Motivation is the force that initiates, guides, and maintains our goal-oriented behaviours. It’s what prompts us to take action; whether it’s to climb a mountain, enrol in university, or save for our retirement. Understanding what motivates us to make the choices we make, big and small, day in, day out, can provide important insight, and significantly improve our chances of a happy, satisfying, and successful life.

Theories of motivation

Researchers have developed a number of theories to explain how motivation works, and three of the earliest and probably best known are Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Herzberg’s Motivation/Hygiene theory, and Victor Vroom’s Expectancy theory.

Our immune system is our first line of defence against infections and other external and internal attacks, and is made up of three distinct layers, which are deployed depending on the nature of the threat;

·         physical barriers: e.g. skin, lungs, gastrointestinal and respiratory tracts

·         biochemical barriers: e.g. secretions, mucus, and gastric acid

·         immune cells: e.g. T and B cells which produce antibodies to target and destroy the pathogen

Being depressed can make us feel helpless. We're not! As well as therapy and sometimes medication, there's a lot we can do on our own to fight back. Changing our behaviour, our physical activity, lifestyle, and even our way of thinking - are all natural depression treatments.

Here are some tried and tested tips that can help you feel better. So why not start right now?

Get into a routine

A lot of us take to our bed for days on end when we’re depressed. Setting a gentle daily schedule can help us get back on track, even if that's just getting out of bed, washed and ready before 10am, so that the days don't become an endless blur of nothingness.