SAD stops in the Spring – so a few more words of wisdom before I sign off until the Autumn.

              

Pictures we have shared since October on our journey to manage SAD.

As you cast your eye across each one, do any remind you of a moment when your mood changed for the better?  Cherish it.

There is as much beauty in a dandelion or pink blossom, as a stone from the beach or a dragonfly. It is all about our perception and how we choose to view the world.

What we think has an enormous effect on mood and physical well being.  If we choose to think sad or angry thoughts our mood will be sad,  our immune system less robust. If we think calm and/or cheerful thoughts our  mood with be brighter and our bodies will respond accordingly.

Now that the weather is changing people with SAD know that they will soon be enjoying the summer. It is strange that some of those who suffer from SAD find that quite  suddenly it is over for another season, while for others feelings of optimism come back more gradually.

Fortunately we now know that it can be managed with light boxes, self help,and/ or supportive friends and family.

Always remember however that if you feel your depression is more than seasonal, or if it is seasonal and you feel desperate at any time there is always the Samaritans.

You can follow this blog again  in the autumn, when I hope to be back with some more ideas and some new images.

Now the  other side of  tragedy is humour so I will leave you with my film channel that always cheers me up, especially the films about the old dry stone wall and Monet’s Garden.

http://www.youtube.com/user/Brightonfilms?feature=mhee

 Good luck, take care

Ann

The cycle of SAD is coming to an end again.

April 2012

         April and we are coming to the end of SAD for another year.  

Time to congratulate yourself for having come  through the winter.

Please use your own hands for the following affirmations.

Cross your arms gently across your breast/chest -so that  each hand will be lightly touching your opposite shoulder.

Now breath in gently … exhale slowly… do this three times …  be  aware of your breath and take your time.  Now go back to your own breathing pattern …even quiet and steady.

Now give yourself permission and say to yourself slowly.

I am O.K.  I have the capacity to be optimistic, I have the capacity to be loving and creative. I am O.K.

Now picture any or all of the following.

One picture, object or idea that has helped to change your mood for the better in the last five months

and/or think of  someone who has helped you on this journey

and/or  colours that are bright and light and help you to feel optimistic

and/or tastes that you are now more fully aware of

and/or smells that you can enjoy

and/or the texture of your clothes beneath you hands right now

Congratulate yourself ..say one more time – I am Ok

Release your hands, knowing that you can do all or some of this  at any time that it could be useful to you.

 Take care Ann

Seeing is believing today!

         

Have you ever stumbled across something remarkable that you simply didn’t expect to see?

This is always happening to me. A walk on the beach with a little more attention than usual can bring a special discovery. Like this stone full of crystal, or this  dragonfly which I saw during a walk in the park last year and what about the elephant? He was one of many in a line of wooden elephants in Green Park.

SAD comes from dwelling on unwanted thoughts, refusing to engage in the world around you.  The challenge is to find three different things today, something that is particularly colourful, something that has a really unusual shape and something that makes you smile.  See how you get on.  Take care Ann

Sunny images, yellow and red – doing a tiny kindness for someone else.

The amount of  sun we have had has been brilliant for SAD sufferers this year,  get out in it as much as possible..

This week we are considering how colours, especially yellow and red are so cheering.

Spend some time letting  your mind dwell on the colour of  summer sun, sunflowers, butter, rings, trinklets. let yellow and gold come into your mind.

Sun on water, yellow daffs, a tiny gold basket, a yellow book cover, the texture of a lemon in the kitchen, a yellow tablecloth, yellow seeds in the bird feeder, a yellow watch strap  and  real  gold…. the memory of a loved one?

Red  roses, pillar boxes, red hats, red onions, tomatoes.

Which colour came out the best,  consider any slight preferences.

Colours do affect our mood. What colours do you usually wear, would a more colourful wardrobe help? After all we often think of black and grey as depressing.

This week  step out of yourself too, become a  kindly,  helpful,  caring  stage manager. Remember Shakespeare and ‘ all the  world’s a  stage’…we can choose to take on a different role from time to time.

Is there is something you could do for someone else, a loved one, a friend, a carer. If they know you suffer from SAD why not surprise them by hiding  it for an hour or so?

We  have celebration days ahead, Valentines Day. Pancake Day and Spring approaching.  No valentine? No problem, buy some choccy love hearts and eat them all yourself. If you don’t have the capacity to love yourself it may be hard to love others.

Changing behaviour patterns

30th Janurary

SAD  and the behaviour that goes with it can becomes a habit.  So let’s think of changing our behaviour first,  to allow more optimistic thoughts to follow.

If you are living with someone, your mother for instance  and she makes you a meal, does your ironing, plans a treat, instead of silent acceptance, whispered thanks, or a grunt as an  acknowledgement, make a real effort to give her a heartfelt  ’thank you’,  eye contact and even a smile.

If  you live with a  partner, same thing,  a special ‘thank you’  for something you usually take for granted.

If you live on your own thank yourself  for who you are, being a friend to someone, your effort to be part of the wider world.

Now we’ll all go into a bigger context.

Think about sending a  card to someone you have neglected,  saying you are just thinking about them. Take a pot of ‘tete a tete’  (mini daffodil type flowers)  to a lonely neighbour, email someone and say ‘Hi I’m thinking about you’.  If you do this, be careful about any replies you may receive. Do not get  drawn into making arrangements to see them or doing something you are not up to as  yet.

Each time you  say a special thankyou or do even a tiny good deed, notice how you feel,  your breathing, your face muscles,  how they change when you smile.  How different is that to the bland feeling of SAD? Just notice!

