Finding Optimism » mood disorder

Top 5 Tips to Beat Depression

james — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 11:59:06 +0000

It’s a snappy title and I should get more traffic than normal. More importantly though, is there an easy, formulaic, 5 step method for overcoming depression? The answer is no, definitely not. If there was we wouldn’t be having a depression epidemic.

There are literally dozens of articles with similar headings to the one above. When I see them I immediately wonder if the writer has ever been depressed. Mental illness is anything but simple. Depression describes a broad spectrum of mood disorders, and there are many and varied treatments that provide different levels of success. Any “tip sheet” is by its nature superficial.

At the same time, such articles can be helpful. They aren’t normally written by medical or health professionals, so they provide input from outside traditional medicine. They give many ideas for lifestyle changes; ideas that won’t necessarily overcome depression by themselves, but nonetheless may be helpful to differing degrees for different people.

I’ve put links to a sample of articles below; some good and others pretty poor. I’ve summarized the tips from each so you can easily look further into what interests you.

You might also like to read my previous post What Works for Depression which is based on 2 research studies.

Please feel free to share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section below.

Top 5 Tips to Beat Depression
This is the only article in the 20 or so that I’ve read that suggests researching your illness and keeping a mood diary. Both of these are very underrated strategies that can get a person well on the road to recovery. The writer is also only one of two to discuss triggers. If you only read one of these articles then this should be the one.
Research depression, talk with someone, try different things to get well, mood diary, improved diet.

Ten Tips For Managing Your Depression
Of all the articles that I’ve read this is my favorite. It is well written and has a range of good, helpful strategies.
Sleep, exercise, less refined sugar, reach out to someone else, nutritious food, Omega 3, sunlight, yoga, meditation / prayer, professional help.

10 All Natural Ways to Stop Feeling Depressed
“The Blues” would be a better term than “Depressed” but there are still some helpful lifestyle ideas.
Emotional cycle, being with positive people, reflecting on past successes, gratitude, change of scenery, break in routine, animals and nature, get up and at it, find perspective, take action to help yourself.

10 Chemical-Free Strategies to Trick Yourself Out of the Blues
This writer doesn’t seem to understand depression. A couple of good points, but most strategies are ordinary at best and even bizarre.
Wear blue, take time out mentally, verbalise your anger to a friend, force your smiles, remove clutter, music, experiment with food, a concentration exercize, DIY aromatherapy, get in touch with your primal self through cooking.

Feeling Down? 7 Ways to Pick Yourself Back Up!
Another one that is more about “the blues” than depression, but the writer acknowledges the limitations of his advice. Some good ideas.
Make a list, take action, exercise, clean and straighten yourself up, get out of the house, lively music, talk about it with someone close.

Top 8 Tips for Living with Depression
This writer has a good range ideas, all of which can have an impact on depression.
Support group, manage stress, sleep, diet, control negative thoughts, stop procrastinating, learn to forgive

Top 10 Tips to Overcome Depression
Some interesting ideas, but the tips are a bit light for someone with true depression.
Talk, exercise, cry, sunlight, music, activity, write, balanced diet, affection, professional help.

5 Tips for Staving Off a Depression
Sound tips on how the writer deals with her own depression, before relying on medicine.
Work outdoors, eliminate the triggers, play music, exercise, maintain a positive attitude.

Five Tips for Reducing Depression
This one takes a different angle with the first two tips focusing on the media. There are some good ideas, but the article as a whole is weak in relation to depression.
Don’t read newspapers, turn off the television, be positive towards others, exercise, breathing and relaxation techniques.

Five Self-Care Strategies For Depression
Sound advice which includes exercise and adequate sleep – two of the most important.
Keep active, eat well, adequate sleep, minimize stress, maintain positive relationships.

Top 10 Tips for Beating Depression
This would be the worst article. The writer doesn’t seem to understand depression, viewing it more as a character flaw than a disease.
Develop interests, stay positive, fix your personal problems, create a positive social life, stop bad behavior, be realistic, make changes, become active, fix your diet, control your thinking.

