You’ve been tired before but this time it feels different. The effort to get out of bed drains you since you feel like your body is full of sand. You try the usual energy boosters: more coffee, an exercise class, and going to bed earlier. If anything, you seem to need even more sleep, if only your brain would let you.

These are the first signs that something is amiss. And you shouldn’t ignore them.

From here, you may lose the love of things that used to infuse your day with joy. Food doesn’t taste the same. Children or pets who once entertained you are now annoying. Sex doesn’t provide the rush it used to, yet you try to push on as if nothing is wrong.

From here, you lose focus on your thoughts. You may need to write down the simplest things to keep your day on track. Others begin to notice the gaps you leave at work or at home, so you try to get back on track.

No matter how you try, you cannot recover unless you solve the underlying problem. All these subtle clues are telling you that your brain is trying to cope through the fog of depression. It’s not something you can easily talk yourself out of experiencing. Your brain chemistry has changed and it’s going to take some effort – and possibly some intervention – to bounce back. Just like any illness or injury, only by dealing with it can you get back to your happier self.

If this is your first time down this path, don’t beat yourself up. Almost one in five Americans report feeling depressed in the summer of 2020, for a variety of reasons. 2020 and 2021 ramped up many of the conditions that lead to this type of illness, including major life changes, social isolation, feelings of helplessness, and insecure work futures.

To start, you need to understand why this happens, but not in a way that makes you feel like you have to learn a new vocabulary. You may have depression in your genetic makeup and your current thankless job is drawing it out. When you’re working with people who don’t genuinely care about you, it’s hard to stay in a good place from a mental standpoint. Outside of work, if you don’t have a vibrant circle of people to keep you engaged, then you’re also likely to slide in a blue mood. Having good people in your life, who stimulate your mind and bring out the best in you is one of the great antidotes for depression. Yet, in the past two years, we have been largely cut off from the fun times where we can easily come together to make each other laugh or simply decompress over a beer. We miss the theatre, sports venues, cinemas, and other places that brought us together for shared interests.

Even with the world returning to normal, most of us have a higher level of anxiety about interacting with others. It feels strange after so much time staying far apart for our physical health. And your brain is getting overwhelmed by the ever-changing conditions around you.

No one is immune from depression. You may be stressed out from doing essential work during the pandemic, while worrying about getting sick. Or you may be cooped up at home with endless Zoom meetings, or not working at all as you languish and wonder what is next. All this is exacerbated by the insecurity we face around us as well as the scars we already carry from previous events in our lives. With too much time to ruminate, we often tell ourselves stories that just bring us down. We’re not good enough. We will never amount to anything. Unless you stop those voices, you will only sink further.

Everyone experiences depression slightly differently, although there are some common signs. If you recognize yourself in this list, then this book is for you:

●     Feeling sad, tearful, empty, or hopeless

●     Irritability or frustration, leading to angry outbursts even over small matters

●     Loss of interest or pleasure in normal activities, including sex, hobbies. or sports

●     Insomnia or oversleeping

●     Lack of energy to the point where even small tasks (like getting out of bed) take extra effort

●     Loss of appetite and weight loss / increased cravings for food and weight gain

●     Anxiety, agitation, or restlessness

●     Slower thinking, speaking, or body movements

●     A sense of worthlessness or guilt after ruminating on past failures or self-blame

●     Inability to concentrate, make decisions, and remember things

●     Suicidal thoughts or attempts as you think about death as an option

●     Unexplained aches in your back, head, or elsewhere

I believe fervently that having an open mindset is the first step to healing. We are all capable of improving our health – inside and out – and overcoming our weaknesses through diligent attention to our habits and thought patterns.

You may be tempted to turn to medication to turn down the volume. Heaven knows our society relies on pills to solve a plethora of problems. However, antidepressants come at a cost for your health and for the collective health of our society. Numbing ourselves to the pain is not the answer. I wish I had known this when I started helping my aunt. Initially, I saw depression as a defect inside the body that could only be fixed with medication. I had made the same mistake with my eczema and how wrong I was! Instead, you can find your way out of this labyrinth with some healthier options that don’t require a drug plan.

As crazy as it sounds (pun intended), you can turn around that voice in your brain by taking steps to reassess how you live your life and the consequences of those choices. Are you in the right job? What keeps you there? If you’re unhappy, can you change the terms of how you work to make you feel better? It takes some courage to start again, especially if you’re feeling low in energy, but it may take a drastic change to reset your life and your health. Staying in a job that makes you miserable will only make it harder for you to get your feet under you. We’ll look at some specific questions to get you thinking of where you would prefer to be.

You don’t have to make a major change right away. A ridiculous number of people who have turned to home-based self-employment during the pandemic enjoy it so much that they have decided to stay on that path. Even if you only want to try it for a short time, a side hustle can put some extra money in the bank until you make the leap to something new. Doing a job you love, rather than one that just pays the bills, will give you the boost you may need to recover and we’ll take a look together at what you can pursue. Your environment plays such a big role in how your body functions. Never underestimate that factor.

With that in mind, you’ll benefit from taking a hard look at how much time you’ve spent watching Netflix or trying to find a spark by scrolling through a game or social media channels on your smartphone. These empty relationships will never fill the same void as simple human contact. You can easily empower yourself by getting out and helping others, whether it’s your neighbor, a friend who is also struggling with depression, or a stranger whom you meet via a volunteer gig. The chemical reaction of supporting another person, or even another mammal, is a reward that you can give yourself daily. It’s surprising how authentic encounters can boost the happier hormones in your head and get you realigned with how you want to feel. By spending more hours doing activities that jazz up your brain, you begin the process of healing.

In the pages ahead, you’ll see how you can shape your moods and your energy levels by creating new habits that are so easy that you’ll wonder why you didn’t pick up on them sooner. You’ll discover actions you’ve been doing day to day to soothe yourself have unwittingly dragged your spirits down to an even lower point. By getting away from your screen, you can recharge by enjoying the scents and sensations of being outside. While fresh air helps most ailments, you can specifically reconnect with yourself by putting yourself in two specific settings: getting your hands dirty in a garden and bathing in the wonders of the forest. There is something special about feeling the earth under your feet and between your fingers. By interacting the right way, you can really feel the difference after just 40 minutes.