What is Your Health Legacy?

I spent a weekend in June learning from Daniel Amen, MD, Daniel Siegel, MD, Mark Hyman, MD,  Tana Amen, RN and a variety of other mental health, physical health, wellness and fitness experts at "Brain and Body Turnaround". The conference got me thinking about how much we each need to take responsibility for our health, and the patterns we are modeling for our children and grandchildren.

Dr. Amen is a neurologist and psychiatrist who founded the Amen Clinics, where he is well-known for using brain scans to help identify certain kinds of physical and mental illness, and his studies show the impact of improved health habits on brain functioning. Dr. Siegel is a UCLA child psychiatrist and leading expert and researcher in mindfulness.

We each inherit certain genetic predispositions, but we can take control for doing our best to manage our moods and not trigger health problems. We all have choices about our thinking, the food we eat, having good sleep habits, and whether or not we exercise. I enjoyed the conference because it focused on getting past excuses and making some small changes. Even a few changes, like adding in a daily walk, can have a huge impact on your physical and mental wellness.

Each of us has to decide what health legacy we want to leave behind us. Our life is our message. It is more powerful than whatever you could say to your children.

Do you want younger family members to see you actively engaged in learning new things, practicing mindfulness, forgiving others and yourself, making repairs to tense relationships when you can? I always admire people who continuously seek personal growth and deeper relationships, as opposed to sliding by in quiet desperation or complaints. Taking action to make relationships stronger and more satisfying is a sign of mental wellness. I have had clients into their 80's and beyond who are working hard on making a relationship better, or making a life adjustment successful. I love to see that kind of open-minded aging.

Many mental health concerns, such as anxiety and depression are helped greatly by daily moderate exercise. I routinely ask about how much my clients are exercising, which can help ease both anxiety and depression symptoms.

Working with your own automatic negative thoughts daily and learning to counter them is critically important. Each of us is vulnerable to sometimes using black and white thinking, emotional reasoning, mind-reading, personalization and other thought errors which can make us feel worse if we don't trash them daily. You may want to write them out, counter them and rip them up!

Taking responsibility for what we eat and the exercise we get daily is also an aspect of optimal wellness. Reducing or eliminating sugars, for example can help us avoid weight gain and stabilize mood.

We want to avoid a "victim" mentality about our health and genetic risk factors. We want to think of our doctors as consultants, not our fathers or mothers. It is healthy to ask questions and get second opinions. I noticed years ago when I helped lead an arthritis support group for a local hospital, how much better patients did when they were active in the treatment, educated about options, and physically active and cooperative with dietary changes.

As we age, we need to make a decision if we want to  take responsibility for staying as active, healthy and vital as we can as long as we can. What helps?

1. Exercise daily. Start slowly if you haven't been active, and get your doctor's approval.

2. Limit or eliminate sugars, energy drinks, and soda. Limit alcohol use, too.

3. Eat more fruits and vegetables.

4. Keep your weight in the right range, with a BMI under 25. Overweight is considered a BMI of 25-29.9, while obesity begins at a BMI of 30. Obesity increases risk for Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, some cancers, sleep apnea, stroke, osteoarthritis and other diseases.

5. Drink more water.

6. Consider going organic with your produce to avoid pesticides.

6. Develop good sleep habits. Limit caffeine after noon, set a routine wind down time, sleep time and waking hour. Turn off technology (television, computer, ipad, cell, etc.) an hour before bed as the light is activating for your brain.

7. Keep learning new things.

8. Practice quieting your mind with gardening, needlework, reading, meditation, prayer, silence, listening to music, or guided imagery daily. This will help you manage your moods better.

9. Don't believe every stupid negative thought you have. Sweep them out daily.

10. Stay open to building and developing your friendships and your love relationship to be genuine, mutually supportive and honest. Spend time with people you care about.

11. Help others. Find a way to contribute to the planet at whatever stage of life you are in. Someone needs you, and love makes us real. Find a need and fill it, whether it's in your home, your neighborhood or the larger world.

12. Heal childhood wounds and work through losses. If you are still hurting about things from childhood or an unresolved loss, find a good therapist who can help you work through your feelings
and experiences and let it go. Don't keep carrying your pain around.

Don't carry forward unhealthy lifestyle habits or mental/emotional habits to share with younger people in your family. You can break any pattern or tradition you want, from negative fear-based thinking,  emotional overeating, poor parenting, addiction issues, rigidity, unhealthy relationships or depression/anxiety. It's what you do with what you have that helps you leave a positive legacy of mental and physical health.

Good Mood Basics

How are you sleeping? How are you eating? Do you exercise?

When I am concerned about a client's anxiety or depression, these are some of the first things I want to know. If you are not sleeping or eating well, it can make your mood problems much worse. Exercise is a wonderful, natural mood stabilizer.

Sleep is a huge issue for most people in modern life. A number of studies show we still need as much sleep as our great grandparents did in 1900, but we get much less. We also sleep less than people did in 1950.

Many teens are especially short of sleep. Teens have major changes going on in their bodies, and need more sleep than adults. It doesn't help their moods when teens are overtired. Many teens are up past midnight on school nights, and then have a very difficult time getting up for school in the morning. Many teens send and receive text messages late into the night.

Sleep researchers recommend we gear down our brains in the last hour or two before bedtime. There are physiological challenges that we get from the impact of computers and television in the pre-bedtime hours. The light from each of these technologies can activate our brains, and make it harder to fall asleep.

Experts suggest that we downshift in the last hour before bed by doing something quiet, like reading, talking with someone, or listening to music. A relaxing shower or bath could also set the stage for a peaceful entry to sleep. Lowering the light intensity in the room during the winding down time period can also help ease sleep.

