All the techniques that make me feel good

Wine is not on this list, much as I love a glass of good merlot! Neither is chocolate, even though I consider it one of the essential food groups. Instead this is a list of all the strategies and techniques I use to keep my mood positive, and lift it when it drops.

I'm always interested when I hear one thing being recommended as the answer to depression, whether it's an antidepressant, cognitive therapy or exercise. That's because my experience is that I needed a whole range of things to transform my depression into happiness. I kept adding one thing after another until I reached a critical mass that pushed me over the edge - in a good way! I still use all these things to maintain and protect my good mood. They include:

• writing down the good things that happen to me most days, three or more things, or however many I want. (If I don't feel like doing it, I don't.) Some people prefer to do this once a week and doing it that often seems to work just as well
  
• writing down the things I am looking forward to and ticking them off when they happen, especially small, predictable things, like my delicious fruit smoothie for breakfast
  
• planning social times with friends, acquaintances, and family
  
• getting as much exercise as I am able without making the chronic physical illness I suffer from worse, particularly walking with my dogs
• getting out in the daylight, even when it's raining, even if it's just sitting in the car with the window rolled down while the dogs run around in the park!
• taking 6000mg of fish oil each day (half in the morning, half at night)
• planning my day and week so it doesn't seem overwhelming, I keep on top of chores and finances, I get some work done each week, and I have fun times
• listening to my thoughts and being alert to any of the cognitive distortions, particularly a focus on the negatives and ignoring the positives
• talking back to them in my head, and if that's not working, writing them down and looking for holes in my logic or facts that I can correct
  
• doing things that build my positive emotions, such as watching TV programs that are funny or inspiring (like Monk, about the annoying but brilliant obsessive compulsive detective), or reading books that make me feel good (although these are harder to find than visual media), spending fun times with people, working on my book or blogs, going for walks
• mindfulness - now this is a challenge as I find it pretty boring! My best technique so far has been a recorded grounding meditation which doesn't focus on breathing (my pet hate - not breathing per se, but focusing entirely on it, especially through my nose. I just don't find my nose that interesting!). I like mindfulness because it focuses on what I hear, feel, see, smell and taste inside me and outside me, and I can open my eyes and even move around while I'm doing it
  
• when I feel a painful or negative emotion just accepting it and feeling it, not panicking or rushing to try and change it
• eating a diet that's low in sugar and caffeine, and reasonably high in protein and fibre, with less omega 6 and more omega 3 essential fatty acids than the average diet contains (that means avoiding processed foods and eating fresh food and wholegrains as much as possible)
• doing things that are creative and put me in a state of flow, where I lose myself in the activity, like cooking a new dish or writing
• and one of my favorites, work, whether paid or unpaid. There's a lot of research showing that people who are depressed and unemployed feel much better when they find work, as long as it's not too stressful (i.e. with more demands than they can realistically manage). Work involves so many things that are useful in themselves - planning, social contact, flow, the satisfaction of achieving goals. I call it the therapy I get paid to do
• savoring the enjoyable sensations and events in my life by noticing them when they happen and celebrating them with others
• building up my relationships by responding very positively to the good things that happen to others and keeping mainly to positive topics in the conversation as well as asking questions and finding things to agree with in what people say
  
• using problem solving skills to deal with practical problems so they don't become overwhelming and de-rail me
• noticing the danger signals that my mood is likely to go down (poor sleep, crying, conflict in relationships, irritation) and acting quickly to make sure it doesn't happen
  
• there are probably a few things that I've left out but that's enough for now!

I find that building these things into my daily and weekly routine results in a more stable and positive mood, and much more happiness.