I swear, the past couple of months for me at work have been full of last minute fire drills, panicked clients asking for information at the last minute, and nonstop busy work.  There were many points where I thought I really might lose my cool. Maybe I’d really let someone have it who was creating problems, or lose my temper when someone treated me poorly, which is something I never have been prone to.

I’m pretty level headed when it comes to that kind of stuff, but I guess that anyone is capable of acting out when they feel like they’re backed in a corner and there is no way they can provide the work they are being asked for in a timely manner.  That is, if they want quality work that’s error free!

Because of these stressful months, I’ve really had the benefit of thinking of ways to reduce my stress and really put my job stress into perspective. I’ve also been grateful for the things that this stressful period has given me, which is an increased ability to deal with adversity, pressure, timelines, and a diverse group of people, work styles and personalities.

For that, I am eternally grateful, and I think it has set me on a path of good “career karma”.  But those days when I feel like my head is going to blow off from all the pressure and anxiety, I try to deal with it by doing little things.

One of my favorite things to do when the stress hits an all time high, is to focus no what the job has afforded me in life. I have great health and medical benefits. I’ve been able to contribute a significant amount of money to a 401k, and they match it up to a generous percent, so it has helped me build a foundation of retirement wealth I might not have otherwise had.  My job has a gym in-house, so I can go down there and blow off steam and exercise when ever I feel like it.

I’ve got great bosses that trust me and my work, and don’t hover, and I’ve got a great flexible work arrangement where I work 4 tens a week.  I try to really focus on the positive when it seems like everything sucks, and that seems to help a lot.  Other things I do are take a short walk and breathe deeply, go to the restroom and just sit for a moment, and go out to my car and sort of sit in silence for a bit.

We know that depression is pretty widespread here in the US, that’s no secret. What is more concerning is that many of the medications that patients are given fail, and patients are forced to try several before they find one that helps their depression. Even worse is the fact that many patients end up having to take these antidepressants for life once they are on them, and they end up being dependent on these medications that have several negative side effects, including worsening depression and even leading to suicidal thoughts on some, with some of the patients that try them.

So, it’s pretty important to understand what we can do to help depression naturally, wouldn’t you agree? Well, there have been tons of studies on natural supplements that may help depression, and what the common quotients are with people that suffer from depression, to see what types of natural or holistic, complementary treatments doctors can offer their patients, in addition to psychotherapy, or perhaps even in place of medications.

We know that exercise helps with depression immensely.  Now, they are trying to find some of the vitamins and nutrients that depression patients suffer from. One of the vitamins or nutrients, depending on how you want to look at it, that depression patients are deficient in is actually folic acid, or folate.  Folic acid is found in most leafy vegetables and can also be found in certain fruits. So, surprise surprise, a healthy diet that is rich in leafy greens and veggies can definitely offer a mood boost!

Although the results of testing are inconclusive, it’s important that if you suffer from occasional depression, that you make sure you are getting enough of this nutrient in your diet.

I love going to my monthly massage sessions. I’m a member of Massage Envy, which is a chain massage service that has locations all throughout the US now, and they offer discounted massages with a monthly fee, for less than what it costs at most independently run massage businesses. The charge is usually about $40 to $50 per month, depending on where you live, and also you must pay them a gratuity (this is only fair).

I do tip generously, because I think that part of the way they can offer it cheaply is by you, the customer, making up the difference in your tipping. What’s an extra five bucks to someone that offers you a priceless service, I figure?  Especially if they do a good job.

I believe personally that massage helps to elevate my mood, but research as to whether it can help patients with depression is still doubtful.  I think that if you are a generally mentally healthy person, you can benefit with a lot of anxiety reduction from massage, and reduction of anxiety definitely contributes to an overall sunny outlook on life and a generally better attitude toward life.

It also helps you deal with the not so fun stuff that comes your way, like stress and family and friend situations that many times impact your overall happiness quotient. I love the fact that my sometimes unbearable back and neck pain from two car accidents and sitting for long ten hour days at my desk job are alleviated by my monthly massage visits. It is something that makes me happy just to think about, and also something that I look forward to every month.

