TLC Update Sunday #1

I've decided to start a weekly Sunday update/audit/review of how well I followed the Therapeutic Lifestyle Change (TLC) program from The Depression Cure book by Dr. Illardi

This is only a partial update as I only started reading the book last week. 

Omega 3 Fatty Acids

Last Thursday (April 26th), I recieved the Green Pastures Blue Ice Royal Butter Oil and Fermented Cod Liver Oil (BO/CLO for short) blend; 3 of the Cinnamon Tingle and 1 of the Chocolate Cream. 

I recieved the Ohhira Professional Probiotic capsules (OPP) I ordered about a day before. I know this isn't an omega 3 fatty acid but my mother was told by a doctor when I was a baby that I did not have enough healthy gut flora and so I needed to take probiotics.

As an aside and for semi-scientific purposes, I am currently only taking the BO/CLO and OPP and Zyflammend. No extra Vit-D, no green-lipped mussel extract, no EPO, CoQ10....well you get the picture. 

So far I've taken 8 doses of Green Pastures BO/CLO, 1/2 tsp morning and night and I've taken 10 capsules of the OPP. 

I found the BO/CLO in Cinnamon Tingle surprisingly easy to take. I put the bottle in the fridge where it solidified into a warm brown colored paste. I scoop it up with a 1/2 tsp measuring spoon and scrape it against the side to level it and because it is so small and soft, it goes down whole easily especially when I follow it with a swig of milk which I swish around my mouth to remove any lingering oils on my tongue.

Occasionally, I have had a rather rank whiff or taste around my lips if I haven't been careful not to touch it with my lips but more often than not, I find it faintly and pleasantly cinnamony.

Mmmmmm....yummy

I hope the Chocolate Cream proves as nice. 

How did I choose Green Pastures? 

I read a blog article http://beautyeditor.ca/2010/09/02/the-single-best-product-evah-for-your-skin-is-not-in-fact-an-actual-skincare-product/ where the author wrote about the positive effect this product had on her skin. As I had been experiencing a very similar crisis to hers (I had also tried the Oil Cleansing Method and my chin and cheeks had exploded into a disfiguring cystic pimply rash and I was desperate to try anything that would heal my skin fast). 


It's too early to comment on any mental aspects but I will continue taking 1 tsp daily for 1 month and then try increasing it to 1 1/2 tsp daily.

To me, some downsides: 

Green Pastures touts the fact that they are only naturally fermented cod liver oil product on the market and being naturally fermented, they can only give approximate figures on how much DHA and EPA are contained in each serving. So I am not sure if I am getting enough DHA/EPA in the right rations as per Dr. Illardi's book. 

Some of the blurb on the bottle and website just sounds downright hokey and full of New Age earnestness. 

I mean listen to this:

HISTORICALLY SACRED FOOD

During his travels around the world, Dr. Weston A. Price came across cultures that were strong of mind, body, and spirit; he noticed the relationship between their extraordinary well-being and the sacred and natural foods they consumed. 

Uh-huh, yeah, sure. Do you mean the native people of this world who in almost every single country have the highest levels of infant mortality and highest rates of diabetes, heart disease and renal failure and overwhelming social issues with drug and alcohol abuse? Maybe Dr. Weston encountered cultures that hadn't been touched by western culture, way back when....

Lastly, the expense but I would rather keep buying this if it works rather than an antidepressant.

So it's been about four days and I haven't noticed anything great happening with my skin. In fact, it's kind of getting worse. Still breaking out with fresh pimples, still that awful blotchy red-purple post-acne scarring everywhere....

The OPP is harder to take despite being conveniently encapsuled and not needing to be refrigerated because the capsules are meant to be taken an hour before food or an hour and a half after food. 

As I believe Jeffrey Steingarten, bon vivant, and writer of The Man Who Ate Everything noted when he had to take some medication with similar rules, that he found it terribly difficult to take because his stomach was rarely empty. I am much the same. 

As soon as I am awake, I like to eat otherwise I get strong stomach pains that persist much like colic if I don't head it off in time and I am too distracted an hour and a half to remember to take it. I suppose I should try.

