Archive for the ‘Staying Well’ Category

Top 5 Tips to Beat Depression

Sunday, November 25th, 2007

It’s a snappy title and I should get more traffic than normal. More importantly though, is there an easy, formulaic, 5 step method for overcoming depression? The answer is no, definitely not. If there was we wouldn’t be having a depression epidemic.

There are literally dozens of articles with similar headings to the one above. When I see them I immediately wonder if the writer has ever been depressed. Mental illness is anything but simple. Depression describes a broad spectrum of mood disorders, and there are many and varied treatments that provide different levels of success. Any “tip sheet” is by its nature superficial.

At the same time, such articles can be helpful. They aren’t normally written by medical or health professionals, so they provide input from outside traditional medicine. They give many ideas for lifestyle changes; ideas that won’t necessarily overcome depression by themselves, but nonetheless may be helpful to differing degrees for different people.

I’ve put links to a sample of articles below; some good and others pretty poor. I’ve summarized the tips from each so you can easily look further into what interests you.

You might also like to read my previous post What Works for Depression which is based on 2 research studies.

Please feel free to share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section below.

Top 5 Tips to Beat Depression
This is the only article in the 20 or so that I’ve read that suggests researching your illness and keeping a mood diary. Both of these are very underrated strategies that can get a person well on the road to recovery. The writer is also only one of two to discuss triggers. If you only read one of these articles then this should be the one.
Research depression, talk with someone, try different things to get well, mood diary, improved diet.

Ten Tips For Managing Your Depression
Of all the articles that I’ve read this is my favorite. It is well written and has a range of good, helpful strategies.
Sleep, exercise, less refined sugar, reach out to someone else, nutritious food, Omega 3, sunlight, yoga, meditation / prayer, professional help.

10 All Natural Ways to Stop Feeling Depressed
“The Blues” would be a better term than “Depressed” but there are still some helpful lifestyle ideas.
Emotional cycle, being with positive people, reflecting on past successes, gratitude, change of scenery, break in routine, animals and nature, get up and at it, find perspective, take action to help yourself.

10 Chemical-Free Strategies to Trick Yourself Out of the Blues
This writer doesn’t seem to understand depression. A couple of good points, but most strategies are ordinary at best and even bizarre.
Wear blue, take time out mentally, verbalise your anger to a friend, force your smiles, remove clutter, music, experiment with food, a concentration exercize, DIY aromatherapy, get in touch with your primal self through cooking.

Feeling Down? 7 Ways to Pick Yourself Back Up!
Another one that is more about “the blues” than depression, but the writer acknowledges the limitations of his advice. Some good ideas.
Make a list, take action, exercise, clean and straighten yourself up, get out of the house, lively music, talk about it with someone close.

Top 8 Tips for Living with Depression
This writer has a good range ideas, all of which can have an impact on depression.
Support group, manage stress, sleep, diet, control negative thoughts, stop procrastinating, learn to forgive

Top 10 Tips to Overcome Depression
Some interesting ideas, but the tips are a bit light for someone with true depression.
Talk, exercise, cry, sunlight, music, activity, write, balanced diet, affection, professional help.

5 Tips for Staving Off a Depression
Sound tips on how the writer deals with her own depression, before relying on medicine.
Work outdoors, eliminate the triggers, play music, exercise, maintain a positive attitude.

Five Tips for Reducing Depression
This one takes a different angle with the first two tips focusing on the media. There are some good ideas, but the article as a whole is weak in relation to depression.
Don’t read newspapers, turn off the television, be positive towards others, exercise, breathing and relaxation techniques.

Five Self-Care Strategies For Depression
Sound advice which includes exercise and adequate sleep – two of the most important.
Keep active, eat well, adequate sleep, minimize stress, maintain positive relationships.

Top 10 Tips for Beating Depression
This would be the worst article. The writer doesn’t seem to understand depression, viewing it more as a character flaw than a disease.
Develop interests, stay positive, fix your personal problems, create a positive social life, stop bad behavior, be realistic, make changes, become active, fix your diet, control your thinking.

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Trigger Unhappy

Tuesday, September 25th, 2007

This is the third post by Anna on being a carer. Earlier posts are The Depression Dialog and Know the Enemy.

I used to get so mad with James when he had major mood changes. Trivial little things seemed to set him off, but I saw no rhyme or reason to the whole mess. I staggered from one day to the next, not knowing what was coming, feeling like a punching bag.

In my last post I wrote about the diary I kept for 2 years; it was the key to working out what caused James’ mood swings. We made some breakthroughs just by reading it back from time to time, but most progress came from charting the data in an Excel spreadsheet. This gave us a clear, visual way to see the relationships between triggers and symptoms. We discovered a couple of major depression triggers this way, and also found that small things that were minor irritations would snowball with other events added in.

The trick for us was to discover which triggers were the most important ones, where the threshold was before they would have an impact, and what we could do to reduce their effects.

