12 Steps Toward Freedom from Depression

Beyond Blue: The Lessons of Depression

Four years ago, I almost gave up.

After trying 23 medication combinations, seven psychiatrists, two hospitalization programs, and every form of alternative therapy available--from homeopathic remedies to yoga--I assumed I was one of those unfortunate statistics with treatment-resistant depression, a Humpty Dumpty type who would never recover from the fall of a nervous breakdown.

There was no magic that happened between then and now, the day my book about my recovery hits the shelves. I just kept on getting out of bed. Even on the days where my thoughts were cemented in the black stuff, in negativity and toxic emotions, I tried to pick up one foot and place it in front on the next.

Here are the tools I picked up along the way, the 12 basic lessons that help me in my mission to stay "Beyond Blue," or at least out of black for as long as possible.

Therese J. Borchard writes the Beyond Blue blog on Beliefnet. Her new book, also called Beyond Blue, has just been published.

Eat the Right Stuff

The more I investigate--both through research and nonscientific experiments with my own body--the more I realize how my diet affects my mood.

Here are the bad boys: nicotine, caffeine (it's a drug, which is why I'm addicted to it), alcohol, white flour and processed food (what you live on when you have kids who won't touch tofu and spinach); and sugar... that's a whole other article.

Here are the good guys: protein (eggs, milk, cheese, yogurt, meat, fish, chicken, seeds, nuts); complex starches (whole grains, beans, potatoes); vegetables (broccoli, spinach, squash); vitamins (vitamin B-complex, vitamins E and C, and a multivitamin); minerals (magnesium, calcium, and zinc); and omega-3 fatty acids.

Sleep

Sleep is crucial to sanity. Let me repeat: sleep is crucial to sanity.

Because sleep disturbances can contribute to, aggravate, and even cause mood disorders and a host of other illnesses. You see, if you're not sleeping, your brain doesn't have an opportunity to do all the stuff it needs to do without the constant interruption of your thoughts. The brain works the night shift. And when it doesn't get all the work it needs to do done...well, it gets a tad irritable, like you do when you can't get your work done. And it takes it out on you.

According to one recent study, sleep deprivation can cause a decline in cognitive performance similar to the intoxicated brain. That's right! Drunks can reason and judge better than you if you've gone too long without getting some zzzzs.

Light Up

Have you ever noticed all the crabby behavior in November and December, not to mention into the deep dark winter months?

Changes in the amounts of daylight a person gets alters circadian rhythms, the internal biological clock which governs fluctuation in body temperature and the secretion of several hormones, including the evil one, cortisol. When a person gets less daylight than she needs, her circadian rhythm starts to act like a high-maintenance houseguest--getting all flustered over small stuff (i.e. the wrong kind of soap). That's why treatment with light is so effective for fragile human beings like me. If I can't get outside for at least a half hour a day, I try to sit under my mammoth Happy Lite, a lamp with 10,000 lux, and think happy thoughts.

Rely on Friends

I used to be a loyal support-group kind of girl. But since I've had kids, getting to meetings is much more difficult. So I've found my support in other ways--in phone calls and e-mails and visits to friends and relatives who also suffer from depression or bipolar disorder. That lifeline kept me alive during my suicidal days, and continues to empower me every single day.

During the darker days of my depression, I walked around with six phone numbers in my pocket. Because I didn't want to wear out any one friend or relative, I'd call two people a day, and rotate the numbers. I spent hours on the phone and writing e-mails and visiting friends because I needed constant support.

Keep a Gratitude Journal

Based on her research findings, University of California psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky believes that keeping a gratitude journal is one of the most effective happiness boosters. According to psychologist Robert Emmons at the University of California at Davis, gratitude exercises improves physical health, as well--including raising energy levels and relieving pain. During my suicidal days, I'd write in my journal that I was thankful for a bagel and cream cheese in the morning, a husband who held me when I cried, a literary agent who didn't dump me once she found out about my “vacation” at the psych ward. Today I record things like: full-day kindergarten, getting paid to whine online, and a spouse who knows how to cook (because I sure as heck don't).