Staying Healthy - Tips For Preventing a Depression Relapse

Dealing with the stress of handling a classroom of rowdy students can try even the strongest of nerves. Even though teaching can be a very rewarding occupation overall, it may not be surprising to learn that Health recently listed the education field among its 10 careers with the highest rates of depression. This ranking doesn't mean that these jobs are more likely to cause depression. While in some cases, that may be true, in most of them it simply means that the jobs are stressful, are difficult to “leave at the office” and may even attract people who are more prone to depression.

 

With education jobs, many of the people who find them attractive are people who care deeply about sharing knowledge and working to make a lasting impact on their communities. These are the same people who are more sensitive to stress and can easily become depressed when they feel that they aren't making a difference or when they feel overwhelmed by their tasks. If you, or someone you know, has been diagnosed with depression in the past, you may be concerned with preventing a relapse. Especially if you are coping with this illness while being employed in a higher risk field.

 

There are many things that can trigger a relapse of depression. Some of them are:

 

 

The problem with this list is that the signs of a depression relapse are often subtle and sneaky. As someone who has been through a few periods of depression, I can tell you that often the “tells” or warning signs that a relapse is possible are extremely hard to spot. Often, it can simply be that I don't want to talk to my friends as much or I have conflict in several of my personal interactions. For me, if I see that I am having friction with more than one person, it is a big clue for me to take a step back and see if I am reacting from depression. When you start to become depressed, the first signs are that you lose interest in things that you typically enjoy, lack of energy and motivation, mood swings and easily frustrated or annoyed.

 

If you begin to see some signs of a relapse, it can help to stop and look for ways to change the way you look at things or add some excitement to your life. Although these things may not help much when you are in the midst of a serious depressive episode, they can head one off at the pass. If you are concerned about a relapse, here are some things you can do to try to pull out of it:

 

 

The most important thing, if you are concerned that you may be having a relapse, is to not allow yourself to hide under the covers. The temptation to stay in bed all day can be overwhelming, but even if you have to force yourself, try to keep a routine and just get up and get out. Don't let it get a foothold. Depression will lie to you and tell you that it isn't worth your energy to get up and going outside won't help. You shouldn't even bother trying to get together with friends for lunch or coffee, because you will just bring them down anyway. Besides, they will want to brag about what they have been doing, and you know that they are secretly judging you. They may not say it, but they probably don't really like you that much anyway, because you are a loser. And so on....

 

If you are worried about a depression relapse, watch out for these triggers and share your concerns with a few people that you trust to always have your best interests at heart. They can help you watch out for warning signs and keep you motivated at the same time.

 

Have you ever dealt with a serious depression? What do you do to keep from going back there? I would love to read your thoughts.

 

 

Are you looking for a job in Education? Be sure to visit Educationjobsite

 

 

 

By Melissa Kennedy- Melissa is a 9 year blog veteran and a freelance writer for EducationJobSiteBlog, along with helping others find the job of their dreams, she enjoys computer geekery, raising a teenager, supporting her local library, writing about herself in the third person and working on her next novel.