How to deal with Depression Relapse Effectively ?
Are you feeling low and depressed again no matter what activity you get involved in? Then there are chances that it could be a Depression relapse.
Depression Relapse comes without warning. Studies say that more than 50% of people who have experienced First Major Depressive episode, may suffer from depression relapse in the coming year.
Today’s blog will guide you with a step-by-step process that will help you deal with Depression Relapse holistically. It will help you achieve better control over the symptoms if it’s in the initial phase.
Most of the Mental health disorders are chronic. Any major life changes can become a reason for triggers. Hence increasing your awareness of your Mental Health issues with each difficult phase you go through will help you deal with Depression Relapse better.
Before we get into how to handle depression relapse let us understand the symptoms of depression relapse
Symptoms of Depression Relapse
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- Feeling constantly in a low mood
- Loss of interest in things you usually enjoyed
- Disturbed sleeping patterns
- Fatigue
- Social Withdrawal
- Others like irritability, sadness, brain fog, negative thoughts
Apart from these, there would be other physical symptoms like anxiety, indigestion, frequent headaches, changes in appetite, etc. These symptoms may differ from person to person. But identifying the symptoms based on your previous Depression episode with help you conclude.
Once you identify the symptoms, it is time to analyze where they are coming from
Reasons for Depression Relapse
Depression relapse could be due to many things
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- Existing stress like a change of place, loss of job, loved ones, break ups, divorce, or things not going your way for long, etc
- Sometimes it could also be from incomplete recovery from the first major episode or stopping the medicines on their own.
- Sometimes it could be major physical changes like hormonal imbalance or any disease that can cause the symptoms of depression.
- Any existing Mental health disorder that diminishes the quality of life over time can trigger the relapse of depression in some cases.
How to deal with Depression Relapse?
Now you know the symptoms and root cause of your Relapse. Let us explore where we can start
1.Get over your Stress first
Stress is a common trigger for any kind of Mental illness. The minute you identify the symptoms of relapse, firstly reevaluate your past few days, if you have been going through any kind of stress, worry, demotivation, constant negative thinking patterns, etc, or any other reasons that could trigger depression episodes without you consciously knowing about it. Find ways to normalize your stress levels first.
Solution: Practice deep breathing or just staying with your thoughts for 15 minutes without judging but observing them. Do 5 sense meditation which will help you bring your attention to the present.
2.Work on your Negative thinking patterns
Most of the time your ongoing stress is accompanied by various negative feelings and thoughts like self–doubt, and fear of finishing tasks on time, will you make it? What if?
Which makes you vulnerable to negative thinking patterns about yourself or any stressful situation in your life. This is where you make a mistake by opening an entry door for depression or acting as a source through your Negative feelings and thoughts. Find ways to break these negative patterns as soon as you notice them.
Solution: To help you deal with your negative thoughts, I recommend listening to motivating affirmations as you wake up in the morning or before sleeping. Do this at least for 21 days.
3.Surrender to the Universe
As Humans, we have our desires and aspirations and if things don’t go our way we get upset and fearful. But when you consider the laws of nature and understand that not everything is in the human hand, like death, where we are born, or circumstances. What is in our hands is choice.
If we make a sensible choice by accepting things for the way they are and surrendering to the universe it will help our life go with the flow without having any expectations and desires. And patiently waiting for the right time having faith in the universe that if things are not going your way they are going God’s way. Just surrender and trust. Do your best to come out successfully from the existing problem and leave the rest to the universe to handle it for you.
Check out my blog on How to Surrender to the Universe Here
So what are the things that are in your hand?
How to deal with Depression Relapse Effectively ?
1.Exercise Regularly:
Our body and mind are interrelated to each other. What you feed your body reflects through your mind and what you feed your mind reflects through your body.
In a few cases, a medical condition or an unhealthy body is the culprit behind triggering depression. That is why health plays a crucial role in preventing depression.
When I was in depression, after fidgeting through various natural remedies for depression on Google, I started exercising for good. It helped me a great deal to regulate my moods and maintain my level of interest in day-to-day activities. Exercise is a powerful way to boost your mood levels instantly as it releases endorphins in your brain which makes you feel good.
2.Enrich your diet
Research supports the idea that low levels of ‘ serotonin ‘ transmission in your brain are one of the reasons linked with various mood disorders like depression. Serotonin is the neurotransmitter that helps regulate sleep, appetite & mood levels. This indicates that we have a balanced diet that is rich in improving our serotonin levels. A few of the superfoods to improve your serotonin levels are eggs, cheese, nuts, tofu and salmon. Having a balanced diet will not only keep you healthy physically but mentally too.
