Effective ways to relieve depression

There is no "universal relief method" that can suit all patients with depression. The clinically proven and most universal relief path is "based on standardized medical intervention, combined with individualized self-regulation and a stable social support system." Any method that skips medical intervention and advocates "you can get better by yourself" has clear risks.

Let’s talk about the core medical intervention first. This matter has always been quite controversial. Some people get a headache when they hear about taking psychotropic drugs, and worry that they will become stupid, gain weight, and be unable to live without the drugs. Some people think that psychological counseling is "chicken soup for the soul" and there is no need to spend unjust money. I met a girl who majored in biology when I was a trainee in the psychiatry department. When she was diagnosed with severe depression, she refused to take medicine because she was afraid that it would affect her concentration in experiments. She could not even enter the laboratory door for three months. She felt physiological nausea when she saw test tubes. Later, she went to the deputy chief physician to adjust the medicine, and combined it with weekly cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Within two months, she was able to record experiments normally. Of course, not everyone is suitable for CBT, and the adaptability of different schools is quite different: the psychoanalytic school pays more attention to the healing of childhood trauma, and is suitable for patients who have been troubled by subconscious conflicts for a long time; CBT is more focused on correcting current cognitive biases, and the results are usually faster, and is suitable for people who are trapped by self-attacks and feelings of worthlessness; Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), which has become popular in recent years, does not require you to "get rid of negative emotions", advocates living a normal life with symptoms, and is more friendly to those patients who are particularly resistant to "forcing yourself to be positive". If you really want to consult, don't just rely on reputation. Try it once or twice first, and then continue if you feel comfortable and able to talk. This is better than anything else. Oh, by the way, don’t bear the side effects of taking medicine, and don’t secretly reduce or stop taking the medicine yourself. Just go back to the doctor to adjust the plan. The side effects of new antidepressants now are much smaller than those of more than ten years ago, and most discomforts will slowly subside after taking the medicine for 1-2 weeks.

Let’s talk about self-regulation, which everyone is most concerned about. Don’t believe the nonsense on the Internet that “running five kilometers a day and reading three philosophy books can cure depression.” A graphic design client I met had trouble getting out of bed when the illness was at its most severe. He forced himself to go out for a run. After running fifty meters, he squatted on the side of the road and cried. He felt that he couldn't even do such a small thing well, which in turn aggravated his self-attack. The adjustment method he found later was particularly funny. He sat by the window and painted clouds for 15 minutes every day. He didn't care whether the painting looked good or not. It was just mechanical painting without using his brain. It could pull him out of the thought of "I am a waste." Some people say that mindfulness meditation is useful, but some patients have reported to me that as soon as they close their eyes, their minds are full of bad things, and they become more and more irritable the longer they sit. At this time, don’t force yourself to persevere. Tear up scrap newspapers, squeeze instant noodles, lie on the bed and pet the cat for half an hour, any method that can make you feel more comfortable as long as it does not harm yourself or others is a good method. Oh, by the way, don’t always read those posts about “successful self-healing of depression”. If you read too many posts, you will only feel that “everyone else is good, so why can’t I?” Instead, you will fall into a vicious circle of self-denial. Watch less of this kind of content, it is really better than anything else.

As for social support, this matter is not as "requiring family understanding" as everyone thinks. Many patients' pressure comes from their family members. The words "You don't have to worry about food and clothing, what's the point of being depressed?" "You just have too much time and think too much." are ten times more lethal than the ridicule of outsiders. I once met a young man who had just started working. His parents did not accept that he had depression at all. They always thought that he was pretending to be ill and did not want to go to work. Later, he simply did not mention his illness to his family. Instead, he found a few netizens who were also in recovery. Every day, he checked in, "What delicious food did he eat today?" Academic circles actually have different views on this matter: some schools encourage patients to return to normal social interactions as much as possible and use positive feedback from the outside world to stimulate their state; there are also clinical data that show that for some patients whose social interactions have caused severe stress, moderate "solitude" is more conducive to recovery. There is no need to force yourself to be gregarious, let alone force yourself to "act like a normal person."

In fact, I have seen so many recovered patients, and none of them got better according to the standard answers: some people took medicine for two years, fed the stray cats downstairs after get off work every day, and gradually gained strength; some people did psychoanalysis for three years, and finally reconciled with themselves who were ignored by their parents when they were children; some people did not deliberately do any adjustment methods, changed jobs without overtime, and their wages were reduced by half, but their condition improved.

In the final analysis, depression is like having a bad cold in the mind. Some people can get over it by drinking hot water, while others have to take medicine and injections and stay in the hospital for a few days. There is no right or wrong, and there is no "correct recovery speed." There is no need to force yourself to get better quickly. If you eat one more mouthful of food today than yesterday and spend five more minutes in the sun, you will be considered a winner. Oh, yes, the most important prerequisite is: go to the psychiatry/psychology department of a regular hospital for evaluation first. Don’t make blind diagnoses based on online scales, and don’t hold on without asking for help. You've already worked very hard, so give yourself a try, there's no shame in it.