Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity. It can affect a person’s thoughts, behavior, motivation, feelings, and sense of well-being. It may feature sadness, difficulty in thinking and concentration and a significant increase or decrease in appetite and time spent sleeping. People experiencing depression may have feelings of dejection, hopelessness and, sometimes, suicidal thoughts. Prevent or Overcome depression today.
Depression is a common mental disorder that affects over 121 million people in the world. It is listed among the top causes of disability across the globe, but the good news for those who may suffer from it is that 80% to 90% will recover. Though there is no guarantee you can completely prevent depression, there are many ways to decrease your likelihood of getting depression or experiencing a relapse.
There are many lifestyle changes and stress management techniques you can use to prevent or avoid depression. There are certain triggers that can cause us to experience depressive episodes. While triggers may be different for everyone, these are some of the best techniques you can use to prevent or avoid depression relapse.
BUILD STRONG RELATIONSHIPS
Having a strong support system and an active social life is important for our mental health. Research has shown that having even “adequate” social support can protect against depression.
Make sure that you’re regularly connecting with friends and family, even when your lives are busy. Attending social events when you can and finding new hobbies that could help you meet new people can all help you build new relationships too.
REDUCE YOUR DAILY CHOICES
Have you ever walked into a theme park and been overwhelmed at what you want to do first? Researchers think that having too many choices can actually cause significant stress that can lead to depression.
Psychologist Barry Schwartz, author of the book “The Paradox of Choice,” describes research that shows that when faced with too many choices, those who aim to make the best possible choice — “maximizers” — face higher rates of depression.
For many of us, our lives are filled with choices. Which outfit do we wear, and should we buy yogurt or eggs or bagels or English muffins or sausage for breakfast? The pressure of making the right — or wrong — choice is thought to contribute to depression.
If making choices stresses you out, simplify things. You can:
- Learn to be decisive more quickly.
- Reduce the decisions you’ll have to make during the work week: Plan out your outfits, and have your meals prepped and ready to go.
Exercise regularly
Believe it or not, exercise is essentially a natural antidepressant. In fact, a recent study showed that exercise, CBT, and certain medications all show similar effects. To get the most out of your workout, do weight-training and cardio, which has shown to be even more beneficial than just one or the other (and that’s for your waistline, too).
- Exercise helps boost your mood because it releases endorphins in your brain, which makes you feel better. Exercise also helps your brain make new neural connections.
- 50% of people who have one major episode of depression will relapse, and the likelihood goes up if you’ve had more than one episode. But exercising, eating right, and taking care of your body can limit the chance of recurrence.
Let your anxiety do not drive your friends away
If you’re in a bad mood, break off your trip or call. You need to make sure you’re not pushing them away, because your mates are important to you.
Pretend you’re pleased. Most times, you can really change your attitude by using a fake smile and trying to act and talk happily. As you change your skin, the amount of gladness-inducing chemicals that are created actually increases, which allows you to feel the joy that you represent.
Check your Diet
A healthful diet may help prevent or overcome depression and boost mental well-being. A 2019 study concluded that dietary interventions could play a role in treating depression.
Research suggests that the following foods may help:
- fresh fruits and vegetables
- green tea
- soybean products
- healthful oils, such as olive oil
- whole grains
- fish
At the same time, people should limit their intake of the following:
- red meat and meat products
- premade baked goods
- trans fats
- sugary desserts and sodas
Fresh fruits and vegetables provide antioxidants. These help protect the body from oxidative stress and cell damage.
Avoid alcohol and drugs
Alcohol is a depressant that can alter your mood without you even realizing it. What’s more, those at risk for depression are also at greater risk of alcohol abuse and developing alcoholism. To be safe in the short and long term, just avoid it. One glass of red wine a day has been shown to be beneficial in some studies. That’s one glass, or 5 ounces. No more! Prevent or overcome depression.
Find your passion
People adapt very quickly to life’s pleasures and pains. If we win a lot of money, we feel a high and then we get used to having lots of money. If we get fired, we feel low and then eventually bounce back.
There are some things, however, that we don’t adapt to: passion. I would wager that the best actors in the world would continue to act even if they became the richest people on Earth. I would also wager that the richest CEOs in the world use only money as a measurement of their success, not as a means to live extravagantly.
You must find your passion. It is a happiness well that never dries out. It could be writing, creating, helping people, self-improvement, sport, or anything that engages you and provides the right amount of challenge and stimulation.
To live with passion, you must first find your passion. This will assist you to prevent or overcome depression.
Try to remember happy things in your life
Being depressed means that you are constantly visiting the painful memories like the failure of a relationship or loss in business etc. If you keep going to those feelings again and again you might find yourself stuck in those feeling and it is not at all healthy. So the next time you start to think about the bad memories, try to close your eyes and visit any happy memory. It might feel too difficult to do but make it a habit and at least try to think about the good memories instead of bad ones.
Spend some time with the people who really care about you
You might have hundreds of people that you know but only a few of them care for you and they are the most important person in your life. So try sticking to them as much as possible. Whenever you have time visit your friends or family and spend some quality time with them. Spending time with your friends and family will have a positive effect on your mind and you will feel good as well. This will help prevent or overcome depression.
Cut back on social media
Research says that increased social media usage can cause or contribute to depression and low self-esteem. Social media can be addicting, and it’s a necessity to stay connected with family, friends, and even coworkers. It’s how we plan and invite each other to events and share big news.
However, limiting social media time can help prevent or overcome depression. You can do this by:
- deleting all social apps from your phone
- using website-blocking extensions that only let you use certain sites for a preset
amount of time - only going to social media with a purpose and avoiding logging on several times a
day just for something to do.
