Life Without Blues

What to say:

1. You are not alone in this, I’m with you, I’m supporting you
2. I’m not going to leave you
3. I can’t understand what you are feeling, but I can offer my compassion and help
4. Do you want a hug?
5. We will get through this together
6. You are not going mad
7. You are important to me
8. I’m sorry that you are in so much pain
9. I’m going to take care of myself, so you don’t need to worry that your pain may hurt me

What not to say:

1. What’s wrong with you? (no need to ask that question every day)
2. Can’t you just snap out of it?
3. It’s all in your head
4. You’ll be ok. I’ve been depressed for a few days as well
5. Look on the bright side!
6. Why do you want to die if there’s so much to live for?
7. Nobody ever said that life was easy
8. Stop feeling sorry for yourself!
9. It’s all your fault!
10. Try not to be so depressed!

Technorati Tags: To help a depressed partner

Depression of one of family members often takes toll on the whole family, especially on partners. If you just found out that your partner has depression (it can be bipolar, dysthimia, post-partum or major depression), there are a few things to keep in mind. Firstly, your mental health is very important. The way you handle situation with your partner can help you both or be destructive for you and the realtionship. Secondly, you can lift the symptoms of depression of your significant other just by doing the right things. Here’s a list of some of them:

1. Educate yourself about depression. Depression is more than just being in a bad mood all the time, it is a biochemical process in the brain that stops neurotransmitters from sending signals to nerve cells. Learning what depression is all about helps you understand your partner and your relationship better.
2. Be understanding as depression takes a lot out of your partner.Your support and patience can help your partner to cope with pain and helplessness and your alertness can prevent a suicidal episode. Studies showed that a positive family atmosphere dramatically reduces the risk of a relapse in a depressive patient.
3. Don’t take symptoms of depression personally. Depressed people are often hostile, rejecting, irritable and moody. Unless you are aware of your partner’s condition you might take it as a sign of selfishness and immaturity.
4. Accept the limits of your significant other. Your partner can’t just “snap out” of depression, he or she can’t overcome the symptoms through sheer willpower, self-control, reasoning or “power of love”.
5. Take a good care of yourself. Helping a depressed partner can be difficult, it can even lead to a burnout. You should seek help with your family, friends, therapists and counsellors. 
6. Encourage your partner to seek professional help as untreated depressive episode can last for six moths or years.
7. Meet with depressed partner’s therapist. It can be helpful to talk to your partner’s doctor as it can give you a better understanding of your partner’s condition.
8. Discuss your feelings as a family. Depression affects the whole family and that’s why it is crucial to express your feelings, talk about issues and help each other with the situation.
9. Develop a plan in case of relapse. Write down all necessary addresses, names and phone numbers that you know what to do, whom to speak and where to take your partner when he or she has a relapse.
10. Change your and your partner’s lifestyle if necessary. Studies show that a change in eating habits and exercise plan can lift the symptoms of depression. Changing the lifestyle can lead to a better overall health of you and your partner and elevate the mood of the depressed person.

Technorati Tags: how to help depressed partner, Self help for depression

Depressed people often develop a sweet tooth due to the chemical process that is taking place in the brain during depression. But sugar has higher glycemic index, than starchy foods like pasta, rice or potatoes. Therefore, eating a candy will cause blood sugar levels to peak higher, boosting the serotonin level in the brain, then if we had a bowl of brown rice.

Chocolate is a perfect short-term drug against depression, as it thought to contain psychoactive substances such as anandamines (^?), caffeine, phenylethylamine (^?) and sugar.

Is sugar really that harmless and can be taken as much as you want when you feel down in the dumps? Nancy Appleton, PhD, clinical nutritionist compiled a list of 146 reasons in her book Lick the Sugar Habit on why we shouldn’t consume sugar at all. Here are just a few of them:

• Sugar can decrease growth hormone -the key to staying youthful and lean
• Sugar feeds cancer
• Sugar can weaken eyesight
• Sugar can interfere with the absorption of protein
• Sugar contributes to diabetes
• Sugar can cause cardiovascular disease
• Sugar can impair the structure of DNA
• Sugar contributes to the reduction in defense against bacterial infection (infectious diseases)
• Sugar greatly assists the uncontrolled growth of yeast infections
• Sugar contributes to osteoporosis

The only good thing about sugar is that it tastes good and makes us feel good. Temporarily.

Are there other alternatives to sugar? Yes, but most of them are neither safe, nor useful.

• Asparthame turns into formaldehyde in the body if heated above a certain temperature.
• Saccharine caused cancer in rats when given to them over a long period of time.
• Xylitol is quite expensive and can lead to diarrhoea.
• Honey still raises the level of blood sugar, which makes is unsuitable for diabetics.

