It’s not black and white
One standard of assessing emotional health is to look at the propensity of an individual for black and white thinking. A person who cannot see that reality comes in multiple shades of grey, not black and white, is going to have a hard time. Stuck in their own heads, too many folks chase their tails and wonder why they are angry and unhappy. One way to escape the pain of black and white thinking is to consume lots of black and white. That’s right, start reading! TV, especially news shows, encourages black and white thinking to trigger negative emotional reactivity so you will keep watching. They are intentionally making you unhappy for monetary gain. By turning the TV off, you can learn other ways of looking at the world, about people, places and things near and far. The sky’s the limit to what you can learn to change your life for the better. Right now book sales are surging. Folks all over the world are learning to be happier and healthier turning off their TVs and getting out of their heads by getting into books!—MR
Independent booksellers grew in number, diversity in 2021
Laura Romani, a Chicago-area resident with a background in education and library science, had been thinking of a new career.
Danger Will Rogers!
Benzodiazepines are a class of anti-anxiety meds that millions of folks are prescribed by docs. What most forget to tell you is that they increase the likelihood of your succumbing to Alzheimer’s by as much as 84 percent! There are dozens of ways to reduce anxiety that are nowhere near as dangerous as these legal pharmaceuticals such as going for a half hour walk everyday or reducing sugar consumption. If you are experiencing anxiety, you may wish to try talking to a counselor about safe alternatives before putting your beautiful brain at risk.—MR
Two types of drugs you may want to avoid for the sake of your brain
by Harvard Medical School/Harvard Health Publishing, March 2, 2021
If you’re worried about developing dementia, you’ve probably memorized the list of things you should do to minimize your risk—eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, getting adequate sleep, and keeping your mind and soul engaged. In addition, some of the drugs you may be taking to help you accomplish those things could increase your risk of dementia. In two separate large population studies, both benzodiazepines (a category that includes medications for anxiety and sleeping pills) and anticholinergics (a group that encompasses medications for allergies and colds, depression, high blood pressure, and incontinence) were associated with an increased risk of dementia in people who used them for longer than a few months. In both cases, the effect increased with the dose of the drug and the duration of use.
Drink your way to unhappy
Nothing could be more true than the scientific fact that certain things we eat or drink cause depression and others alleviate it. Alcohol, particularly, causes depression. Any amount. If you wish to live your life in a relative state of depression, drink alcohol. If you don’t, don’t. It really can be as simple as that. The problem is quitting a lifelong habit of drinking will likely prove difficult. If you’d like some assistance, I’d be happy to oblige.—MR
How to use food to help your mood
by Kimberley Wilson, Psyche newsletter, June 1, 2022
Depression and low mood are not separate from the rest of your bodily health: the right diet can help reduce your risk.
Up, up and away!
Hope this doesn’t sound too odd to you, but I find the study of quantum physics comforting. In this world, there are thousands of really bright, highly-educated scientists studying the nature of the universe attempting to answer the question of why do (every)things behave as they do? If string theory is correct, it explains how the universe is constructed. From the way beyond macro to the way beyond micro. It engages my brain bootstrapping me up from lower order personal problems and frees my mind to more objectively solve these problems from a point of view of, well, non emotional reactivity. It gives me insight into the mind of god, whatever that might be… Try it sometime. Prepare to be astounded by physical reality!-–MR
In a Numerical Coincidence, Some See Evidence for String Theory
In a quest to map out a quantum theory of gravity, researchers have used logical rules to calculate how much Einstein’s theory must change. The result matches string theory perfectly.
Um, what?
You do not have to worry about dementia primarily for the reason that if you do succumb, you probably won’t realize you have. If you wish to get out in front of this common condition, reduce your risk factors such as obesity or diabetes. The biggest risk factor for dementia is high blood pressure, the same biggest risk factor for dying of Covid. People who get 45 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic exercise daily most likely do not have to worry about any of it.—MR
Subjective Cognitive Decline in Adults Tied to Modifiable Risks
by Judy George, MedPage Today, May 20, 2022
Adults with subjective cognitive decline — an early indicator of possible Alzheimer’s disease or dementia — were likely to have a large number of modifiable risk factors for dementia, CDC survey data showed.
