Feeling Good in my Garden!

A couple of weeks ago, I posted about saving money in the garden. I finally put some of those practices in action.

We went to Lowes and used buy one get one free coupons to buy $20 worth of vegetables for $10.

We also bought two trees and some much needed fertilizer.

The past two weeks, we requested bids from five different tree companies. We had a giant pine taken down, a sycamore I hated destroyed, and another pine trimmed. The cheapest bid came in at $1200 for all the work, stump grinding in all. We negotiated that cost down to $1100 by paying for the job by cash.

Now that the two trees are gone, our yard felt a little empty. We thought it would be nice to plant another crab apple in the front and add a quaking aspen in the back. Both trees are supposed to have a fast growth rate, low water needs, and grow around 20 feet. This is much better than our enormous trees from before. Yesterday, we got the two trees planted and the first part of our garden in. I'd say it was a very productive day!

Have you got your garden in?

Measuring Depression: Physical Signs

One strategy used to measure depression is to look at the physical traits that are around the person.

*How organized is their home, bedroom, or office? Is it typically this way?

  Was it this way before they were depressed?

*Are they keeping up on their physical hygiene? Do they remember the last time they   showered or brushed their teeth?

*Is the vehicle they drive being regularly maintained?

 *How is their yard or balcony? Are indoor plants being cared for?

By looking at the physical surroundings, you can start to get an idea for the internal state of the person. If the person is recently depressed, you can compare recent behavior to past behavior. The cleanliness and completed tasks are a way to measure varying levels of depression; typically the more disorganized and undone things are, the deeper the depression may be.

For me personally, I know I am feeling the best when my yard is cared for, my children are clean, and my dishes are done. Some other things may be falling apart (I can't be perfect!) but these three areas are key peices of insight to my mental health.

I also find that the previous areas (yard, children, and dishes) are coping strategies for me. I enjoyed reading Ginger's blog today on how she used her coping skill of nature (inSERIOUSLYsane: The Healing Power of Nature).

Depression

Most of my friends (and now strangers, too) will know that I have varying degrees of depression. I don't know why that feels embarassing to say. Maybe not embarassing. Maybe fearful. I'm not sure. I've had it for years and am about 80/20 these days (good/bad). This is huge progress for me, as it's been worst at times.

Some things I do that seem to help:

1-Tanning bed, some reason the extra warmth can do wonders. Sometimes, I just sit in the room with it on and don't even get in!

2-Making sure I shower everyday and do my hair. If I don't do that, I'd probably stay in pjs all day and worsten my depression.

3-Affirmations. Sometimes they are simple, "I am fine." sometimes, they are more complex but I repeat it when I am feeling overwhelmed.

4-Boundaries. I mostly have no problem saying no. I have no problem that my sidewalks aren't shoveled, my house isn't clean, and my work is behind.

5-Support System. I think what makes the difference from today, vs ten years ago is that I have a husband that is present and aware of my emotions when they change and can alert me to the change. He is non-judgemental which is crucial.

6-Cymbalta. Neurofeedback. Gluten-free. Who knows. These are three other things in my life. I don't know if they are making a difference or which one is making the most difference.

I feel that most people, at some time, suffer varying degrees of depression. My hope is that someday it wont be taboo to discuss depression and that we can sometime openly discuss even more taboo things like suicide and suicide ideation. We'll get there, as a society, but not today.