How to Overcome Feeling Depressed

We all struggle with sadness, anger, or anxiety at some point in our lives. So how do we know if those feelings are the result of feeling depressed?

Depression is a mood disorder characterized by prolonged sadness, a fluctuation between anger, sadness, and frustration, loss of interest in things you once enjoyed, and fatigue. If you struggle with feeling depressed, you may also struggle with low self-esteem, feelings of inappropriate guilt, or an attitude of hopelessness.

It can feel pointless to try and change anything when you are feeling depressed. But taking a step toward overcoming your feelings does not have to be difficult. The smallest action helps.

Read when you are feeling depressed

Because depression and sleep issues are commonly linked, you might feel too tired to read. But some options don’t require tons of energy.

Read a 5-minute excerpt from a short devotional book. Many Christian authors write devotional books to help people of faith understand who God is and how to relate to Him. Finding a short one can give you something small to do as a reminder that you are not alone. One suggestion is “A Little Goes a Long Way: 52 Days to a Significant Life” by Rachael Adams.

If finding a devotional feels too hard, don’t worry. Try to find a blog article that might be an encouraging way to focus your mind on hopeful things. Stars of Hope USA offers blog articles about people who have battled depressive disorder and found hope.

Read one psalm. Perhaps one of the easiest things to read is to find a psalm that encourages you. It could be a psalm you memorized as a child or something you have read a thousand times. But the act of reading a chapter from Psalms out loud is a powerful message from your voice to your brain: There is hope here.

Recognize where you are and where you are not.

Depression voice can lie to our brains and tell us things are worse than they are. You can recognize this if you find yourself generalizing thoughts such as “I’ll never escape this” or “What’s the point?”

The best way to get long-term help is to contact a counselor in one of our offices, but if your thoughts become dangerous or so dark you are having thoughts of suicide, we urge you to call 911 or a suicide hotline such as Lifeline, which is simply 988.

By recognizing that you are feeling depressed today, you are taking an action. You are admitting to yourself that these feelings may change. You can make the choice that these feelings will not dictate your tomorrow or even the rest of your day.

Start by writing down how you feel right now. Acknowledge that these are real emotions, real responses to a mood disorder.

Next, write down one thing you look forward to about tomorrow or one thing from yesterday that was good. This simple act is a way to remember that there has been evidence of God’s goodness in your life before and there will be evidence of His goodness ahead. It helps you to remove the power of depression’s lies that it will always be this way. How you feel now will not be how things always are. Reminding yourself of God’s goodness can help you remember that.

Reach out to others when feeling depressed.

This action may feel too big, but keep in mind that you have people in your life for a reason. God does not want you to live a life of solitude. He knows we are better when we are together in hard times and in good times.

Whom can you call that will be encouraging? Is it a spouse, a friend, or a former co-worker? Write down the name of one person you can either email or call to simply say hello and ask how they are doing.

When you ask how someone else is doing, it shows that you care about them. But it also almost always initiates the same question back. That’s your opportunity to share honestly.

Pay attention to social invitations. While you may feel too tired or even struggle to get out of bed, remember that moving your physical body from one place to another can be a dynamic way to escape feeling depressed, even if it’s just for an hour. Just be careful to avoid substances that may be paired with social situations. Alcohol can be more destructive when you are struggling with depression.

Set goals that are achievable.

If a person in your life does not understand what it’s like to feel depressed, he or she might not understand that goals will not automatically serve as catalysts for change. Folding the laundry may seem too big of a task. But getting the laundry out of the dryer and putting it into a basket is small, achievable, and can be celebrated.

Try to remind yourself, even if those around you forget, that no achievement is too small to celebrate when you are feeling depressed.

If your goals are to make dinner for your family each night, it may feel paralyzing because there are too many steps involved: choosing a recipe to make, finding what ingredients are needed, driving to the store to buy the ingredients, and following the steps to cook the meal. Those multiple steps may be too much today.

Instead, decide that you will take action on one small choice. Choose a recipe that sounds good. Go to a website such as the Food Network or All Recipes and browse. You do not even have to type in a keyword. Find a recipe that looks good and print it out or text it to your spouse or a neighbor.

It may not get dinner on the table tonight, but it is a small step toward overcoming feeling depressed.

Get to the root of your struggle.

Depression is so common because it can be rooted in many different causes. Finding out what makes you susceptible can be hopeful and offer a new way forward.

Some common roots of feeling depressed include, but are not limited to, the following:

A history of trauma. Whether you experienced it or it was adjacent to you. Many people discount the idea that trauma is linked to their depressive symptoms. However, your definition of trauma may change when you ask a trauma-informed counselor about what trauma is.

Trauma can be something such as physical or sexual abuse in the home. Or it can be that you had a childhood illness and experienced years of not being diagnosed, not being believed by others, and missing out on childhood rites of passage such as going to school dances.

It can also stem from certain seasons in our lives as adults. Trauma isn’t only something we experience in childhood or adolescence. It is worth talking to a counselor about feeling depression so that he or she can accurately diagnose and start to, gently, help you explore the history behind the struggle.

Medical conditions. People with certain chronic health conditions are more likely to experience feeling depressed.

You can research to find out what some of these conditions are, but if you already have a long-term diagnosis such as an autoimmune disease, insomnia, or chronic pain, keep in mind that depression can stem from that.

Hormone levels. Particularly for women and girls, hormonal changes can majorly impact your emotional regulation. It’s important to talk to your doctor or your child’s doctor if you feel the connections may be a new season of life. Perimenopause, adolescence, or rhythms of your menstrual cycle can all be contributing factors.

As you start to recognize the symptoms of feeling depressed, remember that you are not alone. There is nothing wrong with you and there is a solution. Finding a counselor to talk to regularly can help.

In our office, we see people with symptoms of depression frequently. Counselors are trained in how to ask helpful questions and listen well. Call the office to make an appointment. It’s a wonderful first step that you can celebrate today.