Feeling Down Lifebabble

Hey, Lifebabblers,

today we're talking about those days when you just don't feel great.

We'll be babbling about the stuff that gets us down, how it feels

when we're sad, and what we can do to make ourselves feel better.

Everyone can feel sad sometimes.

But different people can react in different ways.

You might get tearful, or cry a lot,

lose your temper quickly, want to stay away from other people,

find it difficult to concentrate,

feel like other people don't understand how you feel.

There's no one way to react to feeling down.

When people can't put small, little issues behind them.

Life is so short, we should just try and all get along.

When I see other people upset.

Feeling left out, if I can't go to something that everyone else is.

When I know someone is suffering, and that I can't help them.

That really does get me down,

it makes me sad just thinking about that right now.

When I can't see my parents when I'm at school, because I'm working hard.

That gets me down.

We can all feel sad or down sometimes.

That's normal.

But you may have heard of the word "depression".

When someone is depressed,

they feel low or sad most or all of the time.

It happens when the happy hormones in a person's brain

are replaced by stress hormones.

Depression is an illness.

But it's not one that you can catch, like a cold.

Sometimes, a person can get depressed

because they're going through a tough time.

And sometimes there's no clear reason at all.

Depression is nobody's fault.

And it's not something to be embarrassed about.

There's a lot of help and support available.

And talking to someone YOU trust is a great start.

# Is there a storm

# In your head?

# Complete with rain and skies of grey?

# You'll need a place to pour it out

# So find a friend, to send the clouds away

# I hope you know

# That there are plenty

# Of people with bad weather in their heads

# They'll find a pal

# Share storms aloud

# And suddenly the sun is there instead. #

There are some simple things you can do to boost your happiness levels.

Number one, get outside, get fit, and make sure you're eating well.

Number two, keep a diary, to get out your bad feelings

and remember that there are good ones too.

Number three, listen to music, and do your own dance. Nobody's looking.

And most importantly, talk to someone.

PHONE RINGS

When I feel down I like to read to escape my troubles.

It takes me to another world, and makes me feel much better.

I can forget what's going on.

My best friend makes me laugh a lot.

She will sometimes do a cartwheel and then fall on her bottom yelling,

"Taa daa!" really loudly. It's the funniest thing ever.

Hanging out with some of my best friends on a warm spring afternoon.

It helps to write my feelings down, or to talk to someone that I trust.

My sister is always a source of joy,

she's always up for singing with me, so I always have a duet partner.

That's all for this Lifebabble.

If you want to find out more about feeling down, and who can help,

head to the CBBC website.

Remember, it's good to share how you feel with the people around you.

So keep babbling.

See you next time.