Emotional Strategies For Depression
If youre aware of your depression and whats causing it, you can try going deeper into the emotion itself.
Remember, depression is just a state. Youre not the depression itself.
Try to find the center of the depression, and you may realize that it has none. Then, the depression will disappear on its own.
Alternatively, you can express your depression and frustration. Go into a private space, like the bathroom, and talk to the depressed part in the mirror. See what it wants and needs. Often, merely allowing this sad part to express itself can resolve the depression.
Give Yourself Some Credit
Youve got this, you must be doing something right. As humans, were naturally designed to look at our flaws and replay what we did wrong. Its time to change that! Without being prideful, it is time to sit down, and even write a list, of all the things you did right, all your successes and wins. Perhaps, youll realize theres a lot more there than you thought there was.
Accept That Youll Have Some Bad Days
Finally, its important to accept that youll have both good and bad days while you recover from depression, especially if you have persistent or severe depression.
Motivation can come and go, especially when youre depressed. If youre feeling overwhelmed by your daily life and dont think you can stick to your normal cleaning routine, dont feel like its a bad thing to put your feet up and take some time off.
This could mean letting your kitchen, bathroom or bedroom get a little messy over the course of the day while you focus on personal self-care, or just skipping your daily cleaning routine for a day so that you can spend time on other things.
Youre human, and no human is perfect. If you dont feel like its the right day for cleaning, take some time off to rest and relax, then set aside a few extra minutes the next day to catch up on the things you missed.
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Focus On What You’re Doing
Depression causes you to be absorbed in your own thoughts. To counter this as you go about your daily routine, focus your thoughts on the outside world. For example, when you wash a dish, feel the water on your hands and listen to the dishtowel rubbing the plate. “By focusing on the outer world with attention,” says Luciani, “you’re really teaching yourself to let go of that inner ‘gerbil wheel’ where you are spinning depressive thoughts.”
What Is Samhsa’s National Helpline
SAMHSAs National Helpline, , or TTY: is a confidential, free, 24-hour-a-day, 365-day-a-year, information service, in English and Spanish, for individuals and family members facing mental and/or substance use disorders. This service provides referrals to local treatment facilities, support groups, and community-based organizations.
Also visit the online treatment locator, or send your zip code via text message: 435748 to find help near you. Read more about the HELP4U text messaging service.
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Big Picture Changes To Support Mental Health
Ways To Increase Motivation
Here are some strategies that are proven to be effective in improving depression and increasing motivation:
Identify Pleasurable Behaviors
A good place to start is by making a list of things you enjoyed doing in the past or things you would like to start doing. Ask yourself: What do I feel like I can do at this moment?What has inspired me in the past?What is something Ive always wanted to do? There is no right or wrong place to start. The first step of identifying pleasurable or meaningful activities, to get moving and do something different than what you have been doing, is the most important.
Set Realistic Goals
The second step is to set realistic goals and expectations. Think about what you can do in that moment and scale it back. For example, if you think you can take a 20-minute walk, start with 15 minutes. You do not want to push yourself and overdo it. If your goal is too large and youre unable to do it, you will get disappointed in yourself, experience negative thoughts, and feel like you dont want to try again. So rather than setting yourself up for failure, focus on setting small, achievable goals reaching these will promote positive thoughts and feelings about yourself and thereby increase your motivation to do more.
Dont forget to reward yourself for your accomplishments!
Become Aware of Negative Self-Talk
Look at External Factors
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Little Motivation Tricks For Getting Through The Day With Depression
Picture this: youre lying in bed or sitting on the couch, devoid of energy. Theres a pile of dishes waiting for you in the sink, your dog is giving you a guilty I need to eat look and you have several imminent assignment deadlines going off like fire alarms in your head. But, no matter how hard you try no matter how anxious the pile of responsibilities makes you you just cant do it.
If this sounds familiar, then youve experienced one of the most common symptoms of depression. Depression sucks the energy out of you, leaving you exhausted and unable to budge. Its no wonder many with depression find the spoon theory to be apt to their lived experience.
We decided to ask our mental health community what little tricks they have for getting motivated when depression drags them down. Maybe depression is telling you that youve already tried them all, but we hope youll find a few unexpected gems in the answers they gave us.
