While some people experience depression once, get treated and never suffer again, many people experience repeat episodes of depression. Ward off depression relapse by taking care of your health and regularly performing certain activities that have been shown to reduce your risk. In addition to performing these exercises, stay in contact with your health care provider. Get enough sleep, abstain from alcohol and drugs, continue taking any medication you're prescribed and spend time each day doing activities you enjoy.
Significance
People in the U.S. are increasingly being diagnosed with depression. In 2007, 2.88 percent of the U.S. population had a diagnosis of depression, up from 2.37 percent the decade before, according to The Los Angeles Times. One in three people who have been treated for depression will likely relapse within
one year, according to Johns Hopkins University and Health System. Fifty percent to 80 percent of patients with a single episode of major depression will experience at least one more episode of depression in their lifetime.
Physical Activity
Regular exercise can help prevent depression relapse because of the beneficial effects of physical activity on mood. Exercise releases feel-good brain chemicals that can ease the symptoms of depression. It also reduces immune system chemicals that can worsen depression and increases body temperature, which might have calming effects. Fit small bursts of activity into your day if you can't spend a large block of time at the gym. Performing both resistance and aerobic exercise seems to work better than aerobic exercise alone, according to Health.com.
Stress-Busting Activites
Reduce stress in your life to reduce the likelihood of recurring depression. Chronic stress can increase your risk of depression, according to MayoClinic.com. Try yoga, Pilates, meditation, acupuncture, hypnosis, talk therapy or getting support from friends and family. Sign up for a yoga or Pilates class. Make friends with classmates to reap the added benefit of social support. To meditate, find a quiet place and repeat a positive statement in your head or visualize a peaceful place.
Mindfulness Therapy
An eight-week course of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy works just about as well as continued antidepressant use in preventing depression relapse, according to a 2010 study in the Archives of General Psychiatry. Zindel V. Segal and colleagues assigned participants who were in remission from depression to placebo, antidepressants or mindfulness therapy and followed for 18 months. Seven in 10 of those on placebo fell back into depression, while 28 percent of those on antidepressants and 27 percent of those engaging in mindfulness therapy relapsed. You practice mindfulness by focusing on your senses. Close your eyes and mentally list smells or sounds. When eating, pretend you've never seen or tasted the food before you and deliberately observe all of its individual properties.
References
- Health.com: 17 Ways to Avoid Depression Relapse
- MayoClinic.com: Chronic Stress: Can It Cause Depression?
- Archives of General Psychiatry: Antidepressant Monotherapy vs Sequential Pharmacotherapy and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, or Placebo, for Relapse Prophylaxis in Recurrent Depression
- "Los Angeles Times:" Meditation or Medication: To Prevent Depression's Return, Pick One
- OneNet PPO: Depression: Relapse Prevention
