depression is a serious condition, in which you may need medical treatment, but if you learn about it, you will know exactly how to overcome depression naturally without medication.
depression is one of the world’s biggest problems, according to the world health organization report, over 264 million people are depressed, while 800,000 people commit suicide each year, because of depression.
keep in mind each sad moment is not depression! ups and downs are part of life, some times every one of us feels bad or even worse, but that does not mean you are depressed.
so before learning to overcome depression and stress without medication, you need to know if you are depressed!
what are the symptoms of depression?
the major symptoms of depression are these,
- bad mood
- loss of interest in everything
- feeling unimportant, or low self-image
- too little, or too much sleep
- lack of concentration
- always feeling tired
- suicide attempts, or wanting to suicide
remember! it takes two weeks of having these symptoms to be depressed, if they take less then two weeks, you are normal, and you don’t need to think about depression at all.
what causes depression?
scientists have not yet identified, what exactly causes depression? because people with depression always complain, that they don’t know why are they depressed!
However, there are still some reasons, which can cause depression. and they are,
Abuse
sexually, emotionally or physically abused people are depressed later in life.
death or loss
death of loved ones, or losing them because of any conflict can cause depression.
big Events
big events such as losing a job or failure at something can cause depression.
these are responsible for depression, but they are not the only reasons. things like serious illness, social isolation, and even genetics can play a big role in depression.
read also : how to stop overthinking
can you overcome depression and anxiety without medication?
Harvard health research confirms, that one can overcome depression and negative thinking without medicine.
you can use medical treatments, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors to treat your depression. but they also have side effects, so it would be better to do it the natural way.
how to overcome depression naturally without medication?
here were are going to discuss, 5 ways that you can use to overcome depression and stress without medication.
read also: how to be truly happy
1) invoke the inner child within yourself
Vector image by VectorStock / freepik
ever noticed, when kids are not happy what they do? they scream and shout! when something is going wrong and they don’t like it, they are not gonna let their feelings kill them from inside.
instead, they react to the situation and take everything from their heart out. so what does it mean? do you need to start crying like a baby? here is what a yoga teacher, says.
we are emotional beings, some times we have to express our selves to let go of our emotions! especially when you have some old memories in your mind, which bothers you.
so later on these memories and feelings become depression, stress, or anxiety. if you want to overcome depression and stress without medication just let them out of you, by expressing yourself.
here is what you can do to express yourself,
- shout out loud by screaming ( in a place where there is no one)
- punch a pillow
- pounding chest
- laughing loudly
one of the easy ways to scream is by screaming into a pillow, well this is a very easy method, you don’t need to go anywhere, just grab a spicy pillow and boom into it.
science has proved that screaming can heal the human mind, it can help you overcome depression and stress, for more details check out lifehacks blog.
2) practice meditation
meditation looks something very fancy these days, people think, do I need to become a monk to meditate? do I need to go out in the jungle and stay there for a very long time?
well, whenever I heard the word of meditation, I would think of a man with shaved hair in the jungle!
but meditation is not about that, it’s not about becoming a new person, or leaving your current day job to do it.
meditation just means to remain in the present, without thinking about the past, future. it’s just a simple exercise, that allows you to overcome stress and depression.
depression is such a big problem, so is it possible to cure depression only with simple meditation?
research at Harvard by Desbordes found that meditation can be used to overcome depression and negative thoughts.
the volunteers of research meditated for 2 months, and then when they were asked to think negatively like I am a loser! I can’t do anything! to make them feel bad about themselves.
she saw, those people disengaged from negative thoughts fairly easy. they were not trapped into their negative thinking, their thoughts were not controlling them, they controlled their thoughts.
so what’s magic about meditation?
the main purpose of meditation is to focus on the current situation. and what’s depression? we become depressed something about the past or future teases us.
so if you can focus on the present, right at where you are, then there is no depression, simple is that. but it won’t happen that easy, neither it’s too hard.
learning meditation takes a little time, focusing on your thoughts, catching each thought, and not allowing your thoughts to go either in the past or future, is in itself a skill. it’s to be practiced.
how to meditate?
so now you know meditation can be used to overcome depression and negative thoughts. it’s time to learn how to meditate?
hold a deep breath, wait for 2 seconds and say, peace(in your mind), a now exhale your breath.
that’s it the basic meditation, just exhale and inhale your breath.
for a better understanding watch this video.
