Taking care of yourself...
hints for depression sufferers
Notes
by Richard Pinneau, Ph.D.
Depression can be caused or triggered by widely different external events, biological conditions, hidden illnesses,
and emotional traumas, so it is essential that you get appropriate medical and professional assistance to be sure
that all these factors are taken into consideration and that any underlying conditions are treated. If you have
had severe periods of depression before or have been struggling to find the exact help you need, then you know
that there is no quick, sure guarantee from any one approach.
Consider, however, that once a severe depression is under way is often leads a person
toward a self-sustaining negative cycle where
depression is hard on your health and life conditions and these give you more discouragement.
Medical, psychiatric, counseling, and support-group assistance can all play a role
in breaking the downward spiral of depression and start you on the road upward. Meanwhile...
The notes on this page suggest positive self-help strategies that
assist (not replace) the professional assitance you need.
Steps on the road to recovery
Vital strategies to help your recovery. You may find some of these suggestions helpful for keeping you out
of the depression pattern in the future.
1. What you can do yourself:
- Exercise. True, you often don't feel motivated when depressed, so do whatever you need to get in regular
exercise. Start gradually if you're not accustomed to it. Aim toward getting aerobic exercise (that means enough
to get your heart beat up a bit) on a nearly daily basis. Keep at it until you are comfortable with a half hour
of walking, cycling, swimming, etc. When you can safely push some of this exercise to 45 minutes or more, you
may start to get some of the mood boost that runners call the "endorphin high." It may not feel like a "high,"
but it'll feel like an improvement.
- Social support. Keep connected and active with friends and family who are positive
and understand that healing from depression requires time. If
friends and family are have trouble being supportive, join positive-oriented support
groups or call help line counselors when need (ask your local mental health association
or the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, www.nami.org, for recommendations).
- Enjoyable activity. When you're depressed, many of the activities you used to
enjoy may have lost their appeal. Keep at some of them anyway, even
if you have to "force" yourself — like taking a prescribed medication.
Get a "buddy" to join in and encourage your activity.
- Get spiritual support. This includes attending your place of worship, private
prayer, attending a yoga class, uplifting spiritual reading, etc. Do what you need
to feel your connection as much as you can.
- Cognitive self-therapy. Keep after yourself with positive
thoughts. Part of recovery involves throwing out
irrational negative thoughts that dominate during depression and consistently pointing
out to yourself the positive rational thoughts that lead you to the light
at the end of depression.
- When the negative thoughts and attitudes come (including the thought, "none of these simple things on this
page are going to work") identify them as what they are: products of the depression, not,
truths about how things have to be (as it tends to appear when you are depressed).
2. Assistance with moving toward health
- Meditation: take a class from a highly-recommended teacher. Get follow-up support to continue your private
meditation on your own: the benefits come from practice.
- Support groups. Your local mental health association or newspaper's listings
can help you identify an appropriate group. This may mean a group aimed for all
sufferers of depression or a group for people with one of an underlying issues
that affects your depression: divorce, grief, alcoholism, childhood abuse, job
loss, other trauma or illness.
- Join a service organization where you can help others. This will show you the
positive impact your life can have in the world — an important part of new, energized
attitudes about yourself.
Other Points
With time we will collect other strategies on this page:
- Relaxation.
- Healthy diet.
Keep reminding yourself that, "this will pass." There were earlier times when you felt better, and with help you can
bring those times again. Never give up. There are people who care about you. If you have not found the right ones
yet, keep on. Keep on!
Keep us posted
If you have a story you'd like to share, please be in touch.
You can reach us via email: Training @ wellpathresources.com.
Millions of people have been through serious depression and come through it. Keep
seeking the help you need to speed your recovery.
