Goals- They Can Fight Depression
Many people believe that achieving goals can help fight depression. If you have lofty goals - such as graduating college, reaching a certain weight, or getting your first novel published - the accomplishment can act as motivation to keep pursuing your dreams. However, if you experience debilitating thoughts of worthlessness because of bullying, family secrets that have been revealed, or other situations (e.g. abuse) at school or work where your self-esteem is low and you feel helpless in obtaining the things you want in life, healthy goal setting might be more difficult yet crucial to fighting these depressions that lead to lower self-esteem and overall quality of life.
According to the American Psychiatric Association, depression is an illness in which a person feels miserable and down, rather than happy and full of energy. Depression can be triggered by any number of different situations - bullying at school, family problems at home or work- that can cause a person to feel hopeless and helpless. When depressed people focus on how bad they feel without any thoughts of how to improve their situation, they allow their negative feelings to take control over them and prevent them from reaching their goals in life.
Feeling and being helpless while in depression is one of the main reasons why it is difficult to have goals. Having goals, especially those that involve achieving something in life, can help one feel the motivation to act and actively strive to improve on their situation.
Healthy goal setting can act as a shield against depression - When you set goals, you experience a degree of success that can be used as a way of feeling positive about yourself and improving your outlook on life. When you know that you are achieving measurable accomplishments (e.g. grades, weight loss or increased productivity at work), you are less likely to wallow in your feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness brought on by depression.
Many tactics have been used to help people who are depressed. Writing down goals is one of the most effective. This can help the person who is depressed focus their attention on what they want to be able to achieve in life instead of dwelling on their worst fears and doubts about themselves. Even if your goals are small, you must start somewhere, and too often that starts with writing down your goals and feelings about achieving them.
Another way to keep from feeling helpless is to participate in goal setting groups, where you make close friends that support each other as they set goals for themselves and how they plan on achieving them. Knowing that you are working with friends who have the same reasons for wanting to achieve goals can help you feel more optimistic. Finding a task partner is also helpful when it comes to trying to achieve goals. Suggestions and support from your partner or a group can help keep you from giving up.
Being able to set and achieve goals, even if they are small, can help keep your depression at bay. When you have goals, it can help make you feel that you are making progress and taking your life one day at a time. If a person is feeling depressed and starts to indulge in self-pity and hopelessness, they will be less likely to set goals or even try to achieve them. The healthier goal setting that comes with being motivated by achieving something can be detrimental if the individual is unable to feel better about themselves in the first place.
Depression can be deadly - Mental illness such as depression can kill people if left undiagnosed or untreated for too long. Depression can cause people to just feel like giving up on their lives altogether rather than even attempting suicide.
It is important to remember that setting goals, even if they seem like they are easy to achieve, are still accomplishments in your own life. If you set your goals high enough and you work hard enough at achieving them, you can feel good about yourself and the choices that you have made in your life. Goals can be a great way for fighting depression by helping people focus their energy into something positive - instead of dwelling on negative thoughts - the realization that the things which are keeping them from achieving goals are within their power to overcome.
Goals do not always need be difficult or costly to achieve - They do not always need to be huge things (e.g. winning an Oscar), or even very ambitious ones (e.g. getting your first novel published). Many studies have found that many people who were diagnosed with depression were able to get better if they set smaller goals such as just starting a new hobby or going for a walk instead of just lying around in the house.
In addition, you do not need to have a goal at all in order to experience the benefits from goal setting. Setting small goals, even if they are completely unrealistic ones, can help keep your mind and body active and focused on something positive. This is often the best way to stop depression at the beginning. By setting goals, you are taking action and being proactive in pursuing your dreams instead of just giving up because you feel like you don't have control over your life.
Being able to set and achieve goals, even if they are small, can help keep your depression at bay. When you have goals, it can help make you feel that you are making progress and taking your life one day at a time. If a person is feeling depressed and starts to indulge in self-pity and hopelessness, they will be less likely to set goals or even try to achieve them. The healthier goal setting that comes with being motivated by achieving something can be detrimental if the individual is unable to feel better about themselves in the first place.
While it's true that depression can be deadly, this doesn't mean it has to be. While there are many ways a person can die of depression, the fact remains that it is still possible to overcome depression and go on living your life. The key is going out and setting goals for yourself, no matter how small or trivial they may seem at the moment. By setting and pursuing goals, you are taking action instead of staying stagnant in your depression, which can push you closer to bettering yourself through therapy or medication.
Conclusion
Setting goals may be one of the best things you can do when you are depressed. Setting small and attainable goals can help you achieve a sense of accomplishment that can lift your spirits and make it easier for you to embrace life again. The effects a small goal can have on an individual's mood is often more than large, expensive or difficult-to-achieve tasks. When set with the right attitude and determination, even the smallest tasks can serve as goals and leave an individual feeling excited about their lives again.
If you're not feeling better soon, consider contacting a counselor or taking medication to help with depression symptoms.