The liberty principle for this
Freedom Friday concerns sadness or depression. Christmas seems to cause
depression in a lot of people and for a variety of reasons. One of my nephews is
bi-polar and is affected by Christmas lights. Some people have lost loved ones
recently. Other people do not have family or close friends. Still others have
bad memories of Christmas.
I love Christmas with all its
lights, decorations, music, shopping for presents, etc. I love being able to focus
on Jesus Christ – His birth, ministry, and Atonement. However, I found myself
in tears several days in the past week. It was definitely not the joy that we
are supposed to feel at Christmas time. The most depressing part of the whole
deal is that I could not figure out why I was so sad because there was no
apparent reason for all my tears. I wondered if my sadness was a cause for
concern or the result of the stress of living my life.
Most people have their times of
feeling sad or depressed, particularly at times of loss or adversity. I found this site that has some information about depression. I learned that there is a
difference between feeling sad or depressed and having clinical depression. If
the sadness is intense and includes feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, and
worthlessness, it may be more than sadness. If the feeling of sadness lasts many
days and even weeks and keeps one from living a normal life, it might be
clinical depression.
According to the DSM-5, a manual doctors
use to diagnose mental disorders, you have depression when you have five or
more of these symptoms for at least 2 weeks.
. A depressed mood during most of the day,
especially in the morning.
. You feel tired or have a lack of
energy almost every day.
. You feel worthless or guilty almost
every day.
. You have a hard time focusing,
remembering details, and making decisions.
. You can’t sleep or you sleep too much
almost every day.
. You have almost no interest or
pleasure in many activities nearly every day.
. You think often about death or suicide
(not just a fear of death).
. You feel restless or slowed down.
. You’ve lost or gained weight.
I felt somewhat better after reading
the above information. I may be in tears, but I do not have a mental illness. I
do not feel helpless, hopeless, worthless, or guilty. I have had no suicidal
thoughts. I have been able to pay bills and balance my checking account. I
sleep just fine once I get into bed. I am gaining weight – a normal winter
experience for me. However, my worst time did take place in the morning hours
when I would shed buckets of tears.
I decided that the tears are the
result of the need to release stress. I have taken my husband to a doctor’s
appointment or a physical therapy appointment several times each week since
mid-summer. We sometimes had four appointments in a week. At the same time I
was attempting to do assignments for my class and take care of all the household
chores. We traveled for a month and came home just before hosting two families
at Thanksgiving dinner. Christmas preparations came at the same time as my finals.
It is no wonder that I am stressed! As soon as my finals were over and
Christmas packages were in the mail, the tears started.
I do not enjoy feeling so much
sadness and especially for no apparent reason. I certainly do not like crying
like a child. After all, I am a responsible adult! I decided to do a little
more research to discover how I can avoid a repeat of this sadness, and I found this site that discusses ways to find joy in the journey of life. While reading the
following six suggestions, I realized that I failed to do several of them.
. Enjoy the good times. When things are
going well in your life, enjoy yourself. This is a time to build memories that
will sustain you during difficulties. Capture these moments by taking pictures
or writing in your journal….
. Nurture your relationships. Nothing
has greater potential to make us happy than our relationships with others….
Nurture your relationships and build a good support system that will sustain
you during adversity….
. Show gratitude. Gratitude is
recognizing the abundance and blessings in your life, even in the midst of
difficulties. It is appreciating the things that you have…. Expressing gratitude
not only makes people happier, it can increase energy and improve health. In
addition, grateful people are hopeful, empathetic, helpful and forgiving.
. Live in the moment. There are moments
of joy in even the most painful times of life. Look for them….
. Embrace nature. Nature is good for our
health and well-being. … spending time in nature can reduce blood pressure,
anxiety and stress levels. It improves your sleep, increases your vigor and
boosts your immune system.
. Exercise. Most of us know that regular
exercise improves our health and helps us maintain a healthy weight. Exercise
can also make us happier. … exercise lowers stress and anxiety, which lowers
cortisol levels in the body. In addition, endorphins are released when you
exercise. Endorphins stimulate the brain, reduce pain, lower stress and boost
feelings of happiness.
I can rest assured that I am not
mentally ill at this point. However, I realize that I must remember the good
times, nurture relationships, express more gratitude, get out into nature, and
exercise. These are all activities that I eliminated or shortened as the end of
the semester and Christmas approached. Maybe I can avoid more tears by putting
these activities back into my life.
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