For the last couple of weeks, I had been stuck in front of my computer working on a project that was very important to me. My every waking hour was consumed  by the project and although I imagined that I would feel happy after completing parts of the project, I was confused to find that instead, I was feeling rather depressed. I tried a range of methods to help cheer myself up. I had a relaxing bath, cooked a delicious meal to enjoy with my family and even watched a lighthearted  movie, but _ . It was only when I turned to meditation for a solution that the answer came to me: turn to nature! The very next day, I grabbed my camera and a bottle of water and set off to spend a few hours walking in a nature reserve, even though it was pouring with rain. Within a couple of minutes I felt alive again. To be honest, I felt like a young school girl again and had to stop myself from hopping  along the path singing, "I'm singing in the rain", a song I used to sing when I was a child. I think as adults we often try too hard to control our inner children and as a result we restrain  our own spirits, which only leads to depression and stress. Interestingly, it has been shown that people who spend 40 minutes walking in a nature reserve have a drop in their blood pressure levels, but this does not happen when they spend a similar amount of time walking in a busy city centre. If you feel a little low in spirit and know that you have spent too much time indoors, relax completely, remove your shoes and let your inner child come out and play. The author felt depressed because she   _  .
couldn't consume her waking hour. had not seen a film for a long time. had not finished her work on time. had worked on a hard job for too long.