Stop ruminating

Ever clash with a colleague or fight with a friend and then keep obsessively thinking about it, amplifying the anger, stress, and anxiety associated with the memory? Known as rumination, this type of thinking is linked to a greater risk of becoming or staying depressed. 

While reflection is a good thing, and may help you solve problems, rumination does the opposite. 

If you catch yourself ruminating, studies suggest it may help if you try to distract yourself, meditate, or redirect your thoughts. Cognitive behavioral therapy often targets rumination because it can be so damaging to mental health.

Retire your crystal ball

Very few (if any) of us are blessed with the ability to predict the future. But depressed people will often convince themselves they know what will happen a day, a month, or a year down the line. And it's usually bad, if not downright catastrophic. 

Fortunately, our dire predictions rarely come true. 

Try to stay in the present. It's much more manageable and you're less likely to blow things out of proportion.

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