Reading into it
One of the primary complaints I get from patients or, in fact, see as a problem for patients and they don’t even realize it’s the problem, is that they don’t understand the minds of others. It’s hard to have a relationship with someone and harder to change the relationship you do have if you are poor at figuring out how the other feels. This may come as a shock, but people are not on earth to make you happy. Just like you, they are on earth to make themselves happy. Every Single One. The sooner you figure out what makes a person tick, the sooner you’ll be able to do an emotional tango with any one of them and make yourself much happier.—MR
Reading literary fiction improves empathy, study finds
by Liz Bury, The Guardian US, October 8, 2013
Have you ever felt that reading a good book makes you better able to connect with your fellow human beings? If so, the results of a new scientific study back you up, but only if your reading material is literary fiction – pulp fiction or non-fiction will not do.
Makes you wonder…
Each of us is born with a unique sense of wonder. It’s one of the things that makes us human. Dolphins may wonder, but most likely we are the only form of consciousness on Earth that actually does. Wonder helps make people more content with their lives. The people in your life aren’t there to make you happy. You are. So why not get wondering? Develop a curious, playful relationship with yourself and forget the resentment that others in your family, your neighborhood or society aren’t behaving in ways you wish. Hmmm, I wonder if dolphins wonder…—MR
How to revive your sense of wonder
by Frank Keil, Psyche newsletter, May 18, 2022
That childhood urge to ask ‘how’ and ‘why’ usually fades. But we can all learn to rediscover the joys of wide-eyed discovery.
It’s complicated
Domestic abuse is a VERY tricky thing to identify. A relationship may be abusive without any physical violence, because neither partner realizes they are participating in a toxic relationship. One reason is abuse is found on a continuum, i.e. very slightly abusive to horribly abusive. It’s the mild to middle-of-the-road abuse that is hard to spot. Not seeing the problem is particularly common when both partners have come from abusive homes, because they are simply doing what they were trained as children to do in relationship and abuse seems “normal.” If you wonder about your relationship, talk with a relationship counselor. Learning to relate in a healthy loving way may simply be something you didn’t learn how to do in your family of origin. Note: Whether you see yourself as the abuser or the abused, you both may be contributing to a toxic situation.—MR
Depp v. Heard: No One Wins in a Toxic Relationship
Actor Johnny Depp’s defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife, the actress Amber Heard, noted that she referred to herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse” in an op-ed piece that she wrote for the Washington Post. While she didn’t explicitly mention Depp’s name, he is arguing it was implied by the time frame of the alleged abuse and thus defamatory, claiming that he has never been physical with her.
Bluebird on my shoulder
The bottom line of the below article on UK research is that while singing may not help physical symptoms of lung disease, it certainly helps folks feel happier. Singing is one mental health treatment that comes side effect and cost free. Put on your favorite CD and sing along with it. Sing in the shower. Join a choral group or, gosh, join girl scouts around a campfire. Sing and you’ll put on a happier face!—MR
Did a Singing-Based Program Hit the Right Notes for Long COVID Patients?
by Molly Walker, MedPage Today, April 28, 2022
An online singing-based program from the English National Opera (ENO) was associated with improvements in quality of life among adults with long COVID, a pragmatic randomized trial in England showed.
It’s come to this
Suicide is epidemic in the US among all age groups, but among teens it is particularly a problem. Their brains are undergoing massive reorganization and pruning causing a rollercoaster of emotional responses to inevitable daily issues they learn to handle as they grow older. If they grow older. A gun is an a quick, effective way to die. Please secure your guns if you have tweens or teens! It is impossible predict when a child may think death is a preferable option to a problem.—MR
Gun violence becomes leading cause of death among US youth, data shows
Gun violence overtook car accidents as the leading cause of death among children and adolescents in the US in 2020, according to a report from the University of Michigan. A report reveals a 30% increase in firearm-related deaths between 2019 and 2020, including incidents of suicides and accidental shootings.
