 Depression is an asshole. There, I said it. Thank you for your time. Okay, so maybe this isn’t a profound statement. Anybody who has ever been afflicted by or close to somebody with depression knows that it’s awful and can ruin your life. And not just because it makes you sad sometimes or forces you to cry in the bathroom at work for no reason or fastens you into the same set of pajamas for three days straight. Depression is an asshole because it is inherently contradictory. This is the foundation for my theory of The Depression Paradoxes. Paradox 1: You’re Numb Despite “Having It All” Clinical depression has no rhyme or reason to it. Unlike grief or situational depression, which can be linked to a single problem or event, clinical depression often pops right out the blue clear sky. As a result, things can often be going pretty well for you but, out of nowhere, you start to feel absolutely miserable. For someone with depression, this can be even worse than your entire life falling apart, because then at least you would have an explanation for your sadness. Not having a “reason” to be upset about something makes the voices in your head that much more cutting. “You just got a promotion, you ungrateful jerk! Why are you blubbering in the shower?” or “You’re on a yacht in the middle of Caribbean, sipping champagne with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and you can’t smile for one. friggin. second?!” (Anybody else have that fantasy? Just me?) So hopefully this explanation makes it easy to understand why a common piece of advice spewed by everyone ranging from Instagram yogis to Dr. Phil doesn’t often work for people living with depression. You can hear a choir of soothing New Age-y voices crooning it now: Practice Gratitude. Now don’t get me wrong, I am all for not being a greedy prick and being thankful for what you have. And gratitude is an amazing and powerful tool for those not in the middle of a depressive episode. But for someone agonizing in their own personal hell for no reason other than shitty neurotransmission, counting blessings can be a rough reminder of the fact that they are still suffering despite all they have been given. Even more, for someone with the messed-up thought patterns characteristic of mental health disorders, this can quickly feed into the cycle of negative self-talk and depression. Paradox 2: Exercise Is Supposed To Make You Happy, But You Can’t Even Get Out Of Bed I, like many of my fellow mental health warriors, have googled the phrase “how to fight depression” or some variation of that more times than Kanye West has googled “Kanye West.” (Mom, if you’re reading this, that’s a lot of times.) What pops up are several different blog posts listing the same strategies tested by time and scientific evidence: exercising, eating well, socializing, and looking on the sunny side of life! And, of course, all of those things are wonderful suggestions for people with or without a mental health disorder. However, to quote Carrie Underwood, “There’s just one little problem…” Depression makes those things pretty much impossible, especially when you’re knee-deep in self-doubt, fatigue, and crying spells. Before you yell at me, I am a lifelong student of the sciences, with degrees in Nutritional Sciences and Physical Therapy. I am a big proponent of healthy living, both mentally and physically. Professionally, I have seen the positive impact of appropriate exercise, solid nutrition, and social interaction on people with mental and physical disorders. Personally, however, I have seen just how difficult it is to follow this advice when you can barely get out of bed in the morning. I, a physical therapist and normally an avid exerciser, had an entire three (okay, six) month span where I did not exercise a single minute. I used all of my social, physical, and mental energy just getting myself to, through, and from work. By the time I got home, I could barely keep it together enough to binge on Triscuits and The Office before crying myself to sleep at the thought of waking up and having to do it all over again. And what made it even worse was knowing that I should be exercising, I should be meeting up with friends, I should eat a goddamn vegetable once in a while. (Translation in my brain: I am definitely a waste of a human and probably do not deserve be living on this planet anymore.) Don’t get it twisted—it is not my intention for these paradoxes to function as excuses or reasons not to engage in methods proven for battling depression. It’s just that these practices require two things that are often lacking in the depressed mind: energy and motivation. The point of this is to 1) explain why depression is a total jerk and 2) provide compassion and understanding of how depression operates for those coping with the disease as well as those living on the outside trying to empathize. It is only by identifying and demystifying these paradoxes that we can begin to address and modify our treatment strategies to make room for hope and healing in the depressed mind. Note: This post was originally published at ThoughtCatalog.com, with some modifications. See the original post here.
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 Can you relate to this scenario?
You wake up - and you feel pretty good! You’re excited because you finally have energy to do all the things you’ve been too depressed to do (yay!) and decide to get stuff done, son. Flash forward a few hours later and you’ve run errands, answered client emails, done laundry, cleaned the house, paid bills, caught up with friends and family….and you’re absolutely wrecked. You’ve exhausted yourself so much that you didn’t even get to enjoy your day. Heck, you can’t even enjoy the rest of the week because you burned yourself out so much! Sound familiar? Unfortunately, I hear about this cycle all too often. I’ve even lived it myself! For some of my clients (at least until they met me!) it got so bad that they started to dread their good days because they knew they would have to pay for them later down the road. The good news? You don’t have to live like that! So what can you do to enjoy the hell out of your good days while preserving your mood and energy for the days ahead? Read on to learn more!
