3 Ways to Begin Overcoming Your Depression

If you find yourself feeling blue, emotionally drained all the time or just simply are struggling to get out of bed on a consistent basis; you might be dealing with depression. Depression can be a difficult personal issue to deal with, even with the increased awareness of this issue in places such as Calgary, Airdrie and Cochrane being more understood and accepted. However, there are some simple ways if you recognize you are dealing with depression to take small steps of action that will help support you in working towards healing from your day that you wish you didn’t have to deal with.

#1. Become aware of what is going inside of you:

Take a look at what you are putting inside of you. If it is negative and not healthy, and your fighting off some depression, what you are putting inside of you may not be helping you to find the relief you are looking for. The most common everyday items that may not be helping your blue mood is food, cannabis, alcohol, music, and television. Sugary sweets and tasty treats might taste great, however, it’s important to remember that too much unhealthy food can be a quick fix without long term gain. Not to mention the instant sugar rush you feel will eventually lead you to crash a few minutes later. Cannabis has long been known to numb pain, however, your numb feeling might be the one thing preventing you from getting up to get on with your day and go deeper in your depression. Alcohol is an interesting depressant which can actually take a depressed person and make them feel even more depressed. Added on top of that, the sugars in some alcohol can have a double negative affect due to the sugar rush and after crash.

Music and Television is an item that we forget about sometimes. Now I’m not saying that watching and listening to music and television is a bad thing, however, we need to be aware what images and emotions are being projected into our eye and ear gates. What we are listening and watching might in fact be feeding what we should in fact be avoiding. Similar to alcohol, if you are feeling depressed, listening or watching that super sad song/movie might in fact hinder your ability to move out of your blue funk and make you feel worse and not better. 

#2. Intentional Breathing:

When we feel down it might be due to not having enough oxygen in our brain. Sitting down in despair doesn’t mean we are fully conscious of our breathing. It might just mean that were taking shallow breaths which is not enough to get the oxygen that our body needs to allow us to carry on with our day. Breathing is like a balloon. If you try to blow up a balloon with shallow breathing, you’ll never blow up the balloon. Instead we have to take deep breaths and intentionally blow up the balloon. Breathing properly is a great way to help support out feelings of depression go from negative to a fighting chance (Click here for more information on how to fill up your brain balloon).

#3. Get UP and Get ON:

One powerful way to overcome depression is to create momentum in your day. Taking small action in life is a great way to begin moving ourselves out of depression. If you are reading this article while lying on the couch or in bed and are thinking you might be dealing with depression don’t worry about finishing this article. Stop right now and take the courage to get up and do something pro-active, even if it’s just getting up from the couch/bed and moving to another room. The actual physical motion of getting up and getting on with life can create a positive motion of supporting yourself in getting out of your depression.

Depression can be difficult to admit to having or even knowing where to start. If you find yourself struggling to complete even one of the 3 ways to overcome depression then it might be time to consider seeking support from a counselling therapist that can work alongside yourself to work towards a healthier New Life.