Self-Help For Depression

THE first thing to realise when looking at self help for depression is that the very nature of depression can make self help difficult. In this case, your best option is to get help from a trained professional.

However, if you feel up to helping yourself, here is a comprehensive list of what you need to do.

1.Get a good understanding of what depression is. Self help for depression is much more effective once you know what you are dealing with. Ensure you know clearly what is going on.

2.Regulate your sleep patterns. Get up no later than 8am and go to bed no later than 11.30pm, even if you can't sleep. If you have problems getting up in the morning, get someone else to rouse you, or have a friend call.

3.Eat 3 meals a day, whether you are hungry or not, at the right times.

4.Ensure you get outside early to make sure you get enough bright light to help regulate your sleep patterns.

5.Do things to occupy your mind. If you have nothing to do all day, you will tend to ruminate over your problems.

6.If you are facing a big problem, make the decision to put off thinking about it for, say, 2 weeks, or whatever is appropriate in your case. If you cannot put it off, speak to someone else who you know to be a good practical problem solver.

7.Begin a 'depression diary'. In this rate each day from 1 to 10, where 1 is the worst kind of day, and 10 the best. This will help break down the 'all or nothing' thinking that depression can cause.

8.Get as much exercise as you can. Make yourself walk briskly every day, at least. If you have any concerns about your health, see your doctor before beginning this. Research shows that exercise can lift depression.

9.Get some kind of relaxation during the day. If you know how to do meditation, self hypnosis, tai chi or some other mind-calming technique, do it. It will help reduce the physical effects of the depression greatly.

10.Start challenging your own thinking about things. If you find yourself thinking about things in a depressive way, deliberately think in a new way. A good way to do this is to write down the original thought, and then generate some alternatives.

11.Understand that depression is not part of you; it is due to a set of symptoms. These symptoms cause you to feel, think and act differently to normal. Once depression goes, things will be different. And when you have the skills to beat it, it is more likely to stay away.

12.Supplement your diet with pure high grade epa fish oil, this has been proven to help many people.

13.seek nutritional advise to ensure that your diet is properly balanced.

Self help for depression can be difficult. Don't be afraid to ask for help if you need it. Once you have beaten it, you can help others.

sadgurl wrote:THE first thing to realise when looking at self help for depression is that the very nature of depression can make self help difficult. In this case, your best option is to get help from a trained professional.

However, if you feel up to helping yourself, here is a comprehensive list of what you need to do.

1.Get a good understanding of what depression is. Self help for depression is much more effective once you know what you are dealing with. Ensure you know clearly what is going on.

2.Regulate your sleep patterns. Get up no later than 8am and go to bed no later than 11.30pm, even if you can't sleep. If you have problems getting up in the morning, get someone else to rouse you, or have a friend call.

3.Eat 3 meals a day, whether you are hungry or not, at the right times.

4.Ensure you get outside early to make sure you get enough bright light to help regulate your sleep patterns.

5.Do things to occupy your mind. If you have nothing to do all day, you will tend to ruminate over your problems.

6.If you are facing a big problem, make the decision to put off thinking about it for, say, 2 weeks, or whatever is appropriate in your case. If you cannot put it off, speak to someone else who you know to be a good practical problem solver.

7.Begin a 'depression diary'. In this rate each day from 1 to 10, where 1 is the worst kind of day, and 10 the best. This will help break down the 'all or nothing' thinking that depression can cause.

8.Get as much exercise as you can. Make yourself walk briskly every day, at least. If you have any concerns about your health, see your doctor before beginning this. Research shows that exercise can lift depression.

9.Get some kind of relaxation during the day. If you know how to do meditation, self hypnosis, tai chi or some other mind-calming technique, do it. It will help reduce the physical effects of the depression greatly.

10.Start challenging your own thinking about things. If you find yourself thinking about things in a depressive way, deliberately think in a new way. A good way to do this is to write down the original thought, and then generate some alternatives.

11.Understand that depression is not part of you; it is due to a set of symptoms. These symptoms cause you to feel, think and act differently to normal. Once depression goes, things will be different. And when you have the skills to beat it, it is more likely to stay away.

