It is a privilege to host the July 17, 2007 edition of this Carnival on behalf of Jane Chin at Chinspirations. I’ve included 5 articles in this edition. Thank you to everyone who sent a submission.

Albert Foong presents “The Elusive Key to Emotional Mastery: Is it Really that Simple?” posted at Urban Monk. This is by far the longest post I’ve ever read, but I’m glad I did since it’s given me plenty of food for thought. It may be particularly helpful if anger or irritability is your main symptom of depression.

Romeo Vitelli presents “When Dying Becomes Fashionable” posted at Providentia, saying, “When suicide follows a trend”. It’s a well-written, interesting and informative article on an unpleasant subject - copycat suicides.

Edith Yeung presents “I Have a Dream” posted at EdithYeung.com, saying “I think this video will help anyone who has depression.” I was skeptical when I saw the You Tube player, but this is simply brilliant!

Shaheen Lakhan presents “New Tool to Diagnose Adolescent Depression“posted at GNIF Brain Blogger. This article really caught my attention. It discusses a new dimensional diagnostic tool in which adolescent depression is graded on a scale from mild to severe. My problem is that “depression” is a catch-all word describing a broad spectrum of mood disorders, including melancholic (biological) and non-melancholic depression. Treatment problems arise when depression is treated as a single illness that just differs in severity. It will be interesting to hear more about this new diagnostic tool.

Alvaro Fernandez presents “Working Memory Training from a Pediatrician Perspective, Focused on Attention Deficits” posted at SharpBrains, saying, “An interview with one of the pioneers of working memory training, and a related discussion on the implications for health and education.” This is an interesting interview, relevant to any parent of a child with an attention deficit.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of depression, bipolar disorder using the carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on the carnival index page.

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carnival of depression, bipolar disorder, blog carnival.

I found an article on suicide today which provoked a strong reaction in me, so I decided to pass it on. The article is How Not to Commit Suicide by Art Kleiner.

There are two things that make it remarkable. Firstly, the body is very hardy and resilient, and most attempts at suicide are unsuccessful (anywhere from 10 to 40 attempted suicides for every successful suicide). From page 5 of the article onwards the author gives a detailed description of the long-lasting health problems caused by various methods of attempting suicide. Secondly, the writer has included a group of suicide notes at the end, which are absolutely heart-wrenching.

If you are having suicidal thoughts or have had them in the past, if you would call yourself “suicidal” or know someone who is, then this is a must read. And it goes without saying that you should find good, trained, specialist help straight away.

It’s an odd title I know. What can possibly be good about mental illness? Well, nothing when you’re in the depths of despair. But there can be great benefits from having an illness, including a mental illness. These are the ones I’ve found in my life.

Slow.
I’ve slowed down a lot. I stopped wearing a watch a couple of years ago and haven’t missed it once. If someone asks me the time I take a guess, and I’m always within 10 or 15 minutes of the correct answer. If I’m 10 or 15 minutes late for the doctor, it doesn’t matter. He works to the same system anyway.

No.
I’ve learned how to say no. If you are good at something, like work, then people will ask you to do more. It builds up over time. I’ve learnt to say no. I can’t. I’m mentally ill. Sorry.

Simple.
I don’t worry about what I’m going to wear. I don’t have to keep track of my clothes cycle for work. I don’t care what I’m going to eat for dinner, whether I need a bigger television, if I can buy a half-decent car or what people think of my extra 30 pounds of insulation. If I didn’t have depression these things would still consume me.

Thanks.
It’s been tricky but I’ve learned to be thankful for what I have, not what I don’t have. It keeps things in the right perspective.

Time.
I now spend more time on things that are important to me. Example - I have great relationships with my kids. Time with them is invaluable. Unfortunately most Dads don’t spend more than a few minutes a day giving their kids undivided attention. Depression is a good wake-up call.

Perspective.
I’ve developed a much bigger picture of things and learned to keep the small things in perspective. This has been necessary because of depression.

Health.
I take my physical health much more seriously than I used to because of my illness. If I can just get exercise to fall into place!

Marriage.
My marriage is far stronger today than it would ever have been if I didn’t have bipolar. I read recently that 90% of marriages with one partner having bipolar end in divorce. If that statistic is even close to right then it is truly tragic. My wife had plenty of reasons to leave me for years, but she stayed true to her vows even though she didn’t understand what was wrong with me. (I write that with a touch of trepidation. I know that many don’t have good support and I can’t imagine how hard it is.)

Friends.
I’ve always been very open about having a mental illness, and I’ve actually never felt the stigma. When I converted to Christianity about 15 years ago I lost half my good friends who had a problem with it. Since I’ve been telling people that I have bipolar I’ve gained at least the same number of friends. Go figure!

Others.
The best thing about having any illness must be the ability to empathize and help others.

