the after 30 part...

It's that time of year again. A chance to pledge to the world all the things in your life you want to change, do, or overcome. Some see it as any other day, other's welcome it for a chance to forget the past and start over. I see it as a day of reflection. How was I changed in 2011? Do I have any regrets? Was I happy? What was my favorite moment and why? Who did I meet and what did I learn from them? I put all my discoveries, my tools, my learning experiences in my pocket for safe keeping and walk into 2012, prepared and ready to keep climbing in my own personal voyage of life. I make resolutions every year. Sometimes I follow through, and other times I just get too busy and forget my focus. In the last two years, I have accomplished three out of the five resolutions that I made each year. This year I climbed a lot stairs instead of taking the elevator, which I might add, is not that easy. I got lost in a lot of buildings! Why do they make stairwells so dark, boring and way ou...

This was a thought in my head as I went out on my run today.  A run, might I add, that was not only my second work out for the day, but a work out that I CRAVED!  I actually felt the need to RUN, which I haven't felt since I was 27.  And it was dumping buckets of rain, but I wouldn't let that stop me.  Three weeks into implementing all six steps of the Depression Cure and I'm feeling better than I have in a very long time.  So what am I doing differently and how?  Let me break it down to you again (the 6 steps). Me: 6-7 days a week (I still believe in free days!) I wake up at 7 am to sit in front of my light box (step 4).   I play scrabble, read emails, study Spanish, etc., for at least 30 minutes in front of my exceedingly bright light.  It kind of feels like a UFO is in the room, it's that bright.  Let me note though, that 7 am is like 3 am for most.  7 am is still night time, 7 am is EARLY!  Ask m...

Finally, the last step to the Therapeutic Lifestyle Change (TLC) six step program to beat depression without drugs.  Sleep. How is your sleep? Do you toss and turn and struggle to get to sleep at night?  Do you wake up throughout the night, disturbing you from getting the essential slow-wave sleep your body needs?  Do you wake up too early and can't seem to fall back asleep?  Do you have anxiety at night?  Are you tired all day long but then can't sleep at night?  If you said yes to any of the above, then keep reading! Sleep disturbances is one of the major symptoms of depression, but it is also a trigger for the illness. When our bodies are deprived of sleep, even for a night, our memory and concentration wanes, we get more irritable, our judgement is poor (I find that I eat unhealthy food when I'm tired), reaction time slows down, coordination and energy say bye bye and we get sick easier. (194)  Sick as in colds and flu's but also as in depr...

As humans, we are not meant to be alone.  We are born to connect.  Even as babies, we cried when we needed touch, or as Dr. Ilardi tells in the book, "...babies instinctively know it's (being alone) a recipe for biological disaster" (163).  If we are left alone for a few days, not only do we feel lonely, but all sorts of negative effects start happening.  "Our stress hormones escalate, mood and energy plummet, and key biological processes quickly fall out of balance" (163/64).  Hundreds of years ago, people ate together, played together, talked together, and lived together.  Today we are living more disconnected than we ever did in our past.  We text, instead of talk, chat online with people we don't even know (which is better than not chatting to anyone at all), stay in doors, eat alone, live alone, sleep alone, and recreate alone.  "Nearly 25% of Americans have no intimate social connections at all, and countless others spend the bulk of their t...

Being that I was raised in Alaska, I always knew the importance of light for one's mental health.  Growing up I always heard about Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, but never once contributed it to my diagnoses of clinical depression.  Did you know that America is less happy and more sluggish in the winter and that the rate of clinical depression goes up?  "An estimated 20% of the population battles the "winter blues", with at least some clinically significant depressive symptoms between November and March" (140). Considering that most Americans work 8-10 hours a day, finding the time to be outside can be a struggle.  Our ancestors spent the majority of the day outside, farming, hunting, gathering, playing, yet I am barely getting an hour a day, and the few minutes I do get outside, it's usually overcast and raining. Why is light so important?  Bright light stimulates the brain's production of serotonin.  It's the neurotransmitter that helps wit...

Okay friends, on to step three: Exercise. Everyone knows that exercise is beneficial for our physical health, but many don't realize how equally important it is for our mental health. "Exercise is medicine-one that affects the brain more powerfully than any drug" (117).  The great Dr. Ilardi mentions clinical studies that has even proved that quote, comparing Zoloft with exercise among depressed patients, and the conclusion was that in the long term, the exercisers remained depression-free. I remember I used to love working out.  Even before I lost my weight (when I was 27, I lost 16-20lbs), I used to enjoy exercise on a weekly basis, at least.  Then when I started on my weight loss program, I loved it even more.  I became a machine... running more than I ever thought I could, and even called myself a "runner".  I remember feeling the best I ever have, mentally and physically.  My workouts, however, came to a stop when I pulled a hamstring, and ever...

Did you know that cows regurgitate grass in the form of cud, "a bolus of semi-digested food"?  Then they eat up that cud and chew on it for hours, breaking it down into smaller pieces so it can be fully digested.  Why am I talking about cows and their digestive systems?  Dr. ILardi, author the The Depression Cure, uses the cows digestive process, which is also known as rumination, as a metaphor for how us humans ruminate on thoughts.  We chew on them for hours.  Eh, let me rephrase that.  Most people dwell on something maybe 5-10 minutes, find some clarity in the situation or if none, move on. Depressed people, however, think about things for hours, mostly negative thoughts and then break down and have what I call "a bad day".  I have had way too many "bad days" for me to count, but my mother can vouch, as she is the one I call when I can't pick myself back up. When a person mulls over things "way past the point when enough is enough", sever...

Thank you for the feedback to those who wrote to me about my last blog.  I received a lot of emails, phone calls, and support from friends and family and I just love that you are all behind me.  I had only planned on talking about my experience with the program, if I feel better, or worse, etc... but the more I read, and from comments by you, I want to share a little bit more.  I want to share what is getting me excited, what is giving me hope, the clinical research that Dr. Stephen Ilardi reports, because I think it is important.  Knowledge is power and the more you know, the better you can take care of yourself and your health.  I am not getting my hopes up, or putting any expectation into this program, but when I get excited about something, I just have to share it with all of you. According to The Depression Cure by Stephen S. Ilardi, PhD, there are 6 steps in his program to beat depression without using drugs.  They are: Dietary omega-3 fatty acid...

A little over three years ago, I was sitting in a cafe in Turkey with my then-boyfriend, Hans-Eric, and I had my first big anxiety attack.  The cafe had a view of the sea that I will never forget.  It was a beautiful day, a calm turquoise blue ocean, and I remember sitting there, trying so hard to pretend everything was okay.  "Just focus on the horizon, look at the sea, just breathe."  I didn't want Hans-Eric to see me freaking out.  I was like a duck on water, calm and collective on the outside, but scared and paddling like hell underneath it all.  The day before I woke up anxious, Hans-Eric and I were happy.  We were on vacation in Turkey for a wedding of one of Han's colleagues.  It was also the same week as his 30th birthday.  I remember walking through town with him, holding his hand, looking at silly tourist items, and saying no to the pushy vendors.  We came upon a...