3) move your body
exercise has shown a significant effect on depressed patients. moving your body will allow you to focus on yourself, and make a positive image of yourself.
our mind can focus on one thing only. so when you are doing exercise, you divert the attention of your thoughts, to what you are doing now, instead of thinking about the past or future.
mostly depressed people are unhealthy and unfit, why? because they just don’t want to do anything, they just want to sit in a corner and do nothing.
so to overcome depression and stress exercise can help here, when you do exercise, you will feel better, your blood pressure will be low, diabetes, heart diseases, and also sleep problems will go away.
how can exercise overcome depression?
it has been seen, that depressed people have smaller hippocampus( a part of the brain). there is a direct relation between, hippocampus and depression, the more it shrinks the more you feel depressed.
so when we do exercise, the cells in the hippocampus are called nerves, grow and that’s how we feel better! because the cells make more connection to each other in the brain, that causes the brain to function better!
the more our brain functions better, the more we feel happy and relaxed.
what type of exercise to do?
researchers suggest starting from low-intensity exercise, with 20-23 minutes of daily repetition.
remember the goal here is to start something, that you can do daily, always. so it must be something that you love, that’s not difficult for you to do.
for example, you can start with cycling, don’t directly go to the gym, just to feel better of yourself, because you might not carry it through the times.
so use exercise as an antidepressant, and it will help you overcome depression and stress.
4) sleep well
a good amount of sleep can overcome your stress, it gives you more energy and focus, you can control yourself better, it helps in making your memory stronger, and makes you better in terms of emotions.
sleep and depression have a strong connection, if you can sleep well, your mental health will be better, the frustration goes away, you can tolerate more and be patient, your mind defends itself from depression strongly.
bad sleep causes depression
adults should sleep for about 7-9 hours each night. it’s important to go to bed early for better sleep, studies show that people who sleep late at night are more depressed than those who sleep early.
NFS conducted a survey with children between 11-17 they found,
- 70% of kids had a bad mood because of sleep disorder
sleep disorders can cause depression. not getting enough sleep, or waking up again and again during sleep, sleeping a lot during the day time, can lead to depression.
when you don’t sleep well, you become irritated and tensed. you don’t feel like normal, your mood is always off, and you just don’t want to do anything.
lack of sleep can cause fatigue, you are tired and can’t do exercise, so because not doing any exercise you might become depressed! because of the thoughts going on in your mind.
here is how to sleep well
decide your sleep time
deciding your sleep time is important because when you go to bad at the exact same time every night, it will become part of your nature, you will fall asleep at the same time every night.
it might be difficult for the first few days, but you have to make a habit of sleeping at one time.
avoid screens before 1-2 hours of the bed
using screens at night can cause sleep problems, screens emit blue light, which makes us alert at night, and that’s why we can’t get better sleep.
avoid caffeine
caffeine is used to stay alert during day times, taking caffeine at night will reduce your sleep hours.
sleep and depression are strongly related to each other, try to sleep at least 8 hours at night, sleeping can help you overcome depression naturally without medication.
5) be with your loved ones
if you are depressed, chances are you feel alone, you might think there is no one to care for you! this feeling of loneliness kills a depressed person from the inside.
so it’s better to spend some time with your family and friends, to remove those feelings of loneliness.
remember
- don’t hang out with people who don’t value you.
- don’t spend more time on social media
it will make your depression even worse, people use social media to stay connected with people and to not feel alone, but that’s not true! social media will isolate you, and it is in itself a source of depression. avoid it!
how good relations overcome your depression?
according to the national well being report, 71% of people claimed, that their relationships keep them happy.
a study found that having 5 or more healthy friends can help you overcome depression and negative thoughts. while if you have 10 healthy friends, it’s going to take even less time to overcome depression.
- if you have 5 friends it will take 6-12 months
- having 1o friends will take half of that time
it was also the part of the research that, unhealthy friends won’t make you feel depressed! having mentally healthy friends can reduce your depression but unhealthy ones don’t have that much effect.
how to make friends?
maybe you are shy and you can’t just go and talk to someone, to be your friend. don’t worry, you are not alone! you still have got some ways to make friends easily.
use apps
the easiest way to talk to new people, and get some confidence is through apps. the better would be through video call, and you don’t have to dial anything, just swipe, and there you go, you have found another friend to talk to.
use these apps
- Azar
- live talk
- livU
and there are many more, the point is to have friends, talk to them, it will reduce your depression and anxiety.
see your family members
some times we seek friends far away, but we don’t realize that we have good friends right in our family.
Your family members could be your best friends, talk to them and you will find much love in their hearts.
it’s up to you
the point is to overcome depression naturally without medication, make friends talk to them, and do it however you want and like to do it, it’s your choice your life, you will decide, what should I do?
Conclusion
the purpose of the talk is to let you know, how to overcome depression naturally without medication. depression is a kind of mental illness that requires medical support, but it does not mean you can’t do it yourself.
all the methods told are scientifically proven, and researchers have been conducted on these practices. which will overcome your depression, if you do them consistently.
at the End do yourself a favor, it’s your life, remember it’s one time, one and only, you are not going to get another life, it’s short, make it meaningful.
don’t just live your life for yourself, make the purpose of your life so fast, have a big vision, be the hope for hopeless people, be an ideal for your kids, spouse, friends, and the whole world.
leave a message to this world that, no matter what! one should not give up on their dreams and their lives.
so that’s how to overcome depression naturally without medication.
what do you think of these ideas about overcoming depression, or if you want to add something new, tell us in the comment section.