Getting Through Gully Low

It happens to the best of us...it happens to all of us...one time or another...more often than we would like. We reach a point where we just stare off into space..the thousand yard stare they call it in military lingo. My grandmom calls this feeling "gully low", cause I guess that's about as low as you can get. We're feeling "gully low", "dragging the black dog", depressed and hitting that low point. It can hit us at any time, but most of us wives know we get it often when our husbands are deployed or around the holidays. Why is this so and what can we do about it?

We're human. I'm not going to go into the science of it all, but everyone from Groucho Marx to Hillary Clinton to Ellen DeGeneres has felt it, and more than once too. Life takes us through cycles. That's how we grow and learn. Knowing what to do when you hit the low note and how to recognize where we are, are the first steps in moving back up again.

Here are some thoughts and tips to consider:

• When we are overwhelmed, our body's tendency is to want to shut out all outside stimuli. Recognize this fact and start prioritizing what you have to do. Make and list, and if some things fall off the bottom...IT IS OKAY.

• If you have too much going on, then you haven't delegated. You can't do everything. Ask your husband, friend, coworker or neighbor for help. It makes people feel good to help, so in a sense, you are helping them too and giving them a boost in the process. Do be prepared to help in the future, preferably without being asked. Good leaders delegate. You are a good leader.

• Get some sleep. A good rest can do wonders to reinvigorate.

• Get some sunlight. Scientific research shows it works.

• Listen to some relaxing music. Music can destress you and lowers your heart rate and blood pressure.

• Pet your dog or cat. This has the same effect as music but is even more powerful. Put everything down. Turn off the stove. Put out some crackers and cheese for the hungry kids and take a walk or a romp with Peaches.

• Play a fun, simple game with your children such as hide and seek or tag or read a book together.

• Don't overanalyze things or be unrealistic with your expectations. Sometimes, just let things be, or hit the rewind button and start from scratch. As long as no one is getting hurt and you can sit back and reflect, that's what should be top priority at the moment.

• Keep a journal to help you find out what time, day or place is the most difficult for you. Learn to recognize it before it's coming, and redirect your energy to something else before it starts. Or, if it's something that has to be done...eventually...then approach it from a different angle than you normally would.

• Complete a task you have been putting off a long time. Sometimes these things fester in our head without us even realizing it. You'll find you get a renewed sense of energy and accomplishment if you redirect and do something that's been sitting on your back burner forever...no matter how short the task.
  

What tips would you like to share?