Your mood can plummet slowly or suddenly, and for practically any reason depending on who and what you care about in your life. I have found that the feeling of inadequacy is usually at the root of my depression, and also what prevents me from cheering up. Personally, I can’t usually see a bad mood coming, so it is hard for me to stop depression in its tracks. This is because my depression comes from very normal, everyday things that get you down in the dumps for logical reasons. However, despite what countless television ads say, you don’t need medication to treat depression. I have some tips on how to treat depressions without medication that I have learned over years of struggling with mood swings. They involve physically moving around, finding a happiness trigger, and keeping yourself happy once you start pulling out of your down mood.

The first step in treating depression without medicine is getting up and moving! A change of atmosphere is usually a safe start. If you are all alone, go to your favorite diner, sit at the bar and people watch. If you are surrounded by people, remove yourself from that atmosphere and find some peace and quiet. I am usually alone or with one other person when I get into a slump, so I choose to go to a public place where I can be surrounded by other people and get my mind off of things. Sometimes this change in atmosphere is all I need, as it helps me remove myself from the place of my sadness and reminds me that there is more than what I am dealing with at the moment.

The reason you want to start treating depression with getting up and moving is because physical activity alone can stimulate endorphins, which make you happy! Because of this, exercising is one of the best things you can do to pull yourself out of a bad mood or depression. This is what depression medication attempts to do unnaturally. Wouldn’t you prefer treat depression yourself the natural way, without medication?

If getting up and making yourself move around doesn’t do the trick, you can fall back on a happiness trigger: something that has put you in a good mood without fail in the past. I have discovered a few different things that can “shock me” out of my bad mood. These are: the movies Big Trouble, The Boondock Saints, and My Neighbor Totoro, as well as any music from Cake or The Red Hot Chili Peppers.  Other things that can help is if I look online for new Awkward Family Photos or something about cats on The Oatmeal website.

Basically, the idea is to take your mind away from what has got you so down, and shock it with something random, funny, happy, or something that stimulates energy. That energy boost usually pulls me out of my slow, tired, lazy depression, and gives me the extra oomph I need to put my butt in gear and do something (we are back to doing naturally what depression medication does artificially).

So often once I feel myself coming out of my depression, someone walks in the door and says “how are you feeling? Are you still bummed about ___?” This usually gives me a solid push in the wrong direction and without warning I am back in an awful mood. Now I am not just depressed, but frustrated as well because I am back where I started!

Avoiding this relapse is crucial, as pulling yourself out of the same funky mood for a second time adds irritation to the nasty mix. I have not perfected this yet, but I find that repeating a line from your happiness trigger helps. For example, repeating “I am happy” or replaying the funniest part of “Big Trouble” in my head keeps me happy, keeps my energy up, and keeps my mind off of whatever was bothering me.

Depression is such a frustrating term. Feeling depressed is no fun and so often a difficult problem to solve. If you are in a serious depression, and cannot pull yourself out, it is best to ask someone for help. People are very willing to help others, especially if they know it could make a big difference in that person’s life. In this case, treating depression with medication might be an option to explore. However, if you simply know you have trouble pulling yourself up by your bootstraps when you get down in the dumps, try the three approaches just discussed.

Let’s review how to treat depression without medication. Put on your work out clothes and tennis shoes and get outside for a brisk walk or even just do some basic exercise movements in your living room. Heck, the benefits of being active exceed improving mood. Having a familiar work out routine helps, as you can just do it without thinking much and that makes you more likely to make yourself exercise when you’re down.  Find a happiness trigger, and keep it on hand in case of a down-in-the-dumps emergency. Lastly, don’t forget that once you start cheering up, it is your responsibility to keep yourself in that good mood by staying positive.