Depression in the Digital Age

My former college pastor from my UCLA days led me to an interesting article recently. It’s about the relationship between excessive internet use and depression.

Do people spend hours upon hours on the internet because they are depressed?  Or do they spend so much time on the internet that they become depressed?

We may never know which is the chicken and which is the egg, but you can read the short article for yourself by clicking here.

And then maybe you should get off the computer and go do something else for a while.

Collisions and Community

When I was younger, I wasn’t really what you would call a “people person.” I was friendly enough, but life was busy, and I just wanted to get all my stuff done.

Life in college taught me how to value relationships and create community. Sometimes that makes this 20-something stage of life hard, seeing as I can’t seem to live in the same city, state, or side of the globe as many of my close friends for more than a year at a time.

Then last summer, Brian and I moved into a community called Allelous. You can read my description of it here. At Allelous, we’ve done things like putting on weddings for community members, praying away brain tumors, and enjoying retreats.

It’s been heavenly.

Though the past few years have really transformed me into a person who values relationships more than I ever thought possible, living at Allelous these past six months has really nurtured this relatively new side of me.

I love community. I deeply respect the people in my Allelous community. I’d do anything to help the people in my community. Even lend them my (Brian’s) car.

A few weeks ago, one of our community members borrowed Brian’s car to go to an interview.

They say that most accidents tend to occur a mile or less from your house. Whoever “they” are, they were right.

I got the phone call when I was on my way home from school.

“How are you?!”

“Not so good. I got into an accident with Brian’s car.”

How would you feel if you got that phone call?

Can I tell you, honestly, what went through my head? “I hope they don’t feel bad about it.”

That’s the honest truth.

I’ve been in a car accident before. It’s scary, traumatic even, no matter what the speed of impact. When I got the phone call, I remembered how I felt when I got in an accident – like I was in an alternate reality where time stood still and something just happened that didn’t make any sense.

The collision occurred about four blocks away from Allelous, on the way home from the interview. I pulled over to the side of the road and met up with what had now become a small group of friends, and saw that the car was pretty bashed up. One of the first things I made sure to tell my neighbor was to not  feel bad about any of this. “Car accidents are scary enough when it’s your own car, let alone when it’s someone else’s car and you have to tell them you wrecked it. I don’t want you to stress about this and be afraid that we’re gonna be mad. It’s just a car, we’ll work it out and everything will be fine. We just wanna make sure you’re okay and that you don’t beat yourself up over this.”

That’s the truth.

And you know what? When Brian found out about the accident, the first thing he said to me was, “They know we’re not upset at them, right?”

Community. Relationships. Perspective. They go together.

I don’t know that I could have said that five years ago. But I can now.

The coolest thing I realized from this experience was that, even though our neighbor crashed (read: totaled) our car, it didn’t matter because we value our community so much more than we valued our car. We know it wasn’t on purpose. We know it could have happened to anyone. And we know that we won’t be left stranded. We have our community to count on.

5 Reasons Why You Need to See “To Save a Life”

My husband wrote this post earlier today, and I since he put it into words better than I can, I decided to post it instead of writing a review myself…

This Friday, January 22, the film To Save A Life is opening in over 400 theaters across the country. The film was shot in Oceanside, California, in the summer of 2008 and my former church, New Song Community Church, was very heavily involved in the production of it. Here are five good reasons why you need to see it:

1) It is a movie that brings attention to a tragic social epidemic-Teen suicide is the third leading cause of death among 15-24 year olds, and as many as 1 in 8 teens struggle with depression. No matter what your line of work, there is a good chance that you will at least occasionally interact with a teenager who is depressed and has at least thought about suicide. This movie will make you more aware of that reality and will help prepare you to reach out.

2) It is an entertaining movie that does more than entertain- This is a quality film that tells a good story. Yes, it was made on a budget that was a small fraction of that of the other movies that are opening this weekend, but what it lacks in explosions and other special effects it makes up for with a well-written script that will cause you to leave the theater a little bit different than you were when you walked in. This is a story that will draw you in and cause you to think. Also, by paying to see this movie you are voting with your wallet for movies that do more than entertain. The only way that more movies with positive messages like this one will appear in theaters is if people like you and me show that we are going to support them. By supporting this film you are giving more and more people the chance to see this movie and movies like it. I should also add that while the film is a Christian film, it addresses issues that are relevant to all people regardless of their spiritual beliefs.

3) It is a movie that offers real hope to people of all ages- While the film specifically addresses teen suicide, depression and suicide are real issues that plague people of every age. If you struggle with depression, this movie will be a step towards hope for you. If you know someone who is struggling with depression, this movie will help better prepare you to be a source of comfort and hope for that person. It will also make you more able to recognize the signs of depression in people you see.

