Disrupting the Cycle of Depression
Disrupting the Cycle of Depression
Written by Lauren Horlick
Depression is a common but dangerous mood disorder caused by a number of biological, situational, cognitive, and environmental factors. In the United States, more than 17 million adults are diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) each year. Another three million struggle with Dysthymia, which is a low- grade and long-term type of depression that is officially called Persistent Depressive Disorder. When people are depressed their energy, activity, and mood levels decrease in a spiral. The lower energy you feel, the less you do, the worse you feel emotionally, and the cycle continues. Here’s where to start interrupting that negative spiral and begin turning it around.
Schedule daily sources of accomplishment and pleasure. For mood health, we need two types of activities: those that provide a sense of accomplishment and those that provide pleasure. As a general rule, try to have one source of accomplishment and one source of pleasure in each of your mornings, afternoons, and evenings. These can be very simple. For example, a source of pleasure could be sitting in a sunny window to drink your morning coffee. A sense of accomplishment could come from a workout, vacuuming under your bed, or a work task. Momentum is challenging, it’s best to alternate between easy, medium, and hard tasks. When you’re scheduling your three activities per day that will provide a sense of accomplishment, aim for one hard, one easy, and one medium.
Do the exact opposite of what your brain tells you to do. Depression lies. Bold-faced, and with gusto. Don’t listen to it and don’t negotiate it with it. Try do the exact opposite of what it tells you to do. Does your brain tell you to isolate? Go spend time with your friends. Does your brain tell you to sleep all day? Force yourself to get up, take a shower, and get some exercise. A 15-minute walk will do wonders. Does your brain tell you that you are worthless? Write a gratitude list instead. Fighting depression requires you to stand up to it in order to begin breaking out of the cycle.
Make the most out of your good days. While it’s certainly possible to experience nonstop depression for weeks and even months at a time, sometimes the intensity recedes. When it does, it’s important that you take advantage of it. Take advantage of the reprieve. You don’t know how long it will last.
Reconnect with friends and family. Get some exercise. Go to a department store and buy yourself a new shirt. Start a hobby. Do something. Do anything. Take advantage of the time you have. The idea here is to build forward momentum.
Seek Therapy. It’s Essential. Good psychotherapy is essential for the treatment of depression. Research on this is quite clear. Treatment can help you understand how depressed feelings affect your functioning. Treatment also allows you to identify coping strategies that are going to work best for you and your routine.
Depression is complicated and complex. When you’re depressed or experiencing emotions like grief or anxiety, you won’t always be able to be as productive as you’d ideally like. Give yourself grace about this. Be patient with yourself but also give the recommended advice of your counselor a try. Fighting depression isn’t easy. But then again, suffering from depression isn’t easy, either. With help, you can learn to manage and even overcome your depression.
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