Overcoming Seasonal Depression

If you have been following me for a while, then you will already know what is creeping up for me this time of year. If you are new here, Hi, hello. My name is Kallai and I have seasonal depression that starts around mid-October.

I always, to have it not come back stronger than it did the year before, find techniques and things that I am needing in order to be healthy through every stage. It usually comes down to a ton of self-care and just being by myself in order to help myself cope. Right, wrong or indifferent, that is how I have dealt with it.

I don’t necessarily that think that I have anxiety about knowing it could show up at any time but more so self-awareness. I think being self-aware of having an issue or a problem is the first step in seeking help or learning how to cope. It really allows some introspection to what is needed by my mind and body to get through the season I am about to experience.

I consider myself among the “blessed” that deal with this type of depression. I consider myself lucky that it is not all year, nor is it as bad as it used to be. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t suffer.

Knowing all of this, I have decided that there are some fundamental things I will be incorporating daily to keep it at bay.

1. Read Before Bed. I am a culprit of trolling the internet and really letting people and things I view dictate my mood. Have you ever felt so exhausted towards bedtime and the second you crawl into bed and open your favorite app, you’re suddenly not tired anymore? I certainly have my hand raised here. Reading fiction has been the best escape before bed. I tend not to select non-fiction only because if it is a “do this” type of book, I grab my notebook and start jotting down ideas and 3 am is quickly approaching.
2. Move My Body 30 Minutes Daily. If you live in a big enough city with studios that could potentially participate in the “MindBody” App, it is worth downloading to see. Some studios have incredible deals just for using the app. Let me be clear. Moving my body has nothing to do with moving the needle on the scale here. Moving my body for 30 minutes, doing something that I enjoy, and blessing my body with feeling good, keeps my mind focused, driven and healthy.
3. Have Quiet Time. In a world that is so noisy and everyone needing me right away when the alarms go off, I relish in getting up before everyone, brewing a cup of coffee and sitting with my journal or Bible study in peace and quiet. There is nothing better. Truly. I’m not afraid to be alone with my thoughts because I know that I need to be in order to collect them and deal with them.
4. Fuel My Body with Good Food. In the season of my depression, I found myself going down the rabbit hole with all of the foods I loved but never the foods that were blessing my body. I would give in to the drive thru, the starches and the chocolate. All which I knew that they were not serving my mental health and my relationship I had with my body with a good purpose. So, in effort to curb the dark hole that my brain slips down when I choose poorly, I am working to choose health and love my mental health more than I love the temporary food feelings I get from other things I consume.
5. Practice Gratitude. I think it is so easy for anyone with seasonal depression to think that they are living in this slump alone and there is no hope to get out. And, my friend, I am here to tell you that quite the opposite is true. There are many ways, even in the wake of the season of depression, to find things to be thankful for. It is just finding them and remind yourself every morning of the blessings you had the day before so you can find new ones for today. 10 simple things to jot down daily, especially the cup of coffee you were blessed with the next day, is loving on yourself, the people you love, just as God loves you.

This season coming up is hard. But like every other season, I try my best to keep the tricks coming so that one day I am free from this. Will there ever be that day? I am not sure. BUT what I do know is that working on loving myself and being present with the one who put me here can help me over come anything and I am certain it can help you too. If you are struggling and you need to talk, just know I am just an email away. Friends, take care of yourself but most importantly, take care of your mental health first. You are more capable and stronger than you think.