Weekend Blues: Confronting and Returning to Self

Some people simply hate weekends and days off.

Normalcy should be the time when we rest and recharge our batteries to start a new week.

Some are afraid of its arrival! Weekends make them feel strange and they don’t know what to do with themselves.

“Sometimes, weekends are like illusions — enticing from afar, but fading away when you get close to them.” — Richard Nelson Bolles

Surely, you also know people who always find something to do. Often it’s out of fear of being alone with their thoughts. They are those relatives who clean excessively, cook a lot, or that uncle who fixes his car that hasn’t been used for a long time and is well maintained anyway.

Often, it’s related to the sadness of holidays or weekends.

It’s about depression in this case. To begin with, we must realize that this depression doesn’t just appear because the holidays are approaching. The first step is to understand that it’s there throughout the year.

We somehow managed to hide it, mask it, and deny it.

During weekends and holidays, a space is created where we are forced to step out of our daily routine, mental agitation, and everyday activities, confronting something we’ve been avoiding all year.

“Depression can be interpreted as a warning signal from the subconscious, urging us to pause, reflect, and make adjustments within our lives.” — Carl Gustav Jung

It is important to know that there are several types of depression, including clinical depression and existential depression. Having existential depression is a natural reaction and can even be beneficial. Why do I say this?

“When you confront existential depression, it is a sign that your soul urges you to pay attention to your authentic life and deep values.” — Irvin D. Yalom.

Because when you have this existential depression, it comes and sends its message by asking the following questions:

“Are you truly living the life you want?”

“What brings you happiness?”

What are the most important aspects of your life that make you feel happy and feeling fulfilled?

What activities bring you the greatest satisfaction and joy when you practice them?

What are the relationships or interactions with others that bring you the most happiness and feeling fulfilled in life?

What are the achievements or moments from your past that made you feel the happiest and proudest?

What hopes or dreams do you have for your future and how do you think they will bring you happiness and feeling fulfilled?

We don’t have to fear existential depression; instead, we should see it as an opportunity. It is a chance to change something about who we are and to become authentic.

After all, we all want to be relaxed and happy.

We all want to have time for ourselves, to learn new things, and to feel connected with our life partner and family.

However, working on ourselves is challenging, and often we don’t do it.

Sooner or later, reality catches up with us and shows us where we are wrong in our lives. It indicates where changes are needed.

We must begin to live our lives according to the values and principles that guide us.

I know it may seem very difficult to make this change. I’ve been there too!

If I were in your place, I would start by being grateful for what I have. I deliberately started asking myself several times a day: What am I grateful for now?

On those days. Sometimes I invite my wife to this gratitude game. I just ask: today what are we grateful for? That way, I realize every time how many blessings I have in my life!

When you realize how many blessings you have in your life, is there still room for depression?

Exploring reasons for gratitude can be a beneficial practice for our well-being as well as for managing personal energy.

Thus:

• Those thoughts that lead to self-sabotage or compulsive decisions stop
• Interpersonal relationships improve
• Anxiety becomes just a forgotten memory on dusty shelves

Ultimately, it’s about personal energy and its management. The way you do it reflects in various aspects of your life, including financial ones.

For good management of personal energy, a small goal at the beginning is ideal.

If you haven’t done it before, you can start with goals that require achievement in 3 months or 6 months.

You need this time to get used to the idea of monitoring progress.

Yes, monitoring progress is the next step. You can’t improve anything if you don’t measure what you’re doing.

Thus, you gain personal autonomy and become solely responsible for your happiness and well-being.

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” — Mahatma Gandhi”