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It could be situational depression. That’s when something serious happens, like a break-up, job loss, recession, or death … It puts you in a gloomy mood. Want to know how to work through it?

SITUATIONAL DEPRESSION

When it comes to dealing with situational depression, being in the dumps, going through a slump, or any other phrase you may want to call it. It still means something lousy happened and now you are dealing with grief and misery because of it. Sure, when things are going good you know it’s temporary, however, when you’re going through it, it certainly doesn’t feel temporary. It doesn’t feel like it will ever go away.

What is true though is that yeah, it’s normal, but more so is the fact that it can happen to anybody. It doesn’t matter how intelligent or emotionally strong you think you are, it can happen. The good news is there are things you can do during these difficult times to help get yourself moving forward and out of this turmoil. The bad news is odds are it’s not going to be overnight for 99.99% of you. The best I can do is give you a variety of suggestions on how you can work on getting yourself out of your darkness a little bit sooner.

First, before I give you suggestions, I want to address anyone who is currently reading and still not sure what it is I’m talking about. If you don’t know what situational depression is, there is one of three reasons for this. The first being you were born yesterday. That’s likely not it because to my knowledge most newborns don’t know how to access the internet or read yet.

The 2nd reason could be you are not from this planet, if so, “Greetings from planet Earth”.

Lastly, you have gone through it at some point in your life, however, you did not know there was a big fancy-dancy word for it. I think this is most likely the case.

Well, great news, you are not the only one, as a matter of fact, I was just like you. I only learned this fancy-dancy word about a month ago though I’ve gone through the situation a few times in my life.

So what is situational depression? Well it pretty much defines itself, regardless, it means something has happened in your life and because of it, you feel super miserable. You may even go through mood swings of anger or self-pity. More commonly you go through a state of confusion and possibly despair. It affects you so hard that it interferes with your capability for day-to-day living. It can even spiral down to the point of doing nothing for days, being stuck in bed, or on the couch. It’s what I would normally call going through a slump, or feeling down in the dumps.

However, the proper term is situational depression. So what are the things that bring it on? I will name a few however it’s impossible to name them all. I’m sure you will recognize most of the ones I mention, and you may have even experienced some yourself. Now you know what it’s called, and soon will have some ideas on how to help yourself get through it should a situation arise in the future ( I hope it won’t).

Possible situations that could bring on situational depression could be but are not limited to:

• Personal reasons:
  • The person you most care for leaves you
  • Loss of a beloved pet
  • Death of a family member or close friend
  • Job/business/career loss
• Out of your control reasons:
  • Local company/factory shut down/collapse
  • war
  • recession
  • pandemic
  • disease
  • stock market crash
  • loss of personal belongings due to fire or natural disaster.

These are just some of the things that can bring it on. Any circumstance that affects you personally and is traumatic to you, has the possibility of bringing it on.

WAYS TO DEAL WITH SITUATIONAL DEPRESSION

Work it Out

Feeling down in the dumps can be very annoying and miserable regardless of the reason that caused it. Maybe your pet died or your partner left you, the company you worked for let you go, or your business collapsed. Whatever it was left you feeling angry, lost, and thinking nobody cares how you feel, leading you to sadness and despair.

What you need to do before it spirals too far is find an acceptable way to let it all out. The best way is to find something physical to do. During the early part of situational depression, you usually swing through moods of anger. When it happens, take advantage of it and go do something physical. Chop wood, move lumber, pack things, go for a vigorous walk or run, ski, snowshoe, swim, bike, go to a gym and take your frustration out on weights, do aerobics, skip rope, wash your car, wash your camel, wash your sled dogs, box with a kangaroo (maybe not that one, I think kangaroos usually win), climb trees and collect bananas, coconuts, apples, or oranges. Anything that will allow you to exert your energy and frustration.

A Little Light Distraction

Sometimes a person is so severely down in the dumps that for days, maybe weeks, they can’t seem to pick themselves up. Perhaps their slump was caused by a heart-ripping breakup, separation, divorce, or loss of work due to the company closing down and there being no work to be found. Whatever it is that brought it on is so severe that they can’t get out of bed in the morning or get their lazy pants off the couch. To try and stop your mind from mulling over and over and over things you have no control over, it’s time to use distractive measures.

