Depression In Covid Times: + The 12 Best Natural Solutions to Heal Yourself
Here we are. At the time of release of this episode, it is almost one year to the day that the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed the coronavirus as pandemic.
We are discussing a topic this is long overdue, that you may have already been experiencing; that we all need to shed more light upon so that you and others who are suffering in sadness and with depression can heal yourself.
This information is not intended to replace your proactive work and the medical attention that I would encourage you to seek, particularly if you experience any or all of the symptoms that I will describe shortly.
Something that we don’t speak enough about; sadness has a place in your life; not forever, not as a condition that you must live in each day; but as a reminder that you have the infinite propensity to feel; to feel for another living being, to feel the suffering and grief of another, of yourself; and for real and just reasons.
Do you continue to feel the imminent and certain origin of life’s churning moments that you have already lived and that which continue to repeat?
If you have never learned how to give yourself permission to release these feelings; to release what has happened, to reassure your present day self and your younger self; that for whatever has happened you no longer need to feel this depth of sadness; and that you are safe, that you are never alone even when there is no one in your presence.
If I may remind you that there is purpose to sadness.
It requires your attention, and that you excavate to examine with a fresh perspective, and to allow acceptance of what already is, and of what is the past.
You do not have to agree with the past in order to accept it.
To release what sadness has enveloped you, you must first be willing to let it in; to acknowledge it; to say ‘I feel this.’ ‘I feel sad.’
To acknowledge sadness is to then have the power to do something more with it; and to release the burden of needing to keep what you feel, away or hidden; to disavow how you feel, or to feel lost or submerged in its abyss.
As it was once a part of you, now you may be ready for your release of what has caused you to feel sad and depressed.
I work with clients who experience prolonged sadness and depressive symptoms.
Whether what they feel is a natural response to something that has just happened, or if their sadness, now prolonged has become some or much of the criteria that categorizes them with depression; you begin healing first as you acknowledge the presence of what you feel; without pushing it away; or trying so very hard to avoid feeling its impact. Instead, acknowledge it is with you; for right now — for a little longer, until you decide what you will feel.
In this interactive journey into what depression is and how you can best help yourself, let me also present another theory: prolonged sadness and depression is also the result of a lack of love.
“If love was once conditional or absent, you can still feel loved.”
It now must be because of you. You must now learn to love yourself — for yourself (and to also integrate healthy self-care and self-love back into your life).
We’ll talk more about this as I go through the 12 best solutions for healing depression.
Beyond what you will integrate of this list into your life (hopefully most or all of it), I also highly recommend that you find a caring and loving therapist that can provide helpful guidance and support as you discover what it means to acknowledge your feelings and then to be willing to release them as you decide instead what you need to feel; and to be willing to do this for yourself.
We’re going to begin with the ‘Big List’; the official Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (or DSM-5) and the criteria that your physician or psychiatrist would use to make an official diagnosis.
We begin here because this information is the Holy Grail for what constitutes a Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and it is also completely available in the public realm.
It is important that you have the accurate means to self-assess. So let’s begin with what depression is and then I will share with you a list of the 12 Best Solutions for Alleviating and Healing Sadness and Depression Naturally so please join me for this valuable dive into what it means to heal yourself from depression.
There are going to be moments in which you feel sadness; sadness that seems to arise out of nowhere; and for no apparent reason; that feels like a weighted cloak that you can’t seem to shed.
Sadness is worth uncovering.
It is not meant to avoid or deny or to push away because this can never alleviate what you feel.
Sadness needs to be felt; it needs to have a space within you — to look at, to find answers for; which then allows for understanding, new meaning, and the ability to let the feeling be free; to release it from you — forever.
Listen to this in audio or read on.😊
Sadness that is diagnosed as depression is a sadness that you have lived with for some time; caught in the space of your being, it imprisons in its leaden form; seemingly unwilling to release you.
Sadness and its chronic state of depression persists when it has no recourse.
It needs to be experienced with the acknowledgement of what ‘is’, of what is wrong, of what was once damaging and hurtful; and sadness and depression need a new home; they need to be freed; released as the impending wind that furrows together its vacant breath.
Depression and sadness need a home that is not within you; that is, the release of what has burrowed deep with you for too long.
Finding its origin helps you to uncover the means that have kept it a part of you; and then to see that it is no longer something that you wish to experience; your acknowledgement is what serves to free you; to choose instead that you can let go of its hold; you can relinquish the need to feel what is not yours.
It is time.
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), the diagnosis of a Major Depression Episode (MDE) requires five or more symptoms to be present within a 2-week period.
