Treating Depression: This Strategy Sounds Silly, But It Can Help! Mindfulness

Clients with depression suffer from a cluster of disturbing symptoms, which very often include:

• difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep
• weight gain or loss
• appetite problems including overeating or lack of interest in food
• sleeping too much or feeling chronically fatigued

It sounds so elementary, but one of the first-line strategies a therapist will use to combat these symptoms is the implementation of a schedule: eating, sleeping and being purposefully active at specific times of day. Even if you sit down to lunch and don't feel hungry, at least you've adhered to the schedule, which is a small victory in itself.

If you're feeling the drag of depression, find a cute printable schedule online and fill it with times for eating, sleeping, exercising and a fun activity.