6 ways to fight depression naturally

More often than not, depression can you make you feel helpless. You’re not. There is a lot you can do on your own to fight it.

First and foremost you need to know that only you can help yourself out of it, and that it is more than just possible to do so. So, take control!

SET UP A ROUTINE

According to WebMD, it is highly likely for a depressed person to let one day melt into the next. Depression can take away all structure from your life. You may even forget to shower.

What can you do about it? It’s simple. Take out a pen and paper, and write down a timetable or a routine for you to follow. This may include everything from time the time you wake up, your meal timings, the amount of time you should spend working, workout etc. Whenever you find yourself isolated and idle, take out that list and see what tasks you still need to accomplish during that time of the day.

SET UP GOALS

It is not uncommon for you to feel worthless when depressed. It is important for you to not feel like that simply because it’s not who you are. To get back to realizing your self-worth, take simple steps, like setting up small goals to accomplish.

The accomplishment itself will make you feel good about yourself. How can you start small? Just do the dishes. Or better even, work out for 15 minutes a day. When you achieve these small goals on a daily basis, you can start building up and take up more challenging tasks.

INCREASE YOUR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

Exercise boosts your mind and body by releasing endorphins, also commonly referred to as “feel-good” chemicals. You do not need to run marathons to bring about this positive change within you. Just find a small space and do a 20 to 40 minute cardio workout to start with.

With exercise, your brain is also encouraged to rewire in a positive way. It releases toxins from the body leaving you to feel better instantly.

EAT HEALTHY

There exists no magic diet that you can eat out of depression. It is not strange to turn to food when overcome with grief or depression. But eating your way out only seems to make it worse. Naturally, you gain weight and become lazier, that is anything but good for your self-esteem.

If you are overcome with depression, spend some of your brain cells thinking about what you should be eating and less about what you want to eat. Eating healthy coupled with exercise will also help you get in shape, boosting your self-confidence, slowly pulling you out of the bubble of negativity created by depression.

MAKE SURE YOU GET ENOUGH SLEEP

Often people in depression find it difficult to get enough sleep. Not getting enough sound sleep will only make depression worse. Try setting up a bedtime routine. Go to bed early and rise early too. Get rid of any distractions in your room such as TV, phone etc, that keep you from going to bed early. Make sure you switch off all the lights, since any lights are an obstacle to good sleep.

BEAT NEGATIVE THOUGHTS

With depression comes a lot of free baggage, one of them is you often leaping into the worst conclusions about yourself. Your job is to challenge these thoughts with logic using them as a natural depression treatment. If you ever find yourself thinking “Nobody likes me.” Stop yourself immediately and think about any evidence that could confirm that.

Work with these steps with every negative thought until you fight the last one down.