13 Ways To Stop Being Depressed Without Medication
Would you like to learn how to stop being depressed without medication? I don’t blame you. Antidepressants aren’t for everyone, and taking them can result in serious side effects in some cases.
In a previous article called, “Stop Being Depressed Without Medication,” I focused attention on some of those side effects as well as interesting statistics that reveal antidepressants are over-prescribed and ineffective in some cases.
There are many natural ways to manage depression, and their simplicity may surprise you. The best part about natural depression management is that there are no side effects, so there is no harm in trying the methods listed in this article. Before reading, please understand the following:
- This is a taboo topic, because many people feel they need or want medication to manage their depression. If medication is helping you, I am happy for that.
- However, this article is meant to shed light on the fact that antidepressants are overprescribed, and not everyone needs medication to manage depression. There are other ways. Evidence and examples will be provided.
- Nothing in this article is meant to be taken as direct medical advice to you. I am not a doctor.
1. Exercise Regularly To Manage Depression
According to Dr. Michael Craig Miller, in an article from Harvard Health Publishing called, “Exercise is an All-Natural Treatment to Fight Depression,” research shows that exercise is as effective as antidepressants for some people.
Dr. Miller explains that neuroscientists have noticed a connection between depression and a smaller than normal hippocampus region in the brain. The significance of this finding is that the hippocampus helps regulate moods. Dr. Miller explains, “Exercise supports nerve cell growth in the hippocampus, improving nerve cell connections, which helps relieve depression.”
There are psychological benefits to both high-intensity and low-intensity types of exercise.
Your body releases endorphins during high-intensity workouts resulting in feelings of euphoria, since endorphins are basically, “the body’s feel-good chemicals.”
In contrast, low-intensity exercise prompt your body to release neurotrophic growth factor proteins that cause nerve cells to make new connections and grow. This advanced brain activity makes you feel good.
2. Stretch Regularly To Manage Depression
In an article from Colorado State University called, “The Simple Act of Stretching,” it is noted that everyone experiences stress that causes muscles and ligaments to tighten. Without stretching, this can lead to chronic pain which fuels depression.
The article points out that stretching provides pain relief by helping to reduce muscle tension. In addition, “Stretching has been shown to increase serotonin levels – i.e., the hormone that helps stabilize our mood, reduce stress, and overall makes us feel good – which causes a decrease in depression and anxiety.”
If you are new to stretching, start small, and don’t overdo it. Flexibility takes time to develop. Try stretching between workouts, because your body is likely to be more flexible when your blood is pumping fast, and your muscles are activated.
3. Adequate Sleep for Depression Management
You don’t need a medically reviewed article to tell you adequate sleep is essential for depression management, but I found one for you anyway.
In a WebMD article called “Sleeping Well at Night Can Ease Your Depression,” it is noted that not getting enough sleep can lead to mood swings, brain fog, and depression.
If you have trouble sleeping and want to get better rest naturally, here are a few tips:
- Try melatonin. Melatonin is a natural, non-addictive sleep aid supplement that can be found in vitamin sections at grocery stores. Try finding a brand with the least amount of filler ingredients possible.
- Exercise well throughout the day. It is much easier to sleep when you are physically exhausted.
- Avoid alcohol and other drugs. These substances can disrupt your natural sleep cycle.
- Set a bedtime, and stick to it. If you aren’t tired at bedtime, lay in your bed anyway. Do something that makes you calm or tired like reading a book. (I’ll keep reading until I’m dropping the book on my face from dosing off! Books help me sleep every time!) There are also many podcasts and YouTube videos that help induce sleep by playing over 8 hours of sleepy sounds like soft rain, for example.
- Meditate. Lay in bed and focus on simple meditation techniques like relaxing your body from head to toe, deep breathing, and counting things to be grateful for.
- Try organic chamomile or lavender tea. These teas are said to help induce sleep.
- Don’t eat too much before bed. Avoid sugary foods and caffeine in the evening.
- Try eating dairy products in the evening hours before bed. According to an article in Health Central, dairy products contain tryptophan, an amino acid that helps the body produce melatonin and serotonin which are chemicals in the brain that help you relax and sleep.
4. Take Breaks To Manage Depression
We live in a society that glorifies the workaholic and condemns everyone else as “lazy.” While it is important to set goals and be productive, it is equally as important for you to take breaks throughout your work day and work year.
Taking breaks and vacations leads to a more sustainable work ethic, because without them, you burn out. Burn out leads to depression for obvious reasons. It makes you feel like no matter how hard you try, you will always fail. Can you tell I’ve been there before?
