Everyone goes through stages of feeling depressed but often come out of them after a short time. It becomes serious when feelings of sadness and hopelessness turn into a major depressive disorder and cause a person to need professional help to feel better. New View Wellness in Atlanta provides high-quality, effective therapy modalities for people who need help improving their mental health. We teach you how to get motivated when depressed and how to overcome the symptoms of depression. Our staff also provides access to prescription medications that allow you to feel more like your old self again.
What Does Depression Feel Like?
Part of knowing how to get motivated when you’re depressed is understanding the difference between a temporary case of the blues and a major depressive disorder. Someone who is depressed constantly feels hopeless and sad. No matter how much encouragement they receive from others, they have extreme difficulty mustering enthusiasm about their lives or excitement about the future.
Living with depression can feel like living in a fog or moving through molasses. Even simple things like taking a shower, cooking a meal, or meeting up with a friend can seem like too much. A person who wonders if they have depression can speak to their doctor or a mental health counselor and request an evaluation. From there, a plan for treatment can be devised. No matter how depressed a person becomes, treatment exists that can help them get their heads above water again and find hope.
Symptoms of Depression
Having depression means a person will exhibit symptoms that indicate they have a mental health disorder. Common symptoms of depression include:
- Crying jags
- Feeling no hope
- Pessimistic about the future
- Sleeping too little or too much
- Trouble thinking or making decisions
- Work or school life is negatively impacted
- Lethargy
- Moodiness
- Abusing alcohol or drugs to help ease depressive feelings
- Changes in appetite or weight
- Suicidal thoughts
- Mysterious physical ailments, like headache, nausea, and diarrhea
How to Get Motivated When Depressed
Part of learning how to get motivated when depressed is embracing the fact that you are not alone. In fact, in 2021, approximately 21 million U.S. adults experienced at least one major depressive episode. This equates to about 8.3% of adults, which means a lot of people deal with this common mental illness.
Whether someone is receiving treatment for their depression or hasn’t reached that stage yet, there are ways to help improve your mood.
Set a Routine
Having a routine helps center a person emotionally. It can take a couple of weeks to get acclimated to one, but it will pay off. Make a habit of getting up and going to bed about the same time every day. Eat at the same time and schedule an activity that happens at a regular time. This can be something like taking your dog for a walk, watching a favorite show on a streaming service, or engaging in a hobby.
Move Your Body
You may not feel like exercising, but doing so regularly will help increase your desire to keep being active. In turn, it helps lift your depression. Activities like going for a walk or a bike ride, taking a yoga class, or dancing in your living room to a favorite play list gets your body moving and produces endorphins that make you feel good.
Release Your Inner Artist
Art therapy can include drawing, writing, dancing, sculpting, woodworking, doing collages, and more. The act of creating art allows you to center your mind and express your feelings in tangible ways.
Don’t Isolate
People with depression tend to spend too much time alone. Even if it doesn’t appeal to you, make sure you agree to social interactions. Grabbing a coffee with a friend, having dinner with a family member, or inviting someone over to watch a movie all help motivate you and improve your mood.
Keep a Journal
Make a point of taking time out each day or a few times a week to write out your thoughts and feelings. Explore triggers for your depression and how you might combat them. Write about goals you have for yourself and how you can reach them. Check stores for journals with writing prompts in them that help you process your sadness and begin to build a better future.
What Can I Say to Someone Who Has Depression?
If you know someone you suspect has developed depression, it can prove difficult to know what to say to them. You can begin by telling them that you know they have a legitimate mental illness that makes it difficult to get through the day. Offer to listen to them talk about how they feel and do not judge them or tell them they are being ridiculous. Sometimes, the most helpful thing a person can do is validate someone else’s pain and let them know they are not alone.
Tell the person you can provide a shoulder to cry on and can also assist them in finding help. Do a little research to see what levels of care are available and remind them that modern prescription medications can make a real difference in their moods. Lastly, offer to search for therapy options, drive them to appointments, or provide help around the house like cleaning up or watching their kids.
How is Depression Treated?
Treatment for depression begins with determining which types of therapy will best fit a person’s needs. Both individual and group therapies help people learn to anticipate what triggers their symptoms and learn to control many of them. We offer several types of therapy that target the way a person with depression thinks and feels. Our skilled team of experienced therapists teach people to reframe their emotions and begin to see the light again. Emotion regulation and distress tolerance become second nature, and the signs of depression begin to dissipate. In addition, prescription medications can help people rise above their depression.
Begin Treatment for Depression Today
Are you wondering how to get motivated when depressed? Part of our comprehensive program at New View Wellness in Atlanta is exposing people to a host of multi-disciplinary therapies that help them rise above their circumstances. Our therapy sessions target symptoms of depression and teach people how to alter their perceptions and emotions. We help you work through issues that contribute to depression, which helps you move into the future with the ability to cope well. No one should have to live with depression when valuable outpatient treatment is available.
Would you like to talk to someone about getting the help you deserve for depression? Contact us now and let’s have a conversation.