Things like listening to a funny podcast, watching a comedy, or stand-up comedian. You are just laying there doing nothing anyway. So a little distraction might do you some good. Go ahead and put something on. You may not even laugh and may think everything is stupid, however, if by the end you give even a small chuckle, mission accomplished. You distracted yourself enough for a brief second to improve your mood by 1%. Later on, or the next day, you might give half a smile about something. It might be slow, however, you are moving forward and that is what gets you out of the slump.

Make a Plan

Situational depression tends to make you procrastinate. To prevent this write out a step-by-step plan so you have a guide to follow. When you are down in the dumps, it tends to make you put things off, procrastinate, and most times just not care whether the little things get done or not. At home dishes start to pile up, clothes just lay where they land, and garbage doesn’t make it to the can a lot of the time. For those who have to work, it suffers as well. It doesn’t matter if it’s a job, or if you’re self-employed. You start to slip and get sloppy because you’re thinking things like who cares, or what’s the point. So what are you to do?

The best thing you can do, and the easiest, is to simply make a plan the night before. Make a simple plan for the next day of the things you can do. This way you have an outline of what you are going to do. Over time as you become stronger you can make the plan, little by little, more detailed. Also at the same time jot down through each day what you did get done. This way at the end of the day you can see you managed to accomplish some things. I know the idea sounds lame. Just keep in mind I am writing this from the point of view of going through a major slump. Therefore the reality of the situation is that you really don’t feel like doing anything. That’s why the suggestion is as simple as I can think of.

Baby steps

When it comes to doing the things that you don’t absolutely have to do, but perhaps you should do just show up. One percent effort, one percent action. Just take baby steps. The night before, add the task as merely an item to do. Create a baby step action to go with it, and then see what happens from there.

For example, housework. When things were good, laundry is in baskets that may be sorted by colors or individual, washed, dried, and put away. Right now they just land on the floor wherever. A 1% would be, just push them all to one wall or corner. Perhaps your routine was a workout. When things were fine you went to the gym and ran 2000 laps, or bench pressed 800lbs 20 reps 6 times. 1% effort would be, just show up; that’s it. Have a drink of water and go home. The thing is, if you put even minimal effort into your plan due to your mood, odds are you will likely do a little more.

For example, you might separate the pile of clothes a little. At the gym, you may decide you’ll walk one lap around, or you (not sure how to properly phrase this because I’m not a weight lifter) spot some person that is by themselves so they don’t hurt themselves because they can’t get the bar back on the bar holding hook things. The point is, that you start the day with the attitude your feelings gave you however you could be surprised how at the end of the day you were more productive than you thought you would be. That’s a good thing; it means you are moving forward.

You never know, if you keep it up you’ll eventually wash the clothes, jog slowly 5 laps, and do a few reps. Over time as things get better your routines and tasks work their way back to how they used to be and maybe even better.

Nothing Matters

The worst thing you can do when you are down in the dumps is simply nothing. I know it wasn’t your plan to do nothing, but it can happen, and sometimes to the best of us. During times of depression, day by day, bit by bit, you slowly feel like doing less and less. True, some circumstances especially if they came on suddenly out of the blue can just knock you off your feet. So whether it was all of a sudden or a slow defeating spiral that made you stuck, can’t get out of bed, or get your lazy pants off the couch you can not let it be. If you perchance happen to be in this situation right now it’s time to stop doing nothing and do something. So tonight you make a plan. Give yourself a challenge. The key here is to challenge yourself with something you can keep track of. You need to make yourself active and keep track of your progress. Use baby steps but each day go one step further.

It does not matter what it is you choose to challenge yourself with as long as it’s something you can track. The simplest example would be going for a walk. Each day you take at least one step further than the previous day. This way you are no longer doing nothing; you are doing something; you are being active. Simply put be active; keep moving; get your lazy pants off the couch.

Show me a Sign

The sad fact of dealing with situational depression is that if you don’t do anything about it, as time goes on, it could turn itself into a daily routine on its own. Perhaps you did make a few attempts to drag yourself out of it and failed. With each failed attempt you start feeling more and more down in the dumps.

