Mindfulness in Just 10 Minutes Per Day
As you enter your weekend I wanted to share with you this clip from mindfulness expert Andy Puddicombe. In this TED talk, Puddicombe talks about how just taking a few minutes out of each day to sit in quiet reflection can work wonders for you mind and spirit. This is mindfulness for a new generation. Check it out!
4 Ways to Beat Depression Symptoms
Clinical depression can be a debilitating condition that leaves people feeling worthless and hopeless for the future, among other symptoms. According to the World Health Organization, depression affects approximately 350 million people globally. Treatment for depression often includes both talk therapy and sometimes medication as well, but there are also some lifestyle changes one can do to help alleviate their depressive symptoms.
Here are a few tips that may help you ease the impact of depression on your life.
Eat well.
And I'm not talking about dieting either. Maintaining a healthy and balanced diet that includes fresh fruits and vegetables can help you regulate your body's core functions and help foster mental agility. Simply put, healthier foods equal healthier minds. But, you should also feel free to treat yourself to a snack of dark chocolate every so often (if that's your thing) as it helps elevate one's mood. Just don't get too carried away because those extra calories and sugar may hurt you in the long run.
Stick to a schedule.
One of depression's most pervasive symptoms is a sense of fatigue or a general feeling of low energy. This may be accompanied by body pains. Often this causes people to stay in bed or sleep for extended periods of time which often creates a self-fulfilling prophecy of not feeling well. One way to help manage depression symptoms is to set a schedule and stick to it. If your commitment waivers, enlist the help of a friend or loved one to give you a phone call to check in and help keep you on track. When those bad days hit, having a steady routine and daily structure can help you power through.
Get moving!
Exercise is one of the best things you can do for your overall health and routine exercise has been found to be an effective adjunct to battling depression along with therapy and/or medication. You also get the benefits of lower blood pressure and better cardiovascular health which means you will feel better physically as well. Even an activity such as walking for a half hour each day can work wonders. And if you have ambulatory issues or are in a wheelchair, there are some chair exercises that can help keep you active. Just don't forget to consult with your primary care provider for individually tailored recommendations based on your medical history and current health status. What have you got to lose?
Develop a support network.
Depression is often a battle faced in isolation, leaving many without the necessary support and positive encouragement to tackle depression head on. Invite your loved ones into your journey by asking them to do activities with you or help hold you accountable. If your network is small at the moment, then speak with a therapist for local support groups in your area.While these tips are by no means cures to depression, these lifestyle changes can help empower you to take control of your process of healing and rediscovery.
How to Relax Under Pressure
On a day-to-day basis many of us can find ourselves in extremely high pressure situations. From the stresses of work to family life and a myriad of other responsibilities, many of us often find ourselves overworked, underwhelmed and stressed out, making it more difficult to relax and perform well when we really need to.One of my favorite books that I've read recently is a novel by Dr. Robert James Cerfolio, one of the best cardio-thoracic surgeons in the country.
In his book, Super Performing at Work and at Home: The Athleticism of Surgery and Life, Dr. Cerfolio passes on some practical suggestions on how to deal with high pressure situations which are based in techniques he used as an all-American baseball player. Some of his suggestions are as follows:
Controlling your breathing
Engaging in positive self-talk
Staying in the present
Recalling previous success
Like me, Cerfolio also believes in the power of visualization. This can often be a good technique to manage extremely stressful situations, especially if they're anticipated like an upcoming job interview, presentation, or speech.Along with these suggestions, having back-up if available and proper planning can also be key in preventing panic settling in during demanding circumstances. I also think that guided imagery, quick body tension exercises and mindfulness practice can be extremely helpful in battling stress not only in specific instances but for overall mental wellness as well.
Whatever methods you choose, it's vital that identifying potential stressors with prior planning can always help prepare us for potentially tough times. Short of that, practicing some de-stressing skills at other, less extreme times, can also be incredibly helpful when faced with new and unexpected challenges.
What does it mean to be transgender?
According to the Transgender Law and Policy Institute, up to 5% of the United States population identifies as transgender. For many, this term and identity represents a new facet of the LGBT community in the mainstream as trans people have only recently publicly gained the attention of the masses. The truth is that trans people have long been an important and integral part of the social and political movements to garner support for LGBT people.