Loving the Person You Care For

james — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 13:57:42 +0000

This is the 5th and last post in a series by Anna on “Being a Caregiver”. Earlier posts are The Depression Dialog , Know the Enemy , Trigger Unhappy and Keeping Your Mind Together.

I’ve written a lot about being a caregiver in my last 4 posts, but in this one I’d like to share with you the book that really saved my own sanity. It is “Loving Someone with Bipolar Disorder” by Julie A. Fast and John D. Preston.

In the first few months after James’ diagnosis I read a lot of material to educate myself. The problem was that most of it was factual information on depression and bipolar, but it didn’t tell me how to manage practical things like James’ irritability. The info simply described the symptom without ideas for its management.

From pages 1 to 2: “This book can provide you with the tools you need to be a resource and support for your partner instead of a crisis manager and constant caretaker.” This is exactly what I needed!

The book was written specifically for caregivers. Julie Fast has bipolar disorder, as does her partner of 10 years, and the result is a book with real insight.

At its heart is the idea of creating a holistic treatment plan.

The first aim is to develop a symptom list that you can use to identify when your partner’s behavior starts to change. Once that has been worked out the second aim is to create a “what works list” to treat those symptoms before they progress to a full blown episode. The third step is to work out what triggers the symptoms in the first place. These are often outside events, situations or behaviors that once modified or eliminated really make your partner far more stable. Once you understand the triggers well, then the goal is to stop the mood swing from starting in the first place. If it does start then the “what works list” comes into play.

Of course this strategy requires recording your partner’s behavior over time e.g. by keeping a journal.

The rest of the book focuses on the needs of the caregiver. (Obviously your partner achieving greater stability is already a significant help).

The chapter on “Your Emotional Response” starts you on the road of looking after your own needs. It discusses issues like anger, grief, guilt and feeling trapped. For me, it was almost a springboard for seeing a counselor.

The chapters on work, money and sex cover practical issues that cause distress. They were all helpful chapters, but for me the chapter “The Hard Truths” had more impact. This chapter really lays it on the line and forces you to face the reality of your relationship. Are you prepared to stay with your partner if things don’t change? Tough reading.

My favorite chapter is “The Bipolar Conversation”, which teaches you how to avoid pointless fights when you partner is baiting you. The book ends with “Laughter and Joy”, an inspiration to leading a normal life again. From this I learned to structure in happy times in our lives.

A brilliant book. It may be about bipolar, but the application is much wider and relevant to all mood disorders. It would greatly help any caregiver living with a depressed partner.

Here is the link to the book on Amazon (not an affiliate link).

Know the Enemy

james — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 12:14:14 +0000

This is the second post by Anna on being a caregiver. Click here for the first post, The Depression Dialog.

Know the enemy. Sounds awful, doesn’t it? But I’m talking about the illness, not the person who is sick. When that dawned on me, that the illness is the enemy, I started to have more control over my anger and resentment. Why? Because I had something I could fight, and yet still love my husband James. I’m not saying that he isn’t responsible for his behavior; but I could now explain it, or most of it, by his illness.

Our third child was born in 2003 just as things were at their worst. James had left another job, he had a go at crashing his car, and our other kids were showing signs of distress. I had to think about leaving him for a while to protect myself and the kids emotionally. I felt alone, scared for our future and worried sick.

It was at about that time that he was diagnosed with bipolar, which prompted me to thoroughly research depression and bipolar. There is an awful lot of junk out there, so I sifted through until I found some great sources. Then I learned as much as I could. The best thing about this learning process was a much better understanding of the illness, so I was less frightened and more assertive in handling his behavior.

The resources that I relied on most are:

Loving Someone with Bipolar Disorder by Julie Fast
This book helped me more than any other. It is written for caregivers and has great, practical solutions, especially in the area of talking to each other. James was on board with the idea of trying the suggestions in the book so that helped. Most of the content is readily applicable to depression.

It’s a love it or hate it book. I love it. I’ll write a review as the last post in this series.

Dealing with Depression by Gordon Parker
I continue to rely on this book for my medical understanding of mood disorders. James reviewed the book in an earlier post.

Black Dog Institute
I use this website for finding all kinds of reliable information on mood disorders. The Black Dog Institute is headed by Gordon Parker (above).

