Depression - How To Manage It?

Depression, a psychological condition marked by sadness, lethargy, exhaustion, helplessness and hopelessness can develop among men and women of any age, at any point in their lifetime. It is difficult to pinpont the exact cause of depression, however, financial setback, failure in a relationship, academic under-performance, vocational under-achievement and several other socio-economic stressors of this sort are known to cause Depression how we know it in current times. 

Prolonged and untreated Depression can compromise the depressed individual's immunity making them vulnerable to several other health problems. Therefore, one must make efforts to get out of a depressed mode as soon as possible. While dealing with feelings of sadness it is important to accept one's condition, identify the reasons behind those feelings and try as much as possible to come out of it using one's own efforts. In order to recognise your stressors and work your way around those you must- 

Sleep well: While you are resting through various stages of sleep your body is getting ready to take on more life for when you wake up and get going. A good night's sleep rejuvinates the body and repairs the day-to-day wear-and-tear that the body undergoes. Not getting enough rest on the other hand can lead to many health problems, further worsening a depressed person's condition. Therefore, sleeping is important. If needed, you must force yourself to sleep. 

Eat well: A depressed person might binge eat and/or over eat or avoid food altogether. Many clinically depressed people report indulging themselves in foods like chips, chocolates and such other high-calorie foods. Such an eating pattern will lead to weight gain and predispose one to obesity and obesity-related health problems. Alternately, if one lacks the desire to eat anything, then, this too can lead to adverse effects as the body's nutritional balance gets disturbed. So, make an effort to keep your body nourished at all times. 

Exercise: Regular exercise is very useful in that it acts as a diversion from stressful or negative thoughts and also helps in keeping the body active. In case you do not like to exercise, you can opt for jogging or running. Even a simple walk out in the open can be beneficial. Going out, inhaling fresh air, connecting with the nature can all help shift focus onto the positive aspects of life and enhance the quality of your thoughts. Small windows of positive thoughts in one's daily life can do wonders for anyone. 

Keep yourself engaged: Engaging in activities that one doesn't do every day can distract your mind and also make you creative as well as productive. Such activities might include gardening, painting, cooking, riding a bicycle and the likes. While engaging in such activities can keep you busy, keeping your mind off from wandering to catastrophic thoughts you might even discover some of your hidden talents in the process. 

Trust in your abilities: No one is perfect and many times one's social, economic and/or physical conditions are not contributing favorably in achieving one's ambitions and desires. In such conditions it is important to focus over what one is capable of doing and making earnest efforts at making the best out of one's situation. Sooner or later change will occur. These are some of the ways you can use to fight away depression. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a Psychologist.