Depression destroys your energy and thoughts, andit becomes very difficult to do anything. There is no strength even to simply want something, since there is no faith that your desire makes sense at all. So what to do? Are there ways to relieve depression? There are ways, but you must understand that overcoming a depressive state can be difficult, and sometimes it takes quite a lot of time. But! It is not impossible to do! You will not be able to overcome depression with an effort of will, but you still have the opportunity to control it, even if your condition is serious, and the depression is stubborn and persistent. The main thing is to start, and even small first steps will lead you on the road to recovery.

The road to recovery from depression

Getting out of depression requires action.No one claims that you have to do something significant right away – at first it will be almost impossible. It will be a great achievement for you even if you just go for a walk or spend at least an hour with friends. Perhaps it will be difficult for you to do this, but these will be those very first small steps towards healing. The main thing is to start doing at least something. Start small. Set small goals for yourself and start moving towards them. Use all the internal resources that you have left. You probably won’t need that much energy to walk around the street or dial your loved one’s number and talk to him or her for at least five minutes? Do what you set out to do and reward yourself for each achievement. In this way, the insignificant energy that you had to spend on some action will return to you multiplied several times.

Develop supportive relationships

Getting support plays a big role forclearing the fog of depression from your mind. It can be very difficult to maintain the efforts needed to lift depression. But the very nature of depression is such that you want to close yourself in your shell and curtain yourself off from everyone with thick curtains. How can you ask for help? However, isolation and loneliness only worsen the depressive state, so maintaining relationships with at least close people and social activity are extremely important for you. The very thought of turning to even close family members or friends may seem unbearable to you. You may feel ashamed, depressed, guilty; you may think that you are too tired of the emotions that weigh on you to even talk about them. Do not give in to these feelings! Tell yourself that you are not thinking this, it is your depression speaking for you. Your loved ones will gladly do everything possible to help you. Try not to withdraw from social life. When you are depressed, you will, of course, feel more comfortable if you hide in your shell. But when you are around other people, you will be surprised to notice that you begin to feel less depressed. Communication will relieve the degree of your internal tension, and gradually you will learn to distract yourself from your sad thoughts. Perhaps you should join a group that receives psychological support during depression. By studying next to people who are also dealing with a similar problem, you will be able to support each other, give and receive advice on how to survive depression, and share experiences. Some tips for establishing and building relationships

• Talk with at least one person about your feelings.
• Ask a loved one to try to communicate with you on a regular basis.
• Call or write an old friend, do it at least once or twice a week.
• Every week you go with your friends to the cinema, to a concert or a small party.
• Invite your girlfriend for coffee or lunch.
• Meet new people, for example, in a psychological support group, or join a club of interests.
• After classes in a group or a meeting at the club go for a walk with a new friend.
• Offer someone some help.

Get rid of negative thinking

Depression puts a big minus on everything, includingincluding your thoughts, which acquire a sharply negative coloring. But you will not be able to break free from the captivity of pessimism only by the effort of your mind: you will not be able to “just start thinking positively”. Happy thoughts or a joyful perception of reality will not appear simply by an effort of will. Most likely, the whole trick is to gradually replace negative thoughts with thoughts that are more “balanced” in emotional coloring. Several ways to resist negative thinking

• Let yourself be less perfect. Many of the depressed people are perfectionists, who erected impossible high standards for themselves, and then began to engage in self-flagellation when they could not meet these standards. Fight this "double" source of stress, which you have voluntarily nurtured for yourself; thus you challenge your negative thinking.
• Communicate with positive people. Pay attention to how they react at least to some minor difficulties (for example, when they can not find a parking spot), and compare it with the reaction that such events could have caused you. Try to learn from them optimism and their persistence in the face of difficulties. If you do this, you yourself will not notice how much less these difficulties will be, because you will learn how to deal with them without unnecessary high costs of your psychic energy.
• Keep a "journal of negative thoughts." Whenever a negative thought attacks you, write it down and what caused it to appear. See your notes when you're in a good mood. Try to objectively analyze whether your negative was really justified. Ask yourself if there was any way to react differently to the situation. Let's give a small example: let's say, during the meeting your guy was some kind of sluggish, answered the questions in monosyllables, without any hunt. You concluded: your relationship is in danger! Or maybe he just was not in the mood that day? Or did he hurt something, but he did not want to upset you? And was it worth making such a pessimistic conclusion, if you did not even ask him about the reason for this behavior?

