Beating Depression in Six Simple Steps: Sleep

This is the fifth of my seven posts on beating depression without meds.  Share any one of my posts in this series on Pinterest or Facebook, and then let me know you've done so by commenting here on the blog.  Each share is worth one entry, so if you share each of the seven articles on both sites, you'll be entered fourteen times.  On November 8, I will draw the name of one lucky reader out of a hat for the grand prize: a NatureBright Sun Touch Plus therapy lamp!

It's no secret that a lack of sleep can cause depression.  Ask any new mom how she's feeling, and right after she tells you what a joyful time it is, she might just burst into tears.  If you've ever gone through a period of sleep deprivation or if you've suffered from a sleep disorder you know it's true: lack of sleep messes with your mind.

The link between depression and sleep disorders is cyclical: loose too much sleep and you may start to feel depressed; feelings of fatigue and worthlessness make us less likely to get up on time, exercise, eat right and take our vitamins; the resulting poor health can make it even harder to sleep.

Breaking the cycle can be tough, but it's oh-so-worth it.  And the good news is, the other five steps in this program can really help--especially the sun lamp and the exercise.  The sun lamp gets your circadian rhythms synced up so that you're awake during the day and sleepy at night.  And exercise can significantly improve sleep patterns.

In his book, The Depression Cure: The 6-Step Program to Beat Depression Without Drugs Dr. Ilardi shares some great tips for sleeping better at night.  Here they are, with my commentary:

1.  Use the bed only for sleeping. This doesn't mean you need to kick your spouse out of bed.  ;) Actually there is a study showing that sex can help you sleep better--but that's the only exception to the rule.  This means that the more time we spend awake in bed, the weaker the associative link our brain has between bed and sleep.  So if you're in the habit of reading in bed, your brain won't do that great Pavlovian thing it's supposed to do when your head hits the pillow.  Read in the living room, then go to bed when you're sleepy, and then if you can't sleep after about fifteen minutes, get up and do some more reading.  This will help you program your brain to shut down as soon as you lie down.

2.  Get up at the same time every day.  This one can be brutal if you feel you're getting your best sleep right when you're "supposed" to be getting up.  And the temptation to catch up on sleep on weekends can be huge if you're sleep deprived.  But science is clear here.  Discipline yourself.  Use an alarm clock and especially use your sun lamp first thing when you wake up!  After just a few days, you'll find it easy to get up on time...and especially, go to sleep on time.

3.  Avoid napping.  Again, it's counterintuitive to give up sleep if you're dying for it.  But when you really think about it, you're lying awake at night because your body thinks  you've had enough.  Full disclosure, I nap most days of the week, but I always do it before three pm and always less than forty-five minutes.  And during bouts of insomnia, I start skipping naps until things are normal again.

4.  Avoid bright light at night.  Remember we're trying to condition the brain here, so this is one more trick.  Dim the lights before bedtime, make sure you don't have hall lights or night lights through the night, even wear a sleeping mask if you have to.

5.  Avoid caffeine and other simulants.  There are times when I love being a Mormon girl.  This is one of them.

6.  Avoid alcohol at night.  Ditto.

7.  Keep the same bedtime every night.   I struggle to be consistent here, so I can't tell you from personal experience how well it works.  But our body is a programmable clock.  So it makes sense that what we habitually do, is what our body will expect and go for.

8.  Turn down your thermostat at night.  Dr. Ilardi sites studies that we do sleep better when temperatures are just about five degrees cooler than we like it during the day.  We started doing this early in our marriage and it's been wonderful.  There's nothing like snuggling under the covers when it's just chilly enough to need covers.

9.  Avoid taking your problems to bed with you.  This one has been huge for me.  I almost always hop on the computer after the kids are in bed and try to get a little work done, but it's important to turn it off about an hour before bed and start to unwind and disconnect.  After that, it's mindless activities only, such as reading a novel or taking a shower.  If there are still things bothering my mind when we turn in, I tell TJ about them and let him convince me that everything is going to be okay.  Making a conscious effort to shelve your troubles before you go to bed helps you avoid worrying through the night.