Some more views on SAD

SAD can lead to routine  behaviours  that add to a dull mental state.  These routines are often due to low self esteem and negative repetitive thoughts,  which in turn lead to lack of motivation and we spiral further into SAD.

We can train ourselves to change our  behaviour patterns  first,  then to our surprise dull thought patterns change to more positive ones as a result .

This is the basis of  CBT,  Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in the  therapy world.

I believe that ‘knowledge is power. if  we know what is going on,  in terms of our mental health. we can sometimes make changes for ourselves, not least while we are waiting for longer term professional help.

But I will still remind you that if you feel sad for more than a few days, and/or feel,unable to do the things you usually do, avoid friends or social activities,  it is best to consult your doctor now.

                                    Words for today* small changes in behaviour can lead to changes in thought patterns,

it is not a sign of failure to seek professional help

Chinese New Year – another reason to celebrate?

23rd January

Chinese New Year – another new start in case you missed the last one!

I am the year of the dragon…very good news, now I can be fiery without apologising, strong,  brave and insufferable as usual.  One has to look on the bright side.

But I am  also trying to set more realistic goals, so that I don’t end up taking on too much, feeling guilty and having to apologise and I suggest you do the same.

Today I  made a list of things I am going to drop,  like groups I am half hearted about.

Then I made a list of groups that energise me, activities that make me feel fantastic, like aqua, painting, making films or growing onions.

If this is proves too  hard, close your eyes and think of a time when you were on your own and happy and energised. Nothing huge, just a bright mood. In your mind’s eye create the picture, see the colours,  where are you? Doing what?  Open your eyes, what is the  creative  side of your mind telling you? Any clues that will put something on your list?

It ‘s just a question of getting through the rest of the winter without getting too gloomy. At least in terms of the weather it has been far from gloomy. Just  take one day at time.  If you read this far Gold Star, you want to help yourself and you are.

                                 Words today * take one day at a time

Sing your heart out!

January 18th 

Find your favourite song on youtube, sing along all day.

                             Words today * enjoy the sound of your own voice,

Self esteem, yogo and feeling fit.

I was beginning to feel a bit low myself after Christmas,  luckily I reminded myself that this is a normal reaction to all that jollity!  It is therefore important to be kind to yourself and to keep pro-active to  manage your SAD.

To this end I was very pro-active and decided to go to aqua twice a week and have taken up yogo.  The slow sort of yoga where one rolls about on a mat to low mystic music and the tutor tries not to frighten us by telling us we are about to be  ’planks’. A plank is a yoga position.

She also keeps reminding us to ‘go slowly’ and how wonderful our bodies must be feeling. She is of course young and pretty, has the body of a stick insect and can flop forward with her head between her feet and her arms through her legs like a rag doll, while my thighs feel like tree trunks and my stomach appears to be begging a gastric band! But am I daunted? I am not!

Luckily there  seems to be quite a lot of ‘cat’ which is sort of relaxed and rolled up. This is fine by me, particularly as I lost a few disks in my back several years ago (puppeteers tend to be careless with their backs) and some of the moves are beyond me!

In my new  mood of optimism  I decided to tackle my weight too, without spending money on stupid diets that always end up with one being fatter than when one started.

I got the idea from reading a report in the paper today about ‘gastric band hypnotherapy. Apparently the session convinced a client that her stomach was the size of a golf ball, so she stopped eating so much and lost several stone!

I just got a lovely clear sparkly bauble down from the Christmas decoration box in the loft. Admittedly it is twice the size of a golf ball, but I soon convinced myself that my stomach is about the same size. Now every time I look at it  I will stop being so greedy and stay in the kitchen until I am a lot thinner! (I’ll let you know how I get on).

Just to add to this creative and cheaper alternative to Weight Watchers and the like,  I decided to use the smallest prettiest dinner plate I could find  (a large tea plate really) for my meals and a giant sherry glass should I want to indulge in a glass of wine!  I am eating the same things but much less. So  Miss Stick-insect with your rag dolly movements and mystic music -watch this space.

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De clutter and feel virtuous!

January 12th

We are so lucky that the weather has held out and many days are bright and sunny. This means that our brains are already feeling brighter and lighter than on dull days.

The most important thing at the moment is to do one positive thing a day and get out for a walk, almost anywhere!

Today for instance I de-cluttered my kitchen. This also meant taking some Flash with bleach and a cloth to all the shelves, I  threw away anything that had not been used for over a year e.g  I know I’ll never make waffles. I also had a pile of china to take to the charity shop.

I went out to post a letter to a cousin in Australia, yes I could email, but sometimes writing a letter seems more caring and I know she appreciates them.

Having started on the kitchen. I am going to systematically work my way round every cupboard. The charity shop will benefit and I’ll feel virtuous. Now do I really need two tables?  How about you? Got too much clutter?

New Year Resolutions – not likely!

Don’t eat, don’t drink, run a marathon, be kinder to everyone,  adopt a camel!

I like the last one!

I won’t bother with any New Years Resolutions – not likely,  I’ve been  trying to eat healthily for months and usually get to the gym twice a week, that’s enough for anyone!

But I will get out my gold stars (for children) and list every minor achievement of 2011 on  a piece of card or a postcard.

I love this idea, it is surprising how easy it is to forget the little successes of the past year.

You have to think small. You have grown something successfully, made a wonderful cake for someone, learned something new.

I sent a poem off to a competition, I didn’t have much chance of winning of course, but it’s the fact I actually tried. Gold Star on my card!

I’ve been using the star idea  for about seven years and it is always a surprise.  Put your card up somewhere where you can see it on a daily basis.