4) It is a movie that will get you thinking about what you want your life to be about- The older I get (and let’s be honest, I’m not that old ;-) ), the more I realize that many of us fail to use our lives to make a substantial impact on other people not because we’re mean and selfish, but because we are notintentional about making a difference with our lives. We get distracted with our own pursuits, and then without an ounce of malice we steadily become less and less aware of those around us. The result is a society of individualistic, lonely people, and that is not God’s ideal for humanity. This movie will inspire you to look outside of yourself and be intentional about caring for those around you who desperately need to know that they are loved.

5) The movie is a great youth ministry resource- I usually want nothing to do with “Christian” movies, videos, video small group curricula, etc. I’ve seen enough of them to know that they that are more often than not hopelessly cheesy and nowhere near true to life. In fact, I don’t know that I’ve ever used a Christian video to teach or use in a small group unless I was required to (and in most of those cases I’ve ended up apologizing to the group afterwards). This movie is different. It is much more true to life, much less cheesy, and much more useful in helping teens open up and talk about how they related to characters in the film. It is honest about the junk that is present in the lives of many teenagers, but it doesn’t glorify it. One youth pastor in Southern California who saw an advance screening of the film wrote this review.

6) Bonus- I know a lot of the people in the movie- All of the “drunken teenagers” in the party scenes? Students from our high school and college groups. The make-out couples at the parties? Married couples from our young adult ministry (Christie and I were one of those couples, but unfortunately we didn’t end up getting any screen time…but on the plus side they did have to shoot something like 11 takes). That may or may not seem like a very good reason to see the film to you, but I think it’s pretty cool :-) .

So check out the trailer below, go to the To Save A Life website, find a theater near you, and buy tickets to see it this weekend!

Question: For those of you that have seen the film, what are some other reasons people should go see it?

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Vote for Invisible Children!

Chase Bank is giving away $1 million, and my friends at Invisible Children have a legitimate chance of winning it!

If you’re on Facebook, you get one chance to vote for them!  They’re in the lead right now, but voting goes all the way through this Friday, January 22nd at 11:59pm EST, so they need more votes!

If you haven’t heard of Invisible Children before, you can learn more about them by going to www.invisiblechildren.com.  Basically, they are a non-profit organization based out of San Diego, CA that has been working to help bring peace and education to the people of Northern Uganda, a place terrorized by civil war for the past 20 years, and where children are abducted from their homes and forced to become child soldiers and sex slaves.  Invisible Children has done AMAZING work with the people and the government over there, and they need your support to be able to continue re-building schools and making a positive difference in the lives of the people of Northern Uganda!

You can vote for Invisible Children by clicking on this link: http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/

Spread the word!



After Two Weeks of P90X…

After taking four years off from working out, I am back in the game with P90X.  It’s a holistic workout program that is really well-organized and challenging so that you can meet your fitness goals in 90 days, however modest or extreme they may be.  As a former gymnast and collegiate athlete, many of the exercises are familiar to me, and so even though I haven’t performed many of them in nearly half a decade (wow!), my muscle memory has served me well and I’ve been able to jump right back in.

Though we’ve never really exercised together before, my husband and I decided back in November that we wanted to do this together because we both were disatisfied with how sedentary our lifestyles had become.  He wrote a blog yesterday about the actual workout content and cycle, which you can read by clicking here.  After two weeks of 6-day-a-week workouts, I feel really good.  I probably don’t look much different or weigh anything different, but I feel lighter on my feet and in better control of my body.  I commented to Brian last month that I couldn’t even feel my triceps muscles anymore because they had atrophied so much due to inactivity (read: All school all the time isn’t exactly a prescription for ripped triceps).  After just two weeks of P90X, they’re coming back.

One thing I love about P90X is the variety of workouts.  When I was a gymnast, I got used to doing the same conditioning list with 3 or 4 sets of the same exercises week in and week out.  With this program, we do 2 sets of max reps for time (e.g., 2 sets of 1 minute max push-ups), and I’ve worked harder than I would if I was doing, say, 4 sets of 15.  The variety takes place not only in the sets and exercises within the workout for the day, but also across the six days of workouts.  It’s a combination of strength workouts, cardio, plyometrics (“jump training”), yoga, Kenpo karate, and stretching.  My body feels like it’s being worked at from all angles, and I like it.

