Depression can be a lot like the cautionary tale of the frog in the hot water. If the frog encounters hot water, they would immediately flee for the sake of their own safety. However, if you put the frog in a pot of room temperature water and slowly increase the temperature until it is boiling, the frogs will not notice the gradual and impending danger and will stay in the water until it is too late.
This is why depression is similar. Rarely do people go from a healthy mental state to severe depression in a single moment. Depression is more progressive, not unlike heating water to boiling. Whether the depression is caused by external factors, chemical changes in the brain, or both, most of us miss the early warning signs. Most of us do not react until our mental health is very detrimental to us, or even sometimes when it is too late. Just like depression can be subtle and affect us gradually, we can learn to beat depression one day at a time.
The Subtleties of Depression
As human beings, it is expected that we experience changes in moods, that is normal and healthy. When we are affected by external events, it impacts us both psychologically and physically. We may experience more negative thoughts, which seem appropriate, given what is going on around us. We may eat more or less, sleep more, feel tired, or have insomnia or other sleep disturbances. All of these things can be easily attributed to external factors.
It is a little easier to notice these subtle symptoms of depression when we do not have external factors influencing our moods. This is the purely chemical type of depression, in which serotonin levels change and create the physiological condition leading to depression. Whether our symptoms are from external, internal, or both sets of factors, the result is the same and can be dangerous. Unchecked depression can be not only debilitating to daily life, but can also lead to suicide. Being aware of our subtle symptoms of depression can help us not only prevent depression but can actually quite literally save our lives.
Preventing the Onset of Depression
Some kinds of depression may not be preventable. In the case of loss of a loved one, divorce, loss of a job, or many other environmental influences, depression can be difficult to prevent, given the fact that it may hit right away or be delayed six months, a year, or more. However, practicing prevention techniques can definitely lower the risk of or at least the severity of depression, regardless of the cause. While there are many things we can do regularly to help prevent depression, the most important thing is to watch carefully and be able to recognize early warning signs.
Recognizing Warning Signs
The first time someone experiences depression, recognizing the warning signs may be very difficult. Everyone has bad days, and if we are functioning below level already, it is unlikely that we will be self-monitoring or tracking how many days we have had symptoms, etc. However, after having suffered one bout of depression, we can better learn to recognize warning signs.
Some of these early warning signs include sleep disturbances, negative thoughts, feeling overwhelmed, feeling lethargic, and enjoying normal activities less than usual. When we experience these symptoms for more than two to three weeks, and particularly if there are no external environmental reasons for them, then it is a good time to seek help from a professional to prevent the onset of more severe depression symptoms. Catching depression early makes it easier to treat and prevents a lot more suffering.
Daily Routines to Beat Depression
There are things we can do daily to help us prevent depression before it even happens. By taking good care of ourselves, we significantly lower the risk of becoming severely depressed. Here are a few ways to beat depression before it takes hold:
- Practice good sleep hygiene
- Eat nutritious meals
- Daily mental check-in
- Doing the work in therapy
- Follow the doctor’s orders
Slow and Steady Wins the Race
Rather than wait until our depression is full-blown and we are at risk for self-harm, we can do small and simple things every day to maintain our mental wellness. Just like the frogs and the hot water, by being aware of the subtle indicators for the onset of depression and being able to recognize when we have symptoms for more than two weeks, we can give ourselves the opportunity to seek help before it is too late. By safeguarding our daily mental and physical health routines, we can learn to beat depression one day at a time.
Learning about what depression is and how it begins can be the first step in changing your own path. As you learn to recognize your own symptoms in the very early stages of depression, you can intervene and get help before the depression takes over completely. By vigilantly maintaining your daily mental and physical health routines, you can actually help to prevent the onset of some depressive episodes. At Rancho Milagro Recovery, we can help you overcome substance abuse and teach you how to do things each and every day to protect your mental health and prevent depression. Call us at (951) 526-4582 to find out how you can learn more about how to beat depression in small and simple ways. You can change the course of your life in very big ways by doing little things every single day. You can beat depression one day at a time.