In an article called, “The Brain Needs 3 Types of Rest,” Dr. Mehmet Yildiz says, that mental rest is essential for your brain to recharge so that you may take on more tasks at a later time.
In addition, he says, “Mental rest promotes stress reduction and relaxation and can activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which handles the relaxation response. Activating the parasympathetic nervous system leads to decreased stress hormones (cortisol, adrenalin, and noradrenaline) and increased neurotransmitters, giving relaxation (serotonin, oxytocin, and GABA).”
In other words, slow down, take breaks, and make sure to have some fun every day. Go on vacations and mini-vacations. Or, just take time off work to stay at home.
It’s great to be productive, but do not neglect your need for breaks and down time. Speaking from experience, if your managers don’t offer you any down time, fire them, and find a job that offers a better work-life balance.
5. Do Something Fun to Stop Being Depressed
When you’re depressed, it’s hard to imagine doing anything fun. However, it’s important to go through the motions with an open mind before you decide it won’t work.
Leaders at Advanced Psychiatry Associates note that having fun increases serotonin. They suggest the following ways to alleviate depression:
- Take a walk
- Ride a bike
- Swimming
- Reading in a park
- Gardening
- Cooking
- Baths
- Arts and crafts
- Games: video games, puzzles, board games, bowling, mini-golf, etc.
Do what sounds fun to you, even if you don’t think it will cure your depression. Don’t worry about that. Just focus on the activity itself. Make sure to do something fun daily or at least a few times a week.
6. Eat Healthy for Depression Management
According to numerous nutritional research studies, processed foods with large amounts of sugar and unhealthy fats lead to what’s called systematic inflammation that affects not just the gut, but the entire body. Dr. Camille Lassale says, “Chronic inflammation can affect mental health by transporting pro-inflammatory molecules into the brain, it can also affect the molecules – neurotransmitters – responsible for mood regulation.” Later in the article, Lassale confirms, “Poor diet may increase the risk of depression.”
Eating healthy can sound like an overwhelming concept, because there are many different definitions of a healthy diet. Is the mean blogger lady telling me I have to go vegan, keto, or… Gasp… Low-carb?! Nope. It doesn’t have to be complicated! Here are some fundamental healthy eating tips I gained from a friend long ago that have helped me tremendously:
- No fast food
- Cut back or eliminate strange chemical ingredients. Read ingredients! I avoid anything I am unsure of including nitrates, nitrites, and anything that is too difficult to pronounce or sounds like it was created in a lab. Speaking of created in a lab, cut out food coloring! The U.S. government admits food coloring is made from petroleum products and can lead to neurological disorders. No thanks.
- Little to no fried foods. Try baking instead: breaded chicken, potatoes, etc. Breaded baked things taste pretty much the same as breaded fried things. You won’t be missing out.
- Get sugars from fruits and fruit juice instead of cane sugar. Cane sugar is ok sometimes, but needs to be limited to rare occasions.
- Less butter and less cooking oils
- Daily salads. Add bacon, ranch, chicken, avocado, berries, or whatever you need to add in order to make it appetizing! Switch dressings often, so you don’t get bored.
- Smoothies can be especially useful if you don’t like to eat salads or fruit. It’s a quick way to get everything you need in your body. Invest in a nice blender, make smoothies in bulk, and freeze some for weeks to come!
- Don’t overeat! Avoid that overly full feeling. If you think you may be overeating, try smaller portions. Wait 20 minutes after eating to ask yourself if you are still hungry. Waiting to let the food digest helps you realize you probably ate enough food, even if it seemed like a small portion at the time!
7. Find Your Purpose
Life can feel almost pointless until you find your purpose. Having a sense of purpose and direction provides the motivation necessary to help you get through both good and bad days. In other words, purpose gives you a reason to live.
According to an article in PsychCentral, having purpose can help you maintain a more positive outlook on life, improved mood, and more balanced emotions.
It’s hard to be depressed when you are focusing all your energy and attention on your biggest passion.
If you don’t know what your purpose is, ask yourself a few questions to get you closer to finding out:
- What have you always dreamed of doing?
- How can you start moving towards that dream? Baby steps count! Moving closer towards what moves you is what matters here.
- What makes you feel the most fulfilled?
- What are you most passionate about?
8. Set Goals
Studies published by the National Library of Medicine show that young people who suffer from depression benefit from setting goals, because it makes things easier to manage. While these studies were limited to younger people under the age of 21, the concept remains true for people of any age.
You don’t have to be an overachiever to benefit from setting goals. Maybe you would just like to get outside more, start a gym membership, or get back into an old hobby you miss.
