by Tom Blair
Columnist

I understand… but you may not understand why you get a little depressed this time of the year. After all, you should be happy right? It’s the Holidays, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, gifts, get-to-gathers, friends, family, money spending, cleaning, cooking, drinking booze, irregular hours and all that sort of stuff.

Everyone has depressing moments, how long they last depends on how long you dwell on the unpleasant thoughts and how soon you move on to some good things. You must remember there are a LOT of hideous, gloomy things going on out there in the world. It’s getting harder to be cheerful these days…with the cost of living, taxes, and crime, drugs, terrorism… PLUS the wars and disastrous events going on daily.

I’ve talked about this stuff before and I am guilty of writing doomsday articles a lot and bad news is “In OUR FACE” all the time because the media frequently reports the bad stuff. (It sells) Use that unpleasant stuff to feel good! When you watch the news and read the paper, consider how fortunate you are to NOT be one of those hurt people in the news.

Now you’re faced with Christmas overspending, maybe a hangover or two, a loved one who isn’t around this Christmas and you miss someone. That ‘let down” empty feeling right after the 1st of the year can be depressing too.

When you begin feeling depressed, recognize it, deal with it and say, “Wait a minute, I’m getting down and I ain’t gonna take it.” It often happens when you are alone, so find a friend as soon as possible.

They say if you want to feel thin… hang out with overweight people and if you want to feel young, hang out with elderly people. Well, this doesn’t always apply to depression, because when you’re unhappy and alone, you need to be with someone who is enjoyable to be with.

A couple other things that are good for depression are ice cream, popcorn or homemade bread. That’s right… bake up some bread, eat a bowl of ice cream or make some popcorn, because those things are generally associated with good times. Try it… it works for a lot of people.

It is natural to get down in spirits, you might think of a loved one you lost and start feeling bad. Go ahead, but after a moment or two of sadness… bring to mind some good memories about that loved one. Maybe some pleasant times you had together, then move on to something else.

The longer you dwell on the bad thoughts, the deeper you can go into depression. So accept the fact that bad thoughts and depression are a part of life and they are always going to show up. Just chew em up, spit em out and move on. Then give yourself a little reward for dealing with it. Do something enjoyable, visit someone fun or do something for someone else less fortunate than you. That ALWAYS makes a person feel good!

Always try to look forward to something ahead of you that will be enjoyable! Even if it’s only popcorn, ice cream or homemade bread.

Tom “Road” Blair

Website: www.tomroadblair.com