Some of us may find ourselves constantly feeling down or tired. Do you wonder how you can cope with these feelings? Hopefully, this article can be a help to you.

You may be wondering, what is seasonal depression and how do I know if I have this seasonal depression? “Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that’s related to changes in seasons — seasonal affective disorder (SAD) begins and ends at about the same times every year” says the article Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). What are some of the symptoms you may ask? There are a number of different symptoms but an article on Johns Hopkins Medicine says the most common are

• Increased sleep and daytime drowsiness
• Loss of interest and pleasure in activities formerly enjoyed
• Social withdrawal and increased sensitivity to rejection
• Irritability and anxiety
• Feelings of guilt and hopelessness
• Fatigue, or low energy level
• Decreased ability to focus or concentrate
• Trouble thinking clearly
• Increased appetite, especially for sweets and carbohydrates
• Weight gain
• Physical problems, such as headaches

Do you find yourself relating to these? How can you cope? There are actually many different ways to help yourself get out of this depressive mode. You can do your best to be active. You can do this in many different ways, it may be outside or it could be in the gym. Your physical health has a very powerful impact on you and your mental health. When you are physically taking care of yourself you feel better about yourself and you can feel like a success. It also helps you to stay distracted from the sadness you might be feeling. Another factor of your health is eating a balanced, nutritious diet. This wil help your body to be fueled and feel good. When working out and being active make a goal for yourself so you can work towards it. That way you can use your time to be productive and you feel busy, also when you create these goals for yourself you are challenging yourself which is a good thing because when you accomplish these goals you feel accomplished. You can also find new hobbies to distract yourself. Anything new may be able to challenge your brain and really help you feel productive.

Another thing you can do to cope is do your best to be positive. I know during this time it can be hard to see the good, but it is not impossible. Something you can do to help yourself stay positive is to make a journal. You can use this journal for anything, for example just to write your thoughts and feelings, you can also write everyday something you are grateful for. This will help you to have a positive mindset and look at the good. To go along with writing in your journal, you can also use your friends as someone to hear you out. You might feel as if you may be a burden to whoever you want to talk to but talk to a true friend, then you will know for sure they will WANT to listen to you. So talk to your friends and let them be there for you. By building friendships it will help you know that you aren’t alone in this battle.