5 things to tell yourself when depression strikes

On Friday morning I woke up feeling completely awful and it's knocked me for six. I've gone from a reasonably well-adjusted human (albeit one with depression and S.A.D.) to a shaking wreck who is sleeping as much of every day as possible and can't stop crying. Rather than sharing a long post about how awful I feel (which wouldn't help anybody) here are some things I've learned which I'll share for anyone else going through a hard time.

5 things to tell yourself when depression strikes

1. It WILL pass. No matter how awful you feel now it WILL get better. Every time my depression gets really bad it's so daunting that it consumes everything. It's like having a mountain dumped in front of me. I can't see past it and it feels like I'll never climb over it, but no matter how much I feel that, I know it isn't true. I've been through huge slumps in the past and I've always survived them. You will too. The fog will lift and joy will come back into your life.
2. Don't sweat your coping strategies too much. Whatever helps you get by in the short term is fine. I'm sleeping 12+ hours a day as feeling terrible mentally is exhausting. I've gone off food but when I do eat it's mostly sandwiches, and ginger biscuits dunked in hot chocolate. Whatever makes you feel better while you're struggling is OK - you can go back to your normal habits when you feel normal again.
3. Don't beat yourself up for feeling depressed. You don't have to be going through terrible things to be depressed, although of course that can cause it. Depression doesn't discriminate. Thinking you *should* be happy as life is going OK doesn't make you any less depressed, in fact it probably makes it worse. Accept you are depressed, whatever the reason, and deal with it. That leads me to point 4.
4. Be kind to yourself. If there's ever a time to pamper yourself or cut yourself some slack, this is it. Do whatever makes you happy - hang out in your PJs watching tv, exercise like a demon, cry your heart out, eat your weight in crisps, do face masks, paint your nails, dress up in your finest clothes to lay on the sofa. Do what you love most! Now is the time to turn off the inner drill sergeant and allow yourself a break from life's usual worries.
5. Don't fake happiness for other people's sake. I always do this in the first few days of a new bout of depression but it's a heavy burden to carry and it will make things worse. Tell the people closest to you that you're struggling, and let yourself feel your emotions. The worst thing you can do is isolate yourself - that's a scary path to go down, and one that can escalate incredibly quickly. Please reach out to someone.

Although reaching out to friends and family is essential in helping you get through a bad spell, if you're not seeing a professional about your mental health and you're struggling, please do. You may need a form of talking therapy to help you devise coping strategies. You might need medication for a short time to get you over grief or life's hardships, you may have a longer term problem, but whatever the case there's no reason to struggle alone with mental illness. It will affect one in three of us at any time, and it's important to talk to someone who understands. I have a chemical imbalance in my brain which means I'll probably always be on medication for depression, and I'm OK with that. Even with the medication I still have low spells, but I know I'd be far worse off without it.

May your good days outnumber the bad ones. ❤

Here are some mental health helplines within the UK. (Here is a list of helplines worldwide).

Samaritans
Telephone: 116 123 (24 hours a day, free to call)
Email: jo@samaritans.org
Website: www.samaritans.org
Provides confidential, non-judgmental emotional support for people experiencing feelings of distress or despair, including those that could lead to suicide. You can phone, email, write a letter or in most cases talk to someone face to face.

Mind Infoline
Telephone: 0300 123 3393 (9am-6pm Monday to Friday)
Email: info@mind.org.uk
Web site: www.mind.org.uk/help/advice_lines
Mind provides confidential mental health information services.
With support and understanding, Mind enables people to make informed choices. The Infoline gives information on types of mental distress, where to get help, drug treatments, alternative therapies and advocacy. Mind has around 140 local Minds providing local mental health services.

Rethink Mental Illness Advice Line
Telephone: 0300 5000 927   (10am-2pm Monday to Friday)
Email: info@rethink.org
Website: http://www.rethink.org/about-us/our-mental-health-advice
Provides expert advice and information to people with mental health problems and those who care for them, as well as giving help to health professionals, employers and staff. Rethink also runs Rethink services and groups across England and Northern Ireland.

Saneline
Telephone: 0300 304 7000 (6pm-11pm)
Website: www.sane.org.uk/what_we_do/support/helpline
Saneline is a national mental health helpline providing information and support to people with mental health problems and those who support them.

ChildLine
Telephone: 0800 1111
Email: http://www.childline.org.uk/Talk/Pages/Email.aspx
Website: www.childline.org.uk
ChildLine is a private and confidential service for children and young people up to the age of nineteen. You can contact a ChildLine counsellor for free about anything - no problem is too big or too small.

Elefriends
Website: http://elefriends.org.uk/
Elefriends is a supportive online community where you can be yourself. Elefriends is run by Mind.

Thanks for reading.
Leah xoxo