Retreats
For Depression, Anxiety and Chronic Stress
When you’re in the midst of a period of depression, intense anxiety or chronic stress, it is often difficult to see a way out. Trapped in a cycle of troubling thoughts and overwhelming emotions, it’s normal for daily life to become too much.
Many people struggle to complete simple tasks and find it difficult to keep up with their work, their housework, their families and social lives, and their self care and personal hygiene. If you dread waking up in the morning and find it really hard to get out of bed, please know that you’re not alone.
Seeking help, and engaging in self-help techniques, is vital. That might feel impossible at the moment but remember there’s no pressure; it’s OK to start small and do things at your own pace. One of the simplest things you can do for yourself during a period of severe depression, for example, is simply to get up and stand in the shower.
But sometimes it can be incredibly helpful to get out of your usual routine and interrupt the cycle. Retreats for depression, anxiety and chronic stress offer a number of important benefits:
- They take you out of your usual environment, and in doing so, disrupt cyclical thoughts, opening you up to the potential for a new perspective.
- They offer a supportive and non-judgmental space in which you can try new activities and self-care techniques. For example, you might discover yoga, meditation, or Ayurvedic treatments and routines that help to lift your mood and bring about a sense of calm.
- Some retreats include learning experiences — you will gain insight into your mental health, and take home actionable, simple methods for feeling better.
- Away from your family, friends and colleagues, you can reflect on your circumstances and health from a place of greater detachment and awareness.
You can find retreats specifically designed to support you with your mental health rooted in several different health systems and philosophies. Whether you’re looking for mindfulness-based support, a retreat that uses cognitive behavioral therapy to change the way you respond to triggers, a simple yoga and meditation retreat to help you relax, or even an Ayurvedic retreat, there are a lot of options and it just takes determining what is most suitable.