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Feeling helpless when you’re depressed is common. But you’re not. You can fight back on your own along with therapy and sometimes medication. A change in your lifestyle, physical activity, and even your thoughts can help you deal with depression naturally.
The following tips can get you feeling better right now.
The Best 8 Natural Depression Treatment Tips
Here are the best 8 depression treatment tips that you Depression treatment can use to feel better from depression’s side effects.
Get in a Routine:
If you’re depressed, you need a routine, says Dr. Ian Cook. He’s a UCLA psychiatrist and the director of UCLA’s Depression Research and Clinic Program.
Depression can cause your life to crumble. Days go by without a care in the world. Get back on track with a gentle daily schedule.
Plan your Goals
You may feel as if you can accomplish nothing when you’re depressed. Consequently, your self-esteem suffers. Make yourself mini-goals each day to boost your self-esteem.
Cook advises starting small. You should set a goal that you can achieve, such as washing the dishes every day.Once you start feeling better, you can add challenging daily goals.
Eat Healthy
Depression cannot be cured by a magic diet. However, it is important to watch what you eat. Feeling better by controlling your eating can help you if depression makes you overeat.
It’s still too early to tell whether foods with omega-3 fatty acids (such as salmon and tuna) and folic acid (such as spinach and avocado) may help ease depression, Cook says.
Exercise
A chemical called endorphin is temporarily released, boosting feelings of well-being. The chemical may also benefit people with depression in the long run. The brain rewires itself in positive ways when we exercise regularly, Cook says.
What’s the appropriate amount of exercise? A marathon is not necessary. You could walk for a few minutes each day instead.
Be More responsible
People who are suffering from depression may want to pull back from life and give up their responsibilities at home and at work. Don’t do that. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle can help you combat depression by staying involved and taking on daily responsibilities. These activities ground you and provide you with a feeling of accomplishment.
There’s nothing wrong with not being able to work or go to school full-time. Consider part-time employment. Volunteer work might be an option if that seems overwhelming.
Positive Thoughts Can Be Challenged
A lot of the work in fighting depression is mental: changing your thinking. In times of depression, you tend to leap to the worst conclusions.
Utilize logic as a natural depression treatment next time you’re feeling down about yourself. Although you might feel that no one likes you, is that really the case? It might feel like you’re the most utterly worthless person in the universe, but is that true? Taking charge of your thoughts takes practice, but you can do it in time.
Do Something New
It’s hard to move forward when you’re depressed. Make a change today. Go to the museum. Read a used book while sitting on a park bench. Participate in a soup kitchen. Study a foreign language.
Cook says that when we challenge ourselves to do something new, our brains undergo chemical changes. As you try something new, dopamine levels rise, which is a brain chemical that is linked to pleasure, enjoyment, and learning.”
Don’t Drink or Use Other Drugs
People with depression are more likely to misuse substances. Depressive symptoms may lead you to abuse alcohol, marijuana, or other drugs. It is not clear whether drinking and using drugs causes depression. The long-term use of drugs may alter the way your brain works and worsen or cause mental health problems.
Having depression can make it difficult to enjoy life, Cook says. To do so, you must relearn what you have learned. You will soon find that fun things are again enjoyable.