Self Care For Depression Series Step 2: Body

Last week I wrote about my history with depression and the very simple way to begin a routine of self care for depression, even with little ones underfoot. (If you haven’t read it, go back to read Step 1.) Today I want to talk a bit about the next priority that I set for myself when I recognize that I am suffering from overwhelm or depression: physical self care. 

 

I mentioned that I start my morning with a coffee. I have a “high maintenance” coffee that actually contributes to my physical care. I skip breakfast so often so I started making a yummy protein filled latte instead of a regular coffee. I mix 2 tablespoons of beef gelatin into half a cup of while fat milk using my Breville milk frother (one if the few kitchen gadgets I’m willing to give up precious counter space for!) and make a medium coffee. The frother was a Christmas present a couple years ago that gets used several time a day, including by my children who love steamers or matcha lattes, or hot chocolate. We are a milk loving family so hot milk beverages are pretty standard in our diets. 

 

Anyway, while everything is frothing and brewing  I down a glass of milk or water (usually milk, if we have enough) with my vitamins. I take a pretty standard combination of vitamins: omega 3, probiotics, vitamin c, vitamin d, magnesium, dessicated liver (I have struggled with iron levels my whole life so this one helps there), methyl folate and methyl b12. This is a combination that I have discovered works well for my general wellbeing and energy levels. It took me a long time to come to this particular combination with the help of my doctor, naturopath, and my own research and experimentation. I continue to tweak (for example, I discovered the liver and omega contributed hugely to my nausea during pregnancy so I dropped those for a time) and change doses depending on factors like the time of year. 

While the combination is working well, I also add a “heavy hitter” in the natural world for my depression: St John’s Wort. I have, in the past, taken pharmaceutical anti depressants and I highly recommend talking to your doctor to see if this is something your should try, if you’ve felt in a state of stress and overwhelm or depression for more than just a few months. If you find the right one, it can be a really great help to balance things and remind you what it’s like to feel “normal” again. At this point St John’s Wort has been my go to for depression. I often take a higher dose in the winter to help ward off seasonal affective disorder (Check out my 6 Tips for Beating Winter Blues to see how I deal with this) and either lower the dose or stop completely during the summer when I’m able to get more sunshine, fresh air, and exercise (in essence, going on walks around the farm with the kids or pulling weeds and watering the garden, when we have one). 

 

In addition to regularly taking vitamins, I take care of my body by getting a lot of sleep. There are those that say we all get the same 24 hours every day to accomplish things but I disagree. Some people only need 5 or 6 hours of sleep. I am NOT some people. Between my natural issues as a lower energy person, my health struggles over the years, pregnancies, and the fact that I have had at least one night waking child for the last 11.5 years, I have learned that I need a higher than average amount of sleep.

I need about 9 hours of sleep every night.

I am usually in bed and ready to sleep by 10:00pm so I can be up around 6:00ish, before my kids start waking. Then I nap with the littlest in the afternoon for 30-60 minutes. At some phases in my life this has meant putting on a show and dozing on the couch and at some points (as my older children have gotten more responsible) this looks like tucking into my own bed upstairs for an hour or more. And then making sure I get to bed early if my nap time doesn’t rejuvenate me enough.

 

We really underestimate the value of sleep in our society, and it is to our own detriment. Trust me when I say that “losing” a few evening hours won’t be the end of the world. Or that getting up before the children is necessary to get anything accomplished. To be honest with you, I just recently started getting up before the kids to begin writing again. I don’t, however, leave my bed. I know that my toddler will wake up within 5 minutes of me leaving him, or my 5yo bouncy and bubbly morning sunshine will decide that 6am is his new wakeup up time too. So, instead, my house begins waking up about 7:30 (actually, the 5yo has learned to look for the 7 on the clock and is often sitting (read: bouncing, jumping, giggling) on the couch when the 2yo and I come downstairs) and the kids know that my primary response to their chattering is a grunt until I get mind up and running for the day. 

 

So I’ve covered my coffee routine, vitamins, and sleep. Now to talk about the most dreaded physical care tip: Exercise. 

 

Brutal honesty: I have never really done this. The only form of exercise I can get excited about is swimming but the pool in town is a 20 minute drive and there is no child care so I can’t go swim laps every couple of days. Most of my exercise consists of carrying a baby or toddler around on my hip or back while I lug laundry baskets up the stairs or sweep the floors. In the summer I do regularly get outside to walk around the farm at a leisurely pace. I hibernate during the winter because I get cold very easily and I have a history of a bad back injury so I am afraid of slipping on ice.

We recently purchased a rowing machine (this is the rowing machine we purchased) and I have been attempting to get a few minutes in every day. It is gentle enough that a few minutes doesn’t aggravate my back and I believe it is actually strengthening my core as I am not struggling with pelvic and hip pain during this pregnancy like I did with the others. I started with 10 strokes, then worked up to 50, which only took about 1.5 minutes, and have built up to setting a time on my phone for 3.5 minutes. It’s not a lot but it is something I can currently commit to. I’ll add time as I’m able to, mentally and physically. Baby steps. 

I usually row right before gathering my laundry and making my bed during our 9am “High 5” routine. The machine is in the office/storage room next to our bedroom so I have no excuse. I just pretend, for my own mind’s sake, that gathering laundry takes 3.5 minutes longer than it used to. It doesn’t feel like a big of a deal then and my mind doesn’t fight it as much. 

I believe it was Ruth Soukup in her book Do It Scared who I first heard say that discipline is a limited resource. Use it for the big goals in your life so you can move forward. When I’m in a season of depression or overwhelm, the biggest goal in my life is to “right the boat,” so to speak. Or survive day to day. This means that I use the very limited amount of discipline and willpower I can muster to take care of my soul and body and mind by creating habits that no longer require discipline to push through.