Mind Over Matter

msnbc.com reports that if you change your mind, you might change your body, too.  According to the report published today, psychologists say our “self talk” or “internal dialogue” can make or break a fitness routine.

Gareth Dutton, a psychologist at Florida State University, is quoted as saying, “The thing that precedes your behavior is a thought, and we sometimes aren’t good at getting in touch with our thoughts. We’re on autopilot.”  Dutton says it is important to: 1) recognize how your thoughts are undermining your exercise plan, and 2) challenge the negative thinking.

Example of a negative thought: “I’ve missed a few workouts, so I might as well throw in the towel.”

Alternative: “I’ve temporarily fallen off the fitness wagon, but I can get back on. Why did I miss those workouts, and how can I avoid this happening next time? How can I change my schedule to make exercise fit in?”

Original Source: msnbc.msn.com/id/27598392/

Emotional Defense Mechanisms

Two days ago, Cox Newspapers published an article with the headline, “Emotional defense mechanisms can go awry“.  Hap LaCrone, a clinical psychologist in Texas, writes:

“Defense mechanisms are strategies or manners in which we behave or think to protect or “defend” ourselves from painful thoughts or feelings.  We all use them periodically in an attempt to deal with the world around us.

Utilizing these defenses appropriately can be useful and helpful.  However, all too often, their usefulness is extended beyond the boundaries of good mental health.”

Hap describes three defense mechanisms: rationalization, denial, and intellectualization.

Original Source: ajc.com/services/content/health/stories/2008/11/06/lecrone_emotional_defense.html

Archive of Dr. LaCrone’s columns: https://haplecrone.com/

Are you aware of your emotional defense mechanisms?  Have you thought about how your emotional defense mechanisms serve you – the ways they’re helpful and ways they’re not?

Healthy Aging

In Bangladesh, The Daily Star bills itself as “journalism without fear or favour.”  Here’s an excerpt of an article published today with the headline, “Towards a healthy aging”.

“Your mental and emotional health is important. Protect or improve your emotional health by staying in touch with friends, family, and the community. People who feel connected to others are more likely to thrive than those who are not. And try to keep stress at a minimum. Depression can be a serious problem for older adults. If you think you may be depressed, seek help from psychiatrist.”

“If you take good care of your body and learn positive ways to deal with stress now, you can slow down or even prevent problems that often come with getting older.”

Source: www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=62304 (Nov. 2008)

Free Crisis Counseling Services

Free crisis counseling services are available to residents in 34 Texas counties in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike.  Disaster-related crisis counseling services are funded by FEMA and administered by the Texas Department of State Health Services.

In a related news item, the Associated Press reports that crisis counseling helps people understand that their emotional reactions to trauma are normal and helps them to develop coping techniques.  “Stress is a normal reaction to an abnormal event like the hurricane,” said Federal Coordinating Officer Sandy Coachman. “Everyone recovers in their own way and at their own pace, but talking to someone may help.”

State and federal recovery officials recommend that people:

  • take care of themselves physically,
  • share their feelings with others,
  • get enough sleep,
  • eat properly,
  • recognize their limits,
  • prioritize their time and
  • get involved with family and friends.

Original Source: www.sanmarcosrecord.com/local/local_story_306154732.html

Depression and Pregnancy

Allie Montgomery writes for Health News: “Mothers-to-be who suffer from depression have been shown to have twice the risk of delivering a premature infant than pregnant women that have no symptoms of depression. This risk for premature infants increases as the symptoms of depression become more severe.”

“Premature birth is the leading medical expenditure for infants. It is estimated to cost the United States $26 billion dollars annually. Presently, other than previous history of premature births, and some complications during pregnancy, very little is known of the origins and risk factors contributing to premature delivery.”

Source link no longer works:  http://www.healthnews.com/family-health/pregnancy-childbirth-parenting/depression-during-pregnancy-can-double-risk-premature-birth-199

Mental Health Issues and Presidential Candidates

The politically-conservative “Common Sense Government Blog” has published a compilation of information regarding mental health issues and U.S. Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama.

“McCain has voted against mental health parity and, in his health care plan on his website, makes no mention of mental health as an issue.”

