Managing depression can be incredibly difficult, and if left untreated, it can become an incredibly debilitating mental illness. At times, it can make it seem like all your energy and motivation are spent just getting out of bed in the morning. But depression doesn’t have to be permanent – there are simple actions you can take each day to help reduce your depression symptoms, and professional treatment options are available if lifestyle changes alone aren’t enough to bring about recovery.
Here, we’ll discuss how to manage depression with these tips for improving mood, cultivating important coping skills, and building healthier routines to overcome depression.
If you need help with managing depression, reach out to Active Path today and schedule an appointment.
1. Start an Exercise Routine
A number of scientific studies have shown that an increase in physical activity is an incredibly powerful tool for managing depression. While it can be hard to start a new exercise routine, you don’t need to immediately start Olympic weightlifting or running marathons – you can get all the same mental health benefits by taking a walk through your neighborhood, going for a bike ride through the park, or simply finding ways to move your body more.
2. Practice Good Sleep Hygiene
Sleep disruption is one of the earliest signs of clinical depression. For some people, this means sleeping too much. For others, it’s waking up too early. Regardless, taking steps to improve your sleep through good sleep hygiene practices can start you on the path to relieving depression symptoms. In its simplest form, good sleep hygiene means:
- Going to bed and waking up at the same time each day
- Making your sleeping environment cool, dark, and comfortable
- Turning off screens and dimming the lights an hour before bedtime
- Cutting out caffeine in the afternoon
- Creating a relaxing nighttime routine
These simple changes can help you fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer, and let your mind and body get the restorative sleep they need to combat severe depression.
3. Start a Meditation Practice
Meditation practice has rapidly become a leading therapeutic tool in treating depression. Starting a routine of daily meditation helps you learn how to enter into a more mindful state, where you’re focused on the present moment, rather than worrying about the future or beating yourself up about the past.
Mental health disorders like depression are often driven by these thought patterns, and regular mindfulness practice can help you learn to break free from them.
4. Challenge Negative Thinking
Identifying and challenging negative thought patterns is a tool used by cognitive behavioral therapists to help treat depression, but you can start on your own today. When you recognize a thought that’s irrational, self-deprecating, focused on the worst possible outcome, or ignores the positive side of a situation, challenge that thought internally. When you can recognize these thoughts, interrupt them, and replace them with a healthier reframing, your symptoms of depression can start to abate.
5. Give Back to Others
The field of positive psychology has found that showing kindness to others is one of the most powerful tools for improving mood and well-being. If you’re starting to feel down on yourself, consider volunteering at a local organization where you believe in the cause, such as a soup kitchen, church, or community organization. These selfless acts can get you out of your head and into action, which is a critical pathway to symptom relief and for managing depression in general.
6. Lean on Friends and Family for Support
Social support is a powerful tool for helping people overcome a mood disorder. When the symptoms of depression get too much to bear on your own, reach out to a friend, family member, or local support group for help, and your symptoms may just be halved when they are shared.
7. Start Treatment for Managing Depression with a Mental Health Professional
Lifestyle changes alone often aren’t enough to help people break free from depression. If you’ve tried the strategies above without success or are simply ready to take the next step for depression help, reach out to the mental health professionals at Active Path in Portland, Clackamas, Tigard, Salem, Vancouver or Kirkland to find the treatment you need. There are a number of evidence-based treatment options to help people break free from depressive disorders, including:
- Antidepressant medication management
- Cognitive behavioral therapy
- Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) therapy
- Esketamine / Spravato
Call our team today at 503.719.4648 to start treatment and take the first step toward overcoming depression, or book an appointment here.
