Welcome lovely people. Lately I’ve been thinking about how much I have changed and improved myself and my life, I thought I’d share some of the things that have helped me. But first let me leave a little disclaimer: If you suffer from severe depression these tips can help you a little of course, but please seek professional help as well. Everything I’m going to talk about is from my own experience and your story is probably completely different, so take what you can from this and leave the rest :)

Search for an outlet. The first thing I did that didn’t bring any big changes, but brought me a little joy and made me feel more human, was starting a blog. It was a beauty blog, it made me feel I was doing something and gave me a way to communicate without too much pressure. It helped me to stay afloat.

Get organized and clean. It’s a well known fact that the space around us effects us, but what it also gave me was something else to concentrate on. I started learning online more about organizing, cleaning and diy stuff. It kind of gave me a purpose and seeing my home becoming a nicer place made me feel good therefore my brain wanted more and it creates this good cycle of wanting to do more of these good things. And again it made me feel I was actually doing something, cause feeling useless, incapable and unimportant was a big part of my depression story.

Yoga. Shocker I know! It was a huge help for me and I only did like 5-10 minutes a day which is nothing! You don’t need to be good, in shape or flexible – just do the poses as you can and slowly but surely you will improve them. You don’t have to become this yoga/health guru, actually if you are extremely depressed don’t watch any yoga channels or follow any of those accounts – cause it will make you feel like crap about your life. Search the easiest poses online or get a book and just do them, that’s what I did. It’s less pressure that way. Also, let me mention meditation for a sec, it’s that miracle cure for everything, right? But when you have depression and anxiety your mind is a mess and it’s impossible to stay sit without losing your mind further. It’s much easier to get up and move your body for 10 minutes, even 5 minutes to start with.

Workout. Maybe instead of yoga you prefer to let out some steam by working out, anything that gets your body moving is great! Just sweat all that bad shit out of your body! Running, lifting weights, boxing, pilates, dance, hit workouts, swimming, skiing, zumba – take your pick. Choose something that brings the most joy to you, something you won’t get bored of or just switch it up here and there.

Taiji. Luckily for me, my partner is a traditional kung fu master also specialized in all the other cool Chinese stuff like taiji quan, chi gong, acopunture and so on. I didn’t really believe in these, but I did the exercises he gave me and holy shit do they work. Actually I just thought there would be small, barely noticible improvements, I did not expect such a strong mental and physical response. It’s worth a try to find someone near you who is legit and can help you. There are videos on youtube, but first you have to know what exactly do you need, that’s why it’s better to search for a master first.

Grateful mindset. It is really hard to be thankful when things are going bad and your head is filled with dark thoughts. In the beginning force yourself to write down 1 thing a day you’re grateful for. It could be really small like smiling, getting out of bed, getting something done, not having a panic attack, talking to someone, getting out of the house, nice weather, eating a tasty meal. Or it could be the things we take for granted and don’t always think about like having a place to live, having something to eat, hot water, clean water, family, friends, clothing. I will guarantee you, that you will feel a little more blessed every day. Just start with one thing and when you feel like it, write more.

Find your voice. Set boundaries, ask for help, say no. It’s important that you tell people how you feel when they do certain things or they will just keep going. Often they don’t mean to make us feel bad, but they can’t stop unless you tell them. My partner definitely contributed to my depression back in the day, but he’s not to blame cause I never set the right boundaries. I never told him he was wrong. Now things are completely different, cause I started setting boundaries and assertively told him not to act this or that way. Things like helping out with the kids: with the first two he never even changed a diaper, he never stayed with them so I could do something for myself or rest. Now with the third child he does all that and often goes out all three of them together so I can have a break. People are not always bad and trying to hurt you, they have their own problems and sometimes all they need is a straight to the point talk, guidance aor encouragement (my partner needed to be taught how to take care of the kids and reassurance that he is a good father).

Social media declutter and cleanse. This one is quite obvious, but at the same time we may not realize that it’s harming us. Maybe you’re not spending a lot of time online, but the few posts you see make you feel bad about yourself and your life. Either go on a total social media cleanse for a period of time: uninstall all the apps from your phone and put blocks in your computer, whatever you need. Or just declutter all your social media and unfollow anyone who makes you feel bad, don’t feel quilty! Be ruthless! Then limit the time you spend on social media, for example give yourself only 1hour a day or no phone after a certain time. You figure out what’s best for you. Also, while your getting rid of people on social media, replace them with accounts that make you feel good. Maybe with someone who is struggling as well and you can relate to,someone who’s been where you are now, someone really positive, memes of course, inspiration, beautiful photos, something you can learn from.

Get out of the house. This can be quite daunting, but it helps to change your enviroment. Plus to see all the people being busy living makes you think: that little world of yours you’re living in, isn’t everything, there is so much more going on in the world and maybe, just maybe, your problems don’t seem so big anymore.

Nature & sunshine. Nature is an amazing healer, if you have the possibility – get out in the nature. Take a little walk, touch the trees and leaves, walk barefoot. Depending on where you live and the time of the year it might be hard to get outside. In that case buy some fresh flowers or plants, maybe get a screensaver or a deskop background with your favorite kind of nature photo, or listen to nature sounds while you’re doing something at home.

Sunshine is so important for us, seasonal depression and vitamin D deficiency are a serious thing. So do your best to get all the sunshine you can get. If you can’t go outside or don’t have a garden, maybe you have a small balcony or even just open a window and let some sun on your face when you can. It’s the small things that make a difference :)

Affirmations. Very powerful! No, it’s not magic or woo woo, it’s to re-program your brain, because your brain will believe you and will start to act accordingly and help you to achieve your affirmations! Doesn’t hurt to try, don’t you think? :)

There you go. I really hope you try out at least some of these things, maybe even all to start clawing yourself out from that bad place you’re in! I know that taking action is really hard to do when you’re depressed, but it’s what is needed the most. Be strong, take that first step! Don’t ask more from yourself, just the first step and once you’ve done that take another one, and you’ll see it gets just a little easier with every step! If you came to read this post then it means that you want to get better and that was already your first step, now take the second one – YOU CAN DO IT! Sending you so much love dear warrior! Until the next time my friends.