Beyond Blue: March 2009 Archives

I read a very good and concise article in "Remedy Magazine" (Health and Wellness for Life) on how to boost your mental immune system by psychiatrist Sudeepta Varma, M.D., medical director of the World Trade Center Mental Health Program at Bellevue Hospital in New York City. I knew all the stuff he suggests and I have said in before in many posts, but I was impressed that he compacted it in such a way that doesn't overwhelm me, if you know what I mean. This is what he says:

Genetics play a part in mental health, but people can do a lot to boost their mental immune systems.

1. Get enough sleep.

If you don't get enough on a regular basis, it can lead to disruptions of your body's circadian rhythms [24-hour cycles that regulate hormone production and other biological processes], which can make you feel more stressed and can be enough to trigger or exacerbate an underlying disorder.

2. Consume a diet with plenty of omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B-12, and folate.

You can find omega-3 fatty acids in salmon, tuna, sardines, walnuts, canola oil, and flaxseed. Vitamin B-12 is found in fish, seafood, meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products. Folate is found in fortified cereals, spinach, broccoli, peanuts, and orange juice. These nutrients can help ease depression and improve brain function.

3. Engage in regular exercise and relaxation techniques (yoga, tai chi or progressive muscle relaxation).

These exercises can help relieve mild anxiety or depression.

4. Maintain balance and moderation in anything you do.

I admit that I find it somewhat consoling to read studies that prove our brains are different because that makes me feel legitimate in my gripes, or vindicated in my efforts to correct my thought distortions. Like there really is something that I'm fighting against ... biochemistry or whatever. It's not some imaginary friend hiding out in my brain. And it's not your imagination either. So read up, and take it easy on your cognitive behavioral strategies for a day. Doctors orders.

From Psych Central, one of if not the best source of brain news. For the full story, click here. John Grohol writes:

People who suffer from depression may have far fewer of the receptors in the brain that regulate our happiness when compared to non-depressed people. The new study also suggests that the fewer receptors a person has, the more severe their depression. Scans show untreated depressed people have fewer serotonin and opioid receptors, and that variation is linked to symptoms and treatment response. But the research also showed the numbers of these receptors can vary greatly from person to person.

The lead University of Michigan researcher, Jon-Kar Zubieta, M.D., Ph.D., says these new results bolster what other researchers have been finding in recent years.

"There's a substantial amount of biological difference even among people who have major depression, which is just as important as the biological differences between people with depression and people without," he says.

"The more we can understand about these differences, the better we can address treatment to the individual and have the greatest effect on symptoms."

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On Mindful Monday, my readers and I practice the art of pausing, TRYING to be still, or considering, ever so briefly, the big picture. We're hoping this soul time will provide enough peace of mind to get us through the week!

As I mentioned on my Ash Wednesday video, I am dedicating each Monday during Lent to one of the six practices of simplification that Abby Seixas writes about in her book, "Finding the Deep River Within." The fifth week of Lent, then, is about "practicing presence," concentrating on what we are doing when we are doing it, trying to stay mindful and present in the moment.

I've been trying to master mindfulness in the last few weeks like it's a cute step sequence in a line dance. I have unofficially hired Dr. Elisha Goldstein, author of Psych Central's blog, "Mindfulness and Psychotherapy" as my mindfulness personal trainer because he knows this stuff inside and out, and because I don't have the time or money to hang out with the Buddhist monks in Tibet.

I've always aspired to better live in the moment--it was one of the gems I picked up in support group meetings back in college--but now I honestly feel like it could save my life--or at least keep my pituitary tumor from growing any wider and shield my heart from any more damage to the aortic valve.

How do you practice presence, or mindfulness?

The Buddha once explained it as doing one thing at a time, keeping your mind on that one thing. For example when you're doing the dishes, your mind should be on the dishes, not on the project you were unable to complete that day and how your boss is going to fire off a nasty e-mail if you don't get it done before morning, or how in the world you are going to get the little people to brush and floss their teeth without incurring a temper tantrum suitable for Nanny 911.

Abby Seixas, author of "Finding the Deep River Within," compares practicing presence to building some INNER boundaries. Just as we might opt to let our voicemail pick up when we see a 1-800 number (meaning telemarketers), we can do the same with the inner distractions. She quotes Mary Oliver who explains this kind of disruption:

Bust just as often ... the interruption comes not from another, but from the self itself, or some other self within the self, that whistles and pounds upon the door panels and tosses itself, splashing, into the pond of meditation. And what does it have to say? That you must phone the dentist, that you are out of mustard, that your uncle Stanley's birthday is two weeks hence. You react, of course. Then you return to your work, only to find the imps of the idea have fled back into the mist.

I love that. Because I so relate to that. Except it wasn't about Uncle Stanley. What nagged me was that I couldn't, for the life of me, remember my goddaughter's birthday! Thinking of mindfulness as INNER boundaries offers me hope that one day I will be better at mindfulness because there was once a time, not so long ago, that I felt that outer boundaries would be impossible, too. And I'm just now starting to succeed at them. Yah!!

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Vietnamese Buddhist Thich Nhat Hanh writes: "Life is both dreadful and wonderful. To practice meditation is to be in touch with both aspects." I touched on this topic back on my post "When One Door Closes." In his post, "Reclaim Your Mind: One Story That May Change Your Life" Elisha Goldstein tells a very interesting story that will make you think twice about life's disappointments. It begins this way ...

There is a story of a very wise old man in a village: Everyone in the village looked up to him and sought his advice. One summer day, a villager came to him in a state of panic, "Wise sage, I don't know what to do, my ox has died and now I am unable to plow my fields. This is the worst thing that could have ever happened." The sage looked him in the eye and replied, "Maybe so, maybe not." In a state of disbelief the man returned to his family and proceeded to tell them how the sage was no sage after all and that he had lost his mind because surely the death of the ox was the worst thing that could've ever happened.

The next morning the man went on a walk to mourn his ox and in the distance saw a strong young horse grazing in the field. Immediately he had the idea that if he could catch the horse then his troubles would be over. He brought the horse back and realized how blessed he was; plowing was even easier than before. The image of the sage came up in his mind and the man ran over to him to apologize. Upon seeing the sage the man said, "Please accept my apologies, you were absolutely right. If I had not lost my ox, I wouldn't have gone on that walk and would never have captured the horse. You have to agree that catching this horse was the best thing that ever happened." The old sage looked into his eyes and said, "Maybe so, maybe not."

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