If you are feeling depressed and it is becoming difficult for you to hold on and drag yourself through the days with a burden weighing down on your chest, I would suggest you take a deep breath and continue reading this article.
Depression is a condition which disrupts your mental health to the point where you do not feel like doing even your favorite activities, you lose interest in everything, and are left dried and drained. According to the survey of the CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION, the second-biggest reason behind the death of people between the age of 14-35 is suicide caused by depression.
SYMPTOMS OF DEPRESSION
It is very important to know about the symptoms before proceeding on to dealing with it in a better way. Here are some warning signs which you need to recognize to get better clarity about your mental health.
1) Disrupted sleeping patterns. In some cases, you oversleep, while in some other cases you suffer from an extreme lack of sleep, which often turns to insomnia.
2) Tiredness and fatigue become your constant company.
3) You start to feel worthless and helpless, the fear of missing out, and the feeling of belonging nowhere engulfs you from all sides.
4) Suicidal thoughts start creeping into your mind and you get on the verge of giving up.
5) Changes in your weight become noticeable.
A hike in these symptoms may bring about serious consequences. If anyone of you is fighting with these symptoms, you are not alone in this battle, and your life matters.
CAUSES OF DEPRESSION
Causes of depression vary from person to person and from situational incidents to biological reactions. Let’s dive into the sole causes of Depression:
1) Traumatic past–
If you have experienced something traumatic and distressing in past, it is more likely that it ghosts you every day and shadows your life, causing depression.
2) Structural pattern of the brain-
based on the assumptions and experiments of scientists they have found out that people whose frontal lobe of the brain is not much active, are prone to depression.
3) Stressful circumstances–
Excessive stress can cause you depression. The reason for stress can be an overload of work and your failure to keep up with personal and professional commitments.
4) Family problems:
If you are facing family problems and disputes, you are not getting a healthy environment to live in. In this case, depression has a chance to thrive more.
Even if grief retreat feels hard, it is not impossible to improve your life. The mental retreat is the most important thing to care for, especially in the most vulnerable times like depression. There are many effective depression treatment retreats available at your disposal, you just need to push yourself to get acquainted with those options.
10 EFFECTIVE TIPS FOR DEALING WITH YOUR DEPRESSION
1) Indulge in Psychotherapy:
You need to indulge in psychotherapy because the experienced professionals will help you figure out the symptoms and the shortcomings and will introduce to you more effective ways to get past the issues.
Psychological retreats have been proven to curb depression and in reducing the future chances of being depressed, as well.
2) Engage in mindfulness practices:
Mindfulness helps you to focus on the present by increasing your concentration and patience level. Among others, few of the best Mindfulness practices are –
• Meditation, where you just focus on your breathing, and eventually every restless thought in your mind comes to a halt.
• Reading books can help you increase your patience and will give you a deeper insight into various subjects in this world.
3. Do consistent work-out:
While exercising, your body releases endorphins which result in the feeling of well-being. Exercise is very useful in reducing anxiety and stress. It improves our physical health condition by strengthing your heart, keeping the blood pressure in control, helping to maintain a healthy weight. Psychologists have evidence that consistent work-out cured mild to moderate depression.
4. Adopt healthy food habits:
Healthy food habits contribute to maintaining good mental health. While preparing your food make sure to add nutrient-rich foods to it. Proper nutrition is effective in defeating depression symptoms. Cut out excess of caffeine from your consumption list and add lighter, antioxidant, carbohydrate, and vitamins rich meals and beverages.
5. Improve your social connections:
When you isolate yourself from everyone, the depression thrives in that situation. To get rid of that pain, you need to put a little effort to come out of your shell and talk to your friends or other fellow strugglers. You don’t always need someone to give you advice, you also need someone who would listen to you patiently. When you will open up in front of others, you will realize that you are not alone on this journey.
6. Work on your sleep schedule:
Major sleep disturbances can result in heightened effects of depression, so it is very important to work on your sleep hygiene. Try to improve your sleep both qualitatively and quantitatively. You can do it by listening to calming music before sleep, using low light to read, or keeping all the electronic devices aside, one hour before going to sleep.
7. Do what you loved to do the most:
Over time if you lost interest in your favorite activities, you should try to get back to it again. Don’t force but push yourself to pursue your long lost hobby for at least 15 minutes a day, you will feel a wave of soothing washing over you after finishing that.
8. Spend time in self-retrospection:
One of the most preferable ways of dealing with depression is to spend time in self-retrospection, where you keep track of your activities and your progress towards mental well-being. Journaling your thought is the best way to do it where you come face-to-face with your shortcomings and you strive harder to overcome it.
9. Ask for help when required:
Whenever suicidal thoughts cross your mind, it is necessary to call your closed ones or your therapist and talk to them candidly about what you are feeling. You need to pour your heart out to someone when you feel overwhelming.
10. Strictly avoid substance abuse:
Alcohol and usage of drugs make a severe impact on the mental health of a person. People may turn to their addictions to temporarily get relief from their troubles but with time it worsens the signs of depression and exacerbates it. So, it is recommended to keep oneself away from the resort of substance abuse.
If you are suffering from depression, I wish you find all the strength to get out of this phase soon. Start implementing these tips to make a better living for yourself in these tough times. Make sure to reach out for help whenever it gets too hard for you to endure.
