Was it that kind of morning for you? Did you wake up feeling depressed for no reason AGAIN? Is this becoming a pattern and are you wondering why?

Is your life going along pretty great? Are you happy with your relationships, your job, your health? And yet, for some reason, you are still feelingdepressed?

If the answer is yes, then there are a few things that you can do to try and figure out what is going on. Getting past depression is important and knowing the cause is an important part of doing so.

#1 – Take note of the view out your window.

What time of year is it when you are reading this article? Summer? Winter? Fall? Spring. Believe it or not, the time of year can greatly affect your moods, maybe even contribute to why you wake up feeling depressed for no reason.

Seasonal Affective Disorder is a depressive disorder caused by the change of seasons. Some people get depressed because of the reduced daylight hours. Some people because of the temperature changes. Everyone affected by SAD finds themselves sad without something being wrong.

Fall is a hard time for me because my kids go back to school and the days start getting shorter. If I don ‘ t pay attention I often find myself deeply depressed, even if everything else is great.

How do you deal with SAD? The most effective way is with afull spectrum lamp. The lamp will help your body tolerate the change in seasons by exposing it to full spectrum light.

Another thing to ask yourself is if something painful happened to you this same time of year in another year. I know that every year in early June I get very depressed because it is the anniversary of my mother ‘ s death. Sometimes it creeps up on me and I don ‘ t even know it.

Anticipating anniversaries that might be fraught with emotion is a good way to keep the SAD at bay because you can take steps to deal with what might make you sad. I make sure I do something that reminds me of my mom before the anniversary of her death and it has really helped me manage the pain of the loss so that it doesn ‘ t bring me down.

#2 – Get your thyroid and Vitamin D levels checked.

Two major causes of depression can be thyroid hormone levels that are off and low vitamin D.

When our thyroid hormone levels are off a variety of symptoms can arise. One of them is depression. Many of my clients who come to me complaining of depressive feelings often end up having thyroid disorders.

Vitamin D deficiency is also one of the major causes of depression. Because of the prevalence of sunscreen use, and a significant shortage of sunshine during some parts of the year, many Americans don ‘ t get enough sun. The sun is the only way for a human being to get Vitamin D (other than fortified milk and orange juice) so sun deficiency means a Vitamin D deficiency and Vitamin D deficiency leads to depression.

Fortunately, in both cases, testing is easy – a simple blood test – and treatment involves taking a pill.

So, if you’re suddenly feeling depressed for no reason call your primary care doctor and get your blood checked right away.

#3 – Make sure you are taking good care of yourself.

Are you eating well? Getting exercise? Spending time with friends? Taking care of your hygiene?

If not, this could be the cause of yourdepression.

Taking care of our mental and physical bodies is a key to mental and physical health. If you don ‘ t take care of yourself, but instead live on wine and ice cream, eventually your body is going to react.

A body that isn ‘ t well fed or exercised will start to turn on itself, causing all sort of debilitating issues. One of those issues is depression.

So, if you find that you’re suddenly feeling depressed for no reason, examine how you are taking care of yourself. If you are not doing a good job try to make a change. You might find your depression lifts if you do.

#4 – Know about thedifferentkinds of depression.

Diagnostically, are two basic kinds of depression: situational depression and chemical depression. They have similar symptoms but different causes.

Situational depression is caused by something that happens in your life. When something big happens that makes you sad, like the death of a parent or a divorce or the loss of a job, you can become situationally depressed. This kind of depression usually has a beginning, caused by a specific event, and an end, and is often treated differently from chemical depression.

Chemical depression is the result your brain chemistry being off in such a way that leads to depression. You are most often born with chemical depression but it can also by caused by a traumatic life event.

Chemical depression can happen to youeven if your life is going great.

A good way to get a sense of whether or not you are chemically depressed is to ask yourself some questions. They are:

• Are you living with feelings of sadness, tearfulness, emptiness or hopelessness?
• Are you moreirritable than usual?
• Have you lost interest in things that used to make you happy?
• Are you not sleeping as well as you used to?
• Have your sleep patterns changed? Are you spending more time in bed?
• Have your eating patterns changed? Have you lost or gained weight?
• Are you more anxious than you used to be?
• Do you struggle with feelings of worthlessness?
• Do you have a hard timefocusing?
• Do you think about committing suicide?
• Do you have new physical problems, like headaches or backaches.

