‘How to overcome depression’? This is a question which gradually becoming the most asked question especially in this time of pandemic. In order to answer the question of how to overcome depression, first we need to understand what is depression and why some people go through depression.
Depression is a low state of mood wherein the individual feels low and this impacts his life which is visible through his day to day activities, for example, having suicidal thoughts, change in appetite, longer hours of sleeping, feeling of hopelessness, etc.
In short in depression an individual is surrounded by negative vibes and this needs to be treated as soon as possible. There are various reasons for depression, below are some of the most common reasons for depression:-
1. Life Events
Mental abuse, sexual abuse, physical abuse, etc. are some of the most common reasons of depression another most important and common reason is the upbringing of a child – if the parents are partial towards a child and the child is treated in a bad way then there are chances that the child may go through depression in his adulthood.
Reasons such as loss of job, loss of a loved one, relationship troubles, or social isolation may also lead to depression as these are some of those life events which everyone goes through but some of them are so mentally weak that they cannot battle it out and hence they face depression.
2. Bullying
Bullying is one of the most important factors why people face depression in their adulthood, children are bullied when they are in school but bullying in colleges have been on a rise recently because of which many students face depression and commit suicide.
Universities across India have taken up a great step to stop ragging in colleges – each student has to sign an anti-ragging form with all their details and if in future any student is found ragging any other student he will be rusticated from the college and will not be able to apply for any other college.
3. Personality
Personality is one of the most important factors which leads to depression, the higher the personality domain neuroticism, higher the development of depressive systems. An individual with a weaker personality is more prone to depression.
There are major changes in the personality of a person facing depression; some of them are hopelessness, withdrawal from previous social life, change in the day to day routine, facing difficulty in concentrating on a particular thing, etc.
Measures Of Depression
Beck Depression Inventory is the scale on which depression is measured – the therapists ask patient some questions related to his lifestyle and his life, and then the depression is measured on Beck Depression Inventory’s scale – this scale is also used by the therapists to measure the depression for those people who are facing depression but not as a mental disorder.
On the other hand, IWF Multi-Affect Indicator measures depression on a daily basis and is a very useful technique to measure depression as it helps to study the pattern of depression of a particular individual facing depression.
Types Of Depression
1. Recurrent Depressive Disorder
This depressive disorder keeps on occurring multiple times for a short period; this may continue even for some years. In this disorder, the individual might feel irritated, hopeless, lose of appetite, difficulty in carrying on day to day activities, and there can be some symptoms that cannot be explained even by medical professionals.
Depending upon the number and severity of symptoms, depression can be classified into low, moderate, and severe categories. In severe depression, the individual might also have some suicidal thoughts, which is very dangerous as the patient can commit suicide, and there are many cases where the reason for suicide was depression. If a person is diagnosed with depression, then he should be treated as soon as possible.
2. Bipolar Disorder
This disorder includes both manic depressive episodes, which are segregated by periods of normal mood.
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How To Overcome Depression?
Depression is one thing that drains you out completely. Sometimes the person dealing with depression should think about the things which he should do to make himself happy and boost his energy.
It’s very obvious that most of the people dealing with depression do not have enough energy to execute what they love to do but taking a small step is all it takes to get going. You can call up your old school friend to meet up; you can dance to your favorite music – which will boost up your energy and lighten your mood for several hours.
Although coping up with depression is not an easy task, but then you do have more control over yourself than you can think.
You can just go out for a walk alone to freshen up your mind, and your mood and that will surely help you to stay fresh for a couple of hours – you can also stay connected with your friends, call up your friends to have a chat, which will lighten up your mood. By taking these small steps, one will be able to overcome depression within no time.
Involving yourself in a creative activity like drawing, painting, writing a blog, etc., is the easiest and effective way to divert your mind and boost yourself; involving yourself in creative activities will be beneficial for your depression, and you will be able to learn a lot of new things.
In order to cope up with depression, one needs to reach out to people and stay connected. It is quite obvious that the person dealing with depression feels exhausted and isolates himself from the rest of the world, and rarely interacts with anyone, which is not a good sign, as isolating yourself will no help you cope up in any situation.
In most the cases a person feels shy to reach out to people while dealing with depression. Always remember it’s never too late to build new friendships; if you don’t feel comfortable to reach out to the people whom you know, you can make new friends and start hanging out with the – new friends, new start.
