Feeling down this winter? Not having the same spark after the sun has hidden within the clouds. We spoke to a few of our fellow students on what they do to stay happy and out of an emotional spiral. But before I get to that let me explain what seasonal depression is.
Seasonal depression is essentially where your overall mood changes when the weather does as well. During the winter months you may be sadder, more irritable, and have more anxiety overall. This is a common thing and you shouldn’t be worried if you do think you have seasonal depression. A lot of teens often struggle with this so you’re not alone. And if you have tried the ideas we’ll recommend later in the article and they haven’t helped, then the next best thing to do is reassure yourself that you can get through it because you definitely can! No matter the struggle there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel. With the semester ending, summer is even closer than you think it is. Now onto what our classmates do when they want to stay happy.
A common thing that people would do is listen to music. We all think this is a great idea. Before you run to your phone and find a happy playlist, we recommend listening to something that is just vibes. For those of you who are uncultured, we will explain what we mean by that.
What’s up y’all its me Brooklyn, and I’m here to teach you the ideas of a perfect playlist to help you when you’re sad. Obviously everyone has very different music tastes, but it’s always great to expand your library and find something new. Most people would just look up a happy playlist, but lots of people feel that just makes you more sad, so the best thing to do is to find a song not related to happiness, just something that’ll make you get up and dance.
Another thing is trying to distract yourself with things you like to do. Things including; drawing, reading, playing video games, playing a sport, or maybe just talking to your friends. Now we can’t control the weather, or our feelings. We can at least do things to help cope. Sometimes the best thing to do is talk about it. Even if it’s nothing specific just find someone you trust and talk about how you’re feeling.
A doctor’s recommendation for you to do when you are stressed or sad is to take short exercises for 20 minutes just run or do an activity you like to do. If you are severely depressed, doctors recommend therapy and even prescription medication. If someone you know has been acting sad then advise them to talk about their feelings.
So there you have it. Now you know what seasonal depression is and some ways to try and brighten up your mood. But before we end this article, we’re letting you know that some days, the stuff you do might not help. And that’s totally ok! Sometimes we all just need to lay in bed. As long as you keep going you can get through this! We hope that you learned something from reading this article. Let’s keep our heads up bulldogs!