Mental Health

Self Care

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The bullet points below were taken from the National Institutes of Health(NIH) web site.(1). The links and boxed comments are my interpretations of what they said.

Here are the NIH tips to help you get started with self-care:

  • Get regular exercise. Just 30 minutes of walking every day can help boost your mood and improve your health. Small amounts of exercise add up, so don’t be discouraged if you can’t do 30 minutes at one time.

Exercise can be different from person to person. Some can run a marathon, while others can only walk around their house or the local Walmart. While any exercise is good, getting outside in the sunlight without sun screen is much better and the more skin exposed the better. Sunlight is composed of many different forms of radiation. Ultraviolet light in the sun's rays cause the body to create Vitamin D while near infrared light causes the body to create melatonin (an antioxidant) within the cells. These are but two of the important benefits of sun exposure.

Don't be concerned about all the scary reports about cancer which primarily are propaganda put out by the sun screen manufacturers. For more information check this article - Sun Screen Good or Bad.

While the sun is good for you, don't over do it. Start low and go slow as you build up tolerance. Always be careful not to burn. If you are a fair skinned person, you can jump start the process of accommodation by raising your vitamin D levels to between 50 ng/ml and 80 ng/ml through supplements. See Vitamin D Supplementation.

  • Eat healthy, regular meals and stay hydrated. A balanced diet and plenty of water can improve your energy and focus throughout the day. Also, limit caffeinated beverages such as soft drinks or coffee.

This is a long worrisome subject. There are many forces at work to encourage you to eat improperly every day. The words "Balanced Diet" do not do the topic justice so have devoted an entire section to Food and Diet. . There you will find what constitutes a "balanced Diet" and it is not what you have been told for the past 50 years or so.

Water is good. Be sure you get un-contaminated water when you can. Many water sources are mistakenly contaminated with fluoride. Fluoride is a toxin. In addition many water sources are contaminate with glyphosate. Check your sources and if you can't find clean water, purchase a water filter.

This suggestion confuses coffee, tea and other caffeinated beverages with soft drinks. It has been shown that Coffee, and Tea, especially green tea are beneficial to health. People that drink up to 3 1/2 cups of coffee per day live longer than those who don't.(1)

Meanwhile, soft drinks are terrible for your health at all doses. This includes all those supposedly healthy diet soft drinks. You may believe these drinks are ok but you have not seen the studies, only the propaganda. The soft drink industry paid researchers to produce faulty research.

  • Make sleep a priority. Stick to a schedule, and make sure you’re getting enough sleep. Blue light from devices and screens can make it harder to fall asleep, so reduce blue light exposure from your phone or computer before bedtime.

A good nights sleep is very important. This is when your body and brain heal. Most people need at least 8 hours of sleep. Some people need even more, especially those who are recovering from an illness. The timing of sleep is also important. The body operates on a daily clock. Humans have evolutionary developed to be asleep when it is dark and awake when there is daylight. Humans have tried to change that with the advent of electric light and later computers. For this reason you should waken at sun rise and start sleep close set. If you can not manage that due to job or other restrictions, at least pic a set time of day for sleep when you sleep, be sure the room is totally blank all night. If you must get up in the night use a red light. It is the blue rays of the sun that tells the body to wake up. So eliminating the blue light by using only red when you get up at night keeps that from happening.

NOTE TO MEN: If you are getting up to go to the bathroom each night, you likely have been told that is a prostate problem when in all likelihood it not. Pay attention to the next paragraph.

Food timing is important to sleeping. When you eat you likely consume carbohydrates. Carbohydrates raise your blood sugar and blocks the enzyme which allows the bladder to store water. This is why diabetics must to the bathroom so often. Even when you don't have diabetes, after you eat, your blood sugar rises for about 4 hours then falls again. During this time you will likely need to urinate. While this is not really a problem in the daytime, at night it means you have interrupted sleep. For this reason alone it is important not to eat closer than 4 hours before bed time. There are other reasons for not eating in this 4 hour window, but nighttime sleep interruption is a big one.

  • Try a relaxing activity. Explore relaxation or wellness programs or apps, which may incorporate meditation, muscle relaxation, or breathing exercises. Schedule regular times for these and other healthy activities you enjoy such as journaling.

Having a relaxing activity is one way to reduce stress and stress plays havoc with you body and mind. Any activity that reduces stress even for a little while will help the body and brain heal. In the opening page of this section, there are some suggestions for ways to relax and train your brain to let go of the stress in your life. Here are some others. Meditation Prayer Relaxing Massage Forgiveness Deep breathing Visualization, and Writing.

