Depression, a Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a very common but serious illness. Depression causes a person to feel sad for a prolonged period. Sadness however, communicates to both us and others that something is missing in our world. While depression reflects internal problem that needs correction. Sadness is adaptive while Depression is maladaptive. There is a loss of interest in several activities that a person enjoyed once.
A depressed person can experience a myriad of emotional and physical problems that can decrease their ability to perform and function at home or at work or at school. In their best efforts to convey their experience, depressed people use following words/phrases: irritable, enjoys darkness, heaviness in the chest, palpitation, sleepless nights, feeling worthless, or excessive guilt, frequent thoughts of deaths and suicide, weight and appetite change, loss of energy, inability to function, or diminished ability to think and decide for themselves. Some describe depression as a thief that robs them of joy and comfort. Fortunately, depression is also treatable.
Each person’s depression is unique because the illness is superimposed on each unique personality and is coloured by that person’s life circumstances. Depression differs not only in their form and individual features but also in their severity. The spectrum ranges from mild and tolerable to agonising and incapacitating. If a person is suffering mild form of depression, he may find strategies to help them cope and function well. However, one must seek out professional help if a person is unable to manage his depression as it may range in the moderate to severe depression. It will also be unwise to try to self-treat for the symptoms. In that case, please seek professional help without any delay.
For depression, the most widely studied and successful form of Psychotherapy is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). CBT helps patients identify with unwarranted assumptions about their lives which are referred to Automatic Negative Thought patterns (ANTs). The psychotherapist encourages the patient to challenge these assumptions. He analyses and points, how the patients ANTs are causing depression. Several activities and homework are given to the patient that involves identifying and correcting ANTs as and when they arise during the treatment. The patient is encouraged to ask which behaviours enhance his life and which distracts from it to help him review his patterns.
Regardless of whether you are under a physician’s or psychotherapist’s care, here are five strategies based on research findings and clinical experience that can help you combat depression:
1.Understanding and judging own mood: You need a know your tipping point, and you need to track the way your mood shifts. Many people fluctuate in quite a predictable pattens across the day, week, month, or season, or in reaction to events. Recognising such patterns can help you work out how to improve your mood. There are several daily mood log charts are available online, you can use the one that helps you record the mood and sleep pattern that suit well for you. The log takes no more than two minutes each day to complete. If you suffer from depression, then you keep this mood and sleep record for two weeks before your start any suggested strategies. This way you can track whether these strategies are really making a difference.
2. Exercise in Moderation: Depression can cause loss of appetite, change in sleep patterns, fatigue, can manifest physical pain in the body and all of this can result in less or no motivation to exercise, a cycle very hard to break. But one must understand that exercise is a natural anti-depressant. Therefore, start with moderate exercise.
Choose a form of exercise that you can sustain. You can start small and eventually increase the time and intensity. Remember that even rather modest amounts of exercise, such as 30 minutes of brisk walking 4-5 times a week can make a difference. Do not do so much in the start that you hate it. You can decide to work out with a friend. This combines the benefits of exercise with those of companionship. If motivation is a problem for you, and if you can afford it, you can hire a trainer. Schedule time in your day for exercise, rather than try to fit in. Research shows that people who exercise in the morning are more likely to stay with it.
3. Manage Stress: Stress can happen in positive or negative situation. Stress leading to positive situation may not lead to depression necessarily, for example, the anticipation you feel when you are about to relocate, or joining a new job or sending your child to university. This kind of good stress does not stay with us for long time. It prepares us to face challenges. However any stress over a long-term can be harmful and can also lead to depression, resulting in low mood and inability to concentrate which can take a toll on your emotional well-being.
You need to identify your stressors in your environment. If any person, action, or an event is the cause of your stress, you need to distance yourself from them. Go easy on yourself. Do things that you enjoy. Meet with family members, friends and/or relatives who brings joy to you. Ensure you are sleeping for minimum 8 hours. Practice breathing exercise using a paper bag when stressed. Limit your gadget consumption. Take short breaks during the day to step out of your office/home
Although, one may feel like helpless victims, there are many ways we can alleviate the stresses and strains of modern life, and the depressed person is well advised to do so.
4. Avoid alcohol: Alcohol is a depressant. Depressants impact neurotransmitters in the brain. It affects chemicals in our brain like serotonin and dopamine by giving initial boost when alcohol is consumed. But the next day the effect wears out and one becomes deficient in happy chemicals, which lead to anxiety, depression, and restless feeling. Avoiding alcohol can be first step towards your self-care. You may also need social support, and new routines that can help redirect your mind. You may also want to limit your caffeine and manage your diet.
5. Seek out Social Supports: Social support plays an important role in recovery for a range of physical and mental health conditions like depression. Social supports are a group of individuals who care about us, who provide us with suggestions, advice and who enjoys spending time with us. Our friends, family, well-wishers can be our possible support group. Human interaction alleviates pain, sadness, depression and reinforces positivity and hope.
Depression can be debilitating in short/ long run. So, if your symptoms persists and you are unable to manage your condition then you may also want to consult a psychotherapist or psychiatrist or any mental health professional who can create a detailed treatment plan for your depression. Please remember early assessment and intervention can slowly but surely will help you come out of depression.
Pic courtesy: IMH, Singapore
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