However, one of sugar alternatives, stevia (^?), has been used for centuries by American Indians to treat diabetes. Stevia is a perennial shrub of the aster family, native to Central America and now cultivated in Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, United States, Israel, Thailand and China. The leaves contain several chemicals called glycosides, which taste sweet, but do not provide calories. The major glycoside is called stevioside. Stevia doesn’t increase blood sugar levels which makes it safe for diabetics and contains antioxidants, as recent studies showed.

Stevita Co. Inc., Spoonable Stevia, 16oz Jar, great for baking!

Low-carb diet might not be as healthy as it was previously thought. There’s a cetain proof of higher risk of clogged arteries and heart attack in the long-term in those who is on a low-carb diet.

And what about patients who suffer from depression?

Researches at MIT discovered that the brain produces serotonin only after a sweet or starchy carbohydrate meal that mustn’t be eaten in combination with proteins. So eating pasta or graham crackers, natural rice or whole-grain bread will allow the brain to make serotonin, but having steak and potatoes or a hamburger will prevent serotonin from being produced. Sometimes people still feel hungry after they have eaten a high-protein meal, which means that their brains are not making enough serotonin to shut off their appetite.

Most women on a low-carb diet miss carbohydrates the most after the second week of dieting. As women have much less serotonin in the brain that men, low-carb or serotonin-depleting diet will deprive them of the happiness-chemical making.

When we have carb cravings it means that our brain sends signals that we need certain food to stabilize our mood. As we experience a mood change usually in the late afternoon or mid-evening, that’s when we feel like eating something sweet or starchy. Our body regulates itself as long as we listen to it and make the right food choices.

If we don’t nurture our brain properly, irritability, restlessnes and grumpyness is something we have to deal with. Furthermore, munching on fatty foods like bacon or cheese makes us tired, lethargic and apathetic.

“When you take away the carbohydrates, it’s like taking away water from someone hiking in the desert,” Wurtman said. “If fat is the only alternative for a no- or low-carb dieter to consume to satiate the cravings, it’s like giving a beer to the parched hiker to relieve the thirst — temporary relief, but ultimately not effective.”

That’s why it is crucially important not to skip breakfast and include smart carbohydrates into your menu plan.

More posts:

Tip #1. Good Mood Breakfast

Technorati Tags: carbohydrate cravings, clinical depression, low-carbohydrate diet

1. Blackdoginstitute

The Black Dog Institute is a not-for-profit, educational, research, clinical and community-oriented facility offering specialist expertise in depression and bipolar disorder.

2. Helpguide

Helpguide’s mission is to help people understand, prevent, and resolve life’s challenges. We empower people with knowledge and hope. Our goal is to give you the information and encouragement you need to take charge of your health and well-being and make healthy choices.

3. WebMD: Depression

Professional resource with lots of slide-shows, discussion boards and articles.

4. Health: Viatal Information WIth a Human Touch

News, people’s stories and tips on coping with depression.

5. Clinical Depression.co.uk

Self-tests, depression learning program, depression withdrawal.

Technorati Tags: depression tests, resources on depression

It is estimated that there are between 10 percent and 25 percent of women and five percent and 12 percent of men will experience a major depressive episode at some point in their lives. While sadness, loss, passing mood states, or other normal emotional experiences are not persistent (may last up to 16 weeks), major depression leads to role impairment, reduced productivity and severe physical symptoms.

A typical MDD patient has an average of 35 days a year when he/she is unable to work or carry out normal everyday activities. Major depression increases risk of stroke, hypertension, heart disease and death due to heart attack. Research shows that about 57 percent of patients with MDD are treated for depression and only one in five of the patients receiving adequate treatment, which is usually antidepressants and psychotherapy.

Suicide is the 11th cause of death in the United States, as it kills 31,000 people each year and severely inflicts injuries on another 425,000 each year. The most suicides are committed in April. People who commit suicedes have one of the following conditions: clinical depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, postpartum depression, alcohol or drug abuse, PTSD, and chronic pain.

Technorati Tags: Facts About Clinical Depression

Here is another self help technique that will help you beat the blues, a kind of game that shows you how to set goals and achieve them.

Take several colorful post-its and write some easily achievable goals on each of them. Like “Take a pottery course” on a pink one, “Write down all things I like about my relationship” on a blue one and “Start working out from Monday on 3 x a week” on a yellow post-it. Stick all post-its near your desk or on the fridge so you can see them. Your objectives should be as simple as possible, so that achieving them gives you immediate gratification.

To find out more about negative thinking patterns and how they become a habit, read Dr. Luciani’s book “The Power of Self Coaching”. It is a great book regardless of whether you have a diagnosis of anxiety or depression or just struggling to deal with the stress of everyday life.

