Rebuild from Depression Blog

My mom and I are now totally intrigued at the idea of making sourdough dumplings, particularly now that the weather is changing and chicken and dumplings would be an extra special treat.

Depression Buster?

When you visit the Bowling for Soup website, you will get a sampling of the band's music. It is good. I realize that my prior lack of knowledge of Bowling for Soup reveals my sheltered lifestyle but I just wanted to toss it out there for anyone else as sheltered as I am, that you might want to listen to the music. Not all of the lyrics are uplifting but hey, it's worth a listen.

And Angela is right about bowling helping reduce depression. Physical activity, particularly activity that raises your heart rate, will increase your serotonin levels (a feel-good hormone healthy bodies make). In fact there have been studies that show exercise more effective than antidepressants at raising serotonin. The dilemma here, of course, is that you are unlikely to exercise when you are in the bottom of a depressive pit. What you can do is if you cycle out of that pit (and if you don't you are probably not reading this blog), you can focus on exercise on the days you are feeling well. If you are able to exercise, you will probably find that your down cycles come a little less often and are not quite as bad.

In terms of the soup, soup can definitely be a "depression buster food" in the sense I use here and in the book. It depends, of course, on what you put in it. Beef stew is a great option. It is high in vitamins and minerals that help us fight depression. If the steer has been raised on pasture, it will also have a beneficial balance of Omega 6 and Omega 3 fatty acids.

But any soup made with bone broth is going to be a mineral-rich meal for you. You can read more about making your own bone broth or using vegetables to make a vegetarian broth. My mom has provided some of her favorite simple soup recipes for you this fall (or of course for the beginning of spring as the case may be).