We live in a time where the dynamics of work culture have significantly shifted. Less and less people are opting for the traditional commute with the integration of remote work into the office, allowing them the privilege of working from home.
This one lifestyle change would be the envy of past societies, but is it all that great for us in reality?
While working from home gives you the freedom to complete work from the comfort of your own house, there are some ways in which being a remote employee can cause stress and other unwanted emotions. In some cases, working from home can even result in depressive thoughts and unhealthy behaviors.
Let’s take a look at the relationship between working from home and depression and explore the following topics in more depth:
- The connection between depression and remote work
- How you can take control of your mental health and feeling depressed when you work from home
- Why supplements like lion’s mane mushroom may be helpful
Is There a Connection Between Depression and Working From Home?
The recent years have seen a dramatic rise in jobs offering remote work options and flexible schedules. While many employees take this newfound on-the-job freedom in stride, a lot of unknowns still remain in regards to the long-term effects of working from home.
Recent studies reveal that there is a possible link between depression and working from home, though the association is stronger in those who have preexisting mental health conditions. Some evidence suggests stress and depression is more likely to affect younger adults and women who are remotely employed. Factors that increase depression in young individuals include financial insecurity, loneliness, and employment uncertainty, while women face issues more centered on family responsibility and a poor work-life balance.
Working From Home Influences Mental Health
Mental health is a complex topic and the relationship it shares with working from home is no less convoluted. How an individual feels about working remotely depends on a variety of personal factors, and their mental health is subsequently affected by the positive and negative associations of these factors.
There is no official list on what does and does not influence your mental health, though there are common factors that can be singled out as possible sources from which depression and stress originate. Possible factors may include:
- Existing mental health conditions
- Time management
- Relationship with coworkers
- Home work environment
- Salary
- Working hours
- Social connections outside of work
- Physical activity and exercise
- Diet and nutrition
- Parental responsibilities
How You Can Take Care of Your Mental Health When You Work Remotely
It’s easy to feel defeated when dealing with the hardships of depression, and when you work from home, taking charge of your situation can feel almost impossible. The truth is, the depressive symptoms aren’t going to vanish on their own; only through proper management of your mental health will tangible improvements arise.
Mental health can be a scary beast, but it can also be relatively simple to tame if you adopt the right behaviors. Every choice you make throughout your day influences your overall health, and the things that matter for your physical health are tied directly to your mood.
Follow a Schedule or Routine
A big benefit that many remote workers like to flaunt as the best part of their job is the flexibility of their schedules. These employees get to build custom schedules catered to their needs and take breaks at their leisure, putting all of the power in their hands. But this can be a downfall to those who do not sufficiently organize their schedules, leading to decreased productivity and even less free time.
Having the entire day at your disposal has its advantages when you organize the hours in an efficient manner. If you don’t already follow a set routine or daily schedule, consider adopting one that meets your work, health, and emotional needs. Outline goals that you need to accomplish each day and try to organize your workload based on task priority. Giving yourself time to prepare for the work day by developing a comprehensive schedule filled with realistic goals reduces anxiety and gives you a direction to aim for.
Make Time for the People You Love
Spending time with close friends and family can be tricky when you’re constantly buried in work, but it’s important to incorporate it into your regular schedule. Being alone all the time at home can start to weigh a person down emotionally, which is why it’s good to counterbalance the negative aspects with positivity.
Socializing with loved ones is therapeutic and offers similar benefits to traditional counseling, so never doubt its importance in your life. When life has you down, talk to a friend or family member for support. Whether it’s in-person, through text, or a phone call, it’s never a bad idea to reach out to someone you care about. Make sure you dedicate a portion of your weekly schedule to spend time with others.
Engage in a Physical Activity
Anyone who works from home should set time aside in their day to be active. Exercise is a vital part of staying healthy, both in mind and body. How you feel on an emotional level depends on the state of your physical well-being, and if your body is in poor condition then you can expect your mental health to be on the decline too.
