It’s really not surprising that I’d be depressed right now. I’ve showed signs of depression since I was a teenager. Having children intensified it to the point that I began taking medication regularly and seeking counseling periodically (according to the National Institutes of Health, postpartum depression affects 10-15% of women who give birth, while 50-80% experience short-term baby blues). My baby is three now, but the depression stays with me. It’s winter, so SAD could be a factor, too. And finally, I lost my grandfather this fall, and I’m sure that’s a contributing factor.

I saw a counselor recently, because I have been feeling significantly worse this fall and winter. She was terrific.

“What do you do for self-care?” she asked. “When you’re starting to feel down.”

“Well, usually I’ll try to find a quiet place and time to read,” I responded.

“Oh!” she said. “So if I asked you to read a book…”

“I would read it!” I replied, nodding.

So, instead of asking me to talk things out (which I hate), she prescribed a book, and actually put it into my after-care orders. It’s called The Mindful Way through Depression. I ordered the book through Amazon, but it’s somewhere on a UPS truck right now, as far as I know (it was supposed to arrive by December 23rd, but we had a little thing called a snowpocalypse here in Portland).

I’ve been feeling so down the past couple of days that I really need to do something about it. So I’ve located the book on Google books, and I’m going to start reading it. I may be neglecting a few other things today, but if the depression is starting to take over, I think I need to devote some time to that, and find my way out of it, or perhaps through it.

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