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Q. When you went through a period of midlife depression, what seemed to help?

A. Well-meaning advice did not. Here's some that did:

1. Physical exercise cleared my mind and drained off some emotional tension.
2. I began to watch my diet and work more seriously on weight loss. As I ate better food, lost weight, and took a vitamin each day, I began to feel better about my body.
3. Rest became important. I'd been a workaholic, putting in over 100 hours a week, and was totally burned out.
4. I stayed away from people. That month I saw practically no one other than my family. I took no phone calls. I was in isolation for psychological recuperation.
5. A change of scenery improved my spirits—the woods and the water gave me hope for a few more days.
6. Music became extremely helpful to me. I took a tape to the woods and played it dozens of times as God massaged my heart.
7. Since for me, books have a powerful impact on my mental state, I read a little at a time—and kept reading.
8. Gradually I began to open up to my wife and talk more freely about my midlife anxieties. At first she was threatened and frightened. But gradually our understanding and love for each other grew.
9. I read the Bible and talked to God in prayer. I've found that making time for God doesn't lower my productivity. Rather, God contributes directly to my ability to be more productive by keeping me spiritually and emotionally healthy.
10. I began to take on new challenges—and felt wanted once again.

Jim Conway, a pastor, wrote Men in Midlife Crisis.

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Prayer for the Week

Eternal Father, keep me vital and useful all the days You choose to keep me here.

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