How Do I Practice Self-Care If I’m Depressed?
Depression can take control of your whole life, from how you feel, think, and respond to what you do. Thus, it becomes increasingly difficult to practice self-care while you are under the sadness cloud.
Mental health is fundamental, and you might be interested in knowing how you can do self-care when depressed. Let's find out!
A few self-care habits you can adopt if you suffer from depression are de-cluttering your mind, identifying your triggers, reaching out to your loved ones, and practicing positive self-talk. You need to be your best friend and understand yourself rather than self-criticism. Also, seek professional help if needed.
Self-care is vital as it works as a helping hand that pulls you out from the dark depression pit. Wonder how you can implement it in your life? This article here will guide you about self-improvement to fight off feeling-low hours.
De-Clutter Your Mind:
When struggling with depression, you might feel caught up in a sea of uncontrollable negative thoughts. The mind turns into a chaotic and tangled mess, and it gets hard to get out of your head. Just like our drawers and cabinets, our minds too require cleaning and tidying up now and then.
A few effective habits to de-clutter your mind include
Organizing your thoughts through journaling
Letting go of all the draining thoughts and emotions
Performing simple breathing exercises
Setting a limit on the hours spent scrolling social media
Appreciating the blessings in your life
Speak To Yourself As You Would With Your Best Friend:
It's so common to treat yourself harshly and take all the blame for the trivial inconvenience while you are depressed. Have you ever observed how we talk to ourselves when we indulge in an internal monologue? It's almost always criticizing yourself with comments like "I'm so worthless, "I can never do anything right, or "why am I overreacting all the time?
Now ask yourself, will you ever speak in a similar tone and harshness to your best friend or a loved one? You would never! So, be the same empathetic and understanding friend to your being that you are for others. This positive self-talk is one of the central self-care practices you need to perform more often.
Be Aware Of Your Triggers:
Individuals with depression have some specific triggers that can worsen the associated symptoms. These triggers vary from person to person and can be food-related, people-related, or even situation related. When you identify your triggers, you can distance yourself from them to keep the depression symptoms in control.
Such trigger awareness is a powerful form of self-care that helps with depression. If you still feel spiraling downward, you can make your mind busy with an activity that brings you joy. For instance, reading a few pages of your favorite book, spending time with your pet, or watching an entertaining movie will elevate your mind.
Give Yourself The Due Credit:
Crediting yourself is yet another aspect of self-care that you can practice if you feel low and depressed. Self-criticism and judgment are some recurring habits that people with depression are prone to. When trying to give yourself credit for even not-a-big-deal-looking things, let's say like
Cleaning your bedroom,
Making a delicious dessert,
Or doing some exercise,
You are consciously shifting your energy in a positive direction. Instead of putting yourself down, you focus on patting yourself on the shoulder as a gesture of appreciation. When you are aware of your daily achievements, you have more recognition of your progress which makes you at ease with your being.
Practice Mindful Meditation:
Mindful meditation allows you to divert your attention to the present moment without bias or judgment. It's a great technique that compels you to act kindly with yourself and help manage depression symptoms. In addition, practicing mindful meditation make you realize that all your feelings and emotions are valid, and you are allowed to feel the way you think.
30-second daily mindfulness is enough to drag yourself from the dark pit of self-criticism and negative thought patterns. You develop acceptance for the things and situations the way they are and let go of the mental baggage, which, in turn, mild-down depression symptoms.
Take A Break, Pause Your Hectic Routine:
In today's haphazard and fast-paced lifestyle, working non-stop is too glorified. We get so occupied with our hectic routines that our mental health gets badly neglected. And it is mostly the last thing we consider. Especially when you live with depression, such a hectic lifestyle can significantly reduce the quality of your life.
Thus, taking a break from all the chaos gives you your motivation back. When you feel recharged, you can perform better and be more productive rather than being in a state of exhaustion all the time.
Open Up To Your Loved Ones:
When struggling with depression, it seems almost impossible to open up about it in front of your loved ones. Your mind tricks you into believing that 'oh! They'll never understand me" or 'what will they think about me? It is the result of the stigma around mental illnesses that makes us hesitant to talk openly about them.
However, when you overcome this fear and take the massive step of reaching out to your friends or family, you are doing yourself a great favor. The more you pour your heart out, the more relaxed and at ease you will feel.
Turn To A Healthier Lifestyle:
Making small changes in your lifestyle will help you a lot in combating depressive episodes. The choices and actions we make have a lasting influence on our life. These include certain behavioral and dietary modifications that ultimately lead to a more positive outlook on life.
Some of the changes that you can bring in your life to overcome depression are
Better sleeping patterns
Healthier eating routine
Keeping yourself hydrated
Participating in physical activities
Practicing stress management
Seek Professional Help If Needed:
If you feel stuck and helpless while dealing with depression and nothing seems to work for you, it is best to consult a professional. It is also a form of self-care, so better not to delay it. Plus, don't be hesitant or shy in seeking out psychological support. Just like you would rush to a professional for physical ailments with worsened symptoms, you need to do the same for mental illnesses.
It is necessary in the case when your depression symptoms aren’t showing improvement. So, don’t ignore your mental health at any cost.