Mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety affect many across the country. Get your life back with these tips.
Mental illnesses such as depression and
anxiety affect many across the country.
Major depression, or depressive order, is more than just a quick response to grief or discouragement. It is a medical condition that disorients your mood and brings overwhelming sadness, lack of interest in things you used to enjoy, and low energy—about
6.7% of American adults battle with this mood disorder over the last couple of years.
However, you can overcome it with the right strategies, treatments, and support networks. So how can you beat depression and win your life back? Here are a few tips to consider.
Create A Wellness Toolbox
A wellness toolbox is a list (wellness toolbox) of activities (tools) that would uplift your spirits when you’re in a tough mental space. Watching a movie, reading a book, taking a bath, or listening to music are a few activities you can include in your wellness box.
You can also add the tool of reminiscing of happier moments. Apps such as
ForKeeps, make it easier for you to create a digital album to keep all your more joyful moments in one place.
Since what may work for someone may not work for you, do not copy the wellness tools. Instead, consider what makes you happy and put it on the list.
Keep A Reliable Support Network
Strong social support is an effective way of overcoming depression. For many, friends and family are the support, they need. Your support system offers you the positivity, zeal, and love you can’t seem to find yourself during such a difficult time.
For others, such support comes from support groups for people battling depression. Knowing you are not alone and being around people trying to grow out of this state can encourage you to beat the condition.
Therefore, try to be more interactive when you feel depressed and try not to isolate yourself as this only keeps depression lingering around longer than desired.
Struggling with your own support network? Maybe it's time to try counseling.
Find a counselor who can help you learn skills and overcome your depression.
Eat Well & Exercise To Fight Depression
When they say “you are what you eat,” they mean both physically and mentally.
Depression affects your appetite, causing you to eat way less or more than is required. Likewise, improving your
eating habits and diet can prevent and treat mental illnesses. The lack of certain nutrients like zinc has been known to increase the symptoms of depression. Therefore, by ensuring you have a balanced healthy meal, you feed your brain the proper nutrients to boost energy and regulate your mood.
Regular exercise creates the same effect. When you exercise, despite the strong urges not to, your body releases hormones that help alleviate symptoms of depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses. So, take time to follow a workout routine, go for a 30-minute walk or a short distance jog to help you feel better.
Following these tips doesn’t mean you should put aside antidepressants or any prescribed medication. It is also important to remember that although you can overcome depression, it doesn’t happen overnight. However, by using these tips regularly, you are sure to be victorious over this mood disorder.
This post was written as a collaborative post. Collaborative articles are written by another party who may or may not wish to be anonymous. Further, all posts are edited and formatted by Elizabeth Ghekiere. Want to guest post for ElizabethJournals? Learn more here.
