the after 30 part...

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...

When Mariah told me that for her 40th birthday she was going to Haines, staying in a cabin by the water, celebrating by hot tubbing and dancing (not at the same time), with some of her most favorite people, I immediately hoped I was one of those favorite people.  I was.  It was beautiful weather in Haines.  First stop was the Haines brewery for some yummy beer and then to the cabin for a wonderful salmon/halibut dinner from our host, Tom.  He also made a home made carrot cake!  Mariah is such a hoot.  She brought all these wonderful pretty dresses for everyone to wear out dancing.  We danced at the Pioneer Bar to a local band called, Swing Set , and had such a great time!  Have I mentioned how much I love dancing?  Happy 40th Birthday Mariah! Lisa, Marie, Nicholle, Charity, Cindy and Mariah The view.

b e - b o p be cool & be you MANIFESTO Join the Movement! Now is the time for spontaneity . Just be. Just bop . Just scat. Just that. Sure, there's classical rules about how to get it right; but don't be tied to old forms-- hold onto that feeling of floating free. Be a stand for asymmetry . Let it rip. Let it riff. Sing it just like Ella with those kooky , random vocables & syllables and nonsense lyrics without words at all. Just make up the sounds! Be-dah. Dee-dop . Doodly-skid. Ski-dah. Believe in art as improvisation . Hold the flag for the avant-garde. It's a true revolution in the art of jazz and living.  It's you !

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...

I'm taking a break from the depression blogging because I am getting so behind in all the other fun stuff I'm doing.  Last week we had our 2011 Seasonal party for Skagway Mining Co.  24 of us, (all 11 employees, me and our dates), took a bus up to Fraser, BC to Lake Bernard  for some kayaking.  It was a bit windy that day, and cold, but nothing was going to get in our ways.   Packer Expeditions  provided four awesome tour guides to take us around the lake.  The head wind wasn't as bad as I thought, and when you got into the little coves it was so relaxing and gorgeous.  Canada is so beautiful! Left to Right: Me, Erin Jakubek, Jen Funhauser, MJ Phillips, Teslyn Korsmo, Jon Sey, Sarah Dudley Kristin Moore, Marcos Cruz Diaz, Unknown, Unknown 2 (i'm horrible with names), Jared Foland, Katie Williams Will Dudley, Jason ?, Jene Foland, and Brittany Snell. Guess who?  (No it's not me.) Marcos and the bus driver, who was a very qui...

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...

In the last ten years that I have been to Skagway, I think I have only seen three 4th of July's.  I usually travel to Ketchikan, and last year I was stuck in Italy, or wait, was it Prague? hahaha *rich person sitting on a yacht laugh. (j/k)  Considering Ketchikan's weather this year, I'm glad I stuck around in the blue skied Skagway.   Marcos and I woke early and walked to the end of the block to watch the parade, which Marcos said "...was better than any Cadiz parade, because it was more genuine and personal."  The theme was "Old Fashioned" and old fashioned is what Skagway eminates on a daily basis.  From the old Fords and Chevy's to Jeff Smith's Parlor, the parade was the definite treat of the day. Afterwards, Marcos and I joined the egg toss, (see video below) and watched the many contests; tug of war, arm wrestling, slow bike race (it took forever!), train spikes, basketball, Uncle Sam Look a like, and horse shoe.  We finished the d...

Rhubarb Chicken wings?  Pulled pork Rhubarb burgers?  Rhubarb Pie?  I'm in.  The Skagway Rhubarb Festival was hosted at Jewell Gardens Saturday night.  Serving their yummy dinner, beer and wine, Marcos and I bundled up in the cold windy gardens and started filling our bellies.  There was a pie eating contest, a pie walk (Marcos won a pie!), a contest for the longest Rhubarb stalk, a cooking contest and much more!  I entered the cooking contests with white chocolate coconut rhubarb cookies, with vanilla cream frosting, but I lost.  (Thank you Paul & Peggy Hovik for the Rhubarb!) The cookies turned out delicious.  I had four today.  Don't judge me. Pie Eating Contest Great shot! The Steam Rollers, a local band.  The guy with the shades is one of my employees, Dave. Longest Stalk contest How silly we got after the party from all the SUGAR!

Most of you know my amazing friend Miss Barbie Hull , and if you don't, then you SHOULD!  Barbie and I have known each other since high school and she is one of the silliest persons I know.  So silly, that she has a blog called 'I love Facedowns '.  Facedowns?? What is a facedown? This is a facedown. Just like it sounds, laying face down.  And it's  HYSTERICAL!  Ps. that's Matt! She gets so many submissions every week for her Facedown Friday blog posts, that King 5 heard wind of it and wrote an article about it and it was also on TV!  Check out her latest facedown post of Michelle's Bridesmaids in Ketchikan, AK!  I'm the one in front, the blonde!

Last year I posted the Heard on the Wind from the The Skagway Newspaper.  I haven't been posting them this summer because I have been waaay too busy, but today I am home sick and have a lot of free time.  I hope you giggle cause some of these are soooo funny! Heard on the Wind The Skagway News June 24, 2011 Vo. XXXIV, No. 11 After a bus driver stopped on the Klondike to let his riders look at a bear on the side of the road, one woman got up and tried to get out the door.  The diver would not let her out, but the woman kept trying, so the driver got up and blocked her from the doorway.  The woman was told bears can be dangerous.  She then asked why the tour drivers don't tranquilize them so people like her can go up and pet them ********** Why do so many things advertise British Columbia, Alaska and Yukon?  Aren't they all the same thing?" ********** A 60-something New Zealander sitting at a bar said it was his dad's wish to come to Alaska...

Michelle called me before I left to Ketchikan and asked me if I wanted to run a 5k with her.  5k?  That's nothing, but I can't remember the last time I ran a mile without stopping.  After my pulled hamstring, my long distance running (5-7 miles) came to a halt, which was a few years ago, so to say the least, I wasn't in shape.  But I did it anyway. The run was a fundraiser for Southeast Alaska Independent Living (SEAL) and they encouraged you to wear costumes.  Michelle dressed up as a "run away bride", very appropriate since she was getting married that week and I went as.... um... I guess 80's?  I don't know. With an upset stomach (clearly this is Nicholle writing), Michelle and I set off a good pace from the Discovery Center down Tongass Avenue.  The route took us up Water Street onto 2nd Avenue, down Jefferson and then back along Tongass, onto the dock, around the Ketchikan Mining Co, and back to the discovery center. I made it without stop...