| Chronic illness, loss of family members and friends, | | | | 4. Keep Yourself Busy |
| social isolation, and financial worries all contribute to | | | | If you keep yourself absorbed in gardening, |
| late-life depression. Though depression is one of the | | | | woodworking, traveling, and other projects, it will |
| most common psychological disorders among those | | | | prevent you from dwelling on whatever is making |
| over 60 - affecting up to 15 percent of the | | | | you feel unhappy. Write down a list of goals you |
| population over 60 years of age - it is not a normal | | | | want to accomplish in the next week or month and |
| part of aging. To bolster your resilience, here are a | | | | dive into them. Always have something to look |
| few suggestions that can help you. | | | | forward to, and you will be less susceptible to the |
| 1. Brew Up Herbal Relief | | | | blues. |
| One herb, hypericin has been found to cause | | | | 5. Try Writing |
| significant reduction in symptoms of depression and | | | | If you are uncomfortable talking about your |
| anxiety. Several of its constituents all contribute, | | | | depression with others or have no one whom you |
| perhaps, synergistically to the increase in compounds | | | | can share your thoughts with, write down your |
| that relieve depression. To try it, it is recommended | | | | feelings in a journal. Writing will help you organize your |
| using tinctures, or evening primrose infusions, in which | | | | thoughts and provide an outlet for your feelings that |
| the flowering tops have been steeped. Or use just | | | | can help you organize your thoughts and provide an |
| plain old teas. Suggests steeping one to two | | | | outlet for your feelings that can help dissolve |
| teaspoons of the dried herb in a cup of boiling water | | | | unpleasant emotions. Set aside 20 to 30 minutes daily |
| for 10 minutes and drinking one or two cups of the | | | | to jot down your thoughts, feelings, and |
| tea daily for four to six weeks. | | | | observations about life. |
| 2. Try Déjà Vu All Over Again | | | | 6. Exercise Regularly |
| One terrific antidote for the blues is doing an activity | | | | Regular aerobic exercise like walking, swimming, and |
| you used to enjoy but have not participated in for | | | | dancing increases the production of mood-enhancing |
| many years. Bowling, camping, fly-fishing, and other | | | | chemicals in the brain, such as serotonin, that can help |
| long-dormant hobbies can spark fond memories that | | | | pull you out of a funk. Try exercising for at least 20 |
| will actually uplift your spirits. But if you just sit at | | | | minutes a day three times a week. |
| home, none of these positive things are going to | | | | 7. Share Your Feelings |
| occur. | | | | Share your feelings with one or two close friends or |
| 3. Try Seafood | | | | relatives. More than likely, you have helped them |
| Eating tuna, salmon, and other fish loaded with | | | | through many upheavals in the past, and if you allow |
| omega-3, a type of polyunsaturated fat, may help | | | | it, they will let you lean on them for emotional |
| bolster your mood. The low levels of omega-3 in | | | | support for a while now. This does not mean you are |
| your nervous system may increase your vulnerability | | | | asking them to solve the problem for you. It simply |
| to depression. So regular consumption of fish once or | | | | means you are asking them to listen, allow you to |
| twice a week may prevent the blues. Lobster, crab, | | | | get things off your chest, and be supportive. |
| shrimp, and other shellfish also contain some omega-3. | | | | |