Help combat depression and loneliness by keeping structure in your day with a daily schedule. The use of a schedule helps depression by counteracting the loss of motivation, hopelessness, and decreasing time for rumination, which are all associated with depression.   Rumination is the activity of replaying a scenario or problem in your head over and over, like a broken record. While some people consider rumination as a form of problem-solving ("I'm thinking through this problem from every angle until I come up with a solution"), if the problem is upsetting, you will end up continuing to be upset until you stop thinking about it.  Find a day planner that has space for hourly scheduling. Make sure you plan each hour of your day. Incorporate time for journaling, rest, exercise, relaxation, and self-care. To combat loneliness, schedule time to connect with a social group or a pet. Carry your schedule with you so that you're following it closely. It's important to follow through with each activity, so prepare yourself by knowing what comes next throughout the day. After you have completed your scheduled activities, write down the level of competency you felt about completing the activity, as well as the level of pleasure experienced if any.  This record of competency and pleasure can serve you in the future if you are having thoughts about not being able to get things down or being able to enjoy anything. Refrain from evaluating your activities on an all-or-nothing scale. Instead, try to evaluate on a scale of one to ten, with one being low competency or low pleasure, and ten being maximum competency and maximum pleasure. Self-reliance training is sometimes needed for persons with depression when they have become reliant on friends or family members to take care of daily needs. The process of self-reliance starts with taking back responsibility for self-care.  It is important to begin in one area, scheduling this daily. For instance, you can start with being responsible for showering. You can also record your level of mastery in being responsible for showering. For instance, starting out, you may indicate that you were only able to get out of bed for the day and not shower. This may seem like no mastery at all, but it is more mastery that you previously had. Use your planner and feelings of competence to build yourself back up in self-care. Once you have taken on showering, you can tackle making the bed, then cleaning, etc. It is important to know how and when to use distraction as a helpful method to combat rumination and intense emotions. Have a set of 'go-to' distractions that you can use if you are ruminating, feeling overwhelmed, or feeling lonely.  Some examples include: exercise, having coffee with a friend, painting, reading, meditation, prayer, or playing with a pet. Write down these distraction methods in your journal or planner. Consult them frequently so that you have a reminder about your distraction plan.
ضع خطة لكل ساعة من ساعات يومِك. اتبع جدولك باستمرار. تابع ما تشعر به خلال كل نشاط. أعد تدريب نفسك على الاعتماد على الذات. ضع مجموعة من خطط التسلية (اذهب إلى) للأوقات الصعبة.