Infinite Ideas - Defeat depression: relief for troubled minds

Defeat depression

Relief for troubled minds

Infinite Ideas

7. The time of your life

If youre feeling weighed down by tasks like moving house or job hunting, youll find that good time management is an irresistible way to transform your mood and your life.

Whether you want to take a break from the rat race or just want to find the energy to keep up, read on.

Feeling inundated with all those things you need to do? Using to-do lists decreases stress, develops great organisational skills and improves your memory. Just writing things down means you are 25% more likely to do them. Go one better with a daily list thatll show you at a glance what you need to prioritise and what can wait. One method is the ABC list. This list is divided into three sections: A, B and C. All items placed in section A need to be done today. Items in section B need to be completed within the week. C section items need to be done within the month. As the B or C items become more pertinent they can be bumped up to the A or B list.

Concentration problems are rife in depression, but a to-do list means you wont forget that hairdressers appointment or leave your washing in the machine overnight. Seeing things through to the end is a valuable timesaver as switching from one task to the next makes you less efficient and more likely to make mistakes. And nothing really beats the sense of achievement you get from putting another tick by a task.

Whats it going to take out of you?

Get to know your body clock and exploit it. If youre freshest in the early morning, use that time to do difficult tasks like writing a letter to your bank manager fessing up to that unauthorised overdraft. Mechanical jobs like loading the washing machine can be left for when youre feeling brain dead and worn-out.

How to manage emails

Six billion emails are sent every day, and perhaps youre feeling that most of these are sent to you. If you dread switching on your computer because of the number of messages youll have to wade through, its time for action. Its well worth investing in a good spam filter and devising a way of working with emails that need further action. Dragging them into folders for different projects is a simple but effective start. Checking your emails just once or twice a day prevents protracted periods of email ping-pong.

Morning glory

Lots of us are sluggish in the mornings, but you can sneak up to fifteen minutes extra in bed by a bit of planning the night before. Put cereal (minus milk) into a bowl, fill the kettle and put out a mug. Take out the next days clothes. Theres nothing worse than getting up and needing to iron, or even wash, a clean shirt.

Bit(e) by bit(e)

You probably cant eat a family size bar of chocolate in one sitting; like most people youd break it into smaller, manageable chunks. So chunk up the big stuff and convert those massive jobs into a series of smaller, simpler tasks. For instance, instead of feeling overwhelmed because your house is in a mess, set yourself a daily fifteen-minute spurt, and work through it room by room. Too low and weary to fill in another job application form? Chunk it up and start with the easy questions you dont need to think about, like your name, address and date of birth. Once youve got some momentum going, add in things that need more concentration, like your job history. Save any free text sections until youre on a roll.

Sneaky ruse

If youre seeing a therapist or doctor, asking for the first appointment of the day or first appointment after their lunch break means you wont be left in the waiting-room because theyre running late.

How did it go?

QI work in an open-plan office. Everyone passes my desk as its next to the kitchen. People stop for chats all day after making drinks and snacks. I dont want to be rude, but all these five-minute chats mount up so I fall behind and end up staying late and coming in early. I feel really frazzled and miserable. What can I do?

AIm tempted to say swap desks with someone, but if thats impossible or impractical, you need to be more unwelcoming to passing colleagues. If that feels too daunting, try avoiding eye contact when people pass, or pretend youre on the phone.

QIve been avoiding writing my end-of-year dissertation. I just cant get started and have wasted weeks procrastinating. College deadlines are looming. How can I get going?

AInstead of thinking of your dissertation as one massive undertaking, try breaking it into smaller sections like research, planning, writing the introduction, writing the main text, writing the conclusion and set yourself deadlines for each stage. Setting yourself deadlines might seem counterintuitive, but they give you a series of objectives to work towards. Deadlines will break your deadlock and keep you motivated.

Heres an idea for you

Spend a week getting your home spick and span and youll save weeks of time and energy over the coming year. I spent about half an hour a day looking for papers, keys and lipsticks until I invested in a filing system, key hook and lipstick rack.

Defining idea

Time equals Life. Therefore, waste your time and waste your life, or master your time and master your life.

ALAN LAKEIN, time management guru

8. Counting sheep

Quality sleep is a serious depression buster. Here are some reliable routes to regular, refreshing rest.

I dont need to tell you depression disrupts sleep. Some disruption is due to messed up brain chemicals, but worries that accompany depression often prevent us relaxing sufficiently to fall asleep.

Sleep schedules

When I mention bedtime routines, Im often laughed out of town. Im not saying you have to be in bed by 7.30 with your PJs on, but it helps to go to sleep and wake up at roughly the same time every day. Evening routines give bodies and minds a chance to wind down. You might like to snuggle up with a good book, play some soothing music or soak in a warm bath. Light snacks prevent hunger pangs and so can help you sleep better. Heavy, spicy meals are anything but soporific, so give that vindaloo a miss.

Another, good but contradictory tactic is only going to bed if youre tired. If youre not asleep after thirty minutes, get up and only go back when youre sleepy. This can work wonders if you resist the temptation to have a lie-in or little daytime naps.

Uppers, downers, sleepers, wakers

Sleeping pills are addictive and often leave people feeling hungover the next day. Theyre almost always a bad idea. Melatonin is a supplement that helps some people with insomnia. Our bodies make melatonin, releasing it in increasing amounts from dusk. If you decide to top yours up, give it a couple of weeks to see a difference. Valerian is a herbal medicine that some people find helpful.

Tea, coffee, cigarettes and even that innocent-looking cup of cocoa are stimulants. Its worth cutting these out for two weeks to see if theyre culpable. As theyre addictive, be prepared for headaches and grumpiness while you withdraw. Warn your loved ones that its nothing personal.

Perhaps youve found that a stiff drink helps you fall asleep, but are puzzled why you dont feel rested the next day. Alcohol messes up our natural sleep rhythms. When you have a large whisky, youre giving yourself the equivalent of a general anaesthetic, knocking yourself out, rather than drifting off to the land of Nod. You miss out on the type of sleep you need for that refreshed, lusting-for-life feeling, and when the whisky wears off, you wake up.

Light and heat

Falling asleep too early? In the evenings, sit near a bright light to reset your body clock. When its time for bed, keep your bedroom dark. If youre a shift worker or live in the city, one of those eye masks you get on long-haul flights is just the ticket.