Depression expert: Finns should use more medications

A British professor says that, while antidepressant use in Finland has increased ninefold in the past 20 years, it's still not enough.

What's here already

We're still twiddling the knobs on meds and other factors that might be affecting my sleep. My spirit remains good overall, although several days of bad sleep will leave me cranky and discouraged. It's a good time to practice gratitude, not only redirecting my thoughts away from the sources of unhappiness, but also finding joy in each instance. When out shopping, for example, I don't have to feel that that woman left her shopping cart in my way just to annoy me. Instead, I can say, "Oh, look. There's a two-for-one deal on oatmeal."
Unlike times past, I do have enough strength to have some control over how I feel. That, in itself, is a source of gratitude and relief.
Perhaps the biggest change is that I'm getting outside of the house, outside of my routine and comfortable patterns. I'm taking a course through a local college's continuing education program for seniors. I may have a regular, though unpaid, blogging gig for realworcester.com. We went to Matt's and Mike's football games (in the rain), attended Lily's birthday party, and had dinner at Mike and Lynn's last night. Next month, I'll attend a seminar on patent research in Albany, a program suggested by an attorney friend for whom I may do some contract work.
There still isn't anything that I could describe as an ordinary day. I could and sometimes do get discouraged, but it's better for me to refocus on how far I've come and how much support I have around me. Good parents know how to redirect the attention of an upset or misbehaving child, a technique that I can use even when the recalcitrant child is me.