Mood Tools and Meditation

Depression is a common symptom of Lyme disease. Managing depression is difficult, but not impossible. If it is severe, which means you are crying constantly, finding no reason to get out of bed, get dressed or eat...tell your treating physician immediately and he will prescribe an antidepressant. That will help lift your spirits, but since you cannot take antidepressants forever you could try some daily techniques to manage your moods.

Whether you have Lyme or not, the holiday season is an emotional and often depressing time for many people. The melancholy songs, cost of gifts, and media images of "perfect" family gatherings that are not reality based for the average family. These productions can leave you thinking your family is completely dysfunctional, when in fact it may be no more or less imperfect than anyone else's.

If you want to listen to music, choose up tempo pieces like Nutcracker Suite, Jingle Bells, or Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer and avoid the slow, heart tugging tunes like White Christmas and I'll Be Home For Christmas. Under normal circumstances these tunes can bring a tear to anyone's eye!

Take a daily walk. If you live in an area where that isn't possible, walk around the outside of your house several times, use a treadmill or go to a church parking lot and walk. Avoid going to a shopping mall during the holiday season to walk unless the mall has a walking program available in the morning before the stores open.

The idea of meditation often has the stigma of New Age or the 60's attached to it so most conservative people laugh and don't investigate the possibilities of the benefits. It doesn't mean you have to wear a robe, chant or sit in front of a candle lit alter. Meditation can be done while laying on the floor or in bed, sitting in a chair or on a rock....anywhere. The benefit of meditation is to clear negative, destructive thoughts from your mind and replace them with positive, constructive thoughts.

Sit or lay in a quiet place, focus on one mind picture....a flower, an animal, a scene, sky....whatever is pleasing to you. If a thought starts coming into your mind, push it out and stay focused on your mind picture. Explore the details of it. After a short time, you will feel tranquil and can introduce a positive affirmation. A simple one like, "I am healthy, wealthy and wise." or "My body is healed and my life is good." or anything similar that's easy for you to use. Repeat the phrase slowly, outloud and let the words sink in. Do this once a day and you will see a difference. It does take practice, so don't give up if it doesn't come easily at first. Few things do.

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