Self - Help Treatment for Depression

There are a number of simple yet effective techniques available for self-help treatment. The better one is at following these suggestions or techniques, the more likely he or she will see improvement.

Get Exercise

The benefits of exercise were discussed on another page but it is important to mention it again. It is one of the easiest and most beneficial of the self-help efforts. Do not discount the importance of exercise and physical health. Do not begin any strenuous exercise regime without consulting your physician.

Know about your Condition

Maintain a Regular Sleep Pattern

Maintaining a regular sleep pattern and getting the proper rest is incredibly important for not only coping with and overcoming depression, but also for overall good health. Being well rested will help you lower your emotional arousal levels and help you cope with negative emotions and activities such as anger, anxiety and rumination. Excessive sleep and excessive dreaming is not helpful. Generally, 7 to 9 hours of sleep is normal.

Do what you Enjoy

Although this may sound obvious, you should do what you enjoy, no matter how small or insignificant. If you enjoy caring for your house plants then you should do it on a regular basis. Simple, mundane tasks that you enjoy can give you a feeling of completion and satisfaction and actually improve brain function.

Lower your Emotional Arousal Levels

Learning to relax properly and deeply can help lessen the effects of anxiety, panic attacks and anger. Various physical disciplines such as Tai Chi or Feng Yuan Bu can offer many benefits including exercise and relaxation.

Reduce your Rumination

Rumination is the "rethinking" or "reevaluation" or "revisiting" of emotional thoughts or activities in your mind without making a decision to act. It is a common activity that usually focuses on negative events, thoughts or emotions. You should try to limit the amount of time that you ruminate. Below are several tips to cut down on rumination:

• stay occupied with other activities that stop you from ruminating too much.
• stay occupied with work.
• Stay occupied with exercise.
• Stay occupied with reading.
• stop yourself when you find yourself "revisiting" or ruminating about negative events or thoughts.

Monitor your Depression

Usually the best way to monitor your depression is to keep a form of a diary that includes a "grade" for your day. A scale of 1 to 10 is common with 1 is the worst and 10 is the best. After a few weeks, you can review your recent past and perhaps see trends, both negative and positive. Obviously, the goal is to improve and have far more positive days than negative.

Meet your Basic Emotional Needs

Sit down and make a list of your emotional needs. Review it over a short period of time. Ask yourself if these needs are being met. If these needs are not being met, write down the things you need to do to change the situation.

Click the following link for additional information about self-help topics related to depression.

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