Fighting Depression: Ways to Cope When You’re Feeling Depressed

Have you ever heard the expression “You’re your own worst enemy”? You’d think that we always have our own best interests at heart, but that’s not always true. When you’re fighting depression, one of the realities you’ll be confronted with is that your mind can be working against you, and you can be your own worst enemy. It’s important to get the right support and have a clear strategy to deal with depression effectively.

When you approach depression as something of a challenge that needs to be managed rather than an enemy that you need to conquer and defeat all at once, you can build effective strategies that promote your resilience and emotional health in the long term.

Facing the Key Challenges of Depression

As you address depression, an important part of that is to understand what depression is. Depression is a mood disorder, a medical and psychological condition that affects the way you think, feel, and behave in everyday situations. When you struggle to regulate your own emotions and thoughts, you’ll often feel like you’re not yourself. Having depression isn’t a personal weakness or a character flaw. You need to acknowledge that.

It’s also important that you educate yourself about how things like your brain chemistry, genetics, stressors, and your environment play a role in depression. By tracking your mood and identifying the triggers that are relevant to you, you can be better prepared to deal with what comes.

The key challenges that often come with depression include the fact that you’ll typically experience a loss of energy and motivation. Many people who have gone through depression report feeling tired and unmotivated, to the point where even simple tasks like getting dressed, typing out a message, or meeting a friend for coffee feel overwhelming. Things that once were a breeze or routine can feel like a feat.

Your thought patterns are also affected by depression. You may find yourself caught up in negative thought spirals, where you’re berating or criticizing yourself, feeling hopeless and guilty, or even declaring yourself worthless. These kinds of negative thoughts can dominate your mental landscape, making it harder to get out of the funk of depression.

Another related challenge is that of social withdrawal. You may not feel up to company, even though that can help you feel connected. Loved ones can also help you challenge untrue and unhelpful things you may be saying to yourself. When you’re isolated, it worsens the symptoms of depression but being withdrawn and isolated can become your default.

You may also experience other physical, mental, and emotional challenges. These would include struggling to fall and stay asleep, which contributes to fatigue. Others tend to sleep too much, making it hard to get on with other things in life. Changes in appetite can also lead to unplanned weight loss or gain. You may also feel more irritable, which can create relationship issues. Your mind may also feel a bit sluggish, making it hard to remember or focus.

These are just some of the challenges that can be brought about by depression. They affect how you function in the world, your energy levels, and whether you can perform daily tasks well.

Fighting Depression: Reclaiming Your Joy

It is possible to fight depression. That fight is gradual and takes time. It’s important to think of it as more of a journey than a quick battle. It can be disheartening and disappointing to wrestle with something longer than you expected. The journey of coping with and overcoming depression entails developing an understanding of what depression is and how it affects you in particular, as well as steps to manage it well.

The journey of dealing with depression won’t look the same for everyone. The steps that you can take include the following:

Acknowledge the condition If you find yourself facing several of the challenges mentioned already, accepting that you may be dealing with depression is a vital first step. When you deny what could be happening to you, that delays the healing process. Facing stigma and other unhelpful ideas about depression is essential. Depression is a common condition that affects people from all walks of life.

Seek professional help When you consider how depression affects you, it’s important to acknowledge that other conditions may produce similar symptoms. This could include a thyroid condition or chronic stress. Talking with a doctor, psychologist, counselor, or psychiatrist can help you identify what’s going on. You need a proper assessment to determine your specific situation.

When you get professional help, it can identify whether you’re dealing with depression, and it can also help you understand how severe that depression is. Eliminating other possible causes allows you and your doctor to develop an appropriate treatment plan that will help you restore functionality and a sense of normalcy.

Pursue therapy or counseling Seeing a mental health professional, like a counselor, can help you deal with the various challenges that depression presents. Therapies such as Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can help you to reframe negative and unhelpful thought patterns and behaviors that can trigger or worsen depression.

There may be circumstances where medication is required. With cases of moderate to severe depression, taking medication like antidepressants under medical supervision can be a key part of the treatment plan, in addition to counseling. Medication can help to reduce the symptoms of depression, allowing you to implement other changes to nurture your well-being.

Build a support system When dealing with depression, you’re more likely to shy away than seek connection, but you need other people in your life to support you. Some folks experience feelings of shame or a sense of weakness, and that stops them from reaching out to friends, family, and other loved ones. A support system can ground you and help you feel better.

Make daily self-care a priority Your well-being can improve steadily through the small, daily things you do for yourself. Whether it’s journaling, taking a daily run or a short walk, getting your full eight hours of sleep, eating an enjoyable meal, or getting a haircut, these small things add up. They help you regain a sense of yourself and to feel good.

Take the time to make small but meaningful adjustments to your daily routine and lifestyle, as these can support good mental health. Exercise, quality sleep, and lowering your intake of alcohol and other substances all make a difference in how your body feels and how you enter and go through each day.

Routine is your friend Depression can bring a certain kind of brain fog with it. It’s hard to concentrate or to remember things and making major decisions can become quite daunting. One way to deal with this is to defer any major decisions like changing your relationship status, moving, or changing jobs. Having a structured routine with small achievable goals can counteract the malaise of depression.

Keep abreast of progress and adjust As you make these small changes in your life, it’s important to take stock periodically. Doing this with someone like your counselor can help you refine your treatment plan and strategies, so you continue to implement changes that make a difference. You can make any necessary adjustments needed to stay on top of things.

If you’re struggling with depression, it can impact your life significantly. It’s important that you reach out to a counselor sooner rather than later to begin making necessary changes in your life. The path to recovery doesn’t look the same for everyone. For many, significant improvement happens with consistent treatment, with tangible changes occurring in weeks and months.

Reach out and talk with a counselor who specializes in depression to begin your journey toward healing. Challenges and setbacks do happen along the way, but as you walk alongside your counselor, you can build your resilience and ability to cope with depression. It’s possible to reclaim your joy and begin to overcome depression.