It breaks my heart when I see the same patterns of behavior leading people into depressive phases again and again. And I’ve witnessed this countless times over the last 20 years.
Yes, depression can often develop subconsciously and unintentionally over time. One of the main challenges here is the lack of awareness about the day-to-day habits and behaviors that might contribute to a depressive state in the long run.
People often attribute their depressed mood to specific circumstances in their lives that make them feel sad, hopeless, and trapped.
And yes, I’m with you—major events like losing a job, going through a breakup, or feeling stuck in a life you can’t escape—like being trapped in a job you hate but can’t quit because you need the money—can be overwhelming. These situations can feel devastating, like a heavy stone on your heart whenever you think about them.
However, it’s important to remember that life, in any given moment, consists of far more than just one difficult factor. While these challenges are real and painful, there are always things within our control that can make a difference.
These actions, especially when practiced as daily habits, can significantly strengthen mental health and resilience, making it more likely that when a difficult situation arises, you’ll be able to cope in a healthier way without falling into depression.
There are many small steps you can take to think and feel differently, and it’s essential to recognize that you are never truly powerless. The feeling of powerlessness is often just a story your mind has learned to tell you on autopilot.
This narrative can be changed—whether on your own or with the help of therapy.
As a therapist, I immediately think of the unhelpful, distorted thoughts that can lead to or exacerbate depression. These ingrained thought patterns should be challenged and replaced as quickly as possible.
But there’s another significant area of influence on our mood that many people aren’t fully aware of: the details of the world we create around us, how we organize our lives, and how these factors influence our senses and moods at any given moment. One of the most important elements in this regard is our gut bacteria. Let me explain what I mean by these areas of influence in more detail.
5 Habits that may nib Depressed Moods in the Bud
I think in our modern western world we often forget that we are nature, animals if you will. If you do not keep an animal in a species-appropriate manner, it will get upset. Over time it won’t look healthy anymore, it will change its behaviour, become apathic, you get the point.
Unfortunately that’s exactly what many people do to themselves. They don’t create a species-appropriate environment for a happy well-functioning human being, that gets up in the morning feeling energised from a good night of sleep and eager to explore the opportunities of the new day ahead. This would be the ideal, the normal.
Instead depression-prone people usually report no good sleep, going to bed too late, not having seen enough daylight during the day, not having moved their body much and maybe not having things at home that influence their mood in a positive way.
Also, separating the mind from the body and not seeing bodily causes for the development of depressed moods is a massive misconception.
Repeatedly I saw young women slide into depression while slowly becoming overweight, not caring for themselves anymore, not going out of the house much anymore, following very poor diets and so on.
So the depression in those cases developped along with their behaviour, not the other way round. In many cases the root cause for the development of depression, despite having some current trouble in life, is of physical nature.
In other words, if your body is “happy”, meaning it has all it needs, then the mind will normally cope differently and more constructively with adversities than if your are generally not kept species-appropriate.
Very often, people who are about to slip into an ongoing depression could nip it in the bud by taking care of healthy daily anti-depressant habits. So that would be:
#1 The Very First Minute in the Morning
Start each and every day with a very short mental exercise – and make sure this is the very first thing you occupy yourself with. It should ideally be the first thoughts you think, so to speak.
Don’t check your phone, don’t check the news, don’t occupy your brain with any information before you have done this:
First: Think of what you are grateful for. This can be small current things, or bigger general things. It doesn’t matter. Just think of a few things. Let’s say 3 thing. If there are more, the better. But 3 would be sufficient.
And second: Think of something you are proud of in your life. Something you achieved, or a skill or character trait of yours, anything. It can even be a former achievement that lies years back, if this is what comes to your mind. but find something, ideally also 3 things, that you are proud of. but at least one or two!
That’s it, then start your day!
This will restructure your brain towards positive thinking – in relation to things that are important to you! No superficial but meaningful positive thinking. That’s the big difference between useful and unuseful positive thinking. btw. Do this for 3 weeks and you should feel a sustainable difference – at least this was my personal experience. And for me the effect has lasted since then. I did that 7 years ago 🙂
#2 Take Yourself for a Walk
Go for a walk for half an hour, no matter if it rains or snows, just make sure you’ve got warm clothes. Relax you mind during this time for yourself and exercise mindfulnesss, wich means take notice of the air, the sky, the environment, no matter if you walk through a city or nature.
Just walk consciously and enjoy your body getting this wonderful movement. If your mind wants to come up with excuses why you can’t do that, then stop that thought. Please just stop it. Treat yourself like a treasure, like your baby if you will. If your baby needs nutrition, you also wouldn’t say I don’t have time for that. There is time.
