Problems in your personal life? Problems in your work? Problems with your partner? Problems in the family? You may not be happy where you are at the moment or may be feeling down about not doing well with your goals? All these and many more things can lead to depression. After all, from time to time, we all can lose motivation and get a little overwhelmed or feel sad about certain things or aspects of our lives.

Simple Ways To Kick The Depression’s Ass

(10 practical ways to deal with depression and sadness fast)

From Wiki: Depression is generally a feeling of melancholy, sadness, despair, helplessness and misery, which can last from several hours to several days. If there is a long-lasting sense of sadness and despair, it can be a disease known as clinical depression.

When we become depressed our body often starts to shut down and doesn’t want to listen to us. We become lethargic, lose interest to do anything, and feel like every little thing is a hassle. Getting out of this state can oftentimes be difficult and picking ourselves back up usually requires a lot of efforts and determination.

I am not qualified to discuss all the medical reasons behind the state known as depression, neither can I speak about its clinical treatment. However, what I can talk about is my ways of coping with this state and the things that work for me.

Feeling depressed can greatly interfere with our general motivation about doing things and achieving our goals. Usually, we are in a state of mind where we know we have to do something, but we just don’t feel like doing anything. Unfortunately, this state can last for a long time and if you don’t take action to get over it, you may find yourself in a trap. 

In this post, I will share with you some methods that have worked for me so far but before you scroll down, you first need to promise me that you will fight this nasty feeling and will pick yourself back up, no matter how difficult it may be.

So, let’s start with something that I am sure is the last thing that you would think of when in depression – physical activity.

Get yourself some movement to deal with depression fast.

You will ask me – “Why is it so important to move?” “Can’t I just sit on the couch and wait for the sadness and depression to go away while stuffing myself with chocolates and watching series?” Well, nope.

Various researches suggest that one of the best ways to fight depression and to get out of the lethargy is to get your body reactivated. And that, my friend, happens through movement. When you do some movement, be it a simple exercise, a workout, or a simple walk, your body releases endorphins into the bloodstream and these endorphins naturally produce a calming effect.

That’s why, even if exercising may seem like just too much of a task at first, start out by going for a short walk, or a quick sprint around the house. Any activity, which you do can help you feel that you have accomplished something and will counteract that nasty state of feeling guilty, melancholic and inadequate, that comes from procrastinating, sitting around doing nothing, and giving up.

One very helpful method, that I have found does miracle for fighting depression fast is to start doing things, set yourself into some action, instead of sinking into your thoughts and feelings. So, my suggestion is, even if you don’t feel like doing anything and surely can pull out many reasons not to, try to involve yourself into some physical activity.

I promise you, this simple action will definitely change the way you feel and think. It is just that our brain does not allow our body to depress while we move. Thus, the best antidepressant is movement.

And speaking about improving the mood, let’s come to the second thing – Vitamin D and sunlight.

Go out and get some sun.

Vitamin D helps our muscles, bones and lots of processes in our body to activate. As a result of exposure to sunlight, our immune system improves, and therefore our body feels better. Sunlight helps us to keep the biological clock of our body (when to sleep, when to be awake, etc.). It also has been suggested to improve the mood and the energy levels.

So, don’t sit with the curtains on all day. Get out, as I usually say, “for you to see the sun and for the sun to see you”. You can sit on the balcony, open up the window and get some light and air, or even better, go outside for a walk. This works like a charm for me.

And after some fresh air and sunlight, comes the time for healthy and proper sleep.

Healthy and proper sleep.

It is proven that if we break our sleeping balance, we are likely to cause depression (That is for those of you who watch series or night shows all night!). I have an entire post where I explain in details the importance of good sleep and the different tricks and hacks of falling asleep easily. As of now, however, I will suggest a few simple tips that work for me when I want to have a good sleep.

For instance, try not to use your mobile or laptop some half an hour before bedtime. Also, make your bedroom fresh and well ventilated before going to sleep and don’t stuff yourself on a heavy dinner right before hitting the bed. Of course, spending some more energy during the day will always help you to zzz faster, so one more point for the physical activity from the first paragraph.

Do you know about these great tools for better sleep, relaxation and mood-boosting?

This next hack is a bit tedious but easy to do and you can even have fun with it –  Unleash the routine.

Make changes.

It all starts with making small changes. Change the things that you do in the morning. If you stay late in bed, try to get up early. If you normally skip breakfast, make some light snack and greet the day with a good coffee or tea, or smoothie. Change the route you go to work. Walk a bit more to the next bus stop. Cook a nice dinner for yourself or sit back and relax with an audiobook, a funny read or favorite music. Self-help books can also give you some motivation.

Another good idea is to acquire a new hobby or to refine your old skills – learn a new language, start drawing, enroll in those photography lessons you’ve always wanted. Be creative! No borders! If you are into arts, you may relieve stress by coloring anti-stress books.

When you feel like, call someone for a talk.

You need to increase your social contact because isolation won’t do you any good if you do it for too long. Have a significant other, a family member, a friend or colleague? Talk to them.

Or call an old friend, your bestie or someone you have not heard of from a long time. It will make a lot of difference once you get things off your chest. Besides, speaking about your depression can help you figure out the reasons behind it and address them.

Cook yourself some good meals.

No, I don’t mean to stuff on snacks and comfort foods. Make some good healthy choice of real foods that will give you energy and will boost your mood. Grab some fresh greens, a good cut of meat, nuts, seeds, and favorite fruits and feast yourself on these. I will not get very detailed here, but the imbalance of good nutrients often leads to feeling more crappy and crushed. That’s why, nourishing the cell and the soul with something nutritious is one good way to fight depression.

Check these superfoods for energy and mood improvement!

Get it out of your head.

Sometimes we tend to get depressed simply because we are overwhelmed with all the things we have to do and all those tasks that sit pending. In this case, writing it all down in a list can help you get some clarity, so you can schedule the tasks accordingly. Start simply by picking up a pen and piece of paper and make a list of all the things that are putting pressure in your mind.

This small action of writing things down can actually bring you a big relief and could give you the feeling that you are getting things under control. Once you are having all your To Do tasks right in front of you, that alone can lift your mood very quickly.

Get things out of your head with BuJo Journal

Get started.

Now that you have made a list, pick one thing that you need to do and take action. You can even pick the smallest task just to get you started. The point is to get into action and this itself will make you feel much better than simply lying around and feeling sorry for yourself, trust me. 

Get a nice shower and groom yourself.

Okay, I know that when we feel down all that we want to do is laying around in our pajamas all day. But sitting in our underwear with a messy hair, smelling bad and pitying ourselves is not going to do us any good and won’t help us to get out of that depression faster. Having a nice shower and freshen up, however, can do wonders for your mood. Groom yourself and do everything that you need to do to feel clean and good about yourself and you will see that this alone will make a ton of difference. Why don’t you get some morning bath bombs set for a great energizing start of the day?

Put some feel-good music on.

Sometimes, a nice beat can be that much-needed kick, which can get us out of our sad thoughts and feelings. So why don’t you put some lively musing on and give it a shake?

Now go out and kick the ass of that depression. Life is good. Love yourself.

Always,
Learn.Inspire.Share.Thrive.