7 Things People Who Have Overcome Depression Do
People who have overcome depression know that the body is sometimes out of phase with the soul. They are also very aware that relapses are common. This shadow continues to hover furtively. Getting out of this tunnel also allows them to have new resources that they do not hesitate to use on a daily basis. A good approach, resilience and attitude are their best protections.
Some people think of depression as the flu of mental disorders. The impact on the population continues to increase, it is a kind of increasingly resistant “variety” wreaking havoc and which is experienced more and more often in silence and isolation. Data tells us that less than 40% of people take the plunge to seek professional help, with men being the most reluctant population group to seek expert support.
However, beyond the data and the fact that the WHO already considers depression an epidemic, there is an almost equally important factor. We are talking about relapses here. Studies tell us that the relapse, after complete remission, is of the order of 50%. In other words, the risk is obvious. It is therefore essential that professionals and patients establish a prevention plan themselves.
This plan is really nothing more than establishing a healthier mental, physical and emotional lifestyle. It is about applying in our daily life a series of strategies, approaches and tools allowing to minimize the effect of stressors, to recognize the triggers and to generate an appropriate psychological approach.
What do people who have overcome depression usually do?
People who have overcome depression are not made of special materials. These are not super women or super men. These are friends, parents, co-workers, teenagers and even children who have had help, who have learned from the process and face life in different ways.
This learning obtained must not remain in vain. Moreover, these people understand that depression is a chronic disease. It as such requires intelligence, commitment and skill in management, both emotions and thoughts. It means learning to live with that shadow, but not letting it define us all the time. Let’s see below what strategies people who have overcome depression use.
1. They fight apathy with new interests
Sadness, loss of interest and apathy. These dimensions constitute the obscure triad of a large part of the depressions. Getting trapped by them will lead us back adrift. We will again be trapped in the spiral of discouragement to restore the keys to depression. Therefore, people who have walked this route once and managed to get out of it have strategies and tools that are likely to come in handy again. So when apathy arises, that fatigue that turns off the mind and body, we have to react.
- They are looking for new interests : they enroll in classes, they integrate new activities into their routine.
- They make changes in their daily habits to find new interests.
- They share time with positive people, with good friends.
2. They know how to recognize the triggers: no to ruminant thought
Ruminant thinking (repetitive and negative) is the foundation on which depression rests. These are those times when we start obsessing over mistakes, anticipating events, attracting fatalities and gray clouds on sunny days. It is not adequate.
People who have overcome depression know that cognitive therapy helps a lot in these types of cases. We need to change the approach, break the cycle of negativity, and establish exits for the negative circles of thoughts and behaviors.
3. They rise with a purpose
Getting up aimlessly is wasting your day. Opening your eyes to this new unmotivated morning is to start that day with your heart turned off. With the mind without will …
If we want to avoid relapses, we have to set goals, concrete goals. Sometimes they can be things as simple as having the afternoon to yourself, buying a book, booking a trip, meeting someone …
4. They have learned to say “no”
Putting filters in our closest environments is essential for health. He who lets everything pass and everything to reach him will find himself saturated with it. Moreover, one of the most common causes of depression is precisely the belief that we can handle everything. To think that being on good terms with everyone is synonymous with kindness is undoubtedly another mistake that completely reduces our internal balance.
People who have overcome depression understand that they need to set limits in their daily lives. Saying “no” when we feel it should be and saying “yes” when we want to is an exercise in absolute well-being.
5. Exercise moderately every day
The body that moves with life leaves its sorrows aside. Those who walk, dance, swim, jump or exercise their muscles get a good dose of endorphins, improve their circulation and oxygenate the brain. All this results in a higher level of serotonin, this hormone that protects us from sadness …
6. A good diet
Good nutrition is not the antidote to depressive disorders. However, it can act as an excellent protector for several reasons: we are interested in something, we care about buying good food, cooking new recipes …
In addition, incorporating these balanced diets where we get a good level of tryptophan, magnesium, antioxidants and vitamins into our lives will also help us to produce more serotonin.
7. Mindfulness to avoid remissions in depression
One proven way to prevent remissions in depression is to practice mindfulness. Even more, numerous studies support the benefits of Mindfulness as a psychological strategy to reduce the impact of stress and anxiety in our daily life.
- This meditation technique helps us to be more aware of our emotions.
- We break the circle of ruminant thought.
- The physical discomfort associated with stress is reduced.
- It allows us to reflect on immediate experiences in order to make better decisions and set priorities.
- Thanks to mindfulness we explore other options, we awaken our creativity, our intuition to discover ourselves as people.
To conclude, we must insist on one point: each person must find their own strategy, their own internal music. It is necessary that we find our own engine and the tools that work best for us in order to put aside the apathy, discouragement and unhappiness of the soul that lives in this demon called depression.
Our thoughts There is no one way to treat depression, every person is a world and every world has its abysses, black holes and …
