Content

• Steps
• Warning

Depression really has the ability to change your outlook on life. You can lose relationships, jobs, directions, interests, health, dreams, goals, and confidence. After experiencing a depressive episode, you can return to life by: setting goals that are within your reach, increasing your positive social relationships, maintaining your physical health, and dealing with positive way.

Steps

Method 1 of 4: Goal Setting

1. 

   Prioritize your life. Setting goals is an important factor in reducing your future risk of depression. To create positive goals for yourself, the first thing you need to do might be to define values ​​or prioritize things. The longing in your heart will tell you what can bring you a happy life.
   • Make a list of your values ​​or the important things in your life. It can be family, friends, job, love, money and a home.
   • Think about the things you have done in the past that interest you and try to think of ways to incorporate them into your present life. Is there a moment when you wished it never ended? Those are the moments you should focus on. Maybe it is times when you spend time with your spouse or close lover, children, or friends, spending time in areas of your forte or giving you enjoyment (camping, writing, painting, music, etc.)

2. 

   
   
   Consider career opportunities. The career you choose can have a huge impact on your well-being in life. After all, you will spend 40 hours or more per week focusing on your career.
   • If your old job doesn't work, try a different job. It's all about experience and can help you grow.
   • Do you want a new job in the future, sooner or later? Think about a career that you are capable of, rewarding with rewards and that are interesting to you.
   • Please be patient. If you haven't found a job right now, think about activities that might increase your chances of finding a job.Do some volunteer work, take a short course or improve your skills; They can have a great effect on your self-esteem and a plus on your career resume.

3. 

   
   
   Recognize positive activities to set as goals. As you recently recover from a depressive episode, you may find it difficult to break your passive habits and revert to changes in your life. However, being active and busy can help reduce the chance that depressive symptoms will return.
   • Focus on the duties and responsibilities that must be fulfilled. For example, you can wash your car, cook a good meal, mow the lawn, pay bills, go shopping, clean the house, research a problem, take care of your pet, garden. The list of jobs will be very long. By doing such small things, you will feel that you gradually become more energetic, and your self-esteem and confidence will also improve.
   • Think about the things that make you feel proud and good about you. Make a list of activities and do one thing on them each day. For example, some positive activities that can boost self-esteem include: sending a postcard to someone, playing with your kids, donating money to charity, doing volunteer work, participating in an activity for a good cause. Get beautiful, get a hair job, plant trees, run chores for a neighbor's old lady, or talk to a friend who's been at a difficult time. Every time you complete a task, praise and congratulate yourself on doing the job well.

4. 

   
   
   Make a comprehensive list of goals that you can focus on. Once you've identified your priorities and specific activities you want to do more of, you can list those goals, big or small as you like.
   • Remember that each goal should be a SMART goal. SMART is the initials of Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-limited (to control time). An example of a SMART goal is to exercise by jogging for one hour, three times per week for the next month.
   • You can create a goal or activities list of 15 items. List activities from simplest to most difficult. Start with completing the easiest goal, then work your way up to the hardest goal gradually. A small and easy goal might be taking the dog for a walk, while the big goal might be a promotion or a new job.
   • Congratulate yourself on every small step you make. Reward yourself along the way with each improvement in progress toward a specific goal. Treat yourself to a spa, massage, a special dinner or something you enjoy (a safe and no stimulant pleasure or alcohol).

5. 

   Evaluate your progress and adjust accordingly. The target should be continually moving forward. Each time you accomplish a goal, you can begin to set new and higher goals. If you find one goal is not working, or if you want to change your mind, move on to another goal that you think will be more helpful.
   • Keep track of your daily activities and goals in a calendar. This can help you track and remember important goals and tasks.
   • Once a goal is completed, set a new one! For example, if your first goal was to lose 5 kg, and now you want to lose a few more pounds, focus on that. Or, if you ever wanted to exercise more but got stuck in your boring schedule when you went to the gym, aim to go hiking or jogging outdoors.
   • Try to think positively, even when you experience failure. Tell yourself things like, “I have failed but will learn from this failure and do better next time. I know I can do it! " Write this mantra and tell yourself every day if it helps you.
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Method 2 of 4: Increase Positive Relationships

1. 

