For a while now I have been suffering from severe depression. I have endured countess therapist and psychiatrists appointments and tons of medication. All of this has helped a little, but not nearly as much as the tips I provide below.

Before I continue, I highly recommend for you to visit a doctor and get professional help if you haven't yet done so. Depression should not be taken lightly, especially if you are having suicidal thoughts, or inflicting self harm. I am providing this list in attempts to provide a few easy, healthy lifestyle changes that may help you cope with your negative feelings.

I hope they help.

1) Attack the problem from the roots, not from the branches. Examine your life, what is bothering you? What is making you upset? What ever it may be, eliminate it from your life.

If you are being abused my someone, get them out of your life. For me, I was being abused by my "friends." I finally stood up for myself and brushed them out of my life. There is no logic behind keeping things in your life that make you feel bad. This tip is pure common sense, yet so many people fail to actually act on it.

2) Get into a sound sleep schedule. Usually when people are depressed, they either sleep too much, or don't sleep at all. In my case, I was not sleeping enough. I would stay up till 5 in the morning and sleep all day. This threw off my whole schedule, which only added to the huge amount of stress I was forced to cope with already.

Go to bed and wake up on time. I usually go to bed at 1AM, and wake up at 10. That gives me a nice 9 hours of sleep. Since I have been sleeping better, my depression has subsided slightly. This tip probably won't change your life, but it definitely helps.  

3) Socialize. When people are depressed, the first thing they do is alienate themselves from everyone else. Fight this urge. It is the people who care about you, who are going to be the ones aiding you in your fight with depression.  

If something is upsetting you, then sit down with your close friend or friends and voice your feelings. If they aren't willing to listen, then they probably aren't good friends. A great place to socialize is here on Livewire! Sure there is a lot of annoying random posts that fail on epic proportions, but I'm sure there is at least one person here who doesn't epitomize failure.

4) Take care of yourself. This is the most important tip on here in my opinion. Do not let your health and/or personal hygiene go. Without a positive self image of yourself, you have no chance in hell of ever combating your depression.

This means, eat right, exercise daily, and keep up with your basic hygiene. What I like to do is take my dog on long walks every day. It's great exercise and I get a big chunk of alone-time to think about stuff. Also, walking through nature can be very calming and inspiring.

5) Do what you love, and love what you do. Get a hobby, and pursue it with all your passion. If you are lacking a purpose, then create one. Instead of mopping around all day feeling sorry for myself, I got up and started doing things.

Recently, I have started writing. I have always wanted to write stories, and it wasn't until recently till' I started. I'm aware that I suck, but that only gives me more passion to write more. When I write, I get to let out all of my inner emotions. It's a safe and productive release.

So there are my tips. Most of them are common sense, but they can be a big help if executed. They helped me a little, so maybe they can help you too.

There are a few other greats tips that didn't quite make the top 5 list, but are still great:
1) Keep up with your masturbation. I know it sounds silly, but masturbation has been proven to greatly reduce stress. When I was in my deepest depression, I had practically no sex drive. Eventually I made it a requirement to "release" at least once a day.

2) Start a Journal. I started writing a daily diary and it has been a great way for my to let out ALL my emotions. A very good tip, and it's fun.

3) Get some meds. Go to your doctor and get some medicine. I find that ADD medicines helps with my overall mood. Maybe talk with your doctor about that.

4) When you are upset, punch a baby in the face as hard as you can. WORKS WONDERS!

Post edited at 10:24 pm on April 15, 2009 by Ravenous Notion

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