Dealing with Depression & COVID-19

“Hi, I’m Paul Krismer. I’m your happiness expert and this week’s video is incredibly practical. It’s the time of year where we tend to be down a little bit anyway, winter’s going on a bit long, and we’re struggling with the volume of work and all the usual stuff. But on top of the usual stuff, we’ve got COVID, and our fatigue with that. And if you’re feeling a little blue or depressed as a result of that, this video is for you.”

“As a coach, public speaker, and best-selling author, I teach topics just like this one all around the world. So stay tuned, and I’ll give you practical tools that you can use to make both yourself and those around you both happier and more successful. Yeah, so we know at this time of year we typically have a little rise in depression, it’s just the usual pattern, seasonal depression. It happens every year, but on top of that, we have absolute fatigue with COVID. I’m feeling it, you’re feeling it, we’re all feeling it. It’s a global phenomenon.”

“And we’ve talked about emotional contagion in the past and we know that when one person that’s influential in our lives is feeling a certain way, we tend to feel their emotions. Well, right now, the whole world is feeling uncertainty and down because of this pandemic. So it would not be at all surprising if you’re feeling it too. So I have a very practical video for you. I have five tips, five tips to help lift your mood and deal with some seasonal depression, or the depression that’s a result of COVID.”

“First of all, do not isolate. That’s my first bit of advice. It is so tempting when we’re feeling sad to just want to curl up in a ball and ignore the world, and withdraw from it, and it feels like we’re already having too many demands on our time and attention, primarily from work. But we have to resist that temptation. We are tribal creatures, we need the contact. So reach out to the people that you love.”

“And I know it’s hard, and these days when we’re meeting by zoom. I, you know, I’ve just moved to Las Vegas and I love meeting with my sister Marnie. And we have a regular chat and walk. So I get on my headphones, she’s on her phone, I walk out in the park, and we have a great conversation. And it’s almost like being there. We used to do it in person and now we just do it through the use of technology. So do not isolate. First piece of advice.”

“Second piece of advice is, look, if your depression is bad enough, you’re considering self-harm, or you’re weeping uncontrollably, get professional help. There’s medications that can help, although I’m not a big advocate for the medications, and they’re oversold, and they have less efficacy than the people claim. But nevertheless, there’s medical help that can help, and professional counselors are in this business for a reason. They really do have techniques that can help, cognitive behavioral therapy being one of the primary ones.”

“Third piece of advice, do small acts of kindness for yourself. Treat yourself to a special food, watch your favorite movie, take the little bit of time that demonstrates your own compassion for yourself. And right now, when we’re feeling a little down, treating ourselves right is more necessary than ever before.”

“Fourth, get some exercise. I know it can be hard, we don’t have a lot of motivation, and the weather might be cold where you are, and I get that. But the evidence is very clear, exercise is as good as treatment for depression as medications are. So simple, 20 to 40 minutes of exercise on a regular basis, I’d say at least three times a week, but ideally every day. It can be as simple as going for a walk. In fact, there’s huge evidence that that bipedal activity of moving in parallel form, left, right, left, right, is very, very good for our brains. It’s therapeutic in ways we don’t quite understand why or how, but we know, get out there for some exercise.”

“And finally, my fifth piece of advice, and you hear from me over and over again if you watch my videos, is start a meditation practice. It doesn’t have to be anything serious, there’s lots of apps out there that can help. It can be just a few minutes per day, but it’s the regular practice of checking in with our own mind. And of course, the big thing about it is, when we have practice for a period of time, and it takes a very short time to start making a difference in your life, is we start to see our own thoughts. There’s that constant commentary in our heads, and mostly we’re unaware of it.”

“It’s just the background dialogue that happens in our heads and tragically, it’s that background unnoticed dialogue that tends to ruminate us in the past and circle down about all the horrible things that happened recently or the worry about what’s going to happen in the future and the anxiety we’ve got. So we either ruminate in the past or we worry about the future, and we don’t get present with what’s here right now. And most of the time, for most of us, our present, right now, right here, is just fine. Thank you very much. So, learn to meditate. Do it regularly, even a small practice makes a big difference in as little as just a few weeks.”

“That’s it for this week. If you like this kind of content, subscribe to my channel, you got a new video every Sunday morning. And hey, if you like this video, click the Like button. It helps get the exposure to a greater audience. Thanks so much, bye for now.”