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If someone you love is depressed, here's 12 springy ways to practice self-care together.

Did you know that for some people dealing with depression or mental illness, it's often spring, not winter, that's the hardest time of year?

Why? It's complicated. It might be something about how sunlight affects our hormones. Or some connection to allergies and inflammation. Or it could also be cultural — spring comes with a lot of pressure to feel cheerful, and nothing makes you feel worse than being told to be happy when you just can't.

With that in mind, spring is basically the perfect time (other than all the time) to practice a little self-care.

Here are 12 springtime things that might inspire you if you (or your loved one) are feeling down as the season rolls in:

1. The rush of going over your budget in the garden section of Home Depot.

Image from Celeste Lindell/Flickr.

There's nothing like getting down and dirty with some potting soil. Even better, studies have shown that having plants in your home can improve productivity and mood!

2. Walking around in baseball gear two weeks before the first game of the season.

"Take me out to the ball game, take me out to the crowd!" Image from Leon Halip/Getty Images.

One study from the University of Kansas suggested that being a sports fan could help buffer us from bouts of depression.

3. Napping is just more enjoyable when it's done in the sun. It's, like, a fact.

Mmmmmm. Image from Ewen Roberts/Flickr.

According to the CDC, a fourth of people are vitamin D deficient, which some studies link to depression and fatigue. So cuddle up and take in those rays (and maybe invest in some supplements if that's what you're into).

4. There's no better time to take your bikes out on the road!

Just be sure to wear a helmet! And dodge the potholes. Image from Nelson L/Flickr.

Multiple studies have shown that regular exercise can help get those endorphins pumping.

5. Hitting the park with all your friends (and everyone else on the planet, apparently)...

Image by David Orban/Flickr.

Pack a picnic lunch, a frisbee, or your favorite book, and just relax on a sprawling lawn together.

6. ...and then thinking of the perfect April Fool's Day pranks to play on each other!

Either this is a prank, or that child is about to destroy us all. Image from Lars Andersen/Wikimedia Commons.

...of course, then you'll spend the whole day worried they're about to do the same to you.

7. Sit outside with your dog or volunteer at a local shelter. Sometimes caring for a furry friend is the best kind of self-care.

Happy dogs who are covered in mud. A lot of mud. And who want to jump up on you right now.

Not to mention, hanging out with your best animal pal can help relieve anxiety and improve your mood.

8. In spring, people watching becomes 1,000% more entertaining!

Image from Haritz_Euskal Dantzari Taldea/Flickr.

Even if you're feeling down, sitting outside and watching buskers, performers, and strangers pass by on the street can sometimes put a smile on your face.

9. If you're near D.C., take some time to watch the cherry blossoms fall (and pretend you're in Japan)...

And then sweep up the two metric tons of cherry blossom petals off your front porch. Image from Nathan Wong/Flickr.

10. Or, if you're on the West Coast, enjoy the 1.5 months before California turns completely brown again...

Don't worry, it'll be back to "Mad Max: Fury Road" soon enough. Image from tdlucas5000/Flickr.

11. ... or, if you're in the South, go see the entire state of Texas turn blue.

Image from Earl McGehee/Flickr.

Any of these options are good — nature walks can help lower stress and improve mental well-being. Wherever you are, find a park or nature center and go for a long walk.

12. Spring brings beautiful flowers, bright sunlight, and warm weather, but one of the best things is how it can inspire us to take care of ourselves.

Image from Eneas de Troya/Flickr.

And if you're the one who's depressed, I know it's hard, but there's never been a better time to focus on yourself and what you need. Take each day as you can. Reach out to friends and doctors if you need to. Remember to treat yourself well.

Everyone deserves a happy spring.

Community

Facebook group brings people together IRL to make meaningful friendships

True

Making new friends as an adult is challenging. While people crave meaningful IRL connections, it can be hard to know where to find them. But thanks to one Facebook Group, meeting your new best friends is easier than ever.

Founded in 2018, NYC Brunch Squad brings together hundreds of people who come as strangers and leave as friends through its in-person events.

“Witnessing the transformative impact our community has on the lives of our members is truly remarkable. We provide the essential support and connections needed to thrive amid the city's chaos,” shares Liza Rubin, the group’s founder.

Despite its name, the group doesn’t just do brunch. They also have book clubs, seasonal parties, and picnics, among other activities.

NYC Brunch Squad curates up to 10 monthly events tailored to the specific interests of its members. Liza handles all the details, taking into account different budgets and event sizes – all people have to do is show up.

“We have members who met at our events and became friends and went on to embark on international journeys to celebrate birthdays together. We have had members get married with bridesmaids by their sides who were women they first connected with at our events. We’ve had members decide to live together and become roommates,” Liza says.

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Members also bond over their passion for giving back to their community. The group has hosted many impact-driven events, including a “Picnic with Purpose” to create self-care packages for homeless shelters and recently participated in the #SquadSpreadsJoy challenge. Each day, the 100 members participating receive random acts of kindness to complete. They can also share their stories on the group page to earn extra points. The member with the most points at the end wins a free seat at the group's Friendsgiving event.