One of the symptoms should, at least, be either a depressed mood (DM) or anhedonia — a psychological condition characterized by inability to experience enjoyment in normally enjoyed activities (loss of interest or pleasure — LI).
The secondary symptoms of MDE are appetite or weight changes (AW), sleep difficulties (insomnia or hypersomnia — a disorder of sleep that is characterized by prolonged nocturnal sleep periods which typically occur at least three times a week, and sleep that is not restorative or refreshing, and by the presence of excessive daytime sleepiness), psychomotor agitation or retardation (PAR), which is a way of describing a slowing-down of thought and a reduction of physical movements and emotional reactions, including speech and affect.
Next we have fatigue or loss of energy (FE), diminished ability to think or concentrate (C), feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt (FW), and suicidality (SU). The term suicidality covers suicidal ideation (serious thoughts about taking one’s own life), suicide plans and suicide attempts. These symptoms are rated in an all or none (0 or 1) fashion.
I believe that the crisis of Covid has already made us more resilient and determined; it has forced us to examine what we have always done, to find new means of connecting and showing care and love to one another and it has also illuminated the distinct paradigms that need to shift; the existing problems no longer left invisible and unattended; the gaps in the system, the ways in which we have as a society and also as our human being — have needed to change; to rise up for what is just and right; to longer do what is good enough or less than.
Like the mutations of its strain, we are all being challenged to rise above; to adapt in new ways that will serve us best and to open a dialogue and a precedent for helping each other — for looking at your fellow human as more alike your self and for allowing your capacity for compassion to be your first response.
In this time in your life, thriving must be experienced internally — where it is less likely to be noticed except unto yourself.
This is also called resilience, sense of self, attitude, optimism, persistence, willingness, positivism, connection, care, love of others, and of course, love of yourself.
To thrive is to take responsibility now more than ever to rely on yourself for autonomy (e.g. self-reliance, self-sufficiency, independence) and for being courageous and brave to be self-responsible; to align yourself as best as possible with the fierce inner grace that you can find during this time — because this is how you will shape your future for the better.
Depression is often experienced as the flip side of anxiety, even as both often occur in unison.
Depression can be a consequence of prolonged anxiety, fear, or anger. Depression itself lends to feeling hopeless, alone and with the perception that one may not have the means or tools to cope.
Here in this episode I encourage you to take a personal assessment. Use the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria to assess whether what you are experiencing is depression; and listen on to learn what you can do to help yourself.
If you have assessed yourself to have some of these symptoms, or to have them in a mild form, and not chronically for a period of two weeks or longer, it’s still helpful to address what you are experiencing with these solutions.
If you believe that you have Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) or Persistent Depressive Disorder (PDD), (which is the experience of depressive symptoms for a prolonged period of more than two years) indulge in this list of solutions to help yourself; and also please seek professional medical care so that you can be sure that you are doing everything and doing what you feel most comfortable and aligned with to help yourself best.
If depression is something that your family members have had or continue to struggle with, it is likely that there is a genetic component to your experience.
This means that you may need to be more diligent about being aware of how you feel and what symptoms you experience in order to best help yourself.
Your ‘DEPRESSION FREE’ Checklist
Here is a list of natural solutions and preventive care for symptoms of depression. Any and all of these can be used as a part of a self-care plan that may also include medication.
I’m calling this list of solutions your ‘Depression Free Checklist’ and it is a part of the free downloadable PDF that I’m including in the notes here for you.
Please take advantage of this resource and share it with those with whom you believe may be experiencing some or many of these depressive symptoms.
This list is inclusive of the most essential solutions to rid sadness and depression; and which keeps you from living a life that is meant to enjoy all wonders, beauty, and experiences and all that you can possibly manifest.
1. We begin with the “big three”: Meditation, Mindfulness and Prayer.
Each of these acts as an instant conduit to the present moment. Depression is both a state of being, and a feeling that is derived from your thoughts. When you live in the presence of now, there can be no sadness. That seems simple and it is. Your thoughts begin a circuit that evokes emotion and the subsequent reactions to those emotions.
If you tell yourself that you “have no friends” or that you “can’t do anything because of the current lock down rules”, these thoughts are not only untrue but when you say them whether in your mind or aloud, you make them your truth. They are not truth.
They are thoughts that may or may not have accuracy that you are focusing upon. In another solution I will share how to change your thoughts so that you are choosing to think what is true.
In meditation, mindfulness (which is the ability to be aware and to witness ‘what is’ right now) and prayer, you engage in present moment awareness. In meditation and prayer you may venture into the future, in deciding and visioning what is wanted; what is most desired; and to focus upon this.
