6 Ways to Deal with Depression

How prevalent is depression these days? In the United States, over 22% of adults admitted to feeling depressed in the last week during a survey conducted in June. That gives you some idea of how widespread the problem of depression is. 

You can identify depression by a few key symptoms:

•A loss of interest in pretty much everything

•Feelings of hopelessness

•Anxiousness

•Sleeplessness

•Changes in weight

•Changes in appetite

These are some of the most common symptoms, but keep in mind that just because you are experiencing one or more of these, that does not mean for certain that you have depression. 

Whatever may be causing the problem, there are numerous ways you can treat it, and here are some of the best ones.

1. Spend Time with Friends

If you ask a depressed person if they are getting any social interaction, they might say that they are, but that could just be in their work environment or on their phone. These kinds of social interactions are not always healthy or stimulating enough to help treat depression. It can make a difference for them if they are actually interacting with people physically. If they can choose who they interact with and spend time being in the physical presence of other people, that can help them get out of their depressed state.

2. Get Busy

Depression often comes to people who have been through a traumatic event or who are experiencing a serious problem and have extra time on their hands. When they are alone with their thoughts, they may think about how awful their situation is, but if they are staying busy and keeping their mind occupied, they won't think as much about the kinds of things that can depress them. Their mind will be stimulated and their body will have something to do, and they can occupy themselves through work or hobbies. Ask someone who is normally happy about the depression they're experiencing. Ask them what causes the depression to come on. In a lot of cases, you'll see that it happens when they start spending time alone with their thoughts thinking about what they are going through.

They may not be able to stay busy all the time, but staying busy often can help their mind to heal.

3. Take Time for Fun

Depression can make people feel like not doing anything, but that is why it is helpful for them to engage their mind and do something, particularly some activity that they enjoy. They may make excuses that they simply don’t have time to go out to eat, go to a party, see a movie, take a walk in the park or do some other activity that they would normally enjoy. You may want to help them free up some time by hiring a cleaning service to tidy up for them or getting someone to cover a shift for them at work says Angela from NYC Maid Service & House Cleaners. They need to be able to have fun for a while to help them get out of the depressed funk, and that may mean that their friends need to go the extra mile to help them free up their schedule. 

4. Encourage a Hobby

What is it that the depressed person loved to do before they got to where they are now? Maybe it was a hobby they did years ago or something they often would spend their free time doing. Whatever it is, it can be helpful to encourage them to spend time with the hobby, and their friends can help set up a special event for them or stock them up on hobby items. For example, if they love reading, you can get them a stack of books to read. If they love playing basketball, you can arrange a basketball session with their friends. 

5.Get Them to Help with Something

Depression can often be onset by selfish behavior. That’s not always true, but it is in many cases, as habitual selfishness invariably leads to depression. Try getting the depressed person out of their bad mood by encouraging them to help someone else. You could get them to help babysit or help with a moving day. You could get them to volunteer to help the homeless or spend time helping a family member with some errands. These kinds of activities can help them to look outside their own situation and see other people and what they are going through. His can help build their sense of value and stimulate their mind in the opposite direction of depression. 

6.Provide Support

The best thing you can do for someone who is going through depression is to offer support. They will feel very low and may feel like they are not worth anything or like their situation cannot change. Show them that they still have friends who care about them by being there for them, listening to their problems, offering to help where you can, and just being a friend to them. 

Support can come in a lot of different ways, and you will have to carefully gauge your friend’s needs and try to determine what will help them and what will make things worse. Often, they may act like they don’t want help but may actually need it and appreciate it. You don’t want to overstep your bounds and make them uncomfortable or impose yourself in their life, but you may want to give help even when they seem resistant to it. Just test that a little bit and see if maybe giving them support when they don’t seem responsive is actually making a difference. 

Ultimately you won’t be able to fix the depression for your friend. You will need to be patient with them and just do whatever you can to be a help. Some people who are depressed will need professional counseling, and others may just need time to heal their wounds. Be gentle with your depressed friend and feel out carefully what they might accept and reject from you when it comes to support.