Here is what they said:
1. I convince myself all I gotta do is one thing today. But in order to do that one thing, I need to get out of bed to do it. Usually I say food or washroom, something I cant go without. That works for me. Like a pep talk before starting the day. Mizheekay H.
7. Make a list and put on some music that motivates me to move. Otherwise, Ill spend days just going from the bed to the couch and back. Suzy J.
What motivation tricks would you add? Let us know in the comments below.
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Keep Fit Keep Healthy
No need to try and be a sports model, unless you want to, in that case, more power to you! But keeping fit and healthy is the foundation of a healthy mind. Exercise has been proven to ease the symptoms of depression, so once you get motivated to start, youll really feel the benefits of those endorphins.
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Get Help For Your Depression
While the above tips can help, it may be that you need professional support for your depression and associated motivation issues. At Priory, our depression treatment experts will be able to help you to overcome your symptoms and negative thoughts, understand the underlying triggers for your difficulties and take steps towards a lasting recovery.
We offer dedicated inpatient, day care, and outpatient treatment options, depending on the level of support you need, as well as a wide range of evidence-based therapy types.
You dont have to struggle with depression get in touch today to find out how we can support you to get back on track.
Get in touch with Priory by calling 0800 144 8969for a compassionate chat about the difficulties you’ve been experiencing and how our treatment can put you on the road to recovery.
Alternatively, , where a mental health professional will examine your symptoms and outline the best possible route to recovery.
You Dont Have To Enjoy It
The only goal you need to have for a task is to complete it. You need to accept the fact that you arent going to like everything you have to do. You may wonder how anyone gets anything done, but it is because people who dont suffer from depression can fight through not wanting to do something they wont enjoy because they feel balanced most of the time. You dont have that luxury, but unfortunately, life isnt fair. If you get into your head that it is what it is and you just have to get it together and complete a task, it will make it easier.
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Ways To Get Motivated When Youre Depressed
If you struggle with clinical depression, it can feel impossible to find motivation to complete even the smallest task. When it comes to depression, its important to remember that youre not alone. According to the World Health Organization, more than 264 million people suffer from depression worldwide, and it is one of the most common mental disorders in the United States. Because depression is such a wide-spread mental illness, a lot of people have various coping mechanisms that help them stay motivated throughout the day or pull themselves out of a depressive episode.
Weve compiled a list of 10 ways to get motivated when youre depressed, five steps that you can take to move forward each day, and five tactics that you can apply to your life as a whole to see widespread results.
Accept Your Feelings And Dont Push Them Away
Many people who live with depression try to push their feelings away, hoping they will eventually disappear. However, its essential to accept your feelings and understand why youre feeling them.
The more you try to fight, push away, or bury those unpleasant feelings, the worse you will feel in the long term. Not to mention, the longer you try to make those bad sensations go away, the more guilty and ashamed you will feel for having them in the first place. Because youre forcing yourself to deal with these emotions for longer, it starts to take a toll on your mental and emotional health, as well.
Instead, allow yourself to be aware of the emotions you are currently experiencing. Feel them, accept them, and have faith they will pass quickly. If you feel like you need a good cry, let it out. If you need to get away and recharge your batteries, go ahead and do it! Because those emotions will fade away. Accepting your feelings can be one of the most challenging ways to deal with depression in the short term.
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How To Motivate Yourself When Depressed
You know youre depressed when the first thing you think about in the morning is how you wish you were still unconscious and not for sleepiness reasons. With such low inclination to start your day, its hard to figure out how to motivate yourself when youre depressed. Depression is a serious mental health issue, but there are ways to get up and get moving when you have it.
When Depression Prevent Exercise: Find Treatment That Works
At Next Step, we know how profoundly depression can impact all aspects of your life. Our compassionate, non-judgmental team offers a variety of depression treatments, including medication and therapy.
If depression is keeping you from your potential, we can help. Call our Louisville, Kentucky office at 502-339-2442. You can also request an appointment online.
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How To Get Motivated To Exercise When Youre Depressed:
- Have a dedicated space for exercise. This entrains the mind and helps with the development of focus of mind.
