If it can be said that there is anything good about depression, this is when you’ll see it. Assuming that you are feeling much better than you did a month ago (and if you’re not, please check the info on my Medication page), you may feel almost as if you’ve been reborn. After having been deprived of the ability to enjoy everything your life has to offer, you’ll notice that colors are brighter, sounds are sweeter, smells and tastes have more depth. Having had a lack of interest in things you normally enjoyed before being depressed, you may find, as I did, that you are all of a sudden interested in everything, even things you never thought about before.
Fitness (Mental and Physical)
Keeping physically fit is one of the best ways to supplement what your medication is doing. The more fit and less tense you are, the less work your medicine has to do.
- Fitness Matters focuses on T’ai Chi, Yoga and running.
- Outside Online is the online version of the magazine devoted primarily to adventure sports, with some travel focus.
- Sex? What’s that? Seriously, if your sex drive has returned, check out the Good Vibes web page for supplies and inspiration (21 and over only, please).
- I always know that I’m getting better when I start singing along with music. Then I usually put on some good music with a beat and dance around my room. Try it – it really gets the blood flowing, and makes you feel alive.
Beauty and Fashion
Check out the web pages from these cosmetic companies:
- Aveda
- Bobbi Brown Cosmetics
- Clinique
- Hard Candy
- L’Oreal
- Revlon
- Urban Decay
- I use skin care from Paula Begoun, because I have very sensitive skin, and her skin care works and is cheap.
- BeautyNet and Cosmetic Connection are online beauty magazines.
- Start shaving again (yes, I know you’ve been letting that go). Here are tutorials on how to do it right on your face and your legs.
- Here are the Homepage and FAQ for the alt.fashion newsgroup.
- If you’re feeling adventurous, take a look at Tattoos.com or BME/Tattoo and consider getting a tattoo. It’s a very bad idea to get one while you’re depressed (kind of like making a decision when you’re drunk), but perfectly fine when you’re feeling good about yourself. I got my first tattoo the year I came out of my depression – now I have three.
- If you’re into your nails, like me, Kristina’s Nails Page has good tips and tricks and info on where to buy the good stuff.
- Feel like fashion is fun again (as opposed to only noticing or caring that you were wearing something)? Get back in the swing of things at FashionUK, Fashion Net or Lumiere.
- The Gap’s site has an interactive dressing room for trying on clothes from the current collection.
- To see some real fashion victims, go to The Bride Wore…
Useful Stuff for Getting Your Life Back Together
I know that when I “awakened” from depression, I realized that I had let the weirdest things go, like renewing my car registration. Other depressives, especially bipolar, may find that they need to get out of a financial hole, either due to overspending or just letting the finances go down the tubes. I hope you find something useful here to help you get things back together.
- CarTalk.com
- Consumer Credit Counseling Service
- Consumer World
- Credit InfoCenter
- Financenter
- Genus Credit Management
- Learn2.com
- Legal dot Net
- Quicken.com
- SmartMoney.com
Science/Exploration
As your thoughts begin to turn more outward than inward, you may have some interest in discovery and exploration.
- Henrietta Leavitt Flat Screen Space Theater is a virtual planetarium; very cool.
- JASON Project focuses on different yearly educational expeditions run by Dr. Robert Ballard, the explorer who found the Titanic. Logs of past expeditions are kept.
- Ocean Planet Home Page is a traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of Natural History.
- Exploratorium: Exploranet
- The National Geographic Society’s web site hosts its magazines, books and television shows.
- Paleontology Without Walls
- TerraQuest sponsors virtual expeditions on the web.Virtual Antarctica kept me absorbed for over an hour in the flora, fauna and facts about Antarctica and Virtual Galapagos was equally fascinating. The newest adventure follows blind rock climber Erik Weihenmayer up El Capitan in Yosemite.
Nature/Ecology
I realized when I came out of my depression that I had by virtue of the illness been very self-absorbed. Undepressed, I looked at survival on a more global scale. If you do too, here are some Earthwise sites to inspire you.
- Environmental News Network has environmental news, features and a calendar of meetings and conferences.
- The Rainforest Action Network page is beautifully done, with extensive information about getting involved in non-violent action to save the rainforests and their occupants.
- Sierra Club Home Page provides information about its programs, mission and chapters../
- I was surprised at how fascinating the bios of the individual wolves were on the Wolf Haven International page. It also contains photos of such wolves as Hambone, Nimrod and Morning Star, who you can adopt.
- GardenWeb has gardening tips and links to botanical gardens around the world. Virtual Garden is a huge site with a database of plants, the Garden Guru and even a section that lets you check your weather.
Food/Entertaining
Now that you’re back to your old self (or better, as in my case) you might feel that you want to renew friendships that might have gone south during your depression by entertaining. Or maybe you want to just renew your acquaintance with good food and drink. Either way, the links below will help to get your tastebuds ready.
- Cocktail
- Go to Coffee a Go Go for info and links to coffee sites.
- Electronic Gourmet Guide is an ezine devoted to food.
- For guides on how to entertain in the lounge style, head over to Vik’s Lounge, Club Velvet or Swank-O-Rama: The Cocktail Revolution Homepage.
- Epicurious is home to Bon Appetit and Gourmet magazines, and it’s very well done. Be sure to check out the Playing With Your Food section.
- The webpage for the Hawthorne Lane Restaurant in San Francisco lists some delicious recipes.
- The Real Beer Page is for serious beer connoisseurs.
- Robin Garr’s Wine Lover’s Page is a good page for those of us who enjoy wine, but don’t want to make a career out of selecting it.
Entertainment
Since you probably can handle entertainment with a darker side without it triggering equally dark thoughts, consider the suggestions below.
- La Femme Nikita is a series from the USA Network about a street punk recruited into a secret anti-terrorism group, and forced to become an assassin. Don’t you just hate it when that happens?
- I probably don’t have to tell you to watch The X-Files on Fox, right?
On the lighter side, we have a couple of my favorites which you should be able to watch at this point without wondering what there is to laugh about:
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a fun show, with a sly sense of humor. Plus, it has the cute guy from the Taster’s Choice commercials and a really hot vampire named Angel.
- The Drew Carey Show on ABC is one of the few sitcoms that actually makes me laugh out loud (when I’m on my meds). Drew Carey (the actor) is a fellow depressive.
Get a fresh new browser. Neoplanet is a customizable browser, with interchangeable “skins” – themes for the browswer.
Reading
Ready for a book that will change the way you look at life? Read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. It takes a couple of chapters to get into the flow of the book, but stick with it – it’s worth it.
Travel
Tired of being an armchair traveler? If you’re getting the urge to get out and see the world for real instead of virtually, the sites below should be a great help.
- I love the Civilized Explorer. It’s got great photos and good writing.
- Epicurious Travel, which used to be Conde Nast Traveler magazine, has a polished and comprehensive site.
- To get information about my most favorite travel destination, Disney World, go to the Disney home page.
- Lonely Planet delves a little deeper into the culture of different destinations than other travel guides.
- The Internet Guide to Bed & Breakfast Inns should help you find somewhere to stay.
- Salon|Wanderlust
I’ve found some wonderful guidebooks called Eyewitness Travel Guides. They have tons of color photos, floor plans of landmarks, aerial views of cities, and facts about the area that are actually interesting.