It’s a question I have asked myself over and over again! The medical field will always give an academia response! Well that is not always helpful! Also attending therapy is tough for so many reasons…

• For one you know you are on the clock and that makes it feel insensitive. It makes it feel you are just a dollar sign. (Understood we all need to make a living, I am in the field so I know but that’s the feeling for many adults/teens not children)
• When you see your therapist looking at the clock it tends to shut down the process.
  It’s expensive, using organic natural medicine can be expensive as well.
• Also it’s a place for someone to listen to you, validate you and guide you in creating tools.
• There is no magic, no quick fix, no medication that makes it go away. That is what the individual wants, is for it to go away!!!!
• Medication has so many downfalls and so many other side effects. It also does not work forever and some of it is addictive! How do we win this battle of depression!?!?

I have to disappoint you by saying that there will always be sad days but suffering from depression is crippling.

So it’s all about a combination of things but managing depression starts with US! There is no way around that, the motivation has to come from within US! A ROUTINE has to be created! Such as:

• Getting up every morning, taking a shower, brushing your teeth and having a warm herbal tea. Even if this is what happens for a few weeks.
• Then introducing uplifting music to your day versus silence. Starting a simple task: journaling, reading a book, painting, colouring, writing letters, or watching a lighthearted show.
• Getting outside for a walk among nature is extremely important. Feeling the fresh air on your skin, hearing the birds sing, the smell of the trees, the feel of the air on your skin, and getting your body to move.
• Healing your thoughts is so important and managing that song & dance we do with ourselves. It is important to navigate our thoughts, as they can dismantle friendships, working relationships and families. Getting control of those thoughts and filtering through what is accurate.
• Today, mediation is so important. It helps us quiet our minds so we can actually see what is going on around us.
• Looking at using vitamins such as; 5-HTP, Vitamin D, Magnesium, or *St. John’s Wort.
• Reading self help books along with attending therapy. (Will have some links below)
• It is so important to not smoke, use alcohol, marijuana, or other substances as it does trigger symptoms of depression.
• Herbal teas are essential and essentials oil in your home. Using crystals on you is extremely helpful as it holds your energy. Looking at what works for you and then implementing it into your daily life. Most important be with nature whenever you can and animals!
• Decrease in electronics such as; phones, TVs, computers and all these addictive tools! Pick up a magazines or book instead!!

Often times when we are experiencing a moment of depression, all of our views are under a microscope. We create a set of emotions that are amplified, dramatic, sensational towards a set of different scenarios. At these moments we can’t separate truth from fiction. We then lose friendships through making unreasonable decisions and unfortunately there will be those times that you will not be able to make amends. Not everyone will understand that you went through a moment of sabotaging everything in sight.

These types of situations stem from distrust created in your childhood. This is the beginning of where trauma is created. Many are not so fortunate to have had a blissful childhood. This is where you should have been protected and had an abundance of love. Often it is here the damage begins and where it leads to so many distorted thoughts. This is where many develop anxiety, depression, low self esteems, insecurities, self destructive behaviours and so forth. In saying all this…

In order to reach recovery, it needs multiple of layers. It will need a combination at times of psychotropic medications, counselling, mindfulness, yoga, vitamins, meditation, and essentially a treatment plan that works for you. This will help you towards becoming a healthy adult and one day, if this is your choice, to be a better parent! You need to rediscovery yourself, build self love, heal all wombs, be open to change and feedback!

Often times you have to look at creating a treatment plan that helps you heal. It can be built through meditation, yoga, journalling, writing, painting, mindfulness activities, adult colouring, volunteering and helping others. This list goes on but you have to find what will work for you and dedicate to your healing. Dedicate to changing the dance to a more positive outcome, as this is possible but takes a lot of work and overcoming our fears. The love you seek is through your well being. Needing to accept gratitude to begin healing depression. You most likely will always have those sad days just not daily. It is knowing to cope with that and being able to manage those days so it does not consume your months and years.

I hope that this blog will find you well! Below I will now list a few links to places I recommend and suggestions to tools:

1. https://itsallaboutyou.ca (it has many different types of spiritual therapies, and medicine)
2. https://www.whitelotusclinic.ca (Get trusted natural and nutritional treatments for hormone balance. Our focused practice offers supportive and compassionate care led by lab testing and research. Established in 2001, our licensed Naturopathic Doctors collectively offer many years of clinical experience)
3. https://theherbalclinicanddispensary.com (Our Herbalists and Dispensary Assistants have in-depth knowledge of herbal medicine, including the optimal therapeutic uses of medicinal plants. We stock a very wide selection of medicinal herbs. Our herbs are of the highest quality. We source cultivated organic or wildcrafted herbs whenever possible and we try to support local farmers)
   Links to useful products:

Dance of anger          click this link o go to the book directly

Anger is something we feel. It exists for a reason and always deserves our respect and attention. We all have a right to everything we feel—and certainly our anger is no exception.”Anger is a signal and one worth listening to,” writes Dr. Harriet Lerner in her renowned classic that has transformed the lives of millions of readers. While anger deserves our attention and respect, women still learn to silence our anger, to deny it entirely, or to vent it in a way that leaves us feeling helpless and powerless. In this engaging and eminently wise book, Dr. Lerner teaches both women and men to identify the true sources of anger and to use it as a powerful vehicle for creating lasting change. For decades, this book has helped millions of readers learn how to turn their anger into a constructive force for reshaping their lives. With a new introduction by the author, The Dance of Anger is ready to lead the next generation.)

Dance of connection         Click this link to go to the book directly

(The key problem in relationships, particularly over time, is that people begin to lose their voice. Despite decades of assertiveness training and lots of good advice about communicating with clarity, timing, and tact, women and men find that their greatest complaints in marriage and other intimate relationships are that they are not being heard, that they cannot affect the other person, that fights go nowhere, that conflict brings only pain. Although an intimate, long-term relationship offers the greatest possibilities for knowing the other person and being known, these relationships are also fertile ground for silence and frustration when it comes to articulating a true self. And yet giving voice to this self is at the center of having both a relationship and a self. Much as she did in THE MOTHER DANCE, Lerner will approach this rich subject with tales from her personal life and clinical work, inspiring and teaching readers to speak their own truths to the most important people in their lives.)

Dance of Fear          Click this link to go to the book directly

(Unhappiness, says bestselling author Harriet Lerner, is fueled by three key emotions: anxiety, fear, and shame. They are the uninvited guests in our lives. When tragedy or hardship hits, they may become our constant companions. Anxiety can wash over us like a tidal wave or operate as a silent thrum under the surface of our daily lives. With stories that are sometimes hilarious and sometimes heartbreaking, Lerner takes us from “fear lite” to the most difficult lessons the universe sends us. We learn: how a man was “cured in a day” of the fear of rejection – and what we can learn from his story, how the author overcame her dread of public speaking when her worst fears were realized, how to deal with the fear of not being good enough, and with the shame of feeling essentially flawed and inadequate, how to stay calm and clear in an anxious, crazy workplace, how to manage fear and despair when life sends a crash course in illness, vulnerability, and loss, how “positive thinking” helps – and harms, how to be our best and bravest selves, even when we are terrified and have internalized the shaming messages of others.)

https://youtu.be/eiKnUjtLgGA

I hope this blog finds you all well and that you are able to take something that will be useful for you.

“Don’t rush anything. When the time is right, it’ll happen. A ruffled mind makes a restless  pillow.”

Love LucyLu