Here are 11 things that I used in my own life that has helped me to overcome my anxiety and depression. I assure you, depression is still a battle that needs to be fought everyday, but with the help of these 11 things, it makes the fight much easier. I do not always use all 11 at once, but I use most of them now and have used all of them in the past. If you want to use these as well, it is not necessary to use all of them, but the more used, the easier the fight becomes at least in my experience. One important thing I will tell you before you go on is that it helps to create habits when using these 11 tips. These tips will work much better when used every day. They do not take long and I am able to complete most of these in my morning routine and you can too. Also, this is a brief description of each one, so if you want a more in depth description please let me know and I will write it for my next post. So here we go!
1. Positive Affirmations
If you are into self-help books and programs, you most likely have heard of positive affirmations. I am a skeptical person and this whole telling myself that I am happy just seems a bit ridiculous and new-agey. All these people making promises that merely talking to myself would make me feel better. Luckily, I fell for it and tried it out for a while just to see if everything they said was true. I’m the type of person who will not believe it unless I experience it myself, and I can tell you one thing, I Believe it Works! Positive affirmations have played a very important role for me in overcoming anxiety and depression. Of course, I did not experience any kinds of changes immediately. It takes time for positive affirmations to work, especially if you are not believing what you are telling yourself, but if you are persistent, I assure you, you will see amazing changes in your life. I made a routine every morning to start my day with positive affirmations. I make it as easy as possible for myself. I go onto Youtube and looks up positive affirmations and there are numerous wonderful videos. Sometimes I just listen to the positive affirmations, and other times I repeat them out loud. Both have worked for me, but repeating them I feel have a stronger effect. I have used positive affirmations for all types of things such as gaining confidence, feeling happy, and improving my self-esteem. Even if you do not struggle with anxiety or depression, positive affirmations are still extremely helpful for growth improving your life!
2. SAD Light
What is a SAD light? It sounds like it’s a light for when you are feeling sad. Coincidently, it is actually an acronym for Seasonal Affect Disorder. This is a form of Depression that comes in the winter months when it gets colder, we are inside more, and the days are shorter which means more time away from the sun. The sun’s rays actually make us happy and prevent depression! Amazing and simple. But when winter comes it’s much harder for us to get light from the sun, so someone invented the SAD light. The SAD light actually creates artificial sun light that gives the user the same benefits of the sun. I use my SAD light every morning for 30 minutes. Not only have I seen a huge increase in my well-being and feeling of happiness, it also helps me wake up and feel energized in the morning! Here is a link to the SAD light I use. They range from $40 to $200. This one is $69 at the time of writing this and works great.
NatureBright SunTouch Plus Light and Ion Therapy Lamp (package may vary)
3. ASMR
Here’s another acronym for ya. ASMR means Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. There is not much research on whether or not ASMR works for helping depression, but like I said, I don’t believe something works until I try it first. Let me try to explain what ASMR is first. You can find ASMR videos on Youtube, and the video shows a person doing a number of seemingly boring things. It can range from scratching the microphone, whispering into the mic, crumpling up paper, etc. Like I said, very boring. So why would anyone watch this??!! I can tell you, but you will have to experience it to see what I am truly talking about. When you wear headphones while listening to these videos, you will experience a tingly feeling which is called ASMR. In my experience, these videos help me sleep, they reduce stress, anxiety, and I am truly addicted to the videos. As you will see if you search ASMR on Youtube, it is becoming very popular as more and more people experience it. I watch these videos when I go to bed at night and even when I am at work to help me relax.
4. Meditation
I cannot say enough about how much meditation has helped me overcome anxiety and depression. Whether I use a guided meditation where a voice will guide me into a deep meditative state of relaxation, or just quietly by myself, I have seen a miraculous change in the way I feel. It is almost as if I hit the reset button on my body and mind every time I meditate. I am able to let go of all the excess baggage that is holding me down. I truly feel an abundance of wonderful stable energy that moves me through the day with positive feelings. I believe meditation is so important for everyone to use in their lives. I even created a Youtube channel where I found many great guided meditations as well as created a few of my own to help people who want to learn how to meditate. Here is a link to check it out! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKpgm5zQQxURc5PZowtzqAg
5. Complete All of the Tasks You Have Been Needing to Do
I find that working on completing all the tiny little tasks that seem to pile up in my life really helps me feel really good. I always seem to put small tasks that I don’t want to do off until later, then keep waiting and waiting until I realize I have a huge list of things to do. This ends up weighing me down and making me worry because I am always thinking about all the things I have to do which is in the back of my head. Once I finally complete a number of these small tasks, I get a wonderful feeling of accomplishment and a huge weight is lifted off my chest. Because this weight is lifted, I can go through me day lighter and happier.
