What triggers the blues?
Depending on what stage of life you’re in, there are many different things that can be triggering your depression or just the feeling of being down in the dumps as I like to say.
If you’re in your 20’s a lot of the time the triggers are career oriented. You’re wondering if you’re heading in the right direction in life, if you’re going to make enough money or if you’re going to be happy and successful in the coming years.
When you hit your 30’s, your career and money are still triggers of stress, but you may have a family as well who rely on you.
When you hit 40 you might still be caring for your family with the added responsibility of caring for your parents who are getting up there in age, and career and finances may still be giving you stress.
At 50 your kids might be out of the house, you may have the ‘empty nest’ syndrome, the feeling that you’re all alone and you have no idea to do with yourself.
So what are some cures for being down in the dumps?
Diet
Foods that are high in tryptophan, an essential amino acid, like chicken, turkey, and salmon, are great for boosting your morale, while foods high in sugars have a negative effect. You feel great for a little while but the resulting crash from such foods results in a change in mood, often triggering feelings of depression.
Exercise
I’ve talked about the ‘runner’s-high’, which is the release of endorphins during exercise that act as a natural pain killer and make you feel great. Being healthy in general helps as well. If you’re confident and content with how you look and feel, odds are you’re going to have less depression.
Get at least an hour of exercise in each week. If you’re not exercising right now get on it, you’re going to see immediate results.
Learn to say no
Delegate when you can. Don’t always feel like you have to please everyone because you’re not going to. If you’re excited about something then go for it, but if you’re feeling pressured into doing something that you don’t want to do then maybe you should think twice about it.
Get a massage
It doesn’t have to be a professional one. But even getting your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband or wife to give you a good rub down can be very relaxing.
Take some time for yourself
Go for a walk, have a hot shower, whatever you do to clear your mind make sure your take time during the week and fit it in. Having a hobby always helps. For me it’s exercise. Heading the gym for 30-45 minutes of intense, endorphin-pumping, alone time is just the remedy I normally need for the blues.
Relationships
If you’re in a relationship, don’t let it be a source of stress. If you’re falling into a rut, schedule a day together and go have some fun, do something you haven’t done together before and enjoy your time together and don’t ever take it for granted.
Get outta heah
Go on a vacation. Studies have shown that the people who enjoy more vacations have increased work productivity and live better lives. Maybe that’s because they can afford more vacations, but I guess everything ties together in some way.
Clear your mind and get rejuvenated, all aspects of your life will be better for it.
