EPISODE #176- Redefining Victory: Practical Ways To Reclaim Life From Depression

We redefine what it means to win against depression and share practical steps that build hope through small, steady actions. From boundaries to nutrition to faith, we map out simple wins that compound into real change and safety plans for rough nights.

• redefining winning as progress, not perfection
• counting daily wins like hygiene, sunlight and small tasks
• emotional skills for labeling feelings and defusing thoughts
• gentle social connection without pressure to perform
• boundaries that protect energy and reduce guilt
• faith as a steadying practice and perspective shift
• holistic care: medication, therapy, sleep, movement, nutrition
• sugar reduction and brain-healthy foods for mood support
• suicide safety: delay, support, rest, and don’t act on impulse
• gratitude for community and ways to support our work

If you want to become a patron for Win Over Depression, you can go to patreon.com, that's P-A-T-R-E-O-N, backslash Tamara Trotter. That's T-A-M-E-R-A. Last name Trotter T-R-O-T-T-E-R. And as little as five to twenty dollars per month will help us to advance our message even further and wider

Chapters

• 0:10 Welcome And Purpose
• 0:44 Redefining What Winning Means
• 2:23 Everyday Wins You Can Count
• 4:18 Emotional And Mental Wins
• 5:50 Boundaries And Relationship Health
• 7:03 Faith, Perspective, And Progress
• 9:10 Medication, Nutrition, And Habits
• 11:37 Suicide Risk, Safety, And Support
• 13:04 Gratitude And Community Support

