Steps You Can Take to Recover from Depression

Recovery can be extremely difficult and can feel impossible, but we can take steps that bring us closer to healing. Here are a few suggestions.

Try Therapy.

When we are depressed and in crisis, the thought of finding a therapist can be overwhelming, daunting and scary. Muster the strength, ask for help, seek out support, because finding the right therapist can help you immensely on your healing journey. Therapists have years of experience dealing with similar issues, emotional problems and life circumstances. And unlike with our loved ones, with a therapist we can speak freely without worrying about judgment or bias.

Walk.

Any kind of exercise is helpful for depression. It releases endorphins in our bodies which help us to feel happy, naturally. Sometimes when we’re depressed, we find it extremely hard to motivate ourselves to practice self-care, and vigorous exercise might be too much for us, but walking can come more naturally to us and can be easier to will ourselves to do. Walking can help you clear your mind, calm your anxiety, and process and organize your thoughts. Walking can be used as a form of meditation. Try focusing on your breathing, or on a mantra or affirmation while you walk. It can help you quiet and still your mind, which is so crucial for depression as we are often consumed by our painful thoughts.

Spend time with people who care about you.

This can be especially hard when we’re depressed. We isolate. We feel afraid of people. We avoid having to interacting with anyone. Try to spend time with someone who cares about you, even for just a little while. Take time to talk to them about your feelings and let them offer you support and encouragement. We often get advice, guidance and wisdom from our loved ones, often when we need it the most but weren’t necessarily looking for it.

Let yourself enjoy doing something fun.

Get out of your normal routine, which might be contributing to your depression. Do something different you’ve never done, or something you used to enjoy doing. Any time we can give our minds some much needed rest from our depressive thoughts, we are taking a step in our recovery. Having fun, changing our routine, venturing out into the world can feel like the last things we would want to do when we’re depressed, but if we can give ourselves a gentle push, it can mean the difference between staying stuck in our depression and moving forward.

You don’t have to figure out recovery alone. We’re here to help. Call (833) 801-LIVE.