#depressed #depression
#down
Despite being one of the most common mood disorders, depression is often overlooked. It’s not as simple as just being “sad”; depression affects people’s cognitive, emotional, behavioural, and physical functions. Treating it properly can have a drastic effect on overall wellbeing.
Fighting depression is tough! An insidious part of depression tricks us into thinking nothing will help. But there are small steps to help us feel more in control of both the illness itself and our lives.
Why do we become depressed?
Studies over the years have found that depression happens for several reasons including:
Psychological factors including learned helplessness or the belief we cannot control anything in our lives. Depression can cause feelings of self-blame and shame but it is very important to emphasise that depression is not your fault. It’s a mental illness, and just like catching the flu or a cold, we must nurture ourselves instead of drowning in anger and guilt.
Signs of depression
Those who suffer from depression experience persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness, often losing interest in activities they once enjoyed. Aside from emotional problems caused by depression, individuals can also present with physical symptoms such as chronic pain or digestive issues. These symptoms should not be attributed to another medical condition or substance use, and must cause clinically significant distress or impairment to daily/professional activities.
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013), an individual must be experiencing either:
As well as at least four other symptoms:
#happy #content #feelgood
Depression can be overcome! That is the first and most important thing to know. With the application of basic yet sometimes surprising strategies, you can be set free from feeling down and see the light again.
1. Speak to someone
Depression can be a lonely experience, but it doesn’t have to be that way. In these dark periods when we feel like withdrawing, staying connected is even more important. Speak to someone you can trust, and who can listen with an open mind (and heart). This could be a parent, guardian, friend, or a mentor. As social beings, we are receptive to others’ needs and pain, so be brave and open up to someone you trust.
We suggest speaking to a counsellor, therapist, or psychologist. These professionals are trained to help you identify and work through your distress and provide greater awareness of depression and define your ability to cope with it. Most often, clinicians will work through Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) with you. CBT helps with identifying beliefs, thoughts and feelings, and the behaviours that follow. This enables us to problem-solve, empowering to face depression head-on and its illusory barriers.
If you want to stay anonymous, there are also services a phone call away, where you could speak to trained professionals 24/7. They include:
2. Do things that make you feel good (or used to)
Emotional numbness is a common experience with depression sufferers, where we neither feel happy nor sad, but just empty. This can impact our hobbies and other passions, making them feel meaningless or no longer enjoyable. It can also demotivate us to do daily activities such as tending to personal hygiene and going to work, school or uni or see friends and family.
Although we cannot force ourselves to have fun or experience pleasure, we can nudge ourselves to do things that we don’t feel like. More often than not, our mood starts to improve. Doing something gives us the momentum to do more.
Dabble in a creative activity like cooking, painting or photography. Go for a walk outside or tend to a garden. Go somewhere new with friends and family. Doing something enjoyable is a great way to get yourself up on your feet again.
3. Do something for someone else
A 2003 study by psychologist Carolyn Schwartz and her colleagues revealed that altruistic acts improves one’s mental wellbeing. Often, people with depression feel helpless and unworthy, so doing even small acts of kindness for another feels meaningful and productive.
We don’t need to make a grand gesture; just helping someone open the door or wishing them a lovely day feels good. If you have a pet, caring for them can bring great joy and companionship to your life. It give us purpose when we aim to help others, and this is so important to victims of depression, who often feel they lack meaning.
4. Support your mental and physical wellbeing
Although you may feel tired or listless all the time, do some form of physical activity. Exercise increases serotonin, helping us stabilise our mood, and makes us feel happier and more energised.
It is also important to eat a clean and balanced diet. Avoid too much sugar, chemical preservatives and hormones (e.g. processed meat) and refined carbs (e.g. white bread, pasta, rice, potato chips and fries). Instead, increasing our intake of B vitamins, including leafy greens, citrus fruits, chicken, and eggs helps our brain with mood regulation.
Practicing mindfulness through meditation is a great way to centre ourselves and find peace from within. Start by going somewhere quiet. Focus on your breathing for 10 seconds while paying attention to your body. Without judging if they’re good or bad, try to describe the sensations. Doing so allows us to pay closer attention to the present moment and teaches us to feel without fear. Acknowledging the sensations in our body also gives us control over them, empowering us and our abilities to do the same in moments of stress, overwhelm, and sadness.
