Fighting Depression

These are many ways to help fight depression from books, articles, and from my own personal experience. So you can feel your best, by creating routines, adding exercise to your day, journaling, and most importantly having compassion for yourself.

Transcript

Hey loves,

I'm super excited to cover this topic today.

So a lot of these are going to be my own personal experience and or from articles and books that I've read.

So hopefully it can help in some way.

So for starters,

Learn about depression and know that it can present itself in so many different ways.

And once you've had depression,

You're more prone to having it again.

And 16.

2 million adults in the US or 6.

7 of Americans have at least one major depressive episode in a given year.

That's a lot.

So if we're able to release the stigma of it,

Then we're able to talk about it and share our experiences and practices and overcome it and also accept it.

Thinking about it,

There's so many different ways that it forms and some ways it can be fatigue,

It can be agitation,

It can be abnormal sleeping patterns.

When I was reading about it for this talk,

I came across a lot of facts that I,

I mean,

Again,

I had an idea that I had depression at one point or another,

But I guess I didn't put the pieces together like this is depression.

And if I did,

I felt like I could overcome it quicker,

But there's also that level of awareness and wanting to improve.

So I felt like now I really wanted to improve.

I wanted to get better.

So I think it's really important to note that negative self-talk can happen pretty easily when we're experiencing depression.

But it's really important to remember that small steps result into big impacts.

And also remember that today doesn't define your tomorrow as well as who you once were doesn't define who you are today.

So just remember that.

I think every little bit of positivity helps you during these hard,

Depressive moods.

Moving on,

Keeping a journal.

If you have down days,

You're able to let it go constructively.

Reading a book on depression called Unstuck talks a lot about how journaling is so important.

And you can just write about your day,

But it's really important and advice to write,

Even if it's,

I have nothing to say,

But write every day.

I think it's like 10 minutes or 15 minutes a day or even less,

But just writing,

Even if it's simple,

It's a really great way to connect to yourself.

And it also just helps to identify what you need.

And another thing I do is talking things out by recording them.

So for me,

I have been recording my journey of overcoming my issues.

And I kind of want a way to kind of look back on or have breadcrumbs if I ever find myself in a dark place that I can look back on and recover again.

But it also just kind of reminds me of like counseling and therapy as a way to just talk things out.

Having like a 30 minute session of you recording,

Organizing your thoughts through talk is really helpful.

Having talking your thoughts out instead of them being stuck in your head is really helpful because I know for me,

Like I'm not my thoughts and yeah,

I don't always express myself perfectly,

But for me,

Like I'm able to identify who I am by talking versus being stuck in my head,

You know?

So I feel like that has really helped me as well.

So again,

Journaling,

If not recording.

So do the opposite of what the depression voice suggests.

Life self talk is a huge thing and it's important to replace them and redirect them with loving kindness and compassion and love.

Even with positive affirmations and mantras as well.

Another one is self attainable goals.

So for example,

If you need to clean your whole house,

Just take out the garbage or clean your room.

If you need to do the laundry,

Just sort out the different colors.

And don't check all of your emails and texts in one sitting,

But just kind of go through the important ones.

And an example of my own experience yesterday was,

I usually have like a lot of goals these days because I'm trying to get into a program.

So I felt very unmotivated yesterday and I felt like the weight of everything I needed to do kind of really took over me,

But I kind of accepted it and kind of approached myself with kindness and compassion and I was like,

Okay,

So today I'm having a hard day.

That's okay.

And I decided that I'm just going to go with my daily routines,

Which is yoga and meditation is like my core things I do daily.

So I was like,

I'm just going to do those.

And I did do those.

And I did a really good long yoga session,

Which I don't do usually.

So that was awesome.

And yeah,

It was a good day overall because I think when you're able to accept it,

You're just kind of able to move on from it.

And if you're able to do more,

You're always surprised and excited about it,

You know?

So another one is reward your efforts and achievements.

This is something I need to do more.

I feel like we all need to do more.

Just think about the moments when someone kind of acknowledges your achievements and goals,

Like how good you feel.

So just remember that we need to acknowledge our own accomplishments.

And you can do this by writing them down or you can just reward yourself by watching one of your favorite movies or shows or just by having your favorite snack.

Or you can also just do something special for yourself.

So another point is creating a routine.

So focus on creating a loose but structured routine.

I think this is super important but kind of goes back to the point where,

You know,

Having too many things in a day can be overwhelming.

But if you're able to do your main routines,

You can feel accomplished in that way.

But also know that,

You know,

They're not set in stone.

So if you miss a day of yoga,

It's okay.