And with Caitlyn Jenner most recently and courageously sharing her authentic self with the world through her Diane Sawyer interview, the mainstream media and many American households are buzzing with the question, what does it mean to be transgender? And if you're reading this, you might even be asking yourself, "Am I transgender?" As someone who has worked with and came to care for many trans or gender non-confirming folks, my hope is that this brief post will help provide you with some insight and answers along on your journey.
First, a little context. Up until 1973, the psychological community still sanctioned homosexuality as a mental disorder. While it was removed from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (the DSM) that year, the psychological community is still conflicted about how to best support people who self-identify as gay. Thankfully, there are many professionals (gay and heterosexual) who acknowledge and promote the mental and emotional health of gay folks by adopting supportive and gay affirmative practices. Sadly, however, there is still a large segment of the population who advocates for the use of conversion therapy, which aims to rid gay people of their same-sex desires in order to make them "straight". Too often the practice of conversion therapy is both emotionally and physically damaging and inappropriate, leaving the clients more emotionally damaged, confused and isolated from their families and loved ones. Now that transgender people are being more widely recognized in the public sphere, our culture is faced with the same questions and barriers as a society on how to best support trans folks.
For better or for worse, gender dysphoria is still listed in the DSM as a mental disorder. Many counselors like myself, don't consider identifying as trans as a mental health disorder, however, this often presents a conundrum for trans advocates as many states require a person to carry a diagnosis of gender dysphoria in order to begin gender affirmative treatment such as hormone replacement therapy and what has previously been known as sexual reassignment surgery, which is more colloquially referred to as "top" and "bottom" surgeries in the community. Given the restrictions on treatment, you can see how in order to live in accordance with your gender identity, some have to be stigmatized in order to receive the appropriate, supportive, and necessary medical interventions that are gender affirming. More plainly put, trans people must admit to being "sick" before receiving what is often life saving treatment.
Despite trans visibility increasing in the past few years, many folks still have questions and concerns about what it means to be trans. There are a lot of online resources that often feature the voices of trans people themselves such as Laura's Playground, TransAdvocate and PFLAG National. These are all great resources if you yourself think you may be trans or need insight about a friend or loved one. As a mental health professional, I will share with you the criteria of gender dysphoria which might help you gain some insight and clarity into what trans people might be experiencing. Here is an abbreviated list of that criteria:
Feelings that your internal gender identity does not match your physical characteristics
A desire for the sex characteristics of another gender (ex. sex organs such as penis, vagina, testicles or things like amount of body hair, tone of voice, waist to hip ratio, etc.)
Feeling that you should be treated as a different gender (than what you were assigned at birth)
Strong and persistent internal feelings that you are of a different gender or sex that you were assigned at birth
Again, this is a list based on heteronormative ideals and standards which see a trans identity as being "disordered".
There are histories of cultures with two-spirited, or third genders which haven't described or treated trans folks in the same way. I hope that this can serve as a starting point to form questions, invite discussion and ultimately garner understanding and compassion for people who all identify as trans like Caitlyn Jenner, Leelah Alcorn, Chaz Bono or Laverne Cox. All too often the health and livelihood of trans folks depends on our willingness to develop empathy and compassion, irrespective of our cultural or religious backgrounds. The truth of the matter is, lives are at stake.
And if you think that you might be trans, I invite you to seek out support in a trusted friend, loved one or affirmative counselor who can help guide you and support you on your journey of being your most authentic self.
You deserve that ability to do so. We all do.
Robin Williams Takes on Addiction in Old Interview
Back in August 2014, the world lost one of the most talented comics of our time, the incomparable Robin Williams. I won't review his filmography here but he is perhaps most known for his stand up work and for starring in the 1993 film Mrs. Doubtfire which also happens to be one of my personal favorites.In the wake of his death, much of the discussion around Williams centered around his health, substance abuse and mental health issues. It's been said that Williams suffered with depression for many years which is unfortunately the case with many of our beloved comics. There's something very special about being table to transfer a deep amount of pain into creating joy for others, and it seems that's what Williams did best. I'm very grateful for that. It's unfortunate that Williams died in the way that he did, especially because I think he had so much left to give us in his work.
In this clip Williams talks about his issues with addiction and his craft. It's a really wonderful and candid interview. Take a look.