Creating time to connect with yourself means setting aside time each day to just be with yourself. When you plan this quiet time - to pray, meditate, dialogue, journal - you create space to connect with Spirit as well. It is when you are quiet and in moment with yourself that you will hear voice of your spiritual guidance.

Creating time to connect with each other means planning time to do nothing with each other, as well as planning fun time together. It means sitting together on patio and watching sunset. It means having a cup of tea together before going to work. It means watching a video together, or taking a walk. It means getting into bed way before bedtime to cuddle and share your day with each other. It means getting up early enough to share your dreams with each other. It means planning a date night together at least once a week.

Your relationship with yourself and your partner will always suffer if you do not plan time to connect. This is not a luxury - something you do only after you’ve finished everything. This is a necessity for your own health and well-being as well as health and well-being of your relationship. You will never finish everything you need to do. There will always be "stuff." But wonder and passion of life will pass you by if you do not schedule in time to connect. This time needs to be as important as time you take to eat, sleep, and work. It is only when you see it as essential to your well-being will you make it a very high priority in your life.

Gretta and David decided to set aside a half hour each day to sit on their patio and do nothing with each other. In addition, they each decided to set aside another half hour - when they were usually doing stuff - to connect with themselves. It didn’t take long for passion to come back into their relationship.

I'm a psychotherapist, and NO, I'm not trying to chase off business! I am, however, interested in you getting better.

I speculate that growing trend in "atypical depression," or untreatable depression, lies partly in untreated health problems. And, in particular, malnutrition. Did you know that one study showed that 80% of Americans suffer from malnutrition? Hard to believe? The new field of Metabolic Typing has shed tremendous light on this subject, and you may have heard it referred to as "Syndrome X."

There are times when it's not this simple. You may be convinced you have a medical problem, but all tests come back negative. In that case, your best bet is to treat depression and become your own information sleuth and/or seek a second opinion. Modern medicine continues to make tremendous leaps forward, but it is not perfect.

Also be aware that you may simply have depression and are struggling with acceptance. Many people wrestle with fact that there is no concrete test, like a blood test, that you can get to verify if depression is, with certainty, culprit. That's very understandable, but don't allow it to get in way of receiving proper help. You and those you love do not need to suffer needlessly.

Another complex situation involves when you may need to be treated for both a medical condition and a depression condition. Even then, a doctor should first treat your medical condition and monitor depression to see if it subsides with treatment you're receiving. The doctor can always recommend an antidepressant and psychotherapy as needed. The only exception to this rule is if you have severe depression and are in danger of suicide. Then you may require immediate hospitalization for purpose of emotion stabilization.

All my best in your recovery efforts!