This directs the mind to consider the positive nature of your future moments as well as the question of what is wanted rather than what thoughts you may be telling yourself that keep you lodged in fear, sadness and suffering as you focus on what is not wanted.
And just a note, I have added helpful links and resources within each of these 12 Best Solutions in your ‘Depression Free’ Checklist that you may download here. This bundle of resources is designed to best help you with a most impressive list of tools that you can access now.
2. Go Outdoors.
There are several benefits to being outdoors; in green space and nature for 15 minutes or longer every day.
Green space is defined as open, undeveloped land with natural vegetation as well as urban green spaces, which include urban parks and street greenery.
In going outside, you get fresh air and a change of scenery; and if you can venture into green spaces and experience nature — even if it is a single tree in an urban park; standing near this natural wonder, grounding yourself by touching it, breathing in the oxygenated air in its presence; all of which help to decompress from stress and sadness; to feel calm and soothed, and to help you return to your center.
Spending time in, or living close to, natural green spaces is associated with diverse and significant health benefits.
We feel healthier when we are in nature, but until recently, the impact on our long-term well being hasn’t been fully understood. The research team at the University of East Anglia’s, Norwich Medical School studied data from 20 countries and more than 290 million people, confirming that exposure to green space reduces the risk of type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, premature death, high blood pressure and increases sleep duration.
Most important to depression, people who live closer to nature and also spend time in natural green spaces had reduced blood pressure, heart rate and stress. One interesting physiological marker of stress — salivary cortisol was significantly reduced; and of course, being in green spaces and forests lends itself quite naturally to physical activity; another depression solution that I will be speaking about shortly.
Something else that has also been proven helpful related to time outdoors and in nature is: Shinrin yoku or forest bathing. Already a popular therapy in Japan, forest bathing is just that; spending time in the forest either sitting, lying down, or walking.
3. Be Proactive.
When you are depressed you feel unmotivated to do daily tasks that can help you to feel better. This is really about parenting yourself; to make yourself do the things that seem so difficult; and then to feel the small but certain benefit from taking action.
Rather than procrastinate, which only serves to give you an excuse to avoid more, make that phone call you have been putting off; reply to the email that is waiting for your action; but also take care of the simple daily habits that will help you feel better. i.e. Wash your face, comb and style your hair, change your clothes out of what you have slept in, wash some dishes, tidy your living space.
Set an alarm for 10 minutes so that any task that you may find difficult now has a specific end point and then see how much you can accomplish in this short amount of time.
4. Utilize Positive Supports.
You and everyone needs people and resources in place to call upon each day to help you uplift yourself.
To commiserate with others is not productive and it often leaves you feeling worst. My clients have noted that they are left feeling empty and disconcerted for hours afterwards, when they find themselves on the receiving end of listening to those who complain and rant and focus on what they deem to be wrong in the world.
Instead, find positive people, whether in your life personally, or through uplifting videos, podcasts, and music; all of which have the luxury of helping you lift your vibration, instill new ideas and offer positive experiences.
Positive support reminds you of how you are capable of feeling. Consider what new positive habits you can integrate into your daily schedule with the ideas and experiences that you allow into your life; and as you seek them out through the help of others and the many resources that are available to us all.
One positive experience that I can gift you with is a free 30-day guest pass for a mindfulness meditation app. It’s called AURA and it features guided mindfulness meditations, sleep and bedtime stories, life coaching wisdom, and therapy best practices including psycho-educational instruction.
It will be in your ‘Depression Free Checklist’. Please, if you don’t already have a subscription, check it out and share it out with your friends and colleagues because its about finding and sharing the best resources to help us all.
5. Gratitude.
Gratitude creates happiness. The world is taking this one on by storm. We are all experiencing firsthand, the power of gratitude in daily life, and for good reason; gratitude works.
When you think about what you are thankful and blessed and grateful for, and when you receive gratitude from others, your brain releases dopamine and serotonin; two crucial neurotransmitters responsible for enhancing your mood, and causing the experience and feeling of happiness.
A daily practice of gratitude, will help strengthen the neural pathways in your brain. This means that you will improve your emotional well being and it becomes easier for you to live in a positive mindset.
Gratitude works to reduce stress hormones and to manage the autonomic nervous system, thereby significantly reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety.
At the neurochemical level, feelings of gratitude are associated with an increase in the neural modulation of the prefrontal cortex. This is a part of the brain that is responsible for managing negative emotions like guilt and shame.
As a result, people who keep a gratitude journal or use verbal expressions of gratitude regularly, are more empathetic and positive minded.
Incorporate a 5 or 10 minute daily practice of gratitude the moment you wake in the morning. You’ll be impressed by how it helps to set up your day with a healthy outlook and positive feelings.
