Your best chance of rising above depression and leading a normal life lies in how much effort you’re willing to put into fighting this condition. Incorporate these nine things into your lifestyle.
- Accept that you are in charge of your mental and physical wellbeing. You have to put in effort, others can, at best, guide you. Use all available tools. Read about the condition, attend therapy classes, join support groups, eat nutritious food, stay away from the triggers, etc.
- Keep your brain healthy and active through physical exercise. Follow your passions. It could be working out, cooking, trekking, painting, reading, or just chatting with friends.
- Ensure that you get good sleep. A good sleep at night helps in recovering from a depressive bout.
- Eat healthy foods. Proper nutrition ensures that the feel-good neurotransmitters such as dopamine, noradrenaline, and serotonin are available to the body in the right amounts and at the right time.
- Practice yoga and deep breathing exercises. Both activities release endorphins. Deep, regular breaths have a calming influence on the mind.
- Your daily routine should adequately meet the needs of physical and mental nourishment.
- Get a massage, hug people, be on backslapping terms with people. Such physical contact is an important aspect of human bonding and helps fight depression.
- Accentuate the positives in your life. Don’t dwell on the negatives. Open up your mind to all the wonderful possibilities that exist in your life.
- Visualization is a powerful tool. Bring an image into your mind of your healthy self and use it to inspire yourself to achieve that physical and mental frame.
