A few days ago, I saw a blogger posting that she went to the hospital for a checkup on an ordinary weekday afternoon and found that:
The psychiatric clinic was packed with people.
In the comment section, many netizens of different professions and ages said they had the same feeling:
There are more and more people around me with mental problems.
As a practitioner in the field of psychology, I often receive requests for help from friends and relatives:
What should I do when I or someone around me is depressed?
In fact, in addition to seeking professional treatment in a timely manner, we can also do more things that are beneficial to mental health in our daily lives, prevent or improve negative emotions that have already appeared, and avoid the situation from worsening.
Although the popular practices of “exercise regularly”, “improve diet structure” and “go to bed early and get up early” are effective, for people who are already in a low-energy period, starting and persisting is a difficult task in itself.
In order to help everyone better start self-help, or help those around them in time, we have compiled this “Guide to Improving Depression”, hoping that you can find a method that suits you.
01
Look at the trees
In recent years, compared to popular online tourist attractions, people seem to prefer going to some open-air natural attractions with high “green content”.
Perhaps this is the calling of genes.
In the 1980s, biologist Edward Wilson proposed the “Biophilia hypothesis” :
Human beings’ love for nature and closeness to life is an instinct and a basic need given to us by evolution.
Therefore, just by being in nature, we feel fulfilled by this connection.
As early as the 1940s, Germany established the world’s first forest therapy base.
Studies have found that forests not only relieve people’s depression and stress levels, but they are also rich in natural ingredients such as oxygen, negative oxygen ions, phytoncides, etc., which are beneficial to many sub-healthy people.
Especially for those who stay indoors for a long time, “looking at trees” is the best alternative to forest therapy.
When we look at trees, we can temporarily escape from the stressful environment, relax our attention by following the swaying of the trees, and become peaceful and happy.
Also, the trees are green.
Experiments have shown that staring at a green scene (even a forest picture) for 10 minutes can reduce cortisol levels by 15% and relieve stress.
At the same time, the growth and withering of trees affect the human body’s biological rhythms.
This not only refers to physiological changes, but also evokes our inner feelings of new life, hope, passing, and cherishing. The connection with trees helps us to re-examine our inner selves and gain a sense of meaning and belonging.
Now that spring has arrived, many trees have sprouted tender green buds. Try to look up at the trees and hug them every day to feel the powerful vitality bestowed by nature. You will also grow new life veins and slowly get better.
02
Rewatch old dramas
Is there any TV series/variety show that you would watch over and over again?
For me, it’s 《Friends》. Especially when I’m in a bad mood, I can just turn on an episode or just listen to it as background music, and I’ll feel much better.
My best friend Xiao C, when she feels stressed, she watches two episodes of 《Reply 1988》. She described:
This is more stress-relieving than shopping and eating delicious food.
Psychological research has found that “media nostalgia” can effectively enhance an individual’s positive self-esteem and alleviate loneliness and real-life pressure.
On the one hand, the jokes and plot developments in old dramas are familiar, and watching the drama requires fewer cognitive resources, so it is easier to start and immerse yourself in it.
At the same time, while watching, we will also activate the brain’s “anticipatory reward circuit” and secrete dopamine, which makes people feel happy.
On the other hand, watching old dramas will evoke warm memories of the past, such as watching the dramas and chatting with family members, or discussing the plots with good friends and roommates.
These beautiful memories themselves have a restorative effect. They constitute “imaginary social connections” and give us the opportunity to temporarily escape reality.
At the same time, moderate nostalgia and recollection can help individuals connect current life details with the past and enhance one’s “self-continuity”.
When a person believes that his past, present and future are continuous, he will tend to make positive evaluations of his current self and take the initiative to improve and protect himself.
03
Shopping in supermarket
Is there anyone like me who likes to go shopping in the supermarket every weekend? Even if I don’t buy anything, I feel healed just by looking at the products.
There is a term called “retail therapy” in consumer psychology, which refers to regulating negative emotions and relieving stress through shopping.