Being homebound due to remote employment can take a negative toll on the amount of physical activity you get on a daily basis. Cutting out commutes filled with long walks and sitting in your home office desk chair for hours on end reduces a lot of movement you would otherwise get, which means you need to make up for the lost exercise elsewhere.
If you aren’t a huge fan of serious workouts and mile-long runs, opt for taking a walk instead. Walking is beneficial for both your mental and physical health, and it doesn’t take a lot of effort to do, like more intensive exercises. For those who have been living with depression for a while, try fitting in a quick walk each day to naturally boost your mood.
Create a Productive Workspace
When you work from your primary place of residence, you run into the risk of habits overlapping with each other. The casual, relaxed atmosphere of the living room doesn’t motivate you to type away on your laptop, and it’s impossible to get any work done in the bedroom out of fear of ruining your sleep schedule.
It’s important to have a specific space in the house set aside for doing your job. Consider investing in a home office.
Step Outside of the House
There’s nothing like getting outside of the house and experiencing the wonders of nature when your mood is low. Taking a walk among the trees or grassy fields can help you manage stress, anxiety, and symptoms of depression. Natural scenery is pleasant to observe and the calls of local birds and insects can be calming to the ear, distracting your mind from worrisome thoughts and other negative emotions.
Support Your Mental Health When Working From Home with Supplements
How Supplements Can Be Beneficial To Your Health
Depression is something that affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide, and it can manifest from various different factors and express itself in a multitude of ways. Though depression caused by a change in environment and general lifestyle is not the same as long-term depressive disorder, it can be treated with similar methods.
For those who have been experiencing symptoms of depression since shifting to a work-from-home lifestyle, supplements could offer a good counterbalance to the change in mood. There are many supplements and vitamins on the market advertised to reduce depressive thoughts and stabilize your mood, though they should always be taken in conjunction with other treatment methods to yield the most benefits.
It’s important to work with a healthcare provider when you are considering the use of supplements. While they can be effective for some people, there are individuals who are more likely to benefit from the use of supplements than others. People who have mild symptoms of depression, those who are taking certain medications, nutrient deficient individuals, and those who don’t respond well to medication may experience more benefits than those with more severe depression.
Supplement with Lion’s Mane Mushroom to Decrease Symptoms of Depression
You’re probably getting quite used to seeing colorful arrays of bottles filled with vitamins and dietary supplements every time you walk up and down the health aisle at your local department store, but have you ever actually given any of the labels a read?
If your curiosity hasn’t led you down this path at one point or another, then you may not be aware of the many benefits associated with taking lion’s mane mushroom supplements. Primarily a supplement used to help boost brain functioning, lion’s mane mushroom improves memory, overall cognitive performance, and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Furthermore, lion’s mane mushroom also helps protect against dementia by keeping our brains functioning as normal. This may even work to fight back against Alzheimer’s disease by keeping memory intact in individuals affected by the disease.
Lion’s mane mushroom supplements aren’t only for your head, either. They provide many other beneficial qualities to your health, such as the following:
- Reduces risk of heart disease
- Boosts immune system
- Manages symptoms of diabetes
- Reduces inflammation
- Prevents stomach ulcers
This versatile supplement offers an assortment of benefits for your health and may very well sound too good to be true, but this medicinal mushroom has been used by numerous cultures for years and it has only grown more prominent in contemporary times. Experience the effects for yourself with Dr. Emil’s Lion’s Mane Mushroom capsules, a dietary supplement composed of high quality organic lion’s mane powder, all-natural ingredients, and backed by science.
Depression can impose a lot of problems on your life, and it can be draining to manage. When you work from home, you become more susceptible to depressed and anxious thoughts due to a variety of factors that intermingle in ways they may not have before.
If you’ve recently adopted a remote work lifestyle and have seen an increase in depressive symptoms since then, then there’s a good chance your depression stems from working from home. Heed the advice of this article and take control of your mental health so that you can start feeling better, both at work and at home.