Technorati Tags: mind games for depression

Clinical depression can be a difficult health condition to handle on your own. You should always check with your doctor first, whether you need medication or not, but if you are taking anti depressant drugs and would like to eventually stop, or if you are having some depression but don’t want to take drugs for it, you can always consider self help methods to fight depression. There are three effective methods you can try, all of which can help you to tackle depression without lifelong drug dependency and nasty side effects from anti depressants. The first method is to get cognitive behavioral therapy or CBT. Depression and anxiety can be effectively treated with CBT, which is a kind of talk therapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy alone may not be enough and depending on the severity of your depression and you might consider medication. Although CBT might be a powerful method to heal yourself more naturally and work through the negative thinking patterns. I can recommend a workbook on CBT organized as a step-by-step program The Cognitive Behavioral Workbook for Depression: A Step-by-step Program (Workbook). The second way to remedy depression naturally is to change your diet.  The usual diet in developed countries is full of processed foods that may fill our stomachs but actually deprive us of good nutrition like white bread, white sugar, saturated fat, etc. For example, many people notice relief for depression in a few days by just giving up on white sugar in their diet. Loads of studies prove that the right diet with plenty of fatty fish, whole grains, leafy vegatables, selenuim-rich foods and vitamin D can enhance our mood dramatically.

The third approach to natural depression help is to give our body some exercise. You can practice exercise in everyday life like, for example, take the stairs rather than the elevator, park your car in the farthest spot in the lot, walk while you’re talking on the phone, or you can buy pilates of yoga video and exercise at home.

As you can see, there are plenty of proven ways to beat the blues naturally without drug dependence.

Technorati Tags: self help depression

Asparagus was cultivated by ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans and used as medicine and a vegetable. Traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurveda use roots and rhizomes as diuretic (elevates the rate of urination) and as a treatment for urinary tract infections.

Asparagus is a perennial member of the lily family. The spears we buy are the shots from an underground crown. It takes up to three years for crowns to develop enough to begin producing shoots, but once they do, they can produce for up to 20 years. There is a slight difference between white and green asparagus, as white asparagus appears to be milder and less crunchy than the green one. White asparagus when grown, is kept deprived of light and cannot produce chlorophyll, thus it doesn’t have the green color.

This vegatable has an exceptional value as antidepressant since it stimulates the brain activity and rejuvenates the nervous system. Asparagus also helps our body fight cancer, lowers cholesterol, prevents urinary tract and bladder infections as well as kidney stones, heart disease, colon cancer, liver disease and spina bifida, and it is top of the list of alkaline products.

Asparagus is a particularly rich dietary source of gluthathione. Gluthathione is a protein composed of three amino acids: cysteine, glutamic acid, and glycine. This is thought to be the most valuable detoxifying agent in the human body. Gluthathione has also been called the “master antioxidant” as it enhances the actions of lesser antioxidants such as vitamin A and vitamin E within the body. Dietary gluthathione intake protects us against certain forms of cancer in addition to potent anti-viral properties. Gluthathione is also a regenerator of our immune cells.

Another ingredient that makes asparagus so special for a healthy diet is rutin. Rutin is a bioflavonoid that is highly concentrated in asparagus stalks. Some studies have proven rutin to increase the strength of capillaries and regulate their permeability, as well as improving circulation to the lower limbs, by increasing the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood.

My suggestion is to serve steamed green asparagus sprinkled with olive oil and fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper. As simple as that.

Here is a short video teaching you how to cook asparagus with onions and red peppers.

Top 5 Foods That Fight Depression

Technorati Tags: asparagus, Foods That Fight Depression

A thinning in the right hemisphere of the brain may be associated with a higher risk for depression, U.S. researchers report. The study showed that those with depression in their family history had a 28% thinning of the right cortex (the brain outermost surface). So here is a proof that depression might be hereditary. Read more: Brain ‘Thinning’ May Indicate Susceptibility to Depression

Up to 20% of young people in United States experience a mental health issue each year. Symptoms that start in childhood occur in half of the adults who have mental, emotional and behavioral disorders. A number of school-, home- and community-based programs have successful records in preventing such conditions as depression, anxiety, behavioral issues and substance abuse. These programs are apparently worth duplicating across the country. Read more: U.S. Asked to Do More for Kids’ Mental Health

A recent study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology has found that being depressed could increase the likelihood that a person gets hit or killed by heart disease. Other known factors of heart diseases are smoking, hypertension and unhealthy cholesterol levels. Read more: Depression may Cause Heart Disease and Related Death

Technorati Tags: clinical depression, news