“Obama specifically includes mental health care in his health care plan. It states: Improve Mental Health Care. Mental illness affects approximately one in five American families. The National Alliance on Mental Illness estimates that untreated mental illnesses cost the U.S. more than $100 billion per year. As president, Obama will support mental health parity so that coverage for serious mental illnesses are provided on the same terms and conditions as other illnesses and diseases.”

Original Source: realwebmarketing.typepad.com/common_sense_government_b/2008/10/mental-health-issues-and-the-presidential-candidates.html

Older Adults and Suicide

Cynthia Hubert for the Sacramento Bee: “When teenagers or younger adults take their own lives, the losses trigger society’s alarm bells. But it is older people, particularly men 65 and older, who have the highest rate of suicide of any age group.”

During the past decade, statistics show, older people have consistently had the highest rate of suicide in the country

“This is a generation of people who were raised not to ask for help when they are in emotional pain,” said Marilyn Koenig, founder of Friends for Survival of Sacramento, part of a national outreach program for those who have lost someone to suicide. “So this is their way out. But nobody wants their elderly parent or grandparent or spouse to die this way.”

Older people attempt suicide less often than those in other age groups but are more often successful, according to Patrick Arbore, director and founder of the Center for Elderly Suicide Prevention in San Francisco.

In all age groups, including 65 and older, men are far more likely than women to commit suicide, and white men have the highest numbers of all.

As of this writing, 33 comments have been added to the article.

Original Source: www.sacbee.com/296/story/1326955.html

NOTE: Patrick Arbore, who turned a one-man suicide help line into the renowned Center for Elderly Suicide Prevention and Grief Counseling at the Institute on Aging in San Francisco, died on May 27, 2023. The cause of death was cancer. Arbore was 75.

Student Health and Academic Success

Researchers at the University of Minnesota have found a clear connection between student health and academic success. They matched grade point averages with typical health problems for nearly 10,000 Minnesota college students.

What affects grades the most?  Stress!  Students who reported eight or more emotional stresses – anything from failing a class to credit card debt to a conflict with parents – had an average GPA of 2.72. Those who said they had no significant stress reported an average GPA of 3.3.

Those who said they could effectively manage stress performed much better than those who said they couldn’t. That’s an important finding because it might persuade colleges to provide students with the resources they need to learn how to manage stress, according to the author of the study.

Original Source: startribune.com/lifestyle/health/31261604.html

Basic Emotional Education

“Forget SATs: lesson one is a basic emotional education” – headline above Mark Johnson’s October 15 Op/Ed in The Guardian.

“Too many children live with a dysfunctionality that goes back generations…  At school, these children aren’t mentally or emotionally ready for the academic learning designed for others.”

“The number of people with missing emotional development is becoming a threat to our society. But it’s not too late to tackle this massive task. There is good work going on – now we need to get it into the mainstream.”

“We need to recognise school is not just for academic achievement but for personal and emotional development… We should bring in the professionals – the psychologists, therapists, counselors… They should teach children how to nurture themselves and each other.”

“If a child is angry because his mum didn’t give him breakfast, he needs to be able to say that in a closed, supportive peer group with a skilled facilitator. He needs to cope with his emotions honestly.”

“The explosion of violence in our youth does not have its roots in boredom or lack of discipline. It has its roots in emotional problems. It has… everything to do with a new definition of what schools should be doing.”

Source:  http://tinyurl.com/3nkhsq

Emotional Health: What it is, How to Maintain it

People who are emotionally healthy and who practice good emotional healthcare are aware of their thoughts and feelings, process them effectively, communicate them clearly, and are in control of their behavior. Ultimately, those of us who are emotionally healthy feel good about ourselves and have good relationships.

But it’s important to remember that those of us who generally have good emotional health sometimes have emotional problems that can range from those with little significance, such as normal daily stress, all the way through to severe mental illness, such as major depression.

Severe mental illness often has a physical cause, such as a chemical imbalance, but daily stress and everyday problems with family, work or school can create or exacerbate these situations and lead to more serious problems.

Those of us who are emotionally healthy have learned ways to cope with stress and problems and know that when life’s problems appear, it’s important to speak with a professional.

Source: Frank Mannarino