Depression

[Grandmakris]

I have bipolar 1, anxiety and OCD. I have been in remission for about 15 years, but recently I have been experiencing feelings of depression and low self esteem. I have an excellent doctor and will be contacting him tomorrow. I would like to know what coping strategies others use when they feel that they are in decline. Any ideas on self care would be helpful. I find myself in a frightening position of not knowing if I will return to a dark place again on a long term basis.

[Kinlay]

The best therapy I have found is nature therapy... any time outside is beneficial, but I particularly love hiking and gardening. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

In winter, just walking around my yard in the snow a few times a day helps a bit. I also try to do regular yoga. I discovered Yoga with Adriene and she has a lot of stuff, from beginner to advanced posted on YouTube for free. Best of all, she has a number of short 20-30 minute sessions for any ability level focused on anxiety, stress, depression, etc. youtube.com/@yogawithadrien...

Hope this helps!

[Usernameunique]

Hi, it sounds as though you have kept yourself healthy for many years. That’s amazing! Already you can know that it’s possible to find a way through this. One of the ways that I navigate depression is by exercising more. The positive energy I get helps me so much. And believe it or not hydration is a huge thing too. Just getting enough water is the key in regulating some of your emotions. I learned this through a lot of research. Doing things that you enjoy even if they don’t feel the same is important. When we give up the things we love because they don’t mean anything we narrow down our choices and life becomes more difficult. So do them anyway. Depression puts a negative cloud over everything so it’s hard to distinguish between what is good and bad. It’s good to check in with friends and family to make sure you’re seeing things right. I hope that this helps.

[Grandmakris in reply to Usernameunique]

Thank you so much.