Coping With Depression Improves With Practice

Did you know that coping with depression improves with practice? I wish that depression checked prerequisites before working itself into someone’s brain. I want to know that I’ve met a checklist of skills that guarantees that I'm fully capable of coping with depression. Fortunately, coping skills can improve with practice, in which case I think that depression could almost be viewed as a sport. Athletes have basic skills that help them succeed, but they must practice smaller, more specific skills in order to improve their overall success at the sport (Beating Anxiety the Triathlon Way). The same goes for coping with depression.

Practice Coping With Depression By Accepting You Don't Have all the Answers

I like to have all the answers, and I like to plan how to figure out the answers when I don't know them. Living with the constant ups and downs of life and tricky brain health can be invigorating, discouraging and frustrating all at once; and I often don’t know how to deal with it. Even with other people’s advice and time-tested methodology, I have no clue what works for me. I just don't have an answer.

But I've learned that I can't punish myself for not having all those answers. In reality, no one knows how to handle everything, and I constantly remind myself that depression is a learning experience. I am always finding out new things about myself, how my brain works in various situations, and what my body needs in order to reduce stress. Not knowing all the answers really just provides me with more learning opportunities.

Practice Coping With Depression by Celebrating Little Successes

Successful mental health is difficult to achieve. New obstacles appear just as I find myself recovering from a bad brain day, coming out of an anxiety attack, or after conquering a conflict with grace. I feel like my successes are paired with failures. It’s almost always an all-or-nothing situation when it comes to my mental health. If I stumble once, I feel like I’ve totally dropped the ball.

Regardless of the troublesome pairing, focusing on the failures only brings me down and keeps me in a state of constant irritation. But I’ve been practicing my coping with depression skills by celebrating the little successes. Sure, I lost my temper with my partner; however, I did well at apologizing and working it out with him. Since I did it once, I know that I can do it again. I take my little successes as opportunities for celebration and I use them as building blocks for the future.

Practice Several Coping With Depression Skills for a Big Effect

Being able to practice little, helpful skills that improve your ability to work with your depression is important in shaping your experience and ensuring that you have as many mental health tools as possible. I find that people vary in what they want to improve about their depression coping skills, but everyone can use some practice. And while practice can’t make depression coping skills perfect, it can make each new obstacle less intimidating.

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