HOW TO OVERCOME DEPRESSION: 10 PRACTICAL TIPS - ARTE - 2025

Depression is one of the most common illnesses in developed countries, as well as being probably the best-known mental disorder. It causes a set of extremely unpleasant symptoms, such as deep sadness, lack of motivation, and difficulties in performing daily activities properly.

In this article we will see how to overcome depression and show you what exactly you can do. The tips below are extremely practical, and you can carry them out immediately. Put them to the test, discover which ones work best for you, and in no time you'll see how you start to feel better.

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The good news is that, as in the case of most psychological illnesses, depression can be fought and even cured. By making certain changes in their lifestyle, or even through the use of psychological therapy, thousands of people around the world have managed to get rid of this problem forever.

Even today, it is not known exactly what causes depression. Research results on this topic seem to indicate that it is a multifactorial problem; that is to say, there are a series of factors that can help the appearance of this disorder, but that by themselves are not capable of causing it.

Practical tips to combat depression

1- Take care of your diet

You may be wondering, what does food have to do with a psychological problem like depression? For most of us, the food we eat and our mood have absolutely nothing to do with it. However, research shows that what we eat greatly influences how we feel.

For many people, depression is caused largely by unhealthy habits that upset the chemical balance in your brain.

Therefore, one of your first lines of attack against this psychological problem should be to regain a state of adequate physical health that favors your mental well-being.

For this, there are many changes that you can carry out in your diet. We will see just a few of the most important below.

Eliminate refined carbohydrates from your diet

Numerous studies suggest that eating too many refined carbohydrates (such as sugar, bread, pasta, or soda) can profoundly alter our hormones. These foods cause an insulin spike in our body that makes us more tired, sad and unwilling to do anything.

The effects of refined carbohydrates on your brain can also last for a long time. Therefore, avoid eating this type of food as much as possible. The biggest problem is that they are quite addictive, and during a depression the most normal thing is that your body asks you to take them at all times.

However, if you are able to eliminate them from your diet, you will notice how your mood improves significantly.

Focus on real food

Our body is prepared to eat certain types of food, which it tolerates much better than the rest. These are meat, vegetables, fruits, fish, nuts… If you increase the amounts of these foods, your energy and motivation will most likely improve proportionally.

2- Take care of your body

In addition to watching your diet and trying to eat only healthy food, when it comes to fighting depression it is essential that you treat your body with the greatest possible respect. This generally involves two things: physical exercise, and adequate rest.

Physical exercise

Our bodies are not adapted to lead a sedentary life like most people in our current societies. On the contrary, they ask us to move, to use our muscles. In fact, when we do, our brain rewards us with a great sense of well-being.

Numerous investigations have shown us that physical exercise is capable of releasing substances called endorphins. These are responsible for making us feel happy, calm and satisfied. So adding a workout routine or jogging habit to your life can do wonders for your mood.

Break

Another factor that most affects the appearance of depression is lack of sleep. Due to our fast-paced lifestyles, many of us are used to sleeping 6 or 7 hours a night, or even less. However, it has been known for several years that most people need at least 8 sleep in order to perform at their best.

If you normally sleep less than 7 hours a night, and you find yourself sad or unwilling to do anything, try going to bed earlier for several days in a row. This, which seems so simple, can really make a huge difference to your mood.

3- Connect with other people

Human beings are social animals. When we are isolated, alone with our thoughts, it is usually very easy for us to enter a negative spiral that leads us to feel depressed. On the contrary, when we are surrounded by people who love us or who stimulate us, our mood tends to improve.

Even if you don't feel like socializing at all, interacting with other people will help alleviate the worst symptoms of depression. It is true that social support alone cannot cure this disease, but it can give you the courage to solve this problem once and for all.

4- Attack your negative thoughts

One of the most common symptoms of depression is the almost constant presence of pessimistic ideas about the world and one's life. For someone with this psychological problem, everything seems terrible; And constantly brooding over how bad things are tends to make them even worse.

Because of this, if you detect that many of your thoughts have a negative charge, one of the best actions you can take to end your depression is to try to change them for more positive ones.

To achieve this, the first thing is to detect your irrational beliefs. These are thoughts that seem true, but are not based on any real fact.

For example, if you find yourself thinking that you will never achieve anything, ask yourself: have you ever managed to overcome a challenge? If so, why couldn't you do it again?

Challenging your negative thoughts in this way will usually bring immediate relief. In addition, in the long term this habit will form the basis of the cure for depression. In fact, therapies such as cognitive - behavioral mainly use this technique.

