The Mental Emotional Health Blog

Distractions are bad when they prevent you from concentrating on or doing what you need to.

Distractions are good when they help you manage or decrease anger, worry, or feeling down.

There are several different strategies and interventions that are considered part of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy. But to really simplify things, this is the basic goal of the Cognitive-Behavioral approach: 

Identify your negative thoughts and behaviors, and replace them with healthy/positive thoughts and behaviors.

Please don’t commit suicide.

Here are some resources if you or someone you know might be at risk for suicide:

• http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/
• http://www.sprc.org/featured_resources/customized/college_student.asp
• http://www.marshfieldclinic.org/nfmc/Pages/Proxy.aspx?Content=MCRF-Centers-NFMC-resources-childresources-ss-suicidesafety.1.pdf
• http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/suicide/MH00058/METHOD=print

You can also talk with your physician, counselor, therapist, psychiatrist, physician’s assistant, nurse practitioner, life coach, spiritual leader, or anyone else in a designated helping role.

Just don’t give up. Part of suicidality can be feeling and thinking suicide is the best or only option. That is the absolute best time in your life to get a second opinion. 

Please don’t commit suicide.

Self-talk is just what it appears to be: talking to your self. No, it doesn’t mean you are crazy. Self-talk is how we make decisions, such as figuring out what to eat or whether or not to get out of bed in the morning. We all use self-talk, but we aren’t always aware of what we tell ourselves. With better awareness of your personal self-talk, you can manage your self-talk more effectively.

I’m really simplifying this, but it is basically true: if you think more positively, you will feel better. Depression is a condition that affects your thinking and your emotions, so self-talk is a major factor.

If you have an event that really isn’t positive or negative, you might characterize that event positively or negatively anyway. Here is an example of an event: there was a sunrise this morning. Two people may say exactly the same thing: “It’s another day”, but one may say it with optimism and the other with pessimism. Even in the morning, we start determining how we will perceive our day.

Applying this to depression, you don’t have to accept the negative thoughts that might dominate your thinking. By fighting back with self-talk, you can gradually improve your moods, thoughts, and even energy. Even if you don’t convince yourself to think positively, an upgrade to neutral is better than negative.

Try paying attention to the messages you give yourself mentally. It may be surprising and helpful to become more aware of your self-talk, and then learn to manage your thoughts more effectively.

Here is my little cheat sheet on Seasonal Affective Disorder (or S.A.D., or Winter Blues), which I prepared from various sources for a media interview: 

• Seasonal Affective Disorder symptoms: increased sleep, lethargy (feeling sluggish or lazy), weight gain, irritability, typically occurs during the winter months        

• General symptoms in children: feeling down, crying, hopelessness, less interest in activities, more irritable or impatient than usual, anger, body complaints such as headaches or stomachaches, changes in sleeping or eating patterns
• Less sunlight may affect amounts of the neurotransmitters serotonin and melatonin, which in turn may contribute to depressive symptoms and affect sleep cycles. (This gives new meaning to the phrase, “Soak up the sun”!)
• How you think and how you feel about yourself have an impact on your functioning.  Pay attention to the messages you give yourself throughout the day, and keep them positive and realistic. This is very important!
•  Set reasonable expectations in terms of schedule, behavior, and rest. 
• Stick to the basics – healthy eating habits, good daily hygiene, drink enough water to stay hydrated, stay active
• Some people have only mild symptoms, but if they seem severe seek help from a health care professional 
• Good news: It’s already February, and as the days continue to lengthen the Seasonal Affective symptoms should decrease
• Start preparing for next Winter this Summer around August

 

As stated above, check with a health care professional (physician, therapist, psychiatrist, counselor, etc.) if the symptoms are severe, or if the symptoms or feelings affect your work, school, or relationship functioning. 

 

 

Light therapy (ask your health provider) has been used to assist some people with the shortage of daylight according to some studies, but tanning beds have not been shown to work in any research to date. 

 

 

As with other forms of depression there are always options, even if it doesn’t feel like there are or you can’t seem to see any.