Depression Self Care Masterlist
So like, as someone who has been depressed for a majority of their life, I feel like I should share the multitude of items I keep in my Depression Self-Care arsenal.
Hair
Easiest thing to do honestly is to just get a pixie cut. Seriously, it looks amazing on everyone (fight me, it does) and the care is so much easier than longer hair, but if you can’t do that, that’s totally fine.
Dry Shampoo - I use Batiste, but there are lots of other brands that work well too!
Deep Conditioner (For long hair) - now, I’m a white girl and I know there are different products for people with natural hair, so take this recommendation with a grain of salt if you have natural hair. (aside, if anyone has recommendations for people with natural hair, feel free to link them in your reblog and I’ll try to share it around.) Anyway, the product I used before I cut a pixie cut is Aussie Deep Conditioner 3 minute miracle “moist”. It’s in a purple bottle and it really helps with long tangled hair or matted hair as well.
Wet Brush - this is a brush that you can use on wet hair. It’s helped me out a TON.
Face/Body
Invest in a shower seat. I don’t have one, but I’ve heard they’re great for helping with the showering when you can’t take a sit-down bath. Which leads me to my next thing:
Take a sit-down bath - Light a candle and pour in some bubble bath. Run a wash cloth through the soapy water and all over your body before you get out.
Sponge bath in the sink - use soap and a wash-cloth and wash yourself standing by the sink, focus on the hot spots where odor tends to occur. You know where they are.
Baby wipes - if you are having a difficult time even making it to the bathroom for bathing, then you can always use a couple of baby wipes to freshen things up.
Deodorant - There are spray deodorants that don’t require much from you to apply, but make sure and wear some every day so you don’t have that B.O that might trigger a deeper depressive response.
Body spray - choose a fresh, light scent. Nothing too heavily perfumed. I have Cactus Blossom and Rose Water and Ivy from B&BW, for example.
Face wipes - there are make-up removing ones, and facial cleansing ones. While it’s not as good as using a cleanser and a moisturizer, etc, it’s something.
Lotion - get a big bottle of your fave with a pump and keep one wherever you tend to rest after a spiral. I have one in my living room, one in the bathroom, and one beside my bed. Especially in the winter, your skin can get super dry and scratchy. Lotion pretty much erradicates that problem.
**Teeth**
This one’s a big one. I didn’t take care of my teeth for about ten years, and now I’m paying for it. Literally. And Figuratively. I have over 6k in dental work ahead of me this year and next year. If you do nothing else from this list, please at least do this.
So, with that in mind:
Wisps - Waterless, disposable toothbrushes. Made by Colgate. Max Fresh. These are great, you can keep them near your bed, and brush your teeth, toss them out. Honestly, get these. It’s not worth it to neglect your dental hygiene. I found them on Amazon, four bags of 24 for 15.99.
Floss picks - these, like the wisps, are disposable. They’re flossing picks so you can floss your teeth while laying in bed.
Mouthwash - this one will require a trip to the sink to use, so I guess put it in the moderate column, but gargle at least once a day if you’re able.
Hydration/Nutrition:
Let me say this here. If all you can muster is to drink a soda, then drink a soda. Any fluid is better than none at all when you’re having trouble with mental health. I have resorted to a coke zero once in a while. Having said that, here are some products I keep on hand when I’m depressed to make sure I’m eating/staying hydrated.
Filtering Water bottle - Brita makes a series of bottles with charcoal filters that you replace every two months. There are other brands, but Brita’s the one I have due to ease of finding replacement filters. I bought one bottle and a year’s worth of filters from Amazon for about $40 total. You can refill this in your bathroom sink and have water to keep you hydrated.
Trail Mix - I like the tropical kind. A handful every so often will provide you with protein from the nuts and sugar (energy boost) from the fruit. If you have a tendancy to binge, then leave this out bc binging that much sugar would be very bad.
Dark Chocolate - Can give a temporary boost of energy to get something done that needs immediate attention (phone call, email, forms, whatever).
Peanut Butter Crackers - prepackaged. These can be a quick way to raise blood sugar if you haven’t eaten in a while
Clif bars - these can replace breakfast or at least take away those hunger pangs
Prepackaged, single-serving salads - No work whatsoever, and everything’s included in the bowl, including a fork. You can toss out all the packaging and there’s no pressure to do dishes. I know they’re bad on the enviornment, but once in a while, it’s good to have some fresh veggies.
Miso paste - I can make a quick bowl of miso soup in my microwave in like five minutes if I have this paste. You can add whatever else you have on hand, handful of frozen veggies, green onions, strips of seaweed, cooked noodles if you have any, or if you feel up to cooking them. Rice. Silken tofu. Sky’s the limit. And whatever your energy level is, of course.
Instant oatmeal - I like the low-sugar apple cinnamon kind, but there are so many flavors out there. It takes one minute in the microwave.
Easy Mac - Mac and Cheese is a comfort food for me, so this was a no-brainer for me to include on this list
Peanut butter - I’ve been known to just eat a spoonful of the stuff in a pinch. Have your favorite kind on hand. (Creamy, Crunchy, whatever)
Eggs - boil some to have as a quick snack (seriously, a salted hard-boiled egg is really amazing), or just scramble a couple and toast some bread for a quick, no fuss breakfast.
Compostable dinnerware and flatware - Get plates, bowls, forks and spoons. Cups if you don’t have a water bottle, coffee cups if coffee’s a comfort thing for you. If you don’t have to worry about dishes piling up, it takes a layer of stress off.
Anyway, I know a lot of this is floating around, but I wanted to do a masterlist of everything I use for a spiral. If it helps one person, It’ll have been worth it. <3 I am obviously not a mental health professional, so if you do think you are depressed and aren’t recieving help for it, help is available.
If you’re feeling suicidal, don’t hesitate to call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline (US number): 1-800-273-8255
The International resources are here