I think I am starting to feel the beginnings of a depressive episode. I had one during the holiday season last year—there is so much I love about the holiday season, but then the devil on my shoulder likes to say things like, “What if your whole family died and you had nobody to spend Christmas with?” And then I get sad and depressed, thinking that one day Christmas might look a lot different than it does right now.
As luck would have it, I had an appointment with my psychiatrist yesterday and I was able to talk to her about these feelings. (Side note: Does anyone else have trouble with that, “How are you doing?” question from your therapist/psychiatrist? I always give the pat, ‘I’m doing well,” answer until I realize no, dummy. They want to know for real. This isn’t the grocery check-out clerk who is making small talk!)
Right now, the main symptoms I’m experiencing are fatigue, lack of motivation, and lack of focus. Brain fog, I guess you could call it. I just find it very hard to get out of bed in the morning and get my day started. Sometimes I spend an hour or more just scrolling through my phone and trying to get my day started.
My psychiatrist and I worked through some ideas for how to keep the depression at bay without changing my meds (she left that decision up to me, and I declined for now).
A better sleep routine
My psychiatrist said that it’s important to be asleep by at least 11 p.m. because our brain does the most repair work during the hours of 11 p.m. and 2 a.m. I don’t know how true this is or what “repair work” fully entails because I wasn’t able to find anything about it in any sort of scientific publication. She mentioned that my late bedtimes could be leading me to feel foggy and fatigued because my brain isn’t able to do all of the repair work it needs. It sounds a little hokey, I can’t lie, but I’m also willing to test it out and see if I feel better and more focused after adhering to a 10:30 p.m. bedtime for a few weeks.
Sunshine and walks
My psychiatrist is a big proponent of sunshine and how it can affect our mental health. This week has been so dreary and I haven’t seen the sun in almost a week, which means I haven’t been going on my walks. (This was just an excuse. I could have gone on my walks, but ugh. It was so dreary!) She encourages me to “get sunshine on my eyeballs” daily as that affects melatonin production, which in turn, affects my sleep. My goal is one 15-minute walk every day.
Routine, routine, routine
I thrive in a routine. As much as I wish I could be more free-wheeling with my time, I work so much better when I know exactly what I’m doing during each hour of the day. So, I need a routine and here’s what I’ve come up with for weekdays:
- 6:30 a.m. – 7:00 a.m.: Alarm goes off and I have 30 minutes to myself. I can snooze the alarm, scroll Instagram, play a game on my phone, whatever I want.
- 7:00 a.m. – 7:30 a.m.: Get up, brush teeth, feed the cats, take a shower, and get dressed. (If it’s a non-shower day, I can read a book on the couch once I finish the above tasks.)
- 7:30 a.m. – 8:00 a.m.: Eat breakfast
- 8:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.: Morning routine
- Morning skincare
- Make bed
- Put away dishes from last night
- Take meds
- Do my hair/make-up (if needed)
- 8:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.: Working block (ideally, I’d use Pomodoro to keep me on task and keep my break times minimal)
- 12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.: Break time
- Eat lunch
- Go for a walk
- Read blogs/work on blog posts
- 2:00 p.m.- 5:30 p.m.: Working block
- 5:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.: Chores
- I need to be better about doing cleaning chores around the apartment. I want a dedicated time each day to work on this. I’d pick one cleaning task per day and any other miscellaneous tasks. I’d also use this time to scoop the litter boxes so they don’t need to be done during my nighttime routine.
- 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.: Dinner + a TV show
- 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.: Dedicated time for blogging or reading (maybe I switch off each day?)
- 8:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.: Nighttime routine
- Nighttime skincare
- Tidy apartment
- Load dishwasher
- Brush teeth
- 9:30 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.: In bed (reading, scrolling on phone, ASMR videos, etc.) with lights out at 10:30 p.m. at the latest
This is, obviously, my ideal schedule and it doesn’t include things like naps and or weeknight plans. But at the very least, it gives me a broad idea of what I should be doing at specific hours of the day so I can stay on task and get stuff done. My goal is to try to follow this schedule as much as possible over the next few weeks and see how it changes the way I feel.
In the realm of personal development, the significance of mental health cannot be overstated. It’s essential for individuals to have access to reliable resources that can provide insightful assessments and actionable guidance. A professional’s insight into one’s mental health can illuminate the path forward, helping to navigate the complexities of treatment options and therapeutic strategies. Access to comprehensive psychiatric evaluations by qualified professionals is crucial for anyone looking to understand and improve their mental health, ensuring that each person’s journey is as informed and effective as possible.
What time do you usually go to bed?