If you live with depression, you experience a myriad of physical and psychological symptoms. Some days, it can feel hard to even get out of bed. Commonly, people with depression struggle in the self-care department. This blog will discuss why this challenge exists and ways to make self-care easier.
Impaired Self-Care
Depression is known to impact your self-care. Many people with moderate to severe depression struggle to bathe, brush their teeth, eat food, and follow a medication schedule. Unfortunately, it can result from a lack of motivation and fatigue. It could also occur due to anhedonia and feelings of worthlessness.
No matter the cause, during a depressive episode, you may feel frustrated by your inability to care for yourself. It’s important to offer yourself the compassion you’d give to others.
Ways to Improve Your Self-Care
If you feel stuck in bad self-care patterns, you can improve your circumstances by creating a sleep schedule, staying hydrated, and creating an emergency self-care kit. While this doesn’t fix all the issues, it sets you on the right track.
Create a Sleep Schedule
If you struggle with self-care and sleeping due to depression, you can help yourself by creating a sleep schedule. This doesn’t just mean a bedtime and wake-up time. You should also set a time before bed that you will stop using electronics. Additionally, if you consume caffeine, you should observe yourself to see how long it impacts you. Then, stop drinking it that far ahead of your bedtime. You also might consider switching to a dimmed light a little while before bed. All of these habits will help ensure you get a healthier amount of sleep under the circumstances.
Stay Hydrated
According to a 2019 systematic review published in Nutrients, two percent dehydration or more can impact you in the following ways:
- Confusion
- Decreased alertness
- Depression
- Fatigue
- Inability to concentrate
- Inattention
- Impaired cognitive abilities
- Irritability and anger
- Mood swings
- Poor short-term memory
Staying hydrated is the simplest form of self-care. It ensures you have peak cognition, energy, and emotional regulation. Given that these things already struggle with depression, it’s important to ensure you have enough water in your system.
Have An Emergency Self-Care Kit
While it’s ideal to take showers and eat full meals, sometimes that just isn’t feasible. For the worst days, you should create an emergency self-care kit. You should include many things in this kit. Put a pillbox of your as-needed medications. Include a simple snack that doesn’t take preparation. You might want to include body wipes, dry shampoo, breath mints, and deodorant to manage your hygiene. If you have an object that makes you smile on your worst days, put it in your emergency kit. This could include a coloring book, a stuffed animal, or even a photograph.
Your emergency kit will make things easier on your hardest days. All the items will be together, ensuring you can perform self-care quickly and effectively. On better days, you can refill the kit to prepare for the next bad day.
Depression can feel overwhelming and all-consuming. Your self-care may suffer as a result of this disorder. However, small things can help you get back on track. You should create a sleep schedule, stay hydrated, and keep an emergency self-care kit. You may also benefit from seeking treatment for your depression. At The Guest House, we can help you take control of your depression. We offer quality inpatient and outpatient care that fits into your schedule. Through traditional and holistic therapy, our clinicians will help you take steps toward healing. When you’re ready, call (855) 483-7800.