10.  Don't try to fall asleep.  I first struggled with insomnia when I was a teen, right around the same time I got my first Indiglo watch.  I could look at it right before I drifted off, and anytime I was awake during the night I could figure out how much sleep I was missing and worry about it.  This turned out to be terrible for my sleep patterns.  After struggling with insomnia into my twenties, I decided to ditch the clock--which by this time had morphed into a night stand alarm clock.  Every night I set the alarm and then turned the face down.  It took self-control through the night not to check the time over and over, but I soon found myself sleeping better.  Don't psyche yourself out about sleep.  The more we stress about it, the less we'll be able to sleep well--so let it go.  If you're not sleeping, get up and read until you feel tired.  If you never do feel tired again until morning, be strong and get up anyway.  The second night after a sleepless one usually goes better if you can avoid the temptation the sleep in or nap.

Are you starting to see how the six steps of this program tie together?  You'll find that hard work in one area will have a ripple effect on the other ones, making it easier to use them all.  Sleep researcher Nancy Hamilton is quoted in The Depression Cure as saying of falling asleep, "All it takes is a tired body and a quiet mind."

Sweet dreams, my friends!

This is the fifth of seven posts on beating depression without meds, based heavily on Stephen S. Ilardi's The Depression Cure: The 6-Step Program to Beating Depression Without Drugs.  I highly recommend you read the whole book to learn how best to implement this revolutionary program. Come back next week and learn how to combat depression by avoiding rumination.  

And just so you know... I'm not getting anything from NatureBright or from the publishers of The Depression Cure.  I just get a kick out of helping others beat depression.  Somehow it makes what I go through worthwhile.  Almost.  ;)

Beating Depression in Six Simple Steps: Omega-3s

This is the fourth of my seven posts on beating depression without meds.  Share any one of my posts in this series on Pinterest or Facebook, and then let me know you've done so by commenting here on the blog.  Each share is worth one entry, so if you share each of the seven articles on both sites, you'll be entered fourteen times.  On November 8, I will draw the name of one lucky reader out of a hat for the grand prize: a NatureBright Sun Touch Plus therapy lamp!

If you could change your state of mind just by adding a dietary supplement, would you do it? Out of of the six steps outlined in Stephen Ilardi's The Depression Cure, the fish oil component is admittedly the least sexy.  But it's probably the easiest step, and, according the author, might even be the most powerful.

The media hype surrounding Omega-3s has mostly died down, leaving us with one more member of the nutritional pantheon to ignore/feel guilty about--but maybe it's worth remembering, after all. There are two big links between a lack of Omega-3s and depression:  1. Dopamine and serotonin production flag when we don't have a high enough intake of Omega-3s--and this compromises our neurons' ability to transmit and receive messages.  Basically, the brain is made of fat, and a lack of the right kind of fatty acids can cause it to misfire, which causes depression.  2.  A lack of Omega-3s can lead to rampant inflammation, which also is a contributor to depression.

If you hate the idea of swallowing a fish capsule every day, think hard about the alternatives.  You could actually eat fish, which is what our amazingly healthy Japanese friends do.  Two or three servings a day will do the trick.  But make sure it's farm-raised so you don't get a side dish of mercury and other post-industrialist byproducts.  And then there are plant-based oil capsules that work; however the only ones that contain the recommended amounts of DHA and EPA are not only crazy expensive, but they're formulated from algae.  So I don't know if that's going to help you get around the gross factor.

Best to just buck up and swallow that yellow goodness, my friends.  Here's how to start:

• Find a supplement that contains 1000 mg of EPA and 500 mg of DHA.
• Make sure it's "molecularly distilled" or "pharmaceutical grade."  This will save you from the chemicals ingested by fish in the wild and also from the chance that the manufacturers are giving you rancid oil.  Gross!
• You might have the occasional fishy burp.  Never fear!  Keep the pills in the freezer, and the delay in digestion should solve that problem.

