Hello to Everyone!Hope this finds you all doing well. I am doing pretty good and just very thankful for that. I realize that I might not continue like this, but I am thankful for how good I feel right now....the difference is that I started taking St. John's Wort extract and also another amino acid with it. I read in a magazine that it helped women with menopausal mood swings as effectively as Prozac(studies in Germany)......so I gave it a try. I noticed some changes within the first two days. Now, I definitely still have some issues, but I will take the way I've been feeling all day long and never look back.I have gotten back motivation to do things and am able to get enjoyment from experiences like I didn't before. I guess I was really living under a cloud of mild/moderate depression. But most of you know I have tried almost all the anti-depressants and they only work awhile ........getting away from that depresssion and feeling "normal" again makes me realize how bad I was. But I am still aware that what I have (the hormonal/depression thing and maybe something else) is just not easy to treat, so I realize that there is a chance I will go back to where I was before. But I have learned some lessons about life, myself, and God that I hope I will remember. I've learned that there's no reason to spend any time or energy on feelings of guilt or shame. I really was doing the very best I could. I've learned that I do need to really pay more attention to what I'm feeling and not just "pull myself up by my bootstraps" and try to work thru it all-- to care for myself and relax and rest more. To do things that will help me feel better for the moment. To treat myself as I would a girlfriend who was going thru this. Because I can see things clearer now. I've also learned that God will never leave us, even when we don't feel His presence--even when we don't feel the peace or the joy. We just need to trust Him. Trust that he is still good, even when it is all seems so terrible--even when we are in total despair.Sending out love to you all.......for those of you not feeling well, I 'm really hoping and praying that you will feel much better soon, and if it's not physically--that you can have some of that peace and comfort and rest that is just so hard to come by when you don't feel good. And if you don't have that, that you will still believe that God cares.Much Love, Cindy
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hi sweetie i\'m so glad your feeling so good that is wonderful news i\'m so happy for you..you have some wonderful lessons that you shared with us and i can learn from them too..sometimes i think our worst enemies are actually ourselves..if we would treat ourselves as good as we would treat a close friend we would be able to get through a lot better i feel..and you helped me to see that..i need to take better care of myself and have more love for me smile..and your right god is so awesome and never leaves us ever not even for a moment..we may move away from him but he is steadfast and unmoving..and you helped me see that today as well. this is a great journal and very inspiring smile..i hope all your days are this good..love you sweetie and big hugs...
Wow...you made me cry!!!!! That was beautiful. You couldn\'t have said it any better. I have learned over the years also that i do count, and i have to take time for myself and treat myself with care. We are so worth it:) I\'m glad you are feeling better too. My husband just taking the St. Johns also, so i hope it helps him. He was on paxil for years and got off of it...but still needs something. Good luck with it, and i will pray for you!!! Kate
Whew, it\'s been a rough pull, huh Cindy? I was doing this very same self-talk on the way home from town today. We have to remember. We have to. Thank you for being a special friend and my prayers for you that you will continue to feel so much better. Hugs, dear.
I am so glad that you are feeling better. It is so hard not to blame yourself. It is good to be kind to yourself. Treat yourself like you would treat others. Take care and enjoy the presents of God. May God continue to bless you.LYL Tonya
Cindy, you have learned such valuable lessons from your experiences. As I read about them I was smiling in joy because I share that with you. I really don\'t believe that God sends suffering specifically so we can learn lessons, but suffering exists and we can trust that God will be with us in it (either by the direct experience of closeness of God or through the people around us). And I love that you have found that you must treat yourself with kindness. That is such a hard lesson, but I\'ve found the kinder I am to myself, the kinder I am to everyone -- and it just goes in a wonderful circle. God bless you and I\'m so glad you are feeling better.
I like your approach Cindy, because I, too, am trying the natural approach to feeling better, and I\'m determined to keep the positive thoughts in my head during the process. I\'m also in the menopausal mood swing stage, and it\'s a challenge, isn\'t it? Let me know how the St. John\'s Wort works for you. I\'m just starting Black Cohosh to see if this helps with the hot flashes. We\'ll compare notes okay?
I\'m so happy to hear that you\'re starting to feel better.
xoxoxo