There are many ways to insult someone with depression, without even trying very hard. The best way is to give them some unsolicited advice. Something that you think is simple, yet profound, and potentially life changing. But said in ignorance. Nothing cuts deeper to someone with depression, than when their illness, which is serious, is trivialized by another who doesn’t understand it.

Here are the some of the terrible things that people say:
“This is what life is like. Get used to it.”
“Life isn’t meant to be easy.”
“Just snap out of it!”
“Pull yourself together.”
“Who said that life is fair?”
“You just have to get on with things.”
“At least it’s not that bad.”
“Stop feeling sorry for yourself.”
“You have so many things. What do you have to feel down about?”
“You just need to cheer up.”
“Quit trying to be a martyr.”
“Stop taking all those medicines.”
“I know how you feel. I’ve been depressed for whole days at a time.”
“You don’t like feeling that way? So change it!”

These are my favorites:
“What you need is a good kick up the backside.”
“Go out and buy yourself some clothes. That will pick you up.”
“Are you sure you don’t have a mental problem?”
“How about I cook you a good meal. That will make things better.”
“Have you tried acupuncture?”
“Get a job!”

And the all time best:
“Why don’t you try not being depressed.”

Here is a list of the best things to say!

As a herbal product, garlic is the 4th best selling supplement in the U.S. A stunning amount of garlic is being consumed for its health benefits.

Garlic has long been considered a “wonder food”. Numerous studies have shown that its properties help to keep the cardiovascular system healthy. It is especially effective against the cholesterol type that can damage the arteries and heart.

So is eating garlic beneficial for mental health? Maybe, but then maybe not. Some people think that garlic is a cure-all. For the rest of us, the jury is out.

During a recent study on the effects of garlic on cholesterol, German researchers found that participants experienced an elevation in their moods. Another study found that garlic eaters experienced less fatigue, anxiety and irritability, and had a greater sense of well-being.

It’s not an abundance of evidence by any stretch of the imagination. Does it matter? With the other health benefits on offer it makes sense to start, or increase, your consumption of garlic.

“You’ve got to get yourself together
You’ve got stuck in a moment
And you can’t get out of it.”

Oh yeah? I get stuck in a moment all the time, and it has to be one of the pleasures of life. Drifting away mindlessly. Ignoring life around me.

This is different from mindfulness. Mindfulness, in a very big nutshell, is learning to live in the very moment of the present and enjoy life as it passes now.

As Jon Kabat-Zinn puts it:

paying attention
in a particular way
on purpose
in the present moment
and non-judgmentally.

Mindfulness means engaging all thoughts and feelings that consciously enter the mind. By “non-judgmentally” Kabat-Zinn means that the thoughts are objective about what is being observed, not negative. A person does not judge the thought, or himself or herself for thinking it. The result is that perspective on one’s own thoughts is gained, allowing an escape from the usual mental ruminating and negative patterns of thought.

Mindfulness is used in a growing form of therapy called Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), which is particularly helpful in preventing relapses in depression. When a person has depression, they typically lose themselves in negativity. The brain makes a link between the mood and the negative thinking. When a low repeats, the link is easily reactivated and the person falls back into the same thinking patterns.

MBCT aims to break this spiral of negative thoughts. It is a combination of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which aims to identify and alter “thinking” distortions, and mindfulness, which aims to identify thoughts moment by moment but without passing judgments. The aim is to learn how to switch out of automatic, habitual, negative patterns of thinking, into more constructive, objective patterns.

People who learn this technique can stay in touch with the present, without stewing over the past or worrying about the future. For many years I lived my life in the future. By that I mean that I was constantly escaping the present, trying to ignore it, by focusing on my future life. I made plans and dreamt of a better life. Nowadays I’m firmly in the present, but certainly not without worries. Mindfulness is a difficult thing to achieve. I’ve been giving it a go, on and off, for the last few months. I think it’s a slow process, but ultimately it should be very beneficial.

Further reading:

http://www.mindfullivingprograms.com/
http://cebmh.warne.ox.ac.uk/csr/mbct.html

Concise, well written (5/07) Wikipaedia article
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mindfulness-based_Cognitive_Therapy

Lacking energy? Feeling lethargic? Is it one of depression’s symptoms, or might you be dehydrated?

Water makes up 75% of the body and 85% of the brain. When you stop to think about it this is a staggering amount, and it is clear that water intake is vital to good health. Yet according to American experts, some 75% of the U.S. population is chronically dehydrated.

The body uses water in many ways; to transport nutrients, hormones and waste, as a solvent, and as an essential component in maintaining cell structure. Chronic dehydration is recognized as contributing to a wide range of debilitating conditions. With respect to depression there may also be a link. The important amino acid tryptophan is required by the brain to produce the neurotransmitter serotonin. When more serotonin is present, nerves in the brain function more normally. Dehydration can prevent the needed amount of water being available to transport tryptophan to the brain, causing less serotonin to be produced. As you probably know, serotonin plays an important part in the regulation of mood.

Try this exercise. Tally up the amount of fluids you normally consume in a day, then subtract any caffeinated drinks (coffee, tea, cola) or alcohol. These have to be excluded because they act as diuretics; they dehydrate you by making you urinate rather than retain the water. If your tally is less than 8 glasses then it is likely that you are dehydrated. Of course, 8 cups is a very rough minimum, for an average person. Your own requirement will vary with things like exercise, amount of perspiration, health and weight.

If you are chronically dehydrated then it may take you a while to build the habit of drinking more water. Gradually switch your drinks to water, while restricting caffeinated and alcoholic drinks. Start aiming for at least 8 glasses of water a day. As a guide, if you are drinking sufficient water your urine should be clear or light colored by lunch time (it will normally be darker first thing in the morning).

I have a lot of trouble drinking enough water each day, partly because I’m forgetful and partly because I’m downright lazy. But when I am fully hydrated I feel refreshed and my mood is lifted. If you’re forgetful like me, you could try drinking a glass of water before you eat anything, at any time during the day. I figure that I eat things about 10 times a day, including snacks. Another idea is to replace one of your hot drinks during the day with a mug of hot, boiled water. It will give you the same benefit as cold water, and it actually doesn’t taste too bad!

Popular reading:
YOUR BODY’S MANY CRIES FOR WATER
by F. Batmanhhelidj, M.D.