How Movies Help Your Mental Health
Films have the power of escapism. A good flick can walk us back through history, drop us in the center of a thrilling adventure, or catapult us forward in time to another dimension. And for those hours were engrossedreal-life burdens melt away and we become totally transported.
For people battling the blues, films can provide an outlet for their thoughts and feelingsat least for a little while. When we are feeling depressed, inspiring movies can serve as a kind of timeout from the way we are feeling, says Howard Pratt, DO, behavioral health medical director at Community Health of South Florida, Inc. . In those couple of hours, the right film can , he says. Films show us different perspectives and lives different from our own. In this way, a movies story gives us access to experiences and emotions that can help us feel better.
A good movie can also distract us from emotional pain or give us a place to put our unshed tears. When you are dealing with issues or mental health struggles, immersing yourself in another world and focusing on the characters, plotline, and story can help you forget about your own issueseven if only temporarily, says Holly Schiff, PsyD, licensed clinical psychologist at Jewish Family Services of Greenwich, Connecticut.
If Depression Were A Monster By Bfmp Presented By Buzzfeedyellow
A short film without words, this videos light take on a heavy subject is powerful and poignant. A plush, life-sized monster representing depression follows a young woman through a day in her life, illustrating what it can feel like to live with the burden of this diagnosis. Walking down the street, trying to be present in social situations, and spending time home alone, the personified monster of mental illness co-stars in this unique depression video.
Do The Opposite Of What The Depression Voice Suggests
The automatic, unhelpful voice in your head may talk you out of self-help. However, if you can learn to recognize it, you can learn to work through it.
If you believe an event wont be fun or worth your time, say to yourself, You might be right, but itll be better than just sitting here another night. You may soon see the automatic thought isnt always helpful.
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A Charlie Brown Christmas Available On Apple Tv
The animated film is about a little boy, Charlie Brown, who is depressed during the Christmas season. How often we forget, during the holidays, that many of us share low moods precisely during a season that is all about good cheer, Dr. Pratt says. To empathize with Charlie is to empathize with our own mixed feelings about the holidays and hopefully that takes some of the pressure off, easing some of our gloom and any complicated feelings we might have about the holidays or any other moments when we are expected to be happy and may not be.
Tip : Get A Daily Dose Of Sunlight
Sunlight can help boost serotonin levels and improve your mood. Whenever possible, get outside during daylight hours and expose yourself to the sun for at least 15 minutes a day. Remove sunglasses and use sunscreen as needed.
- Take a walk on your lunch break, have your coffee outside, enjoy an al fresco meal, or spend time gardening.
- Double up on the benefits of sunlight by exercising outside. Try hiking, walking in a local park, or playing golf or tennis with a friend.
- Increase the amount of natural light in your home and workplace by opening blinds and drapes and sitting near windows.
- If you live somewhere with little winter sunshine, try using a light therapy box.
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How To Reach Out For Depression Support
Look for support from people who make you feel safe and cared for. The person you talk to doesnt have to be able to fix you they just need to be a good listenersomeone wholl listen attentively and compassionately without being distracted or judging you.
Make face-time a priority. Phone calls, social media, and texting are great ways to stay in touch, but they dont replace good old-fashioned in-person quality time. The simple act of talking to someone face to face about how you feel can play a big role in relieving depression and keeping it away.
Try to keep up with social activities even if you dont feel like it. Often when youre depressed, it feels more comfortable to retreat into your shell, but being around other people will make you feel less depressed.
Find ways to support others. Its nice to receive support, but research shows you get an even bigger mood boost from providing support yourself. So find waysboth big and smallto help others: volunteer, be a listening ear for a friend, do something nice for somebody.
Care for a pet. While nothing can replace the human connection, pets can bring joy and companionship into your life and help you feel less isolated. Caring for a pet can also get you outside of yourself and give you a sense of being neededboth powerful antidotes to depression.
10 tips for staying connected
Or Spend Time With Loved Ones
Depression can tempt you to isolate yourself and withdraw from people you love and trust, but face-to-face time can help wash away those tendencies.
If youre unable to spend time together in person, phone calls or video chats can also be helpful.
Try to remind yourself these people care about you. Resist the temptation to feel like youre a burden. You need the interaction and they likely do, too.
Research has shown that keeping a journal can be a beneficial add-on method for managing mental health conditions.
Writing down your thoughts can help you express what youre feeling more clearly. It can also help you keep track of what symptoms youre having each day and identify what causes them.
You can make a goal to write for a few minutes each day or week. Most importantly, what you want to write about is completely up to you.
When you do the same thing day after day, you use the same parts of your brain.
Research shows doing new things can feel rewarding improve your overall well-being and strengthen your social relationships.
To reap these benefits, consider trying a new sport, taking a creative class, or learning a new cooking technique.
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Video Blog: Coping With Depression
Mandy has been working in the mental health field for more than eight years and has worked with a diverse group of clients. These range…Read More
This video blog offers suggestions to help cope with low mood disorders as well as tips on how to alleviate the symptoms of mild/moderate depression.
Video Games May Expand Access To Care
In addition to uncovering therapeutic benefits of commercial video games, the report also found that these games could help deliver mental health support where its most needed.
The authors note that playing video games is already popular among people age 18 to 54, who also tend to face high rates of mental health issues. As acceptance of the emotional benefits of video games grows, it could help break down stigmas against both gaming and mental illnesses.
