Depression already affects 322 million people worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) for the year 2015. In 10 years, this number rose by 18.4%. In India, 5.8% of the population suffers from this disease, which affects a total of 11.5 million Brazilians.
The WHO also emphasizes that India is the country with the highest prevalence of depression in Latin America and the second most prevalent in the Americas, behind only the United States, with 5.9% of depressives.
One of the points is that India is the world record in the prevalence of anxiety disorders: 9.3% of the population (about 18.6 million) have this difficulty. After this worrying data, can you fight depression?
Depression
Before we think of warding off this disease, we need to understand its definition: depression is a chronic and recurrent psychiatric illness that produces a mood modification characterized by deep, endless sadness related to feelings of pain, bitterness, hopelessness, disenchantment, low self-esteem and guilt, and also sleep and appetite disorders.
Important: In depression, sadness does not give respite, and moods are depressed all the time, for days at a time, and there is no more interest in activities that used to provide satisfaction and pleasure.
In other words, it is illness and needs to be treated with health professionals: doctors and psychologists.
After all, how to fight depression?
Knowing a little more about the disease, one of the most known alternatives to combat depression is the search for help from a psychiatrist who evaluates the possibility of using medications if necessary with severe and debilitating symptoms.
In addition to therapy, psychological and sometimes drug therapy, there are some simple and efficient strategies, especially for milder cases, which can help improve the quality of life. Want to see?
Learn How to Fight Depression with These 8 Tips
Have a schedule of activities
Having a routine of exercises to keep yourself occupied is essential to ward off melancholy and combat depression. Make a list of things to do in the week that helps motivate you, maintain your attendance, and stimulate the initiative for the next day.
However, focus on possible activities to be carried out. Otherwise, it can cause failure and worsen the picture. Classes, courses, reading a book, watching movies, practicing volunteering, hiking in parks, gardening or any activity that used to give you pleasure. Strive for it. Moreover, value every victory on the agenda!
Feed yourself with quality
Being well-nourished favors a sense of well-being, which is fundamental for people with depression.
To do this, make peace with food and live without restrictions, increase the consumption of real foods (fresh) and have enough variety among food groups, after all, healthy eating is an essential step in this recovery.
Include whole grains, legumes (chickpeas, peas and beans), oilseeds (nuts, almonds and walnuts), lean meats, fish, eggs, milk, cheeses, fruits, and vegetables. Some evidence shows that Turmeric Curcumin has a specific role in improving the daily life.
This variety of consumption can improve the production of adequate levels of neurotransmitters in the body, providing mood control.
Eating too much or just not eating is very common in depressives. Avoid prolonged fasts, restrictive diets or overeating because they can modify the body’s chemistry.
The deprivation of food interferes in our memory and the level of concentration, attention, and hunger, we become more irritated, grumpy, the opposite to fight depression! If possible, moderate excessive consumption of coffee, dark tea, and alcohol, drinks that can make the person irritable, agitated and even disrupt sleep.
For excesses, remember to eat slowly, savoring the foods and attentive to your signs of hunger and satiety.
Dine in quiet surroundings, preferably with relaxing music. Avoid distractions when eating.
Move your body
If you get the courage to exercise, it will be a great way to relax your mind and also to reduce anxiety and combat depression.
Choose the activity that works best for you according to your personal preferences. Look for exercises that like truth and do them daily, if possible outdoors. Go to the street, to the park, breathe fresh air, connect with nature and feel the sunlight.
Physical activity stimulates the production of hormones that improve mood, as well as reduce stress and improve sleep.
If you have company, even better! If depression has turned you into a sedentary person, start slowly, gradually increasing time and distance. Give value to every progress!
Give value to your feelings, do not hide them. People with depression end up isolating themselves and avoid talking, which can aggravate the picture.
Do the opposite, talk about your emotions, but if you cannot find some way to express them. You can start writing, get involved with dance or music, and start painting or any other art form of your choice.
The arts are deeply therapeutic forms of communication. Also, when we allow ourselves to do something different, there are chemical changes in the brain.
So do something new whenever possible and learn new ways to express yourself. Explore your emotions, freeing them from within!
Get a good night’s sleep
Lack of sleep or too much sleep are pictures of people with depression. Hormonal changes are responsible, and their regulation is essential to mitigate the effects and combat depression.
Some changes in your lifestyle can help: try not to nap during the day to get a better night’s sleep; breathing exercises help you relax. Take the distractions out of your bedroom (computer, television and cell phone) and try to have a bedtime routine and get up.
These small adjustments will make you sleep if you regulate the time.
Find your spirituality
It’s a great way to stay in peace, develop self-reflection, and fight depression. Yoga and meditation are great strategies for relaxing, decreasing anxiety, improving sleep, and making peace with you.
In addition to improving flexibility, they demand full attention, breaking down negative thoughts. Increase the strength and make the practitioner aware of his breathing.
Search for groups in your area or practice alone. Give yourself this gift of knowing more about yourself!
Get a Pet
You may have heard some history of clinical improvements with the Pets company, have not you? The interaction with animals can increase serotonin levels.
So besides helping to combat depression, they take patients home because of the large amount of energy they have and need to walk (or run) every day.
This new company may be the stimulus that was needed to liven up that journey!
Search for a therapist
Psychotherapists are trained to help develop new thinking and behavior patterns that alleviate and help fight depression by preventing relapses. These professionals will make a treatment plan focused on your needs. Do not be alone, get help!
Conclusion
As we have seen, many strategies help in the process of how to combat depression. This disease is not a sign of madness, nor of irresponsibility.
If you are sad and think that life has lost its grace, seek help from professionals. Early diagnosis is the best way to get your life back on track and have a happier life! Could you leave your comments here for us?
