My last post was a bit of a downer and I was tempted to delete it, but I think I will keep it around for authenticity. This post is about doing better and some specific things I did and I think anyone else can do to lessen or maybe even defeat depression.
Step I.
Excercise!
Sounds to basic to be true, but it works. 5 days in a row of 30-45 minutes on the stationary bike and some light weight lifting (light because it's not as easy to lift weights since my motorcycle accident) has really lifted my mood. In fact how I feel before a workout on a specific day and how I feel after the workout are night and day. By the 5th day the workouts seem to have had an accumulating effect. My mood was stable instead of down and the workout's now improve a stable mood instead of lifting me from a depression. You know about Endorphins right?. As a Psychology major, I love the science of the brain and what effects our moods. These endorphins interact with the receptors in your brain that reduce your perception of pain and create a positive feeling. It's also been nicknamed "Runner's High".
Sounds to basic to be true, but it works. 5 days in a row of 30-45 minutes on the stationary bike and some light weight lifting (light because it's not as easy to lift weights since my motorcycle accident) has really lifted my mood. In fact how I feel before a workout on a specific day and how I feel after the workout are night and day. By the 5th day the workouts seem to have had an accumulating effect. My mood was stable instead of down and the workout's now improve a stable mood instead of lifting me from a depression. You know about Endorphins right?. As a Psychology major, I love the science of the brain and what effects our moods. These endorphins interact with the receptors in your brain that reduce your perception of pain and create a positive feeling. It's also been nicknamed "Runner's High".
Step II.
Take a break from the Social Networks.
I know this sounds a little odd at first, maybe even extreme, but it worked for me. And here is why I think it worked for me. Just like Hollywood and the movie stars, the papers only print positive things, like their money, success and beauty. Now the papers would love to have the "dirt" aka, the stuff that makes the stars just like us, but it's hard to find even though we know that stars are just like us and actually because of success and money and lack of privacy are sometimes worse off. But that's not my point. My point is that we love to advertise our strengths, not our weaknesses, being real in public is taboo here in the USA. So if your on Twitter, Facebook, or the Social Network of your choosing, chances are this makes sense to you. The tweet, the status updates, they are usually biased to make us look good. If your not doing so good, seeing how everyone is doing wonderful, enjoying jobs, money, blessings, heck even able to maintain a positive attitude, you start to feel some negative emotions. The emotions might not creep up when your not in the middle of a trial or dark season in life, but they sure do when your in the midst of troubled times. Just removing myself from Twitter and Facebook has done wonders for me. Not just in time management (I was on Facebook more than I ever dared to believe) but I am able to keep things in perspective, something I was definitely struggling with before. See it's not that everyone is trying to make you feel bad, as if you or I were so important as to deserve that attention, but it's human nature and the American way. We put our best foot forward, which is of course backwards and does not work when you are a community. Openness and honesty will help anyone who is hurting or enjoying some great times in life. I am sure I could go on, but I won't.
That's it for the steps, at least for today. I hope this helps you as much as it helped me.
