Depression is an illness which can be crippling for victims, because they might want to sleep all of the time and have no motivation to go about their day. While depression affects more women than men, it can harm anyone and has to be dealt with. Read this article for tips on managing depression.
If you are dealing with depression, create a positive social circle. The more people you have in your life to support you, the better off you will be when you’re feeling down. Additionally, having people who expect you to do things with them prevents you from staying home and wallowing.
Make sure that you get a sufficient quantity of sleep if you suffer from depression. Sleeping too little or too much may effect your mood and the way that you think. Try to set a certain time to go to sleep every night and try to wake up at precisely the same time everyday.
Stop rewarding bad behaviour. Many times someone who is depressed will wallow in self-pity, allowing other people to coddle them and take care of their responsibilities. Other people abuse drugs, alcohol, sex, and food as a means to feel better temporarily. All of these behaviors don’t help the depression whatsoever other than a temporary fix. Take away the rewards and the depressed person can concentrate on the root of the depression.
Try not to speak of yourself as depressed or experiencing depression. While depression is a real problem, the terminology that comes along with it can leave people feeling stigmatized and overwhelmed. When you’re angry, say “feeling down” instead. It is not as difficult to consider altering your mood as it is to conquer “depression” even though the two things are really the same.
Try to decorate your house in a happy, upbeat manner. This will make you more likely to better moods.
Pay attention to your symptoms and your body, especially when it comes to concentration and memory. A lot of people suffer with mild memory loss as they age, and blame it on “senior moments” or even early senility. However, in many cases, those memory loss episodes are more related to depression than age. Treatments for depression may be surprisingly successful in handling the memory problems.
Acknowledging to yourself that your depression needs to be managed is a positive measure. To avoid the temptation of sleeping in late or staying in bed throughout the day, purposely schedule appointments before noon to get you up and ready for the day. Always try to schedule your appointments early. Waiting until you wake up to pick your schedule, may put you at a disadvantage to taking charge of how you spend your day and you may be tempted to stay in bed due to the depression.
If you think that you have symptoms that are indicative of depression, try to speak to a physician and join with a therapist. Too often, this untreated illness can ruin lives or end in suicide. Please remember the tips in this article if you or a loved one may be experiencing depression.