Are you struggling to pull yourself out of that “dark pit” right now?
Are you sick and tired of feeling this way but have no motivation to do anything about it?
This blog post has some simple, easy and free or low cost things you can do right now. Most require no specific equipment or supplies. But each are key things that are very effective in combating depression
symptoms.
Many of the steps listed below should be done all day. However I have listed them during the times of day when they most frequently come up or are most beneficial.
EARLY MORNING
All day, but especially in the morning, get blood flowing to your brain. Any kind of brisk exercise even walking, breathing techniques (see link on main resources page), inversion (yoga poses like downward dog, inversion tables, even positions such as just bending forward with your head down), sunlight (therapy lamps on dark days) all help increase blood flow to the brain. Avoid nicotine, caffeine, carbohydrates … which all reduce blood flow to the brain.
Practice good self care around hygiene. Take a shower every morning, brush teeth, put on clean clothing.
Cold therapy - finish your shower with cold water each morning, apply cold packs to your hands, swim in cool water. Cold stimulates the vagus nerve and is very helpful for depression.
LATE MORNING
Keep out the bad and bring in the good all day and night. Plan your day to keep negative media out of your space; fiction and nonfiction; disturbing news, violent series, horror films, sad music. Fill your space with comforting, warm, happy, positive media instead; DIY shows, comedy, motivational, inspirational things. Root out negativity in your relationships. Stay away from toxic and negative people online and in real life.
Eat healthy nutraceutical foods; berries inc. raspberries, nuts, vegetables, whole grains, probiotic foods, eggs, green tea, EFA rich foods, dark chocolate. Eat spicy foods because they stimulate the brain. Chewing gum that has a kick like cinnamon, ginger, or peppermint can do the same. Try to eat during a 2-8 hour window daily and fast the remaining hours. (Intermittent Fasting Results: Benefits And Potential Risks By Gundry MD Team | Dec 5, 2019 https://gundrymd.com/intermittent-fasting-results-benefits/ )
EARLY AFTERNOON
Don’t sleep during the day unless you are a shift worker or have a medical diagnosis that requires it. Instead, meditate every day for at least 10 minutes on positivity, energy, productivity. YouTube has a huge library of free guided meditations. Kirtan is very effective and meditative and this musical chanting can even be played in the background throughout your day for a significant mood elevating experience.
Do something productive every day to achieve goals, even if all you can do is one small task. Checking things off a list helps us feel productive and is a great mood booster.
LATE AFTERNOON
We may reach for them to cope with stress but always when battling depression symptoms, avoid all “depressants”! Steer clear of alcohol, cannabis (esp. indicas), kratom, kava, and other substances that may cause side effects of depression or fatigue. NO DOWNERS! The short term euphoria or happiness you may get for a few brief moments is not worth the excessive depressant effect for the rest of the day. And used to excess, you may feel the negative impact the following day too. If you are trying to push depression away but you are stressed, anxious or can’t sleep, drink high dose chamomile tea (1-4 tea bags) and use lavender aromatherapy for positive relaxation instead. You can even make a green and chamomile tea cold infusion in a water bottle for calm alertness. Just fill up with water and drop in a bag of each.
EVENING
Use melatonin 2-10mg, magnesium threonate, and vitamin D3 5000units (10,000u on darker days). Take these supplements each evening to promote sleep and daytime energy.
NIGHT
Turn off and put away all blue light display electronics and use red light starting 1 hour before bedtime. Smart bulbs make using red light easy.
Do a sleep meditation every night right before bed.
Follow sleep/wake schedule.
Get a sleep study if you snore loudly and if you have apnea get it treated with a CPAP mask or mouthpiece.
Have a hard stop to the day. A lights out time when all light and media are shut off and out of reach.
Get 7-9 hours of sleep nightly.
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