Navigating Depression This Winter: Essential Questions to Ask Yourself

As winter sets in, it’s not just the flu that spreads like a virus—depression does too. The walls start to close in on you, the clouds weigh down on you, going to work feels like a burden, and even the simplest daily tasks begin to exhaust you. Add financial troubles and social relationship issues to that, and it’s perfectly natural to feel cornered in life, unable to see ahead, and crushed under the weight of uncertainty.

In this piece, I’m not going to try to explain everything in detail. We’ve already talked at length about things like vitamin D, professional help, and social support—covering every aspect of life. Today, I’m simply going to answer the question “Where should I start?” with a list of questions I’ve prepared.

Of course, these are difficult questions—some without clear answers—but if you push yourself a bit, they can help you see what’s truly important to you, what’s just an empty desire, and what your priorities are. They’ll also help you spot clues about your own vision, your goals, and the kind of roadmap you might need to escape the dead ends in your life.

The aim here is to bring your career, personality, and expectations together at a common point. Once you manage that, your joy in life will naturally increase. The hard part is often knowing where to begin—drawing the big picture for yourself and following it. I hope these questions make that hard path just a little easier.

• What do I enjoy doing?
• What do I not enjoy doing?
• What are the things I absolutely do not want to do?
• What is something I deeply desire and feel passionate about? If there’s nothing right now, what could I become that passionate about?
• What is my mission in life? What could be the purpose of my existence?
• If I were to describe my character, what would I say about my personality at its core? What are the first 3 words or adjectives that come to mind about myself?
• How would I like people to know me and introduce me?
• What am I good at? What do I do well?
• What am I bad at?
• What’s the strangest thing about me?
• What’s my archetype? (The behavioral patterns I believe exist at my core)
• What have I achieved in life so far? (Even if you think you haven’t achieved anything, remember that surviving itself is an achievement. But when you ask yourself this, think about moments when you truly felt successful.)
• What have I messed up so far? Where have I failed? (Failure is part of life. If you can list your failures honestly, you can learn from them and adjust your approach.)
• What do I like about my life?
• What do I dislike? What do I want to change?
• Who is my role model? Who do I admire and look up to? Why is this person (or these people) my role model? Why do I take them as an example?
• What obstacles and difficulties are in front of me? (Both work-related and in other areas of life)
• What is my career goal? (Making lots of money is not a goal, but creating an economic plan can increase your motivation in life.)
• How do I imagine my future? What kind of life do I want to live?
• What are my talents, skills, and abilities? How much am I able to use them in my daily life?
• What areas am I lacking in and feel I need to improve?
• What makes me happy?
• What are my needs? (Examples: experience, self-confidence, freedom, money, creativity, problem-solving, rationality, helpfulness, empathy, etc.)
• What are my core needs, the ones at the very center of my being? (Examples: autonomy, putting more of myself into what I do, building stronger bonds with people, developing my abilities, being a source of inspiration, etc.)
• What is my purpose in life? What activities make time fly by? (The things you enjoy so much that you forget how time passes, even skipping meals or bathroom breaks while doing them.)
• If I had no limitations and could do anything I wanted, anytime I wanted, what would I do?
• What do I not want to do?
• What kind of person do I not want to be?
• Who am I right now? What makes me me?
• What are the main obstacles keeping me from being who I want to be, doing what I want to do, or reaching my goals?
• What are my top 3 core values? (Your stance in life—your absolute non-negotiables)
• What fields of work might interest me?
• What do I dislike about my current job?
• What do I like most about my job? Why am I working in this field / why did I study this? What were my dreams when I chose this profession?
• What are my strengths and weaknesses?
• What do I desire most right now?
• What are the top 5 areas I could work in?
• Which jobs align with my dreams?
• What do I need to know or learn to do that job? What should I do to reach that goal?
• Do I have long- and short-term plans? If yes, what’s on my to-do list? If not, why don’t I have one?
• Which item on my list can I start right away?
• Which ones are priorities? Which are must-haves, which are nice-to-haves, and which are unnecessary?
• Which ones do I not have time for?
• Which ones am I already doing right now?
• Which ones do I want to do in the short term?
• Which ones do I plan to start at the first opportunity?
• Which ones can wait a long time?
• Which ones should I remove from my list?

That’s it for the questions. It took me more than two weeks to answer them, organize my thoughts, and filter them honestly with myself. Think carefully and answer honestly. Leave no question unanswered. Don’t see your shortcomings as negatives. The goal is to recognize and accept your current reality—and take it as your starting point. The rest will come, step by step.