12.Supplement your diet with pure high grade epa fish oil, this has been proven to help many people.

13.seek nutritional advise to ensure that your diet is properly balanced.

Self help for depression can be difficult. Don't be afraid to ask for help if you need it. Once you have beaten it, you can help others.

solid post.

I have a great deal of information on my website about using self help for depression and bipolar depression. I have links to help, as well as book reviews. To help others, I wrote a book of my experiences and many articles. Today, I just added an article about losing weight.

I was locked away as a young man, then had to take strong medication for many years. The medication stopped working after a while and brought with it many side effects, including a 100 pound weight gain. People in self-help groups showed me how to live without having to take a handful of pills every day. Information on my site tells how I managed to live full and successful life. People can recover from mental illness. My life is beyond my wildest dreams, yet the doctors believed that I could never leave the chair I sat in day after day.
Jim S

Good list Butterfly Faerie (?),

You comment about self-help being esp. difficult when depressed is spot on, probably the biggest challenge we face.

I have worked at my own list for a while now, and recently decided to put it online in blog form. It's shorter than yours and I try to rank things as one other challenge I have faced when depressed, is to be overwhelmed with good advice and not knowing where to start. Since it's a blog, I put more words to each advice of course.

If you're interested, see: http://bluesnowblog.blogspot.com/

Hope this finds you well!

Kind Regards,

Stef.

Self-help is a very important first step. Do it !!!

But don't forget professional help. Scientific studies show that professional help is more powerful than self-help.

For further information:
http://www.psychologe-psychotherapie-zuerich.ch

Hi

Thanks to all of you for the above posts and links to your various pages, they were all extremely helpful. I am in the middle of a major depression right now, but got to the computer today and made myself do some surfing. Thanks to one of the links, (Jim) I am hoping to attend a Recovery, Inc meeting tomorrow. I went a few times about 15 years ago, but will give it another try. It lightened my mood considerably to read of others with the same problems; certainly I don't wish depression on anyone, nor am I glad to read of other's suffering, but its such a lift to read about those who have been there and are fighting this. In some cases where folks have emerged from the tunnel of darkness, there is hope and consolation.

I would add to the list of helpful activities the following: meaningful and fulfilling work/hobbies. I had a very fulfilling job as a case manager for the past 8 years - I had to leave this January due to burnout, stress and severe depression. Now that I have left I am even more depressed. Fulfilling work can really help to manage depressive symptoms - it can get you out of yourself and leave you too busy for rumination and apathy.

Sorry for the long and rambling post... I am feeling lonely and somewhat hopeless and needed to reach out. All the best to us all.

Eileen

It's great to have a goal, but you also have to have a plan for accomplishing this goal. Having a plan allows you to see in an organized way how you will you achieve your goals. Rather than just saying, "I wish I could be more assertive at work", investigate ways to learn this new skill. You might decide you are going to take a course at your local college, read a self-help book or work with your therapist on exercises to help you. The point is to determine what steps are necessary to turn your idea into reality.

How can one think of trying to cure depression on their own without medication. I'm on two types of medication and have had drowsiness as a result of not taking it at the same time of day. I seriously doubt it's possible to kick it on your own unless someone here can convince me otherwise.

Self help is an excellent first step, but it's still recommended to seek professional help. It mainly depends on the severity of your depression. If your depression is severe, you may want to utilize self help along with medication

Depression help comes in several forms depending on which method makes you most comfortable. If you feel better in a support environment, you may want to consider your family or a coach. This link is a great resource for depression help that utilizes coaching. This personal coach helps you with the problems you may be facing.

Other steps to treat depression through self help involve reconnecting with those who are important to you. This is similar to having a personal coach except it's a family member or close friend.

Depending on your hobbies, it may be beneficial to join a sports team or a group that shares your interests. This allows you to meet others which can help you feel better.

If you are interested in utilizing self help, just keep in mind that results may not come quickly, but you should start to feel better with time.

Best of luck to anyone suffering from depression

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Kevin