I saved writing (Journaling) for last. I was told late in life by an english professor at Georgia Tech of all places, that writing is and act of discovery. He explained that if you want to know how you feel about something, or what you really know about something, write about it. There are now multiple research studies which show that writing helps organize the mind and the act of writing brings hidden beliefs and ideas to the front of the mind where they can be examined and discarded if they are no longer of any value. I found this of great help when my second wife died suddenly. Writing resulted in a reevaluation of my life. If you care to read what I wrote you can find it here.

My son introduced me to another writing tool I have found useful. It can be reached at the web site: Self Authoring. (I get no money from this site. I only know it becasue I paid to use it) While the service is not free ($29.95 one time) it is based on sound research. It asks you to write free form answers to questions in five categories: Past, Present-Faults, Present-Virtues, and Future. As you write you will discover facts about your self that were hidden in your mind. As these old memories surface, you can examine them in from the prospective of where you are headed in your life. While it is a struggle to write about your faults and fears, that is what many people need to remove their internal struggle and stress.

  • Set goals and priorities. Decide what must get done now and what can wait. Learn to say “no” to new tasks if you start to feel like you’re taking on too much. Try to be mindful of what you have accomplished at the end of the day, not what you have been unable to do.

Learn to say NO! Many people find themselves in the predicament I found myself in as I was talking with my boss at work. I was complaining about all the tasks that needed doing and how I was having to work extra hours to get every thing done. He let me rant until I finally stopped. Then he looked at me and quietly asked: "Am I so big an ogre that I gave you more work than you could handle?" He waited quietly until I answered no. Then he said: "Then who has assigned you all those task?" It took a long look at my list and responded:" I did." He quietly replied: "Then why don't you quit overloading yourself." That conversation was many years ago, but I have never forgotten: "Why don't you quit overloading yourself!"

I now find it best to make lists of what need to be done in priority order then mark things off the list at the end of each day. This provides a feeling of accomplishment that many of us, including me, frequently miss. One note on the list, If there are many items of equal priority as there frequently are, then do the quick ones first, then work on the longer projects. This way you get to mark off more items and still get the longer projects done.

  • Practice gratitude. Remind yourself daily of things you are grateful for. Be specific. Write them down at night, or replay them in your mind.

Gratitude - No matter your circumstance there is something in your life to be grateful for. A roof over your head, a significant other, your health, a friend, food for the next meal, a smile from a neighbor, or just a child on the street. Each night as you lay down to sleep, think over all the things you have to be grateful for that day. as noted above, it may be as simple as a child's smile, or as large a new house you just purchased. They all count, so make a mental list and count your blessing as you lay down to sleep. It will make sleep come easier and it will improve your mental health. It is a way to convince yourself that you are enough just being who you are. You don't need to be a movie star, or a congressperson, you are enough if you can just make a child or friend smile. How do you make a person smile, you smile at then. Did you know that smiles are contagious?

  • Focus on positivity. Identify and challenge your negative and unhelpful thoughts.

The introduction to this section on Mental Health described ways to change your internal chatter which will in turn change your though process. Here is a little test.

Spend the next 30 seconds Not thinking about a pink elephant. I'll wait… . . . How did you do? That seemingly simple task is impossible for most people. Now for the next 30 seconds think about a PurpleTiger. I'll Wait … .
. . What happened to the pink elephant?

You see, your mind has trouble thinking in the negative so instead of trying not to think about a negative instead when a negative thought comes to mind, let it play out then replay it with a positive though. This works for sleeping as well.

How many times have you tried not think about your troubles as you lay in bed trying to get to sleep. It is not easy unless you know the trick. Think about something else and your troubles will leave your mind. That is why there is an old saying about counting sheep to go to sleep. If you are imagining sheep and counting them, you are not worrying about the days events. I have trouble with sheep, they are not very interesting so I substitute a beautiful rainbow with a unicorn frolicking under it. I sometimes like to play my guitar and sing just before bed and frequently I go to sleep mentally singing a song. (NOTE: I do not sing nor listen to sad songs. They make me feel bad.) You can make up any pleasant idea to wipe your troubles out of your mind.

  • Stay connected. Reach out to your friends or family members who can provide emotional support and practical help.

Friends, family, significant other, or even the clerk at the local mini-mart can help brighten your day. Take time to communicate with them all. Over my life I have found that having a significant other in my life to share my troubles and successes is a real blessing. Any person you can spent time with and tell your innermost secrets too without fear will help you stay grounded in the present. Just talking about your problems will help solve them. Some times all it takes is to sit on a park bench with a friend. No words are needed. Just their presence on the bench is enough to make you feel better. Never underestimate the power of friends.