It sounds so hard, but it's really so easy.  Way, way easier than slogging through your day at less than full capacity.  Pretend you are your own beloved child and make yourself take your vitamins.  You deserve to feel well.

This is fourth of seven posts on beating depression without meds, based heavily on Stephen S. Ilardi's The Depression Cure: The 6-Step Program to Beating Depression Without Drugs.  I highly recommend you read the whole book to learn how best to implement this revolutionary program.  Come back next week and learn how important sleep is to our mental health.

And just so you know...I'm not getting anything from NatureBright or from the publishers of The Depression Cure.  I just get a kick out of helping others beat depression.  Somehow it makes what I go through worthwhile.  Almost.  :)

Maybe They're Here for You: Hope for Home School Mamas

I suffer from clinical depression.  I home school my kids.  And before you go on, I need you to know that I'm what you'd call "high-functioning," which means I can fool most people into thinking everything's fine.  Even the kids don't usually notice my terrible days.  So don't worry, the kids are fine.  But I'm starting to see that the Adversary wants me to believe that it's a weakness to our family.

Two weeks ago, I had a really terrible day of home-schooling, and not really because anything in particular was going wrong.  I was just in terrible shape, mentally.

There are a few demons who like to buzz around my head when I'm tired, depressed or just weak, and they say the same things over and over.  "You're failing as a mom.  You're failing as a teacher.  Your kids would be better off in public school, just because they'd be away from you."  I bat at them half-heartedly, pushing through lessons, through power struggles with saucy tweens, through technology challenges, through messy rooms and undone laundry, and knowing that if I can hang on long enough, I can go to bed.

I'm not going to lie.  Depression and home school are unlikely and poorly-suited bedfellows.  When I'm really underwater, the people who love me most remind me that I can always send the kids back to public school.  If it provided me with a less stressful lifestyle, it might just help me stay mentally healthy more of the time.

Next year, my youngest will be old enough for kindergarten, and this brings my questions to the surface like nothing else could: is this really, really, really the very best thing for the kids?  Because, if not, I can see myself liking very much to spend six hours a day blissfully alone.  I see myself getting the groceries bought, the house cleaned, the budget balanced, and even having time to take a shower before they get home.  I see me staying on top of things that, lately, have been relegated to "Squeeze-it-in-Someday-Soon-I-Hope" list--like buying church clothes.  Ezra has been in need of church pants for at least three months, and finding the time to go with him to the store baffles me every week.  I see myself reading.  I see myself writing.  I see myself finally finishing my college degree.  I see myself finally getting good at yoga.  And I'm not gonna lie, I see myself eating a lot of food with gluten, eggs, and dairy.  So yes, I'd gain weight pretty quick.

This vision of complete introverted bliss tempts me.  The nasty mom-guilt torments me.  And some days I question why I'm even doing home school.  Maybe I should have sent them to public school this year, I think. Maybe it's too late for them and they'll suffer all their lives because their mother had delusions of grandeur. Maybe I'm wrong for home school and home school is wrong for me.

So, back to my story, it was a day to be endured.  I was batting at the demons, pushing for bedtime, and thinking, I'm not doing these kids any good at all.

And the Spirit said, "maybe you're not here for them.  Maybe they're here for you."

I felt free for the first time in many, many days.  And I saw my amazing kids more clearly than ever. God created them to be a joy to me, and they truly, truly are.  They are smart.  They are funny. They are compassionate.  They are wise.

What would my daily life be like if they weren't here with me?  Who would hug and kiss me when I felt hopeless inside?  And really, why would I even get out of bed on those hard days?  The love I have for these kids motivates me to fight my depression, to fight my demons.  I might not even try if they weren't here to try for.

Our culture talks a lot about the challenges of parenting, about the pain of parenting, about the stress of parenting.  And if you home school your kids, just get ready for all the pats on the back you get for being such a perfect parent.  You really start to believe that you are the most saintly martyr in the world for giving up so much for the sake of your children.

