Depression can feel inescapable. One can feel lonely and uninspired. It’s okay to feel down or to have a bad day, but if sadness is a weight that hasn’t lifted, it can feel like there’s no way out. Depression can be triggered by traumatic events or it can show up unannounced and drag down anything positive or good.
It’s best not to try to beat depression alone, frankly, because depression is dangerous. It’s likely the depressed person won’t just snap out of it, but with some work and a little change of perspective, one can push back. Overcoming depression won’t be easy, but it’s possible. Consider these pointers from Lucy Reed.
Self-care Can Be Healing
One of the more embarrassing things about depression is that the depressed person often doesn’t have the energy to take care of themselves. They don’t feel like being social, and they let the housework go. Soon they’d be too embarrassed to have anyone over anyway.
The depressed person can let themself go. They stay home and don’t go out. They stay in and don’t exercise or experience the sunshine. Now the depressed person feels self-conscious and may not even bathe, so that lack of self-care leads to more feelings of self-loathing and isolation.
Because their lives are often more isolated, and because it’s likely that people close to them have died, senior citizens are especially at risk for depression, even if they’d never suffered from depression when they were younger. Reach out to the older people in your life to check in with them, and if you don’t have any older people in your life, make it a habit to try to meet them. Sometimes turning the tide to prevent suicide is as easy as asking someone how they feel.
Help is Available
A good therapist can provide practical solutions to overcoming depression. If the housework seems insurmountable, a therapist might know a way to organize daily tasks so that a good balance of life can be reached. A therapist can help make sense of the feelings of despair to try to turn things around.
Get Moving
Other practical steps that can have good results are to implement a regular exercise routine, whether it’s biking, walking, jogging, or swimming doesn’t matter. Getting the blood pumping and breaking a sweat every once in a while can do wonders for lifting one out of depression. According to the Mayo Clinic, exercise eases the symptoms of depression. Exercise can raise self-esteem and promote good sleep. Yoga and meditation have also proven helpful as a way to practice positive thinking. However, if you decide to practice yoga and meditation in your home, ensure you have a neat, decluttered space available; clutter can actually cause spikes in anxiety and stress, so eliminate these problems beforehand.
As important as taking the first steps into an exercise routine is to keep at it. Most benefits kick in as time goes on, so motivation is a huge factor in not giving up. Find types of exercise you enjoy, and be sure to pair your smartphone or other device with a quality pair of headphones or earbuds. Models are available as noise-canceling headsets or earbuds that are Bluetooth-enabled, which is handy if you want to shed the cords and are able to pair up with other everyday systems you interact with, like your car’s communication system. Your favorite upbeat music or motivational podcast makes the workout go by a bit quicker.
Know the signs
Addiction and depression are often rooted in past trauma or deeper issues. It can help to have a counselor to work through the source of anxiety. If urgent help is needed, knowing the signs can save a life.
If you know someone who has undergone a personality change and has lost interest in things they once cared about, or they can’t seem to get out of bed, reach out to them. Do they ever research ways of committing suicide or say the world would be better off without them? It’s best to take such statements at face value and to suggest talking to a therapist.
Struggling with anxiety and depression can be overwhelming. If someone you know is more irritable or withdrawn, starting a conversation can help them find a way out.
Lucy Reed has been starting businesses since she was a kid, from the lemonade stand she opened in her parent’s driveway at age 10 to the dog walking business she started while in college. She created Gig Mine because she was inspired by the growth of the sharing economy and wanted to make it easier for entrepreneurial individuals like herself to find the gig opportunities in their areas.
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