If you have thoughts of suicide, self-harm or harming others... Please contact the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 9-8-8
What is Depression?
Depression (major depressive disorder) is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act. Fortunately, it is also treatable. Depression causes feelings of sadness and/or a loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed. It can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems and can decrease your ability to function at work and at home.
What are the Symptoms?
Depression symptoms can vary from mild to severe and can include:
- Feeling sad or having a depressed mood
- Loss of interest or pleasure in activities once enjoyed
- Changes in appetite — weight loss or gain unrelated to dieting
- Trouble sleeping or sleeping too much
- Loss of energy or increased fatigue
- Increase in purposeless physical activity (e.g., inability to sit still, pacing, handwringing) or slowed movements or speech (these actions must be severe enough to be observable by others)
- Feeling worthless or guilty
- Difficulty thinking, concentrating or making decisions
- Thoughts of death or suicide
Symptoms must last at least two weeks and must represent a change in your previous level of functioning for a diagnosis of depression.
Also, medical conditions (e.g., thyroid problems, a brain tumor or vitamin deficiency) can mimic symptoms of depression so it is important to rule out general medical causes.
Depression affects an estimated one in 15 adults (6.7%) in any given year. And one in six people (16.6%) will experience depression at some time in their life. Depression can occur at any time, but on average, first appears during the late teens to mid-20s. Women are more likely than men to experience depression. Some studies show that one-third of women will experience a major depressive episode in their lifetime. There is a high degree of heritability (approximately 40%) when first-degree relatives (parents/children/siblings) have depression.
Emotion-Focused Coping Skills
Regular exercise may help ease depression and anxiety by:
- Releasing feel-good endorphins, natural cannabis-like brain chemicals (endogenous cannabinoids) and other natural brain chemicals that can enhance your sense of well-being
- Taking your mind off worries so you can get away from the cycle of negative thoughts that feed depression and anxiety
Regular exercise has many psychological and emotional benefits, too. It can help you:
- Gain confidence. Meeting exercise goals or challenges, even small ones, can boost your self-confidence. Getting in shape can also make you feel better about your appearance.
- Get more social interaction. Exercise and physical activity may give you the chance to meet or socialize with others. Just exchanging a friendly smile or greeting as you walk around your neighborhood can help your mood.
- Cope in a healthy way. Doing something positive to manage depression or anxiety is a healthy coping strategy. Trying to feel better by drinking alcohol, dwelling on how you feel, or hoping depression or anxiety will go away on its own can lead to worsening symptoms.
Is a structured exercise program the only option?
Some research shows that physical activity such as regular walking — not just formal exercise programs — may help improve mood. Physical activity and exercise are not the same thing, but both are beneficial to your health.
- Physical activity is any activity that works your muscles and requires energy and can include work or household or leisure activities.
- Exercise is a planned, structured and repetitive body movement done to improve or maintain physical fitness.
The word “exercise” may make you think of running laps around the gym. But exercise includes a wide range of activities that boost your activity level to help you feel better.
Certainly running, lifting weights, playing basketball and other fitness activities that get your heart pumping can help. But so can physical activity such as gardening, washing your car, walking around the block or engaging in other less intense activities. Any physical activity that gets you off the couch and moving can help improve your mood.
You don’t have to do all your exercise or other physical activity at once. Broaden how you think of exercise and find ways to add small amounts of physical activity throughout your day. For example, take the stairs instead of the elevator. Park a little farther away from work to fit in a short walk. Or, if you live close to your job, consider biking to work.
So why might bath time be better at treating depression than gym time? Researchers believe it has to do with circadian rhythm—aka the body’s internal clock—which affects the functioning of our organs through temperature regulation.
Those battling depression often have a disrupted or delayed circadian rhythm—which is why insomnia is a common symptom of the condition.
By regularly increasing participants’ body temperatures, the researchers believe they were able to improve their circadian rhythms—and in turn alleviate some of their depression symptoms. Also, morning exposure to bright light has been shown to influence circadian rhythms and alleviate depression.
Keep in mind, that this was a small study, and it’ll take a lot more research before hot baths could become a regularly prescribed treatment for depression. But hey, getting warm and cozy in a tub of water—and maybe even some bubbles—can’t hurt, so there’s no harm in giving it a go.