Either you do it in the morning before work, or in your lunch break or after work. don’t cheat on yourself by not investing that 30 min of health creation every day.
You will see the difference in as little as a couple days.
There was a time in my life when I could have become depressed if i wouldn’t have had this and some other live saving habit.
I had got shocked by a serious health issue of my partner. But those daily walks kept me stable, me and him as well.
A wonderful aspect of taking a walk is that you achieve two positive outcomes at once. Depending on the season and weather, you may get vitamin D and your body gets movement.
#3 Surround Yourself with a High Energy Home
By that I mean that every detail in our life has an impact on us, may it often times just be subconsciously, but it does. So make your home a place that spreads positivity, good energy, light, of course cosiness, and beauty, as a permanent sign of respect to yourself. The colour yellow has turned out to have a positive impact on depressed moods. What a surprise – the colour of the sun! Let your home radiate to yourself “I love myself that’s why I take care for myself!”
The next tip is for you if you’ve never been someone who exercises.
#4 Challenge Your Body For 5 Minutes
Do Short Body Strength Exercises: You hate exercising? No problem, we’re not talking about hours of cardio or 5 rounds of boring repetitions for each muscle group in the gym. I’m talking about 5 minutes at home, on your carpet, that you can do at anytime.
Really only 5 minutes. But do 3 different short exercises that are very effortful, very hard, but short!
Like as many push ups as you can. Then hold a 1 minute elbow plank or as long as you can and last jump from a squat as often as you can. The key point here is to really do as many as you can, only stop when your arms and thigs are giving up. There lies the training effect and the dopamine reward, the reward hormone that makes us feel happy.
I promise they altogether won’t take more of 5 minutes of your time, but the impact is giantic, if you do it every day. This triggers so many positive metabolic responses and hormones, it’s just amazing how you will feel afterwards. If you want to exercise more, go for it, of course. Just don’t think that you must do more in order to feel a positive impact already.
#5 Experiment with Nutrition
Our gut bacteria play a crucial role in influencing our mood and thoughts. In fact, we have more bacteria in our bodies than our own cells, and these bacteria change daily based on what we eat. Different combinations of gut bacteria can produce different neurotransmitters and chemicals that affect how we feel, leading to various moods—from anxiety and depression to calmness and happiness.
By paying attention to our diet and gut health, we can significantly impact our mental well-being.
I dont want to dive too deep into diet at this point, but there’s one major factor you should really focus on: sugar, specifically blood sugar spikes caused by carbohydrates.
This is a well-known issue by now, with countless studies pointing to the same conclusion: the enormous positive effects of blood sugar control on both body and mood.
Frequent blood sugar spikes, caused by eating too many carbohydrates, lead to a variety of problems.
Did you know that more and more relatively young people, who aren’t even overweight, are developing prediabetes? Thanks to the constant availability of carb-rich foods today, even slim people can have prediabetic blood levels.
Too many carbohydrates trigger inflammation in the body, destroy collagen and elastin in the skin, and cause mood swings when blood sugar drops.
I stopped eating sugar six years ago, and the changes since then have been remarkable.
My mood is incredibly stable. Even on that one day a month when it used to be quite bad. And when I get hungry, it’s a different kind of hunger than before—without the irritability that can creep in if I don’t eat something quickly. My immune system, now that I’m in my 40s, is stronger than ever.
I also don’t eat grains, except for a bit of oats, and I generally consume fewer carbs. My carbs come from healthier sources, like some oats in my breakfast porridge. Or sweet potatoes, dark chocolate (100%), and fresh fruits.
For me, the benefits far outweigh the “costs” of giving up certain food preferences.
Feeling mentally much more positive, stronger, and stable is definitely worth giving up sugar, not to mention my robust immune system.
If you follow a vegan diet, it’s important to consider the potential impact on your mental health.
Interestingly, research has shown a correlation between veganism and depression. While it’s certainly possible to get all the essential nutrients from a vegan diet, it’s worth exploring this for yourself, especially when dealing with mental health issues. What we eat plays a critical role in how we feel.
Just as a poorly fed animal struggles to thrive, humans are no different. Our diet directly affects our quality of life and well-being.
The debate about the best diet is complex and often contentious. Therefore, it’s essential to find what works best for you and remain open to experimentation.
If nutritional deficiencies are contributing to your mental health challenges—which is entirely possible—it would be a mistake not to address them. Consulting a nutrition expert and getting tested for deficiencies could be a very valuable step in your journey toward better mental health.
Final Words
Don’t get me wrong. I know depression can be complex and the root causes may differ. But I’ve seen many cases with similar contributing factors as described above, which could have been avoided. So maybe you can relate to what I’m talking about and hopefully find those tips helpful so you can avoid falling into the same trap.
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