Practicing Self Care for Depression

Name: Envision Wellness
Address: 1900 SW 57th Avenue, Suite 2, Miami, FL, 33155, United States
Telephone: (305) 501-0133

Girl doing yoga on a mountain, self care. Miami Fl

When you have depressive symptoms, you don’t want to do anything. Getting out of bed alone can be a struggle. Everything feels like a chore. You don’t have the motivation to get going. The things that used to bring you pleasure no longer do. You feel stuck, hopeless, and defeated.

Self-help strategies come a long way to help improve the symptoms of depression.

Self-care activities are critical in beginning to feel better about yourself and improve your quality of life. Starting small is a great way to see improvements in how you feel. No matter how big or small, as long as you try something that feels comfortable to you, you’ll be moving in the right direction to combat major depression.

When you have symptoms of depression, you start to neglect what makes you feel good. You may neglect hygiene, eating right, or engaging in leisure activities. Starting these activities again can help get you unstuck.

Here are some depression self-care steps you may want to try to improve your emotional health:

Taking a bath – You can fill the bath with scented epsom salt or magnesium flakes. Magnesium is transdermal, meaning that gets soaked up through the skin and help to pull out stress hormones and can leave you feeling more relaxed. You can also listen or watch something that’s inspiring like music or an audiobook while you soak.
Positive affirmations – If you feel depressed, your internal dialogue is probably less than kind. These self-defeating statements are known as negative self-talk, and can leave you feeling pretty crappy. You start believing these thoughts if you talk this way to yourself this way over time. Positive affirmations are a way to move your mindset to focus on more positive self-talk. By challenging negative thoughts and replacing them with positive statements you’re rewiring your brain to see the good again. Anything from “I can handle whatever comes my way” to “I deserve to feel happy” can turn that positive switch on in your brain.
Gratitude journal, jar, or practice – In major depression, there’s a tendency to focus on what you don’t have or what is going wrong. Writing things that you’re grateful for helps to refocus your brain on things that are going right around you. Gratitude engages the part of your brain that focuses on abundance rather than deprivation – similar to positive affirmations but for external factors. Try writing 3 things down that you are grateful for at the start or end of the day. You can keep these in a journal or write them on a small piece of paper and drop it in a jar. You can go through these when you’re feeling down or at the end of the week (or month or even year). Or maybe reach out to 3 people and express why you’re grateful to know or have them in your life.
Physical activity – Doing a 30-minute workout is probably the last thing you want to do with your little energy. That’s ok. Try some light stretching, yoga, or swap the elevator for the stairs at work. There are tons of apps with at-home workouts where you can set the amount of time you want to work out. Another option is to go for a walk around your neighborhood or walk to lunch. Moving your body for as little as 10 minutes three times per day in action will help increase your mood. This is because exercise releases endorphins, the body’s natural anti-depressants. Just beware: while intense workouts (e.g. P90X, CrossFit, HIIT, etc.) can raise endorphins, they also raise stress response hormone levels. They’re best left for your depression symptoms have improved.
Connect with others – When you feel down, you most likely want to isolate and keep to yourself, but this will dig you further into the emotional hole you’re in. Reach out, even if it’s a brief phone call or visit. As humans, we’re social animals, and we thrive when we’re surrounded by people who care for us and help us feel safe. Plus, by giving people the opportunity to help you, you can see who is there for you and how much you are loved. This helps combat some of that negative self-talk – win-win!
Volunteer- Depending on how you feel, volunteering can help you get out of your own way. Taking the focus off of you and onto someone else can change your perspective. It may not be self-care perse, but it can help by spending less time thinking about yourself and more on others. You may also feel better about yourself for helping others.
Meditation- We spend a lot of time on our thoughts. Meditation teaches you to be aware of your thoughts and notice them without giving them much time or energy. You can begin filtering out the harmful thoughts or cognitive distortions and position your mind to focus on the thoughts that matter and bring you happiness.
Laugh – Laughter is great medicine when you’re feeling down. Watch a comedy show on a streaming service or blooper reels on YouTube. Funny movies or books are great options, too. Laughing counteracts stress hormones in the body and increases dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine levels in the brain which are related to mood levels.
Routines – Daily routines have pros and cons when it comes to mental health conditions like depression. If part of what’s got you feeling depressed is that you find yourself stuck in the same old routine day in and day out, then you may need to change things up by adding some variety. For other people experiencing depression, it’s the lack of a routine that’s the problem; they need more structure to get motivated. Try these ideas to create an easy morning or evening routine.
Sleep well – Lack of sleep and poor quality of sleep can cause irritability, short-temper, brain fog, and poor concentration, all of which can lead to mistakes and not feeling so great about yourself afterward. Here are some tips to make sure you’re getting good rest every day.
Eat good mood foods – You are what you eat, and it’s reflected in your emotional state. That’s because healthy whole foods are the body’s main fuel source. If you’re eating processed foods, then the fuel you’re putting into your body is of poor quality. This means that your body and brain won’t have enough of the basic ingredients to make the hormones and neurotransmitters it needs to function at their best. Check out more about the relationship between foods and moods.

woman reflecting on a beach. Self care when you have depression. Counseling Miami FL

Here are some depression self-care steps you may want to try to improve your emotional health:

