First step: accept being depressed
According to WHO estimates, depression is common in all parts of the world. A study carried out with the support of the World Health Organization shows that around 350 million people suffer from depression worldwide and that the number of women with depression is 50% higher than that of men.
“To get out of a depression, you first have to get into it,” says Moussa Nabati. Some people will force themselves to go out, swim lengths in the pool, go to the movies and laugh in front of a comedy… Initiatives which will certainly appease them at the moment but, in the long term, use up their energy. The solution ? Simply accept being depressed. “The first step is to recognize your suffering“, advocates Moussa Nabati.
If depression is a warning signal, it is still necessary to understand what it says about oneself. Am I the person I want to be? What causes me to miss out on my life? Do I give importance to the good things? So many questions that will allow us to relativize, to find our own philosophy of life and to readjust our actions to the meaning we want to give to our existence.
We will thus distinguish between what is really of value for oneself and what is superfluous.. Once all of this has been put down to earth, it is a matter of doing everything possible to reorient your life according to the essential values that you have been able to unearth. Do you need to do a lot of activities? We can continue to do so, but with less competitive spirit. Friendship is one of our primary values? We develop our concern for others, etc.
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Step two: talk about depression
When you are depressed, you tend to keep this discomfort to yourself, under the pretext of sparing those close to you … However, it is precisely by hiding, by repressing your sadness, that it becomes toxic. By explaining what we are going through, the situation will be clearer and easier to digest.
Whereas if we do not say anything, the entourage risks impregnating it, like a sponge. “You should never hesitate to disturb the people you love,” says psychiatrist Charly Cungi. overcomes his shyness anxious and we pick up the phone. We call our friends, our family… Communicating is essential, we must at all costs avoid withdrawing into ourselves. “
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Step three: cultivate selfishness
Once the big depression has passed, you feel better … But good resolutions must absolutely last after recovery, insists psychoanalyst Moussa Nabati: “We must continue to cultivate an essential value: selfishness!” So we don’t give all our time to our work, our husband, our children or our friends. ..
The objective: do one “good deed” for yourself a day. That is to say, set aside thirty minutes to do the windows on your own, take a bath, watch his favorite show (quiet) … But also laugh. As we know, activating its zygomatics causes the release of endorphins, a hormone that is beneficial for the body and the mind. A good reason to always have the DVD of your favorite comedy to hand!
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We go back to sport, we see friends
Playing sport regularly is also part of the well-being “arsenal”. Like laughter this promotes the secretion of the pleasure hormone. American researchers have even shown that running has as much effect in depressed people as drugs. In addition, physical activity, by inducing a certain pride, boosts self-esteem. And if we practice it outdoors, we also accumulate the benefits of light sunshine on morale.
“Human relations have a protective effect,” insists the psychiatrist. Then, we also take care of our friends, we organize a monthly meeting with girlfriends or we make a daily phone call … In short, we cultivate our emotional life.
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Finally, we take life on the safe side
Accepting being a fragile human being doesn’t mean seeing everything in black. “On the contrary, by being more realistic, it is easier to see the glass half full, rather than the half empty,” explains Charly Cungi. “Being positive has a relative antidepressant effect.”
So you learn to be optimistic. “I didn’t get the promotion I fought so hard for? It’s okay, during this year I improved my skills and I can run for the next job.” “My job takes a lot of my time and I’m not very available for my children? When I’m with them, I’m 100% there and I have a great time, that’s the important thing”, etc. .
Our experts
Moussa Nabati, psychoanalyst, research psychotherapist and doctor in psychology.
Charly Cungi, psychiatrist, specialist in behavioral therapies.
>> Also discover our file Depression, symptoms and treatments
