Fake it till you make it for depression (13 easy techniques)
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OptimistMinds
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Author bio
The Optimistminds editorial team is made up of psychologists, psychiatrists and mental health professionals. Each article is written by a team member with exposure to and experience in the subject matter. The article then gets reviewed by a more senior editorial member. This is someone with extensive knowledge of the subject matter and highly cited published material.
In this article, we will provide points on how you can fake it till you make it for depression so that you can recover from it and be able to enjoy life.
Depression is a serious mental disorder where the person feels prolonged sadness and feelings of despair for a persistently long period. Other symptoms include loss of energy and fatigue, loss of interest in earlier pleasurable activities, lowered concentration and attention span. These symptoms can affect a person’s lifestyle and cause a lot of problems.
Fake it till you make it for depression
Here are some tips and techniques that you can follow to fake it till you make it for depression and getting out of it:
- Go out with your friends
- Attend social gatherings
- Go to classes/ work
- Engage in physical activity and exercise
- Indulge in self-care routines
- Smile more often
- Correct your posture and stand up straight
- Take deep breaths
- Pretend you got it
- Act upon your thoughts
- Dress according to how you want to feel
- Listen to uplifting songs
- Mimic happy people
Go out with your friends
Because of depression we start to stay aloof and push away people in our lives. But that is not healthy and causes more depressive thoughts within us. We need to reconnect with our friends and family. Even if it means that we fake it till we make it. Hang around with them even if you would rather lie in bed all alone that day.
Attend social gatherings
You just got to know there is a party at your friend’s place or they are going on a short trip together. This means a lot of social interactions, people asking how you are and no options of going home. It might seem scary but it’s just for one day. Go out with your friends and fake enjoying being there. Soon you’ll start wanting to do it more.
Go to classes/ work
Depression makes us want to skip classes or work but don’t do that. Attend your classes or office thinking of them as a chore. Something that is necessary to be ticked off the list. Fake it and attend classes. Even if you are unable to pay concentration or attention, just sit there. You’ll slowly start to be able to understand what is happening.
Engage in physical activity and exercise
Physical activity is very important for a healthy mind and body. So push yourself to go out and exercise or join a sport. If you join a group that exercises daily it will also help you with the loneliness and isolation that you’ve been feeling. Get yourself out of the bed and get running.
Indulge in self-care routines
Don’t forget that you are the most important person for you and your body, so take good care of it. Make sure to shower regularly and wear washed clothes. It is tough to make yourself get out of bed due to depression but it will help you feel better. Remember that you need to fake it till you make it and for that you need to fake being proper and clean. Light a scented candle or redo your room, anything that makes you happy.
Smile more often
Studies have proven that if you fake and force yourself to smile, it increases the likelihood of you to start feeling happier. So put on a smile even when you are feeling numb or sad and soon you’ll be able to start smiling on your own. You won’t have to fake it anymore. The feeling of constant sadness will start ending soon.
Correct your posture and stand up straight
Our body language also plays a vital role in how we feel and present ourselves. Slouched shoulders and tensed body are interpreted as an under confident nervous person. Whereas a straight posture with head up and confident walk demonstrates a person who is focused and knows what they want. This is what you want to feel so fake it till you make it and chin up and walk with confidence.
Take deep breaths
Whenever you start to feel too overwhelmed by faking it, pick a quiet corner and take deep breaths. Count till 10 or 20, until you start to feel collected and calm. Then go out and continue faking it. Don’t overwhelm yourself by taking on huge steps one the first day, spend 15-20 mins outside your comfort zone and then increase the time slowly.
Pretend you got it
To fake it and make other people believe it, you need to believe in yourself. So pretend you got it and that everything is under your control. Your pretense of believing in yourself is what will make your faking it till you make it successful.
Act upon your thoughts
When we are depressed it is not that we don’t plan or think about doing things. It’s just that we are unable to find the strength and energy to do it. So to get out of that, the moment you think of something that you need to do, get up and do it immediately. Don’t postpone it.