Stress and anxiety are major triggers of depression, and meditation can alter your reaction to those feelings. “Meditation trains the brain to achieve sustained focus, and to return to that focus when negative thinking, emotions, and physical sensations intrude — which happens a lot when you feel stressed and anxious,” says Dr. John W. Denninger, director of research at the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital.
Meditation has been found to change certain brain regions that are specifically linked with depression. For instance, scientists have shown that the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) becomes hyperactive in depressed people. The mPFC is often called the “me center” because this is where you process information about yourself, such as worrying about the future and ruminating about the past. When people get stressed about life, the mPFC goes into overdrive.
Another brain region associated with depression is the amygdala, or “fear center.” This is the part of the brain responsible for the fight-or-flight response, which triggers the adrenal glands to release the stress hormone cortisol in response to fear and perceived danger.
These two brain regions work off each other to cause depression. The me center gets worked up reacting to stress and anxiety, and the fear center response leads to a spike in cortisol levels to fight a danger that’s only in your mind. Research has found that meditation helps break the connection between these two brain regions. “When you meditate, you are better able to ignore the negative sensations of stress and anxiety, which explains, in part, why stress levels fall when you meditate,” says Dr. Denninger.
Another way meditation helps the brain is by protecting the hippocampus (a brain area involved in memory). One study discovered that people who meditated for 30 minutes a day for eight weeks increased the volume of gray matter in their hippocampus, and other research has shown that people who suffer from recurrent depression tend to have a smaller hippocampus.
Problem-Focused Coping Skills
Managing your time can be challenging, but very rewarding. It’s called “Work on Managing your Time.” Which means you have to work at it, and you will fail, but failure is only a lesson learned that brings you one step closer to winning. Find out what causes your tardiness, and adjust it. Go to bed earlier, or wake up earlier. Adjust your time on your phone, TV or computer and do something more productive. Find a hobby that you enjoy doing and make time for that as well. Make your self happy, and that starts with managing your time to allow yourself that time.
Asking for support can be difficult, especially if your an introvert or are worried about bothering others with your issues. I will say this, I have a core group of friends I can truly trust with my issues, even if it’s to vent. Sometimes you just need to get it off your chest, without interference or without them giving you solutions.
The greatest thing you can do for yourself is seek professional help. Your friends are great, but sometimes you need that completely unbiased person you can talk to and they can help dissect where your depression is coming from and help you find solutions to absolve it. Even a psychiatrist can prescribe you depression medication in more extreme cases or if you need that added help to ease the stress. Never be afraid to ask for help.
If you have thoughts of suicide, self-harm or harming others… Please contact the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 9-8-8
It is perfectly acceptable to set boundaries with people, places or things that are triggering your depression. Sometimes it’s an Ex-Significant Other, maybe it’s a Family Member, a Close Friend or Acquaintance or even a Bully. Distance yourself from them and politely setup that boundary or ask for a break even if it gets to that.
If it’s an object causing your depression like Facebook, Twitter, a news Website/Channel/Program or even a TV Show… take a break from that as well or make a conscious effort to stop doing it altogether.
If it’s work, maybe it’s time to look for a different job that makes you happy. If it’s school see if you can’t adjust your schedule or take a mental health day/week to recover from the stress of continued education.
It’s perfectly acceptable to setup these boundaries, this is your life, you owe it to yourself to make yourself happy.
Do you have a tasks you’ve put off for a while? Maybe it’s time to replace some molding in your house? Maybe your Car Savvy and you’ve been wanting to tune your vehicle. Fill your time with things you’ve been meaning to complete, this is a good way to take your mind off of the things causing you your depression and you can find great joy in completing a task or chore you’ve been putting off for far too long.
Negative Coping Skills
If you avoid conflict to keep the peace you start a war inside yourself
Though this might feel like an easier way to deal with current problems but pushing back your issues will ultimately find a way of reaching the surface again, possibly as a trigger.
Very similar to avoiding issues this is another distraction that might feel better in the moment. Your body needs rest but also requires physical movement as well.
Drug and alcohol use can be a slippery slope. Stimulants and depressants may help to numb feelings, pain and subside those negative thoughts that are actively being avoided, but excessive use can lead to severe health complications, addiction, overdose and death.
Retail therapy is often as simple as purchasing a small trinkets or gadgets but can often lead to severe financial problems within the family, hoarding or secrecy.
Your body needs nutrition and fuel to function throughout the day. Anything over or under the recommended guidance can cause severe health issues or sickness.
