Motivation with Depression
Taking Over Your Life:
How to Find It?

It's easy to tell a depressed person to "just snap out of it" or "smile." But that's like telling a hungry person to "stop thinking about food." It's not only unhelpful but also totally ineffective. Depression doesn't come on because someone does not want to be happy. People who are depressed have neurological and physiological changes that make it overwhelmingly difficult to find motivation. If you have ever experienced depression, you can relate to the all-encompassing feeling of helplessness. People who are depressed want to feel better, but they can't find the way out. The good news is that there is an effective process for finding motivation, even for people who are experiencing depression.

Personality comprises a set of qualities and characteristics that influence behavior. In this way, personality affects our energy level and the direction of our energy. It affects our motivation toward behaviors as well. The two broad divisions of personality are introversion and extraversion. Both personality types have varying interests. Things that may work as motivators for extroverts may be completely ineffective for introverts. Extroverts are more likely to get motivated to be the center of attention than introverts. This is how motivation and personality types are related.

The two broad types of motivation are extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation. A person is intrinsically motivated if his or her actions and behaviors are motivated by internal factors. If you decide to take guitar classes just because you want to learn it, then that would be considered intrinsic motivation. On the other hand, extrinsic motivation is when a person's actions are motivated by external factors. So, if you decide to take guitar classes because you want to earn money playing it, then the money would be the extrinsic motivator.

Types of internal motivation include:

• competence/learning motivation
  
• attitude motivation
  
• achievement motivation
  
• creative motivation
  
• physiological motivation
  
  

Types of external motivation include:

• incentive motivation
  
• fear motivation
  
• power motivation
  
• social motivation
  

Personality refers to a set of traits and characteristics that remain consistent over time and situations. These traits make individuals behave in certain ways. The Big Five Personality theory is the most popular theory of personality. According to the Big Five theory, personality can be measured by using five dimensions called extraversion, agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism. Different individuals have different levels of these dimensions, which is part of what makes them unique. The unique combination of these dimensions also helps identify needs and motivators.

What do you think? Should motivation and personality match? Suppose you want to motivate a person who has a very high need for recognition. Would you motivate him or her through money or through appreciation and recognition? Well, appreciation and recognition would work best for that person. This is why it is very important to match motivation and personality types.

Is there a relationship between motivation and emotions in psychology? Yes, emotions play a significant role in the motivation process. Human beings tend to get involved in those actions and behaviors that they think will lead them to happiness, satisfaction, and other positive emotions. When someone is depressed, you can motivate him or her by evoking positive emotions. Once depressed people start experiencing positive emotions and improvement, their growth speeds up. This is how emotions affect perception as well.

Now that we have a solid understanding of the importance of personality and emotions in relation to motivation, let's learn how to find motivation in a depressed state.

Exercise can help boost motivation for people who are experiencing depression. Physical activity helps release endorphin hormones (which make people feel good) into the body. According to research, doing exercise for 35 minutes daily, five days a week, is quite helpful in improving symptoms of mild to moderate depression. Exercise may also serve to improve symptoms of severe forms of depression.

Show yourself the same appreciation you would show your best friend. Appreciate even your smaller achievements. Appreciate yourself if you successfully made it through another tough day. Appreciate yourself if you showed kindness to someone. Appreciate yourself if you passed a difficult exam. The negative view of self, world, and future makes a person vulnerable to depression and other mental health concerns. Finding motivation with depression can be achieved if we attempt to alter this negative triad. Appreciating smaller achievements can help you in acknowledging your worth. This will motivate you to reach a better version of yourself and grow out of depression.

Create a pleasant routine and you will get a sense of accomplishment as you move through your day. You can start with scheduling a pleasant routine that involves setting sub-goals to be achieved on a daily basis. Achieving these sub-goals will help you in gaining a sense of achievement, which assists in gaining motivation with depression. This sense of accomplishment will further fuel your desire to do more and achieve more. If you are stuck with unhealthy habits that are preventing you from creating a pleasant routine, then you need to find the motivation to start changing your habits first.

Loneliness can lead to self-doubt, which can lead to depression. Surround yourself with positive people. Positive people radiate a lot of energy, and their dialogue is always full of hope and optimism, which may help you in boosting confidence. Their energy is contagious and healing. And if you're comfortable telling them about your problems, the process can be cathartic. Additionally, having people around you keeps you busy and leaves you with no time to overthink and to get depressed.

Depression drains your energy to a great extent. Having optimal sleep can help you restore your energy. Sleeping too much and too little can impact your mood, which can only worsen your depression. Therefore, try to go to sleep on time. Do not use smartphones or laptops right before bedtime as it can negatively impact the quality and quantity of your sleep.

It is very important to have optimal amounts of carbohydrates, essential fats, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, and water in your diet. A healthy diet improves healthy neurotransmitter activity in your brain. Studies have found that deficiencies of micronutrients (omega-3 and omega-6 fats) lead to mental health problems like depression, memory and concentration problems, etc. Consumption of fruits and vegetables provides you with the optimal amounts of micronutrients required for optimal functioning.

Always have challenging yet realistic expectations of yourself. Do not overwhelm yourself with the amount of work that you can't handle. Take a break when you get tired. It's ok to have unproductive days. Expecting too much from yourself and not being able to meet those expectations can negatively impact your motivation.

Jotting down your feelings and experiences is a productive way of doing catharsis. Catharsis works by releasing negative emotions that may otherwise contribute to depression and other mental health concerns. Daily reflection can provide you with the opportunity to assess your actions and behaviors. You can identify areas of improvement and thus find motivation with depression.

Forget about past mistakes. Don't get stressed by thinking about the future. Live in the moment. Work on improving your present condition. Reflect on what needs to be done to achieve immediate goals. Improving your present condition can help you a lot in gaining motivation with depression that is currently taking over your life. Practice Meditation to make it easier to live in the moment.

It's not an easy task to find motivation in the most depressing time of your life. Sometimes, you want to shift your state of mind but can't find the way out. It is very important to understand the correlation between motivation and personality. Personality can help us in identifying the needs of individuals, which can help us in discovering the right motivators for them. Emotions also play a significant role in motivating individuals to improve their lives. There are nine ways of seeking motivation with depression discussed in this article. By practicing these methods, it's possible to find motivation, even while dealing with depression.