{"id":4999,"date":"2011-05-13T06:42:05","date_gmt":"2011-05-13T10:42:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/beyondblue\/?p=4999"},"modified":"2011-05-14T18:21:15","modified_gmt":"2011-05-14T22:21:15","slug":"hope-and-the-other-tools-in-my-fighting-depression-kit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/2011\/05\/hope-and-the-other-tools-in-my-fighting-depression-kit.html","title":{"rendered":"Hope and the Other Tools to Fight Depression"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>On the combox of my post, \u201cSuffering: the Irritant That Produces the Pearl,\u201d<\/a> a reader wrote:<\/p>\n

In you I see a woman who runs and kayaks and all the things that exhaust me just to read.<\/p>\n

As a read about your finding the tools\/kits, I want tot say, PLEASE tell me what the tools are? Please share the key and those things that should be in my kit. I keep trying, hold down a full time job, have kids and am married. But I feel the struggle and those that have been wrapped around my poor family.<\/p>\n

Please share all the tools in your kit.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Okay. First of all, I told that reader that she is in my prayers. Because for me, it starts there. Two weeks ago, a friend of mine was suicidal. He sent me a scary email that said taking his life was the rational thing to do. I called him and begged him to surround him with people until he could think straight or to go to the hospital. I felt very helpless, because I don\u2019t know his family or his good friends, and I was hours away from him. So I went to God and lit many candles for him at church, and tried to put it in God\u2019s hands as best I could.<\/p>\n

Yesterday I finally heard from him, and he sounded like his old self. He did call his daughter, and she immediately called 911 and had him admitted to the hospital, where the doctors gave him a series of ECT treatments.<\/p>\n

I believe that was a God thing, that my prayer was heard.<\/p>\n

So, I start there. Pray.<\/strong> Even if you\u2019re not a believer, try to connect in some way with a higher power or a consciousness in the universe that can somehow give you hope.<\/p>\n

Hope is the most powerful instrument in my tool box.<\/strong> Without it, I\u2019m in deep trouble. Yesterday I came across a quote by Martin Luther King that I love and that I will remember: \u201cWe must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

So grab on to hope \u2026 in any and all ways you can.<\/p>\n

Roses, for me, are a powerful symbol of hope.<\/a> It never fails that when I have plummeted to a low point, a friend or a reader or someone out of the blue will send me roses.<\/p>\n

Three or four weeks ago, I had one of those days where I could not stop crying\u2014and although I write about running and kayaking, I do have days where I can\u2019t do anything but cry<\/a> \u2026 please know that \u2026 I am no superwoman, just another person with bipolar that struggles to get through many days\u2014in the mail came a beautiful rose box filled with rose petals and potpourri. I don\u2019t think this person had any idea of my disposition that day. But there they were \u2013 rose petals that supplied me with an extra ounce of hope that I surely needed.<\/p>\n

I keep symbols of hope all around me:<\/strong> on my desk, in my purse, as jewelry, key chains. I need reminders all around me that those feelings of despair and hopelessness are just that \u2026 feelings \u2026 and that they are NOT accurate translators of reality.<\/p>\n

Besides symbols of hope, there are the other tools that I often talk about<\/a>: sleep hygiene <\/strong>(going to bed at the same time each night, waking up at the same time in the morning, sleeping between seven and nine hours of sleep, consistently). I believe that sleep is just as crucial, maybe more, than medication. Your body can\u2019t heal if you\u2019re not sleeping. Your brain needs that time to do all the processing that it can\u2019t while you are awake.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m religious about sleep hygiene.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Medication.<\/strong> It could be that you are not on the right drug or not at the therapeutic level. I didn\u2019t begin to get well until I found the right doctor. So I am adamant that people do the homework to get the right fit. These professionals can make the different in your life from trudging through every day to actually having moments of joy, where you completely enjoy the kid in front of you who is doing something obnoxious. Okay, maybe not ENJOY, but tolerate without undue amounts of pain.<\/p>\n

Diet. <\/strong>Another important tool. <\/a>Be careful of alcohol. It\u2019s a depressant. Stay away from too many processed foods. I know I sound like a crazy health nut, but I can immediately see the change in my mood after eating too many simple carbs. Try to eat sugar in moderation. I\u2019m not great at this one, but at least I know that, after eating a huge piece of cake, my hyperactive behavior isn\u2019t mania. It\u2019s the cake.<\/p>\n

Therapy is wonderful tool. <\/strong>I don\u2019t enjoy it. I mean, I love my therapist, but I look forward to therapy about as much as I do a dentist appointment, because it can be painful. I cry a lot there. I say things that I wish I didn\u2019t have to. I\u2019m afraid she\u2019s going to think I\u2019m a psycho. But every time I leave, I feel a hell of a lot better.<\/p>\n

Friends.<\/strong> When I\u2019m depressed, I isolate. It can be very difficult to make myself be around people. But even if it is forced and not at all fun, it usually gets tolerable and even pleasurable at some point \u2013 like after the third invitation. What usually happens is someone makes a sarcastic remark that makes me smile, which reminds me that my funny bone is broken and needs to be fixed. Because humor is a very powerful tool<\/a><\/strong>, as well. If you can find any occasion where there is a strong likelihood of your laughing \u2013 take advantage of that! Maybe even rent some comedy flicks.<\/p>\n

What else? Helping other people <\/strong>…\u00a0preferably who are depressed. That pulls me out of myself faster than anything else. Writing Beyond Blue<\/a> is a commitment that, I believe, has kept me out of the Black Hole for years. When I get notes that say that a post helped a person to have a better day, that is medicine to my emotional health. If there is any way you can give back and help, I think you will experience the same.<\/p>\n

So those are just a few of my tools. I\u2019d love to hear what you all have to say about getting through the day, or the things you do to stay out of the Black.<\/strong><\/p>\n

*\u00a0Click here to subscribe to Beyond Blue<\/strong><\/a> and click here to follow Therese on Twitter<\/strong><\/a> and click here to join Group Beyond Blue<\/strong><\/a>, a depression support group. Now stop clicking.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On the combox of my post, \u201cSuffering: the Irritant That Produces the Pearl,\u201d a reader wrote: In you I see a woman who runs and kayaks and all the things that exhaust me just to read. As a read about your finding the tools\/kits, I want tot say, PLEASE tell me what the tools are?…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-inspiration-and-prayer"],"yoast_head":"\nHope and the Other Tools to Fight Depression - Beyond Blue<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/2011\/05\/hope-and-the-other-tools-in-my-fighting-depression-kit.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hope and the Other Tools to Fight Depression - Beyond Blue\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On the combox of my post, \u201cSuffering: the Irritant That Produces the Pearl,\u201d a reader wrote: In you I see a woman who runs and kayaks and all the things that exhaust me just to read. 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