Seasonal Depression

It’s everyone’s least favorite time of the year, SEASONAL DEPRESSION. This is when my seasonal depression hits hard. I’ve always had seasonal depression, but it only got worst when quarantine happened. Now I’m doing good at managing my seasonal depression but it can always kind of kick me at the worst times. Here are some things that I like to do to get out of my seasonal depression.

Change of Scenery

For me, if I’m in one spot and one place for too long I start to feel I don’t want to do anything. During winter break, if I wanted and needed to get out of the house I would hang out with friends, or go to my local coffee shop. Sometimes I would take my car and drive around listening to music. Changing where you are can significantly affect your mood and how you feel. Surprisingly I didn’t have much seasonal depression when I was home but being back on campus I always try and change my scenery at least two to three times a day. This is a great way for you to be able to not dig yourself into a hole. Plus, having multiple happy places is a great thing for you mentally and physically.

Do Things That Make You Happy

One of the ways I was able not to be in one of my depressive episodes was I wrote a current original book I’m working on. I finished the first draft and it still needs a lot of editing but I did get it done. Writing makes me feel super happy because when I write I feel so much better just in general, whether that’s just journaling or drafting up a future book, it helped me with my seasonal depression.

Another thing I did was recharge my social battery by hanging out with friends. Specifically, my best friend who goes to a different college came down and we hung out after Christmas and just tried to hang out as much as possible. Being able to hang out with friends is a great way for you not to fall into a funk and it improves your overall feeling. Even if you don’t feel like being social, just start out with studying or not even doing anything too stressful with someone you love.

I also read, watched tv shows/movies, and played games. I mostly read audio books because I couldn’t decide on a physical book then, but since I’m back on campus I have a physical book in mind. I love reading and it helped me escape my seasonal depression. Mostly because when I read, I feel myself looking into the character’s world. This helps me not get too sad during the cold months. Criminal Minds was my top show throughout the break along with other shows. For me, a comfort show is a way for me to put myself in a good mood. Whether it’s a show or even a movie, sometimes rewatching something that you love is the best thing for you. I like to also keep myself busy with computers, and video games. I played a lot of Mario Kart over break because I wanted to do something that was fun and not too boring. I don’t like to play too many boring games because it puts me into more of a funk.

All these things helped me a lot on break not to fall into a depressive state. Being able to find something that makes you happy is hard, but once you do find it, don’t ever let it go. Finding things or people that make you happy will help you not fall into a depressive state.

Stop And Take A Breathe

I know that this sounds like an obvious solution to the problem but it’s more complicated than it looks. I get that this is also a controversial thing to say to someone nowadays but I promise it can help. When I use to have mental breakdowns a lot, I’d find it hard to breathe and decided to take the time to calm myself down and take deep breaths. It helps me a lot in stressful situations and whenever I can’t get to sleep. I also understand that if you can’t find something to help slow you’re breathing, try putting something near your heart like if you lay down, grab a stuffed animal or something to help you out. If you find yourself not being able to breathe just stop and take some deep breaths.

Closing Thoughts

Seasonal depression is nothing to mess around with. It’s hard sometimes with the weather not being the greatest but it doesn’t mean that you don’t deserve love. Being able to use most of these methods will help you not feel down during these cold months. I hope you all enjoyed reading this post. Have a great day, week, month, and year my lovelies.