The only thing I don’t like so far about P90X is that they don’t really work the back.  Yes, they label one of the workouts as a “back” workout, but really, you’re just working the upper back muscles, the ones that are technically part of  your back because they lie on the posterior side of the top of your trunk.  I’m talking about doing pull-ups and push-ups and calling that a “back workout.”  Sure, you’re working your lats and rhomboids (and many other muscles you could name off), but those aren’t the back muscles that help support your posture throughout the day.  I want a back workout that will strengthen my entire back, including the middle and lower back (I know the lats are a HUGE muscle that go down and around the back, but I sure don’t feel it all the way down and around my back when I’m doing pull-ups, you know what I mean?).  As an athlete, we spent a lot of time caring for the lower back because, especially in a high-impact sport like gymnastics, if your lower back (and lower abs) wasn’t strong, then it made everything a lot harder, and pain was much more likely to occur.  So I wish that the P90X “back” workouts included exercises such as laying face down on the floor and performing arching, lifting, pulsing, and rocking motions.  I also wish that P90X worked the lower back because, in the Ab Ripper X workout that we do three times per week, we work our lower abs in a few exercises.  When you strengthen the trunk muscles, you need to strengthen opposing sides: left/right, front/back.  If P90X is going to set up its program so that we’ll be working our lower abs, then wouldn’t they also want to include strengthening for the lower back to balance it out?

As a student of Occupational Therapy, we have learned how important it is to strengthen and maintain the postural muscles, because they influence the body parts above and below them.  Strong core postural muscles (including the lower abs and lower back) contribute to efficient body mechanics and conserved energy, with the shoulders and head remaining in a neutral position which requires minimal energy to maintain.  However, weak core postural muscles can contribute to inefficient posture of the shoulder and head, and this can translate into lost energy, compensation, and pain.  All because the core postural muscles are not properly strengthened.   And don’t we all want more energy and less pain?

However, for the most part, I am enjoying the challenges and benefits of getting back into a workout program.  Hopefully, after the 90 days are over, I’ll feel even healthier and lighter on my feet than I do now, and I’ll want to continue to incorporate holistic exercise into my daily routine in order to maintain that.

So for now, Brian and I will continue to “BRING IT!”

Time to go do stretching for our day off!

you can’t take it with you.

“I picked out some of her jewelry that I thought you would like.”

As I neared the bottom of one of my Christmas presents, my younger sister pointed to where a plastic bag half full of our late great-grandmother’s old earrings and necklaces lay.  I hadn’t even thought about what would happen to her earthly possessions after she passed away nearly six weeks ago.

“I have a whole bag full of some of her other things we thought you might like too,” added my mom.

A few days later, my mom showed me the bag.  As we dug through dress coats, sweatpants, and Hawaiian outfits, I kept thinking about what a cool lady Mamaw was.  Then I looked over on top of the dresser next to the bag.

Everything stopped.

“Really?” I said in disbelief.  ”I can’t believe this is here.”

There on top of the dresser sat a craft I had given to Mamaw over 15 years ago.  I was in the fifth grade, and it was my very first cross-stitch I had ever completed.  A little brown bear holding a bouquet of flowers with the words I LOVE YOU stitched on the bottom.  Except now one of his eyes had fallen out.  I had always remembered that I had given it to her.  But I never thought I would see it again.  Here it was, staring back at me with one eye, begging for a home.

I was shocked.  I know it doesn’t sound like a big deal.  But it was.

I know that our earthly possessions don’t go with us.  I know that the only things that matter are those that are of eternal worth.  But seeing this embroidered bear – this bear that I had proudly given to my great grandmother when I was just a little girl – who now was being given back to me because it’s owner was no longer alive, somehow really made it clear to me that “you can’t take it with you.”  It hit me like a ton of bricks.

As I continued to sort through the items on top of the dresser, I came across another memento that Mamaw had kept.  A picture of me and her from when she attended my UCLA Gymnastics meet at the University of Arizona on January 16, 2004.  She had been staying with one of her daughters down in that area, and when she heard that I was going to have a meet there, she joyfully told me that she would be there.  There was another picture too, taken from a different angle.  She had taken the time not only to have these pictures printed, but to also then write on the back of them.  ”Mamaw and Christie, January 2004.”  ”Tommy and Christie, January 2004.”  Tommy was her childhood nickname, because she was a tomboy who always wanted to play with the boys.  Like great grandmother, like great grandaughter.

As I continued to sort through all the memories, I came to the most precious one.  Meet results in a sheet protector.  Not only had Mamaw attended my meet, taken pictures, printed them out, and labeled them, but she then took the time to go onto the UCLA Athletics website and print out the results of the meet so that she could save them with the pictures in a plastic 3-ring sheet protector.  I got a 9.9 on Beam that meet.  It was a good one for her to remember.  But she left that memory behind.

