Mature Fashion: Depress Depression

Hello, all my mature lady friends;

Many women in our age group never expected our lives to be the way it is at our time of life. Many women are truly satisfied and are, in fact, experiencing the anticipated joys of our 'golden years'.  Unfortunately, those years have a significant tarnish for many of our sisters. Although we all are aware of the potential misfortunes such as premature death and/or chronic and debillitating illnesses, unexpected shattering of marital relationships, etc., most of us  expected it would not happen to us. Many of us expected we would have the loving  and mellow spouse in our 'golden years', the travel and time to enjoy each other's company, the smiling grandchildren who we could spoil to our heart;s content, leisure time to spend on ourselves, etc.

We pretty much believed we would be "rocking our age" on all these fronts, yet clinical depression in the 40+ age group for women is fairly common. (50+ for men). Late life depression affects millions of Americans in this age group.  It is also noticeable this is the 'sandwich' group for many people. Unfortunately, the generalized nurturing and 'maternal' spirit of women and the expectations of society place the burden significantly on woman in their lives rather than equally with the men.  These expectations can be crushing, and certainly leave little time for the woman to take care of herself.  

Overcoming depression at this stage of our lives is critical for our good health, and certainly for enjoying our golden years.  It is important to know that much of the work overcoming the depression is changing the way we think and handle our lifestyle. 

Just creating a tailored routine for handling your lifestyle will greatly improve one's overall mental health.  According to Dr Ian Cook, MD, PHD, and the director of Depression Research at UCLA, creating a routine where you set goals, take on responsibilities that you can handle, introduce yourself to new ideas, create opportunities for having fun, and most of all, think positively when possible.  Of course, the tried and true continuous advise to get enough physical exercise, eat a healthy diet, and get enough sleep always help tremendously.

Of course, any depression that is so severe it creates a problem in one's life may need medical treatment.  As always, a woman should see her doctor before taking any medications or making any drastic changes to her physical well being. Major changes do frequently happen in our age group; death and loss of loved ones, moving 'down' to smaller homes, reduced incomes, health issues and other negatives happen and such medical intervention is often necessary.

Well, I did my weekly weigh in an I have not lost another ounce.  I weight exactly what I weighed last Monday.Obviously, this is not serious but it is an example of making a minor change to help make me feel a bit more in control of my life and to improve my blood sugar levels (they are slightly elevated with no apparent reason).  This struggle to lose a few pounds is just a tiny bit  "depressing"! I will continue to "think positive" and tell myself I will eventually reach my goal....an exercise in practicing the above...........

..................Geneva...................Rockmyages@aol.com