If you answered yes to any, or all, of these questions you might be struggling with chemical depression.

#5 – Reach out for help.

Regardless of what kind ofdepression you are struggling with, situational or chemical depression, it is important that you reach out for help.

See your primary care doctor right away about your depression. Tell them honestly about your symptoms so that they can treat you.

Many people struggle with the embarrassment of depression. They think that they should be able to suck it up and just deal, like everybody else. Well, let me tell you that a significant portion of Americans deal with depression and many of them don ‘ t just suck it up. They either self-medicate with food or alcohol or they get treatment from a professional.

Guess which one is better for you.

If you wake up feeling depressed for no reason again tomorrow, talk to your primary care doctor. Feeling lethargic, unmotivated, sad and angry can be debilitating and you don ‘ t want it to overtake your life.

Whatever you do, don ‘ t ignore thedepression and hope it goes away. Consider where you are today, have your hormone and vitamin D levels checked, take care of yourself mentally and physically and check in to see if you might be chemically depressed.

The most important thing is not to go it alone. Get some professional help. Depression will get worse the longer it goes untreated so nipping it in the bud is essential.

Are you waking up depressed for no reason?
I know it can be really, really hard. Let me help!
Email me at [email protected] and let’s get started!

Mitzi Bockmann

I am a NYC based Certified Life Coach and mental health advocate. My writing has been published on The Huffington Post, Prevention,  Psych Central, Pop Sugar, MSN and The Good Man Project, among others. I work with all kinds of people to help them go from depressed and overwhelmed to confident and happy in their relationships and in their world.

Do you want to know what feeling depressed is like? Are you struggling with your emotions and you just don’t know what they are? Let me tell you about what depression is like for me.

For as far back as I can remember I have been depressed. I didn ‘ t know that what I had was called depression – for me, I was carrying with me always a feeling of overwhelming hopelessness and dread.

Even as a young child, the prospect of doing anything, be it getting out of bed, going to school, playing with my friends, having dinner with my family, filled me with such a sense of unrelenting dread that I just couldn ‘ t do it.

I didn ‘ t know that I was different from everyone else. I didn ‘ t know that everyone else didn ‘ t hate their life as much as I did.

My mom used to come up to my room and yell at me for being such a loser because I didn ‘ t want to play with my friends or hang out with my family. It didn ‘ t take long for 10 year old me to start to believing her. That I was a loser. And it certainly didn ‘ t help me feel better.

My parents sent me to boarding school and, on the second night, someone handed me a bottle of vodka. I remember it like it was yesterday. I took one gulp – oh, how it burned – but suddenly, like magic, my feelings of hopelessness and dread disappeared. Life was just grand.

By the time I got to college I was a full-blown alcoholic. I would stay up for nights at a time, doing drugs. I would do whatever I could to put my life at risk. I would climb up on roofs, tripping on mushrooms. I would drive my car really fast on back roads, drunk. I didn ‘ t want to commit suicide but I would have been perfectly happy if I was dead.

In spite of the hopelessness I carried with me, I was living a productive life. I graduated from college and moved to San Francisco and got a dream job working in the catering department of The Four Seasons Hotel. I worked hard and partied hard.

And, in spite of the 100lb gorilla of hopelessness that I carried on my back, I lived a life that many would consider happy. I had a great job, a beau and friends. But I also was an alcoholic with a terrible secret.

My boyfriend and I got married and we moved to Maine. I had two children and I stopped drinking and doing drugs but I replaced those things (self-medication in retrospect) with being perfect. I was the perfect wife and the perfect mother and the perfect employee.

At the same time, I was working as hard as I could to stay ahead of the hopelessness and dread that I carried with me every day.

I never talked to anyone about how I was feeling. We New Englanders are tough and hell would have to freeze over before we would admit to any weakness. So, on I lived, parenting, selling real estate, managing our home.

I was fine.

And then, in 2004, we moved to Tokyo. Which was amazing. And horrible.

For the first time in my 39 years, I had nothing to do. My kids were at school and my husband was at work and I was at home, with no friends, no work, no life.

Everything caught up to me. I could no longer ignore that hopelessness and dread that I had been carrying with me for all these years.

