Self-Improvement
Before You Diagnose Yourself with Depression, Look For These 7 Things
In today’s time, we are all struggling to fight our own battles, and usually all alone. It is common to go through phases where we feel completely and utterly lost or when we can’t seem to find even a single day of hope, no matter how hard we try.
Most of the times, these are cries from our consciousness to take care of ourselves and look after the aspects of our lives which we have been neglecting. But, we often misread these signs, and self diagnose ourselves with clinical depression.
Depression is definitely not something that can be taken lightly. So if you feel that you are depressed, try these 7 things. If they don’t help you in feeling better, you should immediately seek professional help.
1. In this sedentary lifestyle, we have really neglected our physical health. If you have been feeling down in the dumps lately, it is advisable that you go for a little jog in the park or a walk around your neighborhood. It will get your blood pumping and you will feel better. Know how? Because exercise releases the hormones endorphins and serotonin in our brains. These are also known as the feel good chemicals, so try this for yourself!
2. We have been taught to always keep ourselves composed. No matter what happens, we are not supposed to lose our cool. Well sometimes, it is exactly what we need – to let loose! We keep so many emotions, sadness and frustrations locked up inside us that they wreak havoc on our mental peace. Let them lose. Shriek or scream as loud as you can. Cry your heart out, or better yet, sing some really high notes. Do whatever it takes to get out those suppressed feelings.
3. Sometimes, the best cure of a slump or a bad mood is to go hang out with a close friend. We’ve become so busy that we rarely find time to do this, but it will actually help you relax a lot if you try spending time with a person who knows you and around whom you can be your genuine self. Talking to our close friends has proven to be helpful many times, you just need to decide to open up. Trust that this will help! Sometimes our close friends can see things that we cannot and pointing those things out can definitely help us.
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4. Remember all those pent up emotions we talked about in step 2? Yes, it is really important to give vent to them and if screaming or crying is not up your alley, you might want to try your hand at some noiseless and more creative output. Draw when you are feeling overwhelmed. Or write everything that you are feeling. These will help you find an outlet for your emotions and also, help you understand them better in retrospect. At first this might sound as something you don’t see that it might help, but once you start doing it, you end up getting lost in it. Trust us on this one and give it a try!
5. Clean your surroundings. Usually when you’ve been in a slump, your house and overall neatness suffers as well. After a while, both of them become a cause and effect of each other. The only way to break the chain is to take charge and clean your room. When your environment is more organized, it will help you feel better about yourself and might help in arranging your thoughts as well.
6. Take a good hard look at your friend circle. They might be the reason why you feel so hopeless and worthless. Sadly, humans can be morons who don’t realize the impact of their words on other people. But if you see that a particular person is bringing negativity in your life, you have every right to cut ties with them for the sake of your own sanity and happiness.
7. And finally, get in touch with a counselor. They will help you understand your own emotions better. They will also guide you if they think that your troubles are serious and need medical attention. They would also put you in touch with a good psychiatrist and give them the history of your case in a more systematic manner.
