Hi all

I am new to his forum. I have been depressed before and have been great until recently but now I am starting to wake up with depression. I usually improve during the day and after a run, but I was wondering if any of you any tips for battling this. I usually do a bit of meditation which sometimes helps.

This is what worked for me:

DO NOTs

• Don't use phone or any other technological devices until at least 3 hours have passed since you woke up.
• Don't lie down on bed/sofa; try to sit down on a chair, on the bed or go for a walk. Lying down on bed during the day (while often using phone) always made me feel depressed

DOs

• Making tea/coffee and having some snacks
• Meditate for 30 mins after waking up
• Going out for a walk
• Singing alone
• Getting a shower as soon as you wake up
• Grooming yourself/body care
• Reflecting in what makes your life so beautiful
• Soft exercise
• Observing the nature
• Cleaning/organising your room/clothes

Sometimes stressful lifestyles (loneliness/work stress/multitasking) leads to depression. This could be resolved by:

• Taking breaks between work. Take a 30 minute break after a short work; 1 hour for a longer/bigger task.
• Every alternate day take a break from doing anything at all. If doing anything at all is NOT an option, reduce multitasking and allocate more time for the ''DOs'' mentioned above.

THINGS TO REMEMBER:

Adapting to the above behvaiour will not occur in a snap, this might take some time. So be patient and don't lose confidence and relapse back to the previous state- just have a firm belief that this will work and stick to the behaviour.

IN CASE OF RELAPSE

• Confidence to revert back to non-depressive lifestyle
• Keep sticky notes, where you will list the ''DOs'' and tick off when you complete each one. Try to rotate between the ''Dos'' whenever possible.
• Identify the factors that you think might be causing stress and try to mitigate them
• Jot down the behaviour pre and post relapse so that you can be more aware of preventing relapse

Hello Baz00
Thankyou for your post and welcome to the forum

Im so sorry to hear what you are going through, with my experience my depression comes and goes with waves sometimes its better and sometimes it gets worse throughout life
Running and meditation is great but I will also give u a few more of my tips

I believe eating a really good diet and cooking makes me feel good as well as cleaning my house, when I see my nice clean space its good for your mind
Being productive even after work is good to keep busy
Pursing hobbies like reading, drawing and painting (whatever ur hobby is)

Also try and spend time with family and friends even talking on the phone often
My dog brings me a lot of happiness
Lastly I also practice mindfulness, journal writing and saying self statements of truth

I hope this helps :)

Hi Baz00,

Some great advice from happy helper and hassan - especially the phone rule (social media is never a good idea to delve into when you just wake up!)

I personally can find myself feeling sad about whatever it may be - and when I do, mindfulness can really help me stay grounded (e.g. meditation, tarot, deep breathing) etc. and be fully present. That is important.

Going for a walk in nature or around to move your body is also calming and helpful to stay present - along with driving is very therapeutic for me.

Seeing a psychologist or your GP is also important in managing these feelings if you feel like it.

Stay happy,

Jaz.

Hi Baz00,

I am so sorry to hear that you have been feeling this way. I have definitely gone through this myself also. One thing that helped for me was to realise what kind of routine I was having. Similar to what the others have posted here I found that I was spending a lot of time on my phone as soon as I woke up which may have been contributing to my mindset. There are many things you can try in the morning to see if they work for you! I can see that you mentioned mindfulness which is a great idea. There is also journalling, starting the day with a cup of tea, stretching or even listening to your favourite songs.

Please keep us updated though! I really hope you start to feel better. You are definitely not alone!