A new year is fast approaching, and this means it is a fresh start for everyone. If you are someone who has been struggling with depression, this is the perfect time to work towards healing and managing your depression with easy and digestible steps. It is the perfect time to have hope and to create a plan to better yourself.
Here are a few things that you can add to your 2020 new year's resolution to fight depression:
Focus on what you can control
Depression can negatively impact your ability to concentrate. Often, depression wants you to only think about the bad things that have happened. These negative thoughts may influence your whole mood and how you act. While you can't control the things that have happened already, you can control how you respond to those situations.
Choose your environment wisely
Toxic relationships and being around toxic people can have a compounding effect on your physical and mental health. A study was done on 10,000 people for around 12 years, and the researchers discovered that the people in toxic relationships were at a greater risk for developing heart problems, including a fatal cardiac event than those whose relationships were not toxic. With that in mind, imagine how a toxic relationship or being surrounded by negative people will do to someone with depression.
It is best to give yourself permission to move away from the people who bring you down and those who make you feel bad about yourself and focus on the relationships that lift you up. Take note of how you feel when you are interacting with people.
Depression wants you to feel alone, and negative influences will only reinforce this notion. You do not have to be alone, and you do not have to keep toxic people in your life. You get to decide who you surround yourself with.
Get help when you need it
Depression can make you feel flawed and weak. It wants you to believe that asking for help is a sign of weakness and frailty, reinforcing a sense of being powerless. This is not true. There is strength in asking for help when you need it.
Remember that you are not alone, and you have people on your side who have your best interest in mind. Permit yourself to reach out to your family and close friends for guidance. You are worthy of help.
Give yourself positive affirmations
A way to help fight depression's automatic negative thoughts is with positive affirmations. Stating these constructive facts about yourself will remind you of your talents and strengths. You can start with one positive affirmation per day. It will be easier than you think. Before you know it, you will have 365 days of being kind to yourself and 365 reminders of what you have to offer to this world and the people around you.
Fight your depression with treatment
Treating depression comes in many forms. Some treatment options are tried and tested, like cognitive behavioral therapy. New innovative treatments for depression are now available as well. In 2008, the FDA approved a promising, non-invasive treatment for depression called TMS or transcranial magnetic stimulation.
With each year comes new and advancing research for treatment methods to fight depression. This is why seeking help from clinical professionals who stay up to date on the research is very important. They will have the knowledge to be able to offer treatment options that best fit your needs and situation. It is clear now more than ever what the New Year message needs to be: that every year we can have a fresh start and find hope.
Depression may make you feel trapped, filled with negativity and suffering, but it does not have to be that way. You can find new ways to bring positive changes into your life.
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