This is a sponsored post by me on behalf of Lifescript.com.
It's that time of year again, when my Carpe Diem! Be Happy! mantras just aren't enough to combat the haunting memories that leave me feeling depressed. June 21st was the fifth anniversary of Angeline's biological father's suicide. That, coupled with Angeline's poor grades this past year, a terminal illness in the family and the every day stress of marriage and work have left me feeling a little less than my usual self. It's times like these that I lean on resources like my friends, my family and websites like LifeScript.com for help.
The anniversary of his suicide is always a really hard time of year for me, even if it doesn't affect Angeline.
I honestly don't know why it brings me to such a deep, dark place. Maybe because as Angeline's mother, I'm not just reminded of the death of my ex, but I'm reminded of what she's missed for an entire year - and what he has missed as well.
I've battled feeling depressed for a long time. Sometimes it's simply a nagging voice in the background, easily ignored. Sometimes it's not so easy, especially when I don't want to worry anyone.
Depression can be so very isolating.
But it doesn't have to be, and there are ways to find help. Now, I want to make it clear that I do not suffer from chronic depression or a chemical imbalance: my feeling depressed is completely emotional, and environmental. What works for me may not work for everyone, but it is a start!
Lifescript.com provides medical information, tips and advice that are all written by professional health writers, experts and physicians. Sometimes it's as simple as reading an article on the symptoms of depression to make me realize that what is happening to me is normal, just a reaction to the unpleasant things happening around me or to me. By reading through these articles when I am feeling depressed, I know when the line between simple environmental depression and a serious medical depression has been crossed. With such a long history of depression and suicide in my own family (on both sides, unfortunately), this is something that I know I have to keep a close eye on.
Lifescript.com’s Depression Health Center has so many articles on how to identify the symptoms of depression, resources for people who are living with depression, but what I was most surprised to find was an article on nutrition and exercise - who knew how closely our diet and activity was related to how we feel emotionally? I am horrible at exercise and lately my diet has been garbage. After reading up a bit on the subject, I realized that part of my melancholy lately is probably due to this - and I need to change that immediately! I started cutting out the processed foods again this week and have been making an effort to drink more water and hopefully that will help. The exercise thing...well, that's a harder battle to fight! ha!
Want to find more helpful posts relating to depression?
Here are a few articles and my own personal blog posts relating to the subject of depression:
Learn about the basics in this Depression Facts article on Lifescript.com
Learn how to identify the symptoms of depression in this Depression Symptoms article on LifeScript.com.
And last but not least, you can see how I try to handle my depression in this blog post: Can You Really Make Yourself Feel Happy?
Lifescript’s Depression Health Center features tips, quizzes, recipes and articles – all by professional health writers, experts and physicians – covering postpartum depression, seasonal affective disorder, bipolar disorder, how to boost your mood with exercise and more. Please visit the Lifescript Health Center on depression for more information.
And to check out this free website, click here!
This is a sponsored post by me on behalf of Lifescript.com.
Robin Gagnon
It is always a tough time of year when someone you cared about passed then. One of my dearest friends passed the 1st week of July & my anniversary is the 7th, for a marriage that didn't work out so well.
HilLesha
I've struggled with depression off and on since I was a pre-teen. Along with anxiety issues, depression runs in my family. I've tried taking medication for it, but it only makes it much worse. I've found that praying, taking time for myself, such as going for a long walk; and writing out my feelings in a private journal helps me out a lot.
Kelly
I've dealt with depression and anxiety on and off through the years and what has really help is eliminating sugar from my diet and 5 htp. Julie Ross has an awesome book called The Mood Cure which is so helpful for brain health.
Sheri
Its good that there is help out there.
Rachel
Exercise/diet makes a HUGE difference in my mood and outlook.
Kelli Claypool
Depression is very common in women that carry a heavy load. Often times, however, it's not diagnosed until it becomes severe. Thank you for sharing resources like LifeScript. As women, we need to know that there is help out there.