Clinical Depression - I Have Nothing to Be Ashamed Of.....

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As some of you know, I suffer from clinical depression as part of PTSD, which my doctor and I have been treating with medication and therapy for several years pretty successfully. I have had a setback recently with the loss of my little doggie Mai-Li, but with the help of my wonderful husband and the many, many wonderful messages from several of you fabulous friends on Facebook and Twitter, I am slowly, day by day, getting better. I want to thank you so much for your love and friendship throughout this most difficult time.

I also wanted to explain just what clinical depression is to help you understand the symptoms and see that it is something that is truly a medical condition which people can't just "snap out of" but actually need medical attention. However, with the right help, there is hope and people can get better.

The following are a list of symptoms to help diagnose clinical depression:

Depressed mood most of the day, nearly every day

Loss of interest or pleasure in most activities

Significant weight loss or gain

Sleeping too much or not being able to sleep nearly every day

Slowed thinking or movement that others can see

Fatigue or low energy nearly every day

Feelings of worthlessness or inappropriate guilt

Loss of concentration or indecisiveness

Recurring thoughts of death or suicide

In order to be diagnosed with clinical depression,  you must have five or more of the above symptoms over a two-week period with at least one of the symptoms must be either a depressed mood or a loss of interest or pleasure. It also causes noticeable disruptions in daily life, such as work, school or social activities. I have been through periods in my life when I didn't want to get out of bed, or leave the house.  Fortunately symptoms, even severe ones, usually improve with psychological counseling, antidepressant medications or a combination of the two.

Depression is nothing to be ashamed about, remember that is is a medical disorder, just like an apendicitis, that needs treatment. There have been many influential people and celebrities who have recently talked about their struggles with depression in order to help take away the shame many people feel goes along with depression. People such as actress Brook Shields, astronaut Buzz Aldrin, actors Harrison Ford and Hugh Laurie, as well as football player Terry Bradshaw, who is an advocate to remove the stigma of depression.

So, if you find yourself or any of your family or friends with these symptoms, DON'T be embarrassed or think they will just go away. PLEASE talk to your doctor, there is help for you, you can get better. Believe me, it is worth it!

And again, thank you all so much for all your wonderful thoughts, prayers and comments last week during such a terrible time for me.... Now you can understand HOW much it truly helped me.

{For further information see: Mayo Clinic Health Information}

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Week in Review: Computer Problems, Migraine, Vertigo, Back Pain, New Business Venture, Plus PSA

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I know that you have all had one of "THOSE" weeks... well this was one of mine. I'll spare you all the little details, but give you the overall.....


As you saw by by Monday's Music Moves Me post, I suffered from some terrible vertigo that lasted through Tuesday - along with a spill down a few stairs that aggravated my back and nerves down my right leg. So I've been having trouble walking, sitting and sleeping all week - gotta head back to my neurosurgeon next week to see what's up with that.  On top of that with the weather changes we've been having, the air pressure has been having a ball with my migraines - UGH!! So I have had to try and sleep more and take more medication than usual (the naps have been helping make up for the sleep I'm not getting during the night). Add one more issue - problems with my computer, a virus that snuck in somehow - and that was the straw that broke the camels back!

All of this has led to my depression rearing its ugly head. Those of you who suffer from this debilitating disorder (I suffer from PTSD that leads to anxiety and depression) know how these things can just pile on and you think you are doing OK, then - BAM - you finally can't handle it anymore. I am so lucky to have a couple of great friends and my wonderful husband to help me through these times, but it makes it truly hard to write on my blog, which then makes me even more upset because I feel like I'm neglecting my friends and another responsibility. A vicious cycle... many of you may understand.

We have also been trying to get our yard cleaned up for our re-inspection by our HOA as we (along with SEVERAL of our neighbors) received a letter stating that we were in violation of the covenants agreement we all signed when we bought our house. Now I do truly appreciate the HOA keeping our community nice and neat and beautiful, but this year they really seemed to go for the jugular and cited things that had been deemed OK during the last 5 years of inspections... another irritating item in my life. We ended up having to purchase 8 bags of mulch, 3 bags of topsoil, and 85 pieces of sod to fix everything... Can I just say that if I NEVER have to touch a piece of sod again, it will be too soon. This also added to the pain in my back and neck as Bill and I had to do the work ourselves since we didn't have the money to pay someone to do the labor. Our neighbor had similar violations and it cost him over $400 to have someone do the work - no way we could afford that.


On a MUCH happier note, besides the fact that I think I have gotten rid of my computer virus (WooHoo), Bill and I are working on a new business venture together with a wonderful friend of ours. It is a fabulous skin care line designed by dermatologists with prescription ingredients to help with all our needs from adult acne, rosacea, to (my favorite) anti-aging. I cannot wait to introduce it to you... once we are all set up, I'll give you all the details and have a marvelous giveaway worth $300.00!! I hope you are as impressed with it as I am, Bill has even noticed how much softer my face is and I notice a difference in the fine lines. YAY!! So keep your eyes open for all the info and the giveaway coming in the next couple of weeks.

One more thing... my PSA For the Week: I have scheduled my annual mammogram for next month. I just want to remind all my darling friends to get your boobies checked... take a friend, take your sister, take your mother, remind a stranger ~~ it could save a life, maybe even YOURS!

Don't Forget..... Get Your Mammies Grammed!!

Hope you all had a great week and are enjoying the last few days of summer. Things should be getting back to normal around here ~ well as normal as things can be with an old man, a crippled wife =) and six doggies. HaHa

Love you all and thanks for all your support... HUGGLES!

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