Beating Depression: Steps that can lead to a healthy depression recovery.

 

First and foremost, everyone has a different situation that caused their depression. And to recover from depression is to simply fight that cause. I have provided numerous alternatives that can benefit your depression.

 

1. Getting a suitable doctor for you- the correct diagnosis is crucial. You should get a doctor that you feel comfortable with because recovering from depression is a journey, a battle. Therefore, you should be able to trust that your doctor is prescribing the correct medications for you, and be able to tell your doctor everything that is going on, while being comfortable.

 

2.  Therapy- therapy has been proven to help immensely with depression. Ask your doctor about the right therapy for you.

 

3.  Exercise and Sleep- If you are an active person then you should definitely consider getting more exercise and sleep. But that doesn't mean to stay in bed all day, but rather get a healthy range of sleep such as 7-8 hours. Also, exercise has proven to boost the serotinin levels your brain produces. It increses the BDNF which are the neurotransmitters in your brain that send signals like your thoughts and emotions. Perhaps exercising every morning by going for a jog or doing yoga, or hitting the gym every week will definitely help in clearing your mind. But ask your doctor for approval!

 

4. Anti-depressants- Anti-depressants have many contradictions. Some may say that they purely do not work. However, it actually depends on your own situation. For example, if you have diabetes, anti-depressants may worsen the symptoms of diabetes thus, making it seem worthless. Also, anti-depressants impact those with severe depression more than those with mild depression. Therefore, ask your doctor if anti-depressants are right for you

 

5. Journal- Keeping a diary or journal has been proven to help your moods. Although it may seem hard to keep a diary every day, writing down your emotions will benefit. If you find yourself writing down negative things, slowly change it into positive things such as, "I'm happy that I got out of bed this morning." or "I love myself even if I make mistakes." Slowly, creating positive thoughts will become easier. This may be hard at first and perhaps it's easier said than done, but you can do it.

 

6. Support Groups- Support groups are essential to depression recovery. We need relationships and connections to help support our journey. Knowing that there are people who struggle similarly as you benefits tremendously. As cheesy as it is, you are not alone.

 

7. Meditation- Yoga, brain exercises and meditating is also an alternative for depression. By enhancing your amygdala you will be able to produce more neurotransmitters in your brain which will boost your positive thinking. So here is one exercise for your amygdala. Imagine a soft blue aura/light being projected from your amygdala (bottom of brain) and imagine it getting farther and farther around your brain. The more you practice, the better you'll get!

 

8. Vitamins and Nutrients- Some vitamins like omega-3's have been proven to help boost brain activity. Foods like fish are packed with omega-3's. However, I do not recommend doing this alternative on your own. Check with your doctor to see if omega-3 pills or vitamins will benefit you. Also,  taking daily vitamins can boost your mental health. It's all about making healthier choices! But make sure to get your doctor's permission before doing so, or overuse of vitamins may lead to health problems.

 

9. Stress Management Techniques- Feeling stressed out? Well that's not unusual. Being overly stressed is a common cause of depression. Now you just need to "de-stress" yourself. I have provided several stress management techniques that can help you with your stress.

Firstly, make a stress journal. What caused your stress? How did you feel in reaction to that? How did you react to it? What did you do that helped yourself? Secondly,  evaluate yourself. How do you cope with the stress? Do you have bad habits like smoking, drinking, isolation, sudden anger, drugs, procrasitnation? Well if you do have bad habits, change them to healthier ones like learning to say 'no', avoid people who stress you, and expressing your feelings instead of bottling them up. Relax! Life wasn't meant to be easy. Little by little you'll overcome the obstacles.

 

10. TMS- Transcranial magnetic stimulation is a type of therapy where magnetic waves are stimulating the key parts of your brain in order to reduce the depression symptoms to very minimum and even a full recovery. It is FDA approved and success rates are high. TMS should be one of your last alternatives because prices may be high.

 

11. ECT- ECT puts you under general anesthesia and you must be hospitalized. Symptoms like headaches and muscles aches occur often. Vomiting, nausea and jaw aches may occur. Also, during ECT heart rate or blood pressure may rise. ECT is Electroconvulsive therapy. It's a procedure where electric currents are passed through the brain to "reset it". It can quickly reverse the symptoms of mental illnesses. This should be one of your last options because prices are very high and it can cause undesired symptoms.

 

Depression is a serious illness that immediately needs treatment. It may be difficult to recover from but if others did, than so can you! Don't give up! Keep fighting!