Depression guide test

Feeling down when something difficult or stressful happens (like a break-up with your partner or losing your job) is a part of life. These things happen all the time. And usually, these feelings fade over time, and you get on with life's activities. 

If it is depression, unfortunately, these feelings persist, even when things improve.

The way you feel when you are depressed is connected to:

• Your thoughts and what you think about
• The way you behave or act
• What happened to you in the past
• Things going on around you now
• the way stress hormones affect your brain.

All depression will be helped by better self-care. For mild depression, self-help techniques (like physical activity, for example) can make a big difference. Understanding what is happening to you goes a long way in trying to solve it.

Here are some signs and symptoms that you should watch out for:

Key Signs

• Endlessly feeling down and hopeless
• Finding yourself having little interest or find joy from the things you used to do previously

Other possible signs and symptoms

• irritability or restlessness
• feeling tired all the time, or a general loss of energy
• feeling empty, lonely
• sleeping problems - too much, or too little
• losing or gaining weight
• feeling bad about yourself or things you have done
• problems with concentration 
• reduced sex drive 
• thinking about death a lot
• thoughts of harming yourself

In the upcoming steps, we will share how to cope with this struggle.

Receiving support plays a vital role in aiding your recovery. When you are alone with your thoughts, it can become challenging to maintain a positive perspective. This can affect the effort required to beat depression. Connecting with people can help you feel better faster and stay well for longer. Try some of these ideas if you have not been keeping in touch with friends for a while.

Find one of these occasions to get in touch:

• Meet up with friends for a coffee.
• Do volunteer work at an orphanage or an old age home.
• Spend more time with family. Consider taking your family members to the park or to the beach. Or conduct a video call with them if you live away from them.
• Use social media to connect with friends you haven’t spoken to in a while.
• Make a meal with a friend.
• Go for a walk or a swim with friends.
• Seek help from a friend, a counselor, or a listener to begin to work out any challenging relationships.

Also, with any activity that requires you to leave your home, always keep social distancing norms and hygienic practices in mind.

If you’re not sure about connecting with friends or family members, our in-house listeners would love to be there for you. Your story deserves to be heard, and you deserve to be understood. Connect with our listeners here.

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Looking after your body with physical activity, good food, and sleep will also help you look after your brain. The right diet and the right amount of physical activity can significantly improve your mood and make you whole again.

Try taking one of these steps:

• get some fresh air by going to the park or a short trek
• do something physical, like going for a run, walk, or to yoga
• sleep in your bed (and not in front of the television)
• stay hydrated, keep a bottle of water in your bag or handbag 
• cut back on alcohol and recreational drugs
• eat healthier meals.  

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Depression and anxiety can make it hard for you to deal with everyday situations. Using some of these strategies, you can take a sizeable amount of stress out of your life.

• Embrace a daily routine by doing simple activities like showering, making your bed, and hanging washed clothes to dry. Start with one of them.
• Postpone significant life changes, such as moving to a new house or changing jobs until you’re feeling better.
• Help someone else who needs support.
• Remember to take holidays from work and get away from your everyday life.
• Pick a hobby or a sport that you enjoy or used to enjoy and make time every day for it.

You might be feeling like you do not belong anywhere. Or perhaps life has lost its meaning. If you can relate to the above, these ideas might help you find your place in the world again.

Choose something that feels right for you:

• Spend time in nature – go mountain climbing or swimming in a river.
• Go to places that you know nurture your soul. That could be a place of worship or any place you can associate with peace.
• Give yourself permission to reflect and grow.
• Explore and identify what keeps you peaceful and content.
• Go home. Spend time in the place you grew up in. 

While coping with depression, negative thoughts can make you feel powerless and weak. And it's an understandable feeling to have. Unfortunately, depression does have the power to make anything feel negative, including your view of yourself.

When you feel overwhelmed by negative thoughts, understand that this is a symptom of your depression. Train yourself to believe that these thoughts are irrational. Choose an activity from the above list, and give yourself a sense of purpose.

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