I have been trying to take the capsule as soon as I wake up and then have a lie down in bed for another half an hour and distract myself with ablutions for the next fifteen minutes so that the capsule has had at least forty-five minutes to make its way down. 

Exercise

Today I walked home from work. That took about 30 minutes and that is pretty much the only exercise I did all week.

As for:

sunlight exposure

engaging activity

social support

sleep

I still need to read those chapters.

Here's hoping...The Depression Cure by Dr Steve Ilardi

This is going to be an ongoing post where I read and follow the book and blog about my experiences. 

So...honesty time. 

I do have depression. I've had it for more than half my life and so I don't know where I begin and depression ends. Who could I have been without this depression? I wonder all the time. I am reminded of a tree that used to grow near my home when I was a child. It grew so closely next to a chain link fence that after about a foot of growing alone, the trunk pressed against and eventually enveloped a part of the chain links. I would stare at this section, wondering if it hurt the tree very much. The tree grew away from the fence eventually when the fence ended and likewise, I hope also to grow away from this depression. 

To give an idea of how I am affected...

I wish almost every day that I wasn't alive. 

But I do live, everyday, only myself knowing. Is this courage? Is this stupidity? Just plain dumb animal living? Eating, drinking, excreting. It's all I can do sometimes. 

I know that the pain of living never ends. I brace myself, knowing that the death of my mother, father, brother will come, three devastating blows yet to come, and one day myself. I know we all die alone. I know it everyday. 

I know the pain of being old and alone already because I am young and alone now. 

Sometimes, I just want life to be over and done with and yet sometimes, I am angry that this is all I want and I want to believe that I can have a good life, a fulfilling life despite the sorrows yet to come. 

So onto the book. 

The author of this book pretty much promises that his Therapeutic Lifestyle Change (TLC) program will if not cure, at least alleviate depression. 

There are six components:

omega-3 fatty acids

engaging activity

physical exercise

sunlight exposure

social connections

enhanced sleep

I am open to trying this program because as Dr. Ilardi points out in his book and as I well know, antidepressant medications aren't all that effective. 

The downside to this program is that one must be at a certain level of depression i.e. not the paralysed with depression stage in order to be able to start and keep going with this program.

I think that the only thing that can brick this for me is that I know I tend to give up just like that, out of the blue. Self-sabotage issues, I know. I do plan on working on this with a therapist but for now, I want to focus on moving out of my crappy flat where there are pigeons living in the bathroom. 

Somehow...

I burned through 10G of data from my internet mobile broadband in less than 3 weeks. 
And because Virgin makes their customers have TWO logins (how completely stupid is that?), one for billing services and another for data/webmail, duh.....of course I've forgotten my data login password and login name. 


Truly, I haven't downloaded any movies/music/filthy pictures.....at least having that on my computer might make having used up 10 whole gigabytes of data allowance worthwhile but I've got nothing tangible other than some blog posts to show for it.


I've purchased an extra 1G to tide me over. I can't live without the net.


Well, I'm going on about how annoyed I am because I also can't seem to log into my Vodafone mobile phone account either. I've forgotten that password too. 


What else? I've forgotten my phone banking information from ANZ as well!


I guess I better really add some fish oils to my little pharmacy. 


Today I didn't get run over by a car -- I got bumped which is still really infuriating. The car was close to the road but motionless long enough so that as I was walking along the footpath, I crossed in front of her to get to the other side and as I was in front of her, the woman drove towards me and pushed me with the car. She could not have not seen me as I was right in front of the drivers side and she had to drive a few feet to get to where I was. I banged on her bonnet twice hard and shouted at her. As I walked past and turned to see who it was, I could see a woman in professional clothing (striped shirt) in sunglassses, yelling back and waving her arms at me. 


I'm not above hoping that woman has a really bad day and actually, I hope she has a crappy life. Anyone who yells at the person they could have injured, are scum and I hope bad things happen to them. 


