As the Easter season is upon us, it’s easy to get caught up in either the merriment or the stress of the pre-holiday shopping stress. How to make the most of Easter Holidays when you’re suffering from depression? What happens when you’re in neither of those places? What happens when your mental and emotional state reflects neither the holiday cheer nor the happiness of having friends and family around?

Depression is often an underestimated affliction of the soul that tends to rear its head even more so during the Easter holidays. So how do you make the most of Easter when you suffer from depression?

1. Relieve Yourself from Pressure when Suffering from Depression

When you’re feeling blue, the last thing you want to do is to put even more pressure on yourself. This is a trap that anyone can easily fall into around the holidays, since seeing other people so cheerful and busy creates this feeling that maybe you should be in it too or that maybe you are missing something. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. There isn’t any right or wrong way of being or feeling. If you aren’t feeling these positive emotions, then that’s something you need to accept during this time of the year. The human spectrum of emotions is very complex and allowing yourself to feel an entire range of them is not only healthy, but it will also feel liberating and soothing.

2. Move Towards Reconciliation

Often times we tend to feel emotionally troubled and burdened without even knowing it and it may have something to do with the relationships we currently have in our lives or with the ones we have nurtured in the past. Since the Easter holidays are mostly about connecting with other people, it’s important that you take the time to think of your relationships and allow yourself to feel, truly feel with your heart, which ones need more attention, closure or reconciliation. Depression is definitely a condition that’s tough to transform for the better, but calling or meeting these important people in your life in order to patch things up will definitely set you one step closer to healing.

3. Strive for a Healthy Lifestyle

Easter depression has a funny way of tricking us into leaning back into our comfort zone and making us stay indoors, rather than go out and explore the world. It may be because of the increasingly shorter days or because of the negative mindset maybe just too overpowering to fight, but many people suffering from depression during the holidays give up altogether and resort to a sedentary and unhealthy lifestyle. However, it’s essential to fight the impulse and keep active. Go out for a walk, put your blood into motion, see the world around you unfold even if for only half an hour every day and exercise as much as you can. Stay away from sugar, an excessive amount of carbs and fatty foods, since the satisfaction they provide may be immediate, but the long-term effects are pretty devastating both on your physical and emotional health.

4. Create a Gratitude List when Suffering from Depression

It may sound like a cliche and it may be the last thing you honestly feel like doing when suffering from depression, but the power behind gratitude is tremendous. Find a quiet place in your home where you can focus without any interruptions, play some relaxing music in the background while sipping from your favorite tea and start writing a list of things you are grateful for. Write about things that happened to you throughout the year or things that you’ve made happen for yourself. Also take the time to thank the people that have been there for you the past year or even throughout your entire life and even tell them this personally, if you feel like it. It’s always a good time to focus on what feels right in your life and how certain people left a positive mark on your growth as a human being.

When it comes to it, the holidays are a time to take it easy, put things into perspective and accept life as it comes to you. Regardless of your mental and emotional state, remember this too shall pass, the people you love are still right there for you and there’s always room for a beacon of light amidst a cloudy sky.

About the Author

‘Claudia Spataru is a free spirit located in Bucharest, Romania and always in search of answers to life’s greatest questions. She loves to understand how people work, what makes them tick and find ways to help them reach higher grounds. She adores the sea, traveling and laughing.’

How to Make the Most of Easter Holidays When You’re Suffering From Depression