Depression – Michelle's adventures

14 January 2026

New Year’s Resolution

So I don’t believe in making New Year’s Resolutions. But this year I made one. If you have heard me on my soap box about resolutions, you may wonder why?

If you haven’t heard me. My position is basically this:

Making a goal for a year, encourages you to think of big year long things you would like to achieve. Most often people will make the big goal and not break it down into achievable steps.

As one person put it: Think of the next smallest step that can get you closer to your goal.

Which is why folks often get to the end of a year having not achieved the Big goal.

I prefer to make monthly or even weekly goals. Sure they may be steps towards a longer Big goal. But they are achievable. Those of us that procrastinate have a deadline that is closer and therefore can’t be put off as easy as a year long deadline.

A year long dead line encourages thoughts which usually start with “I’ll do it when ……. .

I’ll do it when it’s not so hot out.
I’ll do it when I get a work out outfit.
I’ll do it when I have figured out where to do it.
I’ll do it when I have a pretty notebook for it.
I’ll do it when I have lost weight.
I’ll do it when I have a house with a spare room.

You get the picture.

So why after decades of consciously not making any goals on Dec 31 – Jan 1, have I gone and made one this year?

I am a little ashamed to say had fallen into ‘I’ll do it when’ syndrome anyhow. For months now I have meant to make a goal that would get me outside for 15 mins a day. Hopefully in the morning.

Lately I have been inspired of staying with a niece who would have a quiet cuppa outside, under the eaves, come rain or shine.

So New Year’s Eve I finally bit the bullet and used ant cultural impetus of making a resolution that day.

I now either garden or have a quiet cuppa on the front step and see the rising sun. It is always a herbal tea. It is usually a Bedtime mix of some kind. Why Bedtime? Because the inclusion of mint always makes me feel like waking up, being alert and fresh.

So have I changed my mind on making resolutions on New Year’s Eve. No I don’t think so. I still think it encourages grand plans more than doable ones.

I much prefer to use a monthly prompt. Either the 1st of each new month, or the New Moon for starting resolutions/goals on. Mid way through evaluating how its going and tweaking if necessary to reach the goal.

Will I use the technique of using it as motivation to finally make a resolution/goal that I have been putting off? While I hope I don’t get into the procrastinating making a goal again. I will use it if I have to. But I hope I can get back into the monthly goal setting. And, strangely, maybe it is that that I should have made my New Year’s resolution to be.

30 October 2012

The science of sleep – Depression and the 24 hour mind

I am subscribed to Brain Pickings as it has interesting short articles on literature, quotes, science etc. Today I read one of their articles on sleep and depression. How depressed people have a different sleep cycle to the norm, and how this effects them. The article was based on infrmation from the book The twenty-four hour mind: The role of sleep and dreaming on our emotional lives by Rosalind D. Cartwright. A good excerpt of the book is on google docs, the book is for sale on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Better World Books, Bokkliden, eBooks, Fish Pond, and many more.

I have not read the book but I plan to as it sounds facinating. I read Dream Power by Dr Ann Faraday, when I was a young teenager and have been facinated by sleep and dreams ever since. Dream Power tells you scientifically how to interpret your dreams. This new book will update that old knowledge I have from Ann as lots will have happened in teh field since I was a teenager. I look forward to reading how different sleep and dream patterns effect our daily lives and maybe learn how I can sleep better and be healthier and more focused in daily life from having refreshing sleep.

9 September 2012

Natural ways to increase serotnin in your brain

Depression and other ailments have been treated by artificially raising serotonin in the brain ie by using drugs. However, latest research shows that there are a number of alternate methods for doing the same thing.

The first way is commonly used for SAD (seasonal depression) but is now being used for other forms of depression as well. Bright light, raises the serotonin in the brain and the sun is the best source of bright light. Until recent times we humans were outside, hunting or farming for a great deal of the time and this is thought to have contributed to the lower rates of depression in these times.

Another natural agent which raises serotonin has been found to be exercise. This is especially so when you exercise to the stage of fatigue. So I am guessing a good brisk walk on a hilly path would be better than a light stroll around the shops.

Tryptophan also seems to increase the brains level of serotonin. Tryptophan is an amino acid and is found naturally in a number of protein foods. Not all foods provide tryptophan that makes it to the brain however and there is thought that certain foods should be bred to provide more. In other words we should not so much think of making lots of food but growing healthier food.

The research even suggests that we have inately choosen varieties of food or cooking methods in the past that increase the available tryptophan. For example wild chick peas have less available tryptophan than cultivated varieties. Corn in South america was cooked wth an alkalai which enable more tryptophan to be absorbed by the brain, but this practice did not follow corn as it moved out of south america.

The research suggests that we should spend more time looking at natural solutions rather than pharmacueical solutions and we could have a happier healthier population.

Original source: How to increase serotonin in the human brain without drugs by Simon N. Young