Let's see what I've been up to:


Ordered some bike stuff -Ortlieb back panniers, and a rear bike rack. I've calculated that I need to cycle to work and into the city between 36-74 times to break even. Even less if I can sell my awful Crumpler bag. What?! Yes! I hate Crumpler okay?! I know it's an iconic bag. I know 1 in 3 Melbournites have them. I don't care! They make my neck and shoulder hurt. I finally figured out why my left shoulder hurts all the time. It's because I use my bleeding Crumpler all the time and since I've stopped, my shoulder is better. Q.E.D


Ordered Liteneasy 7 day meal plan 1500 cal to start next Tuesday. I need to lose weight. It only hit home when I automatically started knitting a sweater for myself in the small size. Finished the body, started on one sleeve, tried it on and realised to my horror that I looked like I had squeezed into a wetsuit and I just bulged in all directions. I know all about unhealthy waist proportions and I've got one. I'd like to keep going until I lose 5kg then hopefully by then, I can get the hang of approximate portion sizing.


Went to a cycle class tonight at the Virgin Active gym on Bourke which will be the last time I go to the cycle class there. The instructors turn the music on so loud that I can't hear what they are saying and when I go home, I hear a continuous high pitched keening in my ears as if I'd been out clubbing. It's not just the cycle classes either, it's the dance class, etc...I love cycle classes but I love my hearing more. I've already given them that feedback and I suppose they've chosen to ignore it. Well, since the Carlton YMCA is back on later this year after their massive renovations, that's where I'll go back to. 
On second thought, I do have earplugs but that's ridiculous. 
I miss the fantastic cycle class instructor I had at the Fernwood gym in Newtown (NSW). She was brilliant, - gave clear instructions, reinforced good posture always, was encouraging and had an inspiringly hot bod too. 


Went to a skin clinic to have the apocalyptic eruptions on my chin treated. It is not just one deep painful cystic acne, there are four as well as twenty acne pustules all on my little chinny chin chin. Truly revolting.
Came away with a serum (as I expected), underwent an LED light therapy session and an appointment for next week. I'm praying this helps. 

the WHO and the WHY

So I suppose even if this blog is really for my own pleasure and as an aide-memoire for my old age, and well, my current age, I should perhaps write a bit about myself. 


I have no particular connection with the Daintree Rainforest in Queensland, Australia as some people have asked when I give out my email address. I've never been there. I had to pick an email name and I happened to read a Readers Digest article about the rainforest in Qld earlier and since then I've used the daintree name liberally in my internet life. Did I just give a clue for hackers? Oh crap. 


Out of curiosity, I looked up the name Daintree just now. Is it Aboriginal? Such an unusual word. No. It is a surname and the rainforest is named after a Richard Daintree. To quote:


This uncommon name is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and a locational surname deriving from the place called Daventry in Northamptonshire; the surname, found as Daintree, Daintrey and Daintry, represents the accepted local pronunciation of the placename. Daventry is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Daventrei", and in the 1199 Feet of Fines of the county as "Dauintre", and the name means "Dafa's tree", derived from the Olde English pre 7th Century personal name "Dafa" (perhaps from the verb "gedafen", fitting), with "treow", tree. Locational surnames, such as this, were acquired by the lord of the manor, and local landowners, and especially by those former inhabitants who had moved to another area, and were thereafter best identified by the name of their birthplace.

Read more: http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Daintree#ixzz1sDiud2pq


Wiki and I'm not afraid to use it, says that the Daintree rainforest is and this makes me smile, an Important Bird Area, IBA for short and contains 18% of Australia's bird species. 


So, I am indeed 'after 30' and I live in Melbourne, Australia. I would like to talk about my job but for privacy reasons, I can't but suffice it to say that I work in a long suffering health profession, and I would like to GET OUT! But don't worry folks in Melbourne-land and beyond, you're in safe hands with me. I'm a conscientious worker. 


I don't have a particular focus for this blog. I mean I'm not passionate about food, makeup, coffees, or travelling. I might throw in a few reviews. I started writing simply because I forget. I forget a lot and it started to worry at me that I look back and all I remember is either the bad/embarassing or sad. I mean there's been a lot of sad but I want to remember the good, the funny, the happy. Maybe writing about my life will help me live more consciously. An examined life. 


I am supremely terrified that I will be the same person in 10 years. 


An origin story, the focus of this blog, my fears. That's a good enough introduction for now.  

Library Haul #3

From the Melbourne City Library.