I started drinking again and acting out sexually. I compulsively bought handbags on Ebay. I drove my car fast whenever I could. I was cranky and impatient and miserable.

And then, one day, to this day I don ‘ t know how it happened, I found myself in a closet, banging my head against the wall. I had no idea what was going on.

From my closet I managed to pick up my phone and call a friend. She came over and scooped me up, took me home and fed me apples and peanut butter while another friend found me a doctor.

It took that doctor 20 minutes to diagnose me with depression. I was 42 years old. I had been living with this gorilla for 42 years and it took one doctor 20 minutes to identify it and tell me what to do chase it away.

It ‘ s been 10 years since my diagnosis. Since then I have found the right medicine that works for me and I have developed coping skills for dealing with things when times get tough.

I do still get depressed occasionally, but not for long, because I have learned how to recognize when it is happening and manage it well. I take my meds religiously and take really, really good care of myself.

I am living well with depression but if I have one regret it ‘ s that I didn ‘ t seek out help earlier.

I have since learned that depression only gets worse the more it goes untreated. What if I had been diagnosed and treated back in my 20 ‘ s. Where in the world might I be now?

But I can ‘ t live with regrets. What I can live with is taking care of myself, managing my moods and building an amazing life for myself.

I AM living that wonderful life, one I am very thankful for every day, one with love and children and a community. I have this life because I pay attention and manage my moods and take care of myself. Some days I work hard but it’s worth it!

You can do it too! I promise.

Are you struggling with depression?
I know it’s really, really hard. Let me help!
Email me at [email protected] and let’s get started!

Mitzi Bockmann

I am a NYC based Certified Life Coach and mental health advocate. My writing has been published on The Huffington Post, Prevention,  Psych Central, Pop Sugar, MSN and The Good Man Project, among others. I work with all kinds of people to help them go from depressed and overwhelmed to confident and happy in their relationships and in their world.

Are you looking for some things that you can do to help with depression when you simply can ‘ t stay down?

Do you have days where you wake up depressed and wonder how you are going to get through your day? Where you know that you have to function but you just don ‘ t know how?

There are things that you can do RIGHT NOW to bring yourself out of your depression if you really need to. Let me help!

#1 – Get some exercise.

One of the quickest and most effective ways to alleviate depression is getting some exercise.

Exercise produces endorphins, chemicals that elevate your mood. So, simply put, it ‘ s mighty difficult to be depressed when endorphins are racing through your body.

And don ‘ t think that you have to go for a long run or hit the gym (although you certainly can). Research shows that all it takes is 30 minutes of exercise that raises your heart rate to get those endorphins raging.

So go for a walk, dance around your living room, play with your kids. Whatever you can do get that heart rate elevated and those endorphins activated.

#2 – Eat a good breakfast.

I know. Eating when you are depressed can seem almost impossible. But eating a healthy, protein filled breakfast is an excellent way to elevate your mood.

Seratonin, another chemical mood enhancer, is produced by the breakdown of proteins in the body. Eating a protein rich breakfast will, like exercise, produce chemicals in your body that alleviate depression.

So make yourself some eggs for breakfast. Or maybe some yogurt with fruit and nuts. Perhaps a chia seed pudding. Even cereal with milk will give you a good protein and serotonin boost first thing in the morning to get you on your way.

#3 – Have sex.

There are two things that happen when you have sex. The first is that you feel emotionally connected to someone and the second is that your orgasm generates all sorts of feel good chemicals – chemicals that once again counteract that depressed feeling.

The other thing that happens is that sex keeps your mind off your depression and an excellent way to get rid of depression is to ignore it completely. Without your attention depression tends to slink away, unhappy that it isn’t occupying your every thought.

So have sex. You will be glad you did!

#4 – Schedule a coffee with a friend

I know that when you are feeling depressed, getting out and talking with someone, anyone, seems daunting. But it has been proven that spending time with loved ones elevates one ‘ s mood every time.

When we spend time with friends, the love and laughter that we share trigger those feel good chemicals, dopamine and serotonin. So just by interacting with someone, sharing words and thoughts and laughs, you can raise your mood.

#5 – Smile.

Did you know that the act of smiling actually elevates one ‘ s mood?