The person dealing with depression can also buy a pet for themselves as pets are a great companion, and you are surrounded with positivity when you have a pet around in your home.
Joining a group of depression can help one battle depression very effectively as you get to interact with a lot of people and you get to share your feelings with others – in this way you do not feel isolated from the rest of the world, also supporting others can make you feel better when you are battling depression, listening to others problems, giving them a piece of advice or doing something that is beneficial for them makes you feel positive.
The most important thing that one should surely do to overcome depression is to do what you loved to do before the depression.
One can pick up a hobby or a sport which they used to play and just execute them, depression may not vanish instantly, but you will surely feel upbeat and energized once you’ve started to do so – you should keep yourself involved in one or the other activity so that your mind stays occupied.
You can also practice some relaxation techniques to keep yourself focused and calm at the same time; one can try yoga to keep calm and improve concentration.
Exercise is the best depression fighter as it keeps your mind occupied; exercise is as good as meditation – meditation relaxes your mind, whereas, on the other hand, exercise keeps your mind occupied in a particular thing or a sport. If you pair up with an exercise partner, then exercising will become more joyful for you as you can also have someone to share things with.
Another most important thing that one should do to fight depression is to have a good diet and never skip meals, low intake of nutrients and food can set up a bad mood for you and can also irritate you at a time, so it is very crucial to have a good diet and never skip any meal.
Exercising two times in a day in sunlight is also important as sunlight improves the mood, energizes the person, and boosts up the serotonin level. You can go on a walk alone or with your friend, you can go out for a cup of coffee, and you can also indulge yourself in gardening.
On the other hand, you will have to battle in winter as the weather in winter makes one feel a bit low and lazy, so one might not put in effort going out and having a cup of coffee with friends or going on a walk with someone.
To overcome and fight depression, one needs to start thinking positive about themselves – the person starts feeling negative about himself and starts feeling hopeless, and there’s not much you can do about it as it is pretty normal; it happens with everyone.
It’s very hard to fight against the way you think as this cannot happen overnight; it needs some time to reverse, so instead, you can identify those particular negative thoughts that are fueling your depression and replace them with some more neutral or positive, which will make it easier for you to fight depression.
One cannot just start thinking positive just by saying ‘think positive’ to himself; thinking is a lifelong process, and you automatically think the way you think, and this takes some time to change it cannot be changed overnight.
Nothing is impossible, your thinking can be changed, but you need to start by taking small and simple steps – at the later stage, when one starts to think positive, he himself recognizes that all those negative thoughts were not realistic and obviously they did not hold up any value.
Overgeneralization is one of the most common ways to fuel one’s depression. Overgeneralizing a thing means to generalize from a single negative experience, for example: ‘it did not have a good match, I don’t think I will be able to perform for my team ever.’
Sometimes people who are battling depression focus more on negative things that happen rather than focusing on positive things happening around them.
People also diminish the positives and come up with reasons why the positives do not count; at the same time, people start overthinking in a negative way, for example: ‘she rejected me because I look ugly.’
A person battling depression can overcome these things just by involving themselves in one or the other thing that keeps their mind occupied. Once you’ve figured out the questions that contribute to your depression, you can challenge them by putting yourself some tough questions like:
- What is the evidence that what I’m thinking must be true?
- He/she might have left me for some other reason; what is the evidence that he/she left me for the reason that I think?
- How might I have looked at this situation if I was not in depression?
If nothing working out, then professional medical help is the last resort for a person dealing and fighting depression.
Medical professionals can treat the patient in two ways, first is by treating them without any medications, trying to make changes in their routine which can probably make some positive impact and many other things; second and the last options are anti-depression medicines, if the patient or a person is dealing or fighting with severe depression, then the medical professional might suggest him to shift to medications which is the last option for anyone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. What is the highest cause of depression?
Ans. The highest cause of depression is assault, and it can be of any kind, like, physical and sexual.
Q2. How can I lift my mood?
Ans. You can boost yourself by involving yourself in creative things or exercises or anything that occupies your mind.
Q3. What are the general methods used to treat depression?
Ans. There are two general methods to treat depression, the first is to undergo therapy, and the second and the last resort is antidepressants.
Q4. What is the prevention of depression?
Ans. You’ll have to take good care of yourself by having a healthy diet, exercising regularly. You should also reach out to your close friends and family members whenever you end up in a mess.