Elderly people respond to mental health differently than younger people. They are prone to developing more psychological disorders and can cope less effectively to triggering factors of mental impairments.
Let’s first take a look at how an old person lives
Retiring could be one of the most enjoyable but dreaded years in the life of a person. Anybody who no longer has definite roles to take apart from being an older member of the society begins to question their own importance, sometimes even existence. Since a retired person no longer holds a job, he is free to use his time on any activity he chooses. The problem though is that he cannot establish a certain activity that would make life for him enjoyable for the rest of his life. He also feels that he is no longer important since his children who used to depend on him have already taken up their own lives, sometimes living him without company.
On most cases, people who are old are alone. They sulk into life without purpose, without direction, without the sense of worth. Slowly, they will have experiences that would negatively affect their mental health. They then become depressed, lonely and more prone to developing psychological disorders. Since the society give too little importance to the elderly people, it tends to disregard them. Until they become debilitated enough due to sickness, disorders and old age that the society begins to notice them. But then, by that time, it is already too late.
The usual life of the elderly is marked by the lack of support that will introduce them to activities that will revitalize their lives. They can no longer put up with their old activities since their bodies, by nature, are deteriorated enough to hinder them from moving and performing like they did before. However, old age should not always be like this. Old people should try to look for newer activities in their lives that would make the rest of their days enjoyable and worthwhile.
They say “you cannot teach old dog new tricks”. This is a myth. An old person who is willing to learn will learn by all means regardless if his body or his mind limits him. Here are some of the hobbies that an elderly could do to increase his mental health:
Keeping your brain active will make you feel healthy
For some people, the mere fact that they are thinking and can still conceptualize thoughts drive them to be crazy about life. It is never too late to learn to write and for people who used to enjoy writing during their younger years, it is never too late to bring back their attitude towards literature.
Reading could also be a fun activity that would easily let the time pass. Old people who enjoy reading are apparently happier than those who sat idly on their couches throughout the day.
The music of your life
Your fingers may not have the same dexterity they had when you were younger but this doesn’t mean that you can no longer enjoy music. You can learn to play music instruments. The piano, for example, requires too little energy output but the internal satisfaction it provides is high. Also, listening to music could make you think of familiar thoughts that would drive you through the memory lane. This would allow you to meditate on your life. For most people, knowing the fact that they have lived their life well make them satisfied and at peace with themselves. Internal peace is central to achieving the right balance in life.
Pick up your old hobbies
Did you enjoy gardening as a kid or collecting things as a teenager? You can bring back those old hobbies. After all, you already have enough investments in the past that it would no longer be hard for you to start again.
It is often the case of losing the zest for life when one gets old. But through regaining your appetite for life through hobbies for elderly, you might find again that life is worth living for.
Helpful Tips in Managing ADHD
Being diagnosed with ADHD will definitely make you feel devastated as if the world is going to end for you. Though it is true that there is no known cure for ADHD, there is no need for you to be feeling so hopeless and desperate as there are still ways which can help in minimizing the symptoms of ADHD and there is a lot you can do in managing ADHD.
When you are diagnosed with ADHD, you should take it as a great wake up call. When you find out that you have ADHD it is about time that you seek help and not neglect the effects of ADHD in you. The earlier you start the treatment for the symptoms of ADHD, the better. If you are able to seek help and educate yourself about your condition, you will be able to find ways in managing ADHD successfully.
It takes a lot of work to be able to become successful in managing ADHD. You have to keep in mind that it takes a lot of hard work, persistence, and time in being able to find the right treatments that you could use of. Managing ADHD would not be that hard though as long as you bear in mind that you need to educate yourself about ADHD as much as you can, adopt healthy lifestyle habits, and get plenty of support. You also have to have a positive outlook and life and believe that:
1. ADHD is a condition that is certainly treatable. Though you already know that ADHD does not have a known cure, you must not lose hope. A lot of researches have been done to come up with the proper treatment which could help people who are suffering from ADHD.
2. It is definitely you responsibility to have yourself treated. If you really want to conquer the challenges you are facing, the answer is all up to you. Everything is possible as long as you have the will and the determination to make your life better through successfully managing ADHD symptoms. It is true that there are health professionals whom you can seek help from but administering treatment still is all up to you.