So do something you enjoy.

Meditation can push you into a fatigue.

But try to push back and do something you love.

For example,

Playing an instrument,

Painting,

Hiking,

Something that can really relax and energize your soul.

Listen to music.

This is something that,

Although it's very popular,

I feel like really listening and taking time to relax and unwind with listening is kind of underrated.

At least I think so.

But research shows that music can be a great way to boost your mood and improve your depression symptoms.

It can also strengthen positive emotions.

And music can also be a powerful tool to set the mood and it can also help you break into a dance,

Which I think is also really important.

We'll come back to that.

Another point is spending time in nature.

Other nature has a powerful influence on depression.

Research suggests that people who spend time in nature have an improved mental health.

Also exposure to sunlight can offer benefit that increase serotonin levels,

Which can improve temporary mood boost.

So yeah,

You can just take a walk outside,

Go to the park,

Just reconnect to nature in any way that you can.

I know for me,

Like,

It's so helpful.

Being stuck inside to some degree can make you go crazy.

But when you go outside,

It really makes you feel like you can breathe again.

Like you're not all your thoughts.

It's really nice.

I totally recommend it.

I recommend meditating out there,

Doing yoga,

Even having breakfast or lunch outside.

Especially right now in the US,

It's summertime.

You know,

Take advantage of that sun.

It is really nice to be in the sun to feel like sun kissed.

It's super powerful.

Another point is spend time with loved ones.

So depression can be very isolating and negative self-talk can be so powerful.

But it's important to remember that our loved ones love us and would love our company.

You know,

Sometimes we can get in our heads how we're a burden.

But remember that people love us and they would enjoy having us around.

And you know,

It's human nature to connect to one another.

And sometimes it can be hard to want to do things with people.

So just remember,

You know,

When you have depression,

You don't want to go out or see people.

But remember the feeling of how it is when you are with them.

How warm and comfortable it is with familiar faces and just connecting with people.

So just think about that and that can help you,

You know,

Get out more,

You know.

So we have try new things.

So when we do the same things,

We're not really challenging our brain.

However,

When we do do something new,

We're altering our brain chemistry by doing something entirely different.

So research shows trying new things can improve overall well-being and strengthen your social relationships as well.

So yeah,

And again,

I think it's really important to have a balance of routines as well as doing something new or spontaneous,

You know.

I think that's really the key to joy and happiness.

Practice gratitude.

Research shows gratitude can have long lasting positive effects on the overall health.

In ways we can be grateful is by,

You know,

In the moment just acknowledging how thankful we are but also writing them down and,

You know,

Writing notes to people that mean a lot to us and just expressing that love to others.

Though another point is meditation.

It's important to know that it can decrease stress,

Anxiety and depression and relaxation techniques can help lower stress and invite more joy and balance into your daily life.

Research shows that meditation,

Yoga and deep breathing as well as journaling can improve your sense of well-being as well as make you more connected to what's happening around you.

So super important.

So if you don't do meditation,

Which I think is so important of a way to relax yourself,

But if you don't do that you can also just do other ways of spending time to relax.

And this can be by reading a book,

Taking a bath,

Watching a movie,

Gardening,

Going outside,

Having a massage or acupuncture as well as practicing mindfulness,

Music therapy.

These are all ways to connect the body and mind which I think is so,

So important.

So another point is paying attention to what you're eating.

So we all know how important this is and we're told so many things.

But I think overall it's really important to have water daily as well as a good balance of grains,

Protein,

Fruit and vegetables and anything else.

And then we have exercise.

This is a powerful depression fighter.

It shows that for some people exercise can be as effective as medication and it may help also prevent future depressive episodes.

And it's important to have a balanced exercise routine weekly if not daily.

And it can even be as simple as walking daily.

Another point is getting around eight hours of sleep.

So not too much sleep or too less sleep because both can worsen depression.

So I think it's really important to have a sleep schedule where you're going to bed and waking up at a certain time.

It really helps with your daily schedule.

It helps to balance and energize you throughout your day.

And from my experience this has been a huge helpful thing for me.

You know with quarantine it's just easy to slip into a really messy sleep and wake up schedule.

And I would have this routine or pattern of kind of never getting my goals done and never being satisfied and negative self-talk because of that and becoming unmotivated because of that.

So yeah,

I would wake up like 11,

12 and sometimes even one.

And it takes me some time to actually wake up and want to work.

So I would sometimes work at like 8 p.

M.

Which you know if I'm trying to go to bed early I'm not going to get the things I want to get done.

So that would make me really annoyed.

And then it would just kind of happen every day.

