1.- Understand your emotional cycle
Life is an emotional roller coaster. Some days you can feel as if nothing could stop you. Other days you will feel totally desperate. Most of the time you will be in the middle of both. Understanding the pattern of positive and negative emotions will help you put your feelings in perspective. The next time you feel downcast, remember that this is simply a natural emotion that you will inevitably overcome. Knowing that a feeling of depression is something only temporary makes it less terrible.
2.- Spend time with positive people
The people you interact with are what most affect the way you think and feel. Thoughts (both positive and negative) are contagious. If you are surrounded by negative people it is natural that you begin to think and feel the same way. To improve your vision of life you must necessarily spend time with positive people. Look for them and try to understand the way they see the world. Most likely, you get infected with their happiness.
3.- Reflect on the successes of the past
In the impression of a colossal failure, it is easy to forget everything you have done well. Take a few minutes to remember your past achievements and start motivating yourself. What made you successful in the past? Which are your strenghts? If you do this exercise you will often start to gain confidence in yourself, it will help you figure out what went wrong and generate ideas to be successful in the future.
4.- Focus on being grateful
It is rooted in human nature to compare ourselves with others who are better than us in society. But if you take into account all the good things in your life and compare them with the problems of less fortunate people, the problem that makes you depressed should not seem so serious.
5.- Change the scenario
One of the best ways to change what you are feeling is to change your environment. When you are down, you begin to associate the problem with everything around you. You can get to the point where the environment itself is a constant reminder of your problems. This can be a dangerous cycle and the solution is to change things. The change does not have to be radical. Clean your entire environment, add more lights or include more pleasant decorations that can completely change the atmosphere of your home or a simple room.
how to stop being depressed
6.- Break your routine
Doing the same routine day after day can be boring and depressing. You can often get caught up in that monotony. To get out of it, what you need is simply to temporarily change that routine. Take a day off from work. Do something that you normally do not do for lack of time or something you have never tried. In the long run, taking a day off from time to time can get you out of a state of decay, which will make you happier and more productive.
7.- Interact with animals
It is curious to see how human beings place so much importance on their little personal problems. Animals do not think in this way. A little bird is not depressed because it is not an eagle or because another bird hit it with a seed. Pets live in the present moment and show unconditional love. Observing and interacting with them will help you cope with your problems.
"You are not depressed, you are distracted, distracted from the life that populates. Distracted from the life that surrounds you: dolphins, forests, seas, mountains, rivers. "
Facundo Cabral
8.- Get moving
Going to the gym or going for a walk will help you lose the lethargy that comes with the feeling of depression. The more enthusiasm you put into those moments, the better you will begin to feel.
9.- Think more broadly
As Carl Sagan said: "We are insignificant creatures that live in a vast universe within a small planet" In the long run everything we do in life is likely to be forgotten. Some may find this depressing, but it should not be like that. This means that all our problems are illusory. In a million years nobody will remember what you did or did not do. What matters is the present moment and enjoy every second of the life that has been given to us.
10.- Do something to help yourself
Above all, the best way to stop feeling depressed is to take action. What is your biggest problem? How can you solve it? Once you decide to stop being dejected and start moving forward you will not have time to feel depressed. The action will occupy your mind and give you a goal to work for. Once you get some results, you will begin to gain momentum in life and you will have more positive thoughts which you can keep easier.