Hope for a New Life: Coping With Depression

Depression is a common and major mental illness that negatively affects how you feel, act and think. People who suffer from depression experience feelings of emptiness, sadness and a loss of excitement in the activities once enjoyed. It is difficult to know if depression is caused by hormonal, philosophical or genetic causes or a mixture of all three, though, fortunately it is treatable. Here are some of our tips that can help you in coping with depression by adopting a different mindset and lifestyle:

If You Are Going Through Hell, Keep Going

Everybody goes through some major stress at some point in their lives, some have it worse than others. Here are the Golden rules to keep going.

• Take one step at a time.
• Never stop moving forward.
• Remember no matter how bad it is, it’ll pass.
• You just have to breathe and keep moving forward
• Remember there is always the brightest day after the darkest night.

Don’t Compare Yourself to Others

Everybody has their own pace, their own time. Don’t look at other people your age and mess up your self-esteem because you feel like they have more than you do. It’s okay to set your own pace.

• Focus on being a better person and success will follow.
• If you have to be successful, you have to conquer your fears.
• Take that leap of faith and see where it leads you.
• Remember you can’t always play safe and achieve something great.

Sooner or later you have to take a risk and you have to decide if it is worth it.

Forgive yourself

People who suffer from depression are usually worst critics of themselves. There will always be good days and bad days, and that is the truth.

On several days, one might easily get out of bed, and on other days they might genuinely fail to do so.

Depression is a sickness, like any other, and you are only human. On a bad day, if giving your best is not enough to keep moving forward, then it is totally fine to start again the next day and forgive yourself.

You can always try a new method to help you get out of bed every day. As time passes, you will find a mechanism that will help you get out of bed on most days.

Start each morning with a thankfulness ritual

It can be difficult to find amusement in anything when you are battling head to head with depression.

One of the symptoms of depression is an absence of excitement and failure to find amusement in things that used to bring you joy. As hard as it might sound, trying to recall all the things in life to be grateful for can really push you to get going through the day.

Dr. Beatrice Tauber Prior, a clinical psychologist, author, speaker, and owner of Harborside Wellbeing in North Carolina says that when one wakes up, they should ask themselves what they are thankful for on that day. Then they should ask themselves to wake up for the thing that they are grateful for.

You may be grateful for you job, for your pets or your children, or even that you have a roof over your head. The size does not matter.

Figure out a thing that you are genuinely grateful for and use it to get out of bed in the morning.

Make morning plans with a friend

Feeling alone, detached and shut-off is common in depression. The hope to ‘connect’ again may be essential to start the day.

An excellent way of keeping yourself in check is to make morning plans with someone else because you are also taking their schedule into consideration.

Doctors at Mountainside Treatment Center in Connecticut, say that people derive meaning from their relationships with others, their passions, or accomplishing tasks during the day. They also tell us that committing to meet someone for breakfast or coffee, or a morning walk can not only help you get out of bed, but will also foster your connection to another human, so you do not feel alone in your depression.

Setting Goals

This is something everybody tells you to do; set goals, but no one really tells you how.

• Take out a pen and a paper.
• Write on it everything you want to do in life. Every single thing, from where you want to be in 10 years to the craziest things on your bucket list.
• Write it all down and then give it a number according to your priority. Give every single thing on your list a thought.
• Reflect on what truly matters in life and get going.

Life is hard and sometimes become too overwhelming, but remember that reaching out for help is always an option. Seeking professional help doesn’t make you weak. Let go of the stigma around reaching out for mental health issues and prioritize your mental health.

Your mental health matters. You can book an appointment with a top Psychologist in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi through oladoc.com, or call our helpline at 042-3890-0939 for assistance to find the RIGHT Doctor for all your mental health struggles.