Dress according to how you want to feel
Dress how you want to feel, so if you want to feel happy and calm wear shades of light blue and green. If you want to feel motivated and energetic wear red or orange. Dress up according to what you want to feel that day. Get out of your sweats and dress up.
Listen to uplifting songs
Listening to sad music is a sure way to feel sad, so pump up some energetic cheerful music and get yourself motivated. There are many motivating songs out there that you can add to your playlist and energize yourself.
Mimic happy people
See how other happy people are behaving and try to mimic their facial expressions and body language. Learn back what it looks like to be happy and start incorporating it in your behavior. Being around happy people will also make you feel better about life and change your perspective from a pessimistic one to a happy and positive one.
When not to fake it till you make it for depression
Fake it till you make it for depression will not always work and be beneficial for your health. You need to understand this and take certain precautions to ensure that it does not start having a negative effect on you. Here are some of the points you need to remember:
- Recognize your symptoms don’t dismiss them
- Recognize the areas you need to change
- Set realistic goals
- Do not try to be perfect
- Give yourself time to heal
Recognize your symptoms don’t dismiss them
Many times we fake it till we make it by minimizing and not recognizing our problems and how they are affecting us. Accept the fact that you have depression and that you need to seek treatment for it. Don’t dismiss it.
Recognize the areas you need to change
You need to assess which areas of life have been affected because of depression and how you need to change it. The first step should be to use the help of therapy to deal with the symptoms of depression. Along with that, you can try the fake it till you make it technique.
Set realistic goals
Don’t expect changes in a day and be patient about your progress. Depression is a completely curable disorder but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t take time to get better. Give yourself time to heal and process how depression has affected you. Don’t set unrealistic goals and timelines that demotivate you or make you feel like your depressive state is never going to be over.
Do not try to be perfect
There is no point in trying to be perfect. We all have flaws and it is these flaws that make us unique and humans. Embrace your shortcomings and try to work on them as much as you can but don’t feel bad when you are not successful. It is okay to make mistakes but it is important to learn from them.
Give yourself time to heal
Depression is not a joke or something that is to be taken lightly. It is a very serious disorder that affects a person’s personal, social and vocational life. It will take time for you to get better and you deserve to take the time to heal. Don’t rush yourself and hope to snap out of it tomorrow itself. Recognize the seriousness of your illness and allow yourself time.
In this article, we provided points on how you can fake it till you make it for depression so that you can recover from it and be able to enjoy life.
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FAQs: Fake it till you make it for depression
Can you fake it till you make it?
Yes, you can fake it till you make it only in cases where ‘it’ refers to your core skills or talents. When you can fake confidence to enhance their appearance and make it look like you have it. But just because we want to be better at something, we will not automatically be.
How does Fake it till you make it work?
Yes, fake it till you make it work but only if you realize and identify what was it that was stopping you from reaching your full potential till now. For example, if you are socially awkward, you need to realize why you are so and in what particular situations you demonstrate the habit. Then you need to fake being social in those special situations.
Does Fake it till you make it work for happiness?
Yes, fake it till you make it work for happiness as once you start to try and put on a smile no matter what the situation is. Soon you will be starting to feel natural about smiling and starting to become happier. You will then notice yourself not fake smiling and being genuinely happy.
Can you fake clinical depression?
Yes, you can fake clinical depression. Clinical depression is a serious mental condition that people fake or exaggerate to receive rewards or to avoid situations by using it as an excuse.
What is the opposite of fake it till you make it?
Many people recommend faking it till you make it, but not only does it not work in helping you, it also creates a path for failure. The opposite of being fake is being genuine and one needs to feel like themselves in situations to be comfortable.
How do you fake being confident?
Here are a few techniques you can use to fake being confident, like, stand up straight when you walk and talk to others. Embrace your positives and competence to feel confident, maintain eye contact while talking, and choose optimism over pessimism.
References
https://www.happier.com/blog/does-fake-it-til-you-make-it-actually-work/
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