The act of smiling, of your muscles working together to turn your mouth upwards, activates the release of those mood enhancing chemicals – dopamine, endorphins and serotonin. Once again, your body will be flooded with things that will reduce your depression immediately.

#6 – Do something nice for someone else.

An excellent way to lift your depression is to do something nice for someone else.

This world that we live in can be a very challenging place, with people rushing around with their own agendas, caught up in their worries. You are probably that way too.

So think about what it feels like when someone does something nice for you.

How about that gentleman who opened the door for you? Or the barista who put an extra shot in your cup, no charge. Or the lady who ushered you forward in the grocery line because you only had one item. Didn ‘ t those small things make you feel great?

Do those kind of small things for someone else. Make someone else ‘ s life a better place. By doing so, you will once again activate those feel good chemicals in your body, ones that will wash that depression away.

So you see there ARE things that you can do to help get rid of depression when you simply can ‘ t be down.

Get some exercise, eat well, fool around, hang out with friends, smile and help others. All of those things will take you outside of yourself and make you feel better.

You CAN DO IT!

Author ‘ s note: If your depression doesn ‘ t get lifted, or comes back, it is essential that you see your primary care doctor right away, to make sure that it doesn ‘ t get worse and so that you can be happy.

Mitzi Bockmann

I am a NYC based Certified Life Coach and mental health advocate. My writing has been published on The Huffington Post, Prevention,  Psych Central, Pop Sugar, MSN and The Good Man Project, among others. I work with all kinds of people to help them go from depressed and overwhelmed to confident and happy in their relationships and in their world.

Are you looking for ways to organize your life when you have ADD?

Living with ADD can be incredibly difficult but it IS POSSIBLE to live with ADD and be successful and happy and organized.

My daughter just graduated from NYU ‘ s prestigious Tisch School of Arts with a degree in film. She hasstruggled with ADD her whole life. She couldn ‘ t stay focused in school, had a rough time keeping friends, and was prone to bouts of depression and anxiety. She is now a film maker, a production designer and a writer of screenplays and she is the go-to person for all of her many friends. She still wrestles with her ADD but it does not get the best of her.

I asked her how it was that she was able to manage her ADD to get what she wanted in her life. Here is what she told me.

#1 – Do what you love.

She says that first and foremost she is successful because she is doing what she loves and that she is super ambitious to succeed.

She says that if she didn ‘ t have a passion for her work it would have been way easier to succumb to letting go of her life, to getting overwhelmed by the piles and to being defeated because everyone seems to manage so much better than she does.

In fact, happiness and joy in adults leads to positive emotions like optimism, the ability to reach out to others, a feeling of being at least somewhat in control of your life, and a can-do attitude coupled with a want-to attitude.

So make sure that you are pursuing something that you hare passionate about. Your passion will drive you forward.

#2 – Be positive.

An important part of getting yourself organized when living with ADD is to believe that you can.

When it seems that everyone else around you can manage things so much better than you it is daunting to believe that you can ever live successfully. But you CAN.

My daughter did it and so can you!

#3 – Get yourself organized enough.

No matter how many websites you visit that promise to teach you how to be organized, you most likely will never have the picture perfect filing system that you see on Pinterest.

What you CAN have is an organizing system that works well enough for you.

What do you most need to keep track of?

• Your keys? Put a basket by the door and leave your keys there when you get home.
• Your trash? Buy lots of wastebaskets and put them everywhere and USE THEM.
• Your piles? Build some time into every day to attack your piles to keep them from getting too big.
• Remembering things? Keep a running list, in a bound notebook, of things that need to get done. (No loose pieces of paper) Also, leave visual reminders around the house – think Post-it notes on the mirror, fridge and back door.

Create a few systems that work for YOU – to manage the things that you need to manage.

#4 – Be willing to ask for help.

People with ADD are notoriously bad at asking for help. They really want to be able to do everything themselves and the prospect of asking for help seems like failure to them.

But there are some things that you just can ‘ t do by yourself and it ‘ s okay to find someone who can help you with them or who can do them for you.

My daughter, the filmmaker, found that she had a really hard time managing all of the details around making her films. Her best friend, however, thrives on details. So they work together, as director and producer, and the films get made with less emotional wear and tear on my daughter.

Who do you need to help you? A housekeeper? A financial manager? A personal assistant? Figure it out (or ask someone to help you figure it out) and get some help.

