How to Cope With Depression

 The World Health Organization describes Depression also known as Depressive Disorder as a common mental illness marked by a protracted lack of pleasure or interest in activities for long periods. An estimated 3.8% of people suffer from depression, this includes 5% of adults,4% among men and 60% among women, 5.7% of persons over the age of 60. Depression affects over 280 million people worldwide. Depression is about 50% more common among women than among men. (World Health Organization, 2023). In this article, we will discuss some coping mechanisms to help you overcome depression.

SYMPTOMS

• Feeling guilty
• Poor self-esteem
• Pessimistic
• Insomnia
• Appetite decline
• Unable to focus

HOW TO MANAGE DEPRESSION

• OPEN UP

Speaking about your feelings is one of the many strategies to deal with depression. I get it, it is hard to locate a trustworthy person to share this personal information with, you should know that talking about it makes you feel lighter. Remember, a problem shared is a problem halved, bottling all those feelings up is not the way to go. 

• Develop the habit of doing activities you used to like

This one personally helped me overcome depression. We all enjoy an activity or two, and this is the best time to rekindle those activities. Depression is a thief of joy, it will make you feel like these are the things that used to interest you but it is no longer relevant, but if you can overcome that feeling and start doing stuff that interests you, you will soon become happy again. I used to like Netflix and chill,  listening to music and cooking. Depression made me feel like picking up those activities would not help plus it is irrelevant now. The moment I decided to give them a try all over again, my life changed from a depressed soul to a happy one.

• Join Support Groups

Being in the same space with people going through depression helps a lot. You soon realize that you are not the only one battling depression. You listen to people tell their stories, coping mechanisms, and how they got over depression. It is a safe space to open up about how you feel without being judged.

• Don’t withdraw from family and friends.

Depression can cause one to withdraw, a painful feeling of avoiding everyone. This may seem like an uncontrollable factor, but you need to know that your friends and family are your primary support system. Avoiding them may do you more harm than good. Yes! at this stage, you begin to feel like you do not have the energy for lots of things and that family or friends reaching out is draining you of the little energy you have remaining. Staying connected to family and friends will go a long way to helping you overcome depression because it thrives in loneliness.

• Go to therapy

More often than not, talking about using therapy to fix mental health issues in our part of the world seems impossible. This is because therapists in third-world countries are not common, and when you find one you need to be financially capable to get the help they need. People in third-world countries are barely surviving so most people battling depression would rather heal themselves and it is not everyone is strong-willed to overcome this. Therapy has helped a lot of people fighting depression and I advise you to get help from a therapist if you can afford it. 

In Conclusion

Depression is a thief of joy, it will rid you of everything that makes you happy if you let it. Are you suicidal? It’s not worth it, depression is painful but not deadly. There are a lot of people like you battling depression, you should know that you are not alone in this. Get help,  talk to family and friends about how you are feeling, or try any of the coping mechanisms in this article. It only gets better from here.