Nowadays, many people are more accustomed to online shopping, but in fact, the healing effect of shopping in supermarkets offline is more obvious.
First of all, the neatly displayed goods in the supermarket, the smell of fresh fruits and vegetables, and the white noise of the rolling carts can stimulate the senses and bring a comfortable and pleasant experience.
Secondly, the process of “selecting the items needed” fully gives full play to a person’s “subjectivity”, allowing us to experience a sense of control and satisfaction in life and rebuild the order of life.
Psychologist Kit Yarrow believes:
When we shop, we don’t just buy “something” but an imagined “kind of life”.
It will give buyers a positive psychological hint, relieve immediate stress, and enhance their sense of identity and power.
At the same time, shopping in a supermarket is the smallest social activity that can be done by one person.
Supermarkets provide a low-pressure social environment. There is no need to interact with specific people. One can feel the connection with the real world among the crowds and fight against the tendency to avoid reality caused by depression.
Finally, when shopping, you can practice distinguishing between “what I need” and “what I want”. Buying things that you really need will bring you a greater sense of accomplishment and avoid the side effects of shopping addiction.
04
Change the color scheme
A large number of studies have shown that color is closely related to people’s emotions and behaviors, and different colors have different effects on emotions.
Psychologist Wright proposed:
Red is more likely to attract people’s attention and bring excitement and stimulation;
Blue can make people calm and focused, because our retinal ganglion cells are more sensitive to blue light, which inhibits the secretion of melatonin and makes it easier to concentrate.
Green can reduce “cortisol levels” and relieve stress;
Bright yellow can enhance pleasure by stimulating the secretion of dopamine…
Therefore, we can adjust the corresponding negative emotions by changing the color. For example,
- Wear bright, colorful clothes (such as the popular dopamine outfit on the Internet) to boost your confidence;
- Painting the walls blue increases focus, etc.
In addition, a study on the association between color and emotion in architectural places found that the richness of color in the environment also affects people’s emotions:
A single color can make people feel boring and aggressive, while an environment with overly complex colors can cause cognitive overload and fatigue.
An environment decorated with two complementary colors (one warm and one cool) can keep the individual’s arousal level at the most appropriate level and feel a stronger sense of belonging.
Therefore, you can also try to choose two colors you like to enrich the matching of your living environment/common items and maintain a good mood in your daily life.
05
Fish watching
When most people think of “animal - assisted interventions”, they think of dogs.
But considering the practical environment and risks required to raise a dog, this approach is not suitable for everyone.
A review published by the UK Institute for Biomedical and Environmental Research shows that interacting with fish can also improve mental health.
A study of college students found that just watching fish for five minutes significantly reduced anxiety.
Other studies have found that feeding animals and watching animals eat can bring pleasure and relaxation.
The “Natural Restoration Value Theory” believes that:
Exposure to non-threatening natural environments can effectively restore individuals’ depleted cognitive resources, allowing them to cope with stressful events more easily.
In addition, researchers have found that fish and humans can also form attachments, and fish can also give you the same emotional companionship you get from dogs.
06
Combing Hair
Do you feel comfortable when you comb your hair?
There is a very popular “soul extractor” that is similar to a comb. Using it to massage your scalp can give you an intense sense of comfort, and even your soul feels “refreshed.”
In fact, these behaviors are all achieved through special stimulation of vision, hearing, touch, smell, etc. in the ear holes, skull, scalp, back or other parts of the body, which makes the body produce autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR).
People will feel happy and enter a state of deep relaxation and calm perception, thereby improving negative emotions and promoting physical and mental health.
Studies have found that showing “ASMR trigger videos” to patients with depression can reduce depressive symptoms and relieve chronic or long-term pain symptoms.
However, the tools that trigger ASMR stimulation vary from person to person. For example, the “soul extractor” is not very helpful for some people.
Therefore, the most important thing is to discover your own “ASMR material library”.
You can start by searching for some popular ASMR videos, trying different methods, and perhaps you will find a “trigger” that suits you.
07
Value the “unique” smells in your life
In the prevention and treatment of emotional disorders, a relatively effective cognitive behavioral therapy is “Memory Specificity Training”.
