Depression: A Wintry Season

If you experience depression, it may feel like winter a majority of the time: cold, dreary, foggy, and very little sunshine! The season of winter also triggers a time of depression for many people. Whether due to the holiday season, the cold and dreary weather, or other factors, many people experience an increase in sadness and depression during winter months.

Depression means feeling sad or down pervasively. Perhaps you feel helpless or hopeless. Maybe you've lost interest in things that were once enjoyable for you. Do you cry often and have a hard time holding back tears? Are you having trouble sleeping, or are you feeling tired often? Perhaps you feel worthless or experience excessive guilt. Is it hard to concentrate or make decisions on a regular basis?

If you are having these symptoms on a daily basis for longer than 2 weeks and it is not the result of a significant loss in your life, it is time to consult with a therapist or a doctor about your symptoms of depression. If you have some of these symptoms sometimes but they do not interfere with your ability to work or engage in relationships (occupational and social functioning) then keep reading!

Below are some basic tips for managing depressed moods. Keep in mind though that this is not an exhaustive list of treatment for depression. A Licensed Professional Counselor- like me:) -can help you determine if you are clinically depressed, determine whether or not medication might be beneficial for you, and can help you to further manage your depression. Here is a list of ways you can begin to manage your depressed mood or frequent sadness.

1. Create and stick to a daily routine. Get up in the morning and go to sleep at night around the same time every day (within an hour or so). Make sure you are getting at least 7-8 hours of sleep each night. Eat well-balanced and healthy meals at regular/routine times. Have structured activities that you participate in daily (work, volunteer activities, social activities, etc).

2. Journal your thoughts and feelings. Whether in written form, in a blog, through art or some other form, expressing your thoughts and feelings helps you to identify patterns and themes in your moods and also lets you track how often you are feeling a certain way.

3. Dedicate time for being social. When you are feeling sad or depressed, there is the tendency to pull away from friends. Yet during this time is when you need to be around people who care for you the most! Even if you don't "feel" like it, schedule some social time with people you enjoy being around at least 1-2 times per week.

4. Exercise. Get moving at least 3 times per week for at least 30 minutes each time. Exercise helps to increase one's mood naturally by releasing endorphins. Basically endorphins then trigger a positive feeling in the body. You'll actually "feel" better just by getting some exercise!

5. Commit to thinking positively. How we think affects how we feel. See my October post here for more information about this concept. If you choose to think positive thoughts, you will feel better than if you dwell only on negative thoughts. When you find yourself feeling down and realize you are thinking negatively, tell yourself "STOP" and then begin to think more positive, true and rational thoughts. In this way, you begin to manage and even overcome your depressed mood! You may need to write the positive thoughts down in order to help yourself focus on them and think about them regularly. Post positive thoughts on your mirror, your car dashboard (but make sure you can still see the speed limit!), and in other places you know you'll look frequently. Positive thinking helps decrease depressed moods.

If you try these things for several weeks and still find yourself feeling depressed on more days than not, it's time to contact a local therapist or your doctor (or better yet....BOTH)!

Grief and the Holidays

The holidays are often difficult for many of us who have lost a loved one. Whether or not we lost our loved one around the holidays, this time of year can be very painful. Memories tend to come flooding back, usually uninvited. Oftentimes the people around us speak very little of the one we lost, perhaps "not to bring up anything that would make us upset", and maybe because they are uncomfortable with pain or sorrow themselves. However, we would typically benefit from talking about the ones we have lost, even if just for a moment. We need to connect with our lost loved one in some way, in many ways, during the holiday season.

The article here talks about grieving through the holidays and offers many helpful ways to not only honor your lost loved one, but also how to prepare the loved ones that are around for your grief at this time of the year. The article also reminds us that we need to take care of ourselves during this difficult time of the year when our grief can be almost palpable.

We that believe in Jesus Christ must also remember the hope that we have in Him during our grief and mourning.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 (New Living Translation)

¹³ And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. ¹⁴ For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.

Grief is difficult; it follows no easy formula, no clear timeline. Each person's grief is unique because each person's relationship with the loved one they lost is completely unique. Grief will sometimes cycle around unexpectedly and take us to new and deeper levels of loss, and of healing too. But within grief, there is an opportunity for deep healing, for remembering, and for forming a new relationship with the lost loved one. And there is the hope in Christ of seeing them again one day.