Lifestyle Tips for Treatment-Resistant Depression
Lifestyle Tips for Treatment-Resistant Depression
If you have treatment-resistant depression, getting expert medical and psychological treatment is crucial. But recovery isn't only about dutifully taking your medicine and seeing your therapist. There is actually a lot that you can do on your own to support your treatment.
"Because some treatments have already failed you, you want to do everything you can to improve your chances of success," says Ian A. Cook, MD, director of the Depression Research Program at the University of California, Los Angeles. "That includes paying more attention to your lifestyle -- your stress levels, your sleep, your exercise, and your diet." Making some changes -- when combined with treatment -- can have a big impact on your health, Cook tells WebMD.
Winter Babies and Postpartum Depression
As many as three out of every four women will experience the short-term mood swings known as the "baby blues" after their baby is born. But nearly 12% experience more serious and longer-lasting postpartum depression.How can you tell the difference between the normal mood changes that will abate, and those that could mean depression and a need for treatment? How can you manage postpartum emotions -- whether it's the baby blues or true depression -- in the colder, darker, and more isolated winte...
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While treatment-resistant depression can make you feel powerless, you're not. Taking an active role in your treatment can make a difference. Here are some suggestions for what you can do.
Get on a schedule. When you have treatment-resistant depression -- especially if you're not working or in school -- the hours and days can blend together. That lack of structure in your life, that chaos, can make it very hard to recover.
"If your life has no form to it, if you wake up in the morning with no idea of what to do with yourself, you're going to be miserable," says Dean F. MacKinnon, MD, associate professor of psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. "Actually, that can make anyone miserable, whether they're clinically depressed or not."
One of the first things you should try to do is impose some order on your day. You don't need to schedule every minute, but come up with the basics. Set a time for waking up, going to bed, and eating meals. Then start to set times for other activities -- like exercising or seeing friends.
Set goals. This goes along with establishing a schedule for treatment-resistant depression. "I think in order to feel happy with your life," says MacKinnon, "you need to feel like you've accomplished something in a day."
So set some modest goals for your day and for your week, and make sure that they're things that you can realistically accomplish. Break big tasks into smaller ones, so that you can chip away at them gradually.
"Because some treatments have already failed you, you want to do everything you can to improve your chances of success," says Ian A. Cook, MD, director of the Depression Research Program at the University of California, Los Angeles. "That includes paying more attention to your lifestyle -- your stress levels, your sleep, your exercise, and your diet." Making some changes -- when combined with treatment -- can have a big impact on your health, Cook tells WebMD.
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Winter Babies and Postpartum Depression
As many as three out of every four women will experience the short-term mood swings known as the "baby blues" after their baby is born. But nearly 12% experience more serious and longer-lasting postpartum depression.How can you tell the difference between the normal mood changes that will abate, and those that could mean depression and a need for treatment? How can you manage postpartum emotions -- whether it's the baby blues or true depression -- in the colder, darker, and more isolated winte...
Read the Winter Babies and Postpartum Depression article > >
While treatment-resistant depression can make you feel powerless, you're not. Taking an active role in your treatment can make a difference. Here are some suggestions for what you can do.
Treatment-Resistant Depression: Taking Control of Your Life
Get on a schedule. When you have treatment-resistant depression -- especially if you're not working or in school -- the hours and days can blend together. That lack of structure in your life, that chaos, can make it very hard to recover.
"If your life has no form to it, if you wake up in the morning with no idea of what to do with yourself, you're going to be miserable," says Dean F. MacKinnon, MD, associate professor of psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. "Actually, that can make anyone miserable, whether they're clinically depressed or not."
One of the first things you should try to do is impose some order on your day. You don't need to schedule every minute, but come up with the basics. Set a time for waking up, going to bed, and eating meals. Then start to set times for other activities -- like exercising or seeing friends.
Set goals. This goes along with establishing a schedule for treatment-resistant depression. "I think in order to feel happy with your life," says MacKinnon, "you need to feel like you've accomplished something in a day."
So set some modest goals for your day and for your week, and make sure that they're things that you can realistically accomplish. Break big tasks into smaller ones, so that you can chip away at them gradually.
