SELF HELP TIPS FOR MANAGING DEPRESSION

[AGrace]

Hi Everyone,

Here are some ideas you might like to try for managing symptoms of depression. Of course everyone's different, so let us know what works for you, and please feel free to add to the list...

Mindfulness – through breathing or engaging the 5 senses

Distress Tolerance – Accepting Emotions and Self Soothing

Distraction – Put the thoughts/feelings aside and come back to them when you are ready to deal with them

Positive Affirmations – Have some affirmations written down repeat them to yourself daily

Sleep/Exercise/Diet – All 3 aspects of our lifestyle can impact the way we think/feel

Increasing Pleasurable Activities – Engage in at least one pleasurable activity per day

[AGrace]

Hi Guys,

I also want to add to this list:

Set Realistic & Achievable GOALS and reward yourself for achieving them!

Even if your goal for the day is getting out of bed, if you achieve this reward yourself with something nice. Rewards are a great way to reinforce positive behaviours. We offer them to children, but I don't think, as adults, we offer them to ourselves often enough. Don't beat yourself up over not achieving a goal either. We're only human:) If you don't achieve your goal ask yourself why? and decide whether it was realistic enough given the set of circumstances within which you had to achieve it.

Someone once told me you should always have something to look forward to, it's the simplest way to gain motivation. Ask yourself what do I have to look forward to today? If the answer is "nothing" then it's time to start planning something. I look forward to my cup of tea (and cigarette) every morning. On a larger scale, I also plan a holiday or a catch up with friends regularly.

"Wishing is pointless without knowing what you wish for,"

AGrace

[HA1]

Hi AGrace

thanks for that added suggestion.  I guess my big reward is late in evening which is when I feel best, and I allow myself to stay awake even though I am very tired.  I put on a pot of coffee at 4 or 5 in the morning, and also reward myself by sitting in the garden while it is still dark and waiting for bird life to awaken.

I used to have a list of goals, at one stage it had 20 items, that I crossed off over a period of a few weeks.  Felt good.  Nowadays though my motivation is so terribly bad, compounded by tiredness that it is really difficult to even react to potential rewards.  For a person of simple tastes and demands, I will now try and figure out a reward that will get mo motivation going.

thanks for the post

K

[Pounce]

Thanks for some interesting suggestions guys.  I'm not sure about mindfullness.  I find that too much inner contemplation brings that dark cloud back.  Am still having trouble with motivation.  right now I need to motivate myself to buy groceries, otherwise I won't have any food!  That's the only task I've set for myself today, and I still haven't left the house!  I remind myself that I can probably get oysters while I'm there, but that reward so far has not been enough

[C_J]

Hi,

New to the forum but not depresion and troubles in the family life.

I will be looking into the Inositol too. Thanks AGrace.

My situation is far more than a depresion issue for myself, it includes mental issues my wife "struggles" with at my cost as well as others now.

"Struggling" in that she refuses to accept there is anything wrong with her other than "mild depression and anxiety".

My situation is a huge and overwhelming one. It could almost make for a movie.

I am a believer in God but come from a family of athiests. Things that have happened to me in life have made it un-deniable that he is real and that he wants a relationship with his creation and proves himself to us if we let him.

I have 2 kids and my good night prayer to them is short and very meaningful & is something also encouraged from the bible. I would guess that these topics are sensitive so I will not expound on it, just that,

each day is a new day. Start the day not looking at yesterdays problems.

Just as important is to realize that sufficient unto the day is the problems there of.

Dont add to it by trying to make things worse for one's self. No one knows what tommorrow brings and yesterday cant be re-lived.

Drop the self condemnation at the end of the day and better still dont pick it up at the begginning of it. It can be an automatic habit to do.

It was for me and still can be if I dont remind myself.

I am not in denial that I have a sensitivity to depresion and mood swings but was delivered from its crippling grasp just before I married. After 7 yrs things took a bad turn, trying to deal with my partners "character" & issues that went with that, along with other of lifes hurdles that all came to a head at once took me down (after a long stint of stability reached through finding God).

It is only now that the peices to the puzzle of all that hapened then and continues to happen in the relationship sense are coming together to make sense. One of my big resolves is that there is no answer in ending things in the life sense. That only causes more pain for others. There is a great wealth of energy to be had from considering others before one self. In a balance this is meant. Not one extreme where you destroy yourself, nor where one only thinks of one self and destroys others.

Finding a balance would be one of my biggest goals.

Communication and unconditional love is key to finding balance.

Sorry for the big input but hope it is helpful.

[CMF]

I was never one for gardening but have now found pleasure in it. I get depressed at times due to financial pressures. Single mum, 3 kids, huge mortgage etc.  I know the solution could be to sell my house and buy something else, reduce the mortgage but I am scared of the move. Will I like a new area? Will I have enough to buy something else not to far away? I couldn't handle that stress at the moment. I have slowly been fixing things around the house and spending time in the garden so if I do make the decision I am ready to go. I Think of it as preparing for when I'm ready. I now love looking at my garden, it looks tidy, refreshed and I'm proud. It makes me feel good in general that I've achieved this, I'm in control. Even if I don't move for another 10 years at least I can enjoy it. 

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[CMF]

Yes vitamin D is a big factor in combatting depression but I wanted to add that apparently the body actually absorbs vitamin d through the shins so the best thing to do is expose your legs between your knee and your ankle.

Dandelion tea is also a natural remedy however as it detoxifies the body if you are taking meds it may rid the body of any meds too quickly, before they can be absorbed .

thx for the turmeric tip!

[CMF]

Hi PhilG,

sounds like you're a sensitive, caring person to feel the pain of others by reading their (our) stories  

life you start your own thread and tell us about yourself and how you're feeling you will find a lot of support  of course if you prefer to call that's fine too  everyone here is here to help.

hope you find what works for you  

take care

[Milo_]

1) Use motion to improve your moodMotion is a higher vibrational state than sitting or lying down is.  This is one of the reasons why roller coasters and skateboarding can be so much fun.  If you’re feeling down, do something that involves motion to improve your mood.  You can go for a drive, go bike riding, or even go roller skating.  The faster the momentum, the higher your vibration will go.

Give it a go.

[Guest138]

Hi I also have 3 children.  My husband left last week. Tonight it seems all very final. I'm struggling with everything right now. I'm depressed now after trying to recover from his affair almost 5 months ago. The months before that was the happiest of our marriage since children. He really seemed to care but it's false.Now he's playing us all like puppets on strings. It's overwhelming me the tasks ahead. Selling the house. Caring for the kids when I can't care for myself even. 

Someone said to me that we get what we focus on. Well we don't. My focus for 15 years was our family. Now it's all blown up. I'm numb. I don't care to make a list. I've got 1000s of lists and they amount to nothing. I just feel nothing. 

Thankyou for listening. Sorry I'm so depressed. 

Kate