Physicians Depression – Overview
As a medical practitioner, you are more prone to depression mostly because of your work environment.
It cannot be easy to see people ailing and sometimes even losing their lives and having no power over them.
Add long working hours and an almost non-existent social life and you have a recipe for disaster.
Even with that, you cannot afford to lose it because your patients depend on you.
Here are some of the things physicians can do to keep depression at bay as well as improve the quality of their lives.
1. Create a Support Network
Aside from therapy and medication, another thing you can do to avoid or manage depression as a healthcare worker is to build a solid support system. This could mean strengthening your ties with family and friends so that they are in a better position to be there for you when you need it.
In case you do not have that, you can join a support group of people going through the same predicament as yourself.
2. Avoid Stressful Situations
When the human body is under stress, it produces a hormone known as cortisol in excess. Now, that is a good thing but only for a while since it helps you prepare to counter whatever is stressing you out.
However, if that continues to happen, you may have a problem at hand and that includes depression.
As such, you want to avoid any stressful situations that could potentially lead to depression.
3. Try to Improve your Sleep Cycle
Did you know that mood and sleep go hand in hand? According to a 2014 study, 80% of persons with depressive disorder tend to experience sleep disturbances.
That said, you might find it hard to get out of bed or to fall asleep in the first place. With good sleep hygiene, you can improve the quantity and quality of your sleep.
You can start by switching off all your electronics a while before getting into bed or using a dim light to read.
4. Adopt Healthy Eating Habits
Research reveals that there is a link between mental health and diet. Many studies have confirmed that improved nutrition can help prevent or even treat mental illness.
In that regard, you want to eat healthy foods, drink a lot of water, and take your supplements as well.
Doing this could be just what you need to pick yourself up or prevent you from going on a downward spiral mentally.
5. Avoid Negative Thoughts
Depression is not just about feeling awful, it can also make you think negatively and you do not want that. The best part is that you are capable of controlling your thoughts so you may want to avoid negative thoughts and focus on the good ones.
You can opt to have cognitive behavioral therapy, install apps for the same on your phone, or read self-help books. All this can help transform your unhealthy thinking habits for the better.
6. Avoid Procrastination
Depression comes with symptoms such as difficulty concentrating and fatigue. Of course, this can then make it easy for you to procrastinate.
What you don’t know is that putting things off for later can fuel depression because you will be stressed, worried, and guilty when you do it.
It is therefore necessary to manage your time and set deadlines for yourself. Have short-term goals and try to get the most important things handled first.
7. Develop a Well-being Toolbox
This is a set of tools that will come in handy when you are feeling down and need to soothe yourself. Now, the thing here is that the tools that somebody else uses to manage their depression may not necessarily work for you.
As such, you want to determine what makes you happy and implement it especially when you are feeling down.
It could be reading a good book, swimming, listening to music, or doing yoga. To be on the safe side, you may want to make a list of what you may like to do whenever you are feeling down.
That way, it will be easy to pick an activity when you start feeling down.
Final Thoughts
Being in the medical field is not easy and it could take a toll on your mental state. However, it doesn’t have to be that way seeing as you can avoid depression or manage it by following the tips in this article.
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