January 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

In winter the nights grow longer and your mood may get darker.

“Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that's related to changes in seasons – SAD begins and ends at about the same times every year. If you're like most people with SAD, your symptoms start in the fall and continue into the winter months, sapping your energy and making you feel moody. Less often, SAD causes depression in the spring or early summer.” (the Mayo Clinic website, 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

January 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

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, mental health issues have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Average weekly data for June 2020 found that 36.5% of adults in the U.S. reported symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorder, up from 11.0% in 2019.

“The states with the highest percentage of adults reporting symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorder are Louisiana (42.9%), Florida (41.5%), Oregon (41.3%), Nevada (39.1%), and Oklahoma (39.0%).”

“The states with the lowest percentage of adults reporting symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorder are Wisconsin (27.2%), Minnesota (30.5%), Nebraska (30.6%), North Dakota (30.9%), and South Dakota (31.0%).”

CLICK HERE to read more about mental health and substance use during the pandemic.

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

January 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

A young man I know posted on Facebook that he’ll be in the Philippines soon. He’s found a job in his field, he’s good at it, he travels with it – he’s got (what looks from the outside like) a fantastic life.

I can be jealous and depressed. He has always had “social disabilities”. I've been blessed. Why can’t I do this?!?

Or I can be uplifted and encouraged. If he can handle life and excel, I know I can!

Today, I choose to feel positive.

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

January 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

What is depression?

“Almost everyone feels down from time to time... Clinical depression is different.”

CLICK HERE to watch a short TED Talk video breaking down what depression is.

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

January 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

Get help.

If you just can't shake your depression and it's impacting your life, like causing you to miss work or avoid time with your family, get help!

But you've tried that before and it didn't work? Or you don't need help. Or you're afraid people will judge you. Or…

Drop the excuses and do this for you. Just for you. Get 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

January 2, 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

“The opposite of depression is not happiness, but vitality.”

This TED Talk is phenomenal: Depression, The Secret We Share 
   
        – Andrew Solomon

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

January 1, 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.

So Long, Farewell... and Don't Let the Door Hit You on the Way Out!

2020... It's been real. You will be remembered, that's for sure.

And now we take time to heal from the pain of shared sorrow we have not yet taken the time to mark. Hopefully the new President will help us commemorate our losses and mourn our dead as a nation.

We take the time to heal our hearts and bodies, to develop and administer the vaccine, to quarantine just a little longer to save our loved ones and communities. 

Happy New Year, 2021! We're ready for you!!!

Tip of the Day

Use the New Year as an opportunity to do things differently. See things differently.

Take one step, just one, towards getting through and over depression.

Take walks.

Cut down on processed sugar and increase your intake of fruits and vegetables.

Get enough sleep.

Meditate or learn breathing exercises.

And get 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

December 31, 2020

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 

You've made it through another year! Woo hoo!

It's time for reflections and resolutions. Did you hit any rough patches you weren't sure you could navigate? Did COVID-19 trigger major depression? Are you still hanging on by a thread?

Were there moments of hope and clarity this year when you knew you were coping with your depression productively and were staying mentally healthy? Or moving toward mental health?

What worked? What definitely did not work?

The bottom line is, whether you learned any lessons or not, whether you had a fairly easy time or the worst year of your life, you are still here! You are coping with depression!

And you can do it next year, too. One foot in front of the other. You've got this!

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 

December 30, 2020

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 

Are you ready to make your New Year's resolution to get healthier next year?

Given that it's the holiday season and we tend to indulge in sugary treats more than usual, let's try this one resolution: Try to cut down on refined sugar in 2011.

There are connections between sugar and many diseases; sugar increases the risks for depression and diabetes, and contributes to systemic inflammation.

Most of us in the Western world consume way more sugar than is recommended by doctors and dietitians. The hills and valleys of energy and emotion caused by indulging in refined sugar are major contributors to 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