How To Deal With Depression

Introduction

Before we address how to deal with depression, let’s understand what depression is. Is it feelings of sadness? Negative thoughts? A loss of interest in life? Or all of the above? To be sure, depression is an experience that varies from person to person but there are common universal symptoms that people may share and recognise. For example, disrupted sleep patterns and feeling tired, a loss of interest in social activities, and instead spending time alone, and maybe even suicidal thoughts. These are just some of the things depression can make you feel. But depression is not simply a mental health disorder with symptoms, it’s a day-to-day experience. And although this article will discuss how to cope with depression by offering suggestions to help reduce symptoms, we also highlight the importance of seeking help for depression when needed, and why this is important. Primarily this article aims at teaching you how to help yourself with depression by helping you understand how to deal with depression without medication. However, we discuss this valid option too, especially if you need help how to overcome severe depression.

Tips On How To Cope With Depression

Get in a Routine

So one way to answer the question of how do you overcome depression is to try to restore something that will often become lost when people experience depression, making them feel lost too. So rather than having a day that is framed by structure, something we humans do well with, suddenly, the day becomes less ‘contained’. This means we are not held by our daily activities. We are not moving from one activity to the next, which is grounding because it gives our bodies and brains a sense of time. Instead, time seems to blur and bleed and this blurring of days can make time feel overwhelming or meaningless. Indeed, if you asked Google “How do I beat depression” then one certain answer would be: “Establish a daily routine.” This helps structure the day and provides that sense of normalcy and predictability, which can be comforting during depressive episodes. A routine provides structure and predictability, helping you regain control over your daily life. Establishing a routine is a helpful way how to handle depression without medication.

Establish Objectives

Depression often brings feelings of worthlessness or lack of achievement. It’s a time when we lose our foothold in life and stop doing the things that would normally be a usual part of life. This is for various reasons, including the loss of motivation (this is emotion and chemically/hormonally driven). This lack of direction makes what used to feel normal, feel incredibly effortful. Don’t be hard on yourself, if you’ve experienced this. Instead, think about setting small, achievable goals, rather than trying to do what came easy before. When you’re able to achieve these smaller objectives, you can feel a sense of accomplishment, which helps combat feelings of hopelessness and inadequacy and positively reinforces the action, offering motivation. So for example, if you’re wondering how to deal with seasonal depression, you might set goals that help you cope with the darkness. For example, you might get yourself a sun-mimicking lamp, or look into herbal supplements. Not just this, you can also set smaller goals for your usual day to day activities. These might relate to things you’ve stopped doing, or are currently struggling with. For instance, something that relates to self-care. Not only will you feel more confident from doing the difficult thing, you’ll instil a sense of purpose.

Exercise

A helpful objective for how to overcome stress and depression is exercise. Regular physical activity releases endorphins which are hormones that improve and regulate mood. The release of these hormones during exercise has been referred to as “the runner’s high” making it an effective natural antidepressant. Exercise helps in other ways too though. So, when you’re asking yourself “How can I handle depression?” exercise will not only offer the ‘feel good hormones’ you need during bouts of depression, but you’ll also feel better about yourself because you’ve taken some time to tend to you and your body. This naturally makes us feel healthier and better physically. The opposite is true when we don’t care for our bodies. So if you want to learn how to relieve stress and depression and do it gradually, as per the last tip, start small. Don’t try to work out as you might have before. Start with one or two sessions each week, and make them shorter. You might even try a different type of exercise; instead of going for a run or to the gym, you start with walks outside. This is a great, natural way how to cope with depression without medication because exercise also helps reduce anxiety and improves sleep, which are often disrupted by depression.

