Crazy Girl

I wanted to share the habits I follow that have helped me with depression and anxiety.  While I am on antidepressant (fondly known as my crazy pills or happy pills), these habits are a great compliment to the medication.

1. Plan – Because I know that I can relapse into depression, I can plan ahead.  Part of the planning is following the other nine habits, like making sure I have someone to talk me off the ledge, so to speak.  In addition, I try to avoid situations or triggers that I know can send me downward.  Over time, those triggers have become far less powerful because of my dedication to these habits.
2. Share – It is so important to have someone you can speak with about all of the stuff going on in your head, bad and good. A therapist is best, but talking with a relative or good friend can be very therapeutic. Just try not to abuse the support.  When I was younger and I reached out to my mother during an “episode”, I unwittingly pulled her down with me. She would get off the phone emotionally depleted and not really anxious to speak with me again for a week or so. I now have a very supportive husband who helps me to see things clearly with both humor, patience and love.
3. Connect – Be with people, and I don’t mean on Facebook. Real, live human contact is amazingly therapeutic.  I know it can be hard.  When I am down, it is typically the last thing I want to do.  But it is far easier if you get involved as part of a club, team or group.  I work, so I am around people in the office, which can help.  But, I have also been a team mom for my son’s sports and because people relied on me, I had to be there and interact.  There are lots of ways to get involved – just find something that truly inspires you.
4. Cleanse – I am not talking about personal hygiene (although that can suffer when you spend a weekend in bed watching a Law and Order marathon – been there, done that). What I mean by cleansing is ridding your mind of negative thoughts. Believe me, this is far easier said that done. However, it has been very useful to me. A small thought can sometimes snowball into an obsession. Because I am aware that this is my pattern, I try to stop it before it gets out of control. I sit down in a calm and quiet place, focus on my breathing and remind myself that this is my disorder taking over.  My negative thoughts are a symptom of my illness and not my normal thought pattern. I try to clear my mind or turn my thoughts to something positive, which leads me to point 3.
5. Be Grateful – I try every day to keep positive by reminding myself of all of the good things in my life, or all of the things I am grateful for. It can be my family, a beautiful sunrise or a day that I don’t see a single Kardashian in the news. Right now, I am grateful for my sweet cat who loves to sit on my lap.
6. Forgive – Once I started treating my depression, a fog started to lift and I could see clearly the mistakes that I had made while I was caught up in my problems. Upon that realization, I felt a great deal of guilt and regret. There were friends I had neglected, opportunities I had missed and stupid mistakes I had made along the way.  Asking forgiveness from friends was easy, asking forgiveness from myself was not. Forgiving myself is an ongoing process.  When I was depressed, I was my own worst enemy.  I held myself back from living a full life and did some illogical things.  While now understand that my decisions were being influenced by my depression, it is still hard not to beat myself up. A therapist offered me some very helpful advice. At every point in my life I made the best decisions that I could based on the tools and information I had.  So, I cannot beat myself up for things I could not know or understand.  I need to forgive the person that I was then and let go. And, I need to keep my head in the present and enjoy who I am today.
7. Give – Helping others is a great way to get out of your own head and give you a larger sense of purpose.  Over the years, I have been a Big Sister, sponsored children in third world countries, served food to the homeless, washed the feet of the homeless (Oh yes, I did! It was both disgusting and humbling and I am going straight to heaven.) been a team mom and helped to fund raise for various causes. Now, I find that it is the little things that are the most rewarding such as helping out elderly neighbors or mentoring younger women at work.
8. Focus  – Even if you work full time, it is good to have an outside focus or a hobby. I find it very helpful to lose myself in an activity such as reading, gardening, painting (the art at the header of this blog is my work) etc.  This type of focus can give your mind a rest and stop it from wandering into worrisome thoughts.  I find the best hobbies are ones in which you become so absorbed, that you lose track of time.
9. Rest – Anxiety and depression can cause many sleepless nights, but rest is one of the most important steps to helping control mood.  A good night sleep allows not only your body, but your mind to rest.  When I am well-rested, my mind is clear and it is easier to see my problems in a rational way.  A recent Stanford study on cognitive behavioral treatments for insomniac, depressed people showed that when insomnia was fixed, depression treatment success doubled.
10. Exercise – Exercise is nature’s own anti-depressant!  It releases chemicals in the brain called endorphins which trigger a positive feeling in the body (and mind). The feelings triggered by endorphins have been compared to a morphine high, without the addiction.  In fact, a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine shows that exercise can be just as effective than anti-depressant medication. I try to exercise every day. Typically, I hike, jog or use the elliptical at the gym. But, I feel the benefits even when I walk briskly for 35 minutes a day.  You can learn more about exercise and depression here.
11. Diet – You are what you eat!  There is no doubt that diet can effect your mood.  I include the following in my diet to keep both my mind and body healthy.
    1. Foods rich in antioxidants –  Studies show that the brain is particularly at risk for free radical damage. Although there’s no way to stop free radicals completely, we can reduce their destructive effect on the body by eating foods rich in antioxidants as part of a healthy diet. Foods rich in antioxidants include apricots, broccoli, cantaloupe, carrots, peaches, pumpkin, spinach, sweet potato, blueberries and  broccoli.
    2. Complex Carbs – Carbohydrates are linked to the mood-boosting brain chemical, serotonin. But, I steer clear of white and sugary carbs including white breads and rice, cakes and cookies, etc.  Healthy carb options include brown rice, whole grains, fruits and many vegetables.
    3. Omga-3 fatty acids – Some studies say omega-3 fatty acids may ease the mood changes of depression. Fatty fish like salmon, tuna, and mackerel have omega-3s. So do flaxseed, nuts, soybeans, and dark green vegetables.
    4. Vitamin B12 – B12 is another mood booster.  It  can be found in seafood, fortified cereals and dairy products.
    5. Avoid Sugar – Sugar can be a temporary mood booster, but the crash is worse than the high.  According to Psychology today “The roller coaster of high blood sugar followed by a crash may accentuate the symptoms of mood disorders. Research has tied heavy sugar consumption to an increased risk of depression.”