Fight Depression with Life Style Choices

Fight Depression with Life Style Choices
 A few years back my sister was diagnosed with cancer and after along battle died.  In the middle of her battle I became very depressed and decided my life style was contributing to my depression.  My usually demanding outside sales job became my prison.  I could and often did stay in my Pajamas all day doing my necessary calls.  Showering , getting dressed and eating came in second to Bejewel.  I functioned on a must basis.  Finally, I quit my job which was worse because I had no incentive to do anything and my family could use my income having grown fond of food and living indoors. 

I decided to find a job close to home that forced me to be positive.   A job that demanded I get out of bed and leave the house.  I had waited tables off and on so I went to restaurants and got a sever job that let me work the hours I wanted.  I wanted to work when my family was out.  Some time alone was good  but not too much.    The atmosphere and  the people are positive and make me feel positive too.  This was a very good change and I am there still.  I don’t make a lot of money but I can’t put a price on sanity.

The second thing I did was to exercise regularly.  I feel a tightening of the screws when I go to long without strenuous exercise.  It, for me, works.  I plan my day around exercise.  Waking up and putting on my exercise clothes and planning when I will start and finish is part of my day.  I have tapes, machines and a gym membership.  I plan fun activities around exercise too. 

I also plan time to just be quiet.  Call it meditation what ever makes you feel good.  Sometimes I am over stimulated and can’t concentrate.  I turn off everything and just listen to my own thoughts.  Yeah, scary.  I keep a pad handy and write down things that race through my mind.  I maybe the 10 minute trip to work or an hour or more but I have quiet.

I tried medication.  My doctor asked questions and prescribed some expensive pills which made me crazy.  The price made me crazy no the pills.  After pricing was worked out I went generic and for a few months that made me feel better than just blaw.  I am anything if not blaw. So I stopped taking the meds.  I also stopped having crying jags out of the blue.  This did not work for me but if you feel out of control talk to a professional and medication might be just what you need. 

It is not easy to share this problem.  But because I am dealing with it I feel  sharing might be the next step to healing.  I like my life, adore my family and one day soon I’ll step back into life at full tilt.  For now I’ll be waiting tables where smiles are easy to come by and my work mates are amusing and carefree.  Simple Mat

 

Simple mat is just that simple.  If I can do I think anybody can.  I am finding that taking mortar out of the equation has made arrangement of the tiles and tile cutting the hard part.  I had a paper template of my wall to help me lay out the tile and decide on cuts.  I used a small tile cutter from Harbor Freight to cut my tiles.  The cutter was awesome for the first four tiles and than I had issues.  I took a break and set the Simple mats on the wall.  Very easy.  Because I have everything laid out it was simple.  I would use Simplemat again in a heart beat. 

Simple Mat

 

Simple mat is just that simple.  If I can do I think anybody can.  I am finding that taking mortar out of the equation has made arrangement of the tiles and tile cutting the hard part.  I had a paper template of my wall to help me lay out the tile and decide on cuts.  I used a small tile cutter from Harbor Freight to cut my tiles.  The cutter was awesome for the first four tiles and than I had issues.  I took a break and set the Simple mats on the wall.  Very easy.  Because I have everything laid out it was simple.  I would use Simplemat again in a heart beat. 

Simple Mat

 

Simple mat is just that simple.  If I can do I think anybody can.  I am finding that taking mortar out of the equation has made arrangement of the tiles and tile cutting the hard part.  I had a paper template of my wall to help me lay out the tile and decide on cuts.  I used a small tile cutter from Harbor Freight to cut my tiles.  The cutter was awesome for the first four tiles and than I had issues.  I took a break and set the Simple mats on the wall.  Very easy.  Because I have everything laid out it was simple.  I would use Simplemat again in a heart beat. 

Simple Mat

 

Simple mat is just that simple.  If I can do I think anybody can.  I am finding that taking mortar out of the equation has made arrangement of the tiles and tile cutting the hard part.  I had a paper template of my wall to help me lay out the tile and decide on cuts.  I used a small tile cutter from Harbor Freight to cut my tiles.  The cutter was awesome for the first four tiles and than I had issues.  I took a break and set the Simple mats on the wall.  Very easy.  Because I have everything laid out it was simple.  I would use Simplemat again in a heart beat. 

