We've all felt blue and anxious at one time or another it's that crappy self pity feeling where all you want to do is cry or crawl into bed until it passes, the good thing about this is that it doesn't stick around for long.
Serious depression and anxiety is another matter altogether and if you experience prolonged bouts of depression and anxiety that are impacting on your daily life and you just can't seem to snap out of it you should go see a doctor and a psychologist or psychiatrist to figure out what the problem is, serious depression affects millions of people and can not be fixed without medial intervention, if this is the case know there is nothing wrong with you as a person, you are ill and you need help and there is nothing wrong with asking for it.
For less serious depression and anxiety I have some quick tricks that have often helped me to get off of the pity pot and out of those bouts of temporary chest crushing anxiety. Remember it's ok to feel sad sometimes and it's important to feel your feelings and sometimes you should allow yourself to fall apart, it's healthy and cleansing especially after a big change, a break up a lost job, even PMS which is the big build up before the a big release release, which is why you feel much better and less angry a day after getting your period. PMS feel's like a massive building of pressure on the inside that is trying to force it's way out in anyway, you an even feel "crazy" and out of control, you want to scream and cry for seemingly no reason, but there is a reason it's a naturally cleansing time of the month for women and it is totally normal and healthy to feel that way, and you should try and get all of that pent up emotion out but it is not a good thing to take it out on the people around you, no matter how annoying and infuriating they are ;) If you think about it this way PMS is actually a fantastic thing it is our bodies way of helping us remove toxic build up and emotions, learn to embrace your monthly visit and it will help you to deal with it better.
Here are my personal tips and tricks
1. Take a warm bath with lavender epsom salts
2. regularly take OMEGA 3 fatty acids such as Flax, DHA and evening primrose (though evening primrose is higher in 6 its still beneficial) and Fish oil.
3. Take some real time out, pick one day a week where you do something just for you something that makes you really happy and feel cared for.
4. Eat lots of fresh foods, dark green leafy and colourful vegetables and brightly coloured fruits, and lean meats including organ meat. Stay away from heavily processed foods even if they are low in calories and fat, these foods are nutritionally dead and a low intake of the proper nutrients will lead to deficiencies and can cause mood swings to be much bigger. A good tip is your meal plate (every meal) should be full of colour and not be beige. Beige bad colour good!
4. work out at least 3 times a week, it doesn't have to be a heavy weight routine it could be a dance class a big walk through the park, running, spinning swimming martial arts, bike riding. Pick something that you enjoy and get moving, if you are a cramp sufferer at your time of the month then any kind of exercise will be of benefit and immediately reduce cramping.
5. Shopping therapy, this is a dicey one because this is what many women go to, to make themselves feel better, we all esteem ourselves through our looks and this is ok if it isn't your only focus. Going shopping and finding a really great outfit in a colour that makes you happy is a good quick fix, but only when used in moderation and if it will make you happy, if shopping is a stresser than don't do it.
6. Do something creative, paint, do crafts with your kids, change your room around, write, make a vision board, look through a magazine and tear out pages on how you would like to redecorate, brainstorm on ideas for a new business, cook, bake, knit, sew, take a class, look for cool projects on Pinterest, anything that is creative will work. This is an especially powerful tool and will work almost immediately. In our modern society we rarely create things from scratch and work on it from beginning to end we are part of a process, but not really creators. There is something truly thrilling about creating something from scratch all by yourself, even if it's not perfect it's fun and meditative and gets you thinking about something bigger than yourself.
7. Meditation is a great tool, I know it has a bad name as something hippy and silly, but it really is a miraculous thing, and I can guarantee if you give it a REAL chance it will not be what you expect and it will do you wonders. Meditation is a time when you get to be 100% with yourself in silence, when was the last time you got that?
Unknown to most people is that you don't want to totally quiet your mind because thats impossible, your mind's nature is to move and flip and work constantly, what you want to do instead is to move your thoughts away from the crazy acrobats it normally does to a trained mantra that you can focus on and bring your attention back to when you stray. Meditation is a gentile and truly wonderful practice where you put yourself first for a little while and maybe even find out a few things about yourself that you didn't know. Meditation is self focus with a positive goal, where as depression is self focus in a negative way, meditation is the ying to depressions yang.
8. Help out someone else who is having a hard time, help a friend or a family member, by talking with them or assisting them with something you are good at but they aren't. Or volunteer somewhere volunteering is a great way to get yourself out of your own head and into the real world, seeing how others live, meeting other people who are like you or aren't at all like you, developing empathy and understanding for others who are also going through a hard time, its a great and truly fulfilling way to refocus your attention and almost immediately will make you feel better.
9. Talk to your friends, reach out and and open up to people who truly love you and support you then go and have fun with them, knowing there are people who love you can really help when you are feeling alone.
10. Tapping is a great and simple way to get rid of an oncoming bout of anxiety, what you do is make a fist or use the tips your fingers and tap on your sternum right in-between your breast bone in a rhythmic way not too fast repeat until the anxiety subsides.
I hope this list helps some of you get through a tough day, remember it's ok to feel sad and it's also ok to take care of yourself when you feel that way, no one else is going to do it for you so it's important to learn how to care for yourself n what ever way suits you best.
If you have any suggestions for ways you have combat your mild depression and anxiety and learned to care for yourself please share.
Lots of love
xo
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