- Avoid your phone while exercising. Be with your thoughts and feelings, your resistance, observe.
- Work out with others. You can incorporate reflecting on the human condition, on what we share in common, into your life and exercise routine.
- Use exercise as a form of physical self-awareness.Attending to and taking care of the body can become much more than a physical affair when we engage deliberately, with awareness, in contemplating the nature of human life.
On the concept of limitations, Librizzi said, it helps to reframe your mentality around those activities you perceive as limiting or difficult. These activities, when approached with intent and awareness, can actually help you connect to and understand yourself better, Librizzi said.
Negative states of mind, and the narrow frame in which we view health, get in the way of developing and sustaining healthy habits, he said. So we need to challenge our mindset, our way of viewing limitations, effort, routine, and the ways we try to be free of limitations that dont actually make us free and fulfilled.
Know The Importance Of Goal Setting When You Have Depression
Depression makes it extremely difficult to do tasks that would take a neurotypical person less time to do, such as getting out of bed to brush ones teeth, take a shower, eat food, or do a variety of other daily tasks.
Its important to forget what neurotypical people do and focus on your limitations. Sure, it can take someone five minutes to get into and out of a shower, but if youre fighting the urge to crawl back into bed and fall back asleep, you need to work at your own pace.
Goal setting is a great way to accomplish daily activities in a manner that fits your energy levels. You can settle on the basic activities you would like to do, such as brushing your teeth, eating, and going to work.
Setting small, specific goals ensures you dont feel overwhelmed with the amount of stuff you could do but lack the energy for, which could further demotivate you in your depressive state. Avoid a long list of things youd ideally like to get done. Focus on the essential tasks that need to get done for a functional life.
However, if youre depressed but still want to tackle ambitious tasks, such as writing a book, starting up a business, or reaching a weight goal, youll have to break down large goals into bite-sized pieces. Large tasks easily overwhelm anyone, but little things you can do daily, such as writing for five minutes, means you accomplish bigger goals over a long period.
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Cleaning Motivation Tip: Create A Cleaning Route
The next thing I like to do to keep me motivated to clean is to follow a cleaning route. This is the route I take in my home to get the cleaning done.
I like to make a loop through the house so Im not zigzagging through the house. This keeps me on track without wasting time bouncing from one room to the next. If youd like to create your own cleaning route you can learn more here.
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But What Is Depression
Ever feel you cant catch a break, its just one bad thing after another or a general long-time low mood? That could be depression. Its classified a mood disorder, that affects how a person thinks, feels and acts.
And the tricky part is its not like a cold where the symptoms are the same for every person, so time to get rid of those stereotypes of black clothes, tears, and Morrissey songs.
Depression presents itself in a variety of ways anxiety, low mood, lack of motivation, or even no outward symptoms at all and sometimes, out of stigma, its completely hidden.
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How To Motivate Yourself To Clean When Youre Depressed
Sometimes youre not inspired to get your house together because you just want to play all day. Or theres too much on Netflix. Or Hulu. Or Google Play
Those are regular motivation issues, and I address them in a previous post, How To Motivate Yourself To Clean When Youre Just Not Feeling It.
However, lack of motivation due to depression is a post all in itself.
Before we begin, let me say that if you are depressed and not under a doctors care, please see a doctor. And if you are under a doctors care, listen to them before me. Always.
Taking Care Of Yourself
Theres a natural impulse to want to fix the problems of people we care about, but you cant control someone elses depression. You can, however, control how well you take care of yourself. Its just as important for you to stay healthy as it is for the depressed person to get treatment, so make your own well-being a priority.
Remember the advice of airline flight attendants: put on your own oxygen mask before you assist anyone else. In other words, make sure your own health and happiness are solid before you try to help someone who is depressed. You wont do your friend or family member any good if you collapse under the pressure of trying to help. When your own needs are taken care of, youll have the energy you need to lend a helping hand.
Speak up for yourself. You may be hesitant to speak out when the depressed person in your life upsets you or lets you down. However, honest communication will actually help the relationship in the long run. If youre suffering in silence and letting resentment build, your loved one will pick up on these negative emotions and feel even worse. Gently talk about how youre feeling before pent-up emotions make it too hard to communicate with sensitivity.
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