Pink Friend from Cali

My cool California friend Lissa is a medical doctor, mom, wife, groovy artist and the founder of a movement she calls Owning Pink. As some of you may recall…I hate pink. HATE IT. HATE IT. HATE IT.

Why would I be friends with someone who bills herself as the Owning Pink guru? Why would I write about it? Why spread the pinkness?

Good question. Smart question. Way to be alert!

Here’s the answer:

1) I am not a total tool and can’t hate someone just because they like the pukiest of girlie colors (purple rules the world – muah-ha-ha).

2) I love Lissa and what she is doing at her site is very cool for women everywhere (and…some dudes). Lissa is educating and empowering women and that my friends is a “very good thing”. (props to Martha Stewart).

Depression or lost mojo?

Last week Lissa was inspired to write a post called The Difference Between Depression & Losing Your Mojo because a friend of hers recently lost her ex-husband to suicide. The suicide topic hits close to home for me and I’ve been following the post and comments closely.

What’s mojo?

According to Lissa, you know you’ve got mo jo when you’re healthy, in touch with your spiritual nature, expressing yourself creatively and your life has purpose. When you have mojo you believe in yourself and that makes others believe in you too. Sounds a lot like the Giggle On philosophy and I dig that.

Losing your mojo is a lot different from major depressive disorder. Depression steals your mojo and who wants that? Long live mojo!

According to Lissa (and the DSM IV criteria for Major Depression) the Signs and Symptoms of Major Depression are:

1. You’ve lost the ability to experience joy, even when you’re doing what you most love (we docs call it anhedonia & it’s one of the most reliable symptoms of serious depression).  If you can’t find pleasure in what used to reliably make your heart sing, chances are you’re depressed.
2. You feel depressed most of the day, nearly every day.
3. You’ve lost weight without dieting, or you’ve gained weight.
4. You can’t sleep, or you sleep all the time.
5. Others notice that you’re agitated or you’ve dramatically slowed down.
6. You’re fatigued nearly every day.
7. You experience feelings of worthlessness or guilt nearly every day.
8. You have trouble concentrating or you’re indecisive nearly every day.
9. You keep thinking about death, have recurring suicidal thoughts, or have a plan for suicide.

Get Help!

I have a lot of personal opinions about treating depression, improving your mood, taking medication, dealing with physicians and experiences with suicidal thoughts.  If you are experiencing any of these symptoms PLEASE get help.

Lissa also encourages her readers to ask for a helping hand. She says:

“Make sure you find someone loving and compassionate to help you sort out what’s going on, not just someone who’s going to drug you without getting at the root of the whole you.  Treating depression is a whole other topic, but make sure you get someone who looks at the whole picture of who you are. For tips on how to fight depression naturally, read Natural Medicines for Depression.”

Lissa, thanks for the great post, for the shout out and for moderating this important discussion about depression, lost mojo and suicide. Raising awareness not only saves lives but it improves the quality of lives.

Don’t Give Up my friends!

If you are looking for ways to get your mojo back or find your mojo, check out Lissa’s Finding Mojo articles or her Mojo Monday posts.

Find a way to treat your depression, locate your mojo and Giggle On!