Taking a bath – You can fill the bath with scented epsom salt or magnesium flakes. Magnesium is transdermal, meaning that gets soaked up through the skin and help to pull out stress hormones and can leave you feeling more relaxed. You can also listen or watch something that’s inspiring like music or an audiobook while you soak.
Positive affirmations – If you feel depressed, your internal dialogue is probably less than kind. These self-defeating statements are known as negative self-talk, and can leave you feeling pretty crappy. You start believing these thoughts if you talk this way to yourself this way over time. Positive affirmations are a way to move your mindset to focus on more positive self-talk. By challenging negative thoughts and replacing them with positive statements you’re rewiring your brain to see the good again. Anything from “I can handle whatever comes my way” to “I deserve to feel happy” can turn that positive switch on in your brain.
Gratitude journal, jar, or practice – In major depression, there’s a tendency to focus on what you don’t have or what is going wrong. Writing things that you’re grateful for helps to refocus your brain on things that are going right around you. Gratitude engages the part of your brain that focuses on abundance rather than deprivation – similar to positive affirmations but for external factors. Try writing 3 things down that you are grateful for at the start or end of the day. You can keep these in a journal or write them on a small piece of paper and drop it in a jar. You can go through these when you’re feeling down or at the end of the week (or month or even year). Or maybe reach out to 3 people and express why you’re grateful to know or have them in your life.
Physical activity – Doing a 30-minute workout is probably the last thing you want to do with your little energy. That’s ok. Try some light stretching, yoga, or swap the elevator for the stairs at work. There are tons of apps with at-home workouts where you can set the amount of time you want to work out. Another option is to go for a walk around your neighborhood or walk to lunch. Moving your body for as little as 10 minutes three times per day in action will help increase your mood. This is because exercise releases endorphins, the body’s natural anti-depressants. Just beware: while intense workouts (e.g. P90X, CrossFit, HIIT, etc.) can raise endorphins, they also raise stress response hormone levels. They’re best left for your depression symptoms have improved.
Connect with others – When you feel down, you most likely want to isolate and keep to yourself, but this will dig you further into the emotional hole you’re in. Reach out, even if it’s a brief phone call or visit. As humans, we’re social animals, and we thrive when we’re surrounded by people who care for us and help us feel safe. Plus, by giving people the opportunity to help you, you can see who is there for you and how much you are loved. This helps combat some of that negative self-talk – win-win!
Volunteer- Depending on how you feel, volunteering can help you get out of your own way. Taking the focus off of you and onto someone else can change your perspective. It may not be self-care perse, but it can help by spending less time thinking about yourself and more on others. You may also feel better about yourself for helping others.
Meditation- We spend a lot of time on our thoughts. Meditation teaches you to be aware of your thoughts and notice them without giving them much time or energy. You can begin filtering out the harmful thoughts or cognitive distortions and position your mind to focus on the thoughts that matter and bring you happiness.
Laugh – Laughter is great medicine when you’re feeling down. Watch a comedy show on a streaming service or blooper reels on YouTube. Funny movies or books are great options, too. Laughing counteracts stress hormones in the body and increases dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine levels in the brain which are related to mood levels.
Routines – Daily routines have pros and cons when it comes to mental health conditions like depression. If part of what’s got you feeling depressed is that you find yourself stuck in the same old routine day in and day out, then you may need to change things up by adding some variety. For other people experiencing depression, it’s the lack of a routine that’s the problem; they need more structure to get motivated. Try these ideas to create an easy morning or evening routine.
Sleep well – Lack of sleep and poor quality of sleep can cause irritability, short-temper, brain fog, and poor concentration, all of which can lead to mistakes and not feeling so great about yourself afterward. Here are some tips to make sure you’re getting good rest every day.
Eat good mood foods – You are what you eat, and it’s reflected in your emotional state. That’s because healthy whole foods are the body’s main fuel source. If you’re eating processed foods, then the fuel you’re putting into your body is of poor quality. This means that your body and brain won’t have enough of the basic ingredients to make the hormones and neurotransmitters it needs to function at their best. Check out more about the relationship between foods and moods.

four white rocks stacked on top of each other. Mindfulness. Miami FL

These self-help strategies can help combat the signs of mild or moderate depression. But if you’ve tried these forms of depression self-care and they haven’t worked, then you may be experiencing severe depression and benefit from working with a mental health professional. You can call (305) 501-0133 or schedule a free 15-min Clarity Consult to learn more about how therapy for depression can help.

Envision Wellness, Therapy, Psychological Assessments, Coral Gables and Miami Envision Wellness is a private practice that offers psychotherapy, psychological testing, and life coaching in Miami, FL. Our team has a passion for helping others achieve happy, fulfilling, and change-making lives that make the world a better place. Each therapist has their areas of expertise. Not sure who you’d like to work with? Click here to schedule a free 20-minute phone consult to help you decide.

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Who We Are

Envision Wellness is a team of specialist psychologists that provide in-person mental health therapy and psychological evaluations to clients in Miami, FL and online therapy throughout Florida.
Psychologist, therapist, and counselor providing therapy, counseling, and coaching for depression, anxiety, stress, OCD, social anxiety, self esteem, codependency, dating, heartbreak/breakups, perfectionism, people pleasing, and trauma.
Psychological testing and evaluations for gifted/IQ test, psychoeducational testing for learning disabilities, career test, ADHD testing, ADD test, psychological evaluation for bariatric surgery, pre-adoption psychological evaluation, neuropsychological testing, and personality disorder testing

Practicing Self Care for Depression

Self-help strategies come a long way to help improve the symptoms of depression.

Here are some depression self-care steps you may want to try to improve your emotional health:

Here are some depression self-care steps you may want to try to improve your emotional health:

LIKED THIS POST?

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On the Blog

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Practicing Self Care for Depression

Self-help strategies come a long way to help improve the symptoms of depression.

Here are some depression self-care steps you may want to try to improve your emotional health:

Here are some depression self-care steps you may want to try to improve your emotional health:

LIKED THIS POST?

Thank you!

Who We Are

Let’s Talk

On the Blog

Helpful Links

Search