As a person who has been diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), you know how hard it can be to accomplish even the smallest tasks during your most depressive times. What you may not be aware of is that there are three simple steps that you can use to help gain some of your life's vitality back from MDD's strong grip.

Step 1: Seek Professional Medical Help

If you are trying to reclaim your life back from your depression, then the absolute first step is that you seek professional help from a psychiatrist. It is a proven medical fact that MDD is a brain disorder. In fact, MDD can be seen on imaging scans. MDD is also believed to have genetic influences because it tends to follow family lineage. For this reason, you need trained assistance in battling your MDD—you simply cannot do it alone.

You need to work with your psychiatrist to find a medication that improves your MDD symptoms. MDD is safely treated using a wide variety of antidepressant medications. Finding the right medication that works for you will allow you to have as much improvement as possible in your mood and vitality. You need this boost so that you can fight to get your life back!

Step 2: Create a Plan

The difference between a goal and a dream is said to be a plan. If you want to reach any goals in your life, then you need to make a plan that outlines how you will get from Point A to Point B. Keeping this in mind, you need to make a plan for how you will start to regain your life back from the inertia of MDD. 

The best way to create a plan is to make it when you are feeling well. Trying to make a plan when you are not feeling well will just cause failure and frustration. So, next time you are feeling well, sit down and make a plan for how you will improve this aspect of your life. If you need help with this, your psychologist will be happy to assist you.

Step 3: Overcome Your MDD Brain's "No" Messages

MDD is like a filter in your brain that turns everything into a negative or overwhelming situation. Take brushing your teeth for example. On your most depressed days, do you often find that you can't even talk yourself into making the effort to brush? The reason is the filter of MDD in your brain keeps telling you that you can't do it, that you don't have enough energy, that you will do it later, etc.

The key to overcoming these "no" messages coming from your MDD filter is to follow the plan that you and your psychologist created. What will you do each day, no matter how you are feeling? Will you force yourself to brush your teeth each morning for two weeks to make it a new habit that your brain doesn't fight quite so hard?

By slowly retraining your brain for new habits, and by questioning everything your brain automatically sends through the MDD filter, you can learn to challenge your thoughts and feelings. Once you learn to do this, you will be able to push through the bad times much more easily.

Conclusion

If Major Depressive Disorder has its nasty grip on your life, then you need to actively fight for as much vitality as you can possibly muster. Through working with your psychiatrist, creating a plan, and by learning to overcome your brains "no" messages, you can start to see your vitality return and subsequently your quality of life improve. 

If you are suffering from a lack of vitality in your life, or if you believe that you may suffer from clinical depression, please seek the help of a psychiatrist like Commonweath Affiliates PC in your local area.