8 Ways to Avoid Ministry Burnout
Why Fellowship is Crucial to Your Faith
God Will Fight for You!
17 Ways to Empower Yourself
20 Ways to Bless Others
10 Negative Labels You Need to Remove
Going Coo-Coo for Coconut Oil
5 Ways to Stay Healthy This Summer
6 Steps to Healing Yourself
Christian Artists Who Offer Hope
7 Inspiring Lessons You Can Learn from Tom Hanks
10 Ways to Bring Summer Inside
10 Steps to Discipline
The 7 Habits of Stress-Free People
7 Secrets to Finding Fulfilling Work
10 Steps to Calmer Parenting
10 Questions to Ask Before Getting into a New Relationship
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- Follow Therese on these partner sites:
- Psych Central
- The Huffington Post
- Intent
- ShareWIK
- PBS/This Emotional Life
- Today’s Mama
My column on mental health, therapy, and all things in that category debuted this week on Blisstree.com, a very cool, hip website that covers everything from reality television to bad diets. I will be writing weekly for them, and I’m very excited about that! You can visit them by going to blisstree.com.
In my first blog post, I reviewed the book, “The Healing Code: Complete Mental and Physical Health, Success, and Inner Peace In 6 Minutes or Less.” I’ve posted part of the review here. You can go to Blisstree.com to read the rest.
I admit it: I am one skeptical chick when it comes to health solutions, because I read so many self-help books a week that my bookshelves can no longer hold their weight. I’ve spent close to $40,000 on therapy, outpatient treatment programs, and psych visits. I’ve also explored almost every single alternative health treatment on the market today, from acupuncture to expensive Chinese herbs.
I spend an incredible amount of time each day pursuing good emotional and physical health. I’ve been called many things, but “health slacker” is not one. If I don’t swim 150 laps before 7:30 am, then I run seven miles. I eat plenty of roughage and vegetables, keep processed foods to a minimum, and take six omega-3 capsules a day, plus vitamin D, folic acid, and calcium supplements. I meditate for 15 minutes each morning, read spiritual literature, and keep a sleep/mood journal, where I jot down the time I went to bed the night before and how many hours I slept. In between therapy visits, I practice cognitive behavioral exercises on my own — stuff like identifying the ten distorted thoughts that bestselling author David Burns tells us to watch out for. I gave up alcohol 22 years ago, and I regulate the amount of caffeine I drink. Sugar? I’m still working on it.
I don’t believe in easy answers. If there ever were any, I would have found them by now. Trust me.
Alexander Loyd, Ph.D., N.D. and Ben Johnson, M.D., D.O., N.M.D., make several good arguments in their book The Healing Code: 6 Minutes to Heal the Source of Your Health, Success, or Relationship Issue, but I’ll take a pass on buying into the Healing Code as the potential answer to all my health problems, which, I humbly admit, are substantial: A pituitary tumor, thyroid growths, Raynaud’s phenomenon, aortic valve regurgitation, and bipolar disorder.
* Click here to subscribe to Beyond Blue and click here to follow Therese on Twitter and click here to join Group Beyond Blue, a depression support group. Now stop clicking.
posted February 24, 2011 at 12:23 pm
Dear Therese,
First off… CONGRATULATIONS on your new writing gig on Blisstree!!!!
I love your review and laughed out loud at certain parts, for I can see me having the same reaction.
I remember once when I was reading a self help book that claimed to have quick fixes and easy answers to the tricky problem of disordered eating. The book insulted me, my intelligence and the complexity of eating disoders so badly that I actually threw the book away and then took my trash out to the dumpster outside so the book and all it represented would be out of my sight. Quite dramatic for me… that was the one and only time I’ve thrown a book away.
Also, I may have left you a comment about this before but in case I didn’t… a few months ago, I got on Amazon and ordered some of your older books like “Winging It” and the Advent Devotions for Women (can’t remember the title). Anyway, I loved them as I love Beyond Blue and The Pocket Therapist. I hope you write more books some day!
Elizabeth-
posted February 24, 2011 at 2:50 pm
You make some good points, Theresa, but I couldn’t help getting a kick outta this line:
. . . not that I don’t doubt that this might happen (in a sense of the word, though it does seem a tad oversimplified), but this particular statement might propel me to go the herbal route more than any God-toting quick-cure specialist can ever dream off . . .
. . . but all in all it was a good article . . . seriously . . . I MEAN it
posted February 25, 2011 at 2:38 pm
congratulations on your new venture therese!! i am very happy that you are done with the ‘corporate venture’…
great post, and i’ll check out the new website. thanks, b