So, you’re in a depressive episode. This one seems to be taking its sweet time leaving you alone. If you’ve suffered from depression for a long time, you know these episodes come and go. There are good days, not so good days, and really REALLY bad days. Depression loves to sink its ugly hooks in and sometimes you have to fight really hard to unhook it. It uses traps and mind tricks to keep you under its spell for as long as it can. Today we’re going to talk about the big depression traps to avoid.
For more help on coping with depression, please see this post I wrote about it.
#1: Not Wanting to Leave the House
I read an article on WebMD about depression traps by Jennifer Soong. While I’m only going to talk about a few of them, she goes into much further detail, so please read her article. Sometimes, there’s nothing better than being able to stay home and relax. If you work outside the home, spending a weekend at home can be amazing for your mental health. The point when it becomes a problem is when you don’t want to leave. At all. Maybe you’re calling into work as often as allowed. Or you have no food in your fridge so you’re surviving on some fairly questionable leftovers and Grubhub.
This is depression’s way of keeping you isolated. The more isolated you are, the more your thoughts can control you. “What’s the point of getting out of bed? What’s the point of anything?”
#2: Withdrawing from Friends and Family
There are times when it’s nice to be alone. It’s perfectly okay to WANT to be alone for a bit. Alone time can be one of life’s greatest gifts. However, being alone is one way depression can take control of you. It will hijack your thoughts and suddenly all you can think about the depressing aspects of your life. And then it attacks you, making you think terrible, awful things about yourself.
Suddenly, you don’t feel like you have the energy to talk to the friends and family that care about you. They call or text to check in and you don’t answer. Depression takes and takes and takes until all you have is your depression. When you’re missing the kind words, the support, and positive interactions from those who love you, it makes it that much easier for depression to take over completely. Now you’re thinking that no one really cares. Or that maybe you don’t deserve them.
#3: Isolating Yourself Completely
Continuing on our lonely theme, isolating yourself completely is another depression trap to avoid. Now, you’ve not only withdrawn from your friends and family, but any sort of human contact. You’re not leaving your house, you’re not talking to anyone, and you’re not engaged with the outside world at all. If you do go into work, you avoid human contact as much as possible. It may feel nice at first because, let’s face it, engaging with other humans can be exhausting, especially when you’re depressed.
Humans are social animals. We need love, comfort, and support. More than anything, we need companionship. When we don’t get these things, it makes it that much easier for depression to swoop in and take control.
#4: Rumination
I’m super guilty of falling into this trap often. Rumination. All you think about is the hard parts of life and how much everything just sucks. You can’t see the beauty in the sunrise, all you see is the blinding light that hurts your eyes. That friend that just won’t give up on you isn’t leaving you alone. Blessings turn into curses. You don’t remember what joy feels like. All there is is suffering, pain, and crushing sadness.
It’s obvious to see why rumination and depression are BFFs. They can feed off of each other to destroy you quickly. But here’s the good news. You can fight back.
Activities for Someone with Depression
You can dig yourself out of these depression traps. But you need to be very gentle with yourself. Trust yourself and your strength. Allow yourself all the time YOU need. There is no deadline or ticking clock. This journey is yours and yours alone.
Talk to people
What I mean is, engage with people. If you don’t feel like physically talking, you can text or email. Send an old-fashioned letter if you want. Just find some way to communicate with someone you love and trust. You don’t even have to bring up any of the hard stuff. Start with small talk if you like. Ask how they’ve been. If it leads to something more serious, that’s okay. If it stays light and cheery, that’s okay, too!
Get Outside
The sunlight can do incredible things for your mood. You could go on a walk (alone or with someone) or just sit outside for a few minutes. The sun and fresh air have super healing powers for mental health. Don’t forget that depression trap to avoid: rumination. Don’t focus on the negative stuff. Look around you and find something beautiful to admire.
Get creative
There’s a reason why SO many artists have a mental illness of some kind. Art and crafts have TONS of mental wellness qualities. You can express your feelings through art. Escape your mental prison through writing. Sing your pain away with a song you’ve written. Create something beautiful as a craft. The possibilities are endless. Here are a couple Amazon links to get you thinking! Remember that these are PAID LINKS (see my note about commission at the top of this post).
Get a hobby
Along the lines of getting creative, try to find a new hobby. It could be something crafty, or it could be organizing your home, cooking, baking, building, fishing, hunting, homesteading, or anything that interests you. Focusing your attention on something productive can help you fight back against depression. Here are a few more links from Amazon.
Depression Traps Don't Have to Beat You!
More good news about these depression traps is that if your cognizant about them, you can avoid them. The bad news is, it can still be really hard not to allow yourself to fall into them. I recently had an episode where I fell into them. Every single one. Because sometimes you just don’t have the fight in you. That’s okay. Just don’t give up because tomorrow you might find that fight again. Then, the day after that you might be able to fight even harder. You can win!
– All my love!