The next break through was keeping a diary of James’ moods and things that happened each day. I did this every night for almost 2 years. It sounds a bit keen I know, but it was also therapeutic. After only 3 months or so, I was able to see patterns of behavior emerging. His illness was looking somewhat predictable! The progress over those 2 years was very slow, but just having some noticeable improvements gave me hope. I could stop living from day to day, wondering what would hit next. Also, and even better, I was able to see what was triggering his mood swings. Things like certain foods, certain people, and certain social situations.

Armed with this knowledge we started changing our lives to avoid triggers. This is an ongoing process, but James continues to get better. We completely removed some problem triggers so they no longer have an impact, and he also copes better with the triggers that remain. I hope that we don’t sound perfect. The process is ongoing, and there are still many times when bipolar ruins things. But now that I know my enemy I can “attack” it, and get on with being James’ wife.

Click here for the third post in this series, Trigger Unhappy.

Therese’s 12 Step Program

james — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 13:30:12 +0000

Therese Borchard has written an excellent post on her Beliefnet blog, describing her 12 step program for staying on top of depression. It is one that she devised herself but is similar to the 12 step programs that addicts use.

One of her important points is that it takes an awful lot of work to get better and then stay well. I agree wholeheartedly. It seems that those who actively participate in their treatments have the most success in returning to and maintaining good health. They are active in learning about the illness, in locating resources, in finding the right treatments, and they are determined to pull things around. It doesn’t help to be passive about depression.

Therese’s experience of nearly giving up on traditional medicine rings true. For the first few years of being treated my family doctor experimented with various drugs with little success. I was fortunate to find a great psychiatrist on my first attempt, but it involved a good dose of my own research. When my doctor suggested a psychiatrist I declined and asked him to refer me to the one I had chosen. I know that most people don’t have the time or inclination to do this, but it was important for me as the point in which I became active in my treatment. I had been labeled “treatment resistant” for too long.

I would point out that when medicines are used it is not just about finding the right drug or mix of drugs, but also making the right diagnosis in the first place. This sounds very basic but misdiagnoses are very common. It is awful being treated for the wrong mood disorder.

Therese has developed her system very purposefully. Remaining healthy requires a plan; much more than passive acceptance. I definitely suggest you try her 12 steps, with some shaping to suit.

Anyone Know Why It’s Called the Idiot Box?

james — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 13:02:36 +0000

Work today was a dud. My partners are away on business, so I’m juggling an extra couple of balls, and today I dropped them.

I got home late and spent some time with the kids, before putting them to bed. Anna was out, so at 8.30 I decided to wind down in front of the TV.

This is what was on:

The Bill: cop deals with teenage runaway and stressed out dad
Cutting Edge: documentary examining the U.S. government’s monitoring of citizens
All Saints: Tensions boiling over following a multiple victim accident
CSI: Miami: A team member goes down during a bungled kidnapping
NCIS: A blind photographer captures the body of an officer on film (don’t ask me)

It’s not much better in the next time slot, with a plane crash-landing into a mountain range, the murder of a dog owner, the poisoning of four people, tampering with non-prescription drugs and more war-in-Iraq than you can poke a stick at.

And we don’t have pay TV!

Let me dissect this a little.

These programs are full of stress and negative energy. Good news and happy stories don’t sell. Excitement and stress does. Action, violence, guilt, rage, fear, slander, jealousy, despair. Not unlike today at work.

If you are like me, with a mood disorder that is, then the emotional roller coaster that TV offers is unhelpful to say the least. That’s why us depressives need to focus on positive stress-relieving activities, like exercise, meditation and breathing techniques.

Do yourself a favor tonight. Don’t turn on the TV. Enjoy something relaxing instead.

Dealing with Depression by Gordon Parker

james — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 13:58:45 +0000

“… an excellent overview of the depressive illnesses, written by one of the leading authorities on the subject.”
Kay Redfield Jamison, Author of “An Unquiet Mind”
Professor of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

This excellent book is written from the premise that there are many different forms of depression, rather than the popularly held belief that there is one main type that differs in severity. In a nutshell Gordon Parker explains the different types of depression, and how they should be dealt with differently. He offers suggestions for the most appropriate treatments in each case.