   Seek professional help. When you have just recovered from a depressive episode, it is especially important that you seek professional help to ensure that your moodiness has not returned or is less severe than before. So, if you are already part of the treatment, continue with the treatment plan.
   • If you already have a treating doctor, talk to your doctor about what new goals you want to aim for. Remember to adhere to the course of treatment and continue to see your doctor according to your appointment.
   • If you don't have a doctor to help treat your depression yet, try finding one. This can help even if you are not currently depressed. A therapist or psychiatrist can help reduce the risk of your depression getting worse with specific interventions like behavioral-cognitive therapy (CBT) that help you change your way of thinking to assists in maintaining your happiness.
   • Continue to see a psychiatrist and take prescription medications.
   • Talk to your doctor about your health, diet, and exercise.

2. 

   Seek help if your addiction is affecting your life. Addiction can worsen depressive symptoms, making recovery difficult. Whether it's addiction to drugs, food, gambling, self-harm, sex or an eating disorder, you can find a counselor. It may be necessary to treat depression and addiction simultaneously, as the two conditions are often closely related.
   • One way to get help is to talk to a medical doctor, therapist or psychiatrist. They may offer chemotherapy for chemical dependence. Some therapists also specialize in drug treatment. You can have outpatient or inpatient treatment (detoxification).
   • You can also get help by joining a 12-step group like Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A) or Narcotics Anonymous (N.A).
   • Post-detox recovery takes time, but the results are worth it, and it supports your overall well-being and reduces depression.

3. 

   Reconnect. During a depression sometimes people can lose contact with close friends, family members and other personal relationships. However, social support is crucial in maintaining a depressive lifestyle, reducing the likelihood of depression relapsing, and helping you get up from life's difficult situations.
   • Send email, text, postcard or letter to ask your friends. Focus on the positive things you have in your life and ask them questions.
   • Call a friend and invite them out for lunch or coffee.

4. 

   Join a support group. Social support, especially from peers, can be extremely helpful in recovering from depression and continuing to maintain a healthy outlook.

5. 

   Make a new friend. After a depressive episode you may feel well enough to nurture new relationships, especially if you have to let go of harmful or useless relationships. By doing things you love, you can meet people who share your interests and have the same personality as you.
   • Join a temple or church, club, sports team, community college, community classes, charity group, etc.
   • Try Meetup.com, a website to find people who share your thoughts and interests. Some examples include: the singles group, the walking group, the drama group, and the mountain climbing enthusiast group.
   • Can't find any groups or clubs? You can create your own group! Try starting a book club. Spread the word through friends and acquaintances, put up ads in libraries and ask everyone to bring in small billboards to share. Or you could set up a fitness club, meet at the park, hire a coach and contribute money to pay your expenses.
   • Every time you are invited to join a certain social group, try to accept it. The more times you accept the offer, the more you'll be invited. Also, every time your friends ask you to do something, the next week it's your turn to invite them. This will keep your balance and both of you feel valued.
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Method 3 of 4: Staying for Physical Health

1. 

   
   
   Treatment for health problems. Depression can sometimes be linked to other health problems, including hyperthyroidism, Parkinson's disease or Huntington's disease. Depression can also be a side effect of medications. Even though your depression is not caused by a medical cause, it can still affect your mood if you feel weak and have negative thoughts. It's hard to stay positive when you're in pain or illness.
   • See your doctor periodically if you have chronic health problems.
   • If you find that an increase in depression has coincided with the use of a new medication or treatment, talk to your doctor.
   • Finish all the medicine your doctor has prescribed you. It may take a while to find the right medicine for you. You should continue to take the medicine to stay healthy even if you have started to feel better.

2. 

   
   
   Focus on everyday activities. When you are depressed, it can be difficult to maintain everyday tasks like bathing and taking care of yourself in general (like washing your face or brushing your teeth). Once you've overcome your depression, you can go back to your regular routine. By taking care of yourself, you can feel more satisfied with yourself and reduce the risk of depression coming back. For example, when you wear your pajamas all day, you probably won't want to leave home to do something. But if you take the time to take a leisurely shower or take a bath, take care of your hair and make-up, choose the clothes you like, you can feel much stronger and able to handle the job. during the day.
   • Make a list of things you can do to take care of yourself. This list may include: washing clothes, buying new clothes, washing hair, hair styling.

