As we get into the thick of it with winter, some people are starting to feel it. Sometimes it's seasonal depression or a depressive episode, and sometimes it is just the general fact that most people go through a significant behavioural change as the weather gets colder and our behaviours impact our mood. 

There are so many factors that can play into a low mood, biological (genetics, vitamin D, brain chemistry); physiological (lack of movement); societal (feeling less energy to keep up with the expectation to grind year round); emotional (holiday/financial stress, isolation). 

A core component of low-mood treatment is something called behavioural activation, and I am a HUGE fan and do my best to incorporate these principles in my everyday life as a way to maintain a balanced mood.

Behavioural activation is finding a way to incorporate balance and meaning into your day. An example of how our day can often fall out of balance is if we're feeling low, we may indulge in a bit too much self-care (too much downtime), or maybe on the flip side we aren't practicing enough self-care, or doing enough of what we love throughout the week, we aren't allowing space for positively reinforcing moments. The idea is everything in moderation!

To do this, we recommend first tracking your activities and tracking a specific mood by percentage throughout the day as you do these activities ie. 4:00-5:00 pm - TV - Sad 40%, and by hour 4 of watching TV sometimes you can see a trend in how this changes your mood.

Then, using this data constructively you reorganize your day by including productivity, mastery, creativity, self-care tasks etc. Even if it is just for a short burst. By doing this, it can jump-start your system, we may not always feel motivated but the theory behind this is motivation follows action. 

It's the most simple concept, but it can be SO hard to get started.. having a therapist for accountability can be a huge help! 

There is a significant correlation between our behaviour and mood, and our mood and behaviour.

• How do u feel when you learn a new task?

• How do you feel when you accomplish something you have been putting off?

• How do you feel after you have a shower?

• How do you feel after doing something creative?

• How do you feel after mindfully engaging in self-care?

• How do you feel after spending time with loved ones?

Here are the steps, and a worksheet you can follow (disclaimer, behavioural activation is best used with a therapist trained in CBT).

Step 1: Use the activity monitoring worksheet to record your daily activities for a week. Rank your mood each hour (ie. Sad 0-100%)

Step 2: Take a look at the data, what activities were associated with your highest mood? Lowest mood? Did you notice a correlation between certain behaviours and certain moods, or did you notice a correlation between certain times of the day and certain moods?

Step 3: Using the data, fill in the columns of activities that made you feel good, and activities that did not make you feel good.

Step 4: Next, think about your values. Is there something you have been wanting to put more focus on in your life? Ie. Spending time with family, reading, exercising, or is there a new task you have been wanting to learn?

Step 5: Using the activity monitoring worksheet again, you’re going to develop a schedule for yourself (making sure it is reasonable and balanced) and incorporate the activities you identified in Step 3 (feel good) and Step 4 (values).

It can be helpful to remember, that you may not feel motivated or excited to jump into these activities initially, and that is okay! It takes time, and it can be an ongoing process to find your balance. Try and stay accountable to the general idea of balance, and even if some days you can only contribute 15 minutes to certain activities - it is better than nothing!

Free depression worksheet that you can download:

Behavioural Activation Worksheet