How I got rid of depression and saved my business

I had a friend who struggled with depression for a very long time. I knew what kind of person she used to be, and I couldn't believe how depression changed her completely.

She didn't want to eat anything. She didn't cook anything. She didn't want to leave the house. The worst was that she wasn't doing anything to recover from it. Basically, she was killing herself slowly.

I tried to help her as much as I could and gave her some tips.

When I left here, I couldn't stop thinking about why she didn't do anything to get rid of this black hole. Why did she just accept it and do nothing about it?

I was saying to myself, “If it were me, I’d do things differently.”

I haven’t talked to my friend for a long time because she was in another country and I moved to another country (also, we were not that close). After a few years, I saw her again, but she still wasn't very good.

Bam! Fast forward to 4 years, and I got into depression. Easy to judge others, hah? At that time, I really felt how she was feeling. It was bad. Really bad.

In 2020, I read an article, and it was about a study. And the study says that after 2022, depression is going to be one of the most common diseases in the world.

It was the year I got into depression. Funny coincidence? :)

BUT!!! It is a good “but” :)

Unlike my friend, I managed my depression “healthily”. It is possible.

Today I am going to tell you how I did it because I know many of us have been struggling with it and we all know it sucks.

Why did I get into depression in the first place?

I got into depression because of my business problems and because of some personal issues. There were problems that I couldn’t solve in my business, and they were out of my control. It hurt me so much.

This is my weak point. When something is out of my control, I feel panicked, I feel nervous, and I feel like I need to control it.

Actually, now I can say that this was one of my biggest problems. I improved myself and let things go. My purpose is hopefully to inspire you to work on it for yourself as well because these are the things that mostly take us down.

How did it show up?

Going into depression doesn’t happen very quickly. It takes some time. You feel sad about something. The feeling persists for a long time. It starts to get out of your control and depression is now your new friend :)

My problems took a long time, and I couldn't solve them. When this constant sadness collapsed me one day, I knew I was officially in depression.

I knew it was coming. I had been watching myself, and I knew I was going down sharply.

How did it affect me?

I was wandering around literally like a “walking dead”. My shoulders were down without my control. I couldn't keep my body straight. My body was closing up. (It is very interesting how the body takes on the shape of your feelings. )

I didn't want to go out.

I didn't want to talk to anyone.

I started to isolate myself.

I was shocked at how “I” could suddenly enter into these feelings because I used to be strong and take care of my body and mental health.

I couldn't recognize this new person.

I remembered my friend many times, and I knew I had to do something to save myself and my business. Otherwise, it didn’t look good.

Here are my steps to recovery!

Step 1: No step :)

First things first!

I gave myself a few days just to cry and feel the sadness. I accepted and let my emotions out. I didn't resist.

I would talk to myself a lot;

“I know you don't want to eat, go out, or talk to anyone. It is okay. You will work on it. Just rest now. Rest and observe. It’s OK.”

We all know what the solutions are to get rid of depression.

Of course, you can talk to a doctor and get support. Exercise really helps so you should move. You should eat better, and you shouldn’t isolate yourself. Blah blah etc :)

Even if it was so hard to take any action, I knew if I didn't do those “blahs”, my life and my business would be miserable.

Step 2: Start showering

At the beginning of the new day, the best way to feel good is to take a shower. Easy right? Easy, but so powerful. You shouldn't skip it. Every-day.

As soon as you get up, throw yourself in the shower. Imagine you are cleansing your body and mind from all the negativity. Now this way of showing has become a habit for me. I do this whenever I take a shower now.

I imagine I am draining down all the problems, diseases, and negativity from my body and mind. I am recharging myself fully with positivity, wealth, and health with pure water.

2) Wear neat clothes

Don't make the mistake of wearing loose clothes or pajamas during the day when you are depressed. Even if you are staying at home. Wear neat clothes that you feel good in. Stay at home ready as if you were about to go outside. (not ties and jackets, of course)

Tight clothes really make you feel collected. For example, I used to wear tight leggings and white T-shirts. White gave me a fresh look. Tight leggings made it easy to go outside to walk. And I was wearing a few accessories—a watch, earrings maybe.

It is so important that when you look in the mirror, you see yourself clean and neat. Your appearance affects your feelings. Seeing a good-looking yourself in the mirror will give you positive vibes.

3) Walking helps. But …

I knew I had to exercise to recover from depression. The easiest one was walking for me. As much as I didn't want it and was crying my eyes out, I always reminded myself that this was going to help me. If you follow the other two steps above, you are most likely to be ready to walk outside at any moment. But I know taking that very first step is so difficult and impossible sometimes.

So here is what I was doing.

There was a market just in the corner of my house, 2–3 minutes away. When it was impossible for me to remove myself from bed and be among people, I told myself “OK, just walk to the market and come back.” It is a maximum of 6–8 minutes.

I started to do that, but you know what happened? I never just walked to the market and came back. It was always more walking—at least 30 minutes. Once you go out, it usually feels good, and you want to walk more.

But before I leave home, I set my mind to an easy goal. The least I could do. That will make you move. Don't make it a big deal. Just move for 5 minutes and come back. You will see that it really helps.

4) Choose one buddy.

As I mentioned above, I noticed I started to isolate myself and not talk to anyone. This is not good. We must at least keep one person we feel connected to.

That person happened to be one of my old friends who was living in a different city. She wasn't feeling very well either. So we decided to call each other and walk together every day.

I think I can say that I healed myself on the road. Walking made my mind clearer every day. Talking to someone felt good. Really good.

Every day, we took the headphones and went out for a walk.

We walk and talk, and walk and talk.

I believe we became closer with my friends because of these walks and talks. As you talk, you share more.

These were the things I did every day.

REMEMBER!

• It’s okay to be weak.
• It’s okay to be depressed.
• It’s okay to not have friends.
• It’s okay to feel lonely sometimes.
• It’s okay.
• We don’t have to always feel strong.
• We don’t have to always be happy.

So I know how hard it can be to be in depression and to get out of it. And it might be one year for you, two years, or five years. Maybe you don’t even realize you’re in a depression.

This sh.t is not easy. But if you take the smallest action in your life, you will see things add up.

Most importantly, don’t compare your state to anyone else's. So just try to find what you can do in your current stage.

I hope my recovery will inspire you, help you take action, and hopefully make you a better version of yourself.

I genuinely thank you for reading this.

Check out my profile and come say hi.

Merve Erçin