Last week, I wrote Coping with Depression Symptoms: Part One. This week, it is part two. Need more introduction than that? Too bad.
Make Small Goals: Take Small Steps
There's nothing wrong with turning your life around. There's nothing wrong with losing 34 pounds, learning French, cleaning your whole house, getting promoted, and paying off your student loans. However, if you set all of these goals in one week, you've done nothing but set yourself up for dismal disappointment. They can't possibly be achieved in a week, nor have you given yourself the steps to get them done.
Do the dishes. Spend that extra hour at work getting caught up on your emails. Take an extra walk this week instead of staring at the number on the scale. A small step is more likely to result in a small yet positive achievement. Try to make it a concrete, measureable step. No one can do everything. You can do one thing.
Routine and Ritual
As an adult, yes, you can choose to call in sick on those bad days. You can skip class, you can forgo breakfast, you can stop going to your weekly book club, or stay in instead of going out with friends, all because you're not feeling up to it: don't trust that instinct. Dumping on your routine activities (both the fun ones and the responsibility ones) is one of the first things that tend to happen when depression sets in. Don't give in to it.
When you feel so exhausted by the thought of doing what you would normally do, laying down in bed and pulling the covers over your head will not help combat depression. Activities and following your routine can help to get rid of depression symptoms. Yes, even the mundane ones like going to the library on Thursday nights or going to bible study on Tuesdays. Depression is the problem; giving in to its every whim will only compound the symptoms.
Pet Therapy
My favorite way to cope with depression is with my pets. Between the cats and dogs at my place and my fiancée's place, I'm kept very busy. Each of the previous steps for alleviating depression symptoms culminates with the pets. The dogs need fresh air, exercise, daylight, activity, affection, and routine. The cats need clean litter boxes, plenty of playtime, and lots of snuggles. Proving for their needs helps me to provide for my own. As a person who truly adores my pets, I will fight through a day just to get them what they need.
In return, my pets keep me company on walks, provide affection, and make me laugh. And no, you haven't laughed until you've watched your (male) hairless cat sit on someone's face. Don't understand why that makes me laugh? Hint: their scrotum is visible.
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