3. The key to successfully managing ADHD is through educating yourself with as much information about ADHD as possible. If you educate yourself well, you will be able to understand what you are going through as well as what you need to do in controlling and managing ADHD symptoms and dealing with the condition as a whole. You will be able to know your strengths and weaknesses and learn how you can use them in becoming successful later in life.
4. Getting support is still one of the best forms of inspiration and motivation. People who support you will help you get through and be more positive about life.
Wanting, Needing and Individuation
Individuation is the process by which we become our unique selves in the world. Part of being an individual, of being uniquely who we are, is knowing what we want and need. If we are not comfortable with wanting and needing from others, we could be limiting our lives and our relationships. What we want and need are not just material things. As humans, we have needs for emotional connection, recognition, warmth, empathy, appreciation, love, friendship. Sometimes we are lucky that our needs and wants are met without our having to ask another person for what we want. But, if we have to ask and don’t because we are not comfortable asking, we may deprive ourselves of emotionally gratifying relationships.
When we become aware of our discomfort about asking for what we want, it would be useful to reflect on our relationship to wanting and needing. We might discover that we have needs (sometimes hardly in awareness), but we don’t allow ourselves to think about them. We might also discover that we provide most things for ourselves because we get uncomfortable with the idea of asking others to fulfill some of our needs. We may learn that we are not allowing ourselves to feel what we want in order to protect ourselves from uncomfortable feelings. In all cases, when we don’t attend to our needs, we may be limiting the emotional satisfaction we could be enjoying from our interpersonal relationships.
Sheila is a person who has difficulties with wanting and needing. She proudly told me that when she was kid she never wanted anything in particular for Christmas or her birthday. If she got a gift, that was okay. If she didn’t it was no big deal. Today, Sheila is no longer a child. She is a successful executive in a public relations firm. She is well thought of by her colleagues and is well compensated. But Sheila is an unhappy 41 year old woman with few friends. She has a close attachment to her elderly parents who are very admiring of Sheila’s competence, success and self reliance. Sheila also feels good about these attributes. She shared how her parents always talk about what a good, compliant baby she was. With pride, she tells the family story of how quickly she learned at the age of 3 to stop crying in the mornings when her parents didn’t want to get up. She learned to get her own breakfast and let her parents sleep as late as they wished. Sheila’s experience in the world is that she wants for nothing. Yet, at the same time, Sheila finds life to be unsatisfying.
I thought about Sheila when I was considering the relationship between Individuation and wanting. To be comfortable with wanting means to be comfortable with having needs. Our attitudes about our needs develop in childhood. Usually children make demands on their parents which parents respond to in a variety of ways. If we think of responses on a continuum, parents can always, sometimes, never, give a child what the child wants. So first, the child learns, in a general sense, whether or not they can expect their needs to be responded to. But whether a need is met is not the only thing the child is reacting to. More subtly, parents convey their attitudes about the child having needs and about what those needs are. For example, parents may respond but feel annoyed by the demand. They may respond in an unpredictable manner, confusing and often frustrating the child. They may respond positively only to needs they approve of, making the child’s separate desires unacceptable. They may always respond positively making it difficult for the child to develop a sense of limitations. If we always get what we want, we don’t have the opportunity to learn what is appropriate or how to deal with frustration. We may also come to feel out of control or greedy. The point is, the way parents respond has a serious effect on the way children come to think about their own needs.
In therapy, Sheila and I explore her thoughts and feelings about wanting. It becomes clear that Sheila is proud of her self sufficiency and her lack of want. At the same time, she is aware that the idea of wanting or needing is unacceptable to her. She associates wanting with the risk that someone else might be necessary to provide what she needs. She has a vague memory of how angry her parents got when she woke them early in the morning and how they talked so much about what a good little girl she was and so smart to get her own breakfast. Sheila believes that it would be risky to become dependent on someone to respond to her desires. She worries that there would be a price to pay. Needing could have some negative impact: someone could be angry or upset with what she asked for. She fears that she would have to give up being in charge of her life and would have to give in to the influence of anyone she came to rely on. As Sheila became more conscious of these beliefs, she began to consider that the lack of close relationships in her life, which she both longed for and dreaded, was connected to worries about the strings attached to having someone else meet your needs.
