Sweets for Sadness : Daim, Pear and Chocolate Mousse, Apricot Yoghurt

Oh, I am so glad the past two weeks are over.  Someone I care for was almost at his breaking point, threatening suicide, happy and hopeful one minute, hysterical the next.  Even the things I thought I have made peace with were brought to the surface.  Totally draining.

When finally he got to see a psychiatrist,  he was diagnosed with severe depression and a setoronin imbalance.  A family member, doubting Tomas that he is,  brought our depressed loved one to another psychiatrist for a second opinion.  Surprise, surprise!  He was given the exact same diagnosis.

Our beloved is now undergoing therapy plus medicines to increase his serotonin level.   The past days,  he himself told us that he felt  better. Oh I hope his therapy goes smoothly!  It´s hard to watch someone you love going through shit and you can´t do anything but cry with him, talk him through his sadness and try to be the reassuring voice that blocks out  his self-defeating demons.  Harder still if you´re a continent away with a totally different time zone.  I was so desperate I pleaded with my close friends to please include him in their prayers.  And yes, prayers do work.  Now, at least the black skies in my brother´s mind is slowly, slowly turning to spring.

Now, what does one do when she herself gets stressed out by being the listener, the one who should be strong, the calm voice, the loving hand?  And add to that the tedium of my day job?  Well, I turn to food and exercise.

Food and exercise?   Yes they mix, at least in my life.   I joined a women´s fitness class at the local gym, a mere five minutes away from my flat.  It´s fun, although for the life of me, I cannot follow the barrage of Spanish directives that our Barbie Girl-like gym instructor spews so I just copy my classmates´ moves.  I have a suspicion that I am the class klutz, what with my ungraceful moves and slow pick up of routines but I have come to look forward to an hour of blanking off my mind every other day trying to keep up with the steps and enjoying the pumping music.  Oh, and after our 9 PM class as we go out of our dance room,  there´s a deluge of young muscle boys spewing out of the weight training room.  Two words: Eye Candy!

Oh but of course no one can be happy with eye candy alone!  Even I, who does not really crave for chocolates on a daily basis,  needed some of the elation that only sweets can give.   My go to chocolate at the moment is my Daim stash which I bought from Sweden:

Oh Daim!  I so love this chocolate.  It is irreverently sweet and complex.  Rectangles of crunchy, buttery almond toffee.  That dark burnished taste  I so love covered by creamy Marabou chocolate.  I like my chocolates crispetty : Butterfinger, Daim,  Crunch, I love these commercial candies for their balance of crackle and chocolate.

The past week,  there was also a sale of deluxe desserts from my neighbourhood Lidl store so I bought a few items for my go-to indulgences during the week.

Chocolate and Pear Mousse.  The chocolate flavour  was really mild,  too mild I think.  It is a very light dessert and to be honest  I didm´t really appreciate the  pear and chocolate flavour mix.  Underwhelming and not something I will buy again.

Yoghurt with Apricot Jelly.  Now this is delicious.  Tart yoghurt with a syrupy jelly that´s fruity, sweet and yes, scrumptious.  Oh, and I admit. I ate my two jars of yoghurt in one go.   Because I am like that.  I  have no self-control when it comes to the foods  I like. 

Chocolates and sweets do make us happy, no?  For those of us who are lucky enough to be able to conquer our sadness on our own,  these sweets can be our Rx for some speedy joy.  And though  I will never be the kind who eats chocolates every single day, still,  for days when exercise and shopping and even long talks with friends is not enough, I pick up a sweet (or two) for some happy therapy.

What about you?  What´s your favourite chocolate/candy/sweets therapy?