And it's true.  I've made sacrifices for these kids.  All moms do.  But I've fallen too often into the trap of believing that it's my job to provide them with happiness.  And forget about the fact that the weight of such responsibility is too heavy for any mortal shoulders, and that Christ himself is the giver of all good things--I have forgotten that my kids are here for me just as much as I am here for them.

I had a bit of a meltdown today, and the kids surrounded me with hugs, kisses, and offers of help with my work.  I hate being in that position--I really want to be the strong one for them, to be a good example of strength and courage.  But really, why?  In a world of entitlement and narcissism, my kids stand a chance a good chance of growing up with some compassion.

God knew what He was doing when He called me to this work, weak and mortal as I am.  In fact, maybe the calling was extended before this life even began--to the kids.

Beating Depression in Six Simple Steps: Exercise

This is the third of my seven posts on beating depression without meds.  Share any one of my posts in this series on Pinterest or Facebook, and then let me know you've done so by commenting here on the blog.  Each share is worth one entry, so if you share each of the seven articles on both sites, you'll be entered fourteen times.  On November 8, I will draw the name of one lucky reader out of a hat for the grand prize: a NatureBright Sun Touch Plus therapy lamp!

You knew it was going to come up, right?  Because everyone from Dr. Phil to Dr. Who is recommending we exercise more.  Well, I'm sure you're not surprised that exercise is on the list of things that can prevent and even reverse depression.  I do have a surprise for you, though.  Just a little bit of exercise each week can make a huge difference here.  And that's good news for folks like me who would rather not exercise.  Ever.

It's an ongoing joke with all my siblings that we only run if we're being chased by a bear.  That's why I really really need this bumper sticker.

But even though I don't run, and I've never participated in organized sports, I do move my body voluntarily sometimes.  I love yoga.  I love biking.  I love hiking.  And those three things are enough to help me beat depression most of the time.  Just like my brother Spencer says,

  "Get your body moving, and your brain will catch up."

It's a little mind-blowing to imagine that pharmaceuticals costing our economy billions of dollars to design, produce and market can so easily be replaced and even surpassed.  But it's true: according to The Depression Cure and dozens of studies backing it up, moderate exercise just three times a week shows better results than anti-depressant medications.  Dr. Ilardi cites one such study of 156 depressed patients, all sadly out of shape, half of whom were prescribed exercise, and the other half Zoloft.  The exercise required was almost laughable: they took a brisk half-hour walk three times a week.  At first the treatments showed about equal amounts of improvement, but at about ten months, those who were exercising were "much more likely than those taking Zoloft to remain depression-free."  Dr. Ilardi continues:

Over a dozen clinical trials now show that exercise can effectively treat depression... [because] exercise actually changes the brain.  Like an antidepressant medication, it increases the activity of important brain chemicals like serotonin and dopamine.  It also stimulates the brain's release of a key growth hormone (BDNF), which in turn helps reverse the toxic, brain-damaging effects of depression.  It even sharpens memory and concentration, and helps us think more clearly.  Simply put, exercise is medicine--one that effects the brain more powerfully than any drug.

I can't tell you how happy I was to find that I could make a powerful impact on my mental health just by exercising an hour and a half a week.  I began to see that opportunities to squeeze in half-hour chunks of exercise were relatively easy to find.  Twice a week I hop on my bike for a half-hour spin, and once a week, I attend an hour-long yoga class--thus becoming an athletic overachiever by one half hour.  And for a certified couch potato, I have to say to my fellow loungers--I feel better physically, too.  My back and my tricky wrist don't hurt anymore, and I sleep better at night. Exercise is better for your mind and for your body--who knew, right?  :)

So I've convinced you it's worth a shot, yes?  Here are some basic steps for getting started:

