6 Ways To Awaken Motivated While Battling Depression

“Sometimes you climb out of bed in the morning and you think, I’m not going to make it, but you laugh inside — remembering all the times you’ve felt that way.” — Charles Bukowski

Will you think it is an overstatement if I tell you almost half of Australia’s population suffers from depression? 45% of people are expected to suffer from some kind of mental health issue in the country. So, while thinking about how to live with depression? We also have to understand how we can handle it in the first place.

Early morning depression or diurnal variation of depressive symptoms is common among people suffering from moderate to severe depression. A finding in 2013 proved that the folks with morning depression have a disrupted circadian rhythm.

Circadian rhythm or the natural body clock controls the rhythm of certain hormones such as melatonin and cortisol. Certain disturbances in the secretion of these hormones can cause unhealthy sleeping patterns, which eventually make one less energetic during the daytime. Moreover, if there’s an imbalance within the hormones like serotonin and norepinephrine, one might wind up feeling unhappy and tired the whole day.

Staying in bed depression is one of the symptoms of morning depression. Some others include:

• Trouble getting out of bed
• An immense lack of energy
• Difficulty performing simple tasks like preparing coffee or taking a shower
• Unable to focus or lack of concentration
• Hypersomnia (longer sleeping spells)
• Feeling frustrated
• Losing interest in things that used to be pleasurable in the past
• Dysfunctional cognitive behavior
• Overeating or loss of appetite
• Unexplained spells of sadness and emptiness

What to do when you’re depressed?

Depression isn’t merely a spell of sadness or melancholy that simply evaporates with time. Sadness, though it is a part of depression, does not define it entirely. A prolonged period of dissociation, living with depression and anxiety, hopelessness, insomnia, or hypersomnia might be signs of clinical depression. Ideally, if such symptoms prevail for more than 2 weeks, one should seek professional help.

However, this ‘can’t get out of bed depression’ can be combated from our end if we try to follow a few easy but important steps.

• Feel grateful early on

Although depression causes us to believe that there’s no hope remaining within the world for us, feeling grateful for what we already have is a great relief. There is a roof over our heads, some of us have amazing jobs, and some have beautiful children or endearing pets at home. Can’t we feel just a little grateful for having so many things in our lives already? Trust me, this feeling early in the morning imbibes a lot of positivity.

• Go one at a time

Setting up goals is very important for one’s personal as well as professional development. But at times, we are overburdened with targets. However, living with depression because of the same is not an option. Essentially, we should set one goal for the day. Anxiety caused due to unachievable goals or deadlines is very common these days. We should set realistic goals for ourselves early in the morning so that waking up does not feel like another nightmare.

• The pet therapy

In a recent survey done by the Human-Animal Bond Research Institute, it was revealed that 74% of people suffering from depression had seen an improvement after they had started owning a pet.

The fur babies are the ultimate means of happiness, and playing with them, grooming, or feeding them not only keeps you occupied but also acts as a natural depression cure.

• Get up, get moving

While we exercise, we release the ‘feel-good’ hormone called endorphin, which ultimately makes us feel better and more confident about ourselves. Additionally, it enhances our physical strength too.

Meditation and yoga, too, help in fighting depression.

• Keeping away from substance abuse

‘I am depressed what do I do?’ If this is your excuse for indulging in alcohol or drug abuse, then let me tell you, this is eventually causing you more harm than good. One-third of people suffering from MDD (Major Depressive Disorder) have an alcohol problem. Substance abuse does not only affect your health, it also triggers morning depression and anxiety.

• A big NO to self-loathing

One of the biggest reasons that you are feeling hopeless or worthless is that you are being too harsh on yourself. Start forgiving yourself for the bad days. ‘To human is to err’ and depression is just a disease.

Start the day with the motivation that you simply will give your best efforts but being your worst critique over a failure will only push you further into depression.

Accept the defeat and believe that it’s temporary. Tomorrow will undoubtedly be a new day.

If it is depression, what to do poses the biggest challenge. Seeking professional help and taking proper medicines is undoubtedly essential, however, if we can implement some simple yet crucial changes in our lives alongside following the doctor’s instruction, we don’t have to ask ourselves ‘how to live with depression?’ repeatedly. Instead, we will be triumphant against it.