What to do when we are depressed? 10 keys to improve

Depression is a frequent phenomenon in our days, and most experts affirm that practically all of us can suffer from it at some point in our lives. This should not surprise us, taking into account the pace of life in industrialized societies and the highly demanding culture that surrounds us, which rewards competitiveness and individualism. Sometimes we can feel like objects, rather than subjects.

Depression is characterized by a sad mood and by a loss in the ability to feel interest and pleasure in those things that were once enjoyed. In addition, the person suffering from this disorder presents other negative symptoms, such as fatigue, insomnia, eating and concentration problems.

• Related article: "Are there different types of depression?"

What to do when you're depressed

Biological, educational or psychosocial factors often interact in the onset of depression, and the way in which the person interprets the events that occur around him has a great influence on the development of this disorder.

Although in most cases it is necessary to seek psychological support, it is possible to acquire a series of habits to combat depression and improve well-being, as long as the symptoms are not severe (in which case one is unable to follow behavior patterns that require a certain amount of willpower). In this article you can find a list of recommendations that will help you overcome this disorder and improve your quality of life.

1. Have some healthy habits

Have healthy habits It is essential to enjoy better emotional health. Eating well and exercising not only affects our body, but also our mind.

Proper nutrition helps maintain high energy levels and allows the body to function better. Likewise, the connection between eating and psychological aspects It has made psychology experts interested in understanding how what we eat affects our feelings and emotions, as we tell you in this article: “Psychology and Nutrition: the importance of emotional eating”.

Physical exercise is also synonymous with health, and there are many psychological effects it brings. The practice of sports activity favors the release of endorphins and serotonin, among other neurochemicals. Endorphins produce feelings of happiness and euphoria, and serotonin, as already mentioned, is related to depressive and obsessive behaviors. In addition, physical exercise helps reduce stress (which can cause depression) and helps improve an individual's self-image.

2. Improve your Emotional Intelligence

Emotional Intelligence skills are necessary to enjoy good emotional health, and there are many studies that corroborate it. This practice favors self-knowledge, helps to understand the emotions that one feels and to regulate them, and allows master skills to have healthy relationships with others.

Having a high Emotional Intelligence positively affects different areas of people's functioning, such as well-being psychological, coping with stressful situations, social relationships or work and, therefore, helps to combat the depression.

• Related article: “The 6 best Emotional Intelligence and Personal Development courses”

3. Follow an active social life

Studies on happiness have shown that healthy interpersonal relationships allow us to have a more fulfilling life. That is why it is necessary to surround yourself with good friends, attend events and practice the hobbies that we like.

Do not isolate yourself and go out to have a good time it improves our mood and gives meaning to our lives, as well as having a close relationship with close friends and family who care about us is a protective factor against depression. Also, if these are fun, they make us have a good time and improve our mood. Studies show that social support positively influences happiness and makes people less prone to depression.

4. do what you like

Those individuals who connect with themselves and do what they like, that is, who feel self-fulfilled, are more resistant to depression. It's hard not to be sad when you don't like your job and you have to spend eight hours a day in that place; or when you want to study something with all your might but your family's opinion seems to be more important than yours.

Connecting with one's desires is essential if we want to avoid depression. Although it is true that in serious cases of this disorder this is not enough, doing what one likes helps to have greater self-esteem and to enjoy greater well-being mental.

5. Do not compare yourself with others

In the world we live in, not much is required. Having the perfect body, earning a lot of money, standing out in studies... These beliefs are, in many cases, irrational, because perhaps we can stand out in some facet, but not necessarily in all.

Self-esteem is seriously damaged if we constantly compare ourselves with others, because these expectations can be overly perfectionist and unattainable and, therefore, can cause immense frustration: it is common to focus our attention on the deficits instead of the virtues we possess. Also, although we all like other people to like us, spending a lot of time and energy trying to make others like us can cause great psychological wear and tear and unnecessary stress. The important thing is to be good with yourself.

6. accept yourself and forgive yourself

Self-acceptance and forgiveness towards oneself is one of the keys to avoiding depression, and the way How we interpret our failures is decisive when it comes to looking at life with optimism or pessimism. Since we are not perfect, it is possible to be wrong. Learn from negative experiences and accepting that sometimes you win and sometimes you lose is necessary to recover well-being. The past cannot be changed, but the perception we have of the past can.

7. Set goals that are realistic

One of the causes of suffering from depression may be not having life goals, because goals are motivating and help us keep moving. If we look to the future and we do not see clearly the path to follow, we can suffer a existential crisis.

That's why you need to have goals to strive forbecause they give us life. However, goals should not be irrational, as they can create false and unattainable expectations and, therefore, negatively affect our well-being.

8. live in the present

These objectives should not only be set in the long term, but it is necessary to have short-term goals, which allows us to remain motivated throughout the process. Having future expectations (as long as they are realistic) is good, but learning to live in the present is also key to overcoming depression.

It is frequent that, in the times that we live, we let ourselves be carried away by expectations and the rumination of the mind, getting lost in these thoughts. That is why we must continually remind ourselves that we must remain in the here and now, connected with ourselves and with the reality that surrounds us at this precise moment.

A useful tool to achieve this is Mindfulness..

• If you want to know more about this practice, you can read this article: “What is Mindfulness? The 7 answers to your questions”

9. Take care of your stress level

The phenomena of stress and depression are usually closely related, but they are different conditions that require specific treatments. Stress is one of the great evils of this century, and it is not surprising given the lifestyle of Western societies.

When it becomes chronic, depression can appear as one of its consequences or effects. prevent stress It also helps prevent depression.

A type of stress that is very present today is work stress.

• If you want to know how to reduce it, you can take a look at this article: “8 essential tips to reduce work stress”

10. Seek professional help

The previous sections can be useful to help combat depression, but sometimes it is not possible to get out of this delicate situation alone.

In these cases, psychological therapy becomes a good help to alleviate the situation, because it helps the patient to discover the underlying causes of his worries and her sadness; it allows you to learn to relax and look at situations from a new perspective, and it gives you the chance to develop better coping and problem solving skills. In short, psychotherapy provides the tools to overcome depression and regain well-being again.

The importance of putting yourself in good hands

If you think that you are going through a situation similar to the one described in the previous lines and you are looking for psychological support, the Center of Psychology Instituto Mensalus has a team of professionals who are experts in the treatment of depression and other disorders.

This center is located in Barcelona, ​​where it offers face-to-face therapeutic sessions (although it also has the possibility of doing online therapy), always from an approach integrator. Depression differs from occasional sadness and causes great suffering, but it is treatable if we put ourselves in good hands and receive competent care.

If you want more information about the Mensalus Institute Psychology Center, you can find the contact information at this link.