Find it hard to get out of bed or lost about what awaits you in the future? You don’t have to stay defeated. Try these 5 tips to feel better.
Whether a gloomy feeling is just temporary or persistently growing deeper, it’s essential that you don’t let it linger. It’s normal to feel sad or moody from time to time but experiencing long periods of intense gloom for no obvious reason can be a sign of something more serious — a symptom of clinical depression that has the potential to impair your mental well-being.
If you’re struggling to find joy and don’t know what to do about it, here are five self-care ideas you can do to pull yourself out of the gloom and find the light in your situation.
Train your brain to think differently.
The concept of mindset change may be the last thing you want to hear when you feel like you’re in a hopeless situation, but it’s one of the most important things you need to train your brain to do. Without the goal of changing your perspective and behavior, it will be difficult to keep gloom at bay. So, don’t give in just yet and try to fight the feeling of hopelessness from taking over.
You can still regain control of your thoughts, the key is catching the lies when they’re thrown at you. To help you identify them better, here are five common mindset traps you need to watch out for:
- All-or-nothing thinking
How it sounds: “I got laid off at my job. I’m a failure at everything.”
How to correct it: “Sometimes things like this happen. There are better opportunities out there.”
- Emotional reasoning
How it sounds: “I feel hopeless, so there’s no hope for my future.”
How to correct it: “Although my feelings are valid, they don’t dictate my reality. I can do something today to help me feel better.”
- Mind reading
How it sounds: “My co-worker is judging me for being late.”
How to correct it: “I can’t read his mind to know what he’s actually thinking.”
- Fortune telling
How it sounds: “I’m sure I’ll fail the exam.”
How to correct it: “It’s realistically not possible to know the possible outcome.”
- Self-deprecation
How it sounds: “I don’t deserve this.”
How to correct it: “I deserve this as much as anybody.”
Although this practice might sound simple, putting it into practice during depressive episodes can be a feat. So, make it a habit to always be mindful of your thoughts and make it a point to challenge them.
Practice problem-solving.
After identifying the correct mindset you should have, the next step is figuring out the concrete steps you can take to proactively counter it. This is called thought challenging and doing so requires you to resist dwelling on your feelings and instead practice problem-solving.
Thought challenging is a technique in Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) where an individual is encouraged to consider a situation from different angles using factual proof to assess their life. Practicing this can help you look at things from an objective standpoint instead of just accepting your emotions and thoughts as the basis of “truth”— no matter how much they seem like they really are the truth.
For example, if you’re experiencing depression while unemployed, your mind might tell you you’re worthless. However, this is a lie. There are plenty of reasons why you don’t have a job yet, like an economic recession or market transition. This is one type of cognitive distortion that’s far from reality and thought challenging will require you to dissect the lies your mind throws at you.
In essence, it is the act of untangling your mind and sorting through the cognitive distortions to identify the facts. It’s a simple approach that involves asking a series of questions to open your thinking.
If you’re feeling upset and falling into the self-deprecating mindset trap, here are some questions you can ask yourself:
“Why do I feel upset?”
“Why don’t I think I deserve any of this?”
“Has there been any instance that showed thoughts like this are not true?”
“Am I jumping to conclusions?”
“Do the pieces of evidence or facts support my thoughts or the opposite?”
Challenging your thoughts can feel unnatural the first few times you do it, but with continued practice, it will start to feel more genuine. Build your confidence with consistency and note down your responses. Taking mental notes can be overwhelming at times and you might just end up going around in circles, so putting it into writing helps you track your thoughts better. You can use apps like Moody to keep track of your emotional journey and monitor your daily mood patterns so you can visualize your progress.
Get up and exercise.
If you’re not a fan of exercising, you’re not gonna wanna read this… but you have to because this will be good for you.
A Harvard study shows that exercise is one of the best natural remedies to fighting depression and helping you feel better. In fact, it’s noted as being effective in treating mild to moderate depression just as well as antidepressant medication — minus the side effects!
Going on a 15-minute run or enjoying an hour-long walk a day can decrease the risk of major depression by 26%. If you’re up for a little more challenge, you can try to hit 10,000 steps a day and push yourself further on the road to a healthier body and mind. If you do this consistently, it can work wonders for your mental well-being and keep that gloomy feeling away.
The power of exercise lies in the brain — feel-good chemicals called endorphins. Every time you engage in physical activity, your brain releases these feel-good chemicals which promote feelings of happiness and calmness. Endorphins make you feel good and energize your spirit leaving you feeling brighter on the inside. In addition to this, it also serves as a great distraction from your rumination cycle and gives your mind a chance to reboot from depressive thoughts.
Establish healthy habits.
Getting on the road to recovery from depression entails making some lifestyle changes. This means you’ll have to unlearn bad habits and develop healthy ones. Although depression can make you feel like you’re powerless and have no sense of control in your life, this is not true. You have the capacity to get back on track.
Here’s where you can start:
- Eat healthily: Steer clear from junk food and fast food, and show yourself some love by indulging in a well-balanced meal rich in fatty acids (fish, fruits and veggies, nuts); amino acids (meat and dairy products); and complex carbs (whole grains, spinach, broccoli, and oranges). If you really have to order out, opt for a healthier option like Mediterranean cuisines.
- Meditate: Through meditation techniques, you can practice deep breathing and relaxation. This is a great way to interrupt your negative thinking especially when your emotions are stirring a feeling of panic.
- Set a bedtime: Sleep troubles bring with it fatigue and mood problems. So, getting eight hours of sleep is critical to keeping the gloom away. One thing you can do is to practice waking up and sleeping at the same time every day. It might be hard at first but with repetition, your body will slowly be able to build good sleeping habits.
- Start a mood journal: When you need to think through your emotions, start writing. The act of writing down your feelings can help you process your thoughts more effectively. The goal of journaling your mood is to identify which emotions you’re feeling, pinpoint your triggers, and recognize patterns. When you know your emotional trends, it’s easier to practice mindful thought challenging. For best results, journal every day. If you’re not a fan of bringing a notebook everywhere, you can opt for digital journals like Grateful so you have a healthy avenue to release your emotions daily.
Because unlearning and learning new habits take time, you’ll need to stay accountable and consistent. Using tracking apps like the Done App can help you create healthy routines, track your progress, and even give daily reminders so you don’t miss out on your goals.
Building healthy habits will help you regain more control over your daily life and set a good foundation to bring joy back to your life. As you take proactive steps to manage your depressive symptoms, you allow yourself the chance to feel better and maintain your mental health.
