“Christmas is over, you’ve put on weight, it’s cold out, it’s dark out, your credit card bills are in, you’re not going to get another day off until March, and you’re tired.
You might even be depressed.
If so, you are not alone, especially not today. For today, according to one measure, is Blue Monday, the most depressing day of the year.” (Montreal Gazette)
“Christmas is over, you’ve put on weight, it’s cold out, it’s dark out, your credit card bills are in, you’re not going to get another day off until March, and you’re tired.
You might even be depressed.
If so, you are not alone, especially not today. For today, according to one measure, is Blue Monday, the most depressing day of the year.” (Montreal Gazette)
By Guest Blogger Daisy
The first time I was diagnosed with depression, I took three weeks off from work but still managed to keep my job. I wasn’t sleeping well at night. Worries kept me awake, and when sleep did come, I’d awaken in a head to toe sweat. Stomach aches every Monday morning, heartburn and headaches Sunday nights. There were too many symptoms to ignore.
Thirteen years later I recognized the symptoms again and went to the doctor. Again, I was able to keep working through it. I’m glad I did– I had a boss who wouldn’t have understood depression, and certainly would have thought less of me for having a mental illness.
But then, between me, my doctor and my family, we decided it was time: time to look into a long-term leave. I needed time to recover and heal, both physically and mentally. It was time to really examine my commitment to my teaching career and whether it could weather this kind of conflict. Most of all, it was time to treat this illness called depression. Before I made any kind of decision on my future, I needed to rest. Rest, recover, and feel healthy again — even on Mondays.
Have you been suffering from chronic fatigue lately? Find yourself tossing and turning at night unable to shut off your brain? Feeling at a low… emotionally, physically or spiritually? Have you lost your appetite? Or are you binge eating from stress or boredom? Been looking for your mojo and can’t seem to find it anywhere?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you are not alone. Many women today are running on empty. I certainly feel a little like this lately. Now we all have stresses in our life… be it stress with our kids, in a marriage, in a career, financial pressures, or even the stress as a result of being stuck in traffic and running late for a meeting. But the key in all of this, is how we deal with it. Some deal better and take to exercise, healthy eating and a positive attitude to cope with stress. Some take to the bottle, to drugs, and to other toxic forms of self soothing. But, when stress and anxiety are not taken care of and are allowed to fly out of proportion, they start to feed off your body for survival and this leads to problems. I read a quote that I like “When you find yourself stressed, ask yourself one question: Will this matter in 5 years from now? If yes, then do something about the situation. If no, then let it go.” Catherine Pulsifer
It gets dark at 4:30PM, it’s dreary, it’s windy, it’s darn right depressing. In fact, on most days in November, curling into bed at 3PM for a nap just feels like the natural thing to do. Hibernation, I think it’s called! November just ain’t one of my favorite months. I’d take peaceful white snow over the somber November days any day. I must say however, on a positive note, we are having our Indian summer now in Montreal, so I am not speaking about these past few days, but rather of November in general. Do you know that November continuously sees the highest rate of suicide out of all the months of the year? Fall also sees increased cases of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and others, which come out to show their ugly faces.
So, how can we beat the November blues?
