Managing your mental health requires consistent effort, but it's possible to overcome chronic depression with the right approach. The journey begins with believing you can get to a better place, then committing to practical steps that gradually improve your condition.
• Depression often remains hidden due to stigma despite affecting thousands daily
• Mindset is crucial - believing improvement is possible creates motivation for change
• Professional help may be necessary through counselors, therapists, or psychiatrists
• Exercise for just 15 minutes daily can significantly improve mood and energy levels
• Certain foods support brain health while sugar worsens depression symptoms
• Mindfulness and relaxation techniques help manage stress that worsens depression
• Breaking tasks into smaller goals creates achievable wins that build momentum
• Challenging negative thoughts by replacing painful memories with positive ones
• Understanding that depression medication replaces missing brain chemistry
• Recognizing you deserve happiness and committing to the work needed to achieve it
Find me on Pinterest at TT Mental Health Expert, subscribe to my YouTube channel Win Over Depression, join my Facebook group called the Win Over Depression Community, and connect on LinkedIn. Please like and subscribe to the Win Over Depression podcast on Spotify, Google Play, and other platforms. Support the podcast at www.patreon.com/TamaraTrotter with a one-time donation of $50 or monthly donations of $5-$10.
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Episode Transcript
Hello and welcome.
To Win Over Depression.
I am your host, tamara Trotter.
This podcast is dedicated tothose who suffer with a mental
illness but try every single dayto feel better.
It's also dedicated to thosepeople who have friends who
suffer with a mental illness andthey want to learn more about
(00:28):
this debilitating disease.
Remember, if you suffer from amental illness, you are not
alone.
There are thousands of peoplewho suffer every single day, and
the fact of the matter is noone wants to share that they
suffer with a mental illnessbecause of all the stigma
(00:51):
surrounding mental health.
But if you had heart disease ordiabetes or any other medical
condition that required you totake medication, no one would
question it.
However, if you take medicationfor your mental illness, all of
(01:11):
a sudden people want to callyou names, thinking that you're
crazy, that you don't havecontrol of your emotions, and
that is why most people do notshare that they suffer with a
mental health condition.
Today, we'll be talking aboutdoing the work.
(01:31):
So when we talk about work,what exactly are we thinking
about?
We are thinking about effort.
We are thinking about a task.
We are thinking about doingwhat it is we need to do to
achieve a goal to get to thenext level.
So that is what we're talkingabout when we say what is doing
(01:57):
the work when it comes tomanaging your mental health, you
have to put in the work.
Managing your mental health,you have to put in the work, and
I'll be the first to admit thatit's not easy.
It is a condition that reallyis tiring and you feel like
(02:20):
you'll always be in this mentalhealth condition.
But I am the first person tolet you know that I suffered
with chronic depression for thelast 15 years.
But in the last five years Ihave managed my depression,
coped with it better.
I've been on my job for 27years and I know that when you
put in the work, you can get toa better place.
(02:42):
But first and foremost, youhave to believe that.
You must believe that you alsocan get to a better place.
So I want you to think aboutwhat is it that you do that has
nothing to do with your mentalhealth.
Where you put in work, it's thesame concept I'd like for you
(03:05):
to think about putting in thesame work and the same effort in
managing your mental health orillness that you do with
everything else that's importantto you and your mental health
should be important to youbecause it affects every facet
(03:25):
of your life.
And, yes, you will have topersevere.
You will have to invest thetime and the energy.
It involves being consistent,learning to problem solve and
overcoming challenges.
It also will require you topick and choose your battles.
(03:46):
Everything that happens in yourlife cannot be a crisis,
especially if you are wanting tokeep your mental health at bay.
So you have to first make aconscious decision that you are
going to do something differentin your life.
(04:10):
There are some people who simplyneed to seek professional help
and consult with the mentalhealth professional a counselor,
a therapist or a psychiatrist.
Only you can determine whetheror not that is a road that you
need to take.
But if you are not one whowants to see a mental health
(04:34):
professional, then there areother things that you can do to
manage your depression.
One of them is exercising.
If you exercise 15 minutes aday, you will feel better and
better every time you do it.
And when you're exercising, itdoesn't have to be a long run or
(04:58):
something that takes a lot outof you.
You can simply walk around yourhouse and feel better.
It doesn't have to be anythingmajor, but you do need to be
committed to doing it.
There is a commitment involved.
There are also some foods thatyou can eat that are going to
(05:24):
naturally help you manage yourmental health, and a few of them
are avocados, any type of fish,all types of nuts, green leafy
vegetables and anything that isgoing to help your brain
(05:44):
function, and that's what fooddoes.
But when you eat sugar, itexacerbates depression.
So that is what you can do whenit comes to overcoming your
symptoms of depression.
So we're talking about puttingin the work today on this
podcast episode.
(06:05):
Another thing you can do ispractice mindfulness and
relaxation techniques.
Practice mindfulness andrelaxation techniques
Incorporate meditation, deepbreathing exercises or yoga and
focus on the present moment anddevelop strategies to manage
stress.
So stress is definitely an areathat you need to keep at bay
(06:31):
when you suffer with the mentalillness, because you can have
stress that can cause you tohave a stroke.
So you want to make sure thatyou keep your stress at bay.
