5 Ways To Help Yourself When You’re Depressed

It was a fateful Tuesday afternoon when I sit down on my bed with my cup of coffee to begin writing this blog post. That’s when I hear the sound of my coffee spilling over all on my keyboard of my laptop. Great. What am I to do now? This laptop has literally everything on it. Plus, I had already started to write this post.

So what do I do now that I don’t have a laptop?

– I could go to the library to type this post to make sure it’s up on time

– I could go bring mine in to get it fixed

– I could combine the first two options

– Or I could go buy a new laptop.

Welp. The last option is the one that I had went with. As I was looking for a laptop, I was thinking to myself: Why does everything happen to me all at once? Between my laptop crisis, moving and packing, school and work. Everything seems to be coming to me all at once.

Then I started to feel upset and down about all of this. Every time I start to feel myself getting depressed, I always ask myself what I can do to help me feel better.

The top five (5) things I do to help me when I’m feeling depressed are:

1) Call/FaceTime/Sykpe a friend or family member. A silly and simple as this may sound, I always feel better when I talk to someone about what has been going on. Sometimes, when I call them, we sit on the phone for a bit in silence. Not because there isn’t anything to talk about, but I often find that when I do this, I feel a deeper connection with the person I’m talking to. I feel as though that they’re actually listening and paying attention to how I feel – in a non-selfish way

2) Listen to your favourite song/album/playlist. This is another simple task you can do to help yourself. Music has helped me through a lot, especially when I was in treatment. Music was the best escape from reality and my troubles. My favourite albums to listen to are: both of Ed Sheeran’s albums ( + and x), Taylor Swift’s 1989, all of One Direction’s albums.

3) Journal/Write it down. When I was first getting treatment, the main thing the counsellor wanted me to do was write down how I was feeling. I could write it in a journal and keep it to myself, I could write a letter to someone and never send it (if I was upset with them.) Writing down how you feel allows you to not only get out those bottled up feelings, but only you can choose whether or not to share them.

4)  Do something that makes you happy. Another silly one, but also one that is most overlooked. Whenever I’m feeling down, turning on my favourite tv show, listening to my favourite song or dancing around my room helps. Something as simple as that can change my mood very quickly, usually because I forget about all of negativity because I’m too busy smiling and laughing. Which, scientifically has been proven to improve your mood. So even look in front of the mirror and smile. Smile at strangers if you’re out in public. Smile because you’re alive.

5) Exercise. Scientifically, exercise increases the levels of endorphins in our system. Endorphins make you feel happy. So, by increasing the amount of exercise you get, you, in turn, increase your level of endorphins within your body. My favourite types of exercise include: a walk around a park or around nature, bike riding, or Youtube videos (Blogalites is my favourite.)

So, if you’re ever feeling down, try some of my favourite things to do. Let me know if they work for you too!

Alex Newton is a nursing student and mental health advocate. She grew up in a small town and plans on moving to London, England one day and open up her own health practice. She has a cat named Maya who she adopted whilst going through some difficulties. She’s a daughter, sister, and warrior who enjoys a nice cuppa tea.