The Best Jobs For People With Depression
Coping with depression is no laughing matter. If you feel cranky, exhausted, sad, low energy, or empty, you may be living with depression. If you do struggle with depression, you are far from alone. In 2020, approximately 14.8 million U.S. adults ages 18 or older experienced at least one major depressive episode, representing 6% of all U.S. adults. Types of depression include clinical depression, major depressive disorder, and seasonal affective disorder (SAD).
By law, employers are required to offer accommodations for workers who experience depression and other mental health conditions. Even if you get support at work, you may find you need to make adjustments to the position you currently hold or begin to look for new employment. And, whereas employers may provide accommodations for their employees with depression, you may find yourself yearning for job options that can better support your mental health.
Ahead, we’ll discuss the impact that certain jobs can have one’s mental health and which jobs are statistically the “best” and “least” optimal for people living with depression.
Can Work Make Depression Worse?
Depression is not the same thing as grief, sadness, or stress. These experiences can all set off depressive episodes, but symptoms of depression can make you susceptible to feeling sadness, stress, or guilt with greater intensity. The following are risk factors:
- Personality
- Environment
- Genetics and family history
- Personal biochemistry
Symptoms of depression are readily treatable, with a combination of psychotherapy and/or medication proving to be a helpful remedy for depression in most people. But working in a suboptimal environment can make depression harder to treat and make symptoms more severe.
You could ask for reasonable accommodations on the job. If you have difficulty concentrating, these accommodations could include breaking your job down into smaller parts and having your supervisor check in with you more often, for instance. Another option could be to find a job that can help improve your mental health and the ways depression impacts you.
The Best Jobs For People Who Have Depression
If you have been struggling in a desk job, you may find that another nontraditional setting could help you improve mental health, alleviate anxiety and depression symptoms, and achieve a healthier work-life balance. Let’s discuss some of the best jobs for individuals who are experiencing depression.
Librarian Jobs For Individuals With Depression
If you have a passion for books, a library position could be among the best occupations for you. Most full-time librarian positions indeed require a master’s degree in library science. Still, most libraries hire library technicians to work the circulation desk, shelve and organize books, scan and upload documents and assist patrons in finding books and resource materials.
In libraries, there are lots of opportunities for interaction with other people. If you are a history buff, you can work in the archives section, help students with school projects, or help people look up their genealogy. If you love to work with children, you can help organize reading days or school events. Libraries and librarians are pillars of the community. As a person who loves books and helping others, you could find the work highly rewarding.
Dog-Walking And Pet-Sitting Jobs For Individuals With Depression
Spending time with animals can be very therapeutic when managing symptoms of depression. As a dog walker, you can get outside for regular exercise (a boon for mental health!) and spend time with dogs who will be glad to see you. Pet-sitting offers you quality hours with animals that require support and care, including feeding, playing, and snuggling.
If you are in a living situation that doesn’t allow pets, dog-walking and pet-sitting provides a job opportunity to be near animals. Lots of apartments maintain strict prohibitions on pets; your spouse or child may have allergies to animals, or you may find that keeping a pet of your own is too expensive, but many people need help managing pets, which may be right up your alley.
Dog walking is a great job where you can set your own hours, or you can pet sit seasonally, which frees up time to unwind and seek out psychological support.
Computer Programming Jobs For Individuals With Depression
If you have a mathematical mind or love working with computers, you can learn to code, obtain a good-paying entry-level job, and gain meaningful employment. If you prefer working solo, freelance programming might be for you. But if you prefer working on big teams, large software companies are always advertising for programmers.
Learn programming languages like PHP, Python, HTML, and C++, or specialize in particular types of computer programming so that you can gain industry expertise in a short amount of time.
Coding jobs may be high-stress and have long hours. Many computer coders choose employment with large software companies and then begin to manage projects, start their own business, freelance from home, or obtain work consulting with other companies. With a few years beneath your belt, you can discover your niche and tailor your work to your mental health requirements.