If finances limit your ability to get help, consider bartering. There are things that you are good at, things that others aren ‘ t, so offer a trade. You will both win in the end!

#5 – Take care of yourself.

Taking care of yourself is an essential part of managing ADD. Sleep, exercise and diet can make a huge difference in living successfully.

Specifically, it is important that someone with ADD get enough sleep. Enough sleep will allow your brain to function at it ‘ s optimum level.

Get 30 minutes of exercise every day, ideally exercise that raises your heart beat. Exercise produces chemicals that allow your brain to think clearer.

Eating well is also important. Make sure that you have a varied diet, big on protein and vegetables, foods that feed your brain and help it function. Taking an Omega 3 supplement daily has also been shown to help with improved brain clarity.

If you are going to do only one thing on this list, taking care of yourself is IT. So make sure you do so. Start TODAY!

#6 – Consider medication.

80% of people with ADD respond well to medication so definitely consider them as a part of your management protocol.

There are many different kinds of ADD meds so consult with your primary care doctor about what might be right for you.

#7 – Surround yourself with positive people.

People with ADD often struggle with depression because living with ADD can be very difficult and disheartening.

To that end, people with ADD can tend to isolate and really that ‘ s the worst thing that you can do.

It is important that people with ADD surround themselves with positive supportive people, people who love and embrace you in spite of your difficulties. Being with people who don ‘ t get you and who might look down on you is not what you want to be doing.

It is also essential that you have one person in your life who you trust completely and who you will LISTEN TO. Someone who knows you and who you can rely on to tell you the truth when they see something that is going on. People with ADD and depression sometimes miss when things go awry. Having someone there who notices, and tells you, is key.

#8 – Exercise your brain.

People with ADD have brains that can sometimes wander off without them, leaving them frustrated and feeling alone.

It is possible to take control of your brain, to teach it to behave in a way that serves you best.

Some good ways to gain some control over that wandering brain of yours:

• Yoga – yoga helps you use the breath to manage your thoughts.
• Meditation – meditation also helps you manage your thoughts and gives you increased control over how your brain processes work.
• Cognitive Behavioral therapy – a sort of therapy that again helps you manage your thoughts and your brain functionality.
• Positive thinking – focusing on the positive instead of the negative is a key part of living successfully with ADD. Focus on what ‘ s RIGHT in your life instead of what’s WRONG.
• Accepting yourself – know that this is who you are and that it ‘ s just fine. It ‘ s more than fine, actually!

#9 – Reduce electronics.

I know you don ‘ t want to hear this one but it ‘ s gotta be said.

Our increasing use of electronics, and our using multiple electronic devices at the same time, is making it so that our brains are having a harder and harder time focusing.

I watch my daughter as she tries to work. No sooner does she settle in when an alert goes off on her phone. She picks it up to attend to it and then gets back to work. For about 20 seconds. And then her phone goes off again.

And THEN, something comes across her Facebook page that needs to be dealt with immediately and before she knows it an hour has passed with no work done.

SO, if you need to get some stuff done PUT YOUR PHONE AWAY. It doesn ‘ t have to be forever. Set your timer for a set period of time (perhaps an hour) and focus on what has to be done for that period of time. When the timer goes off you can tend to your phone again.

Trying to organize your life when you have ADD can be very challenging but it ‘ s not impossible.

Many, many people live successfully with ADD. Will Smith, Justin Timberlake, Jim Carrey, billionaire Richard Branson, Solange Knowles and Michael Phelps all have found great success living with ADD. You can too!

So find your passion, believe in yourself, surround yourself with good people and ask for help. Exercise and nourish both your body and your mind.

Next month my daughter has the first staging of a play that she is directing. I think back often to 2nd grade when her teacher wouldn ‘ t even show me her workbooks because she was such a mess. She, and I, have learned since then that while her brain isn ‘ t so great with workbooks it can easily see just how to pull together people and ideas to create an amazing work of art.

You can too! Go for it!

Mitzi Bockmann

I am a NYC based Certified Life Coach and mental health advocate. My writing has been published on The Huffington Post, Prevention,  Psych Central, Pop Sugar, MSN and The Good Man Project, among others. I work with all kinds of people to help them go from depressed and overwhelmed to confident and happy in their relationships and in their world.