As I finished packing up Mamaw’s things, I took one more look at the bear before sliding him into the side of the bag.

Don’t know what I’m gonna do with you, I thought.  But I guess you can be my reminder to strive for eternal things.  Because I can’t take you with me.


Depression

As I have progressed in my OT training, both through classroom and fieldwork education, I have unexpectedly learned one reality of our profession: depression is all around.

This past fall semester, I did one of my Level I fieldworks in an inpatient mental health setting.  Through this experience, I realized that I really enjoyed working with people who were depressed.  I couldn’t explain it.  I just connected with them really well, and it felt so natural for me.  The problem was, though, that I couldn’t see myself working in a mental health setting.  But I really liked depression.

A weird thing to say, for sure.

Keeping this newfound interest in mind, I became more cognizant of places in which depression may present itself in Occupational Therapy.  And you know what I realized?

You don’t have to work in mental health in order to work with people who are depressed.

Depression is all around.  It’s part of the nature of what we do.

This realization hit me the hardest after sitting through nearly 30 student presentations on various medical conditions at the end of the fall semester.  During nearly every presentation, depression was mentioned as a common co-morbid condition.

Traumatic Brain Injury: depression.  AIDS: depression.  Alzheimer’s Disease, Fibromyalgia, Substance Abuse, Epilepsy, Multiple Sclerosis, Burns, Hip Replacement, Cystic Fibrosis, Binge Eating Disorder: depression.  And the list goes on.

When people lose their ability to function as much as they once did (even if only temporarily), or when people have a condition which causes them to believe that they will never lead a “normal” life, depression can easily set in (that’s not to say that it always does for every person, but…).

So here’s what I’m wondering.  Why do we pigeonhole “mental health” so that only people who want to work in “mental health” settings will be prepared to work with people who suffer from depression?  If depression can pop up anywhere, in any practice area outside of “mental health,” shouldn’t we all be prepared to respond therapeutically?  Our clients/patients don’t get to sweep their depression into just one corner of their life.  So why should we sweep our mental health training into just one corner of our profession?

Can Occupational Therapists address their patients’ depression even though their primary diagnosis may be that they had a stroke, or an amputation, or a Traumatic Brain Injury?

Our profession is supposed to be holistic in its view of people and its approach to their well-being.  Can our treatment reflect that when it comes to addressing depression (or other mental health issues such as PTSD, Anxiety Disorder, etc.)?

I realize that this is neither a simple question, nor will it lend itself to a simple answer, and there are many more layers that need to be talked through.

But I’ll end this post with one question: If you knew that you would likely treat people with depression no matter what type of Occupational Therapy you went into, how would that affect your preparation to enter the field, or your practice once you’ve already entered it?

I would appreciate any responses as I continue to think through all of this!

They’re Home!

Six days after brain surgery to remove Adrianne’s tumor-turned-abscess, she and Nathan are home sweet home.

I’m sure it couldn’t come soon enough.

They made a video update that includes Nathan newfound love for the “reacher” given to Adrianne by the OT, as well as the medical state of things.  You can watch it here.

Welcome home Penners!

May your love overflow

When you are abundantly loved, when you are steadfastly prayed for, something happens.

That love increases and overflows to others.

I was reminded of this after visiting a friend in the hospital yesterday, who had brain surgery just a few days ago.

Although she hasn’t really had a chance to interact with other patients in her wing of the hospital because she’s been confined to her room, she has had the chance to take part in something amazing.

She said that, at some point during her stay (I can’t remember if it was before or after she had her surgery), she heard a man in the hallway who was being prepped for surgery.  The doctors were asking him if he had contact information for family or friends so that they could get a hold of them after his brain surgery.  He said, “No, it’s just me.”

He was about to have brain surgery.

And he was alone.

No family.  No friends.  Just him.

She heard this and began praying for him.  After her experience with what seems like the entire body of Christ coming to her side throughout this time of uncertainty, how could she not?

She told us yesterday that, during the course of her stay in the hospital, she has prayed for many of her fellow brain surgery patients.  She knows that she is abundantly loved and steadfastly covered in prayer.  But what about the other patients?  What if nobody is praying for them?

And so she prays.

“May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else” (1 Thessalonians 3:12).

she’s up and walking.

Despite pain due to decreased levels of meds, and uncertainty as to what exactly the mass was in Adrianne’s brain, she is up and walking.

She was visited by an occupational therapist and a physical therapist, and both were impressed with her abilities so soon after brain surgery.

You can read more of the details here.

There are still many unknowns, and Adrianne is not completely out of the woods yet, so please continue to pray for her health and healing.