An unexpected day off due to my mildly incompetent manager but a welcomed one.
I woke up exhausted. I always do.


DVD:

Heartbreaker

Amelie

CD:

5:55

Books:

Digital SLR All-in-One For Dummies

Swiss Watching by Diccon Bewes


A quick review of Swiss Watching:


I pounced on Swiss Watching with excitement because for quite awhile, in the back of my mind, I'd been pondering on the fact that Switzerland is a country you never hear about in the news. An enigmatic beautiful country. Also, another strange thing is that I've never met a Swiss person. 


This book immediately brought to mind how important font is. The font of this book does not make me take it seriously. I can't explain it. I know that sounds stupid but the overall impression is that the font trivialises the writing of the book. It dumbs it down for me. There is a cute nugget of a sentence. 'And, after all, pineapple and coconut together make a great pina colada. ' but I just shrugged mentally but then immediately wondered if I would have appreciated it more if it were presented to me in a different setting. 


In the end, the book didn't quite grab and hold my interest. I flipped through it rather quickly.The font had a small part in that but mostly I found the writing would have better suited perhaps a travel magazine. 

Library Haul #2

Or maybe my little toenails have stayed the same size while my feet have grown. 
No, that doesn't make sense. 


Another trip to the library. Melbourne City Library.

DVD: 

The Hedghog

CD:

Highlander's Farewell (Alasdair Fraser, Natalie Haas)

Flight of the Concords

Books:

Talk Dirty French by Alexis Munier

The Depression Cure by Dr Steve Ilardi


No cookbooks I hope you realise. It was hard but I managed it!


I'm listening to Highlander's Farewell as I type. 
I love Celtic music. The strongly rhythmic music soothes me and I find anything with cello in it deeply satisfying.


Some offhand reviews:
The Hedghog
I read the book and couldn't get into it because of the grating hint of self-conscious pretentiousness and I also hated the ending.  So I already knew the ending of the movie which I still hated but on the whole I found the movie absorbing due to the beautifully innocent and melancholy performance of Garance Le Guillermic who played Paloma. 


Wait...do I hear echos of The Piano theme on track 8 Gloomy Winter's Noo Awa' ?


I really thought they could have filled out Renee's background a little more as wonderful as Paloma was. 


Here's a 'dirty' french word picked at random for your pleasure. 


ne plus se sentir pisser
to be walking on air, lit. to not feel oneself pee


Now I'll be on the lookout in the french films I've borrowed. 


P.S The really really dirty words are all at the back. Whoo boy. 

When did.....

my little toe nails start shrinking? 

Hello, my name is Ellie

and I am a vitamins and supplements addict. 


To fully confess my addiction, I give the complete list:


Nature's Own Mega B 150
- for moods and brain function
Swisse Vitamin D
- I have low Vit D
Bioglan Superflex Pain Ease (chondroiton &MSM)
- post motorcycle accident (2 years ago)
Healthy  Care CoQ10
- for energy 
Ostevit-D & Calcium
- to prevent osteoporosis
Blooms Evening Primrose Oil
-for the moods
Blooms Green Lipped Mussel
-to treat left scapula pain
Microgenics Cranberry 17,000 Complex
- for women stuff
Korean Ginseng Syrup
-to have more energy?
NewChapter Zyflament softgels 
-for a healthy inflammation response 


In fact, I've even ordered more online recently.


Green Pastures Blue Ice Royal Butter oil and Fermented Cod Liver Oil Blend

Ohhira's Professional Probiotics


To my shame,  I don't take any of what I have regularly.  Instead,  I throw a handful of tablets and capsules down my throat every once in a blue moon which does me as much good as say, having a brief glimpse of a really gorgeous man walking on the opposite side of the road, and going the other way. 


The trouble is, they all sound really good to me. A healthy inflammation response -hell yeah! I want that. I also want my left scapula to stop aching, therefore, the green lipped mussel and the Bioglan. I don't want the mood swings every month, hence, the EPO, vitamin D, and vitamin B complex.  I want better skin, better digestion, more energy, less pain...it's amazing actually, what those pills, tablets and capsules all promise. 


Ask me another time about my self-help book collection. Oh, boy..