It can’t be overstated how important this approach is. If a correct diagnosis is not made in the first place then treatment may fail. I’ve been there and experienced plenty of what was wrongly called “treatment resistance”. With a correct diagnosis depression will normally be treated successfully.

Something that I find especially helpful is the inclusion of some fictional case histories, so that the reader can understand how each depression type might present itself in terms of its symptoms. When I first read the case histories I tried to guess the specific type of depression that each person was suffering from. I was wrong on all accounts!

While he is first and foremost a psychiatrist, Gordon Parker includes psychotherapies and alternative therapies together with traditional medicine in his discussion of treatment options. This is helpful if you want to actively explore the treatment options.

We have a copy of the first edition and have lent it out countless times to friends and relatives. In fact as I write this review I have no idea where it has gone, it has been handed around so much. The caregiver of a mentally ill person can gain a lot of help from the book as well. It is easy to read and provides hope that things can get better with appropriate treatment. When the patient, their family and/or friends are educated and moving forward with the treatment being undertaken, there is a much greater chance of success.

“Gordon Parker has style. The second edition of “Dealing with Depression” provides an outstandingly accessible account of how he sees the theory and practice of treating depression. While it is clearly written originally for the non-professional, the story is told from the cutting edge of research and treatment. It exemplifies the modern unifying approach to psychiatry – a synthesis of reliable knowledge and clinical judgment. It is a book both to read and to recommend to one’s patients and their families.”
Guy Goodwin, Professor of Psychiatry, Oxford University.

“This unique book, written by one of the world’s leading authorities on depression, focuses on a way of thinking about the complexity and diversity of the mood disorders that is both easy to understand and ‘rings’ true. Well-written and thought provoking, it is essential reading for all whose lives are affected by depression.”
Michael Thase, Professor of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh

Buy from Amazon, and support this blog!

94 Great Resources on Treating Depression

james — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 11:28:43 +0000

Depression is really a catch-all phrase for a broad spectrum of mood disorders. No two people suffering from depression will experience exactly the same symptoms and they won’t respond in exactly the same way to treatments. It is also a catch-all phrase used to describe different levels of severity in illness, and biological as well as non-biological disorders. This complicates its treatment enormously.

It is important to remember, when working through a resource list like this, that some things may work for you and others may not – a treatment for depression should start with professional help. Irrespective of this, it’s important to be involved in learning about your illness, including the treatments available. It seems that those who actively participate in their treatments have the most success in maintaining good health. Good luck!

THE BIG PICTURE

Large Website Resources
National Institute of Mental Health
National Alliance on Mental Illness
Medline Plus
MayoClinic.com
Blackdog Institute

Comprehensive PDF publications
National Institute of Mental Health
Mental Health Foundation – Dealing with Depression
HereToHelp – Depression Toolkit
Understanding Major Depression and Recovery

PDF Fact Sheets
Mind (National Association for Mental Health)
National Institute of Mental Health
SANE Australia
Black Dog Institute
Beyond Blue

Staying Well Plans
National Mental Health Information Center – Self-Help Guide
SANE Australia – Mental Illness and Keeping Well
Black Dog Institute – Ways of Staying Well
Sarah Russell – “Staying well with bipolar disorder”
(5th article from the top. Very applicable to depression.)

EVERYDAY LIFE

Exercise
MayoClinic.com – Depression and Exercise
Better Health – Depression and Exercise
MIND – The Mind Guide to Physical Activity
Mental Health Foundation UK – Up and Running!

Food
Mental Health Foundation – Healthy Eating and Depression
MIND – The Mind Guide to Food and Mood
MyPyramid.gov – Healthy Diet Plan

Stress Management and Relaxation
MIND – The Mind Guide to Managing Stress
MIND – The Mind Guide to Relaxation
Families for Depression Awareness – Coping With Stress

Sleep
HelpGuide – Tips for a Good Night Sleep
National Sleep Foundation – All About Sleep

TRUSTED BOOKS (links to Amazon)

Dealing with Depression: A Commonsense Guide to Mood Disorders