It’s October now and that means it’s National Depression Awareness Month and October 4 is Depression Screening Day.

If you (or anyone one you know) think you may be depressed, please see your doctor right away. Do not wait for it to go away. Do not try to tough it out or pretend it’s not a problem. Be honest with yourself and your family and do yourself the honor of taking care of yourself - you deserve it.

Signs of the Black Dog

• Persistent sad, anxious or empty mood
• Changes in sleep

I’m a big fan of cognitive therapy. It has done wonders for me and I think a lot of black dogs can benefit from it. Fortunately while surfing a little this morning I came across this article!

Read, enjoy, practice and feel better!

Here’s a simple page you can print off to help you!

If life is like a box of chocolates why do I feel like Lucy in the candy factory?

It’s hard to say what the exact causes of depression are. Is it biological, genetic or environmental? I tend to think it’s all of the above. They’re just in different percentages/ratios in us.

Sometimes I get out of myself by getting myself outside. Working in the yard, mowing or exercising, whatever it takes to do something that helps me get my mind on something else besides my problems or worries. It’s good to look around you and pay attention to the natural world. Just looking up at the right moment and I found this guy sitting patiently on my window screen.

Our ancestors all had their own jobs for what they did well in the small groups they lived in. Because there wasn’t a lot of competition from within the group, these roles were rarely challenged. It didn’t serve the group’s survival to have conflict within it. Primitive self-esteem was largely intact - at least as far they identified with their work. If you were a good hunter, the deer you brought home didn’t just feed your immediate family, it helped feed the village and so you were valued by the whole.

Apologies all around but my internet service was down for several days so I was unable to post anything new.

Today’s post is simply a pdf file that you can download here, print out to help keep track of your progress in training your black dog to behave. It’s tough to do things when you’re down and this is designed to mark off what you do everyday so that you have a sense of accomplishment and can track your progress.

Movie star Owen Wilson is reportedly out of the hospital and recuperating at home from his attempted suicide. It turns out he’s not alone in his celebrity world (or the common folk for that matter!). There’s quite a few famous people who suffer from depression and attempted suicide. Here’s a list that may surprise you. Keep in mind how the black dog is an equal opportunity afflict-er! Also keep in mind how they all bounced back and overcame bottoming out. There’s always hope.

Today’s post is a little long winded. My apologies - I just don’t know how to shorten my story today. I hope your patience will be rewarded.

This is my 85 year old dad. By the age of 40 in his career as an Army officer he’d been in battle in 3 wars; World War II, Korea and Viet Nam. He was never physically wounded but he saw a lot of his friends die. He’s seen the best and worst of humanity and always managed to keep things in perspective and love & take care of his family.