A few years ago, as part of an article I wrote, I suggested that exercise is very helpful for depression, purely based on my own experience. Back then I didn’t have any studies to back up my assertion. Now I do: a recent study by researchers at the University of Texas at Austin found that 30 minutes of brisk walking can temporarily lift the mood of people with depression.

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Shortly after I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, I lost my job. Since we live in a very rural area (more cows and chickens than people) with no family or friends nearby, my therapist was concerned about how isolated I would be with no one to talk to during the day. She urged me to get involved in some kind of group or activity. Since I’m a somewhat introverted person, I thanked her for the suggestion but never acted on it.

Since then I’ve realized that she, like any good therapist, knew what she was talking about.

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“No element of Lincoln’s character,” declared his colleague Henry Whitney, “was so marked, obvious and ingrained as his mysterious and profound melancholy.”

I’ve been reading Joshua Wolf Shenk‘s absorbing book on Abraham Lincoln’s depression entitled Lincoln’s Melancholy. I’m not sure how many people know that Lincoln suffered from lifelong depression (it was essentially dismissed by an influential biographer in the 1940s), but those of us with depression could see it written clearly on his face.

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Yesterday I started doing my yoga again. I know it?s hard to believe, but with a couple of Websites, a 3-year-old son, multiple sclerosis, laundry, housework and countless other responsibilities, I actually have trouble finding time to do it, which is a really big mistake as far as my overall health is concerned. We?ve been going through a stressful period the last few months ? moving across the country, my husband changing jobs and my decision to close my bath and body business. I should have known that now is when I need my yoga practice most.

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