Speak.
I was once very guarded with what I said, often checking myself from saying anything that could offend or impact someone’s view of me. I’ve really lightened up and feel liberated. I’m rarely inappropriate, but if I am, as far as I can tell nobody really cares. (”Mmmm, James is a bit up today.”)

Character.
In the Bible, in Romans 5:3-4 it says:
“we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”

Concern.
Being engaged with the world is good. I think a lot more deeply about things like inequality, poverty, the environment and mental illness. Unfortunately being more concerned means I feel more let down by those in power who continually fail us.

Laugh.
Life is absurd. My life is absurd. I’ve learned to laugh more at both.

Service.
We have friends who always have a very, very messy house. 3 young girls, great imaginations, a lot of dress-up clothes, craft, renovations, and you know the rest. They frequently invite other families over for lunches and dinners, and have long joked that it’s a service to the parents, to make them feel better about the state of their own houses.

Then I found this in another blog:
“When you’re mentally ill you are constantly doing social work just by existing. I realize that often, when you’re crazy you actually need social services for yourself, but just by talking about yourself to people who aren’t feeling that great about themselves, you are able to instantly make them feel glad they aren’t you. That’s a great service to offer.”

Finally.
I took part in a pilot educational program a few years ago for people with bipolar. It was spread over 6 weeks for 3 or 4 hours a week. Before then I had never met anyone with bipolar, so it was strange getting to know 20 other people with the same illness. Strange because they were all very normal people!

On one night a guest speaker talked about her bipolar illness, describing some of the joys and benefits that she’d experienced. At the end of the talk she said that given her life again she would have bipolar again. A couple of people were very offended. For the rest of us it gave food for thought. I’ve been chewing on that one ever since.

I’ve been tagged for a meme about energy by Isabella Mori. Isabella is a very knowledgeable and experienced counsellor, with a blog called moritherapy. The meme was started by Cardin at OptimistLab.

If you don’t already know, an internet meme is a piece of digital content that spreads quickly, widely and organically from person to person.

So, here are the five best ways that I know of to “raise my vibes”.

5. Music

My taste in music is very eclectic, so I have something for just about every occasion or frame of mind. There are a dozen or so songs that, played with volume, really raise my vibes.

4. Exercise

I’m always amazed at how much better I feel after exercise than I did before starting. It must be the endorphins. And the virtuous feelings. There is nothing that I find harder than overcoming the mental barrier that stops me from exercising. It’s a barrier that shouldn’t be there given that exercise is so beneficial, in the near-term and long-term. My lazy instinct must be stronger.

3. Go to a Bookshop

Ah, yes. I could spend a whole day in a bookshop, given a large range of books and a cafe that serves good coffee. I just love looking at books, dreaming, not even buying necessarily. I also spend an awful lot of time on Amazon and Audible during the day. As I part own a family business I have to monitor my own internet activity, which hasn’t caused any problems yet.

2. Drink water

Water, water and more water. I almost never drink enough, but when I do I feel fantastic. That makes a lot of sense since I’m normally dehydrated, and water makes up 75% of the body and 85% of the brain. Eating watermelon makes me feel great as well!

1. Have a long, important conversation with someone

No matter how good or bad my mood is to start with I feel greatly energized if I can help someone else through conversation. I’ve experienced this more and more, as people who I know have asked me questions about mental health, and have found my answers to be helpful.

That’s my 5. If I could just include them all in my day, everyday, I would be jumping out of my skin with energy.

Here are the 3 that just missed out on the top 5.

Sleep
Believe it or not lack of sleep energizes me (for the first week or so).

Reading books
Not just looking.

Spending time with family
Taking my kids out just about anywhere. Going for coffee with my wife.

I now have 6 blogs (not 5) that I’m going to tag.

I love the recent blog on Beyond Blue titled “My Depression Toolbox“. I’m convinced that the best way to maintain good mental health is to monitor depression triggers and have strategies at the ready to mitigate them when they appear. This post gives a great example of a “stay well plan” that does exactly that.

On the Dr Shock blog there is an interesting article about Activity Scheduling. This is another positive approach that aims to re-energize the depressed person by building pleasurable activities into their daily routine. (Thanks for the referral at the bottom of the post!)

I’m fascinated by the The Pursuit of Happiness, a personal, moving blog by a depressed man trying to work out what exactly is wrong with him and what kind of treatment he should seek. I recommend starting with the first post.

At Space and Time Melissa writes short posts about anything and everything, and sometimes even nothing. (Sorry Melissa). Her writing is personal, humorous and self-deprecating.

Rachel keeps me laughing, entertained and engaged with life at Frizzy Logic. I especially like her post from a week ago on an amazing infinite energy generating machine, that could be housed in a gallery, but never fulfilled its potential.

Finally, Anna at Widows Quest has written a brief post “How to Stop Feeling Tired“. She summarizes a great point from another article on how doing things for other people will energize you in a number of ways. I couldn’t agree more. This may be the reason that I have helping others in conversation as my Number 1 energizer.