Look At The Silver Lining: Understanding Depression From A Hopeful Perspective

Depression, whether you like it or not, brings a myriad of feelings and emotions. Some hopeful and some downright discouraging. However, it’s not all about looking at things from a single perspective. When it comes to depression, it means understanding this mental health disorder from all perspectives – including a positive, more hopeful one.

Depression can mean different things to different people. Some experience mild symptoms of depression while some experience severe, however, looking at the silver lining within depression can be a good thing.

It’s in our nature to look for pleasure when we’re hurt. Through our high moments, we can look at our hardships as a learning experience, however, it’s the low moments that teach us the most memorable lessons.

This holds with depression as well. Depression can leave you feeling unmotivated, hopeless, and helpless but it could also help you focus on your mental and emotional growth, especially during the recovery period.

Let’s see how depression can be good for you and how to cope with the symptoms of depression during your recovery.

How Depression Can Be Good…

Or at least hopeful. I’m not saying that depression is a less serious mental disorder. With this sentence, I was to express how depression can give you hope in your recovery period when you are not having good days or bad days.

1.It Allows Self-Reflection

Depression allows you to self-reflect and see what lifestyle changes you can (or should) make to get better. During this time, you can practice self-reflection and understand that it’s time you make some noticeable changes in your life. Use this time as the opportunity to make some healthy changes.

2.It Changes Our Perspective

There are always two sides to a coin, a silver lining in the clouds of darkness – look for it. Depression can help you identify which areas of your life are or were causing you to feel in such a way. For example, maybe you felt depressed because you were in an unhappy marriage. During this time, psychotherapy can help you change your perspective and help you decide what changes you ought to make.

3.It Helps Form New Habits

Depression can also be a warning sign that something is wrong or something in your life is not working out anymore, be it your relationship, habits, job, or school. Slowly, during this time, you may begin to figure out that some habits are not helping you, and you need to form new habits to feel better.

4.It Helps With Creativity

Many people believe that depression can curb creativity. However, speaking from experience, I believe that the recovery from depression allows you to focus more on your creativity. I mean, we’ve heard how many famous music, literature, poetry, etc were created when the artist was depressed. While there’s always a risk of suicidal ideation with depression, I believe that engaging in creative pursuits can help channel those thoughts into something productive.

5.It Helps Build Healthy Coping Skills

When you seek help for depression, it can be a healthy way of learning new coping skills. Building new (and healthy) coping skills can help you maintain steady mental health. A professional therapist can help you build new coping skills and teach you how to prevent depression relapse in the future.

6.It Increases Compassion And Empathy

Depression looks different for everyone. For example, for me, depression can look a lot like numbing myself to emotions but for you, it may mean social withdrawal. However it may look like, if you’re experiencing depressive symptoms, then you know how challenging it can be. However, depression can help you gain an understanding and increase compassion for others experiencing the same. This experience can help you increase empathy towards yourself and others too.

7.It Helps Reevaluate Our Life’s Purpose

Did you know that depression can motivate you to reevaluate your life’s purpose as well? Having a purpose in life is important to our well-being and depression provides you with the opportunity to evaluate or reevaluate the purpose of your life. During your recovery time, you can ask yourself, what makes you happy? What makes you feel energized?  With the help of your therapist and loved ones, you can see what areas of your life need nurturing enough to make changes.

8.It Allows Physical Evaluation

In some cases, depression can be an underlying symptom of a physical health condition. This means that there is a certain physical issue that needs your attention and this can be connected with chemical imbalances, nutrient deficiencies, brain injuries, and some neurological conditions. You can take this time to work on your physical health by making significant lifestyle changes such as sleep habits, diet, exercise, etc. Take some time to evaluate your physical health and if it’s connected to your depression symptoms. Then reach out to your physician for additional resources and support.

9.It Allows Celebrate Life’s Little Moments

When you’re down and feeling low for a longer time, it can make appreciating the little things or moments in life difficult. However, a person who’s experienced depression or its symptoms can understand the value of little moments more than others. In such cases, they try to appreciate and savor those moments and avoid taking them for granted.

10.It Helps Re Evaluate Priorities

Whether you like it or not, depression can help you reevaluate your priorities. For some, depression can motivate them to prioritize certain aspects of their life while eliminating the aspects that are hindering their personal growth and happiness. If you’re coping with depression, let it help you prioritize aspects of your life.

If you’re thinking about suicide or you believe someone you know is at risk, then please immediately reach out to your local helpline number. You can also contact one of these helpline numbers:

• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline:1800-273-8255
• Crisis Text Line: text HOME to 741741
• TrevorLifeline: 866-488-7386
• iCall: +91-9152-987-821
• AASRA: +91-9820-466-726
• Vandrevala Foundation: +91-9999-666-555

Tips To Cope With Depression…

• Speak To A Professional Counselor

If you’re struggling with depression, it is suggested that you speak to a professional counselor for a diagnosis and treatment. Therapy approaches such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) can help you cope with the negative thoughts and feelings that come with depression.

A therapist can also help you come up with new coping skills and better habits that you can incorporate into your life to combat and overcome depression.

• Find (Or Form) Your Support System

Living with a mental health disorder is not easy and can be quite challenging at times. During your depression, it’s important to remember that while isolation may seem a good idea, it can be harmful to your overall health. Try to find your support system.

You can connect with a depression support group online, connect with your loved ones, or just engage in social activities like community service and volunteering.

• Intentionally Participate In Activities

One of the common symptoms of depression is anhedonia, a condition that makes you lose all interest in once pleasurable activities. If you have depression then you can work on getting better by intentionally participating in activities you enjoy. This can help you reconnect with yourself and bring positive energy.

You can start small by sharing funny memes, jokes, or watching a comedy movie. Don’t forget, laughter is the best therapy, after all.

Read: Are You Feeling Depressed? Use The Beck Depression Inventory To Know

Wrap Up

Living and coping with depression can be tricky as depression has its good days and bad days. However, understanding depression by looking at the silver lining can help you recover faster and also positively impact your well-being.

If you or your loved one is struggling with depression and/or is in recovery, then taking a seat and understanding depression from a hopeful perspective can help. If your depression symptoms are making it difficult for you to focus on other aspects of your life, it is sincerely recommended that you speak to a mental health professional.

You can connect with BetterHelp by signing up below. BetterHelp’s trained and licensed professionals can help you cope with your symptoms and help you understand the less understood aspects of this disorder.

Sign Up With BetterHelp

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Take Care!