In this post I would like to continue sharing tips for life management for those who struggle with depression. Some of these things might not be helpful to you or you find some of them irrelevant. I know all things won’t work for everyone. I would just like to share my heart and what I’ve learned during 10 years with depression. In my previous post I shared tips for coping with tiredness. You can find that post here:
https://lifeinhimblog.wordpress.com/2014/08/23/depression-and-tiredness/
1. Spread your weekly activities for several days of the week and don’t have overly full schedule
I’m sorry about the poor wording above. I know very well that I’m not native English speaker. 🙂 Anyhow, my point is that don’t pack your Monday full with all of your activities if you have time to do some of those things on Tuesday, Wednesday etc. Our culture is all about effectiveness and busy schedules. But I really think that those who are depressed will benefit from looser schedules. And it keeps us going if we do things throughout the week and not pack only one or even two days full from morning until evening.
2. Try to have regular daily routines
Something that helps me tremendously is to maintain regular daily routines. I’ve read that routines are especially helpful for those who suffer from bipolar depression. I’ve a very mild version of bipolar depression but I need routines so badly. So my days might sound boring and without much variation but that is the safest route for me. I go to bed around the same time every day. I eat meals around the same time every day etc. And these aren’t strict rules that I follow but they create order for my mind and for my life and hence, I feel better.
3. Allow your mind to rest during the day and have breaks
I enjoy having short breaks during my days. Having a break doesn’t mean that I lay on a couch for two hours. I enjoy having a snack and tea, playing a game on my phone or look for interesting Christian websites and articles online. Of course now when I’m unemployed I’ve all the time in my hands and I can do almost anything. But even as unemployed I try to have some kind of schedule for things that just need to get done and have breaks while I do them. And of course I relax during the evenings.
4. Have a healthy diet
Now don’t get overwhelmed. By this I mean that you don’t only eat junk food. I eat fruits, vegetables and whole grains. I don’t follow a strict diet and I enjoy eating desserts and fast food every now and then (and sometimes even more than that). I’m trying to say that your mood will sink if you eat fast food every day and food does have an effect on our minds. Try to eat healthy food in order to have a stable mood and more energy. Don’t eat comfort food when you’re in the deep valley of depression. I’ve done that mistake many times and only after these years I’m able to notice that it doesn’t help my depression in the long run.
5. Be thankful for little things
Depression can almost suck life from you. For that we need to have an antidote: thankfulness. Keep a journal of little things that you’re thankful for. Maybe you didn’t have any trouble getting out of bed this morning. Great! Maybe you’re able to stay active and do daily routines despite your depression. Good for you! Maybe you had a great coffee date with your friend. Awesome! Or you had a very tasty lunch, fruitful meeting with your doctor, bought flowers to cheer you up, were able to babysit your nephew after a while, took a relaxing bath and the list goes on and on if you just start… What makes you thankful today?
Do you have more tips for daily life that help you?
This post will end my series on depression. I’m probably going to write more about mental illnesses in the future but now in the coming posts I’m going to write on various topics so stay tuned!
Life in Him 