Depression Self Help

Depression stinks - there's just no other way to say it.

But depression self help can make a positive difference in your healing.

First identify...

Why am I depressed?

Shame

Some depression seems to be shame based. If you think or feel, "There's something wrong with me" or "I am flawed," the depression you're experiencing may be based in shame.

When we experience shame, we want to hide, sink into a hole in the earth, or even wish we were dead. And when we're experiencing shame, our body and mind seem to go numb... we almost can't think.

To heal from shame, a depression self help skill you can practice is accessing the present moment. Shame is often related to an internalized shaming parent. Getting fully present shifts us out of that internal relationship and diminishes the shame.

I have found more and more that when I have little bouts of depression my unconscious is trying to tell me something. If I'm doing life as usual it's hard for the message to make it up to my conscious mind.

So the depression sort of takes over, I'm not able to function as effectively as usual... and I may even take a day off from work and do nothing.

Usually when this happens and after I've let myself quit being who I think I should be (hard worker and responsible person)...

Then I have an "aha" moment or an idea pops into my head about a new class or the next thing I need to do for work. The depression usually lifts right away and I feel great - energized and ready to do life with zest.

When we know it's time to change jobs, end a relationship, or move, and we don't, after a certain amount of time our being will shift into depression or lethargy.

It's as though we know we can't count on our self.

If this is the case, taking action, no matter how small, towards making the shift will improve your mood. However, if you don't continue with the transition, the depression is likely to return.

When I was reading one of most favorite self help books, Conscious Living: How to Create a Life of Your Own Design by Gay Hendricks, I learned about the impact of procrastination.

Gay shares that if we don't act on what we've promised our self we will do, over time, our energy will drain. If this continues to happen we will get depressed.

When I read this, I decided to follow his advice and "just do it," whenever I thought I should do something - like clean the dishes, do laundry, call a friend, pay bills, or go for a walk.

This single depression self help skill has probably made the biggest help in shifting me out of chronic depression.

And it's not always easy. In fact, often it's not. Typically, I'd rather read a book, relax on the couch, or do a journaling exercise.

However, if you often don't follow through on your commitments to yourself - I encourage you to try on this practice for a month and see what happens.

There are times when a person doesn't feel comfortable experiencing anger towards someone else and because the energy has to go somewhere it can get turned inward and lead to depression.

Anger is a real and potent emotion. There is nothing wrong with it - in fact anger is normal. However, some people have learned that it's not okay to feel it.

When that happens, in a sense, the anger has to go somewhere and it can get turned inward.

If you think things like, "I hate myself" or "I hate my life," you might want to explore who or what you're angry at and then learn about how to express anger healthfully. And it's also possible that your anger won't even make sense to you at first. Be patient and loving with yourself.

More depression self help solutions
Physical shifts to your biochemistry:

• Exercise - just walking for about 10 - 15 minutes can shift your energy.
• Eat healthfully - eating fruits, vegetables, healthy proteins, and drinking plenty of water can drastically and positively affect your biochemistry
• Breathe deeply - practice diaphragmatic breathing for 10 - 20 minutes a day and see what happens.
• Change your circumstances - going some place new or doing something you haven't done before or for a while can energize you.

Challenging cognitive distortions... What we think about is another factor in depression.

Often when we're depressed, our thinking gets stuck on a negative perspective and it can be very distorted like...

• I'm such an idiot. I can't believe I did that. They must think I'm a fool.

• My life will never get better. I should just quit.

• I'm all alone. I don't know what to do. Nobody can help.

You can work with a therapist training in cognitive therapy or use depression self help skills to challenge your cognitive distortions.

Click this link for a list of cognitive distortions. They come from a book by David Burns: The Feeling Good Handbook which I highly recommend as a depression self help book.

Depression self help or medication?
Depression ranges in intensity and duration. If you've been depressed continuously for over three months, I highly recommend seeing a psychotherapist and considering getting a psychiatric evaluation if you haven't had one already.

Recognizing depression signs and symptoms and choosing to do something about it can be one of the first steps in depression self help you can take.

People dealing with major depression have a depressed mood continuously, think about death or suicide, can either be lethargic or very agitated, may sleep a lot or very little, and their eating may be affected.

Medication does help many people shift out of the biochemical quagmire that is part of what happens when they're depressed.

However, even though I was depressed for years, I never used medication. Knowing what I know now, I still think I made the best decision for myself.

However, I have many friends and clients who have successfully used depression medication. And many who have, after years of personal growth, were able to stop using the medication.

The choice is yours.

Go from depression self help to self help guide.