Depression affects more than 16 million adults in the US each year. That’s nearly 7 percent of the country’s adult population.
Common symptoms of depression include listlessness, loss of energy and/or appetite, trouble concentrating, changes in sleep patterns, disinterest in people or activities that used to be enjoyable and a pervasive sense of worry, guilt or hopelessness.
Whether you have depression or not, these healthy habits will help to boost you up when incorporated into your daily routine.
1. Get outside. Regular exposure to sunlight is one of the most effective ways to beat the blues. Spending time in nature has been shown to reduce stress, alleviate anxiety and depression, uplift your mood and generate feelings of satisfaction.
2. Tweak your diet. We all know eating well is good for our physical health. Now, research says it’s also good for our state of mind. Certain healthy foods stimulate the body’s production of serotonin.
3. Get a move on. As if exercise didn’t offer enough benefits, it can also stave off depression. Virtually every type of exercise can benefit your mood. For example, lifting weights can alleviate symptoms of anxiety and depression, while aerobic exercise can reduce the risk of relapse.
4. Meditation, meditation, meditation. Mindfulness practices such as yoga and meditation can decrease the production of stress hormones in the body, improve mood, reduce symptoms of depression and help stave off relapses.
5. Commit to goals. Setting and achieving goals might be the last thing on your mind when you’re feeling depressed. But if you can rise to the challenge, you might help yourself bounce back faster.
6. Cultivate gratitude. A grateful mindset enhances self-esteem, improves relationships with other people, reduces depression, mitigates negative feelings such as frustration or regret and boosts happiness overall.
7. Talk it out. Talk therapy is an effective way to identify patterns that aren’t helping you, process old wounds and move forward with your life. It’s also as cost-effective for treating depression as antidepressants (if not more so).
Commit to taking just one small step each day, and you’ll gradually find that you’re increasingly empowered to overcome depression. If that’s not working, then don’t hesitate to seek the help of a medical professional.