The next three best solutions you will know well. Here I share the science based research for why they are an important part of the overall result to alleviating and healing depressive symptoms.
6. Exercise.
This well known active habit and enhancement to a positive lifestyle activates the release of Dopamine (DA), Noradrenaline (NE), and Serotonin (5-HT) — the three major monoamine neurotransmitters that are known to be modulated by exercise, that heighten your sense of well-being, and that directly alleviate depression.
Exercise also functions as a positive, intentional behavior, as you focus on something constructive and away from a cycle of negative thoughts that can perpetuate depression.
Regular exercise has many psychological and emotional benefits. And with many of us working from home and not able to access gyms, yoga studios, and other forums for activity, its important to schedule time in your day — every day — for exercise sessions.
You can begin with 10 minutes at a time and increase this, or have several shorter sessions built into your daily routine.
Exercise helps you cope in a healthy way. For example, the positive effects of exercise on cognition include improvements in most executive functions such as: attention, working memory, cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control, problem solving and decision making, and information processing speed; and these effects are felt for a period of up to 2 hours after exercising.
While there is clear evidence of exercise treatment efficacy for major depressive disorder, your exercise regime may be more manageable to you right now, in smaller doses spread throughout your day for its most positive impact for cognitive and emotional wellness.
Even implementing a 10 or 15 minute stretch session or walk or 5 minutes of calisthenics near your desk can help so much.
Aim for a total of 30min and think about how you can challenge yourself in order to experience improvement. Research suggests that exercise does need to be a part of long-term commitment for the rest of your life.
Exercise doesn’t have to be training for a marathon. Begin with some small changes like how many push ups you can do without pausing or in a set time. Everything builds upon what you begin with.
As you pay attention to your body, to your posture, to how you move; you engage your mind and focus in the present moment. And of course exercise helps you to think positively as the feel-good neurotransmitters circle your brain.
7. Healthy Eating.
We know the benefits of healthy eating for the body. But did you know how important eating whole and healthful foods are for your mind health, and how these are associated with lower risk of depression?
Changing your diet: There’s fresh evidence that eating a healthy diet, one that includes plenty of fruits and vegetables and limits highly processed foods, can help reduce symptoms of depression.
There is a growing body of research that supports the connection between diet and mental health. ‘We now have a highly consistent and extensive evidence base from around the world linking healthier diets to reduced depression risk.’ says Felice Jacka, a professor of nutritional and epidemiological psychiatry at Deakin University’s Food & Mood Centre in Australia.
Here are some examples of what healthful eating looks like:
A 2013 meta-analysis of 22 previously published studies showed that a Mediterranean diet was associated with a lower risk of depression.
Similarly, a 2017 study found that a diet rich in fruit, whole grains, vegetables, fish, olive oil and low-fat dairy was associated with a lower risk of depression, whereas a diet rich in greater amounts of red meat, refined grains, sweets and high-fat dairy products was linked to a higher risk of depression.
8. Sleep.
Because your sleep is affected when you feel a low mood, this is also an important area to focus on to help yourself feel better.
At times, our biorhythm requires that we get more sleep, and at times, naps can be a useful tool to help reset and restore; to heal our mind and body, and to support a basic need that we all have.
Depression and sleep problems are closely linked. People with insomnia, for example, may have a tenfold higher risk of developing depression than people who get a good night’s sleep. And among people who suffer from depression, 75 percent have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep.
“Poor sleep may create difficulties in regulating emotions that, in turn, may leave you more vulnerable to sadness and depression. Depression itself is associated with sleep difficulties such as shortening the amount of restorative slow-wave sleep a person gets each night.”
If you have depression , daily stresses — such as financial worries, an argument with a loved one, or a long and stressful evening commute, could result in more nighttime wake-ups and more trouble getting back to sleep than someone without depression would experience.
To fix your sleep hygiene, CBT-I (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for insomnia) has been touted as a ‘critical breakthrough’ for depression treatment. It can improve sleep for people with depression and also increasing the chances of a remission of depression.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy has long been used for depression, but not until recently for sleep.
I’m going to include in your downloadable ‘Depression Free’ self-care resource, links to some of my favorite sleep meditations and yoga nidra deep healing and relaxation meditations. These do not require any prior experience, only the desire to take in my words and let your body do the rest.
9. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) offers an approach of evidence-based treatment to challenge and change the thoughts that can keep you stuck in a low mood.
CBT is focused in the here and now, and with the added benefit of homework and behavioral assignments that allow clients to develop efficacy in helping themselves.
One of the benefits of cognitive behavioral therapy as the treatment of depression is to teach clients how to challenge and change their thoughts.
