The Most Depressing Day of the Year

The Most Depressing Day of the Year

Several years ago researchers calculated that January 24th is the most depressing day of the year. Since this is also my birthday, I took note of the study and tried to analyze if there was a connection. I know that on some days both my wife and daughter could find many connections but that is for another story.

On the one day when I have something of a stage, I wanted to take my moment at the “world mic” to raise a serious issue that corresponds to “the most depressing day of the year”. Late January can be a difficult time for many reasons. During this time of the year, we experience some of the shortest days of the year. The hustle and bustle of the holidays is long past and the bills have now rolled in. People tend to stay in more during these dark days of winter and often don’t absorb enough sunlight to produce adequate amounts of vitamin D. Vitamin D is an important building block which helps the brain produce serotonin and other “mood producing” chemicals in the brain.

As a professional counselor I have worked with many people who have struggled with depression as well as those who have contemplated, attempted and sadly completed suicide. The effects of depression on our society are greater than most people ever imagine. Each year, more people miss work for issues related to depression than for any other reason and depression is the most costly medical issue that countries all over the world have to pay for in terms of total costs from both lost productivity and treatment. I know that many people have personally experienced periods of depression or have family members who have struggled with the various type of depression. I want to encourage you to take a moment and think of people in your life who have struggled with depression in the past or may be going through a depressive episode currently. Take just a few minutes this week to call them, send a note, share lunch with them or simple check on them to show your concern. When a person is depressed or struggling with another type of mood disorder, they can feel very alone and having friends and family simple acknowledge their struggle and to provide a little encouragement can be just as powerful as any anti-depressant.

Although our culture is becoming more educated and accepting of the reality of depression, there are still those who believe it is “all in their head” or is the result of a person being weak. In spite of Tom Cruise’s diatribes, depression is a real medical condition that frequently does require medication and counseling to effectively treat the individual and help them return to their previous level of functioning. Many people don’t realize the seriousness of untreated depression. The longer a person goes untreated with depression, the greater the effects on the body. If a person suffering with depression goes untreated for 6 months to a year, they can experience many resulting physical complaints. Untreated depression can result in shrinkage in the hippocampi in the brain. In humans the hippocampus; located at the base of the brain, is responsible for helping us store short term memories and depressed individuals often complain of memory issues as a result of the atrophy associated with prolonged bouts of depression. Another important fact that many people don’t realize is that the longer a person goes with untreated depression, the lower the odds become that they will experience a full recovery. Physicians now know that each successive bout of depression tends to get worse, especially if it goes untreated for long periods of time.

So while my birthday may or may not be related to January 24th being labeled as “the most depressing day of the year” (I would appreciate you keeping any affirmative comments on this connection to yourself ha ha), I want to encourage you to reach out to those in your world who may have a cloud of depression raining on their lives as we plod through these dark days of winter. Your effort to care and encourage can give them an extra shot of “anti-depressant” to get through this time of year. May God bless your efforts to reach out to others in your world. I know that whenever you show concern for someone who is struggling, you can be confident that God will take your effort and make it meaningful to the one in need.

The following website has some good articles and videos on depression and many other topics that might be a resource to you or your friends. I am a member of this network and these resources are written from a Christian perspective but certainly provide sound clinical advice to any of your friends and family who may need information on any mental health related topic. If any of you every have questions or concerns about family or friends related to mental health issue, feel free to email me and I will do my best to answer your questions and point you in the right direction in terms of resources.

Oh, and just to top it off, the dark cold day when I was born many, many, many winters ago it snowed 3 inches!

Blessings my friends,
Jeff

I’m going to celebrate my 41st birthday with a nice run to keep “Mr. Old” behind me for a little while longer! I gotta do more speed workouts as “Mr. Old” seems to be gaining on me all the time.

www.ecounseling.com