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Keep occupied. Do fun things and treat yourself. Start a journal Help others.
Being busy is a way to prevent negative thoughts from going around your head repeatedly. For depressed persons, the first step is often the hardest, so making yourself do things can be a huge difference in your day and getting you started. Engage in a hobby you enjoy or think you'll enjoy. Immerse yourself in it. It doesn't have to be expensive or difficult. As long as it's interesting it will serve the purpose. Care for pets. The routine involved in pets needing to be fed, groomed, and played with can be very satisfying for a depressed person. This is especially so because pets don't provide a sense of judgment, but only return love and acceptance. Introduce structure into your everyday life. Make a schedule of what to do every day, no matter how mundane, and gradually expand this as you start to feel better. It doesn't matter whether you work or not. A schedule can put some direction back into a day that might otherwise feel empty or aimless. Feeling down feeds on itself and it soon becomes a catch-22 when you convince yourself that you don't deserve to enjoy anything. The antidote is to do things that you used to enjoy or that are fun for people around you "one fun thing a day to keep the blues at bay." As with everything else, do this gradually. One fun thing a day, such as watching a beloved comedy or reading a funny book can give you a sense of fun for a while. Make time to laugh more. This can be watching comedy skits or tv shows that make you laugh, and learn how to take time and enjoy those moments more. Schedule positive events into your life. Go out to dinner, the movies, or for a walk with friends. Take it slowly. If you used to enjoy gardening, plant a single plant. If you used to enjoy a long walk, take a short one. Gradually build up to more enjoyable experiences. of your journey through your depression. Document your feelings somewhere personal and completely private. This will be the place where you let out your darkest thoughts no holds barred because you don't need to worry that anyone will judge you for them. A diary can become your collaborator in the struggle against your depression because it eventually provides you with great evidence of what improves your mood as well as what brings it down. Try to write in it daily if possible. This can be a good way of moving through your depression once it's better under control, and is often an ideal technique to use when your healing seems to have temporarily plateaued. Helping other people going through hardships removes your concentration from yourself and onto others, which can be good if you're prone to too much introspection. Don't overdo volunteering. If you become involved in charity or volunteer work and you feel exhausted or used up, that's a sign you're overdoing it or may not even be ready to help others just yet. It doesn't mean you won't be able to do this, but it does mean take care of yourself first.