Emotions are a key aspect of depression, and many depressive episodes emerge from conflicts people have with their feelings, which is why so many psychotherapies are emotion focused. What, exactly, are emotions? Emotions are perceptual response sets, which means they are activated by an appraisal of an important event and orient the body, mind, and self-consciousness system to respond accordingly.

This means there is a physiological component to emotion , an experiential component and a narrative component .

Related: 12 Signs Youre Uncomfortable With Emotions and How To Accept Them

Emotions are centered in the domain of the mental. This gives rise to a second key point, which is that conflicts often arise between the mental and personal domains of ones lifeworld. Let me disclose a personal example. There was a period in my life when I had real problems processing sadness, such that I went almost 15 years without crying. As soon as I would start to feel sad, I would feel helpless and vulnerable in a way that was not consistent with how I wanted to see myself as a man.

Related: The Shortest Ultimate Guide To Dealing With Emotions

Read Also: Who Can I Talk To When I Feel Depressed

What To Do If You Are Depressed: A 15

If you are depressed, then you have hit the right page. Here is a detailed guide for folks who are depressed. The blog covers everything you need to understand and deal with your mental illness.

I often get letters from individuals who are depressed asking me what they should do. If you go on sites like WebMD, they will tell you that depression is a serious medical condition and that you should consult with your doctor. As such, I will assume you have already heard that piece of advice. Here, I attempt to offer folks something more.

What follows is a 15-stept blog series that I have developed to serve as a guide for folks who are feeling depressed or who think they might be and are wondering what to do about it. It is written mostly from a self-help perspective. You do not need to be in therapy . It is probably best suited for folks in the mild-to-moderate range of clinical depression and who have enough mental energy to read and think things through.

These are the guides for doing things differently in the areas:

  • Behavioral activation
  • Fostering healthy habits and lifestyles
  • Attending to your biology
  • Learning to engage in adaptive thinking
  • Developing a value-based philosophy of living

Although this blog series has many episodes, it does have a primary take-home message. It is as follows:

How does one find a path to positive investment? To guide the process we will be using the three As

Take Note Of All The Small Things You’ve Accomplished Today

“I write a ‘Did Do’ list of all the things I accomplish each day. Even just really basic things like ‘shower,’ ‘go to work,’ ‘put laundry in hamper,’ or ‘made bed.’ It really helps me being able to look at a list of things I did instead of beating myself up over things I couldn’t accomplish.”

Recommended Reading: Bible Verses For Loneliness And Depression

Find What Works For You

If these ideas arent working for you, start looking for something that is right for your situation and what you are feeling. Some strategies that might help inspire you on those days where you don’t feel like doing anything include:

  • Listing steps needed to achieve a goal

If youve tried these and other things and still feel lethargic and listless, it might be time to take a look at your symptoms and decide if the problem might be something more serious.

Keep A Thought Journal

Fight Depression and Burnout in 2 Minutes a Day: 3 Good Things Activity

During the moments when you are feeling lonely or depressed, write down your exact emotions and the reasons behind them. This can help in the following ways:

  • It can act as a release. Jotting down your thoughts and feelings can feel as though you are transferring them from your brain onto the piece of paper
  • Seeing your thoughts and feeling written down can help everything to seem a little more clear and manageable
  • A thought journal can help you to gain clarity as to why you have these strong emotions. You may start to see patterns or common triggers that cause you to feel lonely and depressed

Within your thought journal, also write about when you feel happy and connected. Then, as you become more aware of what causes you to think and behave positively, start doing even more of the activities that make you feel good.

Recommended Reading: How To Know If Depression Is Getting Worse

What If My Symptoms Dont Improve

If youre not responding to treatment, you may live with treatment resistant depression. This is when your symptoms have not improved after at least 2 standard treatments. This can also be known as treatment-refractory depression.

There is currently no official criteria used to diagnose treatment resistant depression.

What treatment is available for treatment-resistant depression?There are treatment options for treatment resistant depression. Even if antidepressants have not worked already for you, your doctor may suggest a different antidepressant from a different class.

The new antidepressant you are offered will depend on the first antidepressant you were given.

Sometimes your doctor can prescribe a second type of medication to go with your antidepressant. This can sometimes help the antidepressant work better than it does by itself.

Where antidepressants have not worked, your doctor may suggest talking therapies, ECT or brain stimulation treatments. See the previous section for more information on these.

What is an implanted vagus nerve stimulator, and how is it used in treatment resistant depression?If you live with treatment resistant depression, and youve not responded to other treatments, you may be able ask for an implanted vagus nerve stimulator.

Please speak to your doctor if youre interested in this treatment and for more information. You may be able to get this treatment funded through an Individual Funding Request.

  • NHS – Your Rights by clicking here.

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