The process of Individuation allows us to develop into people who are more or less comfortable with who we are and what we want. It also allows us to tolerate and get comfortable with the wide variety of positive and negative feelings we encounter as we put ourselves out into the world. The more we can get comfortable with asking for what we want, the more likely we are to have the kinds of relationships we desire. This means that we have to be willing to be comfortable with the negative responses that are always possible when we ask for something. It is usually helpful to understand that a “no” to our asking for something we want or need does not have to be experienced as a personal rejection of who we are. It is simply a “no” to a request. The more we can tolerate the “no’s”, the more we will be in a position to ask and hear “yes”.
Effective ADHD Natural Methods
ADHD natural methods of treatment are more sought after than ever these days. Since the side effects of traditional medications make many parents frightened, natural treatments are coming to the forefront. Everything from homeopathic remedies, to self help techniques to professional therapy can be used to help your child overcome ADHD symptoms.
Prescription stimulants such as Ritalin can effectively control ADHD symptoms as they help the brain to focus and sharpen concentration. Unfortunately, they also carry serious side effects making them potentially dangerous for some children. On the other hand, homeopathic remedies can offer the same kind of stimulant effect without the added burden of side effects.
Made from a carefully selected blend of herbs and other plant based ingredients, homeopathic remedies are one of the most effective ADHD natural methods of treatment. Using such plants as Arsen iod, Verta alb and Tuberculinum, these remedies are able to calm the nerves, ease emotional outbursts and improve focus and concentration.
Because they provide relief without causing side effects, these ADHD natural methods are highly recommended treatments. These remedies can be taken on a regular basis without fear of further disrupting your child’s regular routine. This is an invaluable solution for parents whose children struggle to get through even the most routine of daily tasks and find situations like sitting in a classroom and concentrating almost unbearable.
Another of the proven ADHD natural methods is behavioral therapy. Working with a trained specialist, your child can learn to understand his or her unique responses to various situations and control their responses at these moments. This can help to make life easier for everyone your child interacts with on a regular basis and because they are instigating the change themselves, it can help ADHD children to feel much better about themselves.
There are other techniques you and your child can use to ease ADHD symptoms, including Yoga, meditation and other things which encourage relaxation. Soothing music or sounds can help to calm the nerves and relieve pent up stress. Letting go of stress is just as important for ADHD children as it is for any of us, so anything that can help is beneficial.
Along with ADHD natural methods it is extremely important for ADHD children to have a strong support system around them. They need to know that their behavior stems from an actual neurological disorder and is not merely “acting up.” They should never be made to feel guilty about their behavior; instead you should work with them to help understand and control it as best you can with positive reinforcement.
ADHD is a challenge for everyone involved, but there are many proven natural treatment methods which you can use to help your child. Talk with your doctor about the natural options available to you and together you can form an effective treatment plan for your child. ADHD may feel like the end of the world but it doesn’t have to be that way. You and your child can overcome it together…naturally!
Food For Memory
In the age of information, we need all of the mind power we can get. All of it.
While all skills of mind and cognitive process are very important, memory is the most critical. If your memory becomes seriously hampered, the rest of your life and career go with it. Period.
There are a lot of people who believe that memory decline is age related and a natural part of life. Sorry…I don’t buy it.
While there are any number of causes of memory decline and other cognitive impairments, “age” by itself is not one of them.
If age isn’t responsible for memory decline, why do mostly “old people” suffer from it? Simple: because the bad habits of mind and diet and exercise are cumulative. They build up over time.
Here in the west we eat S.A.D. (Standard American Diet), rarely get up from in front of must see TV, and don’t put enough in to challenging our minds.
That’s not to say we are stupid, it just means we don’t challenge our minds beyond what we already know.
How long has it been since you started a new hobby, or kept abreast of advanced math, or learned new subjects that were not closely related to what you already knew?
There are lot’s of ways to train our memory to be “Johnny on the Scene”. We are going to focus here on the all important diet.
Food is the First Component of a Healthy Memory
Perhaps the most effective means of strengthening all of our cognitive capacities is food. By food, I mean nutritional food.
The brain is a chemically based computer. For it to function properly, it needs the proper chemicals. Memory function is no different.