3.Form a Routine
Depression is such a sticky monster that once it starts engulfing you, it sucks out all the juices of interest levels left inside your being, living you without any motive in life. When I shifted to a new place I almost slipped into a relapse again due to a variety of fears and stress I was carrying along with me. Also, the change of place had acted as a trigger for me.
Thankfully I identified my symptoms on time and made conscious and sensible efforts to keep myself busy, even though it was hard. I used to leave the house forcefully to keep myself busy by meeting my friends or relatives to keep the devils in my mind shut. With God’s grace, it finally worked and I was finally able to level up my thought process to that of normal people somehow.
This was my first successful attempt to curb the relapse. And that’s why I can’t stress this enough to say, that keep yourself busy with something or create a structure to your Routine even if you have 0 percent interest in it. You might feel like giving up, but trust me it will surely prevent you from going into that rabbit hole of Deep Depression Relapse
4.Get enough sleep
Have you ever felt completely drained out when you didn’t have enough sleep the previous night? How did it make you feel the next day, dull, frustrated, unfocused, confused right? And people suffering from depression can’t just afford to get deprived of sleep at all, it massively aggravates their symptoms. When I had my postpartum depression, the initial 6 months were crazy and acted like fuel on fire, as my newborn was getting accustomed to the day & night cycle of the outer world. My sleepless nights worsened my symptoms. So make sure you always get enough sleep before starting your day.
5.Identify your triggers:
After years of surviving depression, steadily you will start identifying your triggers too. Depending on your history, your lifestyle, your personality traits, or any other genetic factors. In my case it was OCD. There could be various triggers, a medical history, a stressful past event, a trauma, or a major change in life or place. Few also suffer from seasonal depression. Once you start identifying them it gets easier to manage it well in advance.
6.Indulge in Relaxation techniques and Creativity
Indulging in any mind-relaxing Techniques like meditation, deep breathing, and positive affirmations with relaxing music. Or even be it any of your beloved hobbies, just being involved in the process itself may have an instant calming effect on your mind. During my depression, getting into art therapy & absorbing the beauty of nature itself had a profound effect on my suffering mind.
7.Listen & Read some Motivational stories
Reading self-help and spiritual Books were my only best companions in my worst phase. They kept my paralyzed feelings alive through the energy they created by their motivating words. It answered the truths of the universe, and all my deep-rooted existential questions, giving me a ray of hope. This kept me going.
I will keep adoring and reading them forever for the kind of magic they sprinkled upon me those days. It’s best when you start and end your day with some inspiring reads or videos. It will keep you sailing smoothly through the pain you might be going through and reduce your Negative feelings throughout the day.
8.Practice Gratitude
It might not help while you are in depression, but it will surely help to refrain you from falling into the trap of relapse. Counting your blessings, helps you to be happy with your imperfect self, even if your life is going through turbulence. Your contended mind will generate fewer negative thoughts. And increase your happy feelings. The feeling of being at a better place in life itself is uplifting and satisfying.
When you acknowledge your blessings, the impact of other negative things in life slowly diminishes.
9.Get help from a Professional
Depending on the intensity of your relapse you can take a call and go to a reliable therapist or counselor that can help you recover soon. There are many people for whom this has helped. Taking the right professional help is not a weakness it is a strength. It displays how much you care for your mental health beyond societal stigma.
Note: The above tips are based on my Personal experience. Under no circumstances it is an alternative to any treatment. Please contact a professional at the right time if nothing is working. Getting help at the right time is very crucial.
Conclusion
Mental health issues are excruciating to handle with the daily rut of busy life. But with time you will learn how to handle your mental health issues, by building awareness and the right holistic solutions that work for you. We all are different hence different things work for different people.
Life is full of ups and downs. And as time passes our circumstances keep changing. Sometimes we have control and sometimes we do not have control over them.
But we have to keep going like a stream of water no matter how difficult phase it is and never give up.
See what works for you best. Do whatever is in your hand and rest leave to the universe to help you, while you keep your hope and faith alive.
They say pain is the bedrock of strength the deeper the pain the stronger you become.
Hope this blog helps you take the right steps toward your mental health issues no matter how challenging they sound.
Keep up your awareness, make the right decisions, keep experimenting, and never give up. As each day is a new beginning and a new miracle waiting to unfold.
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