The books contain so many valuable suggestions that it’s hard to know what to choose. But after deliberating, I choose three areas: affirmations, occupational rehabilitation, and light therapy. Mom feels that diet and exercise are surefire winners. Linda wants to work on aromatherapy.
So Mom presents a plan for the three of us, the treatment team. Already, Linda has begun wafting Kleenexes saturated with lemon oil under Dad’s nose. Every time she does this, his eyebrows shoot up. The lemon oil has a piercingly clean smell, like furniture cleaner or dishwashing liquid. Mom has determined a nutritional baseline for Dad. Each day he will eat a bowl of hot bran cereal, an ounce of aged natural cheese, a slice of health bread with natural peanut butter, a serving of seafood, a cooked salad of kale and onions, a mound of navy beans sprinkled with brewer’s yeast, and twenty pomegranate seeds. The Curtises call these the Seven Brain Foods. Mom likes the idea of brain foods, because in addition to making Dad less happy and less confident, the depression has also made him less smart.
As for the remaining approaches, first thing in the morning Dad will be expected to switch on his light box and sit in front of it while Mom reads him the most uplifting highlights from the morning newspaper. When I take over after school, I’ll work with Dad for fifteen minutes on repeating powerful phrases: “I am well.” “I am happy.” “The universe is moving toward perfection.” Afterward, we’ll spend an hour or two on cards, board games, and educational television—as long as Dad can stay still. No junk TV, like reality shows or cop shows—only things that are soothing and that elevate the mind. After Mom gets home and we have dinner, Mom will lead him through a program of calisthenics demanding enough to tire him out but not so stimulating that they would wake him up at night. I’ll keep periodic records showing changes in sleep, appetite, concentration, and mood.