A Healthy Outlook Newsletter from your MCPS Employee Assistance Program

Welcome, Spring!

After a long winter, spring is here! March 21, 2022 marked a change in season and with it, an opportunity to reflect on our habits & mindset. Continue reading to learn more about the well-being benefits of spring cleaning, Seasonal Affective Disorder, and setting realistic intentions in the new season.

Spring Cleaning: Well-Being Benefits of Decluttering

There are many words that come to mind when you hear, spring, and for some people, cleaning is one of them. As we enter this new season, what benefits can spring cleaning have on your well-being?

Take a moment to think about your junk drawer, or drawers, in your home. Imagine needing something, like a battery or sharpie, that you know is buried in the back of your junk drawer and takes several minutes for you to find. Imagine the drawer getting stuck on an item inside when you try to open it all of the way. You can also imagine looking for your favorite shirt in your over-stuffed dresser or closet. How does imagining these cluttered spaces make you feel? Now, imagine your junk drawer, dresser, or closet after you have cleaned it out and tidied up. Perhaps you threw away or recycled old items, or donated clothes you no longer wear. How does thinking about these same spaces, tidier, make you feel?

Research suggests that reducing clutter and tidying up can have many benefits on our well-being, including lower levels of stress and improved focus & productivity.

The thought of spring cleaning your home or work environment may be overwhelming. Take it one room, or one section at a time and don't expect to finish everything at once. Set realistic goals for yourself and start with a small project you know you can tackle. Celebrate your progress along the way!

Tidying up or parting with old belongings can cause strong emotional reactions and be particularly difficult for some people. If you find yourself continuously struggling with letting items go, contact your Employee Assistance Program for support.

As always, whenever you're using cleaning products, remember to read the labels before starting. Many products use chemicals that cannot be mixed with other products. Open a window when you can to ensure ventilation of clean air.

Stanford University, Be Well: A clean, well-lighted place.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) - What Is It?

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that comes and goes with the season. For most people, it starts in the late fall or early winter and goes away during the spring and summer. If you tend to struggle in the colder, darker months and noticed the following signs and symptoms in yourself, you may be experiencing SAD:

• Feelings of sadness or depression
• Negative or gloomy outlook
• Feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness, or irritability
• Loss of interest or pleasure in activities you used to enjoy
• Low energy
• Difficulty sleeping or sleeping too much
• Changes in your eating habits
• Difficulty concentrating
• Thoughts of death or suicide

SAD is more common in women and those who live far away from the equator. It is also more common if you or a family member have depression. Although the exact causes of SAD are unknown, research has shown decreased levels of serotonin, a brain chemical that affects mood, and increased levels of melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep. Low levels of Vitamin D, a nutrient from food and sunlight, is also common. Treatment includes the use of light therapy to help increase exposure to bright light, counseling, antidepressant medications, and Vitamin D supplements to treat a deficiency if you have one.

If you have struggled this fall and winter and think you might have SAD, consider the following as you enter the spring season:

• Increase safe exposure to sunlight. With longer hours of sunshine, practice safe sun exposure for short periods of time each day. Be careful to avoid a sunburn and use SPF after approximately 10 minutes. You can also eat Vitamin D rich foods, including oily fish (i.e. salmon or sardines), red meat, egg yolks, and fortified breakfast cereal, dairy products, or orange juice. Talk to your primary care provider if you think you might have a Vitamin D deficiency to find out if nutritional supplements are right for you.
• Seek out support from your EAP. No-cost, confidential counseling sessions are available to you. The EAP can also provide referrals to therapists or psychiatrists that are in-network with your insurance plan.

NIMH: National Institute of Mental Health

Setting Realistic Intentions for Spring

Did you make a New Year's Resolution this year? If so, have you stuck with it? As we mark the start of a new season, we also have an opportunity to set a new intention, or revisit an old one. You don't need to wait until January 1st to set a new goal or commitment for yourself. As you reflect on the past few months, think about what's worked for you that you want to keep doing, what you want to start doing this season, and what hasn't worked for you that you want to pause doing. Practice being kind to yourself as you think about this. It's okay if you didn't stick with a resolution you set in January. You are human and making any change can be difficult. Most New Year's Resolutions offer little room for flexibility, which could be one of the reasons keeping a resolution can be so hard. Maybe the resolution you set was too strict and when life became busy, you felt guilty about not keeping up with it every day. If you have stuck with your resolution, think about if it's still working for you and if you want to keep it or make any adjustments in the spring. Practice setting a flexible and SMART intention:

• Specific: What exactly do you want to do, or stop?
• Measurable: How often?
• Achievable: Is this possible for you to do? Do you have the tools and skills do to this?
• Relevant: How does this align or connect with your values and what's important to you?
• Time-bound: When will you do this by?

A few examples of SMART and flexible intentions:

• "I want to start reading before bed and finish three books by summer."
• "I want to stop using social media before bed. I will practice putting my phone away 30 minutes earlier on Sunday - Thursday nights."
• "I want to move my body more. Since the weather is getting warmer, I will go for a 20-minute walk three days a week when I get home from work."