To me, a massage IS happiness, so I find it hard to believe that it may not help lift depressed patients into a better mood. I do not think that it’s a cure all for depression though, no not at all, that requires many different things like exercise, phsychological counseling and other therapies that work together to treat the condition in a comprehensive way.  I know I myself will never give up my massages. They are an escape from reality, they feel great, and you feel like a million bucks for the next few days because all the tightness in your body goes away.

In a step to make sure that pilots weren’t being unfairly discriminated against, and also to encourage pilots who were having depression issues to come forward and not be afraid to get help, the FAA has revoked it’s previous ban on letting pilots fly who were being treated with antidepressant medications.

Although it does seem unfair at first glance that the FAA would ban people on antidepressants from flying a plane, it makes sense if you think about the mass destruction someone could cause if they suddenly decided that life wasn’t worth living any more and chose their weapon of mass destruction to end their lives (and the lives of others on the plan and invariably on the ground too).

However you could almost make the argument that people on antidepressants shouldn’t be able to drive cars either since they could conceivably kill themselves and others by using their vehicle as the weapon of choice. I get it though, planes are a huge risk.  However, it was foolish on the FAA’s part to think that pilots wouldn’t just try to hide the fact that they were on antidepressants so their jobs weren’t on the line.

There were too many loopholes anyways.  Since they have lifted the ban, they have told pilots that have been on antidepressant medications they may come forward for a certain time with total immunity and acceptance. However, pilots with histories of depression must be able to demonstrate that they have been problem free for a designated time period before they are allowed to fly their planes again.

The FAA’s biggest concerns were that pilots weren’t getting the help they needed if they found themselves mired in depression out of fear for their jobs, and also that pilots were self medicating in hopes of averting job consequences, and that was unacceptable to them. They want to make it more of a open door policy, but they also need to make sure their passengers are safe, as well as people on the ground, and that can be quite challenging as you can imagine.

There are quite few plants, or herbs, that qualify as very effective remedies against angst, anxiety and even depression in daily doses that are potent enough to help alter a person’s chemistry enough to be noticeable. Contrary to popular thought, herbal remedies for anxiety and depression can be quite effective, especially when taken as directed on a daily basis and when the concoctions taken actually are made by a worthy preparer that knows what they are doing when it comes to mixing and growing herbal tinctures.  Homeopathy can also prove worthy of a look if you’re looking to reduce stress and anxiety.

However, let’s look at one of the ones that is often overlooked as a “lighter” side anti anxiety herb and relaxant. I honestly always thought of it this way as well. I actually talked to a licensed herbologist when I was out in Northern California visiting my sister several years ago. I told her that I suffered from occasional acute bouts of anxiety, followed by a sort of melancholy, somewhat of a depression, or angst was the best way I had to describe it.

She gave me a few suggestions, one of them being lemon balm.  I ended up buying a few things, among them dried leaves of lemon balm.  Lemon balm looks exactly like mint leaves and it is very easy to grow.  I actually mixed it up with the mint leaves I had frozen from my little garden in the freezer a few times. The herbologist told me to make a tea with it, so that’s what I did.

I used quite a generous amount of the lemon balm in the tea, and I used a tea ball to make it, squeezing some of the excess plant oils out as well once it had steeped. It made a few nice tasting, smooth tea, and I felt like it really helped to relax me at night. I wasn’t sure about what it did for me the next day to be honest, because I wasn’t focused enough on that, I just know that it made sleep and relaxation a lot easier at night.

Apparently lemon balm has proven a worthy herbal remedy for anxiety and depression, and is especially helpful if you are having angst about a particular event, to drink the night before. It is supposed to help your focus and concentrate in a calm manner the next day. It has also been reported to help soothe patients with dementia, and many people report that it helps their moods be more consistent.

I’m going to grow some lemon balm this summer and write about it again. I don’t think I gave it enough of a chance to show me what it could do. I’ll let you know how it all works out.