some ways to alleviate anxiety and stay out of the depths of depression

I have had severe depression and anxiety much of my life and having been through it for so long, i’ve learned some ways to help myself and stay motivated, manage mental illness and wanted to share in hopes it might help someone else.

1) do at least one productive task (a load of laundry, answer work emails, etc.) and one self care task (yoga in bed, a bath, a walk down the street and back, etc.) every day.

2) don’t compare your progress and ideas of success to others, compare it to your past self. progress is progress no matter how small, even if it’s brushing your hair for the first time in 2 weeks. everyone’s idea of success and how they get there is different.

3) don’t listen to the dark feelings in your head telling you you aren’t worthy or good enough. you are, you deserve to be happy and you have a right to find happiness even if everyone around you says otherwise.

4) give yourself realistic goals and reward yourself for meeting them. be your own mental health cheer leader and pat yourself on the back for taking steps to do and be better. brush your teeth for the first time in days? don’t be ashamed, it’s an accomplishment even if it’s small and no one is there to see it.

5)find a supportive community. you’re already on this site so that’s a step in the right direction. you can also find mental health, neurodiverse and disabled communities on reddit; there’s lots of black, poc and lgbtqa people on tumblr as well.

6) have hobbies. I have a friend that has severe depression and he goes to the gym a lot to keep himself from drinking. I personally draw or make jewelry as a way to stim. hobbies help you enjoy life more, develop skills and can be a great way to vent feelings or pain.

7)eat well or as well as you can. your diet and how you eat can affect your mental health. for examples: sugar is about as addictive as cocaine and is an inflammatory. depression and mental illness can cause inflammation. soy has estrogen and too much estrogen can make your periods worse. what you eat, how much and when matters. gluten ‘can’ also make depression worse.

8)have real life relationships. im personally still working on this but my goal is to be able to make and keep relationships besides ones I make online. online communities are great but it’s not the same as actually connecting with another person and having people you can be with. you need that connection that some anonymous person online a million miles away can’t give you.

9)get plenty of deep sleep and take naps. sleep is how your brain recharges and replenishes itself. If you don’t sleep enough or well, you’re mental health suffers and gets worse. 8 hrs is the minimum for the average adult but take a nap or another hour if that’s what you need. I personally can’t get everything I need done in a day if I don’t get my 8 hrs ‘and’ an hr nap after work. my mom needs a minimum of 9 hrs of sleep with 2, 1 hour nap breaks throughout the day. I have a friend who need a short nap after going to the gym. whatever helps you get through the day.

I don’t know everything and im still working on myself but these are things i’ve learned over the years and hope this helps someone else.

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Thank you for opening my eyes more. People dont see the everyday struggles that other people are going thru just to try to survive. My prayers are going to include you and others that suffer from this.