The therapist will use some familiar clues to guide the individual to evoke more autobiographical memories (referring to the individual’s detailed recollection of events that he or she has personally experienced in the past) and make it as specific as possible, thereby helping the individual to look at past experiences more objectively and improve negative thinking patterns.
A 2024 study showed:
Compared with language clues, “smell clues” can evoke stronger, more specific and more vivid memories in depressed patients.
This may be because odor cues have a more direct path to extraction (directly to the hippocampus and amygdala) , while language cues require activation of prefrontal brain areas (a more difficult route) .
Therefore, in your daily life, you can consciously collect some smells that make you happy and smell them when you are in a bad mood.
You can also find some old things that were important to you growing up, such as old books and old toys, or spend some time in your childhood house and try to recall some specific events related to this smell and record your feelings.
Let the familiar smell lead you to see yourself from a new perspective and regain a sense of security and confidence.
08
Walking barefoot on the ground
Many studies in the fields of medicine and psychology have found that walking barefoot is not only good for health, but also can improve subjective well-being.
This is not to encourage everyone to go out barefoot.
The “Grounding techniques” in psychological counseling come from this————
When the pain a client feels is too intense,
The counselor will suggest that they practice connecting with the surrounding environment through their senses to achieve the purpose of distraction.
Detach from negative emotions and focus on the present moment.
Therefore, the richer the stimulus types, the better the separation effect will be.
For example, you can walk barefoot on different surfaces (such as wooden floors/ceramic tiles/grass, etc.) every day to improve your “discriminative touch”, enhance your “emotional granularity”, and better control and manage your emotions.
At the same time, it can activate your “parasympathetic nervous system” and improve sleep quality.
09
Watching the clouds
In the field of psychotherapy, “mindfulness meditation” can be said to be one of the most widely spread methods.
In recent years, more and more studies have shown that mindfulness meditation plays a significant role in alleviating chronic pain, anxiety, depression, eating disorders and other physical and mental illnesses.
Simply put, it emphasizes freeing oneself from fear of the past and the future through conscious awareness, focusing on the present moment, and observing it without judgment.
But in practice, mindfulness meditation requires constant practice to achieve.
Especially for people with high anxiety, it can be difficult to maintain inner peace when the mind is constantly flooded with thoughts and information.
For such people, looking up at the clouds may be a simple and effective alternative to meditation.
Let your eyes follow the direction of the clouds’ flow. This small mechanical movement can quickly activate your concentration, clear your brain of distracting thoughts unconsciously, and achieve the effect of meditation.
10
Coloring
There was a time when adult coloring books were popular all over the world, and many people used coloring as a way to relieve stress.
This may be related to “painting psychotherapy”.
Many clinical studies have found that structured coloring can help reduce anxiety and improve the subjective well-being and social function of patients with depression.
On the one hand, most coloring book patterns are symmetrical, which creates a protective space and can also make people feel calm and give them a sense of order through visual stimulation;
On the other hand, coloring itself is a way to express and vent emotions. Individuals use different colors to externalize their inner emotions and relieve stress and tension in real life.
Psychologist Jung believes that coloring is a kind of projection.
Out of the desire for completeness, painters will subconsciously process and integrate inner conflicts, solve the problems they face, and stimulate more positive emotions in the process of self-improvement.
Final Thoughts
Before the postgraduate entrance examination results were released, I saw a hot search on the Internet, which made me feel very emotional:
The re-examination is my ticket to spring.
We have to admit that the anxiety created by the social environment is constantly impacting everyone, attaching too many preconditions to happiness and providing a breeding ground for negative emotions.
We may not be able to completely escape from such an environment, but we can try to practice taking our emotions seriously.
When you are anxious, find a quiet place to hide; when you are depressed, do something that makes yourself happy.
In ordinary days, accumulate more memories that can bring you energy; when you can’t find hope, bravely look inward and seek help from outside.
Don’t forget, spring is free for everyone.
May we enjoy every season and every moment.
The world and I love you.