Much of the brains function is in Omega 3 fatty acids. That’s the soft fat that allows for effective firing between neurons. Most of the fat in the American diet is Omega 6, which is a hard fat.
Too much hard fat in the brain is like a dart board with a lot of concrete mixed with the cork. The darts simply are not going to stick so well. The neural transmitters will not be able to stick in to the neural receptors and inject their chemical packets.
The factor here is not how much Omega 3, but rather the ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6.
The generally accepted ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6 is 1:3. That is, roughly 1/3 of our fat intake needs to be Omega 3.
The best source of Omega 3 is cold water fish, with wild caught Alaskan Salmon leading the charge.
Other fine sources include Flax seed oil, fish oil and Walnuts.
Eat the Rainbow…Just Not Skittles
There is more to brain healthy food than Omega 3 Fats.
The general principal here is to “Eat the rainbow.”
Wide varieties of colorful fruits and vegetables tend toward a healthy brain. The reason is clear: We get our antioxidants primarily from fruits and veggies. Different colored fruits and veggies have different antioxidants, which protect the brain and (by extension) the memory from Oxidative Stress.
One 25-year study of more than 13,000 subjects conducted at Harvard Medical School showed that the subjects who ate relatively high concentrations of vegetables over the years had less age-related memory decline. Crucifers and leafy green vegetables were the most effective in helping to protect memory during the course of the study. In another study, the phytochemicals Anthocyanin and Quercetin, actually reversed some of the age-related memory deficits in laboratory animals.
Some of the best crucifers and leafy green vegetables include bok choy, Broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower Brussels Sprouts.
Mustard Greens, Collard, Spinach, kale and Swiss Chard.
Some of the best foods for Anthocyanin are Plums, Berries (all varieties), Cherries, Black Currents, Eggplant, red, black, and purple Grapes, Rhubarb, red Apples, red/purple Cabbage, red Onion, and red Beets.
Some of the best foods for quercetin: Onions (red, yellow, white), kale, Leeks, Cherry Tomato, black Grapes Broccoli, black Currants, Elderberries, Apricots, Apple with skin (Red Delicious), and Blueberries.
While there is a great deal more about nutrition and brain function that could be covered, such as the importance of eating your fruits and veggies raw, I’m going to keep this real simple for right now.
So here is the takeaway:
*Replace at least some of your meat with fish…up to 3 times/Wk.
*Eat a wide variety of raw fruits and vegetables as much as possible
*Sprinkle Walnuts on your salads and other foods as much as possible…or eat straight out of the bag.
*Take a Flax seed oil or a fish oil supplement daily.
*Do further research, which is great mental exercise in its own self.
Here’s to retaining all of those happy memories!
I wanted to write about a simple, straightforward, “just do it” topic today.
First of all, however, along the lines of an earlier post where I suggested that anybody who is depressed should try to have a mission in life — the entrepreneurial project I have been working on for 18 months will likely launch this week. I have amassed the largest database of sober livings and halfway houses in the country, and we have got California almost fully input. So I am going to launch here in California and roll out across the rest of the country, state by state. It has been pretty cool to put together the world’s first fully comprehensive recovery house site, as it allows searchers to have a pictorial as well as just a descriptive view of a house they might like to live in. For people without cars, or who want to explore houses without making appointments and wasting time at strange properties, this can be their answer. You can find it at Sober Living Search.com after September 29th, 2010. Please help spread the word to anybody in the alcohol and drug abuse recovery business.
While this project helps me get out of bed each morning with a purpose in life, I don’t know that I could have made it through the first year of fighting off my bipolar depression without my dog, Senator. I would recommend that anybody who is living alone with depression seriously consider getting a dog.
Out of the blue, it might not sound like such a great idea, and if you are “down” right now the responsibilities of owning a dog may seem overwhelming. Hell, you can hardly take care of yourself, right? Just realize that if you are depressed you will think those responsibilities are too much, and your mind will likely go to the negative side of this idea to the degree you’ll push it out of your head. At least at first that’s what I did. A dog needs to be fed at least twice each day, he or she needs to be walked a few times a day, they need to be played with and expend energy somehow, and — you have to pick up their dog crap — which really sews up the decision to say “forget it”. But the only thing a dog really asks for or needs in return for him being your best friend is a little bit of love. The dog will help get you up in the morning, help get you outside for walks, and allow you the feeling that if you did nothing else at all productive that day, that at least you loved your dog and he loved you back.
