April 11, 2021

CWD Daily

Tips for Coping with Depression

If you are in a suicide crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline - 
1-800-273-8255.

Tip of the Day

Get help.

When you're depressed, you're not necessarily thinking clearly, and the availability of help is easy to overlook.

Sometimes the most obvious things are too close to see. If you're miserable, change something! If you can't get motivated or move or don't know what to do, get help!

The Anxiety and Depression Association of America has fantastic resources for finding the right help to conquer depression, including an interactive “Find a Therapist” directory.

Other resources from the ADAA can be found HERE.

CWD Daily is written by Julie Aiken, a layperson whose only authority lies in 40 years of coping with depression. Nothing in the newsletter should be taken as medical advice. Please do no self-diagnose or self-prescribe. Above all, please get help if you need it. 

Contact: witchhazel2020@gmail.com  

April 10, 2021

CWD Daily

Tips for Coping with Depression

If you are in a suicide crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline - 
1-800-273-8255.

Tip of the Day

Self-medicating:

Alcohol
Tobacco
Sex
Food
Sugar
Chocolate
Sleeping
Exercise
Cannabis
Drugs: Cocaine, Amphetamines, Opiates such as Codeine, Heroin, and Methadone

Any of these certainly may make you feel better, but in some circumstances they each may also be more harmful than helpful. Most can be addictive and all can create real physical, emotional and social problems, especially if overindulged. If you feel you have a problem, please seek help.

CWD Daily is written by Julie Aiken, a layperson whose only authority lies in 40 years of coping with depression. Nothing in the newsletter should be taken as medical advice. Please do no self-diagnose or self-prescribe. Above all, please get help if you need it. 

Contact: witchhazel2020@gmail.com  

April 9, 2021

CWD Daily

Tips for Coping with Depression

If you are in a suicide crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline - 
1-800-273-8255.

Tip of the Day

Some studies show a correlation between low salt intake and depression. However, the vast majority of people with Western diets get far more salt than they need, and research is inconclusive.

If you suffer from depression and are restricting your salt intake to below 6 grams per day for adults or 2 grams per day for children, ask your doctor to look into any possible connection between the two.

CWD Daily is written by Julie Aiken, a layperson whose only authority lies in 40 years of coping with depression. Nothing in the newsletter should be taken as medical advice. Please do no self-diagnose or self-prescribe. Above all, please get help if you need it. 

Contact: witchhazel2020@gmail.com  

April 8, 2021

CWD Daily

Tips for Coping with Depression

If you are in a suicide crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline - 
1-800-273-8255.

Tip of the Day

HERE is a nice, short, Buzzfeed video on the Things Nobody Told Me About Depression. With British accents, so that's a plus!

CWD Daily is written by Julie Aiken, a layperson whose only authority lies in 40 years of coping with depression. Nothing in the newsletter should be taken as medical advice. Please do no self-diagnose or self-prescribe. Above all, please get help if you need it. 

Contact: witchhazel2020@gmail.com  

April 7, 2021

CWD Daily

Tips for Coping with Depression

If you are in a suicide crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline - 
1-800-273-8255.

Tip of the Day

There is research showing a vegetarian diet causes or increases depression. There are also studies showing a vegetarian diet prevents or decreases depression. Respected scientists disagree.

However, Omega 3 Fatty Acids are fairly universally agreed by research scientists and doctors to be necessary for many bodily functions, including for staving off depression. Nutritional supplements are useful for vegetarians.

For pescatarians (people who eat a mostly plant-based diet but do include some seafood), studies suggest that just one serving per week of salmon can mitigate depression. You can manage that.

Nutritionally, wild and farmed salmon are comparable, though counter-intuitively some research shows that ocean salmon is better than farmed salmon regarding contaminants, pollutants and known carcinogens.

Lox, fresh salmon fillets, frozen salmon and even processed fish like Gorton's – wild or farmed – all are elements of an anti-depression diet.

CWD Daily is written by Julie Aiken, a layperson whose only authority lies in 40 years of coping with depression. Nothing in the newsletter should be taken as medical advice. Please do no self-diagnose or self-prescribe. Above all, please get help if you need it. 

Contact: witchhazel2020@gmail.com  

April 6, 2021

CWD Daily

Tips for Coping with Depression

If you are in a suicide crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline - 
1-800-273-8255.

Tip of the Day

New reports suggest binge-watching TV and movies may contribute to depression.

Nooooooo!

CWD Daily is written by Julie Aiken, a layperson whose only authority lies in 40 years of coping with depression. Nothing in the newsletter should be taken as medical advice. Please do no self-diagnose or self-prescribe. Above all, please get help if you need it. 

Contact: witchhazel2020@gmail.com  

April 5, 2021

CWD Daily

Tips for Coping with Depression

If you are in a suicide crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline - 
1-800-273-8255.

Tip of the Day

TRIGGER WARNING: This is a particularly upsetting subject.

Postpartum Depression is, of course, not something everyone can relate to. But try to empathize, and to understand that it is, after all, depression, and needs to be understood and treated. What a sad, tragic situation it can contribute to.

Check out THIS CNN.com story on three disturbing cases of post-postpartum depression.

CWD Daily is written by Julie Aiken, a layperson whose only authority lies in 40 years of coping with depression. Nothing in the newsletter should be taken as medical advice. Please do no self-diagnose or self-prescribe. Above all, please get help if you need it. 

Contact: witchhazel2020@gmail.com  

April 4, 2021

CWD Daily

Tips for Coping with Depression

If you are in a suicide crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline - 
1-800-273-8255.

Tip of the Day

Get help. Here are a few resources that are family and COVID-19 specific.

World Health Organization: Helping children cope with stress during the 2019-nCoV outbreak

Yale Medicine: Kids and COVID-19: What Parents Should Know

National Association of School Psychologists: Helping Children Cope with Changes Resulting from COVID-19

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Discuss COVID-19 with children

The Washington Post: When both parents of kids test positive for COVID-19

The National Child Traumatic Stress Network: Parent/Caregiver Guide to Helping Families Cope with the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

CWD Daily is written by Julie Aiken, a layperson whose only authority lies in 40 years of coping with depression. Nothing in the newsletter should be taken as medical advice. Please do no self-diagnose or self-prescribe. Above all, please get help if you need it. 

Contact: witchhazel2020@gmail.com  

April 3, 2021

CWD Daily

Tips for Coping with Depression

If you are in a suicide crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline - 
1-800-273-8255.

Tip of the Day

Aromatherapy candles are great. But how about starting your day with cinnamon toast, lemon tea, and mango shampoo?

Get creative with how you incorporate scent into your life, and choose uplifting aromas to surround yourself at every turn.

Scents that traditionally are uplifting include: citrus (lemon, orange, mango), mint, florals like lilac and jasmine, lavender, rosemary and other herbs.

Or choose scents that lift you up based on your associations and memories such as sugar cookies, rose water, popcorn, your mother's perfume or your father's pipe tobacco.

CWD Daily is written by Julie Aiken, a layperson whose only authority lies in 40 years of coping with depression. Nothing in the newsletter should be taken as medical advice. Please do no self-diagnose or self-prescribe. Above all, please get help if you need it. 

Contact: witchhazel2020@gmail.com