Interesting re> depression.......have you heard?

[Sela]

Hi all:

Just wondering if others have heard about this interesting stuff re depression and sleep:

http://www.nealhendrickson.com/mcdougall/2004nl/040300pudepression.htm

I don't know anything about this newsletter or the Doc there but wow!  Fantastic stuff eh?  So simple too.  And it does sound like such common sense......eat right, sleep right, excercise right = feel better.   Worth more investigation?  Maybe so.

It might not be the best idea to pitch meds completely out, at this moment, but certainly.....I see this as hopeful that those on meds might be drug free, some day, at least some people.   Imagine what a cool treatment centre that could be........the place with the proper meals,  light therapy, healing excercise and proper sleep evaluation??

One thing I do know, I had a friend who was on prozac for.......20 years and suddenly it seemed to stop working.  The docs tried different meds/doses etc.  but nothing seemed to work for her and within some weeks, she committed suicide.     Maybe such a place could have helped her?  Maybe there are places like that out there, I don't know.  I only know how I still miss my friend and wish I could have helped her.

Sela

[seasons]

(((Sela)))

I'm so sorry for you loss. Much love to you.......seasons



p.s. thank you so much for sharing the link.

[sea storm]

That was a really interesting site.
I am going to try some of those things. I definately noticed feeling better after exercising.

I am sorry that you lost your friend. Anti Depressants are not a cure all that is for sure. Too bad the medical community is relying on them so heavily. Probably it is the bottom dollar that influences such a choice.

Sea Storm

[Sela]

Dear Seasons:

Thankyou for your kind words and for sending love.  Also, glad you liked the link.  I find it interesting.  I hope there will be more study in this area.

Sea Storm:  Thankyou too for your sympathy.  Ya, the bottom line might be money or possibly.....it could be a lack of understanding and knowledge of how such things work/help??  I hope it's the latter and there will be more learned and put into practice.

Glad you are willing to try some of the stuff mentioned.  What's to lose?  Hope it helps!

Sela

[Hopalong]

(((((((((((((Sela)))))))))))))))))))

I'm so sorry about your friend.

That really hurts. I know you'll always remember her.

Hops

[SilverLining]

That was a really interesting site.
I am going to try some of those things. I definately noticed feeling better after exercising.

I am sorry that you lost your friend. Anti Depressants are not a cure all that is for sure. Too bad the medical community is relying on them so heavily. Probably it is the bottom dollar that influences such a choice.

Sea Storm

I agree the bottom dollar is a big issue.  Other influences are convenience and fast results.  Even if a person has  a very unhealthy lifestyle, it seems the anti depressants will make them feel better, at least for awhile. 

I went through the whole mill of taking anti depressants for several years, having them "poop out," and then finally pitching them out the door and addressing the lifestyle issues.  I haven't taken prescription drugs for eight years now, and I feel far better now than I did while I was taking them. 

It may not work for everybody, but I suspect many depressed people have other chemical and lifestyle issues (e.g. alcohol, tobacco, no exercise, lack of nutrients) which need to be addressed.   

[Sela]

Hi all:

Thanks Hops.  Yes.  I will always remember my friend.  Her death was quite a shock and a great loss (to many).  I do believe she is happy now, though, so that helps.  She was such a kind and loving soul.

Hi Tjr100.  Yes, I'm sure you're right about there being other influences.  Lot's of people want a quick fix eh?  And who wants to do work to get better?   I'd rather it would just happen (but I know that is unrealistic, at least, so that's a good thingy eh?).

I'm glad to hear that making lifestyle changes has helped you so much!  That's wonderful!  And it gives me hope too.  I'm kinda anti-med (my personal choice) yet I know what you say is true:

many depressed people have other chemical and lifestyle issues (e.g. alcohol, tobacco, no exercise, lack of nutrients) which need to be addressed

...true in my case.  And I have addressed some of those and am working to finish up and yep......it's all helping.  Not easy but very worth it.  I'm looking forward to feeling healthy and fit!  Man!  Am I looking forward to it!  But again........I need patience!  I want it now!!!  It's so hard and it's taking so long!! 

I posted this link about depression because I was thinking about my friend and about my own downward spiral into depression and the different outcomes.  She's dead.  I feel like I'm recovering.  And it's scary to think it could easily have been the other way 'round.

So what made the difference?  Why did she give up and I didn't?  We were both experiencing huge losses and great traumatic events around the same time (but we didn't know bout each other's cirumstancess).  It's very sad.  We might have leaned on eachother.  Maybe things might have been different?

Is that another bout of guilt coming on?      (shakes head). 

I do hope the link will help others......maybe someone who is really feeling low.  Please don't give up.  Please try something different.  This is the time of year when people begin to feel depressed and maybe it would help to get outside and walk in the sunlight......or even the clouds?  Maybe it wouldn't hurt to eat a nice bowl of chicken soup and whole wheat bun, an apple, a few carrot sticks?  Maybe it would be worth having sleep patterns evaluated?

I wish I could have said this to my friend.  I'm talking to just anybody who's feeling so hopeless......

Please reach out.  You don't have to be alone through this.  There is stuff that might help and people who are feeling the same way you are.  Don't give up! Please don't quit.

((((((((((((((((((((hug)))))))))))))))))))))

Sela

[seastorm]

As someone who is struggling with depression and post traumatic stress I understand how hard it is to find the answers and to find someone to listen and care.

Thanks for the information and the kind thoughts.

Sea Storm

[Hopalong]

Hi Sea,

Are Saturday nights rough?

My mother, 96, now and then mentions a song they used to hear during the war, called:
"Saturday Night is the Loneliest Night of the Week".

When she and my dad first began to date, he would take her out on Friday but not Saturday.
She fretted about it but always recounted how when she finally mentioned it, he said with a grin,
"But Saturday night is bath night!" (He was just home smoking his pipe and puttering about.)

Do you smoke a pipe, Sea? What are your Saturday night comforts?

I just went to a girlfriend's house and watched The Good Shepherd. Bleak but gripping film.

hugs,
Hops