More than 350 million people worldwide suffer from depression. It’s a serious problem and one that shouldn’t be ignored. Whether it’s you or a loved one who is suffering from depression, it’s crucial that you find ways to treat it as soon as possible. Depression is like a vacuum that sucks in your energy. It also sucks hope out of you so that you are unable to do the very thing you need to do to defeat it. The good news is that depression is not an undefeatable foe. By making deliberate choices to feel better, you can actually overcome it.
Meditate
One of the most important ways to deal with depression is to recognize that the problem all starts inside your mind. The mind is a battlefield and it is always under siege. The fiercest battle that is being fought in this world is the one that is in the arena of the mind. To overcome depression, you must learn to renew your mind on a regular basis. That means meditating or focusing on things that are good. If you believe in God or in any other supreme being, focusing on that being can significantly help renew your mind and maintain your focus. It’s also interesting that the word ‘meditation’ in the Hebrew language is not limited to simply thinking about good things; it actually involves speaking or murmuring, something similar to self-affirmation.
Have a Vision
Not too many people realize this, but one of the main causes for depression or feeling down is the lack of vision. Vision gives hope, but a lack of it causes people to perish. If you feel depressed, it’s possible that you have ran out of things to hope for. On the contrary, having a renewed vision gives you hope. Try setting up personal goals that will give you something to look forward to. Plan a trip with your loved ones. No matter how small a goal or a vision, it is enough to rekindle hope and help you dream again.
Have a Change of Environment
A change of scenery is one of the best ways to combat depression. It’s easy to associate your emotions with everything around you, and being in the same place your entire life wouldn’t help. If you need to move house, do so. In most cases, though, it doesn’t have to be that radical. Sometimes, applying small changes to the way your house looks such as repositioning furniture pieces is enough to improve the mood.
Surround Yourself with Friends
Study shows that living in close proximity to your friends can prolong your life. It’s not surprising considering how having a support group can help you cope up with life’s problems a lot easier. Depression usually causes you to isolate yourself. If have friends living close to your place who understand your situation, you will have a limited chance of isolating yourself for extended periods. In the past, whenever I feel down, I would lock myself inside the house and not let any of my friends see me. My closest friends, however, are quite stubborn and would not give up and would do everything they can to get inside the house and get me to face them. It annoyed me at first, but eventually, I found the significance of surrounding yourself with friends who really care for you, especially at seasons when you’re feeling really down.
Be a Prisoner to Praise
Nothing religious here, folks. To be a prisoner to praise is simply to have a thankful attitude. I’m saying this because one of the things that cause people to feel depressed is comparing their lives to those who are ahead of them on the social ladder. Instead of being grateful for what they have, they complain all the time and eventually feel depressed because they are not as rich or as successful as their friends or colleagues. If you have an attitude of gratitude, however, you will learn that you actually are more blessed than most people in the world. I have decided to be thankful and to be content of whatever lot in life I have. It has helped me not to succumb to depression and has opened my eyes to the fact that the world is actually a wonderful place to live in.
Photo Credit: Lotus Carroll (Flickr.com)