In this section, you will learn three strategies that can help stabilize your mood, reduce your depression, and prevent it from returning. The strategies are:
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Reactivate Your Life
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Think Realistically
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Solve Problems Effectively
We will explain how each of these strategies helps combat depression and show you step-by-step how to use them. It is best to approach these strategies as if you were learning a new skill or sport: practice is crucial.
Depression affects all areas of life: your emotions, thoughts, actions, physical functioning, and life situation (including social support, family relationships, employment, finances, etc.). Each of these areas is connected to all the others. Therefore, changes in one area lead to changes in the others.
When a person becomes depressed, negative changes in one area can have negative consequences on all other areas. When you try to recover, changes made in one area also lead to changes in other areas of your life. The goal of treatment is thus to create a positive feedback loop that reverberates throughout your life.
1. Reactivate Your Life
WHEN PEOPLE ARE DEPRESSED, THEY OFTEN STOP DOING ACTIVITIES THAT HELP MAINTAIN A POSITIVE MOOD. But if you stop taking care of your well-being or doing things you usually enjoy, your life becomes more boring and depressing. You might think you are comforting yourself by being less active, but in fact, you may be worsening your depression.
In other words:
DEPRESSION → INACTIVITY
Depression leads to inactivity, but inactivity amplifies depression. What seems like a good coping strategy at first glance tends to maintain or intensify depression.
Solution: Don’t wait until you feel like doing more. Waiting makes you even less likely to recover. And don't wait to feel motivated—motivation will come later when you feel better. Start with action, and motivation will follow.
Setting goals to gradually increase your activity level is a powerful method for taking charge of depression. The goal is to get moving again even if you don't feel like it.
Steps to Reactivate Your Life:
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What activities should you do more of? Consider four key areas where activity decreases: Rewarding Activities (hobbies, nature walks), Self-Care (showering, exercise, healthy eating), Daily Tasks (cleaning, bills), and Activities with Family & Friends. List ideas for each.
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Choose two activities from different areas that seem easiest to start now.
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Set realistic goals for the coming week. Goals must be: Specific (e.g., "walk 15 minutes"), Realistic (easy enough to do even while depressed), and Scheduled (e.g., "on Thursday evening"). Use a planner.
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Achieve your goals. Remember, you likely won't feel like doing them. Do them because they are on your plan. Check them off and acknowledge your accomplishment—no matter how small.
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Review your goals every two weeks. Adjust them (make easier/harder) or add a new goal from another area. Aim to work on 3-4 goals at a time, but don't overwhelm yourself.
2. Think Realistically
DISTORTED NEGATIVE THOUGHTS FUEL DEPRESSION. These are depressive thoughts. They are unrealistic and unfair:
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Negative, unrealistic thoughts about a situation.
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Negative, unfair thoughts about yourself.
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Negative, unrealistic thoughts about the future.
The aim is to challenge negative thoughts and replace them with realistic thinking.
Realistic Thinking:
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Accurately reflects your situation.
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Is fair to yourself, balancing positive and negative aspects.
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Offers a fair portrait of the future without exaggerating negative outcomes.
The goal is not positive thinking all day, but balanced, accurate, and fair thinking.
Steps for Realistic Thinking:
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Learn to recognize depressive thoughts. Common types include: Filtering (only seeing the negative), Overgeneralization (one negative event means everything is bad), All-or-Nothing Thinking, Catastrophizing, Labeling (calling yourself names), Mind Reading (assuming others think negatively of you), Fortune Telling (predicting a negative future), Perfectionism, and "Should" Statements.
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Identify your depressive thoughts and how they trigger low mood. Carry a notepad for a week. Each time your mood dips, ask: "What was I thinking just then?" Write it down to see patterns.
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Learn to challenge depressive thoughts and replace them. Use a two-column table: Situation / Depressive Thoughts / Realistic Thoughts. Ask yourself: "What evidence do I have?", "What would I tell a friend?", "Is there another way to see this?".
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Practice realistic thoughts. They won't feel automatic at first. Actively challenge depressive thoughts as they arise in triggering situations (e.g., meetings, social events). With time and repetition, realistic thoughts will start to feel true.
3. Solve Problems Effectively
DEPRESSION IS OFTEN THE RESULT OF LIFE SITUATIONS THAT HAVE BECOME OVERWHELMING. The strategies you used to solve problems may have proven ineffective or even made problems worse. Depression saps the energy, concentration, and creativity needed for problem-solving.
Steps for Effective Problem-Solving:
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Choose one problem. Be specific (e.g., "My friend hasn't called in a month," not "My relationships are a disaster"). Start with a less serious problem.
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Brainstorm possible actions. List at least three things you could do to address the problem, without judging them yet.
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Compare the actions. List the advantages and disadvantages of each option.
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Choose the best (or least bad) action. Pick one that moves you toward a solution, even partially. Set a time limit to decide.
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Make an action plan. The plan should be: Manageable (small enough to do while depressed), Action-oriented (focus on what you'll do), Specific, and Time-limited.
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Evaluate. After a week or after trying the plan, assess: What was the result? What worked? What didn't? Acknowledge any progress.
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Move on. Based on the outcome, decide to: Continue with the same plan, Revise the goal and try again, or Try a different approach.
Reducing the Risk of Relapse
Depressive episodes end, but relapses can occur. You can reduce their likelihood, severity, and frequency.
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Maintain your efforts. Keep using helpful strategies even when you feel better.
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Be prepared for stress. Stress is a risk factor. Introduce stress gradually, reduce responsibilities when possible, and continue self-care.
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Create a mood emergency action plan. Plan ahead: What will you do if you feel your mood slipping? Ideas include: increase rewarding activities, reduce obligations, seek professional help, get practical support, and maintain healthy lifestyle habits (sleep, exercise, diet).
