"I'm so depressed!" - have you heard yourself say that, even in your head? I used to all the time but had no idea whether I was really just depressed or if I was just lazy!

Depression is one of those things that you just can't ignore. It can be ongoing or can be short term. Personally, I have SAD - Seasonal Affective Disorder - which is most commonly known as the "winter blues". The difference though between the winter blues and and SAD is that SAD can be completely debilitating.

When I was depressed there was no particular reason for it. I just didn't care about anything. I was in school at the time and I would do great from the beginning until around the beginning of December. Then things would slide. I'd study less and less. Soon, I'd be skipping classes to stay home and sleep. And the sleep! - sometimes I would sleep for 14 - 16 hours straight and still want to go back to bed. Sex was the last thing on my mind and food was my best friend. Especially in the evening. Housework never got done and the kids practically had to beg me to feed them. The longer winter lasted the worse things got. Then spring would come and I'd be fine again.

As each year got worse and worse, I finally noticed through my journals that this really was a winter thing. And then I found out what I could do to help myself. First I talked to a doctor. The first thing he did was offer me some pills. I will never judge anyone for taking that route but at the time I felt that it wasn't for me and I wanted to explore other options. So I researched it and this is what I did:

I started taking preventative measures in September of the new school year. I had three main rules: 1) Eat well. This meant protein every day, especially first thing in the morning. Part of that protein had to come from red meat every day because red meat has heme-iron which is digested more easily and faster by your body than non-heme iron. It can only be found in red meat so three - four times a week was my rule. I'd try to get 4 meals a day and sugar from natural sources like fruit. 2) Exercise! No matter how cold it is you need to spend at least half an hour out side each day. The sun is the only source you can get the proper UV rays from that affect your mood. You can not get this from a tanning bed. You can get this from a sun lamp but the natural sun is free. Break it up into shorter periods if you like. It will still be effective. 3) Journalling about all the good things - anything you can think of - there is always something. Read them over when you're having a rough day.

By the time end of November came around these things were habit to me. The year I started doing all thing was the year everything started feeling better.