WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU ARE DEPRESSED? 10 TIPS THAT WORK - ARTE - 2025

When you are depressed you can take certain actions to reverse the situation and feel better, such as playing sports, doing some normal activity, seeking social support, going to a professional and others that I will detail below.

The component that most affects depression or depressive states is undoubtedly behavior, that is, the things we do and above all, the things we do not do. The characteristics of depression make it difficult for the person suffering from it to take any action, have a lot of difficulty doing things and just want to be doing nothing.

In fact, depression acts as a barrier that prevents a person from continuing with their normal activity and makes it difficult for them to carry out activities. However, this barrier imposed by depression is the main factor that maintains it, so if it is overcome, the depressive state will probably decrease. Thus, doing things is crucial to resolve these types of states or psychological disorders.

The importance of activity

Before reviewing the tips that, in my opinion, are most important to improve the course of depression, I would like to emphasize the therapeutic potential that behavior has on depressive states.

Properly modulating activity during a depressive state may be the main factor determining recovery. In fact, the psychological therapy that has been shown to be most effective in treating depressions postulates its foundations in the behavior and what the depressed person does.

This therapy is known as "behavioral activation" and it is a program in which little by little the things that the person does are increased until an agenda is completed with activities that are pleasant and beneficial.

This treatment must be carried out by a psychotherapist and consists of a very specific technique in which the effect caused by each activity is evaluated in detail, and strategies are gradually incorporated to improve the consequences of each thing that is done.

Considering the therapeutic difficulties that depression presents, this therapy shows very high levels of efficacy and has been postulated as the best psychological treatment for these disorders.

With this, the high power that behavior has on the mood is revealed and how a depressed person can improve their mood until eliminating depression depending on the activities they carry out.

10 tips if you are depressed

Next I will comment on the 10 actions that are most important to reverse depressive states.

1-get out of bed

This is probably the most difficult activity for a person who is depressed but at the same time the most important. Getting out of bed can seem like something very complicated since you do not have the desire to do anything or any motivation to get up.

However, the "I don't want to get out of bed" thought is performed by the brain when it is depressed. The mind of a person with depression will not interpret any stimulus as pleasant so it will not find the strength to go looking for it.

But this thought is false, since no matter how mild it may be, a depressed person can find some stimulus that is minimally pleasant, and to achieve it must get out of bed.

Therefore, this first activity should be done without thinking, automatically. As soon as the alarm goes off, you should get up without considering why, you will do this later.

This action should be interpreted as a medicine rather than as "a thing that has to be done." The beginning of recovery is out of bed and increasing depression is in.

If you are depressed do not think about it and get out of bed quickly in the morning, once you are out you will see how everything is slightly easier and more bearable.

2- Put order

Once you get out of bed, all doubts appear… Now what do I do? Why am I out of bed if I don't feel like anything? Maybe it would be better to lie down again…

These thoughts appear easily in a depressed person, they are a symptom of depression and cannot be avoided, especially in those moments when they are very depressed.

The objective does not lie in trying to eliminate them but in learning to manage them properly. The depressive feelings will continue there, the little desire to do things too, and the desire to lie down and do nothing will not disappear.

However, as we have been remarking, what is really important does not lie in the thoughts that appear when one is depressed but in what one does before their appearance.

As we have already seen that going back to bed or the sofa to be without doing anything is the worst strategy to combat depression, we must look for alternatives. At this time, just awake, is when there are greater risks of going back to bed or doing nothing, so it is usually effective to perform activities automatically and routinely.

Putting yourself in order like going to the bathroom, taking a shower, brushing your teeth, and getting dressed are often the best actions to start your day. Later, going back to the bedroom, making the bed and putting a little order are other effective actions to combat depression in these first moments.

3- Attend to your diet

Another important aspect to keep in mind when you are depressed is diet. Often with depression the appetite can be markedly decreased or, in some cases, increased.

It is important that you try to carry out your usual diet, keeping meals (breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner) and eating regular amounts of food.