Let me tell you something. Seeing that tail wag, having that dog at home there to greet you with a happy bark no matter what you have or have not done in a day, does more good for your soul than I could possibly express and describe here. We all need a little love in this world, and while you might be alone and think it is a person missing in your life, or if you screwed up your marriage like I did, or if your parents live out of state, or if you have lost a lot of friends because your depression has kept you isolated, the RX from this depression doctor is simple — go adopt a dog. Puppy adoptions take place all over whatever city or town you live in every weekend, and while you need to come up with a small fee to adopt one, you are saving a life and giving yourself an amazing gift at the same time.
If you are depressed, just trust me — go get a dog. He or she will bring some joy and meaning to your life, and get you up in the morning with something rare in your state of mind (if you are a depressive) — a smile on your face.
The pet industry continues to be a growing multi, multi billion dollar industry. The thinking goes that as our society becomes more and more screwed up in terms of being dysfunctional and less social because of computers and other reasons, people are turning to pets to assure that they have an uncomplicated, loving relationship in this world. The number of times I fell into tears and hugged my dog amidst a bipolar depression in the past few years I couldn’t even start to count, but Senny is always there for me and I swear that I feel like we connect on another level. No, not like “Son of Sam” do I hear him talking to me and telling me to do things — but I do feel like he can hear me talking to him. And he knows I love him. He has been a lifesaver and if you are reading this post it’s because you or someone close to you is depressed. With a dog you’ll have companionship and a friend for life that you’ll appreciate more than you can imagine.
Many sufferers have found relief through meditation. In meditation, you simply sit or lay in a comfortable position, empty your mind or focus your thoughts on pleasant things, perhaps focus on breathing, and let yourself relax.
Visualization is another way. Visualization is very much like meditating. You need an area that you can comfortably lie down and close your eyes. You should envision your body being washed over by a white light. The flow of this light should continue from your feet up your legs at an a steady rate. Each segment of your body becomes completely relaxed as the light closes in and then reaches it.
Another preventive treatment for panic attacks which you might attempt is stretching. A better night of sleep has been proven to be the result when your muscles are fully at ease.
Muscle spasms that are known to disrupt people’s sleep patterns in the evenings can often be reduced or stopped through a simple 10 minute regimen of light stretching.
Deep breathing is another practice that may help to ease your panic attacks. To start a deep breathing session, sit in a comfortable position while keeping your back upright. Focus on your breathing, and take deep and natural breaths. As each breath leaves your body, allow your tension and stress go out with it.
What you drink before going to sleep is another thing you should notice. You may want to switch to ordinary water if your likelihood is to drink coffee, soda, tea or alcohol before going to bed.
The reason is that alcohol and caffeine can keep you up, and that reaction may be prolonged until you’re asleep, when it will awaken you and interrupt your night’s sleep.
Finding and getting busy in something enjoyable before going to bed is another worthy ideal. This could be any number of things for example listening to music, light reading or watching a little television. Anything that allows you to ease the strain of the day.
Each of these tips should be able to get you feeling relaxed, so be sure to give them a go. Seeing your doctor is your next step if all else fails.
Identifying the Problem’s Source
The source of the problem will determine which treatments for panic attacks when sleeping will be useful. Cognitive therapy may be the answer if you have a childhood trauma buried deep within your subconscious.
Medication is often the answer for panic attacks when sleeping. Regulating the normal operation of your brain is the main function of these antidepressants. These pharmaceuticals correct the low serotonin levels in the brain, a major cause of anxiety and depression.
Of course, prevention is always the best treatment for panic attacks when sleeping.
The Necessity For Rest and Relaxation
A nervous breakdown, understandably enough, takes a great deal out of you. Apart from anything else, it’s a warning that you’ve been making demands on yourself up to which no reasonable mind can live. It’s impossible to work non stop without some sort of a break, some rest and relaxation at some point.
This was certainly my problem. Instead of pacing myself sensibly, I allowed the business to run me. Everything had to be done yesterday, at breakneck speed, otherwise…what? The sky would fall? The earth would open up and swallow me?
