6 things I did to overcome depression

As per wikipedia:

“Depression is the state of low mood and aversion to activity”

This is a situation when we are not able to be at our 100%. It is difficult to feel excitement, enjoy life, or find peace when we are depressed. 

Most of us do not realize it when we are depressed. Therefore it is important to understand symptoms of depression before we go further. We can diagnose ourselves as depressed when we experience 5 or more of these symptoms listed below everyday for two weeks or more. Following are symptoms of depression

• Constant sad feeling
• Constant agitation
• Excessive guilt 
• Low self image
• Low concentration
• Loss of interest in activities
• Loss of appetite
• Erratic sleep cycles
• Lack of energy
• Suicidal thoughts
• Self-harm behaviour
• No self-care

Depression is still not acknowledged as a serious health issue by the majority in India. Ideally we must consult a psychiatrist for treatment. But we do not live in an ideal world. I struggled for some time but I wanted to become better. So below are a few things that worked for me to overcome depression. I believe if you have the desire to become better then these can help you too.

1. Stay out of bed when not sleeping

Laying down unnecessarily while feeling low used to bring up negative thoughts that made me feel even worse. These thoughts usually had a snowball effect that was a big obstacle for my mind to overcome sadness. It took me some time to realize this. I decided to stay out of bed unless I was sleepy enough to hit the bed and fall asleep in a few minutes. This simple trick put a plug on sad thoughts, thereby freeing up time which I could utilize elsewhere. 

2. Consume raw fruits daily

Fruits are an excellent source of essential vitamins and minerals. They have antidepressant properties. Daily consumption of raw fruits improves mood throughout the day. Citrus fruits like oranges, tangerines, and lemons are really good in this aspect. As per taste, your choice of fruits may differ but fruits are definitely one of the best sources for mood and immunity booster. Unlike popular opinions, I prefer to eat fruits irrespective of time of the day.

3. Do some cardio exercise

Our negative thoughts hold us back when we are depressed. By staying out of bed and consuming fruits regularly we can eliminate things that bring us down. However to pull ourselves up, we need to indulge into something that can make our heart beat faster. I found jogging or cycling for 30 mins a day increases our heart rate for the next few hours. We also start taking deep breaths during cardio exercise that helps as a natural painkiller, reduces anxiety, increases energy level, improves oxygen level.

4. Talk to friends and family

Feelings of guilt and worthlessness are quite common. Talking with friends and family can alleviate guilt and reinstate a sense of importance. Being social improves chances to add new experiences, ideas and feelings. It can be difficult to open up, but it always works to talk to friends and family. It may be tricky to come up with words to express but eventually it will happen as long as you desire to overcome this phase.

5. Help others voluntarily

Everything till now was focused inward. The next thing to do is to help others to bring joy in our life. Humans are emotional. Touching lives of others through simple meaningful acts of help add some sort of fuel to our lifeforce. Receiving appreciation boosts morale that helps to keep sadness at bay. By helping others every once in a while moves our thoughts from negative to positive direction. It can be as simple as offering chocolate to a child, picking groceries for your friends, offering a pillion ride to a friend in need, help someone with homework etc. Find your own way to extend help to others. Helping others helped me to stay happy.

6. Read biographies

I realized depression is a very common issue when I started reading biographies. People go through a low phase in life when life seems meaningless. But they recovered that phase pretty well. It is okay to not feel great everyday. Biographies can be a good way to understand what different people went through before they found a way to cope up with negativity in life. By reading multiple biographies, I learnt about how my struggle is possible to overcome. It may not be easy to meet people who can express how they overcame depression but by reading biographies we can learn some methods to do so and become successful in some sense. 

Conclusion

I hope you learnt something that you can put to use to overcome depression. You can refer to this article as well to help them. Feel free to add your thoughts in the comment section below.

Thanks for reading.