Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Surviving Thanksgiving

The smell of turkey roasting in the oven, holiday parades, kids laughing, and extended family getting together to rejoice in winter merriment.  If this is your reality of the winter holidays, congratulations you may have figured out a secret that remains elusive for many.  Holidays can be a stressful time, and family fights, resentment, and hurt feelings may be just as common as mashed potatoes and gravy.  Time with family often triggers old patterns, old behaviors, and old fights.  Many of us find ourselves frozen in time, acting like and being treated like the adolescent who left home years ago.  Is it possible to change this pattern, try something new, and experience holidays with a fresh perspective?  Awareness of our family patterns may be the first step to the possibility of a different holiday outcome, and a little strategizing may go a long way.

Here's a link to read what some of the experts say about planning for a happy and healthy holiday season: http://psychcentral.com/thanksgiving/

Happy Thanksgiving!

Monday, November 12, 2012

Happy World Run Day

Hope everyone had a great "World Run Day" yesterday!  I can't wait to hear what you did to celebrate.  What?  You've never heard of "world run day"?  Oh.  Okay, me neither until I stumbled across it yesterday while lounging lazily on my couch surfing the internet.



Despite being unaware of the momentous significance of this day, I still managed to muster up enough energy in the blustery early dawn hours to lace up the old shoes, stumble out the door and slog on down the trail for a short lap around our local State Park.  I didn't feel like doing it at the time, but I knew I'd feel better after I did.  And I did.  I've been a runner for as long as I can remember, and I've learned over time that I almost always feel better after a run.  I generally feel happier and have more energy throughout the day.  I tend to stay healthier during cold season than my non-running friends, and I feel proud of my health at 38.  I also know that I'm pretty unpleasant to be around when I don't run.

Do a Google search for "exercise and mental health", and you'll likely find countless article touting the benefits regular exercise has on mental health.  Research has linked regular exercise to enhancing the brain's ability to cope with stress, a powerful treatment for depressionimproved sleep, increased self-esteem, and many others.  This of course, is all in addition to the more commonly known positive physical health impacts regular exercise has on decreasing risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and cancer.  So how can you work regular exercise into your daily routine?  Doctors have been trying to get their patients to exercise for years, so why would a therapist have any better luck?

For one, a doctor telling their patient to lose 50 pounds and change their diet to prevent future illness sounds hard.  This sort of commitment takes time, an incredible amount of discipline, and an immediate change in lifestyle.  The gratification is delayed and often seems far away and out of reach.  I'm not saying it's impossible, but for many that don't sense immediate risk, this may feel unattainable.  Exercise for mental health, however, involves instant gratification, and the brain likes instant gratification.  A brisk 5 minute walk can have an immediate impact on mood and self-esteem that lasts for hours.  By focusing on short term goals (i.e. happiness and better sleep), the benefits of exercise feel more within reach.  Here are some ideas for setting yourself up for success:

• Start Small: Take a close look at what you're doing now and make small changes.  A common mistake is to do too much too soon.  Don't do that.  It will hurt, and you'll probably stop.  Effective exercise doesn't mean donning sweatbands and short shorts and huffing and puffing all around town for hours on end or plugging into a treadmill like a hamster on a wheel in front of gym gawkers.  If you typically drive to the mailbox, try walking.  I'm serious, keep it simple.  Consider taking the stairs instead of the elevator.  Park your car at the far end of the parking lot instead instead of the closest space you can find.  Make a change that you can stick to, and add to it when you're ready.  5 minutes feeling easy?  Add another 5 or try jogging for 1 of those 5 minutes.

• Keep it Fun & Make it Social: Keeping it fun is critical.  For me, the times I've been stuck somewhere that my only outlet is on a hotel treadmill, I suffer through my runs.  If this were my daily reality, I would have given up running a long time ago.  Don't take up running if you hate running.  What about biking, walking the dog, swimming, yoga?  Get your friends involved too.  Not only will this make your time exercising more fun, but it will also help you stick to it.  And not to mention having the potential side effect of building stronger, more rewarding relationships.

• Reward Yourself: Try setting a goal that seems hard but within your reach.  For example, if I take the stairs instead of the elevator at work 4 of 5 days a week, I'll treat myself to. . . (insert something not junk food here.)

• Take Note: Keep a journal of what you did and how you feel.  Giving credit where credit is due is an important piece to maintaining healthy behaviors.  A journal can also let you track your progress and provide incentive to keep doing what you're doing.

World running day?  So you missed it.  What are they all running from anyways?  Maybe pogo sticking is more your speed!  Be safe out there.


Thursday, November 1, 2012

Fixitol: A New Drug to Fix Everything

Okay, I'll be the first to admit that at first I wasn't sure if this video was serious or a joke.  It turns out that it's serious, and it sends an important message.  This video is a part of an educational campaign sponsored by the APA (American Psychological Association) to address an often misconstrued cultural view of a pill for everything.  It emphasizes the role therapy and hard work play in treating many mental health issues.  This is a much needed campaign for both the general public and health care professionals, and I'll even forgive the message's implied bias towards psychologists (it was produced by the APA after all).  From a previous post I wrote back in September, you'll remember that in Washington State, licensed therapists include not only Psychologists, but also Marriage and Family Therapists, Mental Health Counselors, Clinical Social Workers, Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners, and Psychiatrists.



For anyone considering whether seeing a therapist is a fit for for them, here's an article also by the APA  that addresses the myths and realities of therapy.