Small Things I Do Every Day to Manage My Depression

Some days you feel well, and other days, darkness envelopes you. You feel achingly sad, or you feel absolutely nothing. You’re exhausted, and every task feels too big to start. You feel weighed down, as though there are sandbags attached to your shoulders. Managing the symptoms of depression can be hard. But even the smallest steps taken every day (or on most days) can make a significant difference. Below, you’ll learn how five different women live with depression on a daily basis, and the small, yet pivotal actions they take. Having a daily routine. “Having a daily routine helps me push through the days when I’m not feeling my best,” said Denita Stevens, a writer and author of the recently released poetry collection Invisible Veils, which delves into her experiences with depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Stevens’s routine starts at night with two morning alarms: one alarm is optional, the second one, which rings around 7 a.m., is not. “I take a moment to gauge how I’m feeling before deciding which one I wake up to.  Sometimes I don’t always have a good night’s sleep and an extra hour of rest helps.” When she’s up, she drinks coffee and reads. Then she focuses on work. The evenings are dedicated to personal time. This “gives me motivation to accomplish what I need to do during the workday in a timely manner and allows me to end the day investing my time in myself,” Stevens said. This me-time might mean socializing,...
Source: World of Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Depression Disorders General Habits Inspiration & Hope Mental Health and Wellness Self-Help Self Care self-compassion Source Type: blogs