7 More Ways to Defeat Depression

Here are some more techniques to overcome depression:

1.     Work on something creative, use your hands. Knitting, sewing, weaving, making cards, drawing, painting, playing an instrument, baking, cooking, play dough sculptures, beading, making jewelry, woodworking. These are just a few of ideas you can use to focus on something that you’re creating, and it feels good!

2.    Cuddle with a pet. If you have one, your love will pour into the animal, and often it will respond to you. If you don’t have one, borrow one. Consider getting one, as they are very therapeutic. Or, go to a pet shelter and cuddle with one there.

3.    Educate yourself. Reading or listening to podcasts about depression may help you to overcome it. There are many books and articles that address it, and do a good job. Finding Hope Again by Drs. Neil T. Anderson and Hal Baumchen is a good one.

4.   Try something new. A new hobby, something that you’ve never thought of trying before, will distract you, and may give you a new lease on life.  Another language (try Duolingo, a free app that allows you to learn languages easily), woodworking, writing letters to prisoners, gardening, any of the things mentioned in #8 above. Befriend a foreigner, write thank you notes to old teachers you liked, get involved with politics, or some cause that you feel strongly about.

5.   Smile  It’s scientifically proven that smiling makes a person feel better.  It uses less muscles to smile than to frown, and it send the message to your brain that there is something to be happy about. (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/prefrontal-nudity/201208/smile-powerful-tool) It’s also infectious, causing other people to smile, thanks to mirror neurons. Try it!

6.    Ask someone to tell you that this too shall pass. It might even get better tomorrow. Or next week, or next month. This came from a depressed client, and it makes sense. The distorted thinking one has is that it’ll always be this bad. That’s never the case.

7.   Listen to music.  Music stimulates both sides of the brain, and can reach deeper recesses of our soul than talking can. It isn’t understood why, (people who have had strokes can sometimes sing, but not talk), but it often works to calm and to encourage us. Have a playlist of encouraging songs ready to play when you get down, and see if they don’t work.

 

If, however, you are seriously depressed, it would be good to see a professional. Rather than judge you, the counselor will help you learn some useful tools to defeat depression. It’s worth a try! 5 sessions could well be all the person would need.

  A word about medication. I believe that anti-depressants are God’s gift to us, but are to be used sparingly. If a person is very depressed, they might need something to get them back up to feeling decent again. But rarely should the medication be seen as a permanent solution. You need to change your thinking to get well and stay well. Medications in many cases are like the scaffolding on a house that is being built. It’s there for a while, but not there long term. Changing one’s thinking, figuring out and beating the distortions, is how one builds the house.