 Hey, Psych2goers, welcome back to another video. Let's begin. Do you feel like you're stuck in a rut? Perhaps you are depressed and are wondering if you're actually getting better or not. Depression can sometimes feel like a bottomless pit where you're always sinking and rarely rising. Your journey to healing may be full of challenges, but every little step you take in battling your depression is already a step towards getting better and will eventually amount to larger changes. One day, you might even surprise yourself when you look back and see how far you've come. If you're feeling unsure about yourself lately, here are six signs that you are healing from depression. Before we begin, we would like to mention that this video is created for educational purposes only and is not intended to substitute a professional diagnosis. The practices and habits mentioned in the video may help lessen the symptoms of depression and they differ from person to person. If you suspect you may have depression or any mental health condition, we highly advise you to seek help from a qualified mental health professional. Okay, number one, you are aware of your triggers. Do you know what triggers your depression? Though depression may sometimes come up out of nowhere, there are times when something or someone in particular can ramp up your depression. A trigger could be anything from being around family, toxic friends, unhealthy environments, or stresses in your day-to-day life that sparks negative emotions. By knowing what your triggers are, you become more able to avoid being in a situation that ends up worsening your depression. Number two, you treat yourself with compassion. Have you heard of the golden rule? Well, you may be taught to always treat others the way you would want to be treated. Sometimes people with depression end up only being kind to others and not to themselves. So, you might find that you put yourself down for the same things that you would treat your friends with compassion for if they were going through the same thing. Although you might find it difficult to be kinder towards yourself, it is a step in the right direction to getting better. Number three, you challenge your irrational thoughts. Do you accept every negative thought you have about yourself? People with depression usually have low self-esteem and have irrational thoughts regarding themselves and how other people see them. So, challenging these thoughts about yourself is one way to fight back. This countering of your negative and irrational thoughts with your actual experiences or with more logical and sound reasoning like how those thoughts have turned out to be wrong in the past is a huge step forward. While it may be difficult to start, practicing it little by little can help you strengthen this habit and help improve your mental well-being in the long run. Number four, you are putting yourself first. When you are caught in an emergency on a plane, the flight attendant will tell you to put your oxygen mask on first before helping others. This goes with your mental health as well. You can only help others if you are stable and well. While others might say and consider that you're selfish for putting your needs above someone else's, you will only end up exhausting yourself and burning out from helping everyone else if you don't help yourself first. So, while it's great to look out for others, taking care of your own basic needs is essential for your mental and physical well-being. Number five, you're letting go of perfectionism. Do you criticize yourself a lot? People with depression are usually really hard on themselves, so it's not a surprise that most of them are also perfectionists. However, when you keep wanting things to turn out perfect, you may end up becoming too self-critical and end up feeling defeated, unmotivated and generally worse about yourself. By letting go of perfectionism and learning to become satisfied with your process and progress, you can take the pressure and stress away from straining your mental well-being. And number six, you're taking care of yourself. Are you exhausted every day? Depression can drain your energy. It's why you might find yourself feeling tired all the time and wanting to stay in bed all day. But when you follow what your depression wants you to do, you may end up just feeling worse. So even if you feel tired or exhausted, doing some small daily activities may help you feel better. Taking care of yourself by eating, taking showers, socializing and getting a good night's rest, even when it's hard, may pull you out of your depressive state bit by bit. What are your thoughts on this video? Share with us in the comments below. It can be difficult to try and work against your depression, so try to be kind to yourself. Always remember that you're a beautiful person who deserves love and compassion. If you found this video helpful, be sure to like and share this video with those who might benefit from it. And don't forget to subscribe and hit the notification bell icon to get notified whenever Psych2Go posts a new video. The references and studies used in this video are added in the description below. Thanks for watching and we'll see you in our next one.