When you wake up, start the day with a breakfast, it does not have to be very abundant if you are not hungry, but starting the day with a coffee, a juice or some toast will help you feel better.

Later, do not forget to make the other meals, eat at noon, have a snack in the afternoon and have dinner at night. Eating activities, apart from meeting the nutritional needs of the body, also serve to put order in the day to day and avoid the inactivity of depression.

4- Try to continue with your normal activities

As much as possible, it is important that you carry out the activities that you did previously. In this way, try to go to work whenever you can, keep most of the actions of your routine and try not to leave the things you used to do.

In general, depression begins by reducing some of your normal activities, you stop going to the gym, going out with friends or going to the movies on Saturday afternoons. Later, the activities can be reduced more and your routine can be compromised.

The fewer tasks you stop doing, the closer you will be to a positive mood and the further you will be from depression.

5- Seek support

A key factor in depressive states is made by the people around and who provide support. Isolating yourself, avoiding contact with other people, and staying home alone is probably the worst thing a depressed person can do.

Having people by your side who know what is happening to you and who can help you is the main element that will allow you to get out of depression. Finding the people around you, telling them what is happening to you and asking for their help will be a main factor.

They can help you do more activities, adopt different points of view, distract you and provide you with pleasant moments.

For all these reasons, one of the most important things you have to do when you are depressed is to support yourself and allow yourself to be helped by those closest to you.

6- Express your feelings appropriately

It is sometimes thought that when you are depressed, to stop being depressed, you must completely avoid expressing your feelings of sadness and taking actions such as crying or getting angry.

However, this statement in itself is not true, since the expression of feelings is an element that must be studied in greater depth when one is depressed.

Obviously spending the day crying or thinking how depressed you are should be avoided entirely. For this reason, we are discussing a series of activities that allow us to avoid these states and occupy the day-to-day life of a depressed person.

Now, that a person with depression must carry out a series of activities to avoid being idle and increase their mood, does not mean that they should completely ignore their feelings.

The feelings are there and must be worked out properly, so when one requires it, one must be able to express them freely. Caution should be exercised, since we do not have to make the mistake of spending the day expressing feelings of sadness.

However, meeting a friend and explaining what is happening to you, how you feel and expressing your emotions can be very therapeutic.

7- Look for pleasant activities

The first thought that appears in the mind of a depressed person is that there are no pleasant activities for him. However, this is not true, since someone with depression may also find moments that are distracting or that make them feel more or less good.

You have to try to find what makes you feel better and gives you greater feelings of well-being. Even if you only find one, it will be more than nothing and can help you start your recovery.

It is advisable to analyze how you feel about each of the things you do in order to know which activities are best for you.

If one day you decide to go shopping and go for a walk, and you notice that going shopping has not been particularly good for you, but going for a walk has done you better, you will already have an activity that you will have to do more often to improve your mood..

8- Get some exercise

Exercising and physical activity is, in itself, therapeutic for depressive states.

Whatever type of physical activity you do, simply doing it feels good and boosts your mood. Whenever you can, try to do some exercise, no matter how little, it will do you good.

9- Find some time for yourself

Although the more activities you do the better, when you are depressed you should also seek moments of calm and tranquility.

Depression is often accompanied by symptoms of anxiety, since the person may appear nervous due to their own depressed state or due to the inability to function as before.

Although maintaining a minimum level of activity is essential to combat the depressive state, it is often beneficial for the person to find situations to be with himself.

Moments of reflection and calm in a pool, in the sauna, sitting on the terrace of your house or lying on the sofa can help you reduce the level of anxiety and increase your optimism.

10- Seek professional help

Finally, it should be noted that not all depressions can be overcome by one alone. Often times, severe depressive states may appear in which pharmacological or psychotherapeutic treatment is required.

In fact, if a person suffers from what is known as "endogenous depression", they must undergo drug treatment to overcome it and, usually, the rest of the techniques may not be effective.

In any case, as soon as a depressive state is serious, the person should not doubt or fear putting himself in the hands of professionals, who will guide and facilitate recovery.

References

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