This means using evidence and factual information to change what they tell themselves and believe. By holding thoughts that are true, one is far more empowered to make a positive behavioral change and to change how one feels.
10. Acceptance of what ‘is’ right now and for the decision to make a positive change.
Acceptance for how your life has changed because of this pandemic rather than continue to focus on what has made you unhappy about what has changed. Life is in constant motion. You will find new ways to heal and grow and to carve out a means of thriving as best as you can for what has already changed.
Acceptance allows you to look for how you can adapt and thrive rather than wallow in what is not possible; and it is what helps you best navigate the changes that are already in place.
Acceptance doesn’t mean that you agree with or prefer a new approach or an imposed change. It does, however help you to focus on what you can control and make better because of your attitude and what action you take to help yourself.
11. Be of Service and Help to Others.
As much as it can be difficult when you are feeling sad, choosing to think of another person’s well being is a profoundly enlightened way to help yourself.
As a practice of loving-kindness, being of service is often overlooked as a formidable means of alleviating sadness and healing depression.
It’s an important strategy to look beyond yourself when you feel depressed; to what you can do to help another. This shifts the thoughts that you hold and diminishes what sadness you feel.
As you think of another, take a moment to imagine what you could do to reach out to them; to show them kindness and care; and to be of help. This could be a text, phone call or email to say hello and check-in. It could be a random act of kindness such as bringing them a coffee, shoveling their driveway, or picking up something for them when you are at the store.
Acts that let others know you are thinking of them go far to improve your mood and incite others to feel cared for and loved. Another way of being of service is to volunteer your time, your help, your skill, your love; in a way that allows you to make a difference. Being of service gives our life meaning and purpose.
We are all here to help one another. To offer help, think of someone that you know, someone that you care about and imagine what you can do to offer kindness, to connect with them in a simple and yet meaningful way. This is how you feel helpful and how you realize the importance of your place in the world.
As others are thankful for your kindness and help, you receive the important outcome of gratitude that you in turn feel uplifted from.
12. Be Love.
Love is within you to give and receive. To be of love is how you live the deeper meaning of life.
When you act in loving ways, kindness flows readily and this kindness that you are, in turn, is what allows you to feel your goodness: as comfort, love and the inner awareness that you are here, to be love.
From a state of loving-kindness you set in motion feelings of positivism, and your kindness helps you to feel engaged with others and with life.
And a Bonus Solution for curing the feelings of sadness and depression:
13. + Set Up a Daily Routine
— a schedule that includes the activities that you enjoy, that you can look forward to experiencing each day, as well as any or all of these 12 best practices — solutions — for alleviating and healing depression.
Think about what aligns best with you and what would help most, and insert this into your schedule together with a best time of the day to experience this healthy practice.
It’s best if you can set a time and a gentle alarm to these healthful activities and to take a short break to honor the importance of making time for what is also so important for yourself.
When you plan simple fun and activities that you look forward to as well the healthful habits that will become a part of your life; and as you parent yourself to do these; happiness, a sense of accomplishment and self-pride will follow.
When you enjoy the experiences of what you love, you shift your mindset because your brain releases the neurotransmitters of serotonin and dopamine and you experience the feelings of contentment, calm, and also happiness and joy. This is how you begin to hold a positive perspective; and to encouraged and optimistic.
To experience each day, the activities you enjoy and what mental and physical wellness practices you need to nourish and care for you, is both motivating and comforting.
Changing your habits can make all the difference. Healthy behaviours become new habits when you make them a part of your schedule and allow them a chance to grow into something that you enjoy and that you know helps you to feel mentally well and positive.
In implementing what solutions I have shared, you now have so many more options and insights to help yourself and to garner the right help and positive support so that you may thrive in the absence of depression and in a state of contentment, ease, joy, and self-love.
Please do download the PDF and your resource and self-care guide to a Depression-Free Life + The 12 Best Natural Solutions to Heal Depression.
Know that I am always here to help in any way that I can. Please reach out to me and to the other positive supports that you will have in place.
Use your experiences of sadness and depression to learn from; to grow beyond what you once knew and to rise up from the ashes of what once was and to always trust in the beauty of who and what you are and what you are on your way to be.
Resources and More +
- Get Your ‘Depression Free’ Checklist PDF here
- Try a Screening Questionnaire for Depression
- AURA Mindfulness APP 30 Day Free Guest Pass
- The Ultimate Self-Love Wisdom toolkit
Dorothy is a Psychotherapist in private practice and works with clients all over the world. She is host of The WISDOM podcast. You can read more of her writing here on Medium, Thrive Global, and in The WISDOM BLOG.
