Some people have called depression a disease. The problem with this is that it assumes it isn't curable and can only be tamed through medical intervention. As someone who's been misdiagnosed with depression and still defeated it, I can assure you that seeking a doctor's evaluation isn't always the best idea, and that it isn't always a disease.
Not every doctor can tell if you have depression or not. It could easily be mistaken for a normal response to life events, or worse: bipolar disorder. There's a big difference, a life threatening one in which suicide ideation increases rather than decreases (sounds ironic, right?). I would advise against anyone taking antidepressants who's just going through a hard time, as the side effects can potentially make matters worse. I would only recommend them as a last resort. That being said, here's a list of 14 things you should try to help cure your depression before seeking medical advice.
1. Get enough sleep. Don't kid yourself by thinking 3-4 hours of sleep is enough. Most people need 7-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep in order to feel energized and elevated. Most importantly, it helps you feel motivated to do the other things on this list. That's why I put it at number 1: because it should be the cornerstone of your well-being.
2. Eat a nutritious and balanced diet. Often when there's something missing in our diets it affects our moods as well as our bodies. Take everything you eat in moderation and never in excess, especially sugar and chocolate. The mood swings caused by excessive sugar can show the same symptoms as people with rapid bipolar disorder (mood swings occurring 3-4 times a day). That's not to say you should avoid all sugars. Some sugars, like the ones in fruit, are in fact good for you. Fruits and salads are essential to a well-balanced diet. They rid the body of toxins like the way they seem to rid the mind of them.
3. Exercise. When you exercise you release a large amount of endorphins, which are chemicals that reduce the perception of pain and contribute to your well-being. Not only that, but it helps prevent all kinds of diseases (depression being the least of them). You should be exercising for 30 minutes at least 4 days a week if you want to experience all the positive things it can do for you.
4. Talk to a friend. If things happening in your life are getting really bad, sometimes it's a good idea to open up and talk about them with a friend. After sharing your feelings with a good listener and someone you can trust, the feelings tend to sedate themselves and you have a clearer mind to think things over with. A good friend will be there for you and give you the empathy you need to face your problems. Don't be afraid to cry either; for many, weeping is the best way to release feelings of sadness.
5. Keep a journal or create some art. Keeping a journal is a good way to release your thoughts when you have no one to talk with. Creative people in particular show a heightened response to writing, or any of the other arts. Expressing your feelings by writing poetry, drawing, or composing music can have a profound effect on the healing process, because you will have taken your sufferings and turned them into something meaningful that others can relate with. It may sound strange, but internal suffering has helped create some of the best art the world has ever seen.
6. Seek counseling. A professional counselor usually knows what to say and when to say it. They can also help you understand the psychological basis for some of the feelings you may be confused about.
7. Abandon negative thoughts and train yourself to think optimistically. Is there ever a tape in your head that constantly criticizes you for the decisions you've made? Then it's time to erase that tape and record a new one. Don't be too hard on yourself, we all make mistakes. And don't make the mistake of thinking you're the only one in the world with problems. This will isolate you and make you feel victimized. Victimization makes you feel like the whole world is against you, and that you can't control your thoughts. But you can, and you aren't alone in your suffering.
8. Face your fears and face your problems. When you are unable to face your fears, you allow them to control you. You stay hidden from whatever it is that's holding you back. Never back away from a challenge unless the risk is too high.
9. Get a pet or seek a lover. Nothing makes us feel more complete than having someone to love and having someone that loves us in return. Pets are excellent at reciprocating the love we need when humans aren't always reliable.
10. Find meaning in your life through religion or spirituality. All faiths have an equal ability to change our lives for the better. Once we humble ourselves and realize that there are greater forces at work in the universe, we no longer feel like we're alone, or like slaves to our own minds.
11. Love yourself. This may sound easier said than done, but there are things about you that you should love. People need you around, and so does society. If there's something about you that you hate then you should do your best to change it instead of letting it bring you down. If it's something that isn't changeable then you should accept it for what it is, because nobody's perfect and you shouldn't expect yourself to be either.
12. Get some hobbies or find activities that interest you. Keeping yourself busy is a great way to distract yourself from the feelings of depression. The world is a beautiful place and there are so many things you could do with your life if you step outside the prison of your problems. Read a book, start a collection, travel the world. The possibilities are endless.
13. Take supplements. Sometimes it isn't easy to find all the natural chemicals we need to feel good. For example, vitamin D deficiency is common in places in the northern hemisphere where people don't get enough sunlight during the winter. Supplements can help with that. St. John's Wort is also a popular supplement for battling depression.
14. Find a balance. One of the most important things in fighting depression is to find a balance between a number of things that make you happy. That way you aren't completely dependent on one single thing. That's what happens to addicts; they cling to the one thing that makes them happy, such as a drug, and they are destroyed by it due to overindulgence. Codependency in a relationship is similar. This is when you depend on someone else for your own happiness, which gives them an unhealthy amount of control over your feelings.
Last Resort: Medications
If you've tried all of these and none of them work then medications may be your best option. But before seeing a doctor you should try to figure out which type of depression it is yourself. Ask yourself if you've been feeling down because of a recent loss or because of anything you might feel guilty about. If not, then ask yourself if your depression has been long term or not. If so, were there ever intervals of elation for long periods of time? If that's the case then you may have bipolar disorder, which is the same thing as manic depression. If you answered no to both of these and your depression has been chronic, you're more likely to respond positively to antidepressants. What these do is elevate certain neurotransmitters in your brain, which causes you to become more active and feel more content. If you're bipolar then this is the worst possible decision you can make, because the drugs will backfire and cause an excess of the neurotransmitter firing. Your moments of depression may lessen, but the manic episodes will sharpen. You will feel far more agitated, anxious, and desperate with all those excess chemicals in your brain. An increase in suicide ideation isn't uncommon either.
In my experience being around depressed people, it seems that the speed at which they think is the best indicator of the rate at which their neurotransmitters are firing, which also indicates how effective antidepressants will be for them. After taking antidepressants, a fast thinker will end up thinking faster than they normally do, while slow thinkers end up thinking at a normal pace. All pride aside, if you feel like you think slower than most people, antidepressants are probably more likely to work for you. If you feel like you think faster than others then you should look into medications for bipolar disorder. Lithium is usually the drug of choice, but bipolar people can also take a combination of antidepressants and antipsychotics. The antipsychotic is meant to suppress the excessive firing of neurotransmitters after the antidepressant kicks in. Once again, watch out for some unexpected side effects, like weight gain.
Somebody once said the best things in life are free. But you can only have them if you find freedom from your desires first. Buddha said it best: "Desire and ignorance is the root of all suffering." Allow yourself to let go of the things not meant for you, and the world will become a better place. Explore the world with all the curiosity that the universe blessed your mind with, and you shall know what it is that you were meant to be doing. Depression will become a distant memory, like the darkness of a cave once inhabited by a bashful hermit.
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