Serious (non cute/romanticised) tips for dealing with depression, from someone with persistent depressive disorder, (6 years and counting).
1. If you only have enough energy to complete one self care / hygienic task, prioritize brushing your teeth. Greasy hair and dirty laundry can be fixed easily, but finding out down the line that you have numerous cavities from periods of neglecting oral hygiene is much harder. Fillings are expensive and need to be routinely replaced throughout your life. If you can do only one thing, just brush your teeth.
2. When grocery shopping (or getting takeout), force yourself to pick stuff that actually has decent nutritional value. When you’re stumbling to the kitchen to eat your first meal in 3 days, filling yourself with empty calories will only make you feel more tired, helpless and lethargic down the line, but if your only available options are things like fruit or vegetables, it’ll give you that little boost of energy to feel that much more capable.
3. If you have long hair, I suggest keeping it in a braid, especially if you’re the type of person who finds their focus hindered by feeling unclean or unhygienic. Having loose, knotted hair in my face makes me feel gross, which in turn makes me feel like I can’t get anything done, or like trying isn’t worth it. It’s a personal note/preference, but I find that it helps.
4. I have battery-operated lights hanging in my room that turn on with a timer every night. They were cheap fairy lights that I bought about a year ago but I find they help to reorient me when everything feels like one long day. If I can depend on their on/off schedule, I feel a little more grounded, and more able to reattach to reality and my surroundings.
5. Give yourself a “placebo”. That doesn’t mean medication necessarily, but more like a placebo responsibility or ritual that helps you to separate time periods. Try make it something that involves one or more of your senses, such as looking out your window at a certain time, as if you were in charge of checking on an elderly neighbour across from you every day, or dusting down a particular furniture surface, as if caring for that furniture for a friend who is out of town and loves that furniture immensely. These sound like silly examples but they really help to give you a sense of initiative each day.
I’ll put up more of these when I’m able to remember and articulate the things that help me to cope and take care of myself each day
