I hear a lot of people talking about how hard it is to get motivated when you’re depressed but I barely ever here anyone mention how much it physically hurts your damn body.
It’s not just sleeping all day and despondency, a lot of the time it can be really freaking painful.
Depression is different for everyone but for me it is accompanied by a lot of physical symptoms.
Here are the some of the symptoms I have experienced and some of the things I did to cope with them.
Sleeplessness
When I am depressed I have a really hard time sleeping.
I’ll lie awake all night but I’m so uncomfortable I can’t sleep.
The first thing I do to help me fall asleep is take a low dose of melatonin.
Melatonin helps your body sync your sleep-wake cycle with light and darkness.
It makes you very sensitive to light so I put up blackout curtains in my room to keep out any light pollution.
Another thing I do to try and fall asleep is to turn the thermostat down and make it a little cooler in my room.
After I get into bed I listen to sleep meditation.
I usually just find one on YouTube and play it on my phone.
Finally, if I still can’t sleep I start waking up really early and make sure I get a good workout in.
Getting up early and staying awake all day helps make me really tired at the end of the day.
Body Aches
Depression is a very physical pain for me. I get achy all over my body and usually get a sharp pain in my chest.
I like to soak in lavender epsom salts.
Lavender has been shown to be relaxing and Epsom salts can help with sore muscles.
When I get out of the bath I rub icy hot on the areas that hurt (usually my chest and my legs).
I have found that stretching helps so I try to do easy stretching videos on YouTube.
A lot of times if my chest really hurts I’ll use a heating pad before I go to bed.
Appetite
When I’m depressed I usually lose my appetite.
It’s important to try and eat a little bit even if you don’t feel like it.
Recovery is going to be that much harder if you don’t eat. If I’m really not hungry I’ll make a smoothie.
I keep buy bags of frozen fruit so I always have the ingredients on hand.
I mix some supplements like vitamins, flax oil, fish oil and protein powder in with the fruit to try and get an extra boost.
I also try and eat a little bit of fish. Omega 3 has been shown to help alleviate symptoms of depression.
You can check out my super easy salmon recipe here.
Headaches
When I’m depressed I get relentless headaches.
The first thing I do to try and get some relief is chug a bunch of water.
I’m really bad about drinking enough water.
I bought a water bottle that keeps water cold forever and that seems to be helping.
The second thing I do for headaches is peppermint oil.
This stuff is a godsend for headaches.
If you get headaches you have to try it out.
Anxiety
Depression and anxiety go hand in hand for me and I always struggle with both of them.
Whenever I’m struggling with anxiety I cut sugar and caffeine from my diet.
This makes a huge difference for me and I really recommend you try it if you struggle with anxiety.
The second thing I like to do to help anxiety is drink chamomile or peppermint tea.
I also like to use lavender essential oil to help with anxiety.
When I’m feeling really anxious I like to curl up in bed with a cup of tea, lavender oil and a book and try to let some of the worries go.
I hope these little tips can help you get more comfortable while you recover but if you’re really struggling please go talk to a therapist or a Doctor.
Remember this is only one of many phases of your life.
There have been so many times when I felt like I would never recover but these days I live a (mostly) happy and joy-filled life. If it’s possible for me then I know it is possible for you too.