Hello Steemians,
I was 18 years old, about to finish high school when I experienced my first bout of depression. It was almost as if I was stuck in a room all by myself, without anyone to call for help. I wanted to completely give up on life, I stopped talking to my friends and rarely left my room for months. I gave up on all of my hobbies at the time. After a considerable duration, I made the decision to try my best to handle my depression and I am going to share five methods that helped me overcome my mental health issues.
1 Exercising
It is very important to exercise, not only for physical wellness but also for your mental health. Some of the positive benefits include; promotion neural growth, releases endorphins (which help you stay energized and make you feel good) and it distracts your mind from whatever you are going through. When I started to exercise again it allowed me to improve much quicker than I would have. I continue to exercise as much as I can, as I believe that it also help stop any chances of relapse.
2 Socializing
Whether it is with friends or family members, it is extremely important to socialize with those around you. Even if you are feeling introverted all the time, I believe it is very important for you to push yourself to be around other people. This is due to the fact that you are able to vent out to them if they are close to you and also because having conversations with others gets your mind distracted from topics that are bothering you. Both of these are stress relieving methods and it is important to have. The times where I was at my worst was when I was in my room, barely talking to anyone. When I decided to change that I was able to slowly feel better.
3 Make sure you are getting adequate sleep
Although your sleep patterns may not be consistent, make sure that you are getting enough sleep throughout the day. There have been many studies to show that sleep deprivation has a significant negative effect on your mood, which can be especially bad if you are suffering from depression. I make sure to stay away from electronic screens before bed, making sure I don't drink caffeinated drinks at least 4 hours before I sleep and I try to relax my mind as much as possible while getting ready for bed by reading or meditating.
4 See a Psychologist/Psychiatrist
Going to get professional help in regards to mental health could make you feel like you are weak but that is not the case. If you are able to realize that this is a problem that is not improving, getting help means that you are able to realize that this is the next step in your journey. It does not mean that you have to go on medication, rather you speak a stranger who has been educated to help those with mental illnesses. You can vent out your problems to the professional and are given the ability to reflect thoughts and ideas off of them. Just being able to talk to someone else about your issues could be a positive benefit. Do not hesitate to go see a professional if you don't see improvements, I did this and it actually helped me a significant amount.
5 Positivity
Whether this is towards your career aspirations or how you perceive yourself, the ability to be positive has a powerful effect on the way you feel. Changing the way you think about things going on in your daily life could boost you self-esteem and self-confidence. If you treat yourself positively you will be able to combat any negativity that is trying to enter your life. This continues to be one of the hardest challenges for me, as humans are naturally pretty negative beings. I continue you to think positive thoughts in my head as much as possible, and treat others around me with positivity as I believe that the way you treat yourself and others is an important aspect to the well being of your mental health.
Remember, you are not alone. There are many people going through mental health problems all the time and they are hiding it from their surroundings. You should be able to be proud of the individual you are at all times, and willing to seek help if that is the best method of helping yourself. Never give up!!
Thank you for reading this article, and hopefully it helps anyone out there. I went through clinical depression for over 5 years of my young adult life. But these methods have helped me tremendously and hopefully it helps someone else as well.
ANY feedback is appreciated as I am very new to this!!