That’s the whole point. You must learn to control your life, not the other way round. This is where goal setting is such a two edged sword. You can have it fixed in your mind that you must write five articles in a day, every day. That’s your goal, and you’re going to stick to it. This is very laudable, but what’s going to happen if you don’t write five a day? If you only write four one day.
Well, you’ll just have to write six the following day. This can become so fixed in your mind, that everything else goes by the way.
I read somewhere about this chap who was determined to write a certain number of articles over a six month period, (actually, I forget how long, but it was something like that). Anyway, his goal was a huge number, but he set to and managed to write them… then promptly had a nervous breakdown!
No, goals are fine, but they must be reasonable and flexible. And they must allow you enough time for relaxation. Let’s put it this way. If you have a number of problems that have brought you to the edge of a nervous breakdown, what’s going to happen to those problems when the breakdown hits? They’ll have to be shelved until you’re better.
If this means that people are going to become upset with you, even angry, that’s too bad. Your health is all that matters. Besides, you’re in no condition now, virtually, to know what pair of socks you’ll wear this morning, let alone how to sort out a large, looming problem. You’re sick, and if people don’t like it, they’ll just have to learn to live with it.
One of the main symptoms of a nervous breakdown is the feeling of being swamped, either by direct problems or by a mass of work you think you have to do immediately. Make a decision. That decision will be that nothing at all will be done or even attempted until you feel better.
Eat properly and nutritiously, exercise, even if it’s only going for short walks, go to the library and grab some good fiction by authors you like, watch television, listen to relaxing CDs, anything at all that takes your mind completely off work. Don’t even allow that four letter word into your Universe!
Bipolar Disorder Treatment
Jenifer Lewis. Bobby Brown. Charlie Pride. Maia Campbell. Lauryn Hill. DMX. These African Americans have either been diagnosed or are highly suspected to have bipolar disorder. Search any of these names online and you will see articles detailing some aspect of their journey with mental illness and potentially bipolar disorder. Many of these celebrities have gotten help. Others are still battling. The good thing for these celebrities is that most have resources to get proper treatment.
“Bipolar disorder is a serious mental illness in which common emotions become intensely and often unpredictably magnified. Individuals with bipolar disorder can quickly swing from extremes of happiness, energy and clarity to sadness, fatigue and confusion. These shifts can be so devastating that individuals may choose suicide (APA, 2010)”.
The inclusion of African American celebrities in this article is to emphasize how even people who seem to have everything cope with and manage mental health conditions. Non-celebrity, everyday African Americans need treatment for bipolar disorder too. In the past, African Americans have been hesitant to trust medical professionals because of experiments like the Tuskegee syphilis federally funded study where nearly four hundred black men with syphilis went untreated. In addition, African Americans who sought help for mental illnesses had a “higher incidence of being misdiagnosed with schizophrenia and/or being hospitalized (Lawson, 2008)”.
Effective bipolar treatment is made up of three elements that a client must take part in simultaneously
Medication (25 percent of solution) The following drugs typically are prescribed: Abilify, Lamictal, Trileptal, Lithium, Depakote and Seroquel.
Individual counseling and treatment groups (50 percent of solution)This part of the solution helps with working through failed relationships, reconnecting with one’s self and accepting various outcomes.
Client’s decision to make better choices (25 percent of solution) At the core of improved living is the decision to be the best you can be. Individuals who suffer from bi-polar must dedicate themselves to self-improvement concepts such as being dependable, exercising personal resolve, accepting change, etc. Successful responses require the ability to negotiate circumstances. Life coping skills such as integrity of character, patience, kindness and good decision making can help head off emotional episodes.
Depending on the life span and intensity of symptoms, it can be difficult for children and adult to experience a normal life. Yet, thousands of individuals have figured out the key to successful and normal living. The following strategies help to experience normal daily living.
Acceptance of Disorder:The temptation to enter denial is ever present. The acceptance of the disorder and the associated symptoms is an important step. By accepting the obvious, individuals can move towards better outcomes and results.
Self Monitoring:The early self identification of triggers and forthcoming meltdowns cannot be under-estimated. By identifying patterns and themes associated with various symptoms, individual can better brace themselves and make alternative plans.
