Dealing with Depression in Daily Life
How to Cope with Depressive Illness and Mood at Home
Sep 11, 2009
Even with treatment including anti-depressant medications and/or depression counseling, depression can make it feel like it’s impossible to even get through the day. But there are things in daily life that can help people to cope with depression more effectively.
Depression affects thoughts, feelings and actions in a cycle that can easily spiral downward. The goal in coping with depression is to learn to recognize and manage specific negative feelings, thoughts and behaviors to keep them from joining together and spiraling down. This article focuses on changing feelings, which can be the most difficult part of this formula.
How to Manage Depressed Feelings
There are two strategies used to prevent depressed feelings from spiraling: distraction and countering. But there is a caveat to that. Depression can be situational. Depressed feelings could be a sign that something in life needs to be addressed, changed or fixed. If that is the case, no amount of distraction or anti-depressant medications will make those feelings go away permanently.
In fact, treating such a depression with anti-depressants or distraction alone and not addressing the feelings can theoretically make the person more depressed, because the "treatment" would be reinforcing the unhealthy act of further suppressing and squelching a person’s true needs and feelings. So first, people should get themselves into counseling to get those feelings vented and put them in context. .
How to Counter Depressed Feelings
- One countering strategy is to look at the negative feelings as things that will eventually pass. Deciding that the task at hand is to simply function as best as possible with the feelings until they pass, is one way to get through them without over-focusing on them. Consider them as pesky annoyances - this can take away some of their power. Techniques like meditation can help people do this.
- As simple as it sounds, music is one way to elevate mood. Something as simple as playing one's favorite music (nothing with depressing lyrics though) can help soothe the person. This can be especially helpful at night, if sleep doesn't come.
- Another way to do this is to spend time in pleasurable activities even if one doesn't feel like doing them. A simple phone call to a beloved person or friend, looking at a favorite photo or anything that usually cheers a person up helps. Think of these things as natural remedies to elevating mood. While each thing won't "cure" the depression, it all adds up.
- Another way to intervene on the feelings level is through anti-depressant medication. This changes the feelings, which then lead to better thoughts and more health-inducing behaviors. But anti-depressant medication without therapy is not recommended. And not all depression requires anti-depressant medication.
- Spend some time daily in prayer or contemplating comforting words.
Using Work as a Distraction
Distraction is the next technique. As difficult as it can be to deal with work when depressed, work can provide a welcome distraction to help people forget about their feelings for awhile. Easy and pleasurable jobs can be a gift, but difficult or boring work tasks can make things worse.
Take as much control of the work schedule as is possible. People should do the easier tasks first to get them going and give them a sense of accomplishment early in the day. If a task seems impossible, try to just do one or two steps of it, then switch to something easier, if possible.
Exercise and Depression
Exercise has repeatedly been shown to lift mood in general and in depressed people. The problem is that depression can sap one’s motivation to exercise.
Before going to bed at night, plan to exercise the next morning or afternoon. Schedule something simple. Even a walk around the block is better than nothing. Don't think about doing it, just do it. If it seems impossible, then simply go stand outside for a few minutes. Once outside, people can see if they can manage just a few steps, down the block and back. People should bargain with themselves to literally take one step at a time.
Thoughts, feelings and behavior can be modified to ease depression. Feelings of depression can be lessened with distraction and countering. It is not a cure, but it can prevent depression from getting worse. There are also specific ways to change behavior to help deal with depression in daily life.
This article is not intended as a substitute for medical attention. Please seek the in-person advice and care of a medical or mental health professional if you are depressed.
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