Dialectiwhat?: Changing your mood by DRINKING your coffee.

I had my last sip of coffee 7 times this morning, which is unfortunately not uncommon. I looked forward to that coffee from the time my head hit the pillow last night to the moment I pressed “brew” on the Keurig. But somewhere between fighting to get a diaper on an angry toddler,  trying to achieve the perfect ponytail on my perfectionistic 5 year old, and arguing about the importance of eating breakfast, I drank my first last sip…and missed it. I missed the whole cup of coffee. My kids drank it for all I know. I went back, drinking the last sip several more times, each time disappointed when I was reminded that it was in fact gone. And now I have to wait until tomorrow to do it again.

There is plenty of evidence to show that two major players in the fight against depression are enjoyment and achievement. For some of us, the opportunities to build enjoyment into our lives are few and far between. Sometimes the best we can do is squeeze in a phone call with a friend, amazon prime a new body scrub, or swing by our favorite takeout place. If we are lucky, once in a while, we may even have a couple free hours to ourselves. But doing something we enjoy is only half the battle. The other half? Mindfulness. We have to actually DRINK the coffee – taste it, smell it, notice the sensation of it as it goes down. Otherwise, much like the tree falling in the forest….you get the idea. Cultivating mindfulness takes practice. Good news – your assignment this week is to do something you enjoy and practice escorting your attention back to that relishable moment when it starts to wander. Good luck!

-Dr. Julie Orris