It’s normal to feel sad sometimes. We all go through periods when our mood isn’t what it normally is. Maybe something specific happened, like the passing of a loved one or a big move to a new location. Or maybe there is a lot of tension in a relationship, and things seem very up in the air.
“I feel depressed” is a phrase that gets thrown out a lot. Depression, however, goes beyond fleeting moments of sadness. It’s more than just feeling blue. It’s a chronic mental health disorder that can affect someone for a long time. For those diagnosed with a mental health disorder such as depression, it can feel challenging to try and cope with. If you are fighting through a dark period affecting your life, know you aren’t alone. Even though depression is a terrible funk to try and get out of, it is possible to manage your symptoms.
Learning to manage symptoms of depression can feel overwhelming, so here are 3 simple ways to begin today.
3 Simple Ways To Manage Depression Symptoms
Take It One Step At A Time
When depression ramps up, we feel like we are never doing enough—not good or worthy enough. Depression is cruelly convincing us that we’re a failure if we don’t feel like doing something. A common symptom of depression is feeling no motivation to do anything. Whether cooking, cleaning, or feeling interested in our hobbies and activities. This adds fuel to the fire—because you know you need to get these things done, but you can’t bring yourself to do it.
Take it one day and step at a time. If you can’t get more than 10 minutes of cleaning done a day, don’t beat yourself up about it. If you can’t pick up that book you started months ago, don’t feel guilty about this. Even if you read one page—that is an accomplishment in itself. Society tends to expect that we must stay busy and on top of things to measure up. What’s important to remember is that you are doing your best for what works for you. You should never feel ashamed of that.
Manage Things With Small Goals
You feel overwhelmed with your to-do list. The laundry has piled up. You have work deadlines to catch up on. You need to work on your budget for the month.
When things get piled up on our plate, it’s not hard to start feeling really overwhelmed by everything. It can get to the point where you don’t even know where to begin. So you don’t—which is understandable, given how hard it is to feel like doing anything with depression rears its ugly head. We often look at the bigger picture. The large scale of things we need to get done can only lead to feeling completely overwhelmed.
Start small. If you have a pile of laundry to catch up on, work on doing one small load at a time. Work on folding the laundry when done. Then the next day, if you can’t get to it the same day, do the next load. Working on breaking things up into smaller manageable steps can help that giant to-do list not feel as daunting.
Find Support
With depression, social isolation is pretty common. You don’t want to burden your family and friends with the heavy things that are going on in your life or your unexplainable symptoms of depression. Depression tells us we are better off withdrawing from everyone because they are better off without us bothering them. It’s hard not to—but don’t believe this lie.
Reach out to your family or friends and talk to them about what you are going through. There’s a good chance that they have also been there before, and even if they haven’t, it’s surprising to know they do sympathize with you.
If nothing else, don’t hesitate to reach out to me for depression treatment. Together, we can develop a simple, easy plan to help you manage your symptoms better.
