There are plenty of blogs and videos out there about how to overcome depression (I've written a couple myself).

But, what I rarely see is what contributes to making depression worse.

This may seem odd, but I think it's time to switch things around.

For anyone going through depression, here are some things that actively deepen your depression.

Lack of Routine

Depression disrupts any routine you may have.

It keeps you from going to class or work, prevents you from exercising, seeing friends, and even getting out of bed. 

If you want your depression to worsen, then a lack of regularity in your day is the way to start. 

A loss of routine is great for making depression worse because it is simultaneously a loss of goal-setting.

Normally, getting up at the same time is a goal, as is going to class or work, as is any other part of your normal day. 

Eliminate that routine, and you eliminate your goals, which is the same as making depression worse.

Isolate

Here is another way of making depression worse.

Separate yourself from friends and family.

Being removed from other people prevents you from having fun, making meaningful connections, and instead, traps you.

Isolation also prevents you from receiving love and comfort from people who care about you and want to see you be well.

This is why it is so important to be open with your loved ones; without other people to help you see what life has to offer you're stuck with your own self-defeating thoughts.

This brings us to our last way of making depression worse.

Negative Thinking

"You are what you think."

This is particularly true of depression.

Just because you feel something, doesn't mean that feeling is right.

Our feelings are only right If we decide they are.

For instance, a common thought for people with depression is "nothing ever works out for me," or "I'm worthless." These thoughts become true by pouring energy into them.

Those thoughts begin with a feeling of sadness, disappointment, or discontent and then our minds wrongly interpret those feelings as incorrect thoughts about ourselves or the world. 

Feeding into negative and self-defeating thoughts is a surefire way of making depression worse. 

Conclusion

All those blogs about beating depression tend to say the same things over and over.

That's why this blog was aiming at presenting familiar information in a new way.

We've now discussed the 3 biggest things that contribute to making depression worse.

Lack of routine, isolation, and negative thinking are the biggest components of depression.

So, if you don't want your depression to get worse, do the opposite!

Structure your day, get around people who love you, and stop feeding into inaccurate thoughts about your emotions.