How to Manage Depression Without Drugs: That’s So Paleo!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I recently had the privilege of reading a review copy of Janna Marlies Maron’s (pictured above) brand new book How to Manage Depression Without Drugs: 5 Game Plans to Help Me Get My Life Back.

I was eager to read and help promote the book because I feel it ties in directly with the Paleo lifestyle. I mean, I am not even sure ancient man had the time to be depressed. I don’t even think “depression” existed in the context it does today. A Paleolithic man only had 2 real needs as I see it: 1. Getting enough to eat. 2: Not getting eaten by another animal. I wonder how long it took before real emotions came into play. But one thing is for sure. He didn’t take a bunch of antidepressants to kill the pain. He found ways to deal with pain. Naturally.

In the modern world, there are so many little things on which we hang ourselves. We trap ourselves into thinking we need this or that in order to be happy. We compare ourselves to others, and put immense pressure on ourselves to be the first person at such and such restaurant or the first person to have the latest smartphone. The list goes on. I think it’s a dead end to unhappiness.

And I should know about depression, because I suffer from it, too, from time to time. If you know me personally, you have a little bit of a background about me and know the root of some of the sadness, but I also believe that the most highly creative people (again, me) all suffer from some sort of mental defect. Yes, I am a little mentally defective, but I am still a wonderful human being. And I have a happy song.

Wait, what’s a happy song? You’ll have to check it out in Janna’s new book! 🙂

Speaking of wonderful human beings, that would be Janna, too. I asked her some questions about her new book, and this is what she had to say:

CAVEGRRL: What was the point when you decided you were depressed enough to seek help from a therapist/counselor?

JANNA: I’ve experienced two pretty low points in the past 3 years. One was at the end of 2010 when I had gone through a bankruptcy, I had been laid off from my job, and the church I had been involved with for about 5 years was ending. The second low point was at the end of 2012, about 5-6 months after I was diagnosed with MS. Both times I remember not wanting to do anything except sleep or lay on the couch and binge-watch crappy TV shows like Gossip Girl. Both times I remember having thoughts like, it won’t matter if I don’t get out of bed today. Both times I remember having those thoughts but also knowing in my gut that something was wrong, because it’s not like me to be unmotivated and apathetic. Both times I knew I wanted to change and that I couldn’t do it by myself so I started seeing a therapist.

CAVEGRRL: What made you decide to write the book? (Also: Did I get the whole book, or was it an abbreviated version?)

JANNA: I write because I believe in the power of personal storytelling. I share my story in hope that it will help or inspire at least one person. So I was writing about my personal struggle with depression on my blog, and what I found was that “depression” is the number one search term that sends people to my blog. It made me sad to think that there were so many people searching for help with something that I know from personal experience can be so debilitating. That’s why I decided to write How to Manage Depression Without Drugs. It’s my personal story that is meant to be a concise guide and a quick read (so, yes, you did get the whole book).

CAVEGRRL:  Please tell me about a little about MS, and also a little about your bout with shingles. I know both can be provoked by stress.

JANNA: Multiple Sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that attacks the central nervous system. “Autoimmune” means the body’s immune system attacks itself and, in the case of MS, this reaction affects the myelin sheath surrounding the nerves in the brain and spinal chord causing scars, or lesions, where those attacks occur. There are varying degrees of severity and I was diagnosed with Relapsing Remitting MS, which means that the disease can be in remission for any length of time with intermittent relapses of attacks when symptoms can flare up.

Regardless of treatment, a person with MS has a compromised immune system and can be susceptible to getting sick easily. I believe this is why I developed shingles. It happened this past November, which was a month when I completely overextended myself. On top of running ThinkHouse Collective with my husband, publishing Under the Gum Tree, my client work and teaching three college classes, I also hosted a huge event for the second anniversary of Under the Gum Tree and took two writing workshops. It was too much, and on Thanksgiving day I found myself in urgent care with these strange blister-like sores all over the left side of my face.

Yes, stress can provoke both MS flare-ups and shingles. But my experience tells me that it’s usually a combination of stress and other factors that cause a physical reaction. The body stores information in the form of memory and cellular energy, and it can only take so much before it reaches a breaking point.

CAVEGRRL: What are the most important things (in your opinion) a person can do to keep themselves happy?

JANNA: I think it all comes down to self-care. And that is probably different for every person. In the chapter on ritual in my ebook I write about how for some reason in our American culture it’s not okay for use to take care of ourself, because it’s seen as selfish or indulgent. But that’s exactly what we need to be healthy—we need to indulge from time to time. So I would say that we each need to figure out what we need to be happy, and take care of our self in that way.

CAVEGRRL: Do you think depression is a choice?

JANNA: I certainly don’t think anyone chooses to be depressed. However, when we find ourself in that place, the choice becomes: do we want to stay there or do we want to change and find our way back to health? I believe health is a choice.

To see an interview of Janna about her upcoming book, you can click on the interview below:

Here’s the list of dates and events for the virtual tour Janna will be doing with her new book:

April 1: Podcast interview with Alejandro Reyes at Successfool.com

April 8: Interview with Susan Herman at edit2yourcredit.com

April 10: Interview with Kristy DeVaney at CaveGrrl.com <—That’s me!!

April 11: Review of the ebook by Danea Horn at ChronicResilience.com

April 14: Review of the ebook by Ronna Detrick

April 15: ”Life-change can be an adventure. Really.” Guest post on Jennifer Snyder’s Journal

April 17: A reading from the ebook at TrueStory in Sacramento, CA

April 18: RELEASE DATE! If you preordered the book, you’ll automatically get your copy & it will be available for the Kindle at Amazon.

Additional links:
Janna’s blog post announcing the book & book tour: CLICK HERE.
Janna’s book page on her site: CLICK HERE.
preorder on itunes: CLICK HERE.
preorder on Barnes & Noble: CLICK HERE.
preorder on Smashwords: CLICK HERE.

Would you like a FREE copy of the book for yourself? Please leave a comment or share this post and email/tweet/facebook me that you did so. Or, if you want to contact me privately here to enter, that’s OK, too. The winner will be emailed directly with a coupon code to download the book or receive the book in their format of choice.

Now go out there and have a HAPPY Thursday! A friend of mine said to me, “There are seven days in a week, and SOMEDAY isn’t one of them.” 😉