Depression

Everyone has a bad day now and then, but depression can make every day a bad day. Depression feels like a hopeless loop of endless negative thoughts that sap your vitality and your motivation and can make the very thought of doing something that you know could help you feel better to seem too exhausting or impossible.It can be so debilitating that it becomes physically disabling. Even simple things like walking around the block or picking up the phone to call a friend may feel like more than you can handle. This makes overcoming depression much more difficult. “[Depression] essentially hijacks the prefrontal cortex, the part of our brain that enables us to use logic and think clearly, and shapes our thoughts and worldviews to be incredibly negative and hopeless.” – Max Maisel, Ph.D. Although you can’t just will yourself to snap out of depression, there are ways to break through it. The following are some positive things you can do that will help boost your mood and increase your energy. Do as many of them as you can each day. If you are consistent and keep on keeping on even when you don’t feel motivated or in the mood to do so, it will get easier and you will, in time, feel the heavy cloud of depression start to lift, and feel happier, healthier, and more hopeful to boot. It may be difficult at first, but difficult does not mean impossible. Just take that first step. Overcoming depression one baby step at a time Find small ways to be of service to others. Doing something for someone, being a volunteer, brightening someone’s day by giving them a compliment, or even just smiling and being kind can all boost your mood and be of help in overcoming depression. Care [...]