Depression Getaway with Wendy Love

Dear Friends, I'm so excited! My first book has just been published as a kindle ebook. 'New Beginnings' and is the first of a trilogy called 'The Fernwood Novels'.   You can access it by going to Amazon Kindle Ebooks, fiction, 'New Beginnings' by Wendy Love Clark. About the book:

Choosing a new password can be challenging. We are warned frequently that it is important to change passwords now and then. I watch a lot of detective shows and when they are trying to hack into someone's computer they always manage to guess the password using the usual: birthdates, pet's name, address, etc. I've got a new suggestion for a password change that may also help with depression. Are you ready?

If you are an introvert like me you will look for any excuse to take a break from people when you are at a party or in a crowd. Casey has become my new excuse. "I better walk the dog!"

"No offence but...."  My stepdaughter used to use this phrase a lot when she was in her teens. It was a preface for something honest that she wanted to share that she knew wouldn't be popular. She is a gentle sweet soul and wouldn't hurt anyone on purpose, and so I guess she thought if she said 'no offense but' before she brought up the unpopular thought, it would make everything okay? Frankly I don't even remember being offended so I guess it wasn't as dramatic is she might have thought at the time. Bless her for trying to avoid hurting others. However, there are times that people will says things, that do hurt and that we can't forget. And if you have any kind of mental illness you will find it hard NOT to relive those harsh words, over and over and over. That's called 'ruminating' and usually goes hand in hand with depression.

“A dog has no use for fancy cars, big homes, or designer clothes. A water logged stick will do just fine. A dog doesn't care if you're rich or poor, clever or dull, smart or dumb. Give him your heart and he'll give you his. How many people can you say that about? How many people can make you feel rare and pure and special? How many people can make you feel extraordinary?”  (That quote is from the book/movie 'Marley and Me'.) Oh, and by the way, the above picture is not of my Casey even though he looks like that. Just couldn't resist posting this one.

  Last time we talked about retreating to prepare for advancing. This would be a retreat of rest and relaxation and strengthening for the road ahead. Which one of these pictures looks like an ideal retreat for you?

Do you believe that in order to advance you must first retreat? We who live with mental illness know all about retreating. That is what we do, at least what I do, when I am at my worst. I retreat. And when I do retreat, my hope is that the enforced rest will fortify me to advance once again, when I am ready.

If that describes you, then you are strong!

Depression is not a character flaw! Do you believe that? Do you know that? Would someone with cancer ever beat themselves up mentally by saying "I am such a loser, I have cancer" or "why can't I just make this cancer go away?" Would someone with diabetes decide to quit taking insulin because taking medication makes you weak? Of course not.

This is a great new series on Netflix. It is called 'Tidying Up with Marie Kondo'. I read her book awhile ago "The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up" . It's a lovely read. Now I must first confess my bias before we go any further. Organizing and sorting is a passion of mine. I love it. 

In a society that celebrates improvement, excellence, appearance, success, well, mere survival doesn't seem to be something to celebrate does it? However, one of my new favourite TV shows,  'Still Standing ' is just about that - SURVIVAL. Here are the introductory remarks to this show given by it's host, a popular Canadian comedian Jonny Harris:

As I wrote this, before leaving for the south, it was a beautiful winter morning in the small town in Ontario where I live. We have had a fresh snow fall and it is still snowing lightly. It is clean, magical and begged me to take one of my longer walks.  If you have walked in the snow you know it is not a quiet experience. Your feet make a crunching sound each time they hit the ground, and as your arms swing across your winter attire there is usually a swishing sound as well. Since I love the rhythm of my walking, and enjoy the way my mind works while I walk, I sometimes forget to stop occasionally and look around at the beautiful scenery.