1. Spend Time Outdoors
Regular exposure to sunlight can help alleviate negative emotions. Take a walk every day, preferably in a pleasant place such as a park or a tree-lined boulevard. If you live in a place with bad weather, take advantage of sunny days when they come along and do something outdoors. The fresh air helps oxygenate the body, and the sunlight can address seasonal affective disorder as well as more general forms of depression.
2. Eat a Well-Balanced Diet
A healthy balance of vitamins and minerals in your diet increases your energy levels and helps you feel better. The amino acids in protein can increase the levels of serotonin in your brain and carbohydrates make it easier for your body to absorb them. Deficiencies of minerals such as zinc or folic acid can lead to feelings of depression. Eating sensibly will ensure that you receive adequate amounts of essential minerals. In addition, you should avoid alcohol, recreational drugs or caffeinated beverages, as these can make it harder to relieve depressed emotions.
3. Exercise Regularly
Thirty minutes of brisk aerobic exercising--such as running, swimming or bicycling--has been known to relieve most mild forms of depression. In the most immediate sense, it provides an outlet for negative emotions, allowing you to "burn off" feelings of anger or frustration in a positive way. On a more general level, it increases your energy and helps you to feel better about yourself. Studies have shown that regular exercise not only relieves mild symptoms of depression, but makes it less likely that they will come back. Regular exercise is less effective for relieving more serious forms of depression, but can still be helpful in conjunction with formal types of therapy.
4. Practice Deep Breathing Techniques
Breathing exercises make you more mindful of your body and help calm negative emotions. Yoga classes teach a variety of techniques, but you can use a very simple breathing exercise to help feel better when you're in the throes of depression. Sit comfortably somewhere without distractions. Close your eyes and turn your attention inward. Breathe in slowly through your nose for a set amount of time--say 4 or 5 seconds--and then exhale for the same amount of time. Breathe from your abdomen and maintain steady, regular inhales and exhales for at least 5 minutes. Regular practice of this or another breathing exercise should improve your thought patterns.
5. Don't Neglect More Formal Treatments
While simple steps can help relieve the immediate symptoms of depression, proper treatment may require much more effort. Depression can cause serious problems if left unchecked. Therapy sessions are the most common treatment for depression, and a trained psychologist can help uncover the root causes of your negative emotions. Antidepressant medication can treat the biochemical balance of your brain, helping you maintain an even keel. While simple steps such as regular exercise and outdoor activity can complement these treatments, they should never be viewed as a replacement, especially in more serious cases of depression. Work with your doctor or therapist, and combine their recommendations with easier steps that you can apply yourself.
