This gorgeous crochet spoke mandala made by Abide comes to us from Istanbul. It reminds me of sunrises. This is part of the Mandalas for Marinke project.
Did you know that there may be a link between asthma and depression? Most recently a study from the Utah Department of Health shows, “Mental health and asthma are interconnected and having both can worsen health more than just having one condition alone.” It goes on to say that there may be a link between air quality and both conditions.
A research review by Opolski and Wilson found a number of interesting things about the possible relationship between the two conditions including “specific asthma symptoms appear to be linked to depression” and “sadness and depression can produce respiratory effects consistent with asthma exacerbations”. So it works both ways, asthma can worsen depression and depression can worsen asthma, and “Asthma and depression are thought to interact to worsen both conditions, especially at the severe end of the spectrum of disease” (according to Nancy. J Rubin’s research review).
I personally deal with both conditions – chronic recurring depression and asthma that started in my teens. I have had anxiety attacks (during depression) that I thought were asthma attacks (and treated as such until I learned more about my own mental health). And there’s definitely a correlation between depression and self-care that has caused me to have worse asthma problems in the worst periods of depression because I can’t drag myself to the doctor to keep up on my asthma meds. So it was interesting to me to read more about the links that others experience as well.
I also can’t help but think about how asthma is about being unable to breathe. And depression feels much the same way sometimes. “Just breathe” is a mantra that has helped me get through some tough times but sometimes I wheezed my way through the rough days, both literally and metaphorically.
See all Mandalas for Marinke posts here.
