Treating Depression - Instruction Manual!

To initiate recovery you first need to realize and accept, if you already haven't, that depression, as any mental disorder, has its biological causes and therefore you should not blame yourself or your brain for feeling the way you do when depressed, but rather focus this effort into resolving and addressing the problem. Acknowledging this will enable you to move forward from the stuck, pessimistic, tenacious attitude inherent to depression more easily. Of course your depression will not disappear by just understanding and accepting it, again because of the biological causes which work independently of your conscious decisions, but it certainly will benefit from such an approach.

Next, you might want to consider incorporating some supplements such as fish oil, vitamin-d, b vitamin, magnesium and others, which have proven to alleviate the deficiencies and imbalances that might be propelling your depressions or which ameliorate depression via different mechanisms. For me, Fish oil and BCAA (branches chained amino acids) have proven to be most successful - they take care of many of the physical symptoms such as fatigue and cognitive predicaments such as brain fog. However, bear in mind that if you decide to supplement your diet, it will require patience and dedication. Do not expect overnight results by taking vitamins and related substances, because deficiencies are not usually corrected after a single administration of the deficient subject, give them a couple of weeks to appreciate their full benefit they have to unravel.

Incorporating rituals into a daily routine has proven to have a grounding and reassuring effect for many with anxiety, depression and similar affective disorders. There are innumerable lists of such rituals you might want to consider and they can be as simple as any form of exercise, meditation, going for a walk, playing an instrument or doing anything you like that you think is beneficial to your mental health. I have chosen exercise and meditation, which I have started practicing few times a week and eventually daily. These practices do not have to consume your whole day, 15-30 minutes daily is plenty enough and worth the timely sacrifice. Even though that you might not feel the benefits right away, you will be doing yourself and your depression a service in the long run. Important is to experiment and find which techniques work the best (because each depression differs due to our subjective nature) for you and which fit your resources and schedule the best as well.

So try these tips and don't be afraid to experiment and stick to those techniques that yield the most results. Once you do you will soon enter a path to a perpetual relief from your symptoms!