Depression is one of the most common mental disorders in the world. The National Institute of Mental Health reports that over 16 million adults, or 6.7%, were diagnosed with depression. (1) When you consider how many people never report their symptoms or get diagnosed, this number is surely higher.
It’s difficult to deal with depression because it forms a vicious cycle. When you become depressed, the world looks bleak. Those affected with depression tend to feel despair and sink into negative behaviors. Often, depression coincides with insomnia and anxiety. Negative thoughts such as “I’m not enough” or “I’m a failure” short-circuit attempts to do healing, healthy things. As your negative thoughts become more prevalent, negative behaviors begin to take hold of your life. Negative behaviors lead to more negative thoughts, and the cycle spins madly on.
One of the most significant ways to combat depression is to introduce small, healthy changes into your life. These changes must be small because a complicated change can easily get shot down by your negative thoughts. “That’s too difficult… I’m such a failure I’ll never do it.” However, small changes reinforce the healthy belief that you can pull yourself out of the depression cycle. If you can make one healthy change in your life – like making eggs for breakfast – you can make other changes, too. And so you can begin to reverse the negative spiral.
Using a weighted blanket for depression is one of these small changes. Weighted blankets introduce therapeutic pressure that gives off oxytocin and makes the body feel good. A healthy ritual, they can become the cornerstone of change to escape a depressed spiral.
Often, depression is linked to anxiety. If you are anxious about the world around you, you will feel less equipped to handle it. Feeling unequipped, like you are “not enough”, means that you will do less healthy, exciting things. It can also mean you will begin to think negative thoughts about yourself. And so the depressed cycle starts. Reducing anxiety can significantly reduce depression. A recent study showed that 78% of people preferred a weighted blanket as a technique for handling anxiety. (2)
Try a weighted blanket, weighted lap pad, or weighted throw. It’s a simple, effective way to begin to reverse the effects of depression.
1. Major Depression Among Adults, National Institute of Mental Health. www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/prevalence/major-depression-among-adults.shtml. In-text.
2. Exploring the Safety and Therapeutic Effects of Deep Pressure Stimulation Using a Weighted Blanket. Brian Mullen BS, Tina Champagne MEd, OTR/L, Sundar Krishnamurty PhD, Debra Dickson APRN, BC & Robert X. Gao PhD. Occupational Therapy in Mental Health Vol. 24 , Iss. 1,2008