Here’s an example. We used to have a busy social life. Through my diary, I began to notice that 2 days after a meal out, James would spiral downwards very quickly and experience a period of depression for 5 or 6 days. It was a very strange, but consistent pattern. We eventually discovered that certain food additives were a trigger; things like preservatives, artificial colors and artificial flavors. Adjusting our lifestyles and upending our diets was difficult, but by doing so we pretty much eliminated one of his major triggers.

Another example is our “feral hour”, around dinner time when the kids are tired, hungry and cranky. Very loud noise is another trigger, since it causes James to become very irritable. If it becomes all too much he will disappear until the kids are calm again. He can now recognize when his irritability is rising, and so takes preventative action. The key is that we have agreed that he can do this when needed, so I don’t feel resentful for lack of help. Leaving me to handle “feral hour” alone is better than suffering another bout of depression.

This knowledge continues to be very helpful to us. We know the little things that can snowball, and we take action when, or before, these little things happen. It’s a preemptive strike, so to speak. Whenever a trigger or potential trigger comes along we have a specific plan to remove its effects. As a result James’ depressive and manic episodes have become more intermittent.

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Posted in Bipolar, Carers, Carers, depression, Staying Well, Staying Well | Comments Off

The Depression Dialog

Tuesday, September 18th, 2007

I’ve noticed from feedback that I’ve received, from two posts in particular (12 Ways to Care for Someone with Depression and Things to Say to Someone with Depression), that issues and worries facing carers are a major concern.

In response, my wife Anna will be writing 4 or 5 posts about these issues, spread over the coming 3 to 4 weeks, to relate how she has coped as a carer.

It’s really hard being a carer when all you want to be is a wife, husband, partner, or friend. It’s important to have strategies to deal with different situations and remain in your normal relationship as much as possible. This is what I want to work through in these posts.

I’ve learned over time that James and I can relate to each other in a rational manner even when he is ill. This has been a learning process; it hasn’t always been the case. And I still often feel like I’m walking on egg shells depending on the severity of the episode.

The key strategy that I’ve learned is how to talk to James when he is sick, either high or low. When he becomes ill he turns into a different person. I say goodbye to my husband, so to speak, and hello to bipolar James. In a depressive episode he becomes highly irritable and usually itches for a fight. Early on he will often make comments to bait me. “All I do is work, work, work, to support your lifestyle and your precious social group.” You can imagine what a red rag to a bull that comment is.

At this point I have 2 options:
1. Take the bait, have a messy fight and accelerate his downswing, or
2. Grit my teeth and say “it’s the illness speaking”. If I can do that then I have a much better chance of diffusing the situation. A comment like “You sound stressed about work – let’s talk” has better results and sometimes can even stop the mood swing.

Lately I’ve also been able to say “Let’s talk before you get stuck in a negative cycle of thinking.” This is huge progress for us. It usually results in a fairly sensible conversation.

James says some very hurtful things to me when he’s depressed, but I only tell him how he’s hurt me when he’s better. I wait until he is rational and can deal with it, rather than inflame the situation further when he is ill. I’ve also learned not to take his bait so personally, as I’ve come to recognize it for what it is.

It’s important to know that I couldn’t do this if I didn’t recognize the start of a mood swing. You need to listen to what is really being said before you reply to comments. Is the person sick? Are they really asking for help? Is this a normally held opinion? A few seconds of thought can save a lot of heartbreak.

Next time I can get on the computer I’ll write on learning about the illness and recognizing early symptoms.

Click here for the second post in this series.

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Posted in Bipolar, carer, Carers, Carers, depression, Mental Health, Stay Well Plans, Staying Well, Staying Well | Comments Off

The Stay Well Points Plan

Monday, September 10th, 2007

I’ve come up with a plan for maintaining health, which I’m calling the Stay Well Points Plan. I’ve seen it before for maintaining balance in work activities, but not for depression. I’ll be experimenting with it myself, so I’ll keep you posted. I hope others will also try it, or at least critique it in the comments.

The basic idea is to identify things that work well for you in your fight with depression. Things like taking your prescribed medicines, therapy sessions, exercise, meditation, massage or relaxation. There are many possibilities.

In my Points Plan I’ve also included things that are reliable triggers for my depressive episodes. These are having a bad argument with someone (major trigger), not getting adequate sleep for days on end, or any kind of very stressful situation.

Stay Well Points Plan

As you can see from the table I’ve allocated points to items according to their impact on my health. The only exception is medicine, which I’ve downgraded even though it’s crucial for me. It’s too easy to pick up those points each day.

The maximum amount of points in my table is 140 each day or 980 for the week. This is before deducting points for the triggers. I’ve set my aim for the week at 50% of total available points. If I can reach this then I’ll increase it next week. It might be worth adding in a reward for some motivatation.

I honestly think if I can consistently reach such a target, then I am well on the way to more stable health. And by relying on a range of positive strategies, I won’t be pinning my hopes on any single one.

So I’m off to do some exercise – something I haven’t done for months now – but it’s at the very top of my list.

If you want this simple template I’ve saved it for download as a Microsoft Excel file.

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