• Choose an activity: your target heart rate should be between 60%-90% of the maximum heart rate for your age.  Check out an online chart if you want to be precise, but basically you want to be breathing a little harder and sweating--but not feeling like you want to die.  Which is why I don't run.  It should be something you already enjoy or something that sounds fun to you.  I also recommend it be something that won't require a total overhaul of your budget or finances--this way it'll be easy to start and stick to.  However, if a little money is required for the plan you really love, I encourage you to go for it.  After all, what wouldn't you give up to feel well again?  The sacrifice will pay off quickly and for a long time.  The bike TJ surprised me with almost ten years ago still blesses my life in a big way.
• Make a plan and get loved ones to help: ideally, you want to break up your ninety minutes of exercise throughout the week.  I like to bike early and late in the week, with my yoga class right in the middle. Get your family and friends on board here.  TJ knows how much better I feel when I go, so he totally supports me in this.  Even when I'm tempted to be lazy, he pushes me out the door.  But since he makes dinner on my yoga night, I am pretty motivated to get out of the way and let him do his thing.
• Make it fun: If you must run, at least do it with friends.  (Okay, last jab at runners, I promise. The truth is you make me feel super-insecure because you're awesome.)  But really, we all know that we're more likely to roll out of bed and head for the gym if we know someone we love is expecting us there.  Join forces.  It'll bless your life and theirs.  Also, it should go without saying that you shouldn't plan on an activity that bores you--but depression patients are gluttons for punishment and we often make plans that sound terrible even to us.  Think hard about what would fun for you and do that.  And don't forget that integrating a sense of purpose will make it more fun and fulfilling, too.  Gardening will give you sunshine and fresh air in the bargain, and you'll be crossing off stuff on your to-do list.

Friends, I hope you'll remember this little article when the going gets tough for you.  Exercise is often touted as a cure-all--and that's because it really is one--but don't let it become white noise for you. While it takes years for you to enjoy the fact that you're not dying of heart disease, exercising today will help you feel happier today.  Go out and try it, and take along someone you love.

This is the third of seven posts on beating depression without meds, based heavily on Stephen S. Ilardi's The Depression Cure: The 6-Step Program to Beating Depression Without Drugs.  I highly recommend you read the whole book to learn how best to implement this revolutionary treatment program.  Come back next week and learn how incorporating Omega-3s into your diet can help you win this battle.

And just so you know...I'm not getting anything from NatureBright or from the publishers of The Depression Cure.  I just get a kick out of helping others beat depression.  Somehow it makes what I go through worthwhile.  Almost.  :)

Beating Depression in Six Simple Steps: Light Therapy

This is the second of seven posts on beating depression without meds.  Share any one of my posts in this series on Pinterest or Facebook, and then let me know you've done so by commenting here on the blog.  Each share is worth one entry, so if you share each of the seven articles on both sites, you'll be entered fourteen times.  On November 8 I will draw the name of one lucky reader out of a hat for the grand prize: a NatureBright Sun Touch Plus therapy lamp!  

Who here remembers that '90s TV show, "Northern Exposure?"  Well, to be honest, I don't remember much of it either, because mom usually made us go to bed too early.  But the one episode I can recall centers on an Alaskan villager diagnosed with seasonal depression who is prescribed a light visor.  He goes around wearing it all the time and ends up so chipper that his friends decide he's overdosing--and they take it away.   My highly pragmatic mother (she of the early bedtimes) thought this was ludicrous.  "When was the last time you heard of someone getting too much sunshine," she asked.  "No way can you overdose on a light visor."  And as usual, mom was right.

Depression exists on a spectrum that ranges from the persistent (and sometimes even dangerous) symptoms of major depression, all the way down to the euphemistically labeled "winter blues," which about 20% of Americans report experiencing.  Wherever you or your loved one falls on this scale, the six steps Stephenen Ilardi outlines in The Depression Cure can improve matters.  We'll start with the light therapy, which consists of a vitamin D supplement as well as adequate exposure to bright light.

