Self-care (cont.)
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Q. How can I help myself get through depression on a day-to-day basis?
On a day-to-day basis, separate from, or concurrently with therapy or
medication, we all have our own methods for getting through the worst
times as best we can. The following comments and ideas on what to do
during depression were solicited from people in the
alt.support.depression newsgroup. Sometimes these things work,
sometimes they don't. Just keep trying them until you find some
techniques that work for you.
* Write. Keep a journal. Somehow writing everything down helps keep
the misery from running around in circles.
* Listen to your favorite "help" songs (a bunch of songs that have
strong positive meaning for you)
* Read (anything and everything) Go to the library and check out
fiction you've wanted to read for a long time; books about
depression, spirituality, morality; biographies about people who
suffered from depression but still did well with their lives
(Winston Churchill and Martin Luther, to name two
.
* Sleep for a while
* Even when busy, remember to sleep. Notice if what you do before
sleeping changes how you sleep.
* If you might be a danger to yourself, don't be alone. Find people.
If that is not practical, call them up on the phone. If there is no
one you feel you can call, suicide hotlines can be helpful, even if
you're not quite that badly off yet.
* Hug someone or have someone hug you.
* Remember to eat. Notice if eating certain things (e.g. sugar or
coffee) changes how you feel.
* Make yourself a fancy dinner, maybe invite someone over.
* Take a bath or a perfumed bubble bath.
* Mess around on the computer.
* Rent comedy videos.
* Go for a long walk
* Dancing. Alone in my house or out with a friend.
* Eat well. Try to alternate foods you like ( Maybe junk foods) with
the stuff you know you should be eating.
* Spend some time playing with a child
* Buy yourself a gift
* Phone a friend
* Read the newspaper comics page
* Do something unexpectedly nice for someone
* Do something unexpectedly nice for yourself.
* Go outside and look at the sky.
* Get some exercise while you're out, but don't take it too seriously.
* Pulling weeds is nice, and so is digging in the dirt.
* Sing. If you are worried about responses from critical neighbors,
go for a drive and sing as loud as you want in the car. There's
something about the physical act of singing old favorites that's
very soothing. Maybe the rhythmic breathing that singing enforces
does something for you too. Lullabies are especially good.
* Pick a small easy task, like sweeping the floor, and do it.
* If you can meditate, it's really helpful. But when you're really
down you may not be able to meditate. Your ability to meditate will
return when the depression lifts. If you are unable to meditate,
find some comforting reading and read it out loud.
* Feed yourself nourishing food.
* Bring in some flowers and look at them.
* Exercise, Sports. It is amazing how well some people can play
sports even when feeling very miserable.
* Pick some action that is so small and specific you know you can do
it in the present. This helps you feel better because you actually
accomplish something, instead of getting caught up in abstract
worries and huge ideas for change. For example say "hi" to someone
new if you are trying to be more sociable. Or, clean up one side of
a room if you are trying to regain control over your home.
* If you're anxious about something you're avoiding, try to get some
support to face it.
* Getting Up. Many depressions are characterized by guilt, and lots
of it. Many of the things that depressed people want to do because
of their depressions (staying in bed, not going out) wind up making
the depression worse because they end up causing depressed people
to feel like they are screwing things up more and more. So if
you've had six or seven hours of sleep, try to make yourself get
out of bed the moment you wake up...you may not always succeed,
but when you do, it's nice to have gotten a head start on the day.
* Cleaning the house. This worked for some people me in a big way.
When depressions are at their worst, you may find yourself unable
to do brain work, but you probably can do body things. One
depressed person wrote, "So I spent two weeks cleaning my house,
and I mean CLEANING: cupboards scrubbed, walls washed, stuff given
away... throughout the two weeks, I kept on thinking "I'm not
cleaning it right, this looks terrible, I don't even know how to
clean properly", but at the end, I had this sparkling beautiful
house!"