Monday, December 11, 2023 Your Mental Health over the Holidays Eight natural ways to decrease symptoms of depression this holiday season Blogs Newsletters National By Quentin Steen, Representative/BC Member Education Coordinator From time to time in my Monthly Mental Health Moments, I like to enlist the perspective and wisdom of others as it relates to our mental health and well-being. Tracy, the founder of MOVE Daily Fitness, is one of these resources I have drawn on for her expertise in previous articles on the nexus between our mental well-being and our state of physical health. Admittedly, she is my wife, so although it may appear self-serving, she stands alone. Though her target audience is women in their 50s and 60s, her perspective benefits all. In her own words, My philosophy is that fitness must be a lifestyle, not just an activity. Getting fit and staying healthy requires a personal effort, a personal program, proper eating habits, and a positive mind. What you believe about yourself is vital to achieving your fitness goals! Consider all the obstacles that may keep you from healthy living, including your state of mind. Sometimes, the hardest weight to lose is the emotional and mental kind. So, without any further explanation, here are her thoughts on how to take care of your mental health over the holidays, which can be a triggering time for many of us. Biology and Mental Health—the Dopamine States Let’s talk first about the biology of what happens when you feel like there is a lull in your mental health, which can often happen over the holidays. Maybe this time of year triggers a depressive episode or a spike in anxiety. What’s going on? Anna Lembke explains in Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence that whenever you pursue something you think will bring you pleasure, you experience a release of dopamine. While in pursuit, you feel good! It also can bring a sense of motivation. But, shortly afterward, there’s a tilt in the pleasure/pain balance. You experience this as the desire to seek out more. But you must watch this because it can become an addiction. You can become addicted to this pursuit of pleasure and the dopamine high it releases in your body. Things like gaming, gambling, sex, drugs, alcohol, food, and, yes, shopping, can all give you this dopaminergic effect. The holidays are often a prime time for people to indulge excessively and repeatedly in such activities. So, what do you do? Enter into states of not pursuing pleasure. Sit longer in a state of boredom. You need to be careful not to follow the dopamine states because it will lead to more of the pain side of the balance. Eventually, you can then experience this pain side as depression. Key Point: For certain people in the depths of their depression, specific circuits in the brain aren’t available to them as they are to every person. As a result, they can’t just “snap out of it.” Hormones and Stress and How They Relate to Depression Twenty percent of people who have major depression have low thyroid hormone. Hypothyroidism can lead to low energy. A lower thyroid hormone can lead to postpartum depression due to the lack of hormones (thyroid and cortisol). Menopause and postmenopause also make women more susceptible to depression because of these hormone dips. 8 Natural Ways to Decrease Symptoms of Depression over the Holidays Reduce inflammation. Depression can come about through the inflammation pathways. When you are chronically stressed, areas in the body become inflamed. Specific actions (in peer-reviewed studies) related to diet and exercise have been shown to reduce inflammation. Increase your intake of EFA/EPA-essential fatty acids (omega-3). Some studies show that relief from omega-3 works the same as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) medications, or that one can get by on a lower dose of SSRI (thereby avoiding side effects). Your daily intake of EPA is what’s important here. Many people experience significant relief from depressive episodes. Omega-3 also limits inflammation, thus reducing those inflammatory pathways for depression. Talk to your doctor about the benefits of omega-3 and how much is right for you. Exercise regularly. Regular exercise increases norepinephrine (which improves your memory, focus, sleep/wake cycle), dopamine, and serotonin (neuromodulator that occurs after workouts). Aerobic and resistance training can pull away neurotoxins so that they can’t have their depressive effects on your body. Talk to your doctor before beginning a new exercise program. Take cold showers. This increases adrenaline and norepinephrine. Among other things, these adrenal hormones promote proper cardiovascular function, help you respond to stress, and help your body properly utilize carbohydrates and fats—especially important during the holidays when we don’t always eat the healthiest foods. Expose your eyes to the sun. Along with providing free vitamin D, allowing your eyes to be exposed to natural outdoor light helps your brain and body work better. Photosensitive cells in your eyes also directly affect your brain’s hypothalamus region, which controls your biological clock. Get a good night’s sleep. Along with its physical restorative powers, sleep is closely associated with mental and emotional health. Improving your sleep quality will lead to better mental health. Manage your stress. We all have short term daily stresses—often even more so during the holidays—but we need to learn how to control our long term stress. The more you have this, the higher your chance of experiencing major depression. You must take steps to mitigate stress because it can trigger a significant episode. The game behind your stress levels is figuring out why you are stressed, the triggers, and how to manage reactivity. Consider your genetic predisposition to depression. Your genetic predisposition determines how much serotonin is released in your brain. With each bout of serious stress, your chance of experiencing depression increases. But, if you carry this gene, the curve’s steepness goes way up! You need far fewer bouts of stress to lapse into major depression. Studies on twins have proven this genetic link. This is why your doctor asks you about your family’s mental health history. The key to your mental health over the holidays is to keep things in balance. Don’t overindulge! Reduce your stress. Get outside. Practice good sleep hygiene. And above all else, MOVE daily! Quentin Steen is a certified mental health first aid instructor for the Mental Health Commission of Canada. Get your BRAIN right and your MIND will follow! 4 Mental Health Resources to Help You If you or someone you know is struggling with a mental health issue, CLAC has a number of resources and interactive tools available to help you at My Health and Wellness. Stronger Minds features videos and quick reads from mental health experts, activities to help you gain resilience, and ask-an-expert videos in response to questions. WellCan offers free well-being resources to help Canadians develop coping strategies and build resilience to help deal with uncertainty, mental health, and substance abuse concerns. Wellness Together Canada: Mental Health and Substance Use Support provides free online resources, tools, apps, and connections to trained volunteers and qualified mental health professionals. 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