Simple Mat

 

Simple mat is just that simple.  If I can do I think anybody can.  I am finding that taking mortar out of the equation has made arrangement of the tiles and tile cutting the hard part.  I had a paper template of my wall to help me lay out the tile and decide on cuts.  I used a small tile cutter from Harbor Freight to cut my tiles.  The cutter was awesome for the first four tiles and than I had issues.  I took a break and set the Simple mats on the wall.  Very easy.  Because I have everything laid out it was simple.  I would use Simplemat again in a heart beat.A few years back my sister was diagnosed with cancer and after along battle died.  In the middle of her battle I became very depressed and decided my life style was contributing to my depression.  My usually demanding outside sales job became my prison.  I could and often did stay in my Pajamas all day doing my necessary calls.  Showering , getting dressed and eating came in second to Bejewel.  I functioned on a must basis.  Finally, I quit my job which was worse because I had no incentive to do anything and my family could use my income having grown fond of food and living indoors.  

Environment
I decided to find a job close to home that forced me to be positive.   A job that demanded I get out of bed and leave the house.  I had waited tables off and on so I went to restaurants and got a sever job that let me work the hours I wanted.  I wanted to work when my family was out.  Some time alone was good  but not too much.    The atmosphere and  the people are positive and make me feel positive too.  This was a very good change and I am there still.  I don’t make a lot of money but I can’t put a price on sanity.
Exercise
The second thing I did was to exercise regularly.  I feel a tightening of the screws when I go to long without strenuous exercise.  It, for me, works.  I plan my day around exercise.  Waking up and putting on my exercise clothes and planning when I will start and finish is part of my day.  I have tapes, machines and a gym membership.  I plan fun activities around exercise too.
Quiet
I also plan time to just be quiet.  Call it meditation what ever makes you feel good.  Sometimes I am over stimulated and can’t concentrate.  I turn off everything and just listen to my own thoughts.  Yeah, scary.  I keep a pad handy and write down things that race through my mind.  I maybe the 10 minute trip to work or an hour or more but I have quiet.
Medication
I tried medication.  My doctor asked questions and prescribed some expensive pills which made me crazy.  The price made me crazy no the pills.  After pricing was worked out I went generic and for a few months that made me feel better than just blaw.  I am anything if not blaw. So I stopped taking the meds.  I also stopped having crying jags out of the blue.  This did not work for me but if you feel out of control talk to a professional and medication might be just what you need.
Sharing
It is not easy to share this problem.  But because I am dealing with it I feel  sharing might be the next step to healing.  I like my life, adore my family and one day soon I’ll step back into life at full tilt.  For now I’ll be waiting tables where smiles are easy to come by and my work mates are amusing and carefree. 

Knowing your child’s friends will strengthen your relationship

Know their friends
You should know all your child’s good friends. Have them to dinner ask question and get to know their value system. Get numbers and addresses if needed. Let them know they call contact you too. Changes happen quickly ask specific question, be informed.



Ask for their help
Tell friends what you expect from your child and enlist their help to achieve results. I love to hear my son’s best friend say, “Clean your room or we’ll never get outta here.” His friends push him to keep up with home work too. They know the rules: bad grades and incomplete chores means he has no fun.

Give your child the benefit of the doubt
Choosing good friends is a skill you can nurture in your child. However, give your child the benefit of doubt about who he chooses but be involved with. If you have doubt, without proof, ask your child to tell you if the friend is ok. Explain that as friends values change he/she may need to discontinue or limit friendships. Give you child the opportunity to make good choices.

Good friends will ask for your guidance
If you’ve laid the ground work his friends may tell you when there is trouble. Recently I had a friend of my son’s tell me to “watch out for another child”. This child does not have much support so I give extra when he’s in the picture. It maybe hard but you can give advice without being judgmental. Leave the door open for question and support.

In Conclusion
Keep communication open. Be prepared to ask for and give help. Your child is the best judge of his friends. Talk and ask question and listen with an open mind. Your child will be glad you did.