More often than not
Can’t say you shouldn’t do what your doc suggests, but the below article (sic) reads like pharmaceutical industry propaganda. Dennent makes her point with a quote from the book, Food is Not Medicine, that “taking vitamin C for scurvy works because scurvy is caused by a lack of vitamin C, but while antihypertensive drugs lower blood pressure, we don’t develop high blood pressure because we weren’t taking antihypertensive drugs to begin with.” This twist of logic conveniently overlooks that hypertension is often caused by too much salt and/or alcohol, too little probiotic life in the gut and too little exercise. By eating less salt, cutting out alcohol, increasing the bodymind’s probiotic life through supplementation and unprocessed foods and by exercising daily to increase blood flow and decrease anxiety, high blood pressure will likely be alleviated and pharmaceuticals not needed. Food may not be a drug, but very often a nutritional approach to what ails us works as effective side-effect-free medicine. If you can’t make healthy behavioral changes, get thee to a counselor who can help you to, or simply do as the pharmaceutical industry hopes you will.—MR
Is it correct to think of food as medicine? Not exactly
The Greek physician Hippocrates, the “father” of Western medicine, allegedly wrote, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food” more than 2,500 years ago. I say allegedly, because it turns out that quote is nowhere to be found in any recovered documents ascribed to Hippocrates. Unfortunately, this oft-repeated phrase (I’ve invoked it myself) has created a few widespread misconceptions. One is that it’s possible to reject conventional medical treatment in favor of “curing” disease with food alone. Another is that if we develop a chronic illness, it’s because our diet wasn’t healthy enough. Those are big burdens to bear.
The marketing of addictive drugs
Below is a “sponsored” article (sic) about benzodiazepines published in the Seattle Times. There are several “facts” with which I take issue in this marketing piece, but the most dangerous is the concept of their use for withdrawal symptoms from alcohol. Any provider who has taken Psychopharms 101 in college knows these highly-addictive drugs are taken up into the alcohol receptors in the brain, and the below promoted use for alcohol withdrawal is equivalent to promoting vodka for that purpose. I have seen patients who necessitate an ER visit for violent withdrawal symptoms from benzos after only one week of use. I won’t rant on about these substances and the harm they have caused to Americans over the years, including inducing bipolar disorder, but please, if you find you have alcohol-use disorder or profound anxiety, talk to a non-prescribing licensed medical health counselor first, not a legal drug pusher.—MR
Benzodiazepines: What to know
The number of things that can impact a person’s mental well-being is wide-ranging and varies with each person. Where some issues may require long-term psychiatric treatment and medication, other issues can be more immediate and have a shorter-term treatment plan. This is where benzodiazepines — often referred to as benzos — can come into play. Two well-known types of benzos are Valium and Xanax.
A bot is not a doc!
Every mental health diagnosis in the international Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5) is a normal human behavior that’s gotten out of control. For example: a normal person can behave in an OCD manner by driving back home to check if she unplugged the iron. If she goes back to check ten times every morning, so is chronically late for work to the point of losing her job, she may have a clinically-diagnosable problem. But is it OCD? Perhaps it’s PTSD from a childhood fire? Perhaps it’s a transition disorder, i.e. she hates her new job and is avoiding work? Perhaps its an attachment issue and/or she is expressing grief about her mother’s death who loved ironing! Heck, perhaps she doesn’t want to leave her dog alone! Could it be a brain tumor? Online tests are not only dangerous to your health, they are harmful to sense of well being. If you think you may have a mental health problem, talk with a human clinician or two who can get to know and understand you before making a critical diagnosis, particularly one involving side-effect laden medication, not a misleading bot.–MR
Follow the money
As many substance abuse professionals suspected, alcohol industry studies that showed drinking a glass of wine a day helped prevent heart disease have been proven wrong. The last remaining benefit from drinking has been exposed as erroneous. Drinking any amount has a negative effect on your entire bodymind. From a mental health perspective, alcohol is a depressant, so if you like feeling depressed, by all means, drink up!—MR
Does moderate drinking protect your heart?
Last week, two patients asked Dr. Stanley L. Hazen, a cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic, how much daily alcohol consumption would be good for their cardiac health. He gave them both well-accepted medical advice: An average of about one drink a day helps the heart…Then he saw a paper published in JAMA Network Open whose findings upended his thinking about what to tell patients…Its conclusion: There is no level of drinking that does not confer heart disease risk. The risk is small if people have an average of seven drinks a week when compared with none. But it increases quickly as the level of alcohol consumption rises.
Make a joyful noise!
