Healthy Living: A Spectrum of Moods, and Ways to Kick Depression's Ass

When I'm feeling down, I use a specific spectrum to let my loved-ones know how serious the depression or anxiety is. The spectrum ranges from 1 to 10, where a 1 is feeling on top of the world, and a 10 is a panic attack (or the worst possible depression).





1 - Great!
2 - Good!
3 - Fair!
4 - Eh?
5 - Meh.
6 - Blah.
7 - Major ugh.
8 - FML
9 - In tears
10 - Bawling/Panic Attack

When I get below a 4 or 5, I'm supposed to do these certain exercises to get myself back to a 1, such as deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, or meditation. Other methods that work are forcing yourself to think positively, exercising, or even eating a balanced meal.

5 things that can't do any harm whatsoever:

• meditation/breathing exercises
• exercise
• therapy
• clean eating
• nature

Keep these tricks in mind, they won't hurt you. Even if they don't seem to be helping, they're not going to make things worse, by any means.

If you have a minute, meditate. Set a time period for yourself to simply relax. Whether this is an hour, 5 minutes, or even 30 seconds, simply use this time you've set aside to focus on only happiness.

The biggest thing to help people with mental illnesses is to make sure they've got their hands full. Turning on the front of your brain is going to keep your mind busy so that the emotions (or the back of your brain) can't butt in and start making you sad. Keep busy, go for a run or even do the dishes. Just find something to do when you're depressed other than merely sulking. That's not going to help, even if it feels good to let the tears rush down.

Another idea: allow yourself to break down every once in a while. Let yourself cry, but the golden rule is: make sure you never catch yourself crying about the same thing or person again. Give yourself a few minutes to bawl, and then control yourself by saying to yourself, "I am done crying. Time to get up and be happy!" I promise it'll work better than you're thinking it will.

Don't channel your pain in an unhealthy way. Trust me, I've been there. If you begin to think of self-harm or suicide, either talk to someone you love and trust, call a hotline, get your hands full with other thoughts and activities, and/or be completely honest and go to therapy/get on medication ASAP. You do not want to endanger your life or your physical and/or emotional wellbeing.

Remember, if you're depressed...meditate.

If you're bored and want to snack but aren't actually hungry...meditate.

If you're feeling negative or can't control your thoughts...meditate.

If, for any other reason, you're not as happy as you could be...meditate.