Anti-depressants have their right place in the treatment of severe depression but when depression is at a mild stage there are certainly other options available to deal with depression.

Here is a list of some habits that you can incorporate in your life to ease your depression and prevent future relapses.

*Practice Mindful Meditation:

If you practice meditation regularly, you can learn to manage your emotions moment by moment. It’s an excellent way to get a hold on the obsessive thinking that is typical of a depressed person.

One of the most important aspects of meditation is the ability to recognize your thoughts for what they are… Just thoughts!

Once we have developed some degree of mindfulness through our meditation practices, we are able to observe our thoughts as they arise in our mind, but at the same time we can let them fade away without clinging to them. Just letting them pass as if they were clouds in the sky.

Another benefit of developing mindfulness is that when we focus on what we do at any moment, we draw more enjoyment from the world around us. We can sense our human experience at a different and more fulfilling level.

*Help Others:

The moment we think of helping others the mind expands and our problems somehow seem smaller. We naturally withdraw attention and energy from our depression mind set.

Find the causes that are closer to your heart. Visit (either on line or locally) any of the organizations that you’d like to help. I am sure they will find thousands of ways in which you can be of assistance to them.

*Express your Feelings / Share Experiences:

It is healing and very helpful to share experiences and thoughts with people that have gone through similar circumstances. You will find many depression support groups that are ready to help. There are online forums and chat rooms as well as meeting groups that can be held in community rooms or through the internet. Most of them are free to the public and very few ask for a voluntary contribution.

If you find it challenging to express your feelings to others, try writing them in a journal. In the process of healing your depression, it is necessary to start by building a loving and trusting relationship with yourself.

*Eliminate High Expectations About Situations:

When we feel depressed and disappointed about certain situations it is usually because we have build high expectations about what they "should be". Every time we fight what already is, we create suffering for ourselves.

Learn to flow with life… And accept that we can’t always have full control over every single situation. Befriend life and trust. I assure you, you will save yourself a lot of suffering.

Remember, some things that seem to go wrong can actually represent a blessing in disguise.

*Be Patient with Yourself:

And last but not least, it is very important to always be gentle to yourself throughout every step of the process. Because healing depression is a process, you need to be patient. Don't get upset if your mood is not greatly improved right away. Feeling better will take time but it is time well invested!