Any tips to stay positive, motivated, etc with depression?

[genever]

Hey all,

 

Just would like to hear some tips about staying positive and motivated when dealing with depression. I am going through a very dark time, and need some distractions and ways to get focused back on what I need to be doing, and what I once loved doing but now feel apathetic towards. Does it help you get out of bed if you have a daily routine? What helps get you going and out of your head? Anything to look forward to? I'm going to start therapy again this week but would also like to hear from some of you that struggle, as well. Any advice would be helpful.

 

One thing I have found is that putting on a record I like as soon as I wake up and dancing around a bit helps me get going.

[skydiveaddict]

Hey all,

 

Just would like to hear some tips about staying positive and motivated when dealing with depression.

 

Skydiving..........

[whichwayisup]

Hey all,

 

Just would like to hear some tips about staying positive and motivated when dealing with depression. I am going through a very dark time, and need some distractions and ways to get focused back on what I need to be doing, and what I once loved doing but now feel apathetic towards. Does it help you get out of bed if you have a daily routine? What helps get you going and out of your head? Anything to look forward to? I'm going to start therapy again this week but would also like to hear from some of you that struggle, as well. Any advice would be helpful.

 

One thing I have found is that putting on a record I like as soon as I wake up and dancing around a bit helps me get going.

 

I was going to suggest you put on you tube videos and sing to them, or watch funny bloopers from favourite tv shows and movies.

 

Yoga. Meditation. Positive affirmations and continually tell yourself that just because right now you feel blah and down, doesn't mean tomorrow or next week you'll feel that way. Accept that it's okay to have down days and take care of yourself. BE KIND to yourself. Take hot baths with bath salts, or with baking soda. Eat well and journal your feelings and thoughts on paper and pen. Reach out to your closest friends, even if you don't feel up to going out to dinner ,getting out and making yourself walk around the block a few times will make you feel perkier. Triple dose your vitamin C and especially D. Get your blood checked to see if you need B12 shots, this can affect your moods, as will low iron.

 

Hope this helps!

[SpiralOut]

I give myself small, manageable goals each day. They are so small that they probably seem silly to most people, but when I am seriously apathetic, anything at all counts as progress. Some examples: do a load of laundry, make soup, return a phonecall. I may even do just one small task per day if I'm feeling especially lethargic. It still adds up to 5 goals completed at the end of the week.

 

 

Whenever I start to think that doing something is "pointless, so why bother", I remind myself that sitting around feeling sorry for myself is even more pointless.

 

 

Sometimes it helps to put on a nice outfit and straighten my hair, fix up my face. If I sit around in my sweatpants or PJs too often, I start to feel like a bum, and I'm not motivated to do anything, especially not leave the house for anything.

 

 

Try to muster up the energy to workout once a week. It took me a long time to finally find the energy to go to yoga classes again. Now that I've been doing that for three weeks, my energy is returning a little bit. I still have bad days but not as many as before.

[wellthatslife]

Look in the mirror. Your alive. Do whatever you have to do for that person in the mirror. Make life great for that person and go where the happiness is.

[SpiralOut]

I forgot to mention that I find it helpful to read in bed when I first wake up. It keeps me awake, and eventually I become alert enough that I'll want to get up. I still find it hard to get up in the morning but that helps.

 

 

Eat healthy food as much as you can. It won't fix the problem, but it will at least prevent you from feeling even worse.

 

 

I also remind myself that it doesn't always matter that "I don't feel like it" (my biggest excuse for everything), sometimes things need to be done whether I like it or not.

 

 

Identify your negative thought patterns and start talking back to them.

Edited January 4, 2016 by SpiralOut

[thefooloftheyear]

The best thing for me is exercise...the more intense the better...The beauty of this is endorphins are real,,,And they lift practically anyone..Additionally, you get very tired and many people have problems with insomnia when feeling depressed..

 

Also helps to focus on the things that you can actually control...For example, you cant control whether or not you are in a relationship, but you can control stuff like getting up and gym or indulging in something you are good at...You can see results and measure them..

 

Be well..

 

TFY

[d0nnivain]

Getting out of bed is critical & sometimes the hardest thing you do all day. It sometimes helped me to lay out my outfit the night before because in the morning those choices could be overwhelming.

 

 

Small goals help.

 

 

Another thing is to be around people. I have a tendency to retreat into myself which makes things worse. Forcing yourself to interact actually helps, even when it feels counter intuitive.

[genever]

Thanks, everyone. These have been very helpful!

[Beach Guy]

I've never had depression, but sometimes I get the post-holiday blues in January. To counter it, I watch standup comedy bits (especially late night talk show hosts, like Conan). Except I purposely watch them first thing in the morning to get into a good mood for the start of the day.

[robaday]

I think the other posters have covered a lot of it. But I guess over riding thing is concentrating on the things you can control (free time, exercise, budgeting, new hobbies, studying etc) and reminding yourself there are things you can't control and try not to worry about them as much. Like the other poster said small goals are really good, they give you a sense of achievement when you accomplish them.

 

I went "back to basics" a few years ago when in the height of depression. Removed myself from social networks, began reading again, stopped watching tv and watched every cent I spent. My free time was spent volunteering, learning to cook, reading and exercising away from the nightlife, online world and unproductive television. To put it into context getting fit seemed way too difficult and far fetched an idea but I started with just trying to do a couple of press ups, then built it up slowly over a number of years - if id told myself I could run a 10k in a time in the top 10% in my city three years ago I would have laughed and said it was crazy. So yeah be realistic and its amazing what you can achieve!!

 

I found martial arts incredibly beneficial. It toughened me up mentally, gave me discipline when I needed it much, gave me routine, gave me a new interest (i.e. reading books by the greats, reading training books), broadened my social circle and made me look better. Theres other comparable disciplines which would give the same benefits, but for me the discipline and structure and mental resilience it gave me was amazing.