HealthBee

Many women feel guilty when they take a break for themselves, but according to Cardiologist Marianne Legato, and author of “Why Men Never Remember and Women Never Forget” that may be a dangerous thing.
“If you never have any time except reactive time — things you must do for others — you don’t have a sense of control. You are interrupted all the time. Your brain has trouble resting even during sleep. Such chronic exhaustion increases the release of stress hormones, and your blood sugar rises.” If this is your normal state, then the physical consequences increase your risk of diabetes, heart disease, and memory problems. If that’s not enough to scare you into taking some time for yourself, consider this: The hormonal effects of always being on edge help deposit fat right around your waist.

Many women believe that taking time for yourself is a selfish thing to do.  In fact, the opposite is true:  if you are not at your peak, you cannot take care of others.  I think new moms are especially prone not to take me time.  They believe ‘the baby’ takes precedence over all of their lives, and they must bow to their every whim.  But the thing is, that is exhausting, and if you are exhausted, you cannot be a good mom.

On an airplane, parents are taught to put the mask on themselves first then to place the mask on their kids.  This is because if they have trouble getting the mask on their children, both the parent and the child could die because neither got their mask on properly.  I believe this applies to life as well:  you have to take care of yourself firs
Taking time for yourself needs to be just that:  a few hours where you are not interrupted or wondering when the children are going to need something next.  It needs to be something you do completely for yourself.  Going grocery shopping away from the kids does not count…’me time’ must be something you like to do and you do only for yourself.

Think about taking a class you’ve always wanted to take, or taking time out to read a book you’ve always wanted to read, or even just sleeping in.

Turn off the cell phone, and inform everyone that you are not to be disturbed, and then follow through with that:  do not allow anyone to disturb you.  The best way to do this is to get away from the kids and husband and go somewhere else.  Don’t take the baby with you, just go somewhere and unwind.

I am pleased to see a formation of a public education program to explain to Americans that depression is a real disease, and not just ’something in your head’ as many people believe.
The Depression Is Real public education campaign is sponsored by The American Psychiatric Foundation (a philanthropic and educational subsidiary of the American Psychiatric Association), the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, the League of United Latin American Citizens, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the National Medical Association, the National Mental Health Association and the National Urban League and is made possible through the support of Wyeth.

Studies have shown that most people do not understand that depression is a biological disease, and instead believe that depression is a sign of ‘being weak’ or getting old. Personally, I felt the same way for many years: I believed that if I could just ‘be happy’ and ‘get over it’, I’d feel better. I learned later that I was depressed because my hormones were not in balance. When I got that straightened out, it was like night and day.

Depression, feeling anxious, or feeling like life is so hopeless you just want to die is not something you can just ‘think your way better’ with. You can’t just tell yourself ‘be happy’ and get over it: that’s like saying you can heal a broken leg just by gritting your teeth and telling yourself to ‘get better.’

More information on Depression is Real Campaign as well as resources for depression:

http://www.DepressionisReal.org