Depression is something that can hit men hard or creep up slowly and sap away at our energy and willpower. It’s something that can make even routine tasks challenging to complete, like keeping up with a full-time work schedule or even waking up in the morning. You may not even see it coming until it hits you with full force.
While everyone who suffers from depression does so for their own unique and personal reasons, there are some tried and true ways to cope with it and to potentially overcome it. If you’re looking to cope with depression, consider these five tips:
- Eat Healthy
Your body is basically an engine, and it needs good quality fuel, with the right amounts, at the right times. If you do this, it will perform at its best.
You’d be right in saying that the old fashioned saying “you are what you eat” is a little cliché, but you’d be hard pressed to say that it’s wrong. A healthy diet can restore peace of mind and keep you on an even keel, emotionally and physically.
Avoid overindulging in highly processed foods, sugary foods, and excessive consumption of alcohol and caffeine. Swap them out for real foods, and be sure to get lots of minerals and vitamins from red meat, eggs, butter, and veggies, too. As men, our bodies need more of these and less of the rubbish junk food that surrounds us every day.
- Get Some Exercise
In the words of the Navy physical training instructor I had in Darwin, any movement is good movement.
Physical exercise of any sort is better than none at all, and as men, we often regulate testosterone and hormones through physical exertion. One of the best therapies for depression is to get moving, and this can be to simply to pick up heavy things and put them down again, over and over.
Squats are an excellent exercise for practically the whole body and testosterone production, as are deadlifts, bench presses, and many other free weight exercises. Machines and cardio exercises can also be great for endurance and stamina.
These activities can help you feel the natural high from endorphins being released, and help the mood by feeling a sense of accomplishment and enjoyment. This can lead to a boost in self talk which can further benefit mood.
If you haven’t got a membership to a fitness centre, at the very least start walking more and keeping a routine, e.g. go for a half-hour walk every evening. Anything is better than nothing.
- Try to Socialise
Humans are social creatures, no matter how much we sometimes want to believe we’re islands. We need social interaction, even if just a little, as it can help us cope with depression and negative thoughts stirring about.
This doesn’t mean you need to thrust yourself into the lion’s den and make yourself too uncomfortable, but at the very least maintain connections with friends and colleagues and try to spend at least a little bit of time in real life with them rather than behind a computer/phone screen.
- Set Personal Goals with Small but Achievable Milestones
Depression can make even the most simple of tasks challenging, so just imagine how it can affect us with more complex life goals. Sisyphus kept pushing up his boulder only to have it keep coming back down again, and that’s how you might feel with many routine tasks in your life.
Break down all of your important life goals into manageable tasks, and set realistic, achievable, and time-bound milestones for each one (use the SMART method if you must). Making tasks manageable in smaller pieces rewards you with a feeling of accomplishment, which is also helpful for your mood.
- Seek Professional Psychological Assistance
While coping mechanisms can help you make it by, day by day, there are some cases of depression that stand to benefit greatly from psychological counselling. Cognitive Clarity is a leading men’s mental health consultancy in Brisbane that offers services geared towards men’s mental health, such as depression.
Cognitive Clarity
Schedule a consultation today with a psychologist in Brisbane at Cognitive Clarity, a dedicated men’s mental health service.
If you are experiencing an immediate mental health crisis and are feeling unsafe, please call one of the 24/7 emergency lines:
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