3 Tips for Coping With Depression

Coping with depression can be difficult when balancing everyday activities such as work, social commitments, and keeping up with household responsibilities. While everyone feels sad from time to time, depression can cause an array of problems. It can wreak havoc on your body, causing insomnia, sexual issues, and even lead to more serious troubles mentally. Depression can be linked to substance abuse, which may give you an unhealthy temporary hiatus on more serious matters. Turning to drugs or alcohol can exacerbate the desperation or hopelessness you’re feeling. If you feel you’re losing control, you can do things to find your way back to a stable and healthier life. The following are three tips for coping with depression.

Getting help

For those dealing with depression and substance abuse, you may feel it difficult to finally ask for help. Many of those with mental illnesses or disorders abuse drugs or alcohol, which can make their condition worse. The most important thing to remember is that you aren’t alone. Many facilities can give you the mental and physical support you need during this time. If you’re looking for a more private and individualized program, the CCFA is in Canada and accepts both Canadian and American patients. They offer group and individual counseling and a variety of treatment programs for inpatients or outpatients. Treatment centers such as this offer a place to detox safely with doctors, nurses, and other mental health professionals available around the clock. Once home from the rehab center, you can find NA or AA meetings locally to attend for continued help. Your loved ones can seek a support group such as Al-Anon who give support to family and friends of (recovering) addicts.

Finding the right program for you

Having a great support system is just as important as you work through your treatments. Try looking for a team of people, such as therapists and medical doctors, who can work together to give you a beneficial program. Not all depression is the same and you may need a therapist who uniquely connects with you. You can narrow the search with online options such as withtherapy.com that was designed to make it faster and more convenient to find a doctor. With Therapy takes you to an online directory that matches you to your perfect therapist based on your needs. You may benefit from cognitive behavioral therapy, which relies on active participation and cooperation between you and your doctor. Using methods such as journaling or worksheets provided by your doctor can help identify, for example, your reaction to triggers and what causes them. Depression episodes that caused someone to turn to a substance to erase mental anguish may now understand this connection. Your therapist uses this information to assist in changing your usual behavior, guiding you to a healthier choice.

Creative therapy

You can find alternative ways to cope with your depression in conjunction with traditional routes. Creative therapy such as art or writing therapy can benefit you through a positive outlet to express your feelings. Some therapists believe these forms of artistic expression can encourage their patients to open up using poetry, movement through music, or speaking through artistic materials. In art therapy, a professional art therapist may look at your art to see issues hidden within your piece. It helps release anxiety by using paint, chalk, clay, or other materials of your choice. Other artistic ways you can work through stress are dance, music, and drama. Psychodrama can be similar to talk therapy, but you interact with others in a role-playing setting. For example, you can act out a situation during group therapy to find an alternative outcome. Channeling your feelings with these positive creative art forms may also benefit you by connecting with others and improving your self-expression.