For people with major depressive disorder, it’s difficult to get through the day without feeling overwhelmed and profoundly sad. It may come down to the fact that you do not think you can get through it. Coping with major depressive disorder is difficult until you reach out for help. With health and wellness therapy, it is possible to not just cope with this condition but to thrive and be happy again.
Why Coping with Major Depressive Disorder Is So Difficult
A person with profound sadness that persists and sometimes doesn’t seem to be about a single thing – but rather “everything” – may have major depressive disorder. This condition, also known as clinical depression, causes a significant impact on a person’s ability to see the pleasure in the things around them. The symptoms of this disorder include:
- Feelings of sadness, helplessness, and hopelessness that don’t go away
- Restless feelings, difficulty sleeping or sleeping all the time
- Lacking energy or the motivation to do anything
- Weight gain or weight loss that’s not intentional
- Trouble concentrating or making decisions
- Thoughts of suicide or harming oneself
Feelings like this can make it hard to see the good in life. They may also make it difficult for you to engage in life around you even when you want to.
Strategies for Coping with Major Depressive Disorder Start with Treatment
Perhaps the most important first step is getting help. A depression treatment center can provide a wide range of resources to help you to see improvement. This may involve a first step of using medications. Medication can help to ease the symptoms you are feeling and correct some hormonal imbalances. That’s not always enough to improve your quality of life, though.
To do that, you may benefit from therapy. Talk therapy is more than just discussing your feelings. It is also about understanding them and learning to create good opportunities for yourself. In therapy, you’ll learn about things like stress management and triggers. These are aspects of life that put you at risk.
Beyond Treatment – Coping with Major Depressive Disorder in Daily Life
You may also learn about coping strategies. There’s no way to eliminate all of the risk or the presence of depression from your life. However, there are strategies that can help you to deal with it. These are sometimes simple and more complex things you can do every day to see improvements. Some examples include:
- Getting physical exercise. This works to burn cortisol, the stress hormone, from your bloodstream.
- Find ways to have fun. Spend time with friends who support you.
- Have a structured day. That can help you to minimize anxiety about what’s happening. Keep a planner.
- Give yourself time to think before making any type of life-changing decision. That includes things like new jobs, moving, or using drugs or alcohol.
- Work from a point of positivity. Even when something is hard or stressful, try to find something good about it.
Work to Treat the Underlying Causes
Coping with major depressive disorder may also involve spending time working on the underlying cause. For some people that may be using trauma therapy services. These services are designed to give you tools to help you heal from whatever happened to you. If trauma is behind the depression that you feel, working to resolve it, or at least break its control over your life today, can give you the peace of mind you need.
The key to managing depressive symptoms is to recognize them for what they are. Having major depressive disorder doesn’t mean your life is bad or impossible. It means your brain needs some help and support. That’s something you can give it by reaching out to therapy programs and supportive services. Used over a period of time, you can improve your health and outlook.