Depression and other mood disorders affect the lives of 9.5 percent of adults in America each year, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.
Feelings of hopelessness, helplessness and futility characterize major depression, and when these debilitating emotions are present, prescription antidepressants can be life saving. But medication is not a stand-alone cure for depression. Making specific nutritional choices, optimizing your sleep and sunlight patterns, letting exercise be a daily prescription and learning strategies for reframing even the most challenging life events in a positive way are natural ways to move toward hope.
Step 1
Reset your biological clock in tune with the patterns of the sun and the darkness, warmth and coolness, activity and rest.
Three mechanisms for circadian rhythm regulation of mood have been identified, according to Dr. William Boyce, professor of psychiatry. The first is how well being in the sun can break down any remaining melatonin, the chemical your body puts out at night to make you sleepy. The second is the effect of warming the core of your body early in the day. This increases the release of neurotransmitters that can elevate your mood, combatting depression. And the last is the effect of vitamin D. Absorbed through the skin from direct sun exposure, you need vitamin D to activate calcium, and active calcium elevates mood. Writing in "The Australian Family Physician," Boyce's observations point to a plan for fighting depression. Wake up early each day, when the sun rises. Take a brisk, hour-long walk in the sun and keep the same schedule each day so your body can build predictability.
Step 2
Give your body the nutrients needed for resilience and energy and eliminate the simple carbohydrates associated with depression, obesity and diabetes.
A report in the June 2006 American Journal of Psychiatry found that people with depression were deficient in omega-3 fatty acids, especially EPA. Omega-3 is found in salmon, tuna, avocado, olive oil and walnuts, among other food sources that make up what dietitians refer to as the Mediterranean diet. Omega-3 can also be taken as a supplement, but these foods contain many other benefits, both for your mind and body.
In addition, iron, vitamin C, folic acid, magnesium and calcium have each been found lacking in the diets of people with depression, and blood sugar level variations associated with excessive intake of simple carbohydrates have been linked to depression and addictions.
These factors, taken together, make the Mediterranean diet worth trying. It contains all the nutrients needed to support mood while eliminating simple carbohydrates, which are detrimental to health.
White bread, white rice, pasta, pastries, soda, and sports drinks are among simple carbohydrates. These foods are empty calories, devoid of nutrition. But more importantly, they raise blood sugar quickly, then allow it to drop just as rapidly. This is not beneficial to your brain's functioning or to your mood. They also are associated with insulin resistance, a condition that leads to diabetes in many people.
Step 3
Imagine and plan your life to take charge of your future.
Start by taking a large sheet of blank paper and several markers. Give yourself 30 minutes to draw your day-to-day life as you want it to be in 10 years. Draw the people you want there, the work you want to do, your home, your community, your activities and how you want an average day to flow. Consider then where you are today and how you can get from here to there. Make a list of what steps you need to take to get there--education, finding a partner, having a child, raising kids you already have today or joining a group. Pick one of those goals and make a step-by-step plan to achieve it.
Creating your future can be an antidote to feelings of hopelessness and helplessness.
Step 4
Ruminating about hurts, disappointments, failures or losses can fuel depression. To combat this, try a technique borrowed from professional life coaching: reframing.
In a journal, start by naming the feeling you are experiencing at a given moment as accurately as possible. For example, sadness can actually be fear, loneliness, anger or humiliation.
Next, reframe this feeling and let it stimulate action. Turn "I felt humiliated and angry when my friend stood me up at the restaurant" into "I was able to handle being alone at a restaurant. I'm going to carry a book next time if I wind up eating alone."
Step 5
Serve others. Depression turns the focus of life inward and turning it outward heals. One technique for this could be called "10 Daily Breaths of Life." Each day, as early as possible, commit 10 acts of random kindness for others. Smile at a stranger, pick up trash, call your mother, leave a note of love in your kid's lunchbox.
The evidence that helping others builds resilience comes from one group of Nazi concentration camp survivors, remarkable in their ability to not only survive, but to thrive without depression after this horrific experience. They made friends, found food, and took care of the sick and dying in the camps, reported psychologists Roberta Green and Sandra Graham in the January 2009 issue of "Family and Community Health." After WWII, 94 percent of this group went on to have children, and 35 percent finished graduate school, both signs of continued hopefulness.
Things You'll Need
- Large piece of blank paper, approximately 16" X 20"
- Markers
- Journal
- Fruits, vegetables, seafood, olive oil, walnuts, almonds
- Water bottle
References
- National Institute of Mental Health: The Numbers Matter--2003
- Austrailian Family Physician; "Circadian Rhythms and Depression"; Dr. P. Boyce and Dr. E. Barriball; May 2010
- American Journal of Psychiatry; Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Mood Disorders; P Gordon,M.D.et al; June 2006
- Family and Community Health; "Role of Resilience Among Nazi Holocaust Survivors"; R. Green and S. Graham; March 2009
