Taking Action for Depression Recovery
Will I ever get better?
If you suffer from depression you've certainly asked yourself this question a time or two. In some cases, depression clings for so long that we begin to doubt or believe that it really can improve. Sometimes, it truly feels impossible.
The Road of Depression Can Be Long and Winding
That's the thing about depression, the road of recovery can sometimes be long. It can feel like it is nothing but an uphill battle. The twists and turns are painstaking. But when you come out on the other side there is something in you that has changed, and changed for the better.
It's easy for me to say this now, right? I'm on the other side. But even if I am "living in light" right now, the depression that I have become so intimately acquainted with for almost 20 years is just not ever too far away. *Important thing to remember here, not all people suffer from depression chronically and even chronic depression is treatable.
When Will My Depression Symptoms End?
How I wish I could answer the question, "when will my depression symptoms end?" If a pharmaceutical company could develop a drug that would be guaranteed to remove your symptoms in X amount of days, I guarantee that would be the number one prescription on the market. But here's the good news, the more effort you put into your wellness and recovery, the greater benefit I believe you will receive. And for some, this means quicker relief as well.
Depression Plays Tricks On You
Why is it so hard to make the effort required for active participation in recovery? Depression plays tricks on us. It's most difficult to get out of bed, to do the most common daily tasks we need to accomplish, yet we also may need to put more effort into our self-care than ever before. This is simply backwards and feels completely unfair. You can have your pity party, believe me I have had mine, but it's true, now is the time to take care of you.
Depression leads us to believe that we cannot accomplish anything, that we are worthless and that our efforts are futile. Depression is a liar! When we are experiencing it, the last thing we are thinking about is how our own mind is lying to us, but I'm here to tell you... depression tells you lies and even worse, they come from yourself, so you are pretty much likely to believe them.
We may feel resigned, we may feel like the only option is to give up, but when we begin to believe that giving up is a viable option, that is the moment, the big giant red flag, that you say to yourself, "Wow, I really need to get myself some help, now!" I don't believe it's part of the natural state of the human spirit to desire to give up on life, it is only when we are experiencing illness, like depression, when we even remotely consider the concept.
Depression tricks you into believing false truths. Once you begin to recognize depression's bag of tricks, it becomes easier to identify. Additionally, the time you may spend battling depression is reduced because you know what to look for and you act on it as quick as you can.
Act Now for Depression Relief
One of the main keys, in my personal opinion, to easing your depression symptoms and putting it to rest, is to simply take whatever action you can towards wellness right now. Don't wait until tomorrow or next week to call a therapist/counselor/psychiatrist. Do it right now. Don't wait until tomorrow or this weekend to add a little exercise into your life. Start adding these kinds of healthy activities into your day now. I know it's easier said than done, it's a lot easier said than done. But if you find it in yourself to do one healthy thing for you today that you didn't do for yourself yesterday, then, you're making progress. Be proactive, as proactive as you possibly can be.
Disclaimer: Let me acknowledge here the often chemical/genetic component that is involved in depression. I don't mean to imply that you can simply "work your way out of" depression. When I say act now, I mean that I recommend we do what we can to take care of ourselves (now), do what is in our power, and our outcome will likely be much better than if we sat around and just waited for our depression to lift.
If you are in need of depression support you can visit our Depression Forum today.
APA Reference
Kiel, A.
(2011, May 17). Taking Action for Depression Recovery, HealthyPlace. Retrieved
on 2024, November 14 from https://www.healthyplace.com/blogs/depressiondiaries/2011/05/taking-action-for-depression-recovery
Author: Amy Kiel
Every experience of depressed patient in confrontation with this disease should considered with respect and carefully as well. Moreover, when it is well-known the fact that depression is presented in many features. In other side, as it is known hereabout every morbid entity is associate with depressive phenomenology. In most depressed patient is developed many somatic symptoms that plays trick patients as well as doctors. Therefore, the depression presents a psychiatric challenge. Your genuine experience, Ms. Kiel, in spite of that, notes down an useful contribute on overcoming of depressive disorders. In others words, this means that depressive ill person should changed its lifestyle, respectively improved model of daily activities. However, medication of depression is primary effort in treatment of this durable illness. Without this approach, the treatment of depression would be incomplete and temporary, that imply recurrences and chronicity. This course isn't recovery from this disease.
I am certainly not new at this. I have had dissociative disorder for at least 30 years but last week I saw SO CLEARLY how anger turned inward leads to depression. I had been sleeping day and night for several weeks and I knew that things were about to get worse. I didn't know what worse was going to be but in years past worse would have been taking an overdose but I don't do that any more.
So after a few days I phone my magnificent therapist and talked to her about it and she helped me to realize that I was angry with two men in the same office (my support workers). I had asked them both to provide me with documents that I needed to file a claim against my landlord to go to the residential tenancies board. I had asked them both several times over a two month period and had asked the second one to phone me if he couldn't get the documents. The previous Friday I had phoned the supervisor and VOILA! I had what I needed the following Monday. So instead of expressing my anger to those two men, I was going to take that anger out on myself!!! DUH!!!
LESSON LEARNED. Of course, growing up in a home where both parents were both physically and verbally abusive, it is still hard to remember that that was then and this is now. Hopefully I will learn to express my anger where it belongs the next time.