Managing Depression
Depression is hard. Every step can feel uphill and every thought veering towards despair or self-doubt. The challenges of depression can creep into all areas of life, making knowing what to do about it even more challenging. To make matters worse, it can feel like everyone and their mother (also your own mother) has an opinion about what you should do about it. Some advice hinges on the defect model and sounds like suggestions including, “just have a spa day,” or “find a joke book, that will cheer you up.” Or “don’t worry so much.” “Have you tried thinking more positive?” “Think about all the people who have it worse than you.” Other well intentioned albeit unhelpful suggestions imply you are simply not trying hard enough, purporting that you should have more discipline. If you’ve heard anything like this or if you feel like “nothing will help,” having an honest discussion about your options can be helpful.
If you’ve recently received a diagnosis of depression, or suspect you may be suffering from depression, there are a few things to check out before jumping straight into therapy or medication treatment.
1.) Often, bodily issues masquerade as mental health issues, so it is a good idea to rule out medical causes for low mood. Check with your doctor for things like thyroid irregularities, vitamin deficiencies, or significant sleep concerns.
2.) Take inventory of your regular routines and consistent stressors. Noticing the major factors of your life can offer clues about what creates or sustains low mood in your life. How is your work life balance? Jobs often necessitate varying schedules that hinder healthy diets, consistent sleep routines, or may encourage a more sedentary lifestyle.
3.) Check in with your priorities. The things we value often dictate where we put our energy, and it’s possible that we accidentally direct ourselves away from healthy habits for the sake of a good cause. For instance, identifying strongly with the responsibilities of motherhood and fatherhood come standard with committed actions that are in the best interest of your family, but not in the best interest of your mood. Such examples point out that putting certain values first should not be labeled good or bad, but it is important to be aware of our values’ down stream effects so that we can make room for our personal needs too.
4.) Pay attention to how stress is generated in your life and how you manage it. Do you feel like you manage a reasonable amount of work stress? Are there issues in your family life creating abnormal stress levels? Prolonged exposure to stress and anxiety are common causes of depression.
Okay, so what can I do?
Depression is hard. Let’s review some tools at your disposal to help you manage it:
1.) Find a therapist. Therapy has been long documented to assist with managing depressed mood, thoughts, and feelings. Be aware that therapy for depression is not a “one size fits all” situation, so don’t be too alarmed if you feel you need to try with multiple therapists before you find someone that you “click” with. Depression has a way of making people focus strongly on themselves and their difficult experiences, so finding a therapist you feel you can “tap into” and be present with is important. Know that it is okay to feel out your therapist to get a sense of their style of therapy, just like you might try on a coat to see if it fits.
2.) Talk to your doctor about medication. Medication can greatly assist people struggling with low mood and can be especially helpful to mitigate the extremes of depression. Be aware that finding the correct medication at just the right dosage for you can take time, sometimes even months or years. Many medications require weeks or even months to begin working, so be sure to talk with your doctor about what to expect if medication treatment is initiated.
3.) Know your support system. Depression is often an isolated experience, but having the right people around you can make all the difference. This might mean a close friend you can call at 2 AM, a trusty pet who seems to know just when you need to cuddle, or a family member you can trust with anything. Other people feel more comfortable with more anonymous support. 24/7 chat lines such as calling or texting 988 is a great option if you feel you are experiencing a mental health crisis or need someone to help you get through a moment.
4.) Try incorporating more movement into your day. While some feel comfortable jumping into a spin class or sign up for a 5k, know that adding just small amounts of movement to your day can have a significant impact on mood. Walking short distances, such as up and down your stairs a few times, or doing a lap around your yard or block can carry your mood a mile.
5.) Diet matters. Put good in, get good out. Foods rich in B & D vitamins, Omega 3 fats, and even potassium can be a great help to your brain health and overall health. Checking with your doctor, a nutritionist, or finding a trusted source for diet advice can be a great tool to further manage mood concerns.
6.) Read and write. At the risk of sounding like your 7th grade language arts teacher, reading and writing are very healthy practices. Journaling, for example, offers an opportunity for thoughts and feelings to be put out in front of you to look at, rather than only experience them from within. Try writing your depression as a character, asking yourself what that character would be afraid of? Or try writing about your triumphs, fears, or goals.
7.) Mindfulness and meditation are acts of being open to your experiences through heightening your awareness. When depression tries to keep you glued to sorrow and doubt, mindful practices like meditation can get you unstuck by allowing your mind to notice feelings that exist in the periphery of depression. Depression acts like a flashlight in the dark with a narrow beam of light focused on misery. Mindfulness reshapes the lens of the flashlight to allow the beam to spread into a much wider pattern, bringing into focus a more encompassing view of what can be experienced.
8.) Turn off your phone. Excessive use of screen time has been demonstrated to correlate with depression. Spending ample time on social media can be especially harmful to mood and self-esteem, so be sure to set appropriate screen time limits for yourself. Try considering all of your actions throughout a 24 hour period as though each action was part of a healthy “actions diet.” (In such a model, screen time is considered donuts. I love donuts, but I should not eat them all day every day.)