Valentine's Day Depression and the SADs

I've been in love and I've been heartbroken enough times in my life to know that the experience can be both exhilarating and devastating. At this point I'd rather be single and a bit lonely than miserable and in a relationship.  I don’t often let the #valentinesdayblues get to me, but when I do I drink Old Milwaukee Non-Alcoholic Beer because I do my best to stay alcohol free this time of year 😆 🍻

Beware friends, even in San Diego the short daylight hours can give me the #wintertimeblues If you’re extra sad today or this time of year, remember you are not alone. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a real thing. I think a lot of people get it and don’t even realize it. I’ve been dealing with SAD my whole life and I didn’t realize it until I was 35 years old (7 years ago). As a teenager growing up in Virginia I would get suicidal in the winter months, especially January & February. About 3 years ago I really learned some ways to combat SAD, including reducing/eliminating alcohol consumption, take dietary supplements, get plenty of rest, exercise and a few other things. Look at the bottom of this entry to see all the things you can do to get yourself up out of the wintertime rut. If you are feeling down please reach out to someone who can help you. There is hope & you can overcome💙

Also, when it comes to love, remember the words of Leonard Cohen “every heart to love will come, but like a refugee”.  Oscar Wilde says “to love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance” . Louise L Hay “No one can love you more than you love yourself” Be gentle and true to yourself and perhaps one day, like Daniel Johnston sings "true love will find you in the end" 💘

You can find my songs “Hippie Valentine”, “Crappy Holiday” and a few others on Spotify, YouTube and all your favorite sites 🎶

Does anyone else think it’s interesting that “Seasonal Affective Disorder” , “Singles Awareness Day” , "Standard American Diet" all have the same SAD acronym? 😆

My story in a nutshell. Grew up in Virginia and would get suicidal when I was a teenager, especially during the winter. I moved to Albuquerque for 12 years and the depression was not so bad and I think it was because there was always plenty of sunshine. Back in 2013 I had a nervous breakdown when I moved back to Virginia, so I moved to San Diego. It helped a lot, but then in winter 2017 I had another bout of serious depression. I felt like I could not go on living anymore. That's when I got serious about overcoming depression once and for all. I still get down, but not nearly as low.

Things to do to combat the SADs:

1 Have your doctor check your vitamin D levels.  Apparently a huge percentage of suicidal patients have low vitamin D. If your vitamin D is low take a GOOD vitamin D supplement. I took bad vitamin D supplements for years and they never did me any good. Then I took this one and my vitamin D levels were good within 3 months:
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0038NF8MG/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_F0TrEbRE3AQVP

UPDATE: I'm avoiding Amazon these days as I think they are getting too much business, so I've switched to buying my Vitamin D here: https://domanivitamins.com/products/thorne-research-vitamin-d-liquid-1-oz
I see that this one does not have K2, so I'm not sure what effect that will have? Here is the version from the same website with K2 https://domanivitamins.com/collections/thorne-research/products/thorne-research-vitamin-d-k2-liquid-1-oz

2 Reduce or eliminate alcohol consumption. Alcohol feels great when you are drunk, but it depletes your body of crucial vitamins and minerals and that makes depression worse.  I don't know much about drug use because I the only drug I use is marijuana and that is only when I can't get back to sleep. However, I notice that even if I smoke too much marijuana for my sleep I will wake up depressed and feel disoriented all day afterwards.

3 Exercise: this one is HUGE for me. It's kind of an oxy-moron because when you are super depressed you can hardly even get out of bed. Thankfully I've only been to that level a handful of times in my life. However, if you can get yourself out there and take a long walk it will help. I love long walks. I think running is even more effective. I do pull ups and push ups and sit ups. Strong body = strong mind.

4 Avoid added sugars of all kinds. Sugar causes inflamation and inflamation is known to cause depression because when your brain swells or gets inflamed then that makes you depressed. I like Stevia if I absolutley need something sweet. I also like to add dates to my vegan milkshakes to make them sweet. I think fruit is fine because fruit sugar is combined with vitamins and minerals. Processed sugars are isolated and have no vitamins and minerals.

5 Fish Oil: It's a long story, but in the book called The Depression Cure  the author explains that we get too many Omega 6 fatty acids in our diet because of all the fried foods. Omega 6 on its own is not bad, but when you don't get enough Omega 3 to go with it, it cause inflamation, which causes depression. I like this one:
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B075ZTY6GR/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_gbUrEbYG97FRE

6 Probiotics: The bacteria in your digestive tract have a big effect on your mental health. I like this one:
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B079H53D2B/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_4cUrEb458DF81

7 Positive Thinking: I'm a reluctant propent of this, but it really does help. I recommend Louise L Hay's Book "You Can Heal Your Life" 

8 Prayer: Not everyone believes in this one and I get that. It's helped me a lot in my life though to have some meaning to all this that we are eduring in this thing called life.

9 Sing and or listen to music. I actually like sad songs. They help me cry and crying can be a great release. The reason I became a musician at the age of 13 was because I wanted to help other people feel less alone in their struggle, through music, just as my favorite musicians have done for me in my life.

10 Cry: Cry when you have to. It's the body's natural way to let go of things. It even releases chemicals that help calm you down.

11 Have a gratitude practice. When you are grateful you start to feel better about all that you already have as opposed to being sad about all the things you desire. I start just about everyday by saying out loud all the things I am grateful for in my life. Health is a big one. Just being grateful that I am able to breath and the miracle that that is can really put things into perspective for me.

12  Anti-Depressant Medications: I have been prescribed pharmaceutical anti-depressants a bunch of times in my life, starting at the age of about 12. I took Zoloft for 8 weeks when I was 36 years old, in the thick of a nervous breakdown, and they seemed to help me sleep, but then I started having a bad feeling about them, so I stopped. When I was 40-42 I took St. John's Wort for a few years, as I felt better about using a plant form the Earth, and it seemed to help me quite a bit. 

I think some people benefit greatly from pharmaceutical anti-depressants and I am glad for them. I think it actually takes strength to admit when you need help. If I were in the throws of suicidal thoughts, I'd take pharmaceutical medications if I felt it was necessary. As my friend Rod Lacy once told me "Martin, if you think you're going to hurt yourself...TAKE THE PILLS". 

13 Benzo's and Valium: I have used Xanax as needed since I was 20 years old,  struggling with panic attacks associated with my heart condition. I have always been very reluctant to use this stuff as it is very addictive, so I only use it for emergencies. I've gone for 10 years without ever needing a Xanax, then I'll get to a place in my life where I need them regularly. I'm not happy to admit that I use this medication, but I am grateful that this medication exists as it has helped me through some rough times in my life.

14 Stay away from women! Just kidding! I love women. However, you have to be careful when you are a sensitive person like myself who is prone to depression. I still have not mastered this topic, but I'm working on it.

There are probably more that I will add, but I'm running out of time at the moment here. Sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes. I'm just trying to get this out there. If you''d like to correct any mistakes please let me know. TTYL :)

#seasonalaffectivedisorder #singlesawarenessday #SAD #depression #selflove #selfcare #fastheartmart aka Martin Stamper