How to Fight Depression

Shahbaz Ahmed Tuesday, June 22, 2021 Content Leave a comment

As the world enters a new era – where isolation from friends and family is commonplace – another problem has arisen. How can we beat depression? How can we fight this invisible enemy – one that takes thousands of lives each year – without using medication? Caring for a sad person is one thing, but depression goes far beyond this. Depression is a serious issue that affects many people, and it’s important to be educated on the topic, should you or a loved one. This article provides information about what depression is, how it can affect you and some tips for fighting depression without medication.

Understanding This Invisible Enemy

The first step to fighting depression without medication is understanding what it actually means. Depression can be a mental illness that causes feelings of sadness, hopelessness and despair – sometimes for no reason at all. It’s important to know the symptoms in order to figure out if you or someone close might have it: feeling sad most of the time, not enjoying things they used to enjoy, changes in appetite (such as eating much more or less), trouble sleeping; difficulty concentrating on tasks; withdrawing from social life and other people). If any one or two signs are present, there may be an issue worth investigating further with your doctor or naturopath.

Warning: Doctors are Incentivised to Sell

If you seek help from a regular doctor, be careful because they are often given incentives by pharmaceutical companies to recommend anti-depressants, but this can lead to even larger problems, such as addiction and withdrawal, later on down the track. If you’re sure you don’t want to go down this path, it may be best to speak with a therapist or naturopath or someone who will not try to convince you to take meds to improve your situation. There are a number of ways to improve the way you feel without taking drugs. If you talk to someone about getting help, make sure that you are very clear and up front about the fact that you do not want to take any medication and this is not an option for you.

How to Fight Depression Without Meds

If you or anyone you know is suffering from a bout of extreme and prolonged sadness, or depression, there are ways to help. The first thing to do is to find out what (if anything) is causing these negative feelings. If it is a tangible problem, there might be a solution that can relieve the burden in a short amount of time. Often however people become depressed for no apparent reason, or due to a large number of problems arising at the same time. If this is the case, there may not be a quick and easy way to improve and steps will need to be taken to slowly help the person in question regain their life back.

Exercise

We know you already know this one, but sometimes it helps to reiterate. Exercise not only helps you look better and boosts your immunity and ability to fight disease, it also helps your body release hormones that can boost your mood! Getting a little bit of exercise every day can make all the difference, so try to aim for 30 minutes of activity per day.

Exercise is a great way to fight depression because exercising increases your serotonin levels, which boosts moods and reduces stress hormones like cortisol that contribute to feelings of anxiety or anger. Not only do exercise routines reduce depression symptoms but they also improve overall health and you’ll feel more confident and happy when you look in the mirror if you see your physical-self looking fitter too.

Play with a Pet

It is a well-known fact that patting or playing with your best-friend reduces stress levels significantly. If your depression is due to stress and or fatigue, it may be beneficial for you to spend more time patting your cat, dog, iguana, or guinea pig. Taking extra time to play with your pet will help you reduce anxiety and stress levels, which are often what leads people into depression.

Get more Sunshine

Recent studies have shown that people who spend less time in daylight experience more depressive symptoms. Because depression stems from both an internal and external cause, the best way to fight it is by spending as much time outdoors during daylight hours as possible. This can be achieved by walking your dog at lunchtime or going for a walk whenever you have the chance. The sun’s ultraviolet rays are not only important for strengthening the immune system, but they also help your body produce Vitamin D. Vitamin D is a natural mood booster that can have positive effects on how someone feels about themselves and their day-to-day life.

Remove Toxic Chemicals from your Life

All of us are exposed to a plethora of chemical each day. From sunscreen to deodorants, moisturising creams to body wash. Try to replace all the chemicals in your life, especially the ones you put on your skin, ingest, or breath in, with natural and organic options.

For example, sodium bicarbonate can be used for toothpaste, shampoo, deodorant and body wash. It’s 100% natural and non-toxic. Can you say the same about the long list of chemicals on your current shampoo or toothpaste containers? Removing toxins from your life gives your immune system a better chance to fight off other problems that may arise.

Fix your Diet

In today’s day and age we often substitute good quality, healthy, whole foods for fast, cheap, and easy, rubbish. Everyone can improve their diet, and if you’re trying to beat depression, this is an integral step. It coincides with exercising more, so if you’re doing that, you want to level up your diet as well to maximise the benefits of your workouts.

Try going plant-based, or at least reducing the amount of meat (especially red, and cheap, hormone filled meats) and eating more fruits and veggies. Fasting is another great way to detox, and many people are now looking into Intermittent Fasting as a way to detox, lose weight, improve their diet, and save money – at it works! By eating a cleaner diet you give your body and mind a better grounding point to start from when combatting other problems.

Talk about your Problems

Nothing makes being sad or depressed worse than feeling like you need to pretend everything is okay. If you’re upset, talk to your close friends, family, or partner about it. Talking about your problems helps to release negative emotions and makes you feel better. If the problem is not fixable or isn’t something that needs fixing then leave it! It’s hard but anger, sadness, guilt, anxiety about what happened in the past can only hold us back from moving on with our lives.

If you take some or all of the above steps your situation will surely improve. Even just by taking action you will feel relief in knowing that your future will be better than today, and that will give you a sense of reprieve, and motivation to keep going. Wake up every day, breathe deep, smile, and attack the day. Nobody can really fix this for you but yourself, so do whatever you have to and we’re sure you’ll very soon make a full recovery!