The more I learned about the intricacies of depression and anxiety, the more amazed I became by all the factors that could influence them. A number of years ago, I shopped a proposal for a book entitled Depression Zappers: 45 Ways to Fight the Blues and the Blahs. The book would provide brief engaging descriptions explaining the science behind the six categories of depression zappers accompanied by an illustration for each and links to learn more.
A couple of agents responded, but no book deal. Between working full-time and raising two young children mostly on my own, I had to put the manuscript as well as my fiction on hold and settle for blogging and writing the occasional magazine article on mental health.
Now that it is 2021, the book would work best as an app, but I’m not an app developer. Instead, I’m settling for turning the book into a series of brief YouTube videos as I learn how to create YouTube videos.
Note: YouTube can serve as a great place to store your videos.
Brains are complex
Brains are our most complex organs, and so many factors influence how they function. Even mild depression and anxiety can contribute to substance abuse or other compulsive behaviors. Without insight into how to manage depression and anxiety, they can take over. Before the abundance of information appeared on the Internet, I had to use my journalism skills to dig through research and find out how to manage them.
Some of that research found its way into my 2021 memoir and information guide Intact: Untangle the Web of Bipolar Depression, Addiction, and Trauma. Finishing that project also prompted me to make the videos.
Britney Spears YouTube?
Would Britney Spears be allowed to make her own YouTube videos? I thought fans’ claims about her conservatorship were wildly exaggerated until I read this June 26, 2021 article in the Los Angeles Times, Britney Spears’ conservatorship shines a light on the legal remedy’s harsh reality:
“What she describes happening absolutely could happen, absolutely could be true,” said Andy Mayoras, a probate lawyer and legal commentator who has written extensively with his wife and legal partner, Danielle, about Spears’ case. “This is one of the most restrictive legal remedies that exist in the American judicial system. You’re taking away a person’s right to make any decisions over themselves.”
Introduction video
Depression Zappers: 45 Ways to Fight Depression & Anxiety – Introduction is the first video of this project on my new channel (Sasha Kildare). I learned that you have to hold your phone lengthwise, on its side, to shoot a video for YouTube, or it ends up with black bars on each side of the video.
I thought I could make one video a week, but that is not happening! I’m aiming for two videos a month now. The six categories of depression and anxiety zappers are:
- Check the Basics
- Communicate
- Move
- Nourish Your Senses
- Reconnect to Your Spirit
- Relax
Also, Move, an e-book of the zappers in the Move category is available as a free download.