Depression is one of the most common mental health disorders in the US, over 19 million Americans are battling depression with you today. Even in the most severe cases, depression can be treated. The earlier the treatment, the more effective it can be. Treatment typically involves medication and psychotherapy.
Treatment and Recovery
Depression drains your energy, hope, and drive, making it difficult to take the steps to help you feel better. The key to recovery is to start small and build from there. Feeling better takes time. Dealing with depression takes action. The things that help the most, are the things that are the most difficult to do. Taking the first step is always the hardest.
Because depression affects no two people the same way, there is no one-size-fits-all treatment. Once treatment is under way, there will inevitably be difficult days and days where you feel helpless and wish you could do more.
According to the American Psychiatric Association, at least 50% of people who have had an episode of major depression will go on to have a second. And 80% of those individuals will go one to have a third. Recovery from any depression is always inconsistent, but during the postpartum period, there are additional and unique demands, such as sleeplessness, hormonal fluctuations, and the needs of your child, children, or spouse. These variables combined with the symptoms of depression and anxiety impact the healing trajectory with intermittent and abrupt plummets that feel like setbacks, but are really the normal path of recovery. Every dip can feel like you are falling back into a dark hole.
Trajectory of Postpartum Depression
My Personal Struggles
Sometimes it’s easy to loose sight of the light at the end of the tunnel and be overcome by the dark emotions of the moment. Tonight was one of those nights for me, where the anger, frustration, and sadness were enough to make me wish I could go back to feeling nothing, because at least I wouldn’t feel bad. I am actively trying to keep my eye on the long-term goal of recovery and recognize that everyday won’t be perfect. But I still struggle and find myself falling back into the dark hole struggling to claw my way back to the light.
What You Can Do
Despite being in treatment, I wanted to find additional ways to make my recovery faster, feel more in control, and less helpless. Beyond treatment the following is a list of things that can assist on the journey to recovery.
- Create a secure attachment with your baby.
- Ask for and accept help and support from others. Positive social interactions help relieve stress faster and more effectively than any other method.
- Make your relationship a priority.
- Exercise. Exercise boosts endorphins and can encourage the brain to rewire itself in positive ways. Just walking a few times a week can help.
- Make eating healthy meals a priority. Evidence shows that foods with omega-3 fatty acids and folic acid could help ease depression.
- Practice a daily relaxation technique such as mindfulness meditation, yoga, deep breathing, or progressive muscle relaxation.
- Get enough sleep. Aim for 8 hours of sleep. Depression can make it hard to get enough sleep, and too little sleep can make depression worse.
- Set aside time for yourself.
- Develop a wellness toolbox to cope with your feelings of depression. Come up with a list of things that you can do for a quick mood boost. Try and implement a few of these everyday. Here are a few from my list: read a good book; watch a funny show; listen to music; spend time in nature; color; write or research an article;
- Try to get at least 10-15 minutes of sun each day.
- Boost your B vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids through diet or supplements.
- Set a gentle daily schedule. Depression can strip away the structure from your life, where one day melts into the next.
- Set daily goals. When you’re depressed, you feel like you can’t accomplish anything. Start small with something you can succeed at like doing the dishes or laundry every other day. Slowly add more challenging goals.
- Focus on little things to look forward to during the day whether it be taking a walk, reading a magazine, or taking a shower.
- Take on responsibilities. Depression makes you want to pull back from life and give up responsibilities. Staying involved and having daily responsibilities can help combat depression.
- Challenge negative thoughts to change the way you think.
- Doing something new changes the levels of dopamine in the brain, which is associated with pleasure, enjoyment, and learning.
- Try to have fun. Plan things you used to enjoy even if it feels like a chore. Depression makes you forget how to enjoy life, so you have to relearn it. With time, fun things will seem fun again.
- Laugh. Watch funny movies, tv shows, YouTube’s, or read something uplifting.
- Don’t punish yourself.
References
Helpguide.org. Coping with Depression and Postpartum Depression and the Baby Blues.
National Institute of Mental Health. Depression.
Psychology Today. Eight Ways to Actively Fight Depression.
The Postpartum Stress Center. More on “bad days.”
WebMD. 10 Natural Depression Treatments. and Depression Recovery: an Overview
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