If you're reading this, then you likely already know that stress and depression go hand and hand.
Stress is the feeling you get when you feel that something really important is out of your control and you just have to do something about it-no matter what! Depression is what you feel when you've driven yourself crazy trying to make things right and despite your best efforts, you come up feeling defeated.
This may not seem like good news, but the fact is there's a silver lining.
Since they are so intertwined, you can learn how to deal with stress and beat depression in one fell swoop-through acceptance! Here's how.

• Accept what you can't change.
  

You've heard it before.
It may even sound cliché by now, but it's true.
One of the very best things you can do to beat depression and stress is to accept what you can't change.
You know what I'm talking about.
There are circumstances in all of our lives that we so wish that we could change or even make disappear altogether.
How much time and energy do you spend dwelling on these things? If the answer is more than a second or two, then you need to practice acceptance in order to truly learn how to handle stress.
After all, why fret over things that you have no influence over?

• Accept who you can't change.
  

Are there people in your life who make you crazy or worse, make you feel bad about yourself? Most people are well aware that circumstances aren't the only aspects of life we wish we could change.
If you're like most of us, then there are probably people in your life you wish you could make over as well.
Let this feeling go.
People can change, but only when they want to, and you have no control over their will.
Make up your mind to accept the person as-is or distance yourself from them.
It can be a difficult thing to do, especially if you're worried about hurting someone's feelings or perhaps you truly care for the person.
Above all, put your own wellbeing and emotional health first if you want to beat depression and effectively manage stress.

• Accept yourself-and change.
  

While you can't always change your circumstances or the people in your life, you can change one thing-yourself.
The key is to accept yourself along the way.
We all have things about ourselves we'd like to improve.
That's healthy.
But if you want to beat depression, then you're going to have to learn how to love yourself through these changes.
That means celebrating small accomplishments and keeping self-criticism in check.
Knowing the difference between what you can and cannot change is not only the key to knowing how to handle stress and beat depression, but it is also one of the great lessons in life.
Once you've learned it, you'll experience more peace and contentment in your life than you ever thought possible!