Rest & Exercise:Pent up frustrations, on-going depression and emotional let downs can be countered by getting proper rest. In addition, exercise is an excellent way to resolve daily experiences that encourage sulking, selfishness and anger.
Proper Diet:There are certain foods that encourage negative emotional cycles and counter-productive experiences. The simple act of removing items from the menu can improve outcomes quickly.
Most insurance companies pay for treatment. For those with no health insurance, Community Mental Health is a place to start. Every state in the United States of America has this organization. One who is searching for help for bipolar disorder need only travel to a place (like the library) that has internet access. Go to a search website like Google, yahoo or bing and search for “community mental health Chicago (use the name of your city)”. Address and telephone information will appear in the search engine results pages.
There is also an organization called Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance. It is a patient-directed national organization focusing on the most prevalent mental illnesses. The website has support materials and a bipolar disorder peer support group locator.
Finally, to increase the likelihood of appropriate treatment for African Americans, people and organizations that African Americans respect will have to weigh in on the conversations. Celebrities who have come forward to discuss bipolar disorder help other African Americans to speak up and ask for treatment. Yet more help is needed. Churches, pastors, barbers, sororities, lodges, etc must also help reach out to African American community members with mental health concerns and help them find proper education and solutions.
Treat Anxiety Through Exercise
Are you tired of thinking of things non-stop? Anxious of just about everything? You may never notice but you might suffering already from anxiety and severe depression. If your mind is talking to you every now and then, don’t be afraid because you don’t lose your mind yet and you don’t need a doctor’s advise at the moment.
Yes, before you seek professional help, you need to assess yourself first of what really bothers you. Check if your heart beat is normal, monitor your breathing and see if you sweat a lot. During panic attacks, these symptoms are usually present. If you are still anxious and your body temperature is normal, then your problem is psychological in nature.
To avoid mental stress or anxiety, you need to be physically active to revert your mind to something else. Exercise is a good example on how to relieve mental stress and anxiety. Exercise is not just your best partner in fighting anxiety, it is an all around health enhancement.
It is proven in most studies that anxiety attacks are cured effectively by just being active physically, emotionally and mentally. And the effects does not stop there, regular exercise can boost confidence because it makes you fit, slim and tones your muscles perfectly. Also, a physically active individuals can also help improve social interaction.
Anxiety treatment studies shows that exercise fuels the brain enabling it to fight stress. Also, physically active people are less prone to anxiety and depression compared to socially isolated people. Although these are not concrete medical evidence linking exercise as treatment to mental stress, most cases already shows otherwise that exercise has great effect on brain stimulation.
One explanation is that, exercise could make yourself comfortable and can make you feel healthy physically and mentally. Aside from cardiovascular health benefits, exercise can make your body in a heightened state of exertion like heavy breathing and rapid heart beat. This kind of state is not similar to the more unnatural anxiety symptoms. This makes our sensations much immune to a more anxious state because exercise helps your body’s over all health condition.
Furthermore, a regular exercise can make you calm and relaxed during and after an activity. You will not be threatened by panic attacks anymore because you are mentally confidence that you know you are healthy. In other terms, you are already aware of what is going on with your body and mind thus resulting to a less anxious state and less worries.
Below are some added explanations on how exercise can help treat anxiety and depression.
- Exercise can release the feel-good brain chemicals which aids anxiety and depression.
- Helps reduce immune system chemicals that can affect mental stress.
- Helps increase body temperature naturally.
So what kind of exercise is best to help you treat anxiety? If you think that running 5 kilometers is the only way to distract mental stress, you are wrong. As you know exercise is composed of wide range of activities and this includes sports, dancing and different body workouts. It really depends on what your hobby is. The most important is that you are satisfied and happy on what you do because it also contributes on how you fight mental stress.
The links between anxiety, depression and physical activities are not yet proven but based on unofficial reports, workout can definitely help you relax, calm and feel much better. Research also shows that exercise can help keep anxiety and depression from coming back so it can also be considered as a good alternative treatment.
The best way to keep yourself from having panic attacks is to have a healthy lifestyle. Do positive things to avoid mental disturbances, it is one of the natural strategy to avoid anxiety. Avoid alcohols and other unprescribed drugs because it can make anxiety symptoms much more worse. Remember to be healthy inside and out, that is the best way to fight mental stress.