CWD Daily

Get Help!

Here are 7 resources with toll-free phone or text numbers for emergency help:

Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (English & Spanish) - 988
Lifeline Crisis Chat: https://988lifeline.org/chat/

Crisis Text Line – US and Canada: text “HOME” to 741741
UK: text “HOME” to 85258 – Ireland: text “HOME” to 50808

The Trevor Project: www.thetrevorproject.org/get-help/
Crisis/Suicide Intervention for LGBTQ youth under 25, 1-866-488-7386.
Free, confidential, secure – text START to 678-678.

National Domestic Violence Helpline:
1-800-799-7233 or text START to 88788 – TTY – 1-800-787-3224
Chat in Spanish from the website: https://espanol.thehotline.org/

Military OneSource – Help for U.S. Military Personnel
Call and talk anytime, 24/7, in Spanish & English – 1-800-342-9647.
TTY/TDD – Dial 711 and give the toll free number 800-342-9647
Live Chat – https://livechat.militaryonesourceconnect.org/chat/

The International Association for Suicide Prevention can link you to hotlines and other resources outside of the USA: https://www.iasp.info/resources/

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Helpline:
1-800-662-4357 or TTY: 1-800-487-4889
Confidential, free, 24/365 information service, in English and Spanish

July 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

Inflammation keeps getting press as a cause of depression.

“The causes of chronic inflammation can vary person to person, but include being overweight, experiencing lots of stress and even breathing polluted air,” Women's Health reported.

Lifestyle choices, like smoking or lack of exercise, also play a role. “Sedentary lifestyle, lack of sleep – we have these repetitive insults that increase longer-term inflammation,” says Jessica Black, M.D., author of The Anti-Inflammatory Diet and Recipe Book.

What foods should you avoid to minimize inflammation?

Transfats
Sugar
White Bread
Milk
MSG
Gluten
Alcohol (more than 1 glass a day)
Omega-6 Fatty Acids (with too few Omega-3's)

So, basically, a common sense mostly vegetarian diet with limited dairy, meat and fish – largely a Mediterranean style diet – is probably the best 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

July 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

Do you sometimes feel like with depression it's one step forward, two steps back? You'll be feeling very positive, like you've been making progress in your battle to get better, and then you'll have a day when you feel like it's hopeless and you'll always be depressed.

That's when your anti-depression techniques need to kick into high gear. But you simply can't muster the energy.

Just try to maintain. Try not to let negative voices in your head tell you you'll never get better. Try to be honest in your internal dialogue:

“I've been making progress but today I feel like it's all for nothing and I'm never going to really feel better. But I don't have to let how I feel today define me. I will try to do one positive thing. As Scarlet would say, tomorrow is another day.”

Remember, tomorrow really was another day for Scarlet O'Hara. She did keep coming back, keep getting up, and keep triumphing, no matter how often she fell.

Contact: witchhazel2020@gmail.com

July 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

It's summer (in the Northern Hemisphere) and that means fresh tomatoes. Tomatoes that taste fantastic!

And a tomato a day is a great anti-depressant regimen.

Tomatoes are just all around great for you, and so versatile. In salads, sandwiches, sauces... Any way you slice it the tomato is a nutritional wonder. (Kind of like the egg.)

So, enjoy a fresh, summer tomato. Even if it doesn't “cure” your depression, it will add some deliciousness to your life!

Contact: witchhazel2020@gmail.com

July 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

Try a short guided meditation on giving loving kindness to others and taking it in for you, as well.

HERE is a link for one recorded and posted by UCLA.

And HERE are more meditations recorded by the UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center.

You can also try THESE excellent 10-minute mindfulness meditations from Calm.com.

Contact: witchhazel2020@gmail.com

July 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

Get help.

Animal assisted therapy and service animals are different techniques for treating depression.

Most animals can be therapy animals – pigs, horses, even cats – and therapy generally takes place in a therapist's office or other work venue.

Service animals generally live with the client, and for the most part only dogs are legally classified as service animals.

According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA, “A service animal is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability.”

Therapy animals are different. “Unlike service animals, therapy animals are not supported under the ADA, meaning that they may not be allowed at certain public venues or in living situations in which the landlord has a no-animal policy. Therapy dogs are trained but not as rigorously or for the same tasks as service dogs. Their main responsibilities are to provide psychological and physiological therapy to people other than their handlers in times of stress. They have good temperaments and calm, easy-going personalities. Whereas service dogs are not supposed to interact with or be touched by anyone but their handler, patients are encouraged to interact with therapy dogs while they are on-duty.”

Both can be trained to treat many issues, including PTSD and depression.

Contact: witchhazel2020@gmail.com

July 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

Declare independence from depression. It won't be easy, but independence never is.

“Depression drains your energy, hope, and drive, making it difficult to take the steps that will help you to feel better. Sometimes, just thinking about the things you should do to feel better, like exercising or spending time with friends, can seem exhausting or impossible to put into action.

“It’s the Catch-22 of depression recovery: The things that help the most are the things that are the most difficult to do. There is a big difference, however, between something that’s difficult and something that’s impossible. While recovering from depression isn’t quick or easy, you do have more control than you realize – even if your depression is severe and stubbornly persistent.”

Click HERE to read some great tips for recovery.

Contact: witchhazel2020@gmail.com

July 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

Pistachios are purported to have several benefits that relate to depression. They are shown to calm stress hormones, and to be high in fiber, protein and magnesium. Magnesium is especially beneficial in combating stress and depression. They also have anti-inflammatory effects.

So, eat pistachios! If you can do so in moderation, which is certainly a challenge!

Contact: witchhazel2020@gmail.com

July 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

MIT research suggests that simply recalling happy memories can ease the symptoms of depression.

See if spending 10 minutes each morning focusing on a happy memory or two helps. Not thinking about a happy memory and then thinking about how your life is crap now. Just basking in the memory: the sights, smells, sounds and feelings of something really happy.

Contact: witchhazel2020@gmail.com