How to Fight Depression

Give a name to the animal that is your sadness. Winston Churchill suffered from depression, and he frequently referred to the depression he suffered from as his ‘black dog’. By taking what he was feeling and turning it into an animal, he took control of his situation. Just like a dog, the depression might always be with you. But also like a dog, you can train it with persistence and patients. It’s important you know before starting out that it will be a process. But it’s also important to know that the process is worthwhile, and in the end you’ll have a much better ‘pet’ for your efforts.

Find someone to look up to. Don’t think that you’re alone in this struggle. It’s an easy trap to fall into. More than 120 million people around the world are suffering from depression right now as you’re reading this. Even more people have overcome depression. Go to your local bookstore (or even amazon) and look up some biographies of influential people in history. Chances are if you pick out five people, at least one of them suffered from depression. Continue doing research online just like you are now, and never forget that depression doesn’t need to be the thing that stops you from living, it’s just another stepping stone to get over on your path to becoming a better person tomorrow.

Don’t be too hard on yourself. Life isn’t about getting to the finish line in some sort of correct order or beating your neighbor at something, even though lots of times it can feel that way. The truth of the matter is that each and every single person has something to contribute to society, and it’s important you know this fact and live it every day. Stop competing in everything. Don’t obsess over trivial things in life. These competitions that we create in our everyday life can often become a never-ending series of hoops that we put in front of ourselves that only add to an already complicated life. Don’t take this to mean stop improving – take it to mean that improvement is only measured against one’s self and not everything around them.

Take time to think about other things that are bothering you. Make a list of things outside of your depression that stick in the back of your mind, like your job, your bills, the mess in the living room, or just whatever else is bothering you. Then put a column next to it and write down some things that you can do for each one of them to deal with what’s bothering you. Like look for a new job, go back to school, ask a friend or family member to help you around the house, talk to your boss. Anything really, just as long as you come up with some actionable solutions to your problems.