What To Do When We Are Depressed? 10 Keys To Recover Well-being
Depression is a common phenomenon nowadays, and most experts affirm that practically all of us can suffer from it at some point in our lives. This should not surprise us considering the pace of life in industrialized societies and the demanding culture that surrounds us, which rewards competitiveness and individualism. Sometimes we can feel like objects, rather than subjects.
Depression is characterized by a sad mood and by a loss in the ability to feel interest and pleasure in those things that were previously enjoyed. In addition, the person who suffers from this disorder presents other negative symptoms such as, for example, fatigue, insomnia, eating and concentration problems.
Biological, educational or psychosocial factors usually interact in the appearance of depression, and the way in which the person interprets the events that occur around him has a great influence on the development of this disorder.
Although in most cases it is necessary to seek psychological support, it is possible to acquire a series of habits to combat depression and improve well-beingas long as the symptoms are not severe (in which case one is unable to follow behavioral patterns that require a certain willpower). In this article you can find a list of recommendations that will help you overcome this disorder and improve your quality of life.
1. Have healthy habits
Have healthy habits It is essential to enjoy better emotional health. Eating well and practicing physical exercise not only affects our body, but also our mind.
Proper nutrition helps maintain high energy levels and allows the body to function better. Likewise, the connection between food and psychological aspects has made psychology experts interested in understanding how what we eat affects our feelings and emotions, as we tell you in this article: “Psychology and Nutrition: the importance of emotional eating.”
Physical exercise is also synonymous with health, and there are many psychological effects it brings. The practice of sports activity promotes the release of endorphins and serotonin, among other neurochemicals. Endorphins produce a feeling of happiness and euphoria, and serotonin, as already mentioned, is related to depressive and obsessive behaviors. In addition, physical exercise helps reduce stress (which can cause depression) and helps improve an individual’s self-image.
2. Improve your Emotional Intelligence
Emotional Intelligence skills are necessary to enjoy good emotional health, and there are many studies that corroborate this. This practice promotes self-knowledge, helps to understand the emotions that one feels and regulate them, and allows master skills to have healthy relationships with others.
Having a high Emotional Intelligence positively affects different areas of people’s functioning, such as psychological well-being, coping with stressful situations, social relationships or work and, therefore, helps combat depression.
3. Follow an active social life
Studies on happiness have shown that healthy interpersonal relationships allow us to live more fulfilling lives. That is why it is necessary to surround ourselves with good friends, go to events and practice the hobbies that we like.
Don’t isolate yourself and go out to have a good time It improves our mood and gives meaning to our lives, just as having a close relationship with close friends and family who care about us is a protective factor against depression. Furthermore, if these are fun, they make us have a good time and improve our mood. Studies show that social support positively influences happiness and makes people less likely to suffer from depression.
4. Do what you like
Those individuals who connect with themselves and do what they like, that is, who feel self-actualized, are more resistant to depression. It’s hard not to be sad when you don’t like your job. and you have to spend eight hours a day in that place; or when you want to study something with all your might but your family’s opinion seems to be more important than yours.
Connecting with one’s own desires is essential if we want to avoid depression. Although it is true that in severe cases of this disorder this is not enough, doing what one likes helps to have greater self-esteem and enjoy greater mental well-being. .
In the world we live in, not much is required. Having the perfect body, earning a lot of money, excelling in studies… These beliefs are, in many cases, irrational, because perhaps we can excel in some facets, but not necessarily in all of them.
Self-esteem is seriously damaged if we continually compare ourselves with others, because these expectations They can be excessively perfectionistic and unattainable and, therefore, can cause immense frustration: it is common to project our attention on the deficits instead of the virtues we possess. Furthermore, although we all like other people to like us, investing a lot of time and energy trying to make others like us can cause great psychological exhaustion and unnecessary stress. The important thing is to be good with yourself.
6. Accept and forgive yourself
Self-acceptance and self-forgiveness is one of the keys to avoiding depression, and the way we interpret our failures is decisive when it comes to looking at life with optimism or pessimism. Since we are not perfect, it is possible to make mistakes. Learn from negative experiences and accepting that sometimes you win and sometimes you lose is necessary to regain well-being. The past cannot be changed, but the perception we have about the past can.
7. Set goals that are realistic
One of the causes of suffering from depression may be not having vital goals, because goals are motivating and help us stay moving. If we look to the future and do not see the path forward clearly, we may suffer an existential crisis.
That’s why it is necessary to have objectives to fight forbecause they give us life. Now, goals should not be irrational, as they can create false and unattainable expectations and, therefore, negatively affect our well-being.
8. Live in the present
These objectives should not only be set in the long term, but it is necessary to have short-term goals, which allows us to remain motivated throughout the process. Having future expectations (as long as they are realistic) is good, but learning to live in the present is also key to overcoming depression.
It is common that, in the times we live in, let’s get carried away by expectations and the rumination of the mind, getting lost in these thoughts. That is why we must continually remind ourselves that we must remain in the here and now, connected with ourselves and with the reality that surrounds us at this precise moment.
A useful tool to achieve this is Mindfulness..
9. Take care of your stress level
The phenomena of stress and depression are usually closely related, but they are different conditions that require specific treatments. Stress is one of the great evils of this century, and it is not surprising given the lifestyle of Western societies.
When it becomes chronic, depression can appear as one of its consequences or effects. Prevent stress It also helps prevent depression.
A type of stress that is very present today is work stress.
10. Seek professional help
The previous sections can be useful to help combat depression, but sometimes it is not possible to get out of this delicate situation on your own.
In these cases, psychological therapy becomes a good help to alleviate the situation, because it helps the patient to discover the underlying causes of their worries and sadness; It allows you to learn to relax and look at situations from a new perspective, and gives you the opportunity to develop better coping and problem-solving skills. In short, psychotherapy provides the tools to overcome depression and regain well-being.
The importance of putting yourself in good hands
If you think you are going through a situation similar to that described in the previous lines and are looking for psychological support, the Mensalus Institute Psychology Center has a team of professionals who are experts in the treatment of depression and other disorders.
This center is located in Barcelona, where it offers face-to-face therapeutic sessions (although it also has the possibility of doing online therapy), always from an integrative approach. Depression differs from occasional sadness and causes great suffering, but It is treatable if we put ourselves in good hands and we receive competent care.
If you want more information about the Mensalus Institute Psychology Center, you can find the contact information at this link.
