If you suffer from depression, please do not let shame isolate you. Depression is an illness and there is nothing to be ashamed of. While I am now comfortable with this topic and am happy to discuss my illness with anyone asking, it has not always been the case. In fact writing this blog has been an essential step in helping me to talk about depression.    Continue reading “Don’t suffer in silence: depression and shame”

The 21^st of March (or the official end of winter) is one of my favourite days of the year and so is the whole month of March as an extension. Because when spring arrives it means that I have survived winter. And this is not always a given when you have depression. Continue reading “How I survived this winter without medication”

In my latest post I went through the first four actions that will reverse the cycle of depression: exercise, decision making, sleep and developing positive habits. Today we will look at the other four actions: biofeedback, gratitude, social interactions and therapy.

Continue reading “8 actions that will reverse the cycle of depression – Part 2”

In my last post I mentioned a brilliant book, “The Upward Spiral”  from Alex Korb, neuroscientist specialised in mood disorders, which has given me a real understanding of the neurological mechanics of depression and how to reserve it. So as promised here is a little more on this topic: the 8 actions recommended by Dr Alex Korb to reverse the downward spiral of depression.

Continue reading “8 actions that will reverse the cycle of depression – Part 1”

And how it can help you fight depression

So now that you have read “How to raise your mood when you are feeling low” you know exactly what you need to do to feel better. So why are you not doing it already?

Don’t worry you are not the only one in this case. It is human nature. What you need to get yourself in gear is to be held accountable by someone else. Because we really do not like being that person who say they are going to do things and do not do it. And that is human nature too.

Continue reading “The power of accountability”

Anyone who has ever suffered from depression knows that the hardest part is to break the feeling low cycle. You feel low. You do things that comfort you at the time (like staying in bed crying all day, eating, smoking, drinking…). But these things are in fact bad for you and make you feel worse. And so you do feel worse. Which is why you do more these things that comfort you but are bad for you. Which makes you feel even worse. And so on.

Yes, you know what I am talking about. Continue reading “How to raise your mood when you are feeling low”

Christmas is a merry time of year! Well, not for everyone… If you suffer from depression you might find that Christmas might make you feel even lower due to the general pressure that you should be happy at Christmas and you should be celebrating. On top of that you are likely to see  some members of your family that you wouldn’t want to spend time with usually, like this auntie who is going to ask you when you are going to get married and have children “because you know…you are not getting any younger!”

Or they might just point out this one thing in your life that isn’t quite how you would like it to be and makes you feel worse anyway.

So here are my tips to not let any of that get to you and allow you to actually enjoy Christmas this year! Continue reading “7 Expert tips to survive Christmas with your family”