在英国及世界各地，有很多人都感到忧伤和抑郁。为改善这一心理状态，不少人会选择服用有潜在副作用的抗抑郁药物。其实，还有其它在不服药的情况下可以让你心情变好的替代方法。这些方法包括游泳、与人行善和人工智能技术等。

 

It affects one in six people in England each week, according to UK charity Mind. That's the ratio of people who report experiencing a common mental health problem, such as depression. Whether temporarily down in the dumps, or chronically¹ depressed², many rely on anti-depressants to lift their dejected mood. But, they have a cost – one ex-user told the BBC that they felt they were in a "chemical fog" and were desperate to stop. If medication is a last resort, what alternatives are there when you're feeling truly blue?

 

What about cold-water swimming to combat melancholy³? One participant, known as Sarah, took part in the 2016 BBC One series The Doctor Who Gave Up Drugs. She had been taking anti-depressants since the age of 17. Two years after the show, she is off all medication and still swimming – something a recent British Medical Journal report believes may be an effective treatment for depression. Apart from the exercise and companionship of swimmers, the cold water puts the body under stress. With repeated immersions, the body better adapts not just to this physical stress, but mental stress, including the psychological problems of life that lead to low spirits.

 

Susan Calman relies on kindness to brighten her mood. The 43-year-old comedian⁴ and author encourages others to use altruism⁵ to improve the lives of those around them. "It can be as simple as holding open a door for someone, or giving someone a compliment, or buying someone a packet of crisps while they're feeling down," she tells the BBC. In fact, anything that uplifts. "If we all started to be a bit kinder then maybe we could start seeing the world as a better place. It's really about kindness and then from that, just finding that happiness," she says.

 

Or you could talk about it. Woebot is a chatbot designed to support people dealing⁶ with problems by teaching coping strategies. "There's a reason why good therapeutic⁷ approaches are conversational⁸. It just asks the right questions so you can figure it out," Alison Darcy, founder⁹ of Woebot, tells the BBC. One user, Nick Impson, explained that Woebot relieves the potential trust issues that can occur when talking to a stranger, even a qualified¹⁰ one.

 

Feeling despondent¹¹ happens to everyone. When it does, you might want to try one of these methods and see if it works for you. We hope you'll be feeling as right as rain again in no time. 

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