Why Light Therapy?
Light therapy is probably the most important element of our six steps to sufferers of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), because it goes to the heart of the problem: our brains and bodies need sunlight in order to function properly, and we don't get much of it in the winter.  Long story short: optical exposure to the kind of bright light produced on a cloudless, sunny day stimulates serotonin production, which increases feelings of well-being. Feeling better increases our likelihood of reaching out in social settings, which also increases feelings of well-being--and yes, social interaction is one of our six steps.  Light therapy also helps combat insomnia, a common symptom of SAD, and guess what--proper sleep is another of our six steps.  As you'll see in future posts, these steps are tightly interwoven so that they look less like steps and more like lifestyle.

A few years back, I had read The Depression Cure and was convinced that a light box would help me, but I just couldn't bring myself to pony up the $80 or more to get one.  After all, could it really make a big enough difference to justify the cost?  I dithered about it for a few months, and that's when my hero of a husband came in, surpising me with a NatureBright Sun Touch Plus for Christmas.

The effects were almost immediate, and honestly, they continue to be immediate.  The light box has become my first line of defense against depression, seasonal and otherwise.  Every time I feel myself sliding, I know I need to be more consistent about using it--and I always feel better within forty-eight hours of starting to use it again.

The light box is also phenomenal for sorting out circuaidian rhythms, which program our bodies to feel sleepy or awake at certain times.  Anytime I'm struggling with insomnia, or even when I want to start waking up earlier in the day--I start using the lamp first thing every morning.  I feel more awake all day; and then I sleep better at night, too.

Where Do I Start?
First you need to decide whether you even need a light box, because some people are able to get all the light they need just by being outside.  30 minutes of bright light is optimal, but keep in mind that we're talking about the bright light you get outside on a sunny, cloudless day.  The angle of the light is also important.  If you have ever visted St. George, Utah, you would say--with most of my family and friends--that I really shouldn't need a light box.  It never gets terribly cold, and it's sunny most days of the year.  But during the winter, taking time to be outside when the sun is high enough and bright enough can be a real challenge.  I love the convenience and consistency of the light box.

So assuming it's tough for you to get out in the winter, your first step is to get your hands on a good light box.  If you're still not convinced that it will help, see if you can borrow one.  And keep in mind that most sellers offer a money-back guarantee.  If you don't start feeling significantly better, you can always send it back.

Dr. Ilardi recommends a light box that emits at least 10,000 lux, positioned slightly above the head. Start with a half hour of exposure each morning, and then move down to fifteen minutes as you start feeling better.

During spells of terrible depression when even getting out of bed seems impossible, I put the light box right on the night stand.  Then all I have to do is turn it on and I'm on my way to feeling better. I'm doing pretty well mentally right now--so I have enough stamina to make it out of bed and all the way into the kitchen, where I have this setup:

(This is a great opportunity to get scripture study done first thing in the morning, too.) 

Also, don't forget your vitamin D supplement.  Depending on your doctor's recommendations, start at 2,000 IU of D3, and go up from there.

Christmas is Coming
Maybe you're just positive that a loved one needs one of these--and you're equally positive that they'll never buy it for themselves.  My dear friend's story is a lot like mine.  She wanted one, but her sick little mind told her that it might not be worth the expense.  A friend of hers heard about it, and soon a light box showed up on her doorstep.  She felt better within days.

I hope you will seriously consider finding a way to get this into the hands of someone who needs it, especially if you are that person. One lucky reader will win a free NatureBright light box just by sharing this post on social media!

This is the second of seven posts on beating depression without meds, based heavily on Stephen S. Ilardi's The Depression Cure: The 6-Step Program to Beating Depression Without Drugs.  I highly recommend you read the whole book to learn how best to implement this revolutionary treatment program.  Come back next week and learn how exercise out-performs anti-depressants. 

And just so you know...I'm not getting anything from NatureBright or from the publishers of The Depression Cure.  I just get a kick out of helping others beat depression.  Somehow it makes what I go through worthwhile.  Almost.  :)