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3,700-year-old Babylonian stone tablet gets translated, changes history

They were doing trigonometry 1500 years before the Greeks.

via UNSW

Dr. Daniel Mansfield and his team at the University of New South Wales in Australia have just made an incredible discovery. While studying a 3,700-year-old tablet from the ancient civilization of Babylon, they found evidence that the Babylonians were doing something astounding: trigonometry!

Most historians have credited the Greeks with creating the study of triangles' sides and angles, but this tablet presents indisputable evidence that the Babylonians were using the technique 1,500 years before the Greeks ever were.

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Dad takes 7-week paternity leave after his second child is born and is stunned by the results

"These past seven weeks really opened up my eyes on how the household has actually ran, and 110% of that is because of my wife."

@ustheremingtons/TikTok

There's a lot to be gleaned from this.

Participating in paternity leave offers fathers so much more than an opportunity to bond with their new kids. It also allows them to help around the house and take on domestic responsibilities that many new mothers have to face alone…while also tending to a newborn.

All in all, it enables couples to handle the daunting new chapter as a team, making it less stressful on both parties. Or at least equally stressful on both parties. Democracy!

TikTok creator and dad Caleb Remington, from the popular account @ustheremingtons, confesses that for baby number one, he wasn’t able to take a “single day of paternity leave.”

This time around, for baby number two, Remington had the privilege of taking seven weeks off (to be clear—his employer offered four weeks, and he used an additional three weeks of PTO).

The time off changed Remington’s entire outlook on parenting, and his insights are something all parents could probably use.

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Voice recordings of people who were enslaved offer incredible first-person accounts of U.S. history

"The results of these digitally enhanced recordings are arresting, almost unbelievable. The idea of hearing the voices of actual slaves from the plantations of the Old South is as powerful—as startling, really—as if you could hear Abraham Lincoln or Robert E. Lee speak." - Ted Koppel

Library of Congress

When we think about the era of American slavery, many of us tend to think of it as the far distant past. While slavery doesn't exist as a formal institution today, there are people living who knew formerly enslaved black Americans first-hand. In the wide arc of history, the legal enslavement of people on U.S. soil is a recent occurrence—so recent, in fact, that we have voice recordings of interviews with people who lived it.

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If someone you love is depressed, here's 12 springy ways to practice self-care together.

Did you know that for some people dealing with depression or mental illness, it's often spring, not winter, that's the hardest time of year?

Here are 12 springtime things that might inspire you if you (or your loved one) are feeling down as the season rolls in:

1. The rush of going over your budget in the garden section of Home Depot.

2. Walking around in baseball gear two weeks before the first game of the season.

3. Napping is just more enjoyable when it's done in the sun. It's, like, a fact.

4. There's no better time to take your bikes out on the road!

5. Hitting the park with all your friends (and everyone else on the planet, apparently)...

6. ...and then thinking of the perfect April Fool's Day pranks to play on each other!

7. Sit outside with your dog or volunteer at a local shelter. Sometimes caring for a furry friend is the best kind of self-care.

8. In spring, people watching becomes 1,000% more entertaining!

9. If you're near D.C., take some time to watch the cherry blossoms fall (and pretend you're in Japan)...

10. Or, if you're on the West Coast, enjoy the 1.5 months before California turns completely brown again...

11. ... or, if you're in the South, go see the entire state of Texas turn blue.

12. Spring brings beautiful flowers, bright sunlight, and warm weather, but one of the best things is how it can inspire us to take care of ourselves.

They were doing trigonometry 1500 years before the Greeks.

“ALL unwanted pregnancies are caused by the irresponsible ejaculations of men. Period. Don't believe me? Let me walk you through it."

"These past seven weeks really opened up my eyes on how the household has actually ran, and 110% of that is because of my wife."

This incredible medical tattoo technology is giving renewed hope to burn victims.

Meet Samira Omar.

All the misogyny and racism you may not have noticed are now gone.

Remember those beloved Richard Scarry books?

But here's something you may not have known about these classics: They've been slowly changing over the years.

1. First up: The cover got a makeover. It might seem subtle at first glance, but look closely.

2. Men can be flight attendants and women can be pilots. And, you know, they don't have to be hot.

3. Christmas isn't the only holiday people celebrate.

4. Mommy Bears are no longer expected to have breakfast prepared for Daddy Bears...

5. Because guess what?! Dads can cook, too! (Even Dad Bunnies.)

6. Helping professions aren't just for men.

7. Regular people need rescuing, too.

8. "I" is for "ice cream" — and not stereotypical depictions of Native Americans.

Anyone else up for modernizing other classic kids' books so we can feel good about sharing them with our kids?

"The results of these digitally enhanced recordings are arresting, almost unbelievable. The idea of hearing the voices of actual slaves from the plantations of the Old South is as powerful—as startling, really—as if you could hear Abraham Lincoln or Robert E. Lee speak." - Ted Koppel