How To Keep Moving On When Feeling Depressed: 5 Tips

Has your life gotten to that place where youโ€™re feeling depressed all the time? Are you feeling hopeless and full of dread and worried about what the future will hold?

If you are, I am so sorry. Being depressed and hopeless is a horrible place to be! Fortunately, there are things you can do to keep moving on when youโ€™re feeling depressed and like you always will be.

How To Keep Moving On When Feeling Depressed: 5 Tips

1. Assess The Situation.

There are two kinds of depression, situational and chemical. They have similar symptoms but different causes. Knowing what kind of depression you have is the first step to dealing with it.

Situational depression is caused by something that happens in your life. When something big happens that makes you sad, like the death of a parent or a divorce or the loss of a job, you can become situationally depressed. This kind of depression usually has a beginning, caused by a specific event, and an end, and is often treated differently from chemical depression.

Chemical depression is the result of your brain chemistry being off in such a way that leads to depression. You are most often born with chemical depression but it can also be caused by a traumatic life event. Chemical depression can happen to youย even if your life is going great.

So, ask yourself some questions about what your life looks like these days to help you figure out what kind of depression you might have.

If you think you have situational depression, read on.

Related: What To Do When Youโ€™re Feeling Depressed, Isolated, And Lost


2. Do Things That Make You Feel Good.

If youโ€™re feeling depressed all of the time, our inclination is to collapse into our life. We stay in bed, we donโ€™t shower or eat well and cut off contact with those we love.

Let me tell you: if you are feeling depressed, collapsing is absolutely the worst thing that you can do. Instead, it is important to do things that make you feel good.

For me, I keep a list of things to do when I am feeling depressed. First off: take a long, hard walk (the endorphins are great for my depression). Also, do yoga. Watch The Walking Dead. Take a bath. Go to the movies. Have sex. Eat Pad Thai. When I am depressed I do one, or all, of those things, and my depression is often lifted.

So, what makes you happy? Write out a list, when you arenโ€™t depressed, of what makes you happy so that when you are depressed you are ready.


3. Keep Your Mind Active.

Unfortunately, when youโ€™re feeling depressed, our worst enemy is that brain of ours.

While we are lying on the couch feeling sorry for ourselves, our brain is actively buying into it all.

You are a loser, it says. You have no friends. You arenโ€™t good at anything. You will never find love.ย  You suck at your job. And on and on.

And, chances are, that none of those things are true. That you are not a loser, you have plenty of friends, you are talented, love is out there and your boss thinks you are doing great. But your brain, when you are depressed, just doesnโ€™t go there.

It is really important when youโ€™re feeling depressed, to keep your brain busy. Yoga is a really good way to do this โ€“ you are so busy trying to figure out the damn pose that you donโ€™t have a chance to think about anything. It also has the side benefit of toning your body and making you feel strong, which can be helpful.

Other options for keeping your mind quiet are reading, going to a movie, hanging out with friends, working. Meditation is also an option but I just get more depressed when I try and fail, to meditate. If you can do it, go for it!

What do you like to do that will help you quiet that mind of yours, the mind that is feeding into those feelings that are bringing you down? Figure it out and do it!

Related: 8 Things You Can Do If You Want To Stop Feeling Depressed And Lonely

4. Choose Your Playmates Carefully.

One of the most important things to manage when youโ€™re feeling depressed is your environment. Your bed and your pjs might feel like the right thing to do but you know now they are not.

The same attention needs to be paid to who you spend time with when you are feeling depressed and anxious. If there are people in your life who bring you down then avoiding them when you arenโ€™t doing well is very important.

My mother was very difficult to spend time with when I was depressed. She was always trying to talk me out of my depression by pretending that it didnโ€™t exist or telling me to just snap out of it. Both of those things just made me feel worse. So, I avoided her when I wasnโ€™t doing well. It was best for both of us.

Consider who you shouldnโ€™t spend time with when you are depressed and avoid them. On the same note, think about who would be a good person to be with and make a date with them right now!


5. Talk To Your Doctor.

If everything else fails and still you find yourself feeling depressed and anxious all of the time, then itโ€™s time to call your primary care doctor. Feeling consistently depressed and anxious might indicate some serious health problems and getting a complete check-up from your doctor could be really important.

Your doctor can take a look at all aspects of your life and help you come up with a plan for managing your depression and anxiety so that they donโ€™t get worse. Which they will do if they are left untreated and allowed to persist.

Remember, your doctor wonโ€™t judge. There are lots of people who feel just like you do every day and thatโ€™s what doctors are there for โ€“ to help us all.

If youโ€™re feeling depressed all of the time itโ€™s important that you do something about it and do something about it now!

Do a quick assessment of your life and try to figure out what kind of depression you might have. Take care of yourself, make yourself happy, keep your brain busy, control who you spend time with and, if necessary, see your doctor.

Related: Feeling Depressed All The Time? How To Know When Itโ€™s Time To Ask For Help

Depression can go away on its own if properly managed but will get worse if left untreated. So, try the things that I recommended above but always pay attention to how you are doing. If you are getting worse and not better, get help!

You can do it!


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