And throughout the day I would develop kind of like this negative self-talk and anxiety because I wasn't able to get all I wanted to get done.

So I started to goal to wake up 10 a.

M.

But I ended up waking up at 9.

And now I'm waking up at 9.

30 which is not bad at all.

And yeah,

I just kind of,

It makes a huge difference you know when you kind of plan out your day.

But make sure to have some time where you can just do whatever you want has really helped.

And I think that's a huge contributor to my experience as of right now.

Then we have dance.

It can contribute to an overall sense of happiness.

It allows you to release tension and express yourself.

It also has long-term effects which helps you to learn more quickly and improves your coordination.

It's just fun.

So I think in my opinion somewhat underrated for like the everyday person.

But I think it's so helpful.

It just gets you out of your mind and into your body.

And for me it just kind of,

I don't know,

It's just so joyful.

And especially if you're able to find music you love and dances you like to do,

It can be really really fun.

Totally recommend it.

100%.

And it's also like a challenge in a way to kind of let go and let loose.

And I think that's also another huge part of fighting depression is to let go.

And I feel like dancing can totally do that in a new way.

And the last thing is consider professional help.

I think it's super important and okay to ask for help.

And there's so many resources that are free and or affordable that we have access to.

I'm gonna go ahead and link the resources that I'm mentioning on the link on my profile if you wanna see them.

But I'll go ahead and mention them here real quick.

Libby and or OverDrive.

These are both library apps.

And if you have a library card in your local library,

There's so many books you have access to that are ebooks and audio that you can have online.

So I think it's an amazing resource to have books on mental health,

Improvement,

Self-help,

Like it's amazing.

I highly recommend it and in my opinion it's underrated.

And then I have BetterHelp and the advice section of it.

So this is an affordable online text call video chat counseling platform.

I think it's super helpful.

A great way to try it out if you really need help.

Yeah,

Highly recommend it.

And then I have the Therapear app.

And this is a support group which you can also be anonymous on it if you get anxiety about asking for help.

I feel like this is a great way to kind of talk with people who have experienced similar things.

Just know that you're not alone,

You know,

And you can be motivated and just feel heard and listened to.

I think it's super important.

And then I have the Flowly app.

This is an affordable way to manage physical aspects of living with pain and anxiety and mental health challenges.

It's very limited with the free aspect of it,

But I think it's worth a look at it if you're trying to improve your breathing techniques.

It's very cool.

So check it out.

And then we have the Bloom app.

And this one is also an affordable way to start therapy that personalizes mental health coaching that powers CBT,

Cognitive behavior therapy.

So this one is a really cool app.

Highly recommend it.

Haven't tried it,

But would love to.

But you can also find other resources on cognitive behavior therapy as well if you're interested,

Which I highly recommend.

And then finally,

Facebook support groups.

I feel like there's so many that we have access to,

But also,

You know,

So easy to forget about.

So just remember,

There's also,

That's another way to connect with people with similar issues.

And sometimes it's just nice to talk to people who are experiencing the same things,

You know,

Have a safe place and community where we can express.

So yeah,

Hopefully those are helpful.

I'm just going to kind of go over these points real quick.

So ways we can fight depression is by learning about it.

Keeping a journal.

If you have a down day,

Let it go constructively.

Do opposite of what the depression voice suggests.

Set attainable goals.

Reward your efforts and achievements.

Create a routine.

Do something you enjoy.

Listen to music.

Spend time in nature.

Spend time with loved ones.

Try something new.

Practice gratitude.

Meditate or spend time relaxing.

Pay attention to what you're eating.

Exercise.

Getting around 8 hours of sleep.

Dancing and considering professional help if you need it.

So I hope you enjoyed this.

I personally find these really helpful.

So I hope you find them helpful as well.

But yeah,

Just reach out if you have any questions.

Thank you for listening.

This is Safe Circle and have a lovely,

Lovely day.

Reviews

From a fellow Washingtonian, thank you so much! 🙏. Even as someone who doesn’t suffer from depression, I still deal with constant thoughts of self hatred. Quick question, do you have any tips for dealing with this kind of stuff with autism?

Really well done. Super useful. Thank you so much for putting this together.

I really enjoyed listening to this. I am struggling with my depression and today for some reason my anxiety has been really high. I usually don’t like 10 ways to beat depression type things but you set it out and really explained each one really well instead of just statements. I felt validated and because you have been there your self I could relate to you. I’m still in the really really tough part of this relapse of depression (and like I said anxiety) but step by step as they say. Good days or parts of days when I get basics done but lots of heavy bad days when I barely get out of bed.