Creative Jobs For Individuals With Depression
You may find it satisfying to make art or crafts. If your interest extends beyond being a hobbyist, you can earn a living with an internet presence that’s engaging people. For example, if you make hand-made soaps, you can build a website with an online store, open social media accounts to show off your work, and obtain a craft fair or farmers market booth.
You can make your own hours and have the enjoyment of working with your hands. Get a feeling of satisfaction when people admire your skills. Attend conferences and meetups with like-minded people, so you can make the acquaintance of people who understand and appreciate your hard work and successes.
Writers and artists find writing, illustration, graphic design, and other work types through online job platforms like Upwork and Fiverr. You can make your own hours, work from home, and please clients you love.
With the flexibility of working freelance, you’ll have the time to prioritize managing your depression. This could include exercising, attending therapy or support groups, and getting sufficient sleep.
Gardening Jobs For Individuals With Depression
If you are feeling depressed, consider a horticulture position, such as working in a greenhouse, gardening, landscaping, or even employment in a local gardening center. These are all great jobs for people struggling with depression. You get to work outside, getting your vitamin D fix, and engage in moderate exercise.
You have the choice of establishing your own business or working as an employee for home goods or gardening company. You can work seasonally and set your own hours.
When you work in gardening or landscaping, you should be prepared to lift heavy items and hold specific physical positions. This means it’s important to take care of your physical health. The rewards include growing lovely plants or creating beautiful gardens. If you are a fan of the outdoors, gardening is a great job opportunity.
Park Ranger Jobs For Individuals With Depression
Like horticulture and pet care, a park ranger job lets you get out into nature where you get regular exercise and are surrounded by lovely scenery. You might opt for a summer internship, which would pay you a stipend and free room and board.
A park ranger’s main responsibility is to supervise designated outdoor areas. Park rangers patrol park grounds to ensure that hikers, campers, and other visitors follow the rules -- such as fire safety rules -- and do not disturb fellow guests or the natural environment. They may also work in a visitor’s center, providing guests with maps and outlining off-limits areas to park visitors.
Among other skills, you can learn forest management, environmental sustainability, and essential survival skills. If you get a professional park ranger job, you will frequently be in nature by yourself, but you will have lots of opportunities to work with the public, educate adults and kids on ways to preserve parks, and be happy in the great outdoors.
Accommodations For Individuals With Depression
No matter the type of job you pursue, you are legally entitled to reasonable accommodations if you struggle with depression. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was expanded to include mental health and psychiatric conditions, so employees can petition employers for assistance in managing workplace conditions with paid time off or additional forms of support.
How Regain Can Support You
If you continue to experience depression, it is vital to seek professional help. You may choose to visit a counselor face-to-face, but thanks to Regain, you can get reasonably priced help right away.
Regain works with your schedule. You can choose to chat discreetly via text or, if you prefer, on a video chat or over the phone. You can meet with your therapist when it is convenient for your schedule, eliminating potential stress by removing the need to take off work early or miss out on a separate priority. There’s no need to make the commute to an in-person therapist’s office, either. You can meet virtually with your therapist from any location with a secure internet connection.
Online therapy has helped many people overcome their symptoms of depression. In a systematic review and meta-analysis of 39 studies involving 9,751 participants with mild or more severe depression, researchers sought to examine the efficacy of internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (iCBT) as an approach for treating related symptoms. Overall, guided iCBT was associated with significant benefits up to a year after treatment.
Takeaway
It can be hard to leave a job that gives you personal and professional fulfillment in many respects, yet causes you to feel an enormous amount of stress even when you are outside of the office or work environment. Ultimately, it is important to consider all your options that are available. An online therapist can work alongside you in a nonjudgmental, loving manner to explore your options and help you move forward from depression. When you’re ready, reach out to a licensed therapist on Regain to start feeling better.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Profession Has The Highest Rates Of Depression?
