Everyone feels sad at times. It’s an inevitable and normal part of the human condition. Depression, on the other hand, is a diagnosable mental health disorder that requires professional intervention. That treatment may come in the form of therapy or medication or both.

Seeking depression treatment is important, but it’s not the only step you can take. As a patient, you have many options available outside of therapy sessions. Often, exercising these options can make a huge difference in how well your treatment progresses.

So let’s take a closer look at depression and the steps you can take to support your treatment.

Depression Is An Increasingly Common Mental Disorder

More than 250 million people, worldwide, suffer from depression, making it the planet’s leading cause of disability. Some details to remember about depression:

• It is more common in women than in men.

• Depression comes in several forms, e.g. Major Depression, Bipolar Disorder, Peripartum (Postpartum) Depression, Persistent Depressive Disorder, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder, Psychotic Depression, and Situational Depression.

• About 80 percent of those suffering from depression show positive results after just a few weeks of treatment, but two-thirds of people with depression do not seek out the help they need.

Common depression symptoms can range from feeling empty or hopeless most of the time to physical impacts, such as sleep or digestive disturbances to thoughts of death and/or suicide. (For context, nearly 800,000 die each year due to suicide. It is currently the second leading cause of death in those between the ages of 15 and 29.)

5 Tips to Help You Support Your Depression Treatment

To repeat, depression requires professional intervention, but there are also steps you must take to support your treatment. Consider the following:

1. Get Organized

Depression will try to sap your will to accomplish even the tiniest of tasks. An excellent antidote to this trend is organization. Set up some structure in your life, for example, create regular meal times, and do the laundry on a particular day each week. This self-initiated rhythm will carry you through those times when motivation is hard to muster.

2. Create a Support System

Those weekly therapy sessions are indispensable. Out of session, do you have trusted allies to lean on? Cultivate a small group of loved ones who understand your diagnosis and will commit to being on your support team. Do not isolate yourself.

3. Learn How to Reduce Stress

Stress is unavoidable. Getting stressed out is not. To support treatment, it’s important you learn and discover ways to manage the ups and downs.

Some possible approaches are:

• Breathing exercises

• Meditation

• Take tech breaks from your devices

• Laughter sessions (talking with friends, watching funny YouTube videos, playing with a pet, etc.)

4. Create a Bedtime Routine

A steady sleep routine will go a long way in supporting your recovery. The tricky part is getting started. Be patient but consistent. Ease yourself into a sleeping vibe by aiming for a specific bedtime. Then, modify your behavior based on that aim.

5. Get Yourself Moving

Exercise, stretching, cleaning, running errands, etc.—your mind and body crave daily physical activity, don’t deprive it of that. This doesn’t have to mean you need to join a gym or sign up for a local 5k race. As with all of the above steps, a blend of patience and consistency will get you to your goals.

“But How Do I Know If I’m Depressed?”

If sadness, including some intense sorrow, is normal, how do you know when you need to seek help? The first step just might be seeking professional consultation. Reach out with your questions and concerns. I realize that depression is hard to talk about, but you will benefit immensely from the realistic strategies I can teach you.

For more information, please read more about depression therapy and feel free to contact my office.