i feel like no one really wants to hear that sleep/exercise/nutrition/hydration are major factors in treating mental health issues bc we’ve all talked to that person who thinks your depression would be cured by one good session of goat yoga or whatever but unfortunately they do help and i’m chronically annoyed about it
Lotsa people in the notes like "i can't change these habits because im too broke/depressed" which, as a formerly broke and depressed person, is patently untrue, so here's some starting points:
-hydration: carry around a water bottle. a funky metal water bottle you can put stickers on is like $10 and if you can’t afford it just chronically refill a gatorade bottle or smth. Just having water nearby will help. And hydration really, really helps with energy levels for things like...
-exercise: my advice for this always is "find a sport you actually like", but if you're coming off of a years-long depressive sedentary period, start by walking. Like, TO places. The bus stop. A neat tree in your neighborhood. Is there a convenience store nearby? Go get a gatorade (see:hydration). Is there a library or other place where people gather? Even better. This is free and doesn't have to take any longer than 10 minutes at first. And don't go telling yourself "oh it was only 10 minutes it doesn't count" STOP! That is the depression talking! Literally any amount of movement is 100x more movement than you were getting on the couch! You're doing great! And once you're in a good exercise habit, it will help a lot with...
-sleep: ah, the white whale. But remember that literally just lying quietly in the dark is resting, even if you don't sleep (it's science!). Try to be in bed, no lights or phones, at the same time every night and just...chill. listen to some chill music. Try not to get up for a least a few hours. And then, the next day, when you’re wrecked?? Try to avoid napping at all costs. Your circadian rhythm should theoretically stabilize after a few nights of doing this, and resting should become easier. Human chemistry is SO routine based, just keep your schedule as best you can!
Nutrition: yeah this is depression hell. But it's not as expensive as it seems to "eat healthy". Apples, bananas, and oranges are all cheaper than chips and also require pretty much no prep, just shove em in your mouth (and don't give me that shit about caloric content; yes, I know chips are more filling, but they're not going to give you the happy chemicals you need to help depression. If you're so broke you will starve without 100 extra calories from a bag of doritos, your depression has environmental causes much deeper than lack of apples.) If you CAN cook even a little bit: frozen vegetables are cheap af and they slap with some butter and garlic powder. Throw some frozen peas in your mac and cheese. Kale and zucchini are cheap as hell in summer and they are delicious when flash fried with butter and salt. I know taking 5 minutes to cook seems insurmountable when you’re depressed but as my therapist always says, the cure for depression is doing the things depression doesn't want you to do. And it will improve your mood so, so, so much to get some fruits and veggies in you.
please notice that literally ALL of the above are about building HABITS. And habits are built by inches. A single serving of frozen vegetables will not cure your depression. But a single serving of vegetables, every day? a liter of water, every day? a short walk to see some trees or smth, every day? It really does help. And Don’t beat yourself up if you miss a day or seven days or fourteen days. Just pick it back up where you left off. 2 servings of vegetables in a month is better than 0 servings in a month, or a year.
A lovely addition from @dulcecatrina
[ID: Tumblr tags that read: "#one thing that helped me was to stop seeing days where i couldn't do these things as moral failures #i don't remember where i first saw the quote which UPSETS me but #i remember someone saying when you treat every mistake as a huge failing you can never recover from #you absolve yourself from the idea of trying again #i started doing an 8 min workout i found on youtube #and slowly stopped seeing the days i missed it as Huge Fucks Up I Couldn't Recover From #and just as a day i missed #and it helped me pick it back up when i missed days #and it's helped me Move now #so. you can do it. and a missed day is just a missed day #try tomorrow (heart emoji). /End ID.]
this is so important. those of us w adhd know how difficult routines can be to maintain and i discovered that not letting it be The End of The World anytime i can’t keep a routine, it really helped me actually build routines that i *could* keep. i found things that worked for me by trial and error over a long period of time and when something stopped working i had to learn to not beat myself up but to change my perspective from “Im a Complete Failure” to “Oh I Get to Try New Things! I’m a Routine Collector!”