The beauty of goal setting is that starting small is very beneficial to mental health. Each achievement is cause for celebration, because ultimately, each achievement is a step towards improved self-care.
9. Spend Time in Nature to Stop Being Depressed
The Mental Health Foundation reports that, “Nature can generate many positive emotions, such as calmness, joy, and creativity and can facilitate concentration. Nature connectedness is also associated with lower levels of poor mental health, particularly lower depression and anxiety.”
I’m lucky enough to live deep in the Texas woods where I am instantly immersed in nature as soon as I leave my front porch. It is calming to be submerged in the sounds and sights of the outdoors like the sweet bird calls, gorgeous spring flowers, the sun, soft breezes, clouds, and the endless unusual creatures.
However, even when I have lived in more urban areas, I’ve always found ways to connect with nature. It is all around us. Birds, bugs, and weeds take the cities by storm! There is beauty even in a well-manicured inner city park. Take advantage of natural spaces close to where you live, and plan trips to visit beautiful recreational areas near you. You won’t regret it!
The natural world is hard-wired into our souls. To take a walk or simply sit outdoors is, to me, a meditative experience. That connected feeling that nature provides is a feeling of love, belonging, and peace.
10. Hire a Life Coach or Therapist
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In a previous article called “Stop Being Depressed Without Medication,” I mentioned a study of more than 50,000 medical surveys that showed only one-fifth of patients taking antidepressants were also receiving therapy in 2005.
If you want to stop being depressed without medication, hiring a life coach or therapist could be an effective way to do so.
Therapy wasn’t very useful for me, because my therapist didn’t do or say much. All I did was cry and ramble at each session. Don’t get me wrong, it felt good to release those emotions, but after the first 2 sessions, therapy began to make me feel physically ill. It wasn’t helping.
However, my experience with hiring a life coach is another story. I hired Heidi Rain to help me work through codependency issues. She doesn’t specialize in depression, and depression has never been my problem. But, the advantage of hiring a life coach, as opposed to hiring a therapist, is that life coaches generally offer tips, techniques, and advice for you to meet your goals.
Many therapists are just expensive listeners.
My life coach helped me understand my codependency issues so well that I can never go back to the way I was. I have truly experienced an evolution. Working with a life coach that specializes in depression could be the key to helping you unlock your greatest potential to find happiness.
11. Retrain Your Brain Towards Positive Thinking
We have all heard the terms “optimist” and “pessimist,” and you probably tend to see yourself as one or the other, as if the label is permanently ingrained into your DNA. But, did you know that you can retrain your brain towards positive thinking?
Unlearning negative thinking takes time and effort, but it is possible. Think of it like lifting weights. When you first start lifting, you may only be able to do curls with 5 pounds, but if you train daily and slowly add more weight, you can eventually do curls with 15 pounds.
The same is true for positive thinking. In a WebMD article called, “What is Positive Thinking?” it is reported that people who practice daily positive thinking meditation exercises eventually adopt a more optimistic attitude towards life which helps them manage depression.
Here are some specific examples of my personal experiences turning negative thoughts into positive ones:
- Negative: I’m a failure, because I can’t stick with a career for very long. Positive: I’m a multi-talented person who enjoys new challenges. I have acquired many diverse skills over the years.
- Negative: I hate my boobs, because they are too small. Positive: I love my boobs, because they are perky and will never be prone to sagging.
- Negative: I’m bummed out that I lost a lot of time this year healing from a hysterectomy. Positive: I’m grateful that I was able to have my cyst removed by qualified professionals in an age that offers all of the conveniences of modern medicine. As soon as my recovery is complete, I’ll be as active as ever!
Focus on actively turning negative thoughts into positive ones, and you are likely to feel your depression slip away over time.
12. Practice Gratitude to Stop Being Depressed
According to PsychCentral, “practicing gratitude when you’re depressed can help train your brain to seek the positive rather than the negative.”
Licensed therapist Anita Astley explains, “Thinking, feeling, and expressing gratitude through words and behavior activate various regions of the brain that reinforce overall mental well-being.” In addition, she notes that practicing gratitude has a major influence on the brain’s reward functions and the hypothalamus which regulates emotions including depression.
Studies over the last few decades reveal a positive correlation between practicing gratitude and experiencing lower levels of depression.
Make it a habit to count at least 5 things to be grateful for daily. These can be simple things like: food, shelter, clean water, clothes, and even a stuffed animal. Those are just some basics. There are likely plenty more things that you can count to be grateful for.
