Avoiding Depression

On my mother's side of the family, there is a pretty significant history of depression. As happy a person as my mother was, depression tormented the last 10+ years of her life. The depression led her to seek medical assistance in the form of drugs. She also found comfort in "comfort food" and had difficult battles with her weight. She passed away in 2004 of pancreatic cancer about 6 months after diagnosis. It was very sad and way to early for someone who was such a dear, sweet and loving person. I can't help but feel, though, that it might have somehow been brought on by her internal torment and poor eating habits.

After my mom passed away, I learned a lot more about my maternal grandfather. He died when I was not even two years old, but I didn't know much about the later years of his life. In talking to my aunt, I found out he, too, suffered greatly from depression. My uncle on my mothers side suffers somewhat and so does my brother. When I was younger, I remember having occasions of terrible mood swings and feeling like black clouds were hanging over me for seemingly no reason. I was a teeneager at the time and I attribute it to hormonal changes ... but I am fully aware of my family history.

I think about this topic a lot. I am extraordinarily happy (wonderful wife and kids, beautiful house, good health, good job and great friends) and have not had any feeling of depression in many years. I was sad when my mom and father-in-law passed, but I would never call it depression.

I feel like, for me, exercise is a big key to staying happy. It isn't everything as I feel I need balance, but the act of exercising is good for the body in more ways than one. One of my hopes on my quest to be a healthier adult is that I never need to take any medication to keep me happy.