4 Things I Did To Get Out of My Worst Depression

I’ve had depression before, and it does run in my family. Luckily, after treating my depression with medication for about a year, I was able to get off the meds and find other things that were helpful for me. It wasn’t until 4-5 years later that I was experiencing it again (2021). But this time, it was far worse than the first. Here’s What Helped ME Get Out of My Worst Depression.

4 Things I did to get out of my worst depression

Identify:

I know myself, and I knew when it felt like such a physical and mental struggle to pull myself out of bed everyday, that there was a problem. This second time around felt very different than my first bout of depression. This time, it was the silence that hurt the most. It was the overwhelming feeling of having a crushing weight on my chest. It was persistent sadness and not caring about myself or what would happen to me. It was realizing that I was only living for one other person in my life. I had a feeling of constant loneliness and hopelessness. Being able to identify what was going on with me was the first step, and if not the most important.

Sought Outside Help:

I don’t think these next steps would have been possible had I not reached out to an outside source to help. My first few therapy sessions gave me the chance to get it all out. The amount of tears I cried during my first few therapy sessions really gave me a chance to start on a clean slate. When I was able to have an outside source to help me with my problems, it gave me the opportunity to identify the things that were actually causing the depression. As well as healthy ways to work through them.  

Sometimes the people around you aren’t going to be enough to get you out of those dark times. Seeking help outside of my inner circle was a huge thing that helped me get out of my worst depression. 

Prioritizing Me Time:

It’s amazing what a few hours of alone time can do for your mental health. For me, I didn’t think this was that big of a deal. I thought I had a good amount of alone time. What I found during therapy was that I wasn’t spending enough time filling my cup with things that brought me joy and happiness. I was considering alone time to be 30 minutes to be driving to/from work. I also thought stopping at Target or getting my 45-minute workout was a good chunk of alone time I needed.

But this wasn’t the alone time that my therapist was referring to. While in therapy we have been able to identify my strengths and what makes me happy. It has been a work in progress to continue to force myself to have the alone time that will fill my cup. As much as going to Target does make me happy, this is not the type of “ME” time that I need to be the best version of myself. 

Being Kind to myself:

If someone was as critical of me as I am of myself, I wouldn’t spend 30 minutes around that person. But I have to spend 24 hours with myself every single day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Working on my exercises and practicing being able to tell myself kind words while reassuring myself that all of my feelings and emotions are not only allowed, but also accepted, has been a huge help for my mental health. 

Conclusion:

It’s easy to think that feeling depressed or having mental health means your failure. At least, that’s what I felt about myself. It wasn’t until I started going to therapy to work on myself and other aspects of my life where I realized that there are other ways to help your depression/mental health than taking medication.

I will never talk bad about taking medication for your mental health. I took it for a year and it really helped pull me out of a dark place. But this time around I really wanted to try something else before going back to the medication.

Identifying, seeking outside help, prioritizing me time and being kind to myself are 4 things I did to get out of my worst depression.

If you have been thinking about getting professional help, check out my blog post How To Find The Right Therapist For You.
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