Fighting Depression – 7 Ways to Beat Naturally

Hi, 

 

What are these natural techniques to fight depression? I am interested to hear?

 

7 ways to help with depression
1. Exercise: increases endorphins and relieves stress.
2. Meditation, especially mindfulness meditation
3. Staying connected with friends and family, don't isolate yourself
4. Journal writing, get your thoughts out on paper or use any creative outlet that you like.
5. Doing something that brings you pleasure like playing a sport, dancing, a favourite hobby
6. Do something meaningful, whatever that means to you. Volunteer in your community. Helping others makes us feel good
7. Make sure you have routine and structure in your day, with a balance between work and leisure, social life and quiet moments.
8. Yoga
9. Therapy, it can make all the difference. It gives you a deeper understanding of yourself and tools for life.
10. Medication. There may be a place for meds. But if you do use meds make sure you get therapy too. The outcomes are much better. I have been deeply depressed but not taken meds and have recovered, but meds can make all the difference for some people, and are essential for most people with bipolar disorder rather than unipolar depression.
11. Avoid drugs and alcohol
12. A balanced diet.

Ok, that was 12, not seven but they are all (except meds) part of my wellness plan. They have got me through 2 bouts of depression. In the second bout my therapist was surprised that I wasn't hospitalised because I was that unwell. Now I am really happy in all areas of my life. I feel so blessed that I didn't succumb to my darkest thoughts in my darkest hours. There is help and hope with depression but it does come down to you taking the steps to help yourself. And the kicker is that taking those first steps can be really hard when you are depressed and just want to curl up in a blanket and make the world go away. If you are struggling with that just do one thing from the list. And talk to your doctor about getting help.
Now, as a bonus I'll give you tip number
13. Sort out the stuff in your life that are contributing to your depression. In my case it meant divorcing my abusive husband and a career change. But it doesn't have to be that drastic. It could be stress at work, no work, loneliness, a fight with someone important in our life. And sometimes we are depressed even if our situation is pretty good.
I hope that helps. Maybe you have other ideas to share. All the best.

I forgot to add start and keep a gratitude diary. There is good, peer reviewed empirical evidence that this improves your happiness on a long term scale. Just write down 3 things you are grateful for. Do it daily at a set time. It could be anything from the health of our children to a new Xbox game, the full moon or a chocolate bar. It helps us focus on the positive things on our life, rather than dwelling on the negative. And no matter how bad things are there is always something positive in our lives. Try it.

Wow Sally, 

Thank you so much. That is some useful info for everyone. 

I think that those 7 (12 :D ) steps / ways are really useful; not just for people with depression. But in general, for overall well being. 

I've never really had depression ( diagnosed). I've had some down moments in my life, like everyone else of course. I was always wondering, how do you know that you have depression besides going to a doctor?

What makes someone say: "Ok, i need help"? And how come some people get depressed  but everything is good in their life? Is it hereditary or does one "acquire and develop" a depression? 

Meditation and exercise helped me beat depression.

Hi K, they are really good questions. There is a big difference between depression and just feeling a bit down every now and then. And its nit just feeling sad. Depression is often exprienced as an unrelenting depleted energy. it is feeling like the life and vitality has been sucked out of you. You have no interest in anything, no spark, everything feels grey and negative. Many people feel that things are hopeless and they are worthless. Just getting out of bed is a monumental effort. But the problem is that the effects of depression destroy your motivation to do anything, including taking the steps you need to seek treatment and help yourself. and it is easy to kid ourselves that things are normal. Often it will be a friend or loved one who will bring it to the depressed persons attention. For me, the first time I had depression I went to the doctor for insomnia as I was under a lot of stress at work at the time and she diagnosed me with depression. The second time it took years for me to seek help. I knew that I was depresssed, to the point of having suicidal thoughts, but I still didn't seek help until my marriage ended. and that was literally life saving. My therapist was incredible and seeing her has made a huge difference to my mental health, happiness and wellbeing. for some people depression is a response to life events, tragedy, and difficult circumstances. For others it has a genetic element or arises from the family environment. And once yoy have had one bout of depression you are more likely to experience another. Which is why I still follow most of the advice I listed above. I think if it as my wellness strategy. And I have a strategy in place if I feel myself slipping into an unwarranted depressive mindset. I am pretty aware of my moods these days and catch it quickly. Of course life is full of normal ups and downs. I don't expect it to be all rosy all the time, but feeling depression coming on is different and now I am able to head it off at the pass befire it manifests itself. I,hope that helps your understanding. Sally

Hi sally,

Thanks. You really cleared my mind about what depression is. I would really like to talk about it more, but maybe via private message as i am not comfortable enough to speak about it here. I still can't say that i have depression nor that i haven't. I just dont know myself. Sometimes i feel down without even knowing why?! Same goes when i am happy.

I mean, i know when i am sad because something happened but sometimes i get low when everything is fine. It's like, something is missing or something? It's like i am standing by the side of myself and then i get little upset. Start to ask questions like "Why are you feeling bad now?" . Like i am mad at myself for not feeling great.

I see that you are not registered? Why don't you register so we can talk privately. Plus, i see that you have lots of awesome posts, maybe you can even win member of the month contest.

Hi userk, sorry, I just saw your post now. I have actually registered, but my username is geishagal. I just find the site more difficult to navigate when I'm logged in, probably because I am accessing it from my phone. I am happy for you to pm me. I am moving house at the moment do if u take a couple if days to reply I'm sorry. Things are crazy at the moment. But I will reply. Also, bear in mind I'm not a mental health professional, but I have studied psychology at university and of course had my own mental health issues. Take care, sally.