13. Avoid Alcohol and Other Drugs
If you want to stop being depressed without medication, it is essential that you avoid alcohol and other drugs.
People who suffer from depression are often greatly tempted to use alcohol and drugs in an attempt to escape negative thoughts and emotions.
In the beginning stages of alcohol and drug use, there seems to be a positive effect. Unfortunately, addiction works quickly making the body highly dependent on the substances to feel good. The AddictionCenter reports, “Over time, substance abuse can exacerbate symptoms of depression as well as lead to health problems like brain damage down the road.”
This is an extremely dangerous cycle to end up in. Alcoholism and drug addiction are bad enough on their own, but when coupled with depression, it becomes extremely difficult to find a way out. Once someone does decide to get sober, it is common for people who aren’t even normally depressed to experience depression for up to a year, simply because it takes the brain time to learn how to be happy again without the influence of the substance it was addicted to.
Previously addicted people that push through to the sober side and manage to stay clean for at least a year report increased happiness that grows with each sober milestone.
I spent almost 15 years relying on weed to make me happy, and while it wasn’t a dangerous drug, I was still very dependent on the substance. When I quit smoking weed so I could pass drug tests, I turned to alcohol. After 4 years of nightly drinking, I finally realized that I couldn’t do it anymore. I’m now over 2 years sober, and I feel more mental clarity and happiness than ever before.
Life is Short
There you have it. 13 well researched ways to stop being depressed without medication. I hope you have found some value in this post. If not, I hope you can find some kind of way to ease your depression, because life is short. I know things aren’t perfect, but there is so much beauty and greatness in the world. Sometimes, it just takes a little extra effort to see that.
Thanks for reading! See you next week.
Sources:
- “Exercise is an All-Natural Treatment to Fight Depression,” Harvard Health Publishing, Harvard Medical School, February 2, 2021 https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/exercise-is-an-all-natural-treatment-to-fight-depression
- “The Simple Act of Stretching,” Colorado State University, Columbine Health Systems Center for Healthy Aging, June 23, 2021 https://www.research.colostate.edu/healthyagingcenter/2021/06/23/the-simple-act-of-stretching/
- Moore, William, “Sleeping Well at Night Can Ease Your Depression,” WebMD, December 8, 2021 https://www.webmd.com/depression/depression-good-sleep
- Reed, Martin, “Could Yogurt Treat Occasional Insomnia?” HealthCentral, April 24, 2015 https://www.healthcentral.com/article/could-yogurt-treat-occasional-insomnia
- Yildiz, Dr. Mehmet, “The Brain Needs 3 Types of Rest,” Illumination, Medium.com, May 16, 2023 https://medium.com/illumination/the-brain-needs-3-types-of-rest-b63b30c19424
- “Solo Activities to Help With Depression,” Advanced Psychiatry Associates, March 12, 2020 https://advancedpsychiatryassociates.com/resources/blog/solo-activities-for-depression/
- Vojdani, Aristo, and Vojdani, Charlene, “Immune Reactivity to Food Coloring,” National Library of Medicine, National Center for Biotechnology Information https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25599186/
- Gillette, Hope, “How to Regain Your Purpose When Living with Depression,” PsychCentral, November 12, 2021 https://psychcentral.com/depression/how-to-find-sense-of-purpose-when-depressed
- Jacob, Jenna, “Goal Setting with Young People for Anxiety and Depression,” National Library of Medicine, National Center for Biotechnology Information, July 13, 2022 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9281142/
- “Nature: How Connecting with Nature Benefits Our Mental Health,” Mental Health Foundation https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/our-work/research/nature-how-connecting-nature-benefits-our-mental-health#:~:text=People%20with%20good%20nature%20connectedness%20tend%20to%20be%20happier,-Research%20shows%20that&text=Nature%20connectedness%20is%20also%20associated,particularly%20lower%20depression%20and%20anxiety.
- Smith, Brendan L. “Inappropriate Prescribing,” American Psychological Association, 2012 https://www.apa.org/monitor/2012/06/prescribing
- Sherwood, Alison, “What is Positive Thinking?” WebMD, January 16, 2022 https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/positive-thinking-overview#:~:text=In%20one%20experiment%2C%20adults%20who,are%20naturally%20optimistic%20or%20pessimistic.
- Gillette, Hope, “6 Ways to Practice Gratitude When You’re Feeling Depressed,” PsychCentral, November 30, 2022 https://psychcentral.com/health/ways-to-practice-gratitude-when-youre-feeling-depressed
- “Depression,” AddictionCenter https://www.addictioncenter.com/addiction/depression-and-addiction/