7 Stages of Fighting Depression
There are stages that you go through when overcoming depression. Each stage helps you determine if you've made progress and how your feelings have been changing.
1. Denial: “No, I'm not depressed.”
Denial is the first stage of fighting depression. It's not something that's easy to admit, but it's important to understand what denial is, and how it can affect your life.
Denial happens when you're aware of a problem, but you choose to ignore it instead of confronting and solving it. However, denying a problem doesn't make it go away — instead, it lets the problem fester until it becomes unmanageable.
People who are in this stage do not accept their situation as of the moment.They may not be aware that they have symptoms of depression, or they may think those symptoms are normal responses to life events or situations. They may also feel like no one understands them or would even care if they did tell someone about their distress.
Denial can be a good thing because it lets you focus on other things so you don't have to think about your loss or pain all the time. However, this can also lead to further problems down the road if left unchecked.
2. Anger: “How dare you tell me I'm depressed!”
The first thing to note is that anger is not the same as rage. Rage is a kind of extreme anger, and it can be dangerous. But even if you're not feeling rage, being angry can still be harmful to your health.
Anger is a natural response to feeling powerless, frustrated, and helpless.
When you are depressed and angry, you may want to hit someone or break something. You may feel like exploding with rage or screaming at someone who has done something that makes you mad. You might even lash out at friends or family members without thinking about how those words will make them feel.
People who are depressed often feel angry at themselves or with other people because they feel helpless and unable to change their circumstances. This can lead them to become even more withdrawn and isolated from others, which only exacerbates their feelings of helplessness and anger.
3. Bargaining: “I'll do anything to not be depressed.”
Bargaining is when you try to make deals with others—or even with yourself—to try and avoid having to deal with your problems head-on. It's not just about making deals with others; it also includes doing things like refusing medication or therapy in an attempt to avoid having to face your illness head-on.
You might start bargaining by telling yourself that you're not really depressed—you just need to get some sleep and exercise, or maybe try a different diet. You might start bargaining by telling yourself that you are depressed, but that it's not that bad—it's just a passing phase.
But bargaining doesn't work because it isn't real — it's just something we say to ourselves to make us feel like we're doing something about our problems when really we're not doing anything at all.
4. Hopelessness: “I don't want to live anymore.”
People with this symptom feel a sense of hopelessness about their future. They may believe that there is no way out of the situation and that they will never change. They may also believe that their lives are over.
This is because you've begun to lose faith in yourself and your ability to change. You may even start to doubt the existence of God or any higher power who could help you find a solution.
It's important to remember that this is a normal reaction for anyone going through a depressive episode. It does not mean that you are broken or beyond repair—it just means that you need help from someone who understands what you're going through.
5. Acceptance: “OK, I might be depressed.”
Acceptance is not resignation, but rather the wisdom to know that you cannot change what has already happened. It is a conscious decision to accept the unacceptable.
This is when you acknowledge that you are going through a tough time and you don't want to feel depressed anymore. This can be a hard stage because you begin to realize that the pain will not go away until you take action and commit to improving your mental health.
Acceptance is a sign of progress! Once you accept that you need help with your mental health, it makes it much easier to find effective treatments.
6. Trial and Error: “What if I try this?”
Trial and error is a common practice in fighting depression. People who are depressed often try different things in an effort to feel better. They may try to get enough sleep, eat healthy foods, or go for walks outside. They also may try going to therapy or taking medication.
Sometimes these things work and sometimes they don't. If someone doesn't feel better after trying something new, he or she might try something else. This process can go on for years until the person finds something that works for him or her and lifts them out of depression.
You may feel like you are not doing enough to fight your depression, but that's not true! Even if it feels like the same thing every day, that's okay. The important thing is that you are doing something and that's better than not doing anything at all!
7. Maintenance: “That worked! How can I keep doing it?”
The maintenance stage is the longest stage, where you will be able to fight depression for a long time. This is because it involves staying on track with your treatment plan and lifestyle changes. This means sticking to your medication regimen and making sure that you are getting enough sleep and exercise each day. You should also continue to do activities that make you feel good and avoid those that make you feel bad.
In this stage you might also take antidepressant. You might be experiencing any side effects or feeling any negative effects from taking them.
However, you should continue taking your medications if you have been prescribed them by your doctor, even though you may feel like you do not need them anymore. It is important that you continue taking your medication regularly because it can help prevent future episodes of depression.
Finally, it's important that you don't become too hard on yourself. The experience with depression is unique to everyone, and while it's normal to be concerned about your symptoms and the possible outcomes, trying to fix the problem right away isn't going to help in the long run.
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