Q. What can I do about contextual depression?

A. Some believe that one of the reasons for temporary/short bouts of depression may be to allow the brain/body to conserve energy in times of stress. The truth is that most people who are depressed don’t “feel” like being very active. Since you define your depression as “contextual,” that indicates you are able to link it to an event. It will be important to evaluate the event and take steps to resolve it or manage the outcome as effectively as possible. If the event involved a loss, moving through grief recovery related to that loss could be helpful. Read my Grief Recovery Pyramid article for additional information.

Dr. Candace Pert, author of Your Body is Your Subconscious Mind, has made some suggestions for dealing with contextual depression. These include:

• Exercise
• Meditation
• Appropriate nutritional supplements
• Exploration of stress-reducing techniques with your healthcare professional

In addition, I think it is critically important to evaluate your habitual mindset. Is it positive, hopeful and empowering, or is it negative, hopeless, and helpless? Learning more about emotions and feelings and about techniques for developing a positive mindset may be helpful. You may want to read my article entitled The Ostrich Syndrome for suggestions on how to use the Emotional Tone Scale to assist you in identifying and managing your emotions.