Mar 17, 2023
Depression is a common mental health condition. According to the Office for National Statistics, it is estimated to affect 1 in 6 people in the UK. Although symptoms can manifest in different ways depending on the individual, depression is broadly known as feeling persistently sad for weeks or months.
Other major depression symptoms include irritability, loss of interest in most activities, issues with sleep, tiredness and fatigue, problems with under or overeating, and trouble concentrating. Because of all these symptoms, it’s likely that people with depression will notice an impact on their day-to-day life, such as at work, socialising or in relationships with others.
Clinical depression is not something you can snap out of, and if left ignored it’s likely you’ll continue to feel worse. Life may carry on becoming even more isolating and this could start to (if not already) affect your relationships. These feelings of sadness will become more intense.
Positively, if you get the help and support you need, you can make a full recovery from depression.
Don’t want to ignore it? Keep reading to find out how to get help with depression.
Depression can be categorised as mild, moderate, and severe, and the treatment plan for each can differ. Depending on what severity of depression you have, quick fixes may not work. There is not an overnight fix for depression, but there are steps you can take to get you on the road for recovery.
Aside from clinical depression, there are different types including seasonal affective disorder, dysthymia, prenatal depression and postnatal depression. There are varying methods of treatment depending on the type of depression, for example seasonal depression could be tackled using light therapy to help replicate sunlight to enhance your mood.
For individuals with major depression, we’ve put together a guide for suggestions on how you can begin to treat the condition.
Sometimes taking medication, such as antidepressants, is recommended for people suffering with moderate to severe depression.
Antidepressants are believed to increase levels of neurotransmitters in the brain, such as serotonin and noradrenaline, which are linked to mood and emotion. This medication needs to be taken for 1 or 2 weeks before noticing any results, but you should notice a difference by 4 weeks.
If you have moderate to severe depression, antidepressants can be prescribed by your doctor or psychiatrist. Although medication has been proven to improve mental health problems, it is important to not rely on this solely and to consider other steps that can be taken in your journey to recovery. It is easy to become reliant on medication if it works well for you at the time, but you could begin depending on taking them to get through the day.
There are a few things that you can do to aid your recovery. This can be separated into a step-by-step process:
To sustain and maintain getting a healthier mindset it is important to remember why you want to get out of this depressive mindset and remind yourself you are doing this for a reason. This could be as simple as “I don’t want to feel this way anymore”.
Knowing there are people there for you can be comforting and you can lean into this support system when you’re struggling. If you need someone to talk to about what you’re going through, your support network could help you during difficult times. However, it is understandable that you may not feel like you have someone who you can trust to confide in and provide you with the kind of support you need. In this case, keep reading to discover other suggestions of what you can do.
Rediscovering your purpose in life is a big task and is easier said than done. However, you can try different things and activities to figure out what makes you happy. Below, we’ve compiled a few suggestions of what you could do. However, it is important to acknowledge that some things are more effective for certain people than others. Do what feels right for you, tiny steps can lead to big changes in the long run.
It has been proven that exercise makes your brain release endorphins (mood boosting hormone reliving pain and stress). Not only this, but the act of exercising can take your mind off negative thoughts and be a healthy way of coping.
Exercise can be in the form of:
According to the NHS, adults should do some kind of physical activity every day. The recommended amount is 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week. However, it may be best to start off slow and build your way into exercising more.
It is important to take care of yourself mentally and physically, but this can be difficult when you’re having a depressive episode. Nevertheless, there are low-energy ways to support your recovery by doing things you enjoy. Here are a few suggestions:
Practicing mindfulness can be tricky, however it can help you centre your thoughts and take time to focus your thoughts on the present. Through this, it will draw your attention to sensations of the body and the “now”. See our blog to hear a first-hand experience of mindfulness and see how it helps.
Keeping a track of your thoughts and feelings may be a good release of emotions or thoughts as an outlet to remove them from your mind.
Whenever you have any positive or negative thoughts and emotions, write them down. You may be able to identify areas which are bringing negativity to your life and also focus on the good parts. You can note these down via:
Sometimes it can be difficult to cope on your own and so professional help is the next step to help in treating depression. Specially trained therapists can help you to identify and manage negative thoughts through talking therapy. Head Agenda, for example, is a psychotherapy business focused on expert one-to-one therapy.
Here our therapists at Head Agenda can help with a range of depression types including:
Ultimately, it depends on you and the severity of your depression. Here at Head Agenda, we take the time to listen to you and match you with a method of counselling and therapy to target your needs.
If you’re looking for depression counselling in Leeds, Head Agenda is an established, award-winning psychotherapy business. For the last 15 years, we’ve built a reputation for having highly qualified, experienced therapists who uphold professional, confidential, and empathic ways of working. You can find out more about our team by clicking on each of our therapists to see their previous experience and expertise.
See the services and types of therapy we offer at Head Agenda or find more about us to see reasons why you can trust our therapists to help you on your journey to overcoming depression.
Take the first step here with Head Agenda.
Disclaimer: This article has been designed for entertainment and informational purposes; it is not personalised medical advice. This guide may be a useful read to generate some ideas, however, please take advice from a medical professional.