Rebuild from Depression Blog

I know some people get concerned about me when I don't post given my past postpartum depression experience. I am really doing very well and will do a proper update soon (hopefully). I've added my Facebook profile info to the navigation bar. FInd me there for the really exciting updates (like "Amanda Rose is watching the paint dry"). Until then:

My life has been filled with wildly productive work cycles. I look back on a few with pride even though they required months of recovery. I don't bill my clients by the hour, but by the job, because I only work when I have the energy. When I do work, I do the work of about five people. Memorable work times are when I carry this level of work on for weeks at a time, but I can usually count on a few days of the madness every few weeks. It's simply been how I get work done.

A cycle was in the works last week: I could feel the energy, my blood pressure was up, my senses were more alert. Any other time in my life I would have said, "Hot diggity, let's get something done!" For the very first time in my life I realized that my body didn't have the energy for what was about the happen even though I had a good bit to do on this WASC project. I shut down the computer and went outside to weed. I deliberately took a week away from my for-pay work to break the cycle. I am three months postpartum and have enough energy to get by day after day, no more. I am quite sure a manic period could send me straight into the pit.

Saying "no" to mania now tops my list of postpartum survival. Other favorites:

(1) Sleep. When I have a bad night, I take an over-the-counter sleep aid the next night. I know that's cheating but it's better than Zoloft and it's better than three years of hell.

(2) Supplements. I take a liquid multi diligently and desiccated liver capsules when my stress level is high. I keep a B complex supplement in my bathroom and in my work area to take when I remember. I take about 2 grams of Omega 3 daily.

(3) Stay home. I have resisted a number of trips, both day-long and overnight. I don't need the wear and the uncertainty that comes with hauling a newborn around. The bad side of this rule is that I am feeling increasingly shut in. After nine months of pregnancy where I followed the same rule, it's about time to see things other than forest wildlife. (We live in the Sequoia National Forest away from pretty much all of civilization.) I do try to enjoy it though:

Technorati Tags: B vitamins, depression, foods that fight depression, liver, Omega 3

I haven't spent more than a half hour in the kitchen (at any stretch) for months. Pregnancy exhaustion and now a baby makes it difficult. The little bit of a freezer stash I had is long gone. My secret weapon (mom) will be on the road a lot in April and May, as will be my husband. I need a plan and I need it quick because I am reaching that ravenous stage in the pregnancy-postpartum cycle of eating anything at all and lots of it.

Below is my top five list for the food desperate. Note that the list contains no frozen pizzas. I suppose we all have our own limits when it comes to "desperate."

(1) Shrimp cocktail.
Use frozen cooked shrimp. Thaw it. (1 minute plus thaw time)
Make a cocktail sauce with ketchup and wasabi to save some cash. (2 minutes)

(2) Bone broth.
Season with an herb seasoning. Salt.
Eat with a couple of eggs for breakfast. Eat for lunch.
Put soup bones in a crock pot. Simmer overnight. Strain. (2 minutes to strain, another 3 minutes to clean up all of the fat from the strainer and countertop if you spill).
Resimmer the bones another couple of times. (See mom's instructions on making broth.)

Egg drop soup.
Use your broth and instead of eating the eggs on the side, add scrambled eggs to the broth. (Crack eggs, scramble, then add to hot broth and stir.)
Season with an herb seasoning. Salt to taste.
Add rice noodles for a great treat.

(3) Green salads.
These can be quick if you're organized. Keep protein toppings on hand. My favorites are boiled eggs, salmon, crab, and shrimp. I always add some sort of nut for crunch as well, usually pine nuts.
Rinse lettuce, tear, spin if you have a spinner. (2-3 mintutes).
Cut tomatoes, avocado, and other produce. (up to 5 minutes)
Use the salad dressing recipes and mix your own oil and vinegar. (1 minute)
Put together salad.

(4) Scrambles.
Morning, noon, or night, it doesn't get easier than a scrambled egg dish. Scramble them in leftover vegetables and you're in and out in ten minutes.

(5) Fish eggs on rice.
When money is more available than time, this may be my favorite: salmon roe (or any sort of roe) over rice. Prepare sushi rice, which is soaked in advance of cooking, and add some soy sauce and wasabi for a great treat.

That's it. I expect my mother would be appalled about my lack of depth, but she too has been spotted lately eating shrimp cocktail. Of course that may be because she loves it.

The hens should begin to lay soon and I plan to fill the freezer with quiche and frittata to add to the egg theme in my top five list.