Being depressed doesn't just affect me

Happy New Year!

I had a very relaxed Hogmanay, just a few friends round.

However, this last week has been a bit tough. As my work is closed between Christmas and New Year, it’s quite a long holiday. Inevitably, with all the celebrations there are quite a few late nights followed by long lies to recover.

I didn’t get the chance to take my light box home before Christmas, and without it and with the long lies my body clock goes a bit haywire. I know I should be getting up and getting as much daylight as possible but I just start to hibernate and I can’t drag myself out of bed. The longer it goes on the more tired I get and the harder it becomes to get the motivation to do anything about it.

By the end of the week, I was feeling totally lethargic and pretty fragile. I knew I needed to get out and get exercise and stop sleeping but it was a real struggle to make myself.

Being depressed doesn’t just affect me - it can be hard on the people around me as well. I was really touchy and narky. The result was lots of tears and a fair few arguments with my partner, who had the added stress of quitting smoking.

We made a deal to both get up, get out and get some daylight. I think it did us both a lot of good, although I think I’ll still be a little jet lagged when I have to readjust to getting up for work again.

Week commencing 26/12/05


Medication: 2 cups of roman chamomile tea - probably should have had more.

Exercise: Could have done with more exercise but I did get out for at least one really tiring run. 3hrs

Alcohol: Considering it was Hogmanay, I’ve not had too much to drink but I plan on taking it very easy over the next few weeks. 12 Units.

Anxiety: Lying-in in the mornings actually makes me anxious before I’ve even got out of bed.

Anxiety Level (0-10): 3

Number of Panic Attacks: 3

Depression: A bit up and down.

Depression Level (0-5): 3

Mania: Had the odd tense moment.

Mania Level (0-5): 1

Summary: I’ve had better weeks. Losing my routine combined with short winter days makes staying on top of things really difficult.