How do you make sure you don't burn yourself out? Let us know in the comments below! 
Depression can majorly screw with your sleep patterns and energy levels (for more info, check out this and this blog post). For my clients, this often shows up as difficulty getting up and out of bed in the morning. I find that most of my clients fall into at least one of the following three categories:
In all three of these scenarios, depression is messing with their energy levels - but in completely different ways! Regardless of what’s keeping you in bed, the following tried-and-true strategies will get you feeling better and up and at ‘em in no time! [Click here to watch my video - 3 TIPS TO HELP YOU GET OUT OF BED WHEN YOU’RE DEPRESSED]
What to do if you still can’t get out of bed: Say you tried all of the above strategies but you still can’t get out of bed - now what? I am about to say something that most mental health coaches will never say: If you try and try and try and still can’t get out of bed - then stay in bed. There is nothing wrong about being in bed. You’re not hurting yourself or anyone else. You’re not “behind” or “lazy” or “gross” any of the other awful things you could come up with to say about yourself. You’re in bed because your mind and body need you to be. You may need extra rest, you may need to be away from stimulation, you may need to feel comforted in your favorite sheets. Whatever the need, the best thing you can do for yourself is honor that need, without self-judgment. As long as you come from a place of self love and compassion, your body and mind will get up when they’re ready. There’s no need to put pressure on healing. If this is something you’re struggling with - don’t go alone! I am now offering FREE 45 minute discovery sessions to a limited number of new clients! Book yours here. 
We all know exercise is good for us, especially for those of us living with depression. Study after study after study has shown the mood-boosting and anti-depressive effects of exercise. But what about using exercise for another purpose – boosting energy and beating fatigue?
For many, exercise as an energy-booster seems counterintuitive. After all, exercise actually requires energy (in the form of calories) and too much exercise can leave us drained and exhausted (more on that later). First, let’s take a look at how exercise can improve overall energy, both in the short-term and the long-term.
However, getting enough exercise when you have depression can be difficult because of fatigue and low energy. The good news? You don’t have to get that much to see an energy bump! Research shows that a brisk, 10 to 15-minute walk is actually the most effective form of exercise to see an immediate, significant boost in energy. Longer and higher-intensity workouts can also build energy over time but may tire you out initially because you worked so hard. My best advice? Start with short, low intensity workouts (think a 5-minute walk around the block), and slowly build up over time to avoid injury and fatigue. Having trouble getting started? Click here to book a free discovery session with me and let's get it done together! What’s your biggest challenge when it comes to energy and exercise? Let me know in the comments! Note: I research all of my blog posts extensively and provide only scientifically backed information. Please e-mail here if you find any errors or discrepancies in this post and I will be sure to make any warranted changes. Thank you! 
We’ve all been there. It’s 3 PM, you have one more project before you can wrap up the day, but you’re exhausted. You want to grab a cup of coffee, but you know you’ll either crash super hard or be up all night drinking caffeine this late. Now what?!
Everybody struggles with low energy from time to time, but it can hit those of us living with depression especially hard. Between our screwed-up sleep patterns, negative thought loops, and ever-changing moods, we may be more likely to reach for a mid-day energy boost than most. Instead of reaching for that caffeinated energy drink that will make you crash and leave you even more irritable, try some of these natural, scientifically proven energy boosters:
Note: I research all of my blog posts extensively and provide only scientifically backed information. Please e-mail here if you find any errors or discrepancies in this post and I will be sure to make any warranted changes. Thank you! 
When you’re feeling tired, you often hear the same advice: drink more water, get some exercise, work on your sleep - all of which are great suggestions.
