Seasonal Depression
I'm going to let you in on a little secret...I often don't wake up happy, especially in the winters. Whhhhhhat?! You? The girl with the perfectly manicured instagram?! Yes, me. Now, I'm not talking about severe depression here, I've struggled with that in the past, and it is its own uniquely destructive beast. I'm talking about seasonal depression, the monster that shows its face EVERY winter, no matter how well your life is going or how wonderful the holidays were. Quite a few years ago, I realized that I needed to come up with some effective strategies to preempt my seasonal blues and maybe prevent my falling into a pit of despair. I didn't know whether they'd work, but if you have seasonal depression than you totally get the "I don't care if it works, I have to do something!" desperation. Now, my struggle is not your struggle, so while I am going to offer some advice here--some tips and tricks that have really helped me, I am not saying they will absolutely help you, I'm saying they might. Take what you will, and leave the rest! <3My Tips & Tricks for Managing Seasonal Depression:
Start early. The biggest, and most important decision I have to make each year, is to start these practices early, usually during Fall, and some of them I keep up year round. I do this because, once the down hits, I won't be up to adopting new habits, I'll feel defeated, and overwhelmed, and incapable of helping myself...and ugh ugh ugh! So start early! Get to know yourself and when it starts to hit, and set a time about a month earlier to get into a swing of things.
Listen to Harry Potter. I'm not kidding! I listen to Harry Potter, all 7 books, every winter. Jim Dale changes the entire game for me during Winter. The books give me something to look forward to, a way to pass the time during the mundane tasks we all have to do (dishes, cooking, cleaning, etc.), and just pure joy. Harry Potter might not be it for you, though...I can't even talk about that if that is the case, but either way find YOUR Harry Potter. Choose something that is long enough, or that you can listen to over and over, something that is just pure entertainment. Find something that only GIVES and never takes or asks anything of you--those self help podcasts? They can be wonderful, but they are not your Harry Potter.
A Blue Light (price $39.99). Ok, I had heard a ton about these in college, and it sounded wayyyyyy too hippy dippy for me, because, well, I was lame. Now, I wish I had tried it sooner, like...I really wish I had you guys. It has helped me so much. One of the downsides for me of seasonal depression is that I feel half asleep every day, it is a terrible feeling, like life is going on and you're not participating, just watching. This tiny little light helps me wake up--REALLY wake up, and feel like I've gone on a long walk in the middle of Summer. I just put it on the table while I read, or edit, or drink my coffee and let it work its magic for 15 minutes each morning.
Vitamins. So...I wasn't a big believer in vitamins either, that is, until we did a before and after blood test with henry and his vitamin D supplementation, and it really helped with his deficiency! Point is, I have a vitamin regimen. Here is what I take each morning.
Vitamin D (Price $8.99) I strongly prefer this Vitamin D because it is such a high dosage, so with 5 drops each morning I am taking 2000 IU. It has no strong taste, so I just put it in a glass of water each morning and drink up!
Multi Vitamin (Price $11.39) I'm crazy about Olly everything, they do such a good job, especially with their kids vitamins (they even include probiotic, which is SO HELPFUL if you kids have tummy issues!)
Viviscal (Price $30.00) I started taking these a while ago for both my hair and nails, because of my hypothyroid, they suffer, and this stuff is the real deal. My hair has grown faster and feels stronger, and my nails don't break anymore. I love it, and think it's worth the high price point.
Move your body. This is probably the most annoying advice I'm giving on here, because we all know it is true and necessary, and don't really need to be told to do it. But hear me out, I'm not telling you to go do a 30 or even 20 minute work out. I am telling you to do 10 minutes of anything, walking, jumping, dancing, squatting, stretching, just move your body in some way, every day for 10 minutes. Don't make it complicated, or else you won't make time for it. I really love the Fitness Blender series on youtube, especially her work outs for people who get bored easily :)
Nighttime Tea (price $8.99). Johnny is a pretty big tea drinker, and over the years that has rubbed off on me. We're really crazy about this Tulsi Tea and have like 12 boxes on top of our fridge so we never run out (here is the set of 6 we usually order). We drink it nearly every night, and it is such a nice way to close out the day and unwind--best paired with a good netflix binge OBVS.
Crossing my fingers that even just one of these helps you if Seasonal Depression is your struggle! Please let me know if they do, I'd love to hear about it!