Depression doesn't hurt just the person dealing head on with the depression, it also affects everyone that person interacts with. It can be a frustrating and challenging experience handling the lows that clinical depression can push onto the body. Unless you take steps to control depression, it can seriously affect your professional as well as personal relationships with the people around you. There are three overlooked methods in handling depression that may be beneficial if you're looking for additional methods to try in controlling the symptoms of depression.
The first method is through keeping a journal or diary. If you are not keeping a journal on your moods during the day, you are missing out on a valuable tool that can help you shift out of your feelings of depression and back to a more relaxed state of mind. Writing a journal, even if no one sees it is a great way to unload the stress of the day and get down on paper how you feel about people, places, and things around you. If you want to select a supportive friend or family member that has permission to read your journal, this can be effective as long as they are very understanding and not judgmental. You can even bring your journal to a therapy session for your therapist to look over, if this has not already been arranged in a previous session. For those looking for privacy, there are journals that have locks on them to prevent prying eyes looking at your most sacred thoughts.
The second method is through driving. Many people handling depression have taken to the open road for short trips away from home. Choosing off peak hours with little traffic can lead to having the feel of having the open road all to yourself, making driving a fun pleasure that can be enjoyed in short bursts. You can even make a special CD for such trips to further bring you deeper into the peaceful moments that are just around the corner. If you choose this method, make sure to set aside plenty of time. The key to making this work is to enjoy the activity when there is nothing else that needs to happen in your life.
The third and final overlooked method of handling depression is to channel the frustration and stress of depression into a hobby that involves serious movement. A gentle hobby for this purpose is dance, something that allows you to move to music without fear of judgment from others. You don't have to go down to a dance studio just to get the benefits - 15 minutes of getting up and just moving to whatever your favorite music of the moment is can be more than enough in terms of getting past the blues.
All things considered, depression is a very challenging mental disorder that can leave you feeling frustrated, stressed, and feeling overwhelmed. However, with these three overlooked methods in mind, you should have everything you need to get started moving past depression and towards the bright future you deserve!
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