Finding Support When You’re Battling Severe Depression Symptoms

Whether you have battled severe depression symptoms on and off for years or were just diagnosed, there is light at the end of the tunnel. You can alleviate depression symptoms through lifestyle changes and professional help from a mental health care provider.

Severe Depression Symptoms Require Professional Help

Severe depression symptoms can feel as if they will never go away. Perhaps you have been fighting depressive episodes for years. This type of depression requires professional help. Negative thoughts influence emotions and behavior and can contribute to an increase in severe depression symptoms.

Genetics, family history, brain chemical imbalances, major life events, and environmental factors can also combine to raise your risk. Your physician will take an assessment and may prescribe medication to help you through as you seek therapy.

Counseling

Counseling provides you with an outlet in a safe place to find words for your feelings. What you say is confidential, and your counselor can help provide insight. Specific psychological methods have been proven effective for alleviating depression and anxiety. You will work with your counselor to create a mental health care plan and set goals for treatment.

The number of sessions needed is customized. You may see a change in your severe depression symptoms with weekly sessions over the course of a few months. Depending on your counselor, you may attend a combination of in-person and virtual sessions as well as phone calls or text messages for check-ins throughout the week or if needed.

Talk Therapy

Talk therapy helps you uncover what is behind your depression. Sometimes getting to the bottom of a situation and finding solutions can relieve depression and anxiety.

For example, your schedule, finances, and relationship with your spouse may fuel your depression. Your counselor can work with you to set boundaries, delegate and delete tasks, set financial goals, and rebuild your relationship with your spouse, so that you feel more in control of your life, taking an intentional step forward instead of a reactive step.

Group Therapy

Millions of people in the United States suffer from depression. You are not alone. Group therapy brings others together in a controlled environment. Participants agree that anything said is confidential. You can feel free to share your struggles and your wins. Your story or advice may help someone else.

Group therapy is led by a mental health practitioner and may include talk therapy and group counseling activities. Sessions are typically in-person, but some counselors host virtual sessions for participants who can’t make face-to-face appointments or who prefer to meet from home.

Medication

Although your counselor will not prescribe medication, your physician may add an antidepressant regimen for severe depression symptoms. Consult with your pharmacist about any new medications and any interactions with current medications.

Medication combined with healthy lifestyle changes, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and counseling can help you beat depression symptoms by learning how to minimize the effects.

Changing Your Habits to Alleviate Severe Depression Symptoms

Often, the lifestyle choices we make have a direct effect on our mental health. Substances like alcohol and drugs, caffeine, and ultra-processed foods could exacerbate symptoms. Turning healthier changes into habits takes time.

To solidify a new habit, add it to an existing one. This “habit stacking” has been found to make it easier to follow through. For example, if you want to start journaling before bed, attach the habit to something you do every night, such as brushing your teeth or changing into your pajamas. Brush your teeth and then immediately sit down to journal for five or ten minutes.

Adopt a sleep schedule and routine

Not enough good-quality sleep can worsen depression. Depression can either make you sleep too much or develop insomnia. Counteract these sleep issues with a sleep schedule and routine. Choose three to four tasks that you will do every night before bed to signal to your mind that it is time to wind down. For example, put away your phone, take a shower, brew a cup of herbal tea, and read a book.

Aim for seven to nine hours of sleep nightly, if possible. If you are a night owl, trying to scale back to an earlier bedtime too fast probably won’t work. Instead, cut back by fifteen minutes for one week at a time. If you normally go to bed at 11 pm, aim for 10:45 pm over the next week, then 10:30 pm the week after. Eventually, your mind and body will catch up and know it’s time for sleep.

Eat nutritious foods

Too many ultra-processed foods can disrupt the neurotransmitters responsible for regulating mood. These types of foods promote chronic inflammation, which can lead to cognitive issues and depression.

Choose whole foods at least 80% to 90% of the time, allowing yourself treats for the remaining 10% to 20% of your food consumption. Prioritize protein, healthy fats, whole grains, and fresh fruits and vegetables. Establish a menu for the week before grocery shopping to ensure you have plenty of healthy options on hand.

Get consistent with exercise

Boost your mood and outlook with regular exercise. Heart-pumping workouts can lift your mood, improve your confidence, boost cognitive function, and improve heart and lung function. Your physical and mental health benefit from exercise. Consult with your physician before starting any new exercise regimen.

For overall health, aim for 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise weekly. You will notice your mood lifting, pain decreasing, confidence growing, and physical health improving. You may also lose excess weight and find that your appetite regulates.

Avoid alcohol and drugs

Although alcohol and drugs can temporarily make you forget your worries, numb emotional pain, or boost your mood, these sensations never last. Only a deep dive into why you are depressed and the acquisition of new skills will reduce those thoughts and emotions.

Some people can stop substance abuse immediately. Others require help from a professional. Don’t hesitate to ask for help if alcohol or drugs have become a coping mechanism.

Journal your thoughts and feelings

Journaling is an excellent exercise for delving deep and identifying negative thoughts that may be fueling your depression. On the page, you can analyze and strategize how to handle these thoughts and behaviors. You can also share your journal entries with your counselor.

Journaling also enables you to identify behavioral patterns. Do you feel more depressed after dealing with a specific person or attending an event? Take note of how you feel throughout the day and write down what you were doing or thinking when your mood dropped.

Join a support group

A support group provides a place to offer and receive encouragement and advice. A support group is typically led by either a mental health practitioner or an individual who has managed depression for a long time. These people are familiar with the challenges and triggers.

Some support groups engage in activities, such as the trust jar. Each participant writes a struggle on a slip of paper and drops it into the jar anonymously. Someone retrieves a slip randomly from the jar, and the group gives their input on how to manage the problem. No one feels put on the spot, and everyone can participate.

Find one thing you love and do it

Depression can rob you of the pleasure you once held for certain activities. Take that joy back by finding one thing you love and doing it, even if you don’t feel up to it. Sometimes, half the battle is getting started.

Don’t feel like meeting friends at the movies? Invite someone over to your house for a movie instead. Used to love reading, and now nothing holds your interest? Find a short novella or short story and read it. Give yourself at least two minutes to do something you always enjoyed before stopping for the day.

Next Steps

Seek help immediately if your severe depression symptoms feel uncontrollable or if you are having thoughts of self-harm or suicide. This is not a fight you have to go through alone. Call us today to speak to a representative about depression, and we will connect you to a Christian counselor near you. Let us walk with you through this season.