We need to stop inaccurately stereotyping gamers and acknowledge that we are all gamers now, says Platt. In much the same way that other media, like books, television, and movies, were not taken seriously when first introduced, society needs to accept video games as a legitimate media that can actually improve the lives of those who engage.
Access to video games is also free of many of the barriers that prevent people from getting traditional mental health care.
Video games could offer greater access to adjunctive therapeutic intervention as they can be played at home and at any time, as opposed to traditional care, which typically occurs less frequently and can be prohibitively expensive, explains Michael L. Birnbaum, MD, assistant professor at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research and program director of the early treatment program at Northwell Healths behavioral health services.
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Ways To Help A Friend With Depression
Friendships are important in any aspect of life, whether you’re going through mental illness or not friends are so great to have with you through the rough times. I know when I was going through my depression having a friend there to support me was something that helped me through my recovery.
So you’re either watching this video because you want your friend to support you or you are a friend to someone who has depression, and you’re wondering, how can I support them? I’m going to be talking about eight ways to support a friend through depression.
Know That Today Isnt Indicative Of Tomorrow
Internal emotions and thoughts can change from day to day. Tracking experiences through journaling or keeping a mood diary can help to remember this.
If you were unsuccessful at getting out of bed or accomplishing your goals today, remember that you havent lost tomorrows opportunity to try again.
Give yourself the grace to accept that while some days will be difficult, some days will also be less difficult. Try to look forward to tomorrows fresh start.
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Why Its Okay To Be Depressed
This video is an entertaining yet serious look at the physical effects of depression. By understanding why you feel depressed, you will be able to better accept that it is OK to feel that way. It also educates on why you cant just snap out of it and why sometimes medication is necessary to balance the chemicals in your brain. It also gives some practical tips to help when you are having a depressive episode.
How Can Online Help For Depression Benefit Mental Health
As noted, online therapy for depression can benefit peoples overall mental health just as much as in-person therapy. It can give you tools to help you cope better with symptoms to help lessen the impact of depression on your day-to-day life. However, if you have severe depression and feel it isnt being managed well via therapy and/or medication, you may need to try something more comprehensive, like in-patient treatment at a mental health center. Some mental health conditions, such as bipolar depression, respond best with in-person interventions.
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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.
Depression Movies And Videos You Have To See
Imagine watching depression movies as a form of therapy. When youre living with major depression, watching films about this often-debilitating illness just might help you. Far from keeping you mired in despair, depression movies can be a tool to help you through. Known as movie therapy, cinematherapy, or film therapy, experiencing videos about depression is an active, and often enjoyable, way to deal with your illness. Heres a look at movie therapy and a list of depression movies and videos that are must-sees.
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Coping With Depression Tip : Reach Out And Stay Connected
Getting support plays an essential role in overcoming depression. On your own, it can be difficult to maintain a healthy perspective and sustain the effort required to beat depression. At the same time, the very nature of depression makes it difficult to reach out for help. When youre depressed, the tendency is to withdraw and isolate so that connecting to even close family members and friends can be tough.
You may feel too exhausted to talk, ashamed at your situation, or guilty for neglecting certain relationships. But this is just the depression talking. Staying connected to other people and taking part in social activities will make a world of difference in your mood and outlook. Reaching out is not a sign of weakness and it wont mean youre a burden to others. Your loved ones care about you and want to help. And if you dont feel that you have anyone to turn to, its never too late to build new friendships and improve your support network.
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Create A Peace Corner
A peace corner is easy to set up and can be a place to go in your own home that relaxes you when you need a break. Its purpose is to provide a peaceful zone filled with things that bring you positivity.
Inspired by the Montessori method of teaching, peace corners arent just for kids they can be whatever you want them to be.
Find an area of your home you can fill with comforting items such as plants, stress balls, soft pillows, a yoga mat, candles, and books. You can spend time there each day or just when youre having a hard time managing your depression symptoms.
boost levels of serotonin , a neurotransmitter in the brain that regulates mood. If your serotonin levels arent where they should be, you can experience symptoms of depression.
Be sure to check in with a mental health professional about whether a lightbox is suitable for you.
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Cinema Therapy: Is It Really A Thing
Anyone who has ever experienced a change of heart or perspective after watching a movie can attest to their ability to influence the way we think about lifes dilemmas. Some therapists even use cinema therapy to help their patients explore their own psyches and as a catalyst for the therapeutic process.
Birgit Wolz, PhD, MFT, a mostly-retired therapist in California used cinema therapy with some of her clients. She developed a cinema therapy course for therapists and wrote reviews of some movies used for this purpose. In one review about the movie Lars and the Real Girl , she wrote that emotional responses to movie scenes or characters can help clients to understand themselves better. When certain movies resonate with clients, they touch into a preconscious or unconscious part of their psyche. A film may move them deeply. A character or a scene might also upset them intensely. Understanding their emotional responses to moviescan serve as a window to their unconscious.
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Depression Videos That Will Help You Feel Happy And Hopeful
These informative depression videos will truly help you to overcome depression and plan the next step in your healing process
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Dealing With The Winter Blues
For some people, the reduced daylight hours of winter lead to a form of depression known as seasonal affective disorder . SAD can make you feel like a completely different person to who you are in the summer: hopeless, sad, tense, or stressed, with no interest in friends or activities you normally love. No matter how hopeless you feel, though, there are plenty of things you can do to keep your mood stable throughout the year.
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