Eight Ways of Handling Depression
Clinical depression is surprisingly prevalent, affecting approximately 1 in 5 Americans at some point in their lives. Depression can have a lot of detrimental effects on individuals. These problems include lethargy, isolation, difficulty with concentration, irritability, lack of confidence, suicidal thoughts, and changes in appetite and sleep. Thankfully, there are a variety of helpful approaches for overcoming depression. Below is a list of techniques that work.
#1: Track Your Moods
As simple as it sounds, keeping a daily mood tracker (there are free apps for doing this) is a great way to stay in touch with how your mood is doing day-to-day, and to make needed adjustments. The truth is that just tracking alone (whether it be our mood or other things) motivates us to make needed changes. Also, it’s easy to ignore our moods when they aren’t at any particular extreme. By checking in with ourselves more regularly, it’s easier to catch mood shifts sooner, making it easier to cope.
#2: Track Your Behaviors
How we spend our time matters a great deal to how we feel. Unfortunately, the way that depression wants us to spend our time is alone, inactive, replaying things over and over in our minds, and taking to vices, like unhealthy eating and substance use. Over time, these activities drive us further in the wrong direction. By tracking how we are spending our time (hour-by-hour ideally) and how this impacts our mood, we learn a lot of important information. This includes: how our actions affect our mood; whether there are times in the week or day that we are most prone to sadness; and whether there are certain people or situations that improve or hurt it. Not only will taking an honest inventory of our actions and moods naturally motivate us to change, taking a careful look at these tracking results provides enhanced insight into ourselves.
#3: Exercise
I get it. When you’re feeling down, the last thing that you probably want to do is go for a jog. It can take a ton of willpower to do so, but the benefits are often so very worth it. Exercise releases endorphins, increases energy, improves sleep, and gives us a sense of accomplishment. It is outstanding for combating depression and preventing it from recurring. The benefits that come from exercise can last for hours. And you don’t need to join a gym! Just walking or riding a bike can accomplish this just fine.
#4: Sleep Enough But Not Too Much
Depression can affect sleep in one of two ways: insomnia (sleeping too little) or hypersomnia (sleeping too much). Both leave us tired and disinterested in doing much. Practicing good sleep hygiene (getting exercise, limiting caffeine, limiting alcohol, avoiding naps, and getting to bed on time) can help a lot with insomnia. In cases where these practices don’t help enough, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia remains a great option. For those individuals struggling with hypersomnia, keeping consistent sleep and wake times is especially important, with eight hours of sleep per night being the goal.
#5: Spend More Time with Others
Perhaps the single greatest tool for preventing and reducing depression is other people. Quality social support from supportive, caring individuals is incredibly psychologically beneficial. It’s so powerful that it has been shown to prevent the development of PTSD in trauma-exposed persons. For a variety of reasons, depression wants us to isolate. Perhaps due to lack of energy or fear of burdening others, it’s tempting to want to keep to ourselves. Fighting against this urge by calling a friend or making plans is a great coping tool. It’s also useful for helping us get out of our heads (socialization helps us to stop ruminating – something people tend to do when depressed and alone) and instead experience a sense of connectedness and support.
#6: Practice Mindfulness and Gratitude
Mindfulness meditation is easier to practice than ever. Great apps, like Insight Timer, make it easy to engage in well-designed, guided meditations that ground us and improve our mental health. Regular mindfulness practice, especially when complimented with gratitude exercises, helps reduce and prevent the occurrence of depression. It also lessens anxiety, makes us more aware of our emotional needs, and improves focus. If you’re looking for somethings to read on the subject, Peace is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh is a great introduction.
#7: Challenge Damaging Thoughts
A famous psychologist, Aaron Beck, once theorized that depression causes us to have overly negative and pessimistic views of ourselves, our futures, and our environments. Specifically, depression wants us to believe that we’re inadequate, that things can’t improve, and that we simply can’t keep up with all the demands that our lives continue to thrust upon us. Beck realized that depression biases our thinking in various predictable ways, and he and others developed a set of tools for helping people notice and challenge negative beliefs (rather than letting them run unchecked). Cognitive therapy is not about unbridled positivity and rainbows. Rather, it’s about sucking out emotional bias and being honest with ourselves. In the case of depression, this often leaves people with the realization that they’re so much better, stronger, and resilient than they give themselves credit for. Although one-on-one therapy is usually the best way to receive cognitive therapy, there are excellent self-guided, cognitive-behavioral workbooks available. As one example, check out The CBT Workbook for Mental Health by Simon Rego, PsyD.
#8: Consider Medications
Lastly, it can be very important for some individuals to consider complementing these and other strategies (including professional therapy) with medication management. Depression has a strong genetic component to it. In fact, genes likely contribute as much to the development of depression as they do to schizophrenia. If you have a family history of depression, or if you have struggled with it for years, medication is something to consider. Trying it isn’t a lifelong commitment either. Clients can simply take it one step at a time when considering if medications are helpful and reverse course if they are not.
It goes without saying that depression isn’t something to try to battle alone! Engaging the services of a therapist trained in evidence-based mood treatments is vital. As a Cincinnati area therapist, I am aware of local resources that are helpful to those in Cincinnati struggling with ongoing mood issues. I also provide a variety of evidence-based treatment approaches. Please consider scheduling a free phone consultation today to talk more about the options that are right for you!