Research suggests that those who work in a high-stress job may be more likely to develop clinical depression, experience depressive episodes, or otherwise struggle with depression symptoms. These jobs may include, but aren’t limited to:
- Emergency workers and technicians
- Medical field workers like nurses and doctors
- Food service and retail employees
- Teachers
- Construction workers
- Artists/writers/other artisans
Even if your field isn’t included in the above list, if you’re experiencing depression symptoms that you believe may be linked, at least in part, to your profession, it may be time to seek professional help to determine the next best step.
What Jobs Are Best For Mental Health?
Generally, low-stress jobs or those that avoid intense situations and promote creative expression are good for mental health, especially those living with a mental illness.
These jobs can be in any field: engineering, architecture, mental health, self-employment (great for people with social anxiety), etc. For many, a job in the mental health field is a great opportunity; not only does it give you a chance to find a job you’re knowledgeable and passionate about, but it also allows you to use your own knowledge to connect with and support others.
Though job options are numerous, finding good-paying jobs that don’t involve elements of stress (i.e., frequent travel, meetings, and high-stakes or tense communications) can be difficult. A good place to start is determining which elements of a potential career are important to you, what area you’re interested in, and what steps you might need to take to get there.
What Are The Best Jobs For Someone With Anxiety?
There may not be a single perfect job or field for someone with anxiety, but there are many ways that you can avoid anxiety-inducing situations in the workplace.
The best practices in the workplace are those that help you avoid unnecessary conflict. Sometimes a part of this can be ensuring that you’re not working in a position or field that makes you truly unhappy – even though it’s internal conflict, it’s conflict nonetheless. This can be a great opportunity for you to evaluate what you’d like to look for in a future job and, in return, what you’d like to avoid.
If you have anxiety, it can also be helpful to note what specific obstacles you confront on a regular basis and how they might impact the way you do your job. For instance, if you’re prone to depressive episodes that render you unable to work, you might benefit from a career with a loose, flexible schedule. People with social anxiety might prefer careers that don’t involve communications very heavily.
It’s possible to find paying jobs that don’t turn into high-stress jobs, even if managing an anxiety disorder. Sometimes analysis and careful planning can help you acquire a career better suited to your needs.
Who Is Most Likely To Be Affected By Depression?
Those who are most likely to be affected by depression are generally those who live with long-term stress (like high-stress jobs), trauma, or other upsetting events and emotions over a long period of time. Additionally, those with a family history of depression are more likely to develop it themselves.
You don’t have to work a high-stress job to develop depression, though. Anyone can struggle with depression at any time for a multitude of reasons, job options aside. If you’re experiencing depression symptoms, it’s important to seek out the help that you need.
What Are The Happiest Careers?
Believe it or not, that the happiest careers actually range across a variety of fields. Even jobs that may seem like high-stress jobs – like those within STEM fields – are highly rated as satisfactory and fulfilled by those who live through them.
It seems that the best jobs aren’t necessarily low-stress jobs, but jobs that have the type and level of stress that you can manage. Low-stress jobs may be appropriate for some, but others might find that they’re very motivated by pressure in the workplace, and very lax jobs may lack the structure and challenges necessary to bring them fulfillment.
The best jobs might also be those that feel the most impactful; many popular careers involve helping people somehow, whether directly or indirectly. The best practices in the workplace often make us feel like we’re making a difference.
So, if you’re not satisfied with your current job, a great first step might be to consider why. Understanding what about your career drives you away from it will help you avoid these sorts of circumstances in the future.
Can People With Depression Hold A Job?
Is Working Good For Depression?
How Do I Find A Job When Nothing Interests Me?
What's The Least Stressful Job?
What Is The Most Peaceful Job?
What Careers Are Best For Mental Health?
What Is The Hardest Job Mentally?
What Are The Most Mentally Stressful Jobs?
What Is The Unhappiest Profession?
What Is The Unhealthiest Job?
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