Tired Girl's guide to anxiety and depression -

There have been a handful of times that I have suffered from mild anxiety and depression. I qualify it as mild not for my own reputation or ego, but to differentiate between myself and those of you that have a chronic/physiological depression/anxiety. 

There is a difference - mine is real, but thankfully "situational." As it is real though I do have a few Tired Girl tips for those of you that may, like me, feel it happen. 

If you feel you are on the edge or in the throes of it  - either way -  here are my tips:

First - Get up and exercise (or just move). Have you cried on a treadmill? Because I have. Make your body move first thing (any movement will do) - absolutely no matter what (rain, snow, humidity - move your body indoors or out). It gets your blood moving and the anxiety out. 

Sounds about right. Actually I would call this "therapy."

Second - Drink some caffeine.  Not tons, especially if you are really anxious, but some. A cup of coffee or tea at least.  Again, don't go crazy with it or you will go crazy because of it.

Third - Get out.  Shower and leave the house. Have you ever cried in the aisles of Target? Because I have. Go anyway.  If you work out of the house then go to work.  Skip makeup if the day is that bad, and frumpy clothes never had long term affects either, just throw some shit on and head out.  

Four - Reach out. Email/text/Facebook five friends a day. Do not tell them you are suffering, instead ask what they are reading, what they are up to, how their new job is, how their daughter is taking to swimming lessons, what trips do they have planned, etc.  You may only hear back from one friend that day (everyone is busy so you have to send out more than you will get back).  Friends will write you back from other days though so you will hopefully always have a trickle of communication coming in.

Five - Be aware of your worst time of day and plan for it. Mine is in the morning - the thought of a whole day ahead of me, in pain.  For many people it's at night when they are tired and the world seems lonelier. And for others it's the 4-6pm time frame - kind of a weird in between time period (the armpit of the day).  Just to be safe plan for each of those times of day - move your body and get out in a.m., do something relaxing/comforting in the late afternoon (weirdly I like laundry at this time of day), and watch a show or movie you love in the evening - something like that. 

Six - Take a melatonin* (unless you are on a sleep medication) between 7-9pm at night. Please read about it here and talk to your doctor. My melatonin supplement is 3 mg and I don't take it every night. Here is the Tired Girl/non-doctor description of what it does: It helps your body get it's own melatonin going - simply telling your body it's time to wind down for the night.  It's a low key sleep aide,  and sleep is vital when being awake is hard. 

Seven - Do all of it all over again, every day. Some days will be worse than others.  You may take one step forward and two steps back.  I can think of three distinct times that depression/anxiety have gotten me. I have given myself a time period and said (to myself), "if I am not "better" by a certain date I will get help." Help, in my world meant going to a doctor. 

There are many other little things I recommend doing and reading and trying. But these are the biggies for me. Don't be ashamed if some things in your life have converged and you feel like crap. Don't suffer needlessly. Don't tell everyone you know either because people are weird and depression/anxiety can freak people out. 

Take care of yourselves out there Tired Girls.  What are some things you do when you are suffering from anxiety or depression?

An oldy but a goody.

*My husband is an attorney and when I type words saying to use a medicinal product I envision his eyes narrowing and him using words like “negligent” or something. 

I assume when companies make a claim they have a disclaimer as well – so this is my

disclaimer so my husband doesn’t glare at me or I don’t get sued when someone still can't sleep when using this product. This product helps me and therefore I think it could help others, but really I have no control over many variables.  I’m sure Joe would legal-speak this all up for me, but you get the idea.  Please talk to your doctor before taking any medication. Please don’t sue me.