Do you know you can defeat depression and be happy?
Depression has robbed many individuals of their peace of mind, ability to reason properly, and even lives. Relationships have been shattered, families broken and communities were thrown into disarray, due to the negative effects of depression.
For example, we have seen a situation where a man wakes up one morning and hacks his wife and child to death, without any logical explanation. Such acts are mostly perpetrated as a result of depression, because in Africa, especially Nigeria, minimal attention is given to mental health.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 264 million people suffer from depression globally, while in Nigeria about 7 million people also suffer from it.
In this blog post, I will outline three tips that will help you defeat depression and live happily:
TALK TO SOMEONE
Many people don’t know the enormous power the tongue wields. The tongue has the power to mend already broken hearts and bring life to dead aspirations.
When in a depressed state, try as much as possible to talk to those close to you or those capable of giving you wise counsel, like your mother, father, sibling, religious leader, etc.
Also read 3 things to talk about while with your spouse.
When in a depressed mood, especially when it’s caused by heartbreak or the demise of a loved one, your instincts might begin to tell you to listen to sad songs,in remembrance of the good times you had together, don’t do it.
Sad music can make you feel more depressed than you were before, and so you need to try something different. Depression can be hard to cope with (regardless of how severe or mild your strain is) and sad music is often a dangerous tool because it will maintain your low mood and keep you depressed for a long time.
ENGAGE IN EXERCISE AND SPORTS
Engaging in physical exercise or sporting activities is a great way to defeat depression.
According to the results of a study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, even a relatively small amount of exercise can help protect against depression.
Also, the final results of the study concluded that depression could be avoided if 12% of the 33,908 Norwegian adults, who participated in the research engaged in at least one hour of physical activity every week.
TRY COMPLETING A COMPLEX TASK
It may surprise you to know that challenging your brain to complete tasks, especially complex and complicated ones can help you defeat depression.
This is because as you concentrate on completing the task at hand, your mind automatically divorces itself from the myriad of negative thoughts disturbing you and creates a sense of fulfilment, which in turn banishes such melancholic thoughts.