6. Face your Problems and Fix Them
This one is similar to the last one of completing your tasks, but with bigger problems. Depression is not always caused just because there is some chemical imbalance in the brain. Depression and anxiety can also be situational. This means that depression is present because of a bad situation that a person is in that causes depression. This person may feel helpless and feel like they have no hope of getting out of this situation. When things look dim in a person’s life, it is very common to develop depression. This is very common when someone loses their job or being in a harmful relationship or worse. I realize that it is not always as easy as saying face your problems. But when we realize that we are truly strong inside and find out that we have more control than we initially thought, we will begin to take the positive steps to improve the current bad situation. We will begin to see that we deserve a better life and find a way to make it a reality. All it takes is courage and everyone has it. That means you do too!
7. Being Grateful
Being thankful for everything you have in your life shouldn’t only be done once a year on Thanksgiving. I take merely 5 minutes in my morning routine where I think of all the things I am grateful for. This takes me away from thinking about all the bad stuff that happens to me and helps me put things in perspective. I also have heard that being grateful also attracts more of what you are grateful for!
8. Exercise
Honestly, I have not used this one much lately, but I know from past experience as well as an abundance of research, exercise will help you combat depression. Exercising actually creates positive, feel good chemicals in your brain called endorphins to counteract the negative chemicals that cause depression. Exercise alone is a huge way to help overcome depression and anxiety. It not only creates these positive chemicals, it also gives a feeling of accomplishment and overall well-being.
9. Eating Better
There are a few reasons why eating better helped me overcome anxiety and depression. A lot it has to do with the energy brought on by eating better compared to a lack of energy from eating not-so-well. Once I started eating the foods that gave me an abundance of energy and reduced the consumption of foods that made feel tired and lethargic, I could see a positive change in the way I felt. I also had the extra energy to help me accomplish all of the tasks I mentioned above. Another reason eating better helped combat depression for me is my increased self-esteem. I don’t only feel healthy, but also look healthy.
10. Setting and Completing Goals
I realize work and stress can cause depressive symptoms, but in fact, good stress can create wonderful positive feelings. The stress brought on by setting goals and working on accomplishing these goals can cause an amount of stress. This stress will actually turn into great feelings once these goals are accomplished. A feeling of accomplishment will continue to motivate an individual and push them to accomplish more in their life and continue to make their lives better. When I am working, I always think that I just want a break, a vacation and time to myself. When I finally get this time for myself, I become bored and am not accomplishing anything. This in turn creates negative feelings and can create symptoms of depression. One thing that is very important is finding something that is worth it for you. If you set goals or work at a job that you hate, no matter how many things you accomplish, you will not be happy. You need to find your purpose! Which is what I will be discussing next.
11. Find Your Purpose
Finding your purpose in life is probably the most important on this list for overcoming anxiety and depression. In fact, finding your purpose is the most important in overcoming anything and everything in your life. “Those who have a why to live, can bare almost any how”, is a quote by Viktor Frankl the author of Mans Search for Meaning. Frankl was a Psychiatrist who actually created a form of therapy called Logotherapy while in the midst of a Nazi concentration camp. It is all about finding your purpose in life and being able to overcome any pain and heartache and still live a happy and fulfilling life. It is truly one of the most impactful books I have ever read. Here is a link
Man's Search for Meaning
Another way of overcoming depression is continuing to learn and grow. This goes along with finding your purpose in life, so I did not add another number to this. For me, learning and growing is favorite way to combat anxiety and depression. This may not be for everyone, but it gives me the most joy and sense of well-being. The book that started all of this for me is called Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers. This book helped me realize that I have control over my life and helped me to start taking positive steps to overcoming my fears, anxiety, and depression. Here is a link to this book as well. Feel the Fear . . . and Do It Anyway
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