The other thing is, you knowhow important it is to
accomplish and to set goals, butwhat happens is we think too
(06:56):
big and then we get overwhelmedwith the goals that we've set
for ourselves, and then thatcauses us to feel depressed
because we feel like we're notachieving anything.
But you need to break your taskinto smaller, more manageable
goals so that you can celebratethe small wins when you have a
(07:21):
victory.
See the small wins help you tobuild the momentum that you need
in order to get to that biggoal that you need in order to
get to that big goal.
So break it down into smallchunks, especially when,
generally speaking, people whosuffer from depression or mental
illness have low energy.
(07:42):
So if you have low energy, is itrealistic for you to say I'm
going to get up in the morningand I'm going to clean my house
for three hours until it'scleaned, guess what?
You're probably never going toget started because in your mind
you're thinking three hours isa long time.
(08:03):
This house sure does look amess.
I don't feel like it.
But look at this If you saidI'm going to get up in the
morning and I'm going to focuson one area at a time, first,
I'm going to wash my dishes.
That's going to take about 20minutes, and it is OK for you to
then rest for 20 minutes, andthat's what we have to do for
(08:26):
ourselves Set small, realisticgoals and then, after you've
rested, say, ok, I'm going tovacuum one room at a time, and
as you are vacuuming and you gettired, then you take a break.
But guess what?
You've already accomplished twogoals.
(08:47):
You've washed your dishes andyou have vacuumed one room, and
that's fantastic.
So even if you didn't doanything the rest of the day,
you can say I accomplished twogoals today and that is going to
give you a good feeling.
(09:07):
We also need to think about theoutlook that we have in life.
Do we have a positive outlookor do we feel like everything
that's happened before is goingto come and happen again?
You either speak life into yourlife or you speak challenges,
(09:31):
issues and problems and youbelieve that life is going to
get better.
If I keep moving forward, Ikeep pressing on, I forget about
the past and I look to thefuture, because the future is
(09:51):
where the magic is going tohappen in your life.
But you've got to look forward.
As a matter of fact, I'velearned that in certain
situations, when you hadsomething that happened to you
that wasn't favorable and youstart thinking about that, when
(10:11):
you start thinking about it, youprogram your mind and you go
back to a place in time when youfelt good about what was
happening in your life and youreplace that negative thought or
feeling with something positive, and it works.
Replace something that botheredyou, something that caused you
(10:37):
so much pain.
Don't focus on that.
Replace that pain with joy, anddo that over and over again.
You have to challenge yournegative thoughts.
The brain of a person whosuffers from depression is much
different than the brain ofsomeone who does not, because at
(11:00):
the frontal lobe of your brain,where all your mood is stored,
for whatever reason, we lackserotonin.
And that's the reason you takemedication, because the
serotonin is in the medicationto help positively affect your
(11:20):
mood.
So when you think about it,don't think about oh, I'm so
sick and I had to take thismedication.
Think about it as if thismedication is replacing what you
don't have.
Because your brain is different.
And because your brain isdifferent, because you suffer
with a mental illness, whathappens is you sometimes develop
(11:46):
paranoia and paranoid thinking.
You think people are talkingabout you or you're in a
situation and you think thatit's one way and it really isn't
.
And I experience it because,remember, I've suffered from
depression for most of my adultlife but, as I mentioned earlier
(12:07):
, I do not suffer from chronicdepression, but I have episodes
of depression at times.
But I am living proof that whenyou do the work and you are
proactive, you can and you willget to a better place.
(12:27):
I guarantee it.
So tell me what are you goingto do to get to that better
place?
Are you willing to commit todoing the work in order to feel
better?
It's an easy decision.
So say yes, I'm in, I want tofeel better.
(12:47):
And guess what?
You deserve to feel better.
You deserve to be happy.
You deserve to be able to getup and experience the joy of
life.
You deserve it.
So put in the work so you canget to that better place that
you deserve.
(13:08):
I never want to end my podcastwithout thanking you so very
much for listening.
You are the best part of winover depression, my loyal
listeners.
I cannot thank you enough forbeing so supportive.
Remember, you can find me onPinterest at TT Mental Health
Expert.
(13:28):
You can also subscribe to myYouTube channel, also called Win
Over Depression.
I also invite you to join myFacebook group called the win
over depression community Inaddition.
In addition, you can find me onLinkedIn at win over depression
.
Please like and subscribe tothe win over depression podcast.
(13:52):
That can be found on Spotify,google play and any other
platform where podcasts areplayed.
If you would like to be apatron of win over depression,
you can go to wwwpatreoncom.
Backslash Tamara Trotter.
(14:13):
That'sT-A-M-E-R-A-T-R-O-T-T-E-R and a
one-time donation of $50, or ifyou would like to be a monthly
donor, as little as $5 to $10per month will help us to grow
this audience even stronger andfurther.
We are in an internationalmarket and we are growing and
(14:37):
growing.
So thank you so very much.
Market and we are growing andgrowing.
So thank you so very much and Iwill see you next time on win
over depression.
Remember, giving up is never anoption.
Stay in the game of life and ifyou are listening to this
podcast and you arecontemplating suicide, please do
not take your life.
You are valued.
(14:58):
Your life is worth living.
I encourage you to go back andeven if you have to listen to
all of my podcast episodes toget you to a better place,
please do that.
Your life is worth living andwe want you to stay in the game
of life.
Thank you for listening and wewill see you next time for
episode 110 on win overdepression.
(15:20):
Take care.
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