But what if what’s draining you isn’t happening in your body, but in your mind? Especially when you live with depression, the content of our thoughts can dictate how we feel about ourselves, how we view the world, and what action we take in our lives and in our businesses. Read on to learn how our thoughts affect our energy levels and how you can break out of the negative thought cycle for greater focus and drive during the workday. How the Depressed Mind Thinks The depressed thinks a little differently than the non-depressed mind. First of all, people with depression tend to overthink; a process called depressive rumination. Rumination can look like dwelling on problems without a solution, getting stuck on why you’re feeling depressed, or repeatedly looking back on your mistakes and beating yourself up for them. The problem with rumination is that it can trap you in a repetitive chain of negative “why me?!” thinking that doesn’t provide you any relief. (Source: Aeon.co) Secondly, the depressed mind tends to gravitate towards an absolutist or “all-or-nothing” way of thinking. Simply put, these are black-and-white thoughts that contain extreme words like ‘always’, ‘never’, ‘everybody,’ or ‘nobody’ and can sound like: “I will never be successful running my own business” “Nobody loves me.” “Everybody has life figured out except me.” (Sound familiar?) Most people have thoughts like this from time to time but they can be more distressing for people with depression. Why? Because (1) our thoughts tend to be more negative than people who do not have depression (Source: Psychology Today) and (2) we’re playing these thoughts on a loop. I don't know about you, I’m exhausted already! These Thoughts Can Drain Your Brain As you may imagine, repeating negative, all-or-nothing thoughts constantly can drain your energy during the day. Think of thoughts like an app running in your mind. If you keep the app running 24/7 with high-emotion, negative thoughts, it’s going to drain your battery - even if you do nothing else all day. And this app can be sneaky – sometimes it can be running in the background and you don’t even know until your emotions or fatigue levels clue you in! The same goes for trying to fall asleep at night. For many of us, the moment we lie down in bed is one of the few moments in the day when we’re not distracting ourselves. This can open the floodgates of our mind, allowing in negative, obsessive thoughts that keep us tossing and turning all night – and exhausted the following day. What to Do About It If you notice that you can’t shut your brain off or your energy is plummeting for no reason, try the following:
Of course, this type of shift in thinking doesn’t happen overnight. However, with the right practice and guidance, it can become second nature! How do you deal with your negative thoughts? Leave me a note in the comments! Note: I research all of my blog posts extensively and provide only scientifically backed information. Please e-mail here if you find any errors or discrepancies in this post and I will be sure to make any warranted changes. Thank you! 
If you read last week’s post, you know how depression majorly screws with our sleeping patterns. Quality sleep is crucial for everyone but is especially important for business owners (and mega-especially important for business owners with mental illness). High-quality sleep can keep fatigue at bay and make sure you have enough brainpower and energy to get things done. Here’s how to get a good night’s sleep, even if mental illness has you tossing and turning.
If you have trouble falling asleep at night:
If you tend to wake up in the middle of the night:
What other sleep tips would you add to this list? Leave a comment below! 
We all know sleep is important for energy, concentration, and motivation – especially when building a business. Unfortunately, quality sleep can sometimes be hit or miss for those of us living with depression. Sometimes we sleep too much, sometimes we sleep too little (or not at all), but a lot of the time, we're left tired and unenthusiastic about the day ahead of us. What's up with that?
Turns out, a lot is up with it. Not only does depression cause poor sleep, but poor sleep can worsen depressive symptoms. Read on to discover how sleep and depression screw with each other (and be sure to check out my next post on Tuesday to find out what to do about it!) Depression’s Effect on Sleep As you’ve probably guessed (and experienced) by now, depression can really mess with sleeping patterns. While it’s a bit of a chicken and the egg scenario in regard to which causes which, there are high correlations between depression and insomnia (inability to sleep) and depression and hypersomnia (sleeping too much). (Source: National Sleep Foundation) So why does depression make it so difficult for us to sleep normally? While there are lots of physiological factors at play that are unique to each of us (think medications, medical history, genetics, etc.) here are a few common culprits:
Lack of sleep also has some profound effects on our health and our moods. Some consequences of poor sleep include:
So now we know that sleep is super-duper important – not just for your mental health but for the healthy growth of your business – but what the heck can you do to get better sleep? Find out in this blog post jam-packed with valuable healthy sleep tips! And in the meantime, grab your copy of Sleep Tonight, Slay Tomorrow: The Ultimate Sleep Kit for Women Entrepreneurs with Depression below! 
She is depressed. He has depression. They are suffering from clinical depression.
What do all of these phrases have in common? They put the depression on the person. They say that the essence of a person is their depression. That every single iota of their being is marked by a mental illness. That all they are and all they know is sadness. In reality, depression is an illness, a disease. It is only a small part of somebody’s wholeness. Depression does not define them and does not make them weak, much like having cancer does not make somebody made of cancer or spiritually weakened by cancer. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Living with a mental illness - and choosing to continue to live every single day in the face of that mental illness - makes a person powerful beyond measure. And if that person is willing to open up about their depression? That reflects an incalculable amount of strength, considering the world around them is full of people pretending to have a life that is 100% perfect (just scroll through Instagram once in a while and you’ll see what I’m talking about). So let’s change the way we talk about depression to reflect the sheer amount of strength it takes to live with a mental health disorder. Instead of saying you are depression, say: You are a depression survivor. You are not depression itself. Depression does not own you or your soul. Instead, you own depression, to the point that you continue to live a life that, often times, feels excruciatingly painful. What makes you a survivor? The choice you make every single day to continue living, to continue trying, even if you do not feel like doing so. In 2016, according to the CDC, 45,000 people tragically died by suicide, making it the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. As one would suspect, a majority of people who complete suicide have been touched by depression in some way (60%, to be exact, according to the US HHS). The fact that you 1) have a disorder that makes you 25 TIMES MORE LIKELY to complete a suicide (Source: American Association of Suicidology) and 2) choose to continue living in spite of that risk, makes you badass beyond words. That makes you strong. That makes you powerful. And that, my friend, makes you a depression survivor. |
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