You must stop this negative spiral. A great way to fight it off is by using positive words of encouragement posted on the walls around you. Put up posters, pictures, quotes/sayings, simple positive affirmations, and/or basic motivational lines to help lift your spirits. Pick things that mean something to you. This will provide constant encouragement to keep pushing forward. Make sure you post on your walls phrases and statements that speak to you personally. For me, I like “Make each day your masterpiece.” It reminds me that yesterday is gone. I have today, and therefore need to do my best to make today the best however I can because whatever I do today could affect my future. So go find or make up your own phrases and put them up where you can see them.

Embrace the Suck

If you’re trying to succeed at something or have a routine you have to continue like a job. Just accept that it’s going to suck and muddle your way through it. The worst thing about dealing with situational depression is that just about every day feels like it’s going to be super lousy. That’s ok. If you truly feel that way then so be it. I do not believe in the ‘fake it till you make it’ or ‘act as if’ type of attitudes. Your feelings may not be facts however they are real and important. So no need to lie to yourself. Accept your feelings as they are with no judgment.

When you are really down, just go with it and do the best you can. Do something, anything, even just one percent. The main thing is to keep moving forward. Whatever it is you HAVE to do, go ahead and do it with the feeling today is going to suck and may even be unproductive. Then go do what it is you have to do. As you continue you are going to get things done, which means the day is becoming productive. Sure, things might not be done as well compared to when things were fine and odds are tomorrow could suck as well. But at least you’re muddling your way forward, and you’re doing the best you can considering how you feel.

Find your Muse

Words on the wall are great. Why, because they speak to you, and send a message to your brain that can be clearly understood. However, not everyone in the world is a thinker type. There are others among us who are feelers. It just simply means they respond more to emotion than intellect, that’s all. If you are more of this type then words might not be enough.

For you images work best because they speak to you on a different level than say someone like myself. So pick someone you admire and who inspires you. Perhaps it’s someone famous like an athlete, actor, or writer. Another thing that may help you is, in smaller areas where you can’t put a photo or poster of someone who inspires you, place a meaningful quote from the person so it reminds you of them.

Keep Your Chin up

Whether you are going through a tough time due to outside circumstances like recession, pandemic, war, and so on. Or due to personal situations such as a breakup, death, job loss, etc. All these are normal and a part of life in general. I’m not suggesting you dismiss your current feelings on the situation, just suggesting you remind yourself that it won’t stay this way forever. Situational depression, even when caused by personal issues tends to make the days feel like they have extra hours, and issues on the outside, whether local or global, seem to last a long time. However, they will not last forever. Over time things will look up.

As best as possible, even when it seems almost impossible, focus on the future. Worst case scenario, when you go to bed at night you know you made it through one more day and can have hope that tomorrow will be better. Even though you may not see it yet, there is light at the end of the tunnel, just keep moving forward at whatever pace you can, and you will get there, it’s just a matter of time.

In A Nutshell

Well there you go, lots of ideas and suggestions you can use to help get you back on your feet. It’s perfectly normal to be down in the dumps when it comes to dealing with situational depression. Should you find yourself going through a slump in the future, hopefully, you’ll remember some of the ideas presented here so you can recover from them sooner. As difficult as it may be at the time, hopefully, some part of you remembers this too will pass. Better yet, the deep down part of you realizes there are things you can do to combat the blues so you can start moving forward.

Of course, it does not mean you’re going to be happy-go-lucky, or even close to it, but know that you can muddle through even if it’s only one baby step at a time. Remember just muster up the will to do 1% and see where it goes from there. Put some meaningful encouraging words up where ever you can even with knowing today may suck but hopefully, tomorrow will be a little better. Make a simple easy plan for the next day, and jot a small challenge for yourself. If you catch yourself starting to laze about in bed or on the couch, put some kind of comedy on in the background. Who knows it could distract you even if it’s only for a few minutes. You might even catch yourself giving a small chuckle.

Lastly, and most importantly, do whatever you can to keep yourself from doing nothing at all. Do anything, regardless of how little it may be. Anything is better than nothing. I know you can do it and hope for the best for you. Try to remember better times will come even if you can’t see it at the moment.

If you’re going through it now, best of luck. If you’re not going through it right now and you know someone who is, or has recently, feel free to share the information with them. Keep your chin up.

Razz