5- Work on your goals

There are many different strategies you can try to boost your self-esteem and improve your mood. However, one of the most effective and the best results will bring to your life is simply to set a goal and start working on it.

Numerous studies have confirmed that having a challenging goal and striving to achieve it is capable of improving a person's self-concept almost immediately.

The benefit is also twofold: on the one hand, you will be improving your mood indirectly, and on the other, your life will also change for the better thanks to your effort.

What motivates you? What would you like to achieve if you knew that you cannot fail? Ask yourself these kinds of questions, develop a plan to reach your goals, and in no time you'll see how depression is a thing of the past.

6- Go out to the street or into nature

One of the chemical substances that most affect our mood is vitamin D. Its importance is such that many doctors and specialists think that it should be considered a hormone, due to all the effects it causes in our body. And, in most cases of depression, vitamin D is lower than normal.

The main problem with this chemical is that it is not possible to obtain it naturally from any type of food. The only way to produce vitamin D at the proper levels is through direct exposure to sunlight; But due to our sedentary lifestyle, we are spending more and more time indoors.

It's no wonder that in countries with very few hours of daylight in winter, seasonal depression is so common. So if you notice that your mood is very low and you spend too much time between four walls, try to include more moments outdoors in your routine.

7- Practice some type of meditation

As we have already mentioned, one of the main causes of depression is the large number of negative thoughts that some people have throughout the day. However, what if we are unable to be more optimistic? After all, modifying what we think is not always easy.

For some people, an approach that works best is to detach from their own thoughts and make sure they do not affect them. Meditation can help you enormously in this regard; With a few minutes of daily practice, little by little you can learn not to let the ideas in your mind alter you so much.

Today, there are many resources that can help you begin to meditate. Do your research online, choose one you feel comfortable with, and start practicing this new skill that can greatly improve your quality of life.

8- Keep a gratitude journal

For many experts in psychology, the key to happiness does not lie in having it all, but in being able to be happy with what you already have. However, despite the fact that there are both positive and negative elements in almost everyone's life, the truth is that we tend to focus on what we do not like.

Keeping a gratitude journal can help you combat this trend. The idea is to write, every night before going to bed, a small list of things that happened to you that day and for which you are grateful.

It can be from simple events, like a smile from a stranger or the pleasant aroma of coffee in the morning, to something much more important.

At first, if you have a hard time finding something to be thankful for, don't worry - it's normal. Persevere, and in no time you'll find yourself paying more and more attention to what is positive that happens to you.

9- Pursue the state of

One of the most important discoveries in the field of psychology in recent decades was that of the state of flow. These are times when we are so focused on what we are doing that time seems to go by faster and we go into a kind of trance.

Research on this suggests that flow is one of the most important keys to being happier and dealing with depression. To achieve this, you need to focus on tasks that challenge you big enough to motivate you but not so high as to generate frustration.

The issue of flow status is quite complex; But if you need to improve your mood, do research on it and try to carry out activities that make you enter it in your day to day life. When you do, your depression will practically be a thing of the past.

10- take care of yourself

The last of our tips for fighting depression may seem in many ways the opposite of the previous ones; and yet it is as important as any of them.

To get out of a state as negative as depression, it is usually necessary that you get down to work and change many aspects of your life. Exercising, eating better, going out more… all of them are actions that will help you improve little by little.

The problem is that this attitude can be taken to the extreme. Some people with depression become so focused on eliminating their problem as soon as possible that they end up pushing themselves too hard. Paradoxically, this can aggravate the situation and slow down your recovery.

So while you are learning to improve your habits and change your lifestyle and way of thinking, don't forget to take care of yourself. Remember that achieving happiness is a long process, and that pushing yourself too hard is not going to help you.

From time to time, it is also good that you do something positive for yourself. Listen to uplifting music, give yourself a relaxing bath or massage, or just allow yourself to eat your favorite food without worrying about how it will sit you. After all, enjoying the little things is fundamental to being good with yourself.

References

1. "Coping with depression" in: Help Guide. Retrieved on: October 02, 2018 from Help Guide: helpguide.org.
2. "Strategies for overcoming depression" in: Psychcentral. Retrieved on: October 02, 2018 from Psychcentral: psychcentral.com.
3. "12 steps to overcome depression" in: Your Life Your Voice. Retrieved on: October 02, 2018 from Your Life Your Voice: yourlifeyourvoice.org.
4. "How to deal with depression and sadness" in: This Way Up. Retrieved on: October 02, 2018 from This Way Up: thiswayup.org.au.
5. "Fifteen simple ways to overcome depression" in: Lifehack. Retrieved on: October 02, 2018 from Lifehack: lifehack.org.