Your brain is neuroplastic. That means when you do something, information travels down tiny neurons that electrically fire off at their tips. What fires together, wires together making new neural pathways. It’s how we learn. If you want your brain to learn to become happier and more content, get on the music train. Listen to beautiful, soothing or happy music at home, in your car or go to concerts. If you really want to garner music’s benefits, sing along or dance to it. Learn to play an instrument or how to sing. Singing in the shower even helps brains change into happier ones by metabolizing negative emotion, but that’s a topic for another day…—MR
How to start making music
by Gayla M Mills, Psyche newsletter, March 23, 2022
If you’ve ever moved to a beat, joined in a chorus or felt your heart quicken to the lyrics of a song, you’ve felt the power of music. That power runs deep in the human experience, and the urge to dive fully into the sounds, to make those sounds and share them, is strong.
What’s on your plate?
At Bodymind Counseling sessions you’ll learn “you are what you eat.” If you eat a diet of foods grown with toxic chemicals, if you ingest a diet of toxic social media, if you consume toxic angry news media, if you apply toxic chemicals onto your skin and hair, if you engage in toxic relationships, if you work in a toxic environment, your brain, your thoughts, your emotions become more and more toxic over time. It is highly likely you’ll feel angry, sad and sick. This is not rocket science. It’s simple common sense.—MR
Carcinogenic chemical benzene found in hundreds of US personal care products
by Tom Perkins, The Guardian US, March 18, 2022
Independent testing has found hundreds of popular personal care items in the US to be contaminated with benzene, a highly carcinogenic chemical, prompting several big brands to voluntarily recall dozens of products in recent months….the chemical [was found] in more than a quarter of items it tested – sometimes at levels considered life threatening.
Good morning, Sunshine!
I love Daylight Savings Time with its sunlit evenings. Sadly, switching permanently to it will not be good for the mental and physical health of humans who live in the Pacific Northwest. I’m glad our bipolar nation was able to agree about something, but the bodymind feels best when it goes to sleep after dark and wakes up as the sun rises. With mechanical clocks set to DST in the winter, the sun will not rise in the Seattle area until 9AM. For the reasons documented below, Standard Time is healthier. If possible, you may wish to consider switching your work schedule to one hour later. For those of you who work swing or night shifts, please realize these abnormal schedules are challenging the health of your mind and body.—MR
America is finally united on what to do about daylight saving time — except me
Make yourself happy
For better or worse, its our responsibility to make ourselves happy. It’s not someone else’s job to make you happy and it’s not your job to make someone else happy. Here’s a place to start.—MR
…expert tips for hacking your happy hormones
by Amy Fleming, The Guardian US, March 10, 2022
Loretta Breuning grew up around a lot of unhappiness, but couldn’t figure out why. To try to find out, she avidly read up on psychology, alongside raising two children and working as a professor in management at California State University. “I thought that, if I followed the research, it would make everybody happy all the time,” she says. “And then I saw that my students were not that motivated, my kids were not that motivated, and the kids of social science professors were not that motivated. So I started looking for the deeper roots of our motivation and our emotions.” She went on to write a book, Habits of a Happy Brain: Retrain Your Brain to Boost Your Serotonin, Dopamine, Oxytocin and Endorphin Levels.
The amazing shrinking brain
At Bodymind Counseling, we talk about brain health because a healthy brain helps to create a happy mind and emotions.—MR
Brain Volumes Shrink With One Daily Drink
by Judy George, MedPage Today, March 4, 2022
Light to moderate alcohol consumption — as few as one or two drinks a day — was linked with reductions in overall brain volume, a cross-sectional study showed.
Meds that hurt
There’s been a lot of discussion in the media over the last five years about opioid pain killers. Their prescription comes with the very real threat of mind-numbing addiction, graduation to illegal drugs when they run out and overdose death. If your doc hasn’t shared about diet and chronic pain, here’s an excellent article that points the way. Arthritis in my hands and wrists vanished when I avoided eating wheat products such as bread and pasta. I still share an occasional slice of pizza, but know my knuckles are going to ache the next day unless it’s gluten free.—MR
Solving chronic pain via the kitchen, not the medicine cabinet
by Rowena Fields, PhD, Psyche newsletter, February 23, 2022
When Peter arrived at our pain management clinic, he’d been suffering with low back and neck pain for years. He was on high doses of strong painkillers but, as with so many people with chronic pain, the pain was still intense and significantly interfered with his life, leaving him unable to work…
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