Winter holidays can trigger us into seasonal depression. Winter is the season of going within; the trees are bare and the flowers lie deep inside in the dirt waiting for the earth to warm. As animals hibernate to conserve energy, we humans struggle against nature in our modern daily lives. It is easy to get down at this time of year. Darkness prevails. We wake in the night and the light changes to gray by mid-afternoon. This deprivation of light effects our hormones, which effects our moods. As we feel sluggish we crave more sweets to uplift us. Sweets will create only a hollow energy, quick to come, quicker to go. The more we huddle in, away from the cold and darkness the more the body/mind becomes dull and melancholic. Add to this the holiday madness; a good combination for feeling overwhelmed, stressed and depressed. You can help bring yourself back to balance in several ways. We must address all sides of us. The physical, mental, emotional and spiritual self are all involved. This is the true path to total health and well being.
1. Nourishing yourself and building a depression-free body is easy. Fill your shopping carts with foods rich in Vitamin B. The B's are very balancing to the nervous system; beans, eggs, fish, poultry, spinach, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, nuts. Add a little grain at every meal; kasha, brown rice, oatmeal, farina. These grains will bring a feeling of calm and comfort as well as stability. Eat a little more protein at each meal. Protein-rich meals help keep the mind clear and alert.
2. Exercise is very important to reverse depression. Exercise stimulates our energy and uplifts our moods. You need to make this a habit. Take your exercise outside in the sun if possible. The fresh air and sun combined with brisk weather will invigorate you. Start training yourself to be and feel strong. In Yoga movements we do strong looking and feeling poses with names like :The Hero" and "Warrior" to build a feeling of deep inner strength. When you feel strong you feel more empowered which will help lift depression.
3. Make a list of five things every day for ten days that are great about your life. Write them in big letters and bold colors. Put these little signs all over the place and look at them frequently during the day. Start being grateful for all of these things. Being grateful will fill you with joy which will reverse depression. It is a spiritual principal that as you are more and more grateful you will attract more and more good. When you develop the mind of gratitude you have the feeling of abundance and joy. Depression will be pushed away as joy fills your life.
4. Eliminate or limit negative, draining people from your life. Ask yourself, Do I feel better around this person or worse. Then do something about it. Our relationships have a lot to do with our happiness.
5. Start a list of the things you are angry at. Be honest with yourself. No one has to see this list so you will not hurt anyone's feelings. Once you get started you will see how many layers of anger and resentments you are holding inside. When feelings and emotions are repressed they can cause illness and depression. Get them out of you, onto the paper so that you can deal with them once and for all.
6. Get touched and hugged more. This will make you feel loved and cared about. When you are feeling nurtured your spirits rise. Give out lots of hugs and you can be sure they will be returned ten fold.
Is this an alternative to Prozac? In some cases yes it is. The more you can do to help yourself the better off you will be. Even if you are on medication you could be that much better off by doing all you can to help yourself. |