5. Challenge negative thoughts
When we recognise our unhelpful ways of thinking and challenge negative thoughts, we are actively taking control of our unhelpful cognitions.
Firstly, let’s review some debilitating and unrealistic ways of thinking (Morris et al., 2018):
When that negative voice appears, quickly stop it, and ask yourself these questions:
Depression can be fuelled by negative ways of thinking, making us feel helpless and unworthy. However, challenging the nature of what we think about ourselves, others, and the world, gives us a more objective and helpful way of approaching situations.
In conclusion
Depression is not your fault! But only you can decide how to cope with it. It’s a terrible illness, but one that can be controlled if we take an active approach to understanding our emotions and challenging negative perspectives, taking care of ourselves, and reaching out for help. Start your healing process today, because YOU are worth it!
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.).
Morris, S., Cranney, J., Baldwin, P., Mellish, L., & Kroch Malik, A. (2018). The Rubber Brain: A Toolkit for Optimising Your Study, Work, and Life! Bowen Hills: Australian Academic Press.
Schwartz, C., Meisenhelder, J. B., Ma, Y., & Reed, G. (2003). Altruistic social interest behaviors are associated with better mental health. Psychosomatic medicine, 65(5), 778–785.
#down #journalling
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
It’s only 9.12am. Milo, my cavoodle, woke me up for his morning walk. I can’t be bothered to go but no one else is home to take him. I woke up with that feeling again. That feeling of complete sadness that seems to keep taking over my brain. What is going on with me? I used to love going out and hanging with friends. Now, I can’t even be bothered to get out of bed… or brush my teeth and take a shower… ugh it’s all too much effort.
Milo kept annoying me to go out so I had to get up and take him for his walk. Sometimes it’s just easier to give Milo what he wants. I think he knows he can always get his way because he was pretty much walking me this morning. I guess he wanted to play in the sand because he took us around the corner to Maroubra beach. I sat at the beach in the sunshine while Milo chased the other dogs that were jumping around in the water. The sun feels good. Maybe it's the ocean breeze but being outside feels good too. Should I do something this afternoon? It’s the school holidays and I didn’t think to make any plans. What else could I do today? Maybe clean up my room? Aghh, no can’t be bothered doing that. I might call my friend Sophie to see what she’s doing. Oh no, that’s right, she’s away with her family for the school holiday. I guess I should think about what to have for lunch. Maybe I could make something easy like a salad? That’s a good idea. But I’m not sure if we have any lettuce at home. Maybe I could go to the shops on the way back? But then I would have to actually go into the shops, and I just can’t be bothered...
There’s so much I can do. But I don’t want to do any of it. I just want to go home and crawl back into bed. I’ve had my outing for the day. That’s enough.
At least this sunshine is making me feel better, and it’s good to get out of the house and watch Milo running around, wagging his tail. Watching Milo playing around always makes me smile, even when nothing else can...
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
Finally, it's 12.36pm. Lunchtime. I ended up coming home and sat on the couch for the last 3 hours, just scrolling through TikTok and YouTube videos. I don’t even know where the time has gone... It feels like it’s already been a week of holidays, but we are only on day two. I didn’t end up going to the shops and I don’t have anything good to eat at home, so I just ordered UberEats. I’m waiting for that to arrive so now I’m just writing down how I feel like the school counsellor suggested. How do I feel? I don’t know. Google search: “Prompts for journaling”.
Oh wait, lunch is here.
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
It’s 4.56pm. This afternoon I ended up watching Netflix, but I watched a David Attenborough documentary so at least that was something semi good for me… right? It was about how humans have taken over the world and how it impacts the animals and life on our planet. It was quite interesting given what’s happening in the world with climate change and everything. He said, “we need to learn how to work with nature rather than against it” and how we can do that. I liked watching the bright green colours of the trees on the screen and seeing the big whales in the enormous ocean. I would like to go whale watching one day. Maybe I could do it during the holidays. I will ask mum if we can go. Yeah, I would like that.
MaxiMinds is not an emergency mental health service. If you or someone you know are in urgent need of help, please present to the emergency department at your nearest hospital or contact the following mental health crisis teams.
Emergency 000 | Mental Health Line 1800 011 511 | Lifeline 13 14 11