Update your settings

Be in your best mood everyday with these 5 quick and easy tips!

Luckily there are plenty of ways to fight depression and just for you we've listed the 5 best ways to get your mood out of the sad zone and into the happy light!

1. Count your blessings

It's a cliché but counting your blessings can help relieve you of depression. Learning the things that somehow make life worth living can have a positive effect on your mood and outlook on life. Instead of thinking of what you don't have you can try to tell yourself on how fortunate you are to possess what you have. Some examples are:

Your Family

Many people in the world fail to realize how lucky they are to have a family to call them or ask them if they've eaten yet or paid their rent. While it's understandable that sometimes the family can get a little too invasive you know they're just there to look after you.

When you look at it differently, your family is probably one of the best anti-depressant you can have. When you think this world just doesn't love your existence you can always count on your family to do just that. The family you spent most of your life with will always be there to love you and listen to your cries for help and they will always be there to comfort you in your times of need. Sometimes all it takes is a phone call from your mom or dad to remind you that someone loves you and that can make you happy.

Your Job

For the most part people just hate having to work 9-5 for a job they don't like and it frustrates them so much because they really don't have much of a choice. When you're in a situation like this it's better to think how lucky you are to have a job to be complaining about while most people complain of being jobless and having no source of decent income. 

Your Achievements

When life makes you think you're not good enough you can always count the number of things you've acquired thru hard work and determination. It can be in the form of an award you got when you were in high school or when you won quite possibly the toughest race of your life. Counting your achievements, no matter how small, can have a great impact on your mood and quite possibly reverse your depression into a feeling of gratitude.

2. Exercise

We earlier discussed the effects of exercise on stress and how it helps us feel good and with it is a way for us to battle depression. Not only will exercise help us stay fit and strong but it also grants us the opportunity to seize short-term goals which results to small yet positive effects on our mood.

Some of those short term goals could be as simple as trimming down your waistline by two inches or a great feat such as finally beating your PR in running or lifting.

And don't forget how exercise helps us release our body's natural mood enhancers. The body naturally releases them when you feel down but exercising can help the body release them even more and at a faster rate.

3. Eat "antidepressants"

When you're depressed you often go for the sweetest food you can find or you can buy in an instant. The reason for this is actually due to how our brain sugar lights up the pleasure and reward center of the brain and this is specially highlighted in those who are addicted to sugar.

But let's face it: sugar loading when you're sad is not exactly the best idea in the world. Eating sweets to "cure" depression can only be a band-aid solution and will actually lead to long-term depression if not controlled as early as possible.

The best foods to eat when you're depressed include the following:

• Bananas
• Green Tea
• Coffee
• Berries
• Apples
• Berries
• Oranges
• Quinoa
• Turmeric
• Red Wine
• Eggs
• Salmon
• Tomatoes

4. Look on the bright side

Sometimes it pays to view a problem on a different perspective. This might be easy or difficult depending on the person's problems but it generally requires you to see the good in a bad situation. It takes a certain level of character in order to pull this off since it's not exactly easy to find beauty when you see the whole world as ugly but it definitely pays.

Your date could've stood you up and you can tell yourself "at least I know he/she wasn't good for me" or tell consider the wonderful opportunities for a better career when you realized the company put the pink slip on your desk.

In the end it's all about how you view the challenges in your life and how you respond to each one of them.

5. Take a vacation

Lastly, taking a break from everyday life can actually help you unwind and reset your mood back to normal. It doesn't have to be a nice long vacation at some fancy beach resort. It can be as simple as taking a day off from work and spending time with yourself in the comforts of your own home. Doing so can help you reflect on your life and figure out ways on how to solve problems or issues that's causing you to be depressed in the first place.

You can make use of your time to focus on your hobby or to catch up with a few friends and/or relatives you haven't personally seen in a while. You can go out and explore the world and try to find happiness and meaning to your life. Any of those will do. What's important is that you're away from what's depressing you and hopefully come back with a means to solve it.

You're Not Alone

It's not just you who gets depressed. In fact, the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance states that around 6.7% of the U.S. population or at least 14.8 million adults suffer from depression every year. While this may be a sad news on its own beneath it lies the opportunity to help and support each other. But how are you going to do that?

We're social platform that connects those with the same mindset and the same types of problems together. We plan to bring a group of supportive and healthy minded individuals together in creating a community where everyone can share ideas and build a motivating atmosphere for those who need it the most.