5 Must-Knows for Those Seeking Help with Depression

By Carl Clark

You need not suffer from a terrible loss to enter a state of depression. As a matter of fact, the cause of depression is subjective. What could seem to one like a silly reason for depression may be regarded by another as something serious. Saying so, the reasons as to why people get depressed can practically be anything that can cause a certain individual emotional pain. Some of the most common reasons are the following: a broken family, financial difficulties, breakup with boyfriend or girlfriend, a fight between best buddies, death of a loved one, bad grades, being incapable of meeting expectations of family, insecurity, and being bullied by classmates. If you are among those who need help with depression right now, continue reading for there is help for you.

First, you must nurture supportive relationships. While you might feel that reaching out to your family, relatives or friends, even those who are really close to you, is embarrassing, do not forget that they love you, care for you and want to help you feel better. Share to them what you are going through. You will be surprised at how much comfort you can feel by just having someone there who will sincerely listen. Remember that you really need help with depression. Do not be ashamed to ask for their advice. This is the time when you really need some support.

Next to cultivating supportive relationships, you must also cultivate yourself. Do not neglect your responsibility to yourself. This may not be easy, since it is natural for a depressed person to forget everything else except the depression itself, but loving yourself may actually contribute considerably to the help with depression you are after. Forcing yourself to be happy with something will never be possible so why keep on trying to force yourself when you could GENUINELY be happy? Yes, it is possible for a depressed individual to be happy if he or she would do something that he or she sincerely loves. Do YOUR thing. Play the piano. Read detective stories. Paint and experiment with colors. Bake some lasagna. Go shopping. Go out with your BFFs and dance the night away. Fill in your schedule with as much fun activities as you can. If you do not find any motivation to go out, push yourself instead. Once you are out there in the open and has gotten some fresh air while seeing your friends supportive faces, you might forget why you were depressed in the first place.

Third, even if physical activity may be the last thing you would feel like doing when you are depressed, find and make time for exercise. Research has shown that regular exercise caused the energy levels of individuals who needed help with depression to increase and their feelings of fatigue lessen as how they would if antidepressants were taken. Of course, do not overdo it. Exercise but begin small and be progressive slowly.

Fourth, eat a healthy and hearty meal. Your diet has a direct impact on your feelings. A good diet is one with a balanced amount of foods under the go, grow and glow categories. Also, keep in mind that breakfast is the most important meal because this is where you get the energy for the day. Make sure to eat well during this time. It would be best to not skip meals too. Ideally, you should eat every four hours. Avoid comfort foods. This may provide temporary consolation but afterwards, the melancholy will just come back in addition to a crash in energy and mood. They can only help with depression for so long.

And fifth, challenge your negative thoughts. When you are depressed, everything would just seem negative"the possible things that could happen in the future, the way you see yourself, the way you think about problems, the situations you come across with, and your expectations in life. Of course, happy thoughts will not do the trick. Just thinking of happy thoughts is not enough. Instead, replace your negative thinking with a more balanced one. For example, think of more realistic and less harsh statements. Then, put a positive for each negative. For example, your parents did not allow you to a sleepover at a friends house. Think something like My parents love me very much that they want to ensure my safety. Also, socialize with optimistic people. Realize how much hope and optimism they have in even the most simple of things. Even if it may seem difficult, try to adopt this optimism. - 30309

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