Good Coping Skills for Depression Can Enhance Or Replace Treatment

Depression may come and go and never really be cured, but there is such a thing as coping with depression. If you are taking anti-depressants, you should always follow your doctor’s advice and also follow through on referrals to counselors and the like. Additionally, there are a number of every day tips and tricks that can help you to keep a handle on your mood and lift your spirits as you make your way through your days. Sometimes adding these simple lifestyle changes can make a big difference, even when dealing with treatment resistant depression.

Take Good Care Of Yourself To Beat Depression Naturally

Many natural treatments for depression are just common sense! Eat well and take a high quality multi-vitamin every day to ensure that you are properly nourished. Nutritional imbalance can cause depression, and it would just be a crying shame if you were diagnosed with depression and given drugs when all you really needed was a proper diet!

Be sure to eat your fresh fruits and veggies, choose whole grains over processed grains and avoid sugary, salty junk food. Drink lots of pure, fresh water to keep everything in your body working the way it’s supposed to. You will be very surprised at the difference you’ll feel if you've been getting most of your liquids in the form of soda-pop!

Get 15 minutes to half an hour of light to moderate exercise every day. If you are out of shape now, make it light exercise. When your strength builds, add a few more challenges. You will soon find yourself more fit and feeling more positive thanks to the feel-good endorphins generated by activity. It doesn't take much! A walk or bike ride, a swim, or a little puttering around your yard can be very helpful!

Very often depression and anxiety go hand in hand. Get your stress under control, and you may find your depression subsiding. In addition to active physical activities, take up some relaxing activities like meditation, yoga, tai chi, massage and so on. These kinds of stress-relieving pursuits are good for body, mind and spirit and will help you feel your very best!

Sleep the right amount! It may be very tempting to crawl into bed, pull the covers over your head and stay there, but this is not a good idea. If you find yourself sleeping more than 8 hours a night without good reason (such as physical exhaustion from hard work) make it a point to rouse yourself and get moving! If you find it very hard to get out of bed, get an old-fashioned wind-up alarm clock and put it in your bathroom. Then you will have to drag yourself in there to turn it off! Take a shower while you’re there, and you should be ready to face the day!

Natural Remedies For Depression Include Laughing & Smiling!

Make sure facing the day includes seeing other people every day. Even if you are not a “joiner” and don’t want to become involved in social events, get out into the park or mall or take a stroll down the street. Interact with others to the extent that is socially acceptable. Smile and speak with cashiers, nod to passers-by, and so on.

Of course, if you do enjoy more active interaction, join clubs, attend worship services, etc. No matter what you choose, just make sure to get out and connect with others a little bit each day. Just the act of smiling at others and receiving a smile in return will lift your spirits.

Identify people who are able and willing to talk with you and to listen to you. If your relatives are more a cause of depression than a source of solace, seek your confidantes elsewhere. Clubs, worship services and certain online venues can be good sources of valuable friendships. Getting together with like-minded people for good conversation and a few laughs will cure what ails you!

Ask your doctor to refer you to a group for people coping with depression. You may come away quite surprised to know that there are so many people experiencing life in exactly the same way you are! Support groups designed to assist people who affected by the same challenges can yield marvelous, lifelong friendships.

Taking It Easy On Yourself Is One of The Best Depression Remedies!

When you are depressed, small tasks may seem monumental. Remember that, no matter how small or large a task may be, it can be simplified by being broken into steps. When you are faced with a task that just seems too challenging, sit down with pen and paper and break the task down into a list of steps that you can easily complete.

While you’re at those tasks, don't be too hard on yourself. If nothing short of perfection will do, you are setting yourself some pretty difficult standards. Loosen up and allow yourself to leave well-enough alone, or as we say in Texas, “If it ain't broke, don’t fix it!” Wasting time trying to perfect things unnecessarily is what causes anxiety, and it’s a sure way to get people irritated with you! That will not help your depression!

Don't engage drama queens! On the other hand, another thing that causes anxiety is people who want to suck you into their drama. If you know people who are hypercritical and want to make you feel bad about every little thing, limit or eliminate their influence on you. Life is too short to waste on negative people. You deserve good friends, and they deserve your good friendship, too! Don’t settle for anything less!

Copyright:SB:9/27/12