Types of Negative Thinking That Worsen Depression There is a category of thoughts that need to be gotten rid of, otherwise the fight against depression will not be successful:

• "All or nothing" - a person looks at the world through a black and white prism, there is no third option for him. ("If I am not perfect, then my whole life will be meaningless")
• Overburdening - only negative experience is generalized. ("I can not do anything right")
• Mental filter - ignoring the positiveevents and focus only on negativity. There is one event that went wrong, as it was necessary, and not all those events that go as planned.
• Downplaying positive events -reasons are made up why the good shouldn't be taken into account. ("She said I was an interesting person, but she didn't really think so, she just said it out of politeness")
• Hasty conclusions - the formation of a negativeinterpretation of words or events without actual evidence of her rightness. You behave as if you know how to read other people's thoughts ("He must think that I'm just awful looking"), or if you are a fortuneteller ("I can not do this work until the end of the week").
• Emotional reasoning - when you are sure that how you feel reflects reality. ("I feel like a failure, and I really am!")
• "I must" list - a strict list of what you absolutely must and should not do, and self-flagellation in case you did something "not according to the rules."

Take care of yourself

To overcome depression, you must bothYou should take care of yourself. This includes maintaining a healthy lifestyle, learning to manage stress, setting limits on what you can do, and planning for rest and recreation. What should you do?

• Set a goal to always sleep at leasteight hours. Depression is usually accompanied by problems with sleep. If you sleep too little (however, too much too), then your mood will be unstable. Try to comply with sleep.
• Walk every day to get your bodyeven a little sunshine. The lack of sunlight can complicate the course of depression. It is not necessary to be in direct sunlight - enough of the radiation that will affect you during the day's walk, even in cloudy weather.
• Keep stress in check. Not only does stress worsen a depressed state, it can still cause this condition. Analyze all the causes that can cause you stress. It can be overload at work, unfavorable relationships in the family, health problems. Once you determine the cause of stress, you can make a plan that will help to avoid or minimize its harmful effects.
• Practice relaxation techniques. The daily practice of relaxation can help alleviate the symptoms of depression, relieve stress and increase feelings of joy and well-being. Try yoga, deep breathing, muscle relaxation or immersion in meditation.
• Take care of caring for your homeanimals. Although nothing can replace human communication, animals can also bring great joy and communication into your life, they can help you feel less isolated. Caring for your pet is a very powerful antidote to depression.

Do what you like even if you can'tforce yourself to feel joy or experience pleasure, you can still continue to do the things you have always enjoyed. Return to an old hobby or resume the sports you used to love. Express yourself creatively – through music, dance, poetry or painting. Take a day trip to a museum, the mountains or go to the gym. Force yourself to do all these things, even if you have lost the taste for them for now. You will be surprised to see how much easier you feel when you do these things. Even if your depression does not subside immediately, gradually you will feel more and more optimism and energy filling you, and over time you will feel noticeable relief.

Go in for sports

When you are depressed, exercise– this is the last thing you want to do. But exercise is a powerful tool for fighting depression! Scientific research shows that regular exercise can be as effective at increasing energy levels and reducing fatigue as taking antidepressants. To get the most benefit, exercise for 30 minutes every day. But you can start small; even ten minutes of activity can have a positive effect on your mood. Here are some simple ways to increase your physical activity:

• Replace the journey on the elevator by walking on the stairs.
• Put the car in the most distant parking places.
• Go for a daily walk with the dog.
• Get up from the chair and walk around the room while talking on the phone.

The next step may be to turn on the lungsexercise into your daily routine. The key is to do something you enjoy, then it will be easier to maintain daily physical activity. Keep our tips in mind, and you will find ways to get rid of depression. Even if you have had to seek professional help, these tips can be part of your treatment plan; they will help speed up your recovery and prevent depression from returning. We recommend reading:

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