The third.

That plan I had, you know, from the last post? I guess I never followed through with a lot of it. 
I have been trying to move more, read more, talk more and eat less. I also found the greatest counsellor I've ever know, Steve. Steve practices mindfulness, and claims he's against CBT (although I noticed some CBT techniques sneaking into our sessions). Steve talks about music and literature, food and agriculture. He stirs up that passionate side of myself, the one that longs to be unforgettable.

He also taught me that to be creative, one must be vulnerable. It's one of the more beautiful lessons I've learnt in a long while.

Do you know what also helped? Thailand. A holiday and change of pace worked wonders on my well-being. It's virtually impossible to feel bad when you wake up in a bamboo tree house looking out over the most bright, turquoise water you've ever seen.

The second.

So it turns out that making a habit of writing  is much harder than I thought. It's already been close to a month since my first post. Whoops!

This week in Australia is Mental Health Week, the aim is to raise community awareness about mental health issues. In Australia each year, approximately one in every five Australians will experience a mental illness. One is five, that's crazy right? Yet there's still such a stigma surrounding mental health, depression and seeking help. I've been fortunate to spend the majority of my twenties in good mental health, but recently I've really struggled with anxiety and depression. This is something I've not spoken about up until recently, it's taken a long time to learn that asking for help is OK.

Today's post I thought I'd explore some natural remedies and therapies to help support mental health. I want to point out that I am in no way against western medicine, or don't believe people should take conventional drug therapies for diseases like depression, but for me right now that's not the path I'm choosing. I'm choosing an integrated approach including lifestyle modification and counselling.

I present to you, my plan. It's not an exhaustive list of the things I'm planning to try but it's a start. Wish me luck.

Nutrition
- Increase dietary intake of tryptophan to support serotonin pathways.
- Curb intake of processed food, particularly bread, as I know these types of foods make me feel a bit blah. The less of that the better right now.
- As I'm not taking any antidepressant drugs I will be adding a SAMe supplement to my diet temporarily. With any dietary supplements it's important to research potential drug interactions with any other medications or supplements you're taking. For example, taking BOTH antidepressants and SAMe can increase anxiety levels, this is the last thing I'd want right now.

Lifestyle
- Daily exercise. I'll admit I'm not great at creating lasting habits when it comes to exercise, right now I'm aiming for a daily walk, or some yoga to help calm and relax myself.
- Develop a healthy night time routine. NO ELECTRONICS IN BED. Man I'm bad at that one, I keep a phone and tablet on my bedside table. That needs to stop, the light these devices emit make falling asleep really difficult. Instead I'm going to wind down with a cup of chamomile tea (or this tea) and a good book.
- Meditate daily. That one is self explanatory.

Failing all of the above, I head to Thailand in two weeks and hope that sipping cocktails on a beach will help.

xx

The first.

Here goes nothing. After months, years even, of telling myself I'd write, I'm finally doing it.
Today would be my dear friend Dave's 30th birthday, he never woke up just shy of 21. There's nothing like a milestone mixed with a deep sense of sadness to shake yourself out of your funk and get to it.

Why blog? Why not just keep a journal? Well, I guess this will keep me accountable. No one would ever know that I never update a journal, maybe someone will notice here.
Not only do I want to keep a blog purely for vanity's sake, but also to share stories, experiences and food (mainly food) with the wider world.

So Hi. I'm Danni, currently 29, living in Melbourne. I study Nutritional medicine, I work a job I dislike, and struggle to give up smoking.

What do I want to get out of this you ask? I remembered recently that I grew up wanting to a journalist (and Elle McPherson's daughter but that clearly was not working for me). I had forgotten all about my love for writing, you know how it goes; life and all that shit. I thought maybe I could combine this forgotten love for the written word, with my current love of amazing food and be able to use it as a much needed creative outlet.

So that brings me to this point. September 17th 2014. It's cold, I thought spring had finally sprung but was mistaken. It's night time and I'm home alone, A is out at band practice (you'll notice a recurring theme here I'm sure...#tourwifelife). Beside me is a bourbon (not my first choice, but it was free), I'm having a drink for Dave - celebrating and/or commiserating a non-birthday I guess.

There's probably one hundred things I should be doing right now but it feels so nice to take time for myself, cathartic in fact. Sitting here writing something that's not going to be submitted for grading is definitely something I could get used to. Although this first post is a mess, I hope that I soon find my stride and make this a regular thing. I hope there's someone out there interested in reading what I have to say. For now I'll call it a night, back soon internet.

Danni x