9 Steps to Overcome Seasonal Depression

It just few weeks ago that summer is over. But the light day has gone much shorter and it rains much often. I’m a summer kind of girl, born in the south of the country, I don’t like cold seasons at all. So the change of the season is a hard time for me. Last week I felt bad, hopeless and anxious. I didn’t have energy for anything and was oversleeping. I also found that I’m not interested in the things I usually enjoy. I didn’t want to do anything about Educopark or any other of my projects that usually bring me a great joy. I also had to pull myself together for concentrating and processing information.
 
Something just went wrong with my spirit and body. If you experience any of these symptoms, especially on a seasonal basis, you are as well as me probably a minor victim of seasonal affective disorder. But fortunately there are dozens of natural ways to beat a seasonal depression. So I decided to make a plan on how to increase my spirit.

Step 1 I Decided That This is a Great Time to Take Care of Myself

Changing my day schedule devoting more free time to myself is a great way out of seasonal depression. It is good for your body, as after an active summer your body also needs time to get use to a new season. I started from a hair cut to renew my hair and a new body lotion as my skin was a little bit dried by the summer sun.
I also decided to visit solarium. Scientists proved it is a good replacer of the natural sunlights which stimulate your body to produce serotonin.
I do not have enough money to allow myself visit SPA salons, so I decided to create the one for myself at home. It is easy to do. There is a lot of bath products with natural and herb ingredients. So one of the evening I devoted to taking a bath with roses leaves and other relaxing herbs. I was awesome.

Step 2 I Stay Physically Active

Feeling sleeplees at work especially in the first half of the day made me to seek for options on how to make my body wake up. I have chosen dance classes. I visited a Dance Mix class after work and I enjoyed it tremendously. Fast and energizing music and smiling girls made me smile too. Don’t worry if you don’t have any experience in dances, you are not going to fight for a gold prise, just enjoy yourself and your body. I was laughing at myself seeing how funny I move in the mirror.
Today I’m going to take a Strip Dance class, which is really great for muscle work out and also makes you feel sexy.
Try to walk outdoors every day. Exercise and dances is a great combination for elevating your spirits.

Step 3 I Absorb More Sunlight and Open Myself for Cultural Events
 
Feeling the light day is getting shorter and shorter, I decided to catch as more sunlight as possible. As it is not so cold yet, it is pretty nice to spent an hour or two walking around the park or visiting the places I’ve never been too. Spending more time outdoor will give you a considerable surplus of the energy.
 Autumn also a great time to visit cultural event, as this is exactly the time when theatre season is started. I found out that there is a great number of cultural event going in the city. I put in my day list to visit some of them. I also promised myself to buy a opera or balley tickets, as I have never did it before. Who knows, maybe I liked it afterwards.

Step 4 I Do Things I Enjoy

Moist autumn evening when one prefers to stay at home is a great time for re-reading the favourite book or watching a favourite movie. A few days ago I watched Step Up 2 and Dirty Dances. I loved these movies. After watching it I decided to take dance classes and I did. Soon I’ll be as good at dancing as these guys.
The recipe is simple, find the thing you haven’t done for a long time or have never done before (but loved to) and do it. It will surely raise your spirit.

Step 5 I Stay Connected

Being in a bad mood makes you want to stay alone instead of meeting old friends or making new connections, but in reality this is not the best time to do so. Loneliness can only make you feel more depressed. So don’t close up. Take invitations from your friends or organize a party yourself.
Tomorrow I will visit the Birthday Party of my beloved man, who is turning two. He is cute and I loved him a lot, though he couldn’t even pronounce my name yet.

Step 6 I Train Myself to Be Positive

If you focus too much on what’s wrong in your life, your brain can get stuck in a “negative” rut. Fortunately, with just a little effort, you can condition your brain to balance your moods and overcome seasonal depression. I decided to create a daily “gratitude list”, as a way out. Every day, I take a minute or two to make a conscious effort to name things in my life I’m grateful for: my family, my cat, my warm bed, a hot shower, yellow trees, music, coffee, and so on. Every time you do it, you condition your brain for appreciation and happiness.

Step 7 I’m Trying to Be Kind to Others

I heard a story when a customer in the drive-thru line at a Pittsburgh-area Starbucks paid for the coffee of the customer behind her. That customer was so pleased that she then paid for person behind her. The chain continued for two hours! I haven’t done something of that kind yet, but I will try soon. The easy thing to do is smile to smile at someone on the street, hold a door open or talk to a neighbour you never talked before.

Step 8 I Laugh Every Day

Laughter is recharges your battery. There are all kinds of studies showing how good laughter is for your brain, your health and your immune system. It’s good for your mood, your immune system, and holiday depression. To overcome seasonal depression, find a reason to laugh every day — all the better if you can find the humor in your relatives’ annoying habits or the little things that usually stress you out!

Step 9 I Eat and Drink What I like

Maybe it is not the healthiest step, but it definitely works. Chocolates and other sweets is a good way to raise your spirit as they also contribute to serotonin production. Eat more seafood if possible. It is a great source of energy.
As for the drinks, it is so nice to warm up after the cold and moist autumn day with a glass of mulled wine. It is easy to prepare. Take a bottle of dry red wine, start warming it up, add some honey, cinnamon and orange or lemon, spice it with cloves. This drink tastes great and also prevents you from getting sick in one of the rainy days.

These are the things I tried that helped me. I’m sure there are lots of other ways to overcome a seasonal depression, so I would be glad to hear more tips on overcoming depression from you.