Have you ever felt down? Has it ever lasted for weeks? This time of year is pretty conducive to this feeling. Long cold days and a great deal of time spent inside aren't good for a person's emotional state. Basically, you just don't feel like doing anything. This can happen to the best of us or it can be so extreme that it is actually debilitating. This is when a diagnosis of depression might be in order. What do you do about it? Well, the first thing that I would tell someone is get up and start moving even if you don't feel like it. When all you want to do is lay around, more of the same won't help. You must do something different. Exercise gets your blood moving and can actually make you feel better because of the release of chemicals. You might have to fool yourself to get going. Give yourself permission to quit after 10 minutes. If you want to at that point, stop. Chances are though that you'll keep going. Sometimes you have to get the cart before the horse. Do what you don't feel like doing so that you can feel better. If you don't improve after making some behavioral changes on your own, you may need to see your doctor.
