Depression is one of the most crippling mental illnesses. It’s invisible, and unfortunately for the sufferer, it’s very easy to hide. You can always put on a brave face and struggle on whilst inside you are falling apart. If you do get yourself to a GP they will probably put you on anti-depressants. Which is a good thing. Anti-depressants, though they take 4-6 weeks to kick in, will help with the worst of the effects of Depression – the low mood, the restlessness and the lack of appetite.

It’s a rough ride waiting for anti-depressants to start working. After the initial excitement that something is being done to help you the realisation creeps up on you that this is no quick fix. Try and steel yourself to stop despondency from setting in. You have taken the first steps and that’s good. Now you must try and find ways to support yourself

One option is to start practising mindfulness It has been proven in study after study that by practising Mindfulness daily for an 8 week period that depression can be lifted. Not only that but by continuing mindfulness you can prevent a relapse into depression. It is such a powerful tool that NICE, the health advisory board, has endorsed it for the treatment of depression.

This is all great news apart from the fact that the provision of mindfulness is patchy at best. Some local NHS health trusts are starting to offer it as a treatment, but sadly the majority don’t. So where does that leave the depression sufferers? Well, there are mindfulness courses popping up here there and everywhere and that leads to the question, “How qualified is my instructor?” As yet Mindfulness training is not regulated by anybody but there are certain centres of excellence that your instructor could have practised – Oxford University, Bangor University and Exeter University. These give training based on a code of ethics that your instructor has to adhere to.

So have a search and see if there are any courses running in your area. Most courses also offer a reduced rate for the unwaged too. However, if there is no provision in your area or if you would rather do it alone you can practice mindfulness at home using many of the great books that have been published in the recent years. Some of the best ones we’ve read  include:

Mindfulness is a simple technique to help get you to focus on being in the moment. That is, just being aware of what is happening now. If your mind wanders into thinking bring yourself back to your breath. Your mind will wander – that is the nature of the mind. It will start imagining what your future will be, it will move into your regrets about the past, it will go anywhere. Try to bring yourself back when this happens. And do it with kindness and compassion – treat yourself like your best friend.

Whatever route you take to practising mindfulness they will all be of positive effect to your mood as you battle with depression. The effects might take a few weeks to show their effects but just taking the time to be kind and compassionate to yourself is worth it.

If you do try mindfulness we’d love to hear how you get on – please comment below

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