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Dealing with financial issues and taxes can be difficult for all of us, but they can be espe
cially challenging when you’re experiencing depression. It can be hard to take care of your basic needs when you feel down or hopeless, let alone interact with other people, get or hold a job, or manage your money. Job loss, unemployment, and debt can compound depression or trigger an episode in those prone to it. Although it may seem like you don’t have many options, there are many stress-reducing tips and low-cost programs that can help you get your finances in order or get you back on your feet.

Twelve-year-old Portia Baptista had just come home from school when she heard soft sobs coming from her parents’ bedroom. Her heart sank. Her mom was in bed, crying yet again. Portia poked her head in the door. “What’s wrong, Ma?” she asked. “Nothing,” her mom replied, pulling the covers up, embarrassed that Portia was seeing her distraught. “No, please tell me,” Portia said. She knew it was not all that healthy to serve as her mom’s confidante. She also knew her mom didn’t have anyone else to talk to, so she insisted. Her mom paused. “Well, I just feel so bad. If it wasn’t for your father’s income, I’d be homeless on the street. I can’t take care of myself.” “No you wouldn’t end up on the street, Ma” she said quietly, trying to sound sure of her statement. “We’d find a way.”

I first noticed our art director’s performance start to slip a few months after she came back from maternity leave. At first, she had been her usual self: sharp, dedicated, punctual, funny. She seemed to be handling the transition back to the office well. Then she began coming in late and walking straight to her office instead of chatting with the rest of us over coffee in the kitchen. When we started working on a major ad campaign with a sneaker retailer, our small firm’s biggest client, she was consistently late with the layouts and her ideas just didn’t seem as inspired as usual. Then, she missed an important internal review meeting and I really started getting annoyed. One quarter of our annual revenue was riding on this campaign. I decided I needed to talk with her about her performance and started steeling myself for the discussion.

Seasonal Affect Disorder (SAD) is a form of depression triggered by the change in seasons, primarily occurring in the late fall/early winter. For the approximately 10 million Americans with SAD, feeling sad, hopeless or lethargic for days or weeks at a time are common symptoms and a constant struggle.  SAD, like any form of depression, if untreated can limit your ability to function on daily basis and enjoy your life to the fullest.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a type of depression that’s related to changes in
seasons, is estimated to affect 10 million Americans. For most people, symptoms appear during late fall or early winter, making you feel blue around the winter holidays, or sad and disappointed after all the celebrations are over. While it’s normal to experience the “winter blues”, feeling sad, hopeless or lethargic for days or weeks at a time can be symptoms of something more serious, including depression. A smaller number of people experience symptoms in the spring or early summer.

Do the irregular warm weather days get you excited for summer, but leave you feeling sad or depressed that winter is still here and there are more cold days to come? For many people, Seasonal Affect Disorder (SAD), a type of depression that’s related to changes in seasons, can be a serious issue to overcome every year.

“When I was first diagnosed with major depressive disorder, I was taken aback.” said writer Marie Rudowski. “It was 1993 and ‘depression’ wasn’t quite a household word yet. People with mental illnesses were considered weak or even throwaways. I was glad to have a diagnosis, but I didn’t want to think of myself as ‘broken.’"

In an effort to get treatment to the millions of Americans suffering from undiagnosed depression, the U.S. Preventive Service Task Force (USPSTF) recently recommended that all adults be screened for the disease. Published in the January 26, 2016 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, the USPSTF recommendation places special emphasis on screening pregnant and postpartum women who are less likely to be diagnosed and treated. The USPSTF’s recommendation is a major step towards adoption of the practice nationwide.

When Valentine’s Day hearts and cupids start going up in store windows, and we begin hearing about peoples’ plans for romantic celebrations, it’s hard not to give at least some consideration to your own relationships or how far you may seem to be from having normal relationships. If you’re suffering from depression, the holiday hoopla can remind you how painful interactions with people can be, how alone you may feel, and how far you may seem to be from normal relationships. Those who are undiagnosed or unaware that they have depression may blame themselves for their intensely pessimistic feelings and for distancing themselves from relationships with friends, families, and partners.

Approximately 6 million American men have depression each year, but fewer than half recognize, acknowledge, or seek treatment. Unfortunately, many men feel like they need to be “strong and silent” about their mental illness or society will look down on them, leading them to not find the correct treatment.