3. 

   
   
   Do exercise. Exercise can help prevent and reduce symptoms of depression. Although it can be difficult to put your foot in sneakers and tie your shoelaces, after exertion you can feel up to 10 times better thanks to the endorphins secreted in the brain.
   • Start with a 10-minute walk and work your way up to 20 minutes. Regular exercise can give you amazing results.
   • If it is difficult to find motivation to exercise, try saying to yourself, "I will feel better when I finish." Or you can promise to do 5 to 10 minutes of cycling or treadmill workouts. Sometimes you just need to overcome the first challenge of getting up and moving, and after 10 minutes you may feel like running for another 10 minutes.
   • Once you do a more challenging task, you will feel the endorphins bring a "refreshing" after jogging, gym or other exercise.
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Method 4 of 4: Effective Treatment to Reduce the Risk of Depression Recurrence

1. 

   Regulate your emotions in a positive way. Studies show that people with a history of depression are more likely to use emotional conditioning that causes them to be depressed. This form of emotional conditioning involves the use of negative coping strategies (like alcohol abuse) causing depression levels to not only decrease, but increase.
   • Avoid pondering. As you contemplate, you will chew a negative situation in your mind over and over. Although you intend to rethink a situation to try to figure out exactly what went wrong, it often only aggravates negative feelings and does not help much to think through. Instead, try asking yourself, "Can I change anything?" Make a list of small and controllable goals to handle the tasks of your capacity for change. Going for a walk or exercising can also help break those thoughts.

2. 

   Identify and change negative thoughts. Everyone has negative thoughts at one time or another. However, the more negative your thoughts are, the more depressed you will feel. That's because our thoughts have a powerful impact on the way we feel. Instead of believing in negative monologues, you can learn to counteract and develop the habit of thinking positively.
   • Take those ideas as hypotheses or fleeting ideas instead of facts. If you have negative thoughts like, “This situation is terrible. I hate it, ”question your perception of the situation. This is called cognitive reassessment. Is it that bad? Is it really terrible or can you try to cope with it? Will you be able to change your way of thinking or find a way to improve it? Tell yourself, “It's not that bad. The situation is not good, but I can handle it. ”

3. 

   Self-dialogue in a positive way. People who are depressed may get into a habit of self-loathing or negative self-talk. For example, “I'm not good. I am a failure. I'm stupid ”. If you have thoughts like that, then negative emotions will come easily. You can counter that type of thinking with positive affirmations.
   • An example of a positive affirmation is, “I'm doing the best I can, and that's enough for me. I don't have to be good by anyone else's standards. ”

4. 

   Participate in activities that make you happy. Leisurely and pleasurable are an important part of creating a sense of happiness. A positive attitude can help you increase your ability to cope with sad life events and stresses.
   • Make a list of interesting activities and schedule them each day. For example, you might plan to watch a movie, read a book, eat your favorite food, take a walk around, take a bubble bath, go to a library or museum, browse shops. and watching, buying a bouquet of fresh flowers, getting a beauty salon, getting a haircut or going out for dinner.

5. 

   Focus on the positive. Sometimes people with a history of depression have difficulty focusing on the positive aspects of their life. However, the ability to focus on positive thoughts and activities can enhance positive emotions and alleviate depression.
   • One way to focus on the positive is to keep a happy event in your journal with pictures and notes. It could be just a few lines of something good going on that day, or a photo of something interesting or cute about you.
   • Focusing on the positives is also about choosing the right activities to boost your positive mood. For example, choose appropriate things to see; If you are sad, don't watch the news or a sad movie. Those things are not beneficial for those who are often immersed in the negative things of life, on the contrary it just adds fuel to the fire. So turn off the news and read an encouraging and positive book. Or head straight to the sports or jokes section of the newspaper.
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Warning

• If you are currently thinking of harming yourself, call 911 or the US suicide center hotline at 1-800-273-8255 (if you are in the US). In Vietnam, you can call the hotline on 1800 1567 for advice.