Things to do when feeling depressed and can't enjoy anything anymore

Being depressed is not the same thing as being sad. The activities and experiences you may enjoy to get out of sadness may not be applicable when you have been diagnosed with a mental health condition. Unfortunately, we sometimes give advice to someone with depression without really acknowledging the severity of their condition.

By asking them to cheer up, we burden them with something that they may not fully enjoy at the moment. We may force them to engage in activities or take them on trips. While these all have good underlying intentions, they may not help a person with depression.

However, there are certain things that one can engage in to elevate their mood and feel better, even when depressed. When you sense that depression is overshadowing your life, your can try to add these things in your to-do list.

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Things to do when feeling depressed and low

There are things that can help you even when you are feeling down and low. (Image via Vecteezy/Laphotospot)

The symptoms of depression can overpower how you feel, think and behave. Most characteristically, it impacts your energy level and motivation to do the things.

If you liked certain things in the past, there's a high possibility that you don't enjoy them anymore. Here are a few things that you may want to try out:

#1 Get some sunlight

While it might sound like an easy thing to do for someone without depression, many who are depressed find it difficult to step out of their rooms.

They prefer to stay in their rooms, hidden away from everything else. Getting some sunlight or indirectly engaging in light therapy can help ttheir body feel better.

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#2 Identify your support system

Being depressed is not a choice and can be caused due to many reasons. (Image via Vecteezy/Yellow Man)

Individuals diagnosed with depression generally display a cognitive triad. They experience negative thoughts about themselves ("I am a loser"), about the world ("The world is not a good place") and others around ("Nobody loves me").

However, it's important to remember that not all your thoughts are facts about you, and there might be loved ones who are willing to help you. If you can, try identifying your support system, as it's common to get drawn into social isolation and loneliness.

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#3 Prioritize yourself

Even when we are down with symptoms of depression, we tend to think of the ones that are around us.

We tend to de-prioritize ourselves and often say that we can get over being depressed. However, being depressed is not like having a common cold. It's a serious mental health issue that depletes you and impacts your resilience.

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#4 Process one emotion at a time

When feeling depressed, try to address one emotion at a time. (Image via Vecteezy/Laphotospot)

Depression is typically damaging to your emotional health. It means that you are likely to intensely feel certain emotions like guilt, frustration, anger, hopelessness, helplessness and sadness.

It would be unrealistic to sit down with all these emotions at the same time. Try to sit with one emotion at a time, and process them with your mental health professional.

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Even if you are able to do one or more of the aforementioned things today or in the next week, it's a big step that you will take for yourself. When one is depressed, every thing seems to be pointless.

However, it often feels like that because we have not seen the bigger picture or how life would be without depression.

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Janvi Kapur is a counselor with a Master's degree in applied psychology with a specialization in clinical psychology.

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