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:10

Hello and welcome to Win Over Depression, the podcast where healing meets hope and every story matters. I'm your host, Tamara Trotter, mental health advocate, author, and a woman who knows what it's like to walk through hard days and come out stronger. Here we will break down stigma, share real tools for wellness, and uplift you with truth, courage, and care. Whether you're battling depression, supporting someone you love, or just seeking peace, you are in the right place. Let's win together. Today we'll be talking about what it means to win and whether or not you can survive the storms of life. You know, winning doesn't mean depression disappears forever. It means depression no longer gets to run your life. Here's what winning really means in this space. Winning means getting up when you didn't want to and counting that as a victory, asking for help instead of suffering in silence. Having bad days without giving up on yourself, learning your triggers, and choosing healthier responses. Taking your meds, going to therapy, praying, journaling, or resting without shame. Finding your voice again, even if it trembles. Winning does not mean being happy all the time, never feeling sad, tired, or overwhelmed. Winning is not positive thinking your way out of pain. It isn't comparing your healing to someone else's. Winning is reclaiming your hope, your identity beyond depression, your right to rest and heal, and your belief that your life still has meaning. And when over depression, winning is progress, not perfection. Sometimes winning is loud and joyful. Sometimes winning is simply staying the course. Because when we stay the course and realize that sometimes we are not going to be at our best, but we must keep moving forward one step at a time, then we are confronting our feelings and saying, Hey, I am going to do a task for 15 minutes, and even if I have to take a nap for an hour, I still get credit for the 15-minute task that I completed. Because we are oftentimes our worst critic, I want to give you some examples of what winning looks like so that you can put it in context. So winning means getting out of bed before noon when yesterday you couldn't. So if you got out of bed today at 10, but yesterday you got out at noon, that's a win. Did you think about that? Did you count that? It matters. Showering, brushing your teeth, or changing clothes, all of those are wins. Even if you take a shower and put your pajamas back on, you still took the time to demonstrate good hygiene. And so the little bitty steps that we make, they add up and they eventually turn into big steps. If you spent 10 minutes straighten up a room and vacuuming the floor, that is a win. Eating something even if it wasn't healthy, drinking water when you want it to shut down, opening the curtains and letting the light in. That's crucial. When we let the light in and we bring the sunshine in, it automatically opens up our endorphins and we start to feel better. How about some emotional and mental wins? Noticing a negative thought without believing it. Sometimes these thoughts come into our mind, we start to marinate on them, and even though we know they're not true, we start to consider that maybe it is true. But when you're able to notice a negative thought and not believe that it's true, that's a win. Saying, I'm not okay today, instead of pretending, choosing not to isolate, even if you don't talk much. You can still go out with friends, you can have limited conversation, you can order food, and you can listen, but that is still getting out of the house. Giving yourself permission to cry or to feel nothing. When we cry, it is a cathartic way for us to shed our emotions and our feelings, and once we've done that, we feel so much better. So don't beat yourself up about crying, naming your feelings instead of stuffing them. So at a time and a moment when you are feeling a negative thought or you have a feeling and it's something that isn't positive, name what that feeling is. Is it due to low self-esteem? Is it because someone told you that you were less than when you know that you are more than enough? How about in our relationships? Are you winning in your relationships? Are you able to set boundaries, not feel guilty, and not apologize for it? Can you say no without explaining yourself? Say no, mean no, move on, don't revisit it and stick to what you said, and you said no. Asking for help or accepting help when it's offered. A lot of times I struggle with that, and so I'm learning more and more to simply ask for help. Walking away from conversations that drain you. You know the people who drain your energy, the people who are attention seeking, the ones who want to call and sit on the phone and just complain about everything. And by the time the conversation is over and you hang up the phone, now you feel depressed. Choosing yourself without guilt, making a decision that's in your best interest, putting your foot down and saying, Today, this decision is going to be all about me. How about some spiritual and inner winds? Praying even when faith feels thin. Because when we have faith that is small as a mustard seed, then mountains can be moved. So where is your faith right now? Where would you rate yourself in faith? Is your faith high? Is it medium or is it low? If your faith is low, what can you do to get it to medium? If it's medium, is it possible for you to get it to high? Or is medium where you are right now? And if it is, that's completely okay. Trusting that this moment is not the whole story. Oftentimes we have a setback and we think about that, we marinate on it, we think about it over and over again, and we forget all of the progress and successes that we've had. No one thing that happens in your life destroys everything else that you've accomplished. We are human, we make mistakes, we're not perfect, but as long as we do our level best the next time to make a better decision, to not get into a power struggle, to decide that we're gonna say no and stick to it. Every time we do that, we are making progress, and progress is what it's all about. Releasing shame that never belonged to you. Think about something that you feel you are ashamed about. But is it your cross to bear or is it someone else's? Believing even for a minute that healing is possible. When we really and truly believe in our heart of hearts that things can and will be different, that usually gives us the momentum to keep moving forward, to not give up, to strategize, to figure it out, and to know that the setback is probably a setup for a comeback. So never stop believing that healing is possible. How about some quiet wins, taking your medication consistently, going to therapy, or showing up for yourself in new ways, forgiving yourself for what depression cost you. Depression is a mental health condition. It is a condition that is no fault of your own. It is often due to a chemical imbalance in the brain where there is a lack of serotonin. So, if you were to have a heart condition, some other type of condition where you had to take medication, you would do it without question. Having a mental illness is no different. I take two pills every day. That helps to keep my depression at bay, and I don't feel bad about it. It's something that I need, and I do it every day consistently. And if you were to ask me if all of my symptoms of depression are gone because I take the medication, I would tell you no. There's some days when I feel like the medication isn't working. But here's the thing no one thing is gonna help you defeat depression. It's a combination of a variety of things. It's medication, it's exercise, it's positive thinking, it's eating healthy. Did you know that sugar exacerbates depression? Yes, it absolutely does. And so there are some foods that you can eat. I've talked about many times in my podcast episodes that actually help feed your mental health condition. Those are avocados, salmon, any type of fish, leafy vegetables, and walnuts, to name a few. So when you make yourself a salad and you include those ingredients, you are actually treating your mental health condition, and that one thing alone is going to help keep your depression at bay. And it may be difficult, but try it. Try to eliminate sugar 50%. The next month, try to eliminate sugar 70%. Eventually, your body will not even like sugar, and you'll be able to get your mental health back on track. Whenever we think about what we need to do to help ourselves, and we actually take advantage of that, then we are being proactive when it comes to managing our mental health condition. Thousands of people commit suicide every single year, and a lot of them felt helpless and hopeless. But I submit to you that if you were to feel suicidal, there are some things that you can do to overcome that condition. But I truly believe that it's totally up to the individual to make that choice and that decision. One of the things you can do is to have an accountability coach, someone that you call when you're feeling down, definitely take your medication, seek therapy if you need it, but don't give up on yourself. If you're in that situation, lay down for the night, go to sleep, don't think about it, but do not act on impulse and take your life when you're feeling bad at the moment because everything passes. No storm can last forever. So I encourage you to remember that your life is valuable. There are people who love you, want to see you on this side of heaven. So don't let a bad day, a rude person, or something that someone says cause you to spiral downward and end up having suicidal thoughts. You are worth it. Your life is worth it. And I'm telling you that I want to see you well and taking care of yourself. I never want to end my podcast without thanking you so very much for listening. You continue to be the best part of Win Over Depression, and we are growing by leaps and bounds because of all of your support. If you want to become a patron for Win Over Depression, you can go to patreon.com, that's P-A-T-R-E-O-N, backslash Tamara Trotter. That's T-A-M-E-R-A. Last name Trotter T-R-O-T-T-E-R. And as little as five to twenty dollars per month will help us to advance our message even further and wider. Remember, you can find us on TikTok at T T Mental Health Expert. And you can also find us on YouTube at Win Over Depression. Thank you for listening. We will see you next time on Win Over Depression. And we encourage you to never give up. Keep your eyes on the prize because giving up is never an option. Stay in the game of life. See you next time.