Helping Ourselves

'Help me be the person my dog thinks I am.'

There are loads of things we can do to help ourselves. To follow are some ideas on what has helped other young people deal with depression.

Always remember - asking for advice from your Doctor is the most important thing you can do to help yourself as the first step!

Healthy Body - Healthy Mind - Exercise & Healthy Eating

Support Groups

Talk about worries & Express your feelings

Reduce Stress

Learn to Relax

Get Creative

Use Your Supports

Small Steps & Solutions

Find out more about it

Healthy Body - Healthy Mind - Exercise & Healthy Eating

By keeping our bodies healthy we are also keeping our minds healthy - it's like being physically prepared to deal with emotional times. So it is important that we do regular exercise and try to keep a healthy diet.

Certain foods seem to help us to keep our 'mood chemicals' healthy. Bananas, nuts, avocadoes and fish seem to be some of the best! Chocolate is also said to boost mood chemicals (but remember the sugar in chocolate can give us a temporary feeling of energy which will be of no benefit in the long run).

Doing some kind of exercise for at least 20 minutes a day really helps to keep our 'mood chemicals' up. You don't have to exhaust yourself but maybe going for a walk, cycle or swim. You could even try to join an activity club, maybe dancing or trampolineing! Exercise really does help lift our mood and is particularly good for mild depression or just when we are in a depressed mood.

Support Groups[^ top]

Support groups bring people together who experience similar situations and gives the chance to learn more about ways of coping. Maybe the best thing about Support Groups is getting support from people who really understand what it is you are feeling and knowing that you are not alone.

There are a lot of different groups for different situations, and your Doctor should be able to advise you on what's available in your area.

Aware Defeat Depression runs groups throughout Northern Ireland. It's mainly adults who attend you may not feel as comfortable. If you are interested in attending a Support Group for Young People please e-mail your interest to Aware.

Talk about worries & Express your feelings[^ top]

When things happen in our lives that we feel that we have no control over it affects our moods and feelings. It is very important to be able to talk about our worries and find a way to express them. When we experience 'bad' moods or feelings e.g. guilt, anger, anxiety, stress, rejection or loneliness, we tend to shut them away and hope they disappear. Often these feelings don't go away and can sometimes go deeper into us and can come out in a different way - for example, sometimes we can express sadness or hurt as anger.

Talking about how we are feeling or a difficult situation can help us see things from a different more helpful point of view and we can get ideas on how to deal with them.

Reduce Stress[^ top]

Stress is a very individual thing - what stresses one person may have no affect on another. We can get stressed by difficult situations like our parents splitting up, problems at school, etc, and we can also get stressed about things that are meant to be positive, like going on holidays or starting a relationship. Think about what 'stresses' you and do everything you can to make these things easier to deal with. It is important that we do deal with stress as it can be a trigger for depression.

Learn to Relax[^ top]

There are different ways in which we can relax - some things we do can help us relax...s

• - Having a bath
• - Watching TV
• - Listening to music
• - Taking the dog for a walk
• - Watching a favourite film

We can also learn 'relaxation techniques' which can help our bodies to feel relaxed...

Try some techniques...

Get Creative[^ top]

Being creative is a great way to show our feelings. Sometimes we just don't want to talk to someone about how we feel. Lots of young people find it really helpful to express them more creatively. Ways you could do this include;

• - Painting
• - Drawing
• - Writing a diary, poetry or lyrics
• - Drama

Why not try our Mood Diary?

Use Your Supports[^ top]

If anyone has seen the film About a Boy, at the end it is said 'No (wo)man is an island' and this is definitely true! Feeling that we have people around us that that we can have fun with, or speak to when times are difficult is really important. Be really critical or your friends and don't stay with them if they make you feel bad about yourself.

Remember that we all have to work really hard at relationships, whether they be friendships, intimate relationships or family relationships. We can make new friends by joining clubs where you will have something in common with people from the start.

Another thing that many young people have found helpful is becoming a volunteer at school or with a community organisation. Sometimes in giving our time and helping others we can help ourselves. This is also another good way of making new friends.

Small Steps & Solutions[^ top]

Learning to problem solve can also help a lot. If you have a particular problem that you just can't figure out what to do, try our Solutions Worksheet to get you on the right track. Sometimes when people have depression, it becomes really difficult concentrating, so decision making becomes hard. The Solutions Worksheet will help you to get things clearer in your head and think things through, so hopefully you will come up with the best solution!

Also, sometimes things we have to do seem really complicated and need too much energy. Everyday chores or even activities that you would normally enjoy can start to feel like they involve too much pressure. Try our Small Steps Worksheet which will help you to break tasks down into smaller steps. Each small step will seem more possible and you will have loads of times to treat yourself when you have taken each step!

Find out more about it[^ top]

One of the most important things we can do when things are hard, no matter the reason or situation, is to find out more about what we are feeling and what we can do about it. This helps us to feel more in control of what is happening and to find the best ways to deal with it.

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