Eat Healthy

When people are in the grips of depression, the last thing they want to think about is a well-balanced diet! Often people seek comfort food. This usually means fast food because it’s quick and convenient and full of salt, fat, and sugar – the things people crave when they want comfort. Conversely, you may be the kind of person who loses their appetite completely when you’re stressed or depressed. Both of these strategies are counter-intuitive when it comes to how to deal with stress and depression. Yes, when we’re in a bad way, whether that’s depression, anxiety, or stress, we need all the help we can get. Diet affects brain chemistry. A diet containing diverse, nourishing ingredients can impact your brain chemistry, function, and mood because of the way what we eat supports the production of certain neurotransmitters and hormones – the chemicals we need to support overall mental and physical health. So, whether you want to know how to deal with depression or even how to overcome severe depression, think of a balanced diet as your foundation. It provides you with the sustenance you need to do things like exercise – another activity that promotes the production of mood lifting hormones.

Improve Your Sleep Hygiene

“Seasonal depression how to cope” is a high internet search term. But whether depression is seasonal or not, it disrupts sleep. Good sleep hygiene entails a set of practices and habits for good sleep. Things like creating an environment and adopting behaviours that promote consistent, uninterrupted, and restful sleep. When you wonder: how do I beat depression? A fundamental way is sleep hygiene, which involves: A consistent sleep schedule (e.g., waking and going to bed at the same time, even on weekends. This regulates your body’s internal clock); Creating a restful environment (e.g., keeping your bedroom dark, quiet, and cool, removing distractions like devices and ensuring your bed is comfortable); Limiting exposure to screens (e.g., reducing use of smartphones, computers, and TVs at least an hour before bedtime. This prevents blue light from interfering with your body’s production of the sleep-regulating hormone melatonin); Avoiding stimulants before bed (like caffeine, nicotine, and even large meals. These disrupt sleep so should be avoided in the hours leading up to sleep); Regular exercise (exercise during the day can help sleep – if it’s not too vigorous); Relaxation techniques (pre-sleep calming activities like reading, meditation, or a warm bath signal to your body that it’s time to wind down). So if you want to know how to cope with depression, good sleep hygiene is essential, helping regulate sleep, and leading to better mood and energy levels.

Take on Responsibilities

So how to help yourself with depression when things feel like such a struggle? Take on responsibilities! Please hear me out. Because life seems like so much effort when people are depressed, they tend to withdraw and disengage from life. This means that they disconnect from people and the world which creates isolation and often, loneliness, adding to low mood or anxiety. So when we’re thinking about how to relieve stress and depression, taking on responsibilities, even small ones, can help us stay connected to the outside world and give us a sense of purpose. This might mean engaging in work, school, or volunteering activities. These can foster a sense of purpose and prevent withdrawal from daily life and also provide opportunities to produce those helpful mood-lifting hormones that are so badly needed, especially when you’re trying to learn how to handle depression without medication. Your body is capable if providing you with the chemicals you need, you just have to help it to do what it does so well.

Confront Negative Beliefs

When people are feeling low or depressed, it’s quite normal to experience negative thoughts which can come from pre-held beliefs or which can create new negative ones. At a time when we need help to bring us out of the depression we’re sinking into, these beliefs become incredibly hindering, such that you may not even ask yourself how can I handle depression because you’ll be so caught up in the negative cycle of depressive thought, making you feel hopeless. This is why it’s necessary to confront negative beliefs rather than try to suppress them, or let yourself indulge in them in an unhelpful way. Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) can help challenge negative thoughts and reduce the negative thinking patterns associated with depression. This is an evidence-based way that teaches how to overcome stress and depression, or anxiety. Although there are self-help guides that teach CBT techniques, a skilled therapist can make all the difference so it’s worth considering this option. Other approaches may also help if CBT is not helpful for you, so find a mental health professional who can offer other options as well.

Explore New Activities

So when you want to understand how to help yourself with depression, another helpful way is to explore new activities. As we’ve alluded, depression can cause a loss of interest in usual activities. This is why trying new things can help re-engage your mind, and spark interest. At first, this might be a good way to provide a positive distraction from depressive thoughts but over time it can stimulate interest and engagement and lift your mood. This is another wonderful way that answers the question of how to cope with depression without medication. Because it is about finding activities that directly tend to at least one of the symptoms of depression; withdrawal. It tends to others too. For example, you can go from losing interest and pleasure, to feeling those things again. You create the ability to produce the brain chemistry needed to lift low-mood. So, if you prefer to go au-natural, this may be the way to go. Just don’t be too hard on yourself if it feels tough, and remember to do things in smaller steps because it’s important to be realistic.

Do Things You Enjoy

If we think about something like seasonal depression how to cope, one sure fire way you can help yourself during this time of year is to plan ahead. If you’re aware that your mood dips, it might be good to do things you enjoy during this time of year. For example, as much as the shorter days, lack of sunshine, and cold might be difficult for you, and we’re also talking on a hormonal level, there may be things about this time of year that can bring you pleasure. For example, planning cosy get-togethers with people you’re close to. Even if it feels difficult, engaging in enjoyable activities can provide moments of pleasure and remind you that you can still enjoy what you might during warmer climes and times. Engaging in activities you love can provide pleasure and improve your mood, even if it’s challenging to start and is a great way how to deal with seasonal depression.

Avoid Alcohol and Other Drugs

Substance use exacerbates depression symptoms and interferes with treatment efforts because of the way these substances affect brain chemistry and mood. So if you’re asking yourself how can I handle depression, the answer is most definitely NOT alcohol or other drugs. These may seem like a good way how to deal with stress and depression and in the shorter term they may even feel good, but you’re just plastering the cracks when what you need is a structural overhaul. So avoiding substances is a crucial and effective way how to help yourself with depression. Because not only are substances a form of avoidance, but they add to problems because they can heighten stress, anxiety, and depression, and become the additional problem of addiction. This is because your tolerance will increase in line with dependence. So, substances are best avoided during times of trouble. Yes, if you want to know how to cope with depression without medication, then self medicating with recreational substances is also a bad idea.

Seek Medical Advice Before Using Supplements

Now if you’ve been wondering how to deal with stress and depression and it’s been so long that the question has become how to overcome severe depression, then you may have tried everything and come to the conclusion that you would like to know how to handle depression without medication, and the next logical option are supplements. There is nothing inherently wrong with this thought process, however, it is still important to seek medical advice before using supplements. This is because supplements can interact with other medications, or have side effects, or you may have allergies. It is quite normal to think that supplements are beneficial because they are natural. But, they are still made up of chemical compounds that affect brain chemistry in some way, so if you’re thinking this is the way how to deal with depression, be sure to consult a healthcare provider before starting supplements.

Support Groups

Another option to help one learn how to cope with depression is by joining a support group. Depression can be a very lonely and isolating experience so being in a group of people who understand what you’re going through can offer the emotional support you need. It can also help reduce feelings of isolation by offering a sense of community and support. When you’re alone and asking yourself “how do I beat depression?” or “how to deal with seasonal depression?” you might be in an echo chamber of pessimism and hopelessness because you’re feeling so low. What you need is to ask the question to others and see what they suggest, see if their empathy, understanding, and support might help you feel less alone, and therefore, more hopeful.

Seeking Help

So if you’ve tried all the above or maybe you just know you’ll benefit from one to one, individually tailored support, then seeking professional help, including therapy may be how to relieve stress and depression, for you. Therapy could be a crucial part of your treatment plan in managing depression so don’t delay reaching out to a mental health professional. Even if it is seasonal depression how to cope might not simply be a matter of waiting for the sun to return, or going to warmer climes, it may be helpful to seek the expertise of a psychologist to help you understand what is going on in a deeper way, and to help you plan ways to address symptoms effectively. When it comes to how to overcome stress and depression, you may feel alone, but there are always options out there.

Summary

You probably landed on this blog because you’ve been asking how can I handle depression, but depression is not just a mental health disorder that needs to be ‘fixed’. It’s a part of the human condition, and it’s something we must accept as a part of life. But, this does not mean we simply wallow in it, or lament in resignation, no, when it comes to how to deal with depression, it’s about accepting compassionately that this is your experience now. AND, if you try some of the suggestions in this blog, you will be able to help yourself beat depression and maybe even find some kind of joy in this life – it’s worth a try, or three, right?