Good sleep hygiene also includes keeping your bedtime and waking time as consistent as possible, 7 days a week. Big variations in either time frame can mess up your sleep cycle. Getting into a good sleep pattern will help your mood. If you have trouble staying asleep, don't lie in bed tossing and turning. If you can't get to sleep after 20 minutes or so, get up, change rooms, and do something quiet, like reading until you feel sleepy. Go back to your bedroom when you are tired. We want to associate the bedroom will peaceful sleep. This is why it's best not to study or keep a home office in your bedroom.

What about stabilizing your mood with good nutrition? Many people skip breakfast, and begin their day with nothing in their stomachs. Other people skip meals. We do best with something nutritious every 3-4 hours. If you have a busy day planned, pack up some portable healthy snacks and take them with you to work or school. You can also stash some snacks in your car trunk.

Many teens eat no breakfast, and then skip lunch at school. If your teen has a tendency to do this, you may want to take them grocery shopping with you to pick out healthy, portable options. You may also want to make the 3:00 or 4:00 time frame the main meal of their day, as it is when many teens are at their hungriest.

If you are not sure what you should be eating, or what number of calories you should be eating, even one session with a good registered dietician can be extremely informative and helpful. My favorite dietician is able to help you make a grocery list of snack and meal items that fit your lifestyle, and are easy. Eating well can help reduce anxiety and depression symptoms.

Limiting your intake of alcohol and caffeine is also key to stabilizing your mood. Alcohol is a depressant, which can make depression worse and complicate any medication you may be taking. Caffeine is a stimulant which can make an already anxious person more anxious, and interfere with your sleep cycle. Limiting sugary foods will also help you get off the mood roller coaster!

For my patients that are anxious or depressed, I also want to make sure that they are exercising if their doctor has given them clearance to do so. It's amazing what a 30 minute walk a day can do to increase endorphins, and give people a needed mood boost. It can also help you sleep better.

Feeling bad? Start with the basics of sleep, eating well and exercising regularly. They are simple ideas, but they each have a huge impact on how you are dealing with your emotions, relationships, and life challenges. If you need more help, consult a good therapist who does cognitive therapy to reduce depression and/or anxiety symptoms.


  

The Importance of Unplugging

In its July 16, 2012 issue, Newsweek offers a cover story called "iCRAZY: Panic. Depression. Psychosis. How Connection Addiction is Rewiring Our Brains," which is well worth reading. It turns out that the internet can change how we think and feel. Next year, when the new version of the DSM (the reference therapists use to diagnose mental health issues), Internet Addiction Disorder will be mentioned for the first time ever, but in the appendix, for more research and study.

As parents of teenagers can tell you, life has changed for this generation of young people. Newsweek
states that the average teen is involved in 3,700 texts a month. This is why most of us parents have switched to unlimited texting plans! Most parents learn to text to be able to get updates on teens who are out away from the house. The average adult sends 400 texts per month. Many people check their messages constantly throughout the day in a hyper-vigilant way, often checking messages first thing in the morning, and last thing before going to bed. The average adult sends 4 times more texts now than in 2007, while teens have always been heavier text users, but their usage has doubled since 2007.

Newsweek writers reviewed studies from more than twelve countries to look at the impact of the computer and internet on our brains. Peter Whybrow, the director of the Semel Institute for Neuroscience at UCLA believes "the computer is like electronic cocaine," triggering bouts of mania and depression. It can lead people into poor behavior choices, increase compulsive behaviors, and make people anxious. Nicholas Carr wrote the book The Shallows about how the internet impacts cognition, and was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. The web can be a great resource, but it can also increase our passivity, dependence, obsessions, and stress reactions.

Stanford researchers are studying the rise in ADD, ADHD, and OCD diagnoses, and the possible link to being wired up. The internet draws us to its temporary rewards, with every message bringing potential social, professional, or sexual opportunities. One  2011 study showed about 80% of its participants brought their laptops or smartphones on vacation to stay connected to the office. (That's not really a vacation in the traditional sense, is it?)

One study at the University of Maryland  in 2010 had 200 undergrads go unplugged, avoiding all web and mobile technologies for one day. The students kept logs of the feelings they experienced, which included withdrawal, dependency, emotional distress, and a great deal of difficulty. Another study found that most of its subjects check text messages every 15 minutes or all the time, with the exception of those over age 50.

The brains of internet addicts can end up looking like the brains of drug and alcohol addicts, with extra nerve cells built for speed in the areas responsible for attention, control, and executive function. Other studies show shrinkage of 10 to 20%  in the area of the brain responsible for speech, memory, motor control, emotion, sensory, and other information in internet addicts. A 1998 study at Carnegie Mellon found over a 2-year period, web use was associated with loneliness, down moods, and fewer real-world friends. More recent studies duplicated these findings, linking extended web use with sleep problems, feeling worse, less exercise, and fewer face-to face interactions. Even the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that pediatricians add questions for children, teens, and parents about technology use in annual exams.

Bad experiences online can trigger depression. It can magnify the power of bullies through Facebook and other social media. Many people can feel a fear of missing out on something if they don't check for updates regularly. It's easy to understand how some of these dynamics can create exhaustion, burnout, stress, anxiety, and other mood issues.

The findings reported in this article from Newsweek this week fit with my clinical experience in counseling individuals, couples, teens and children. Technology is a great resource, but we need to make sure we control it, rather than let it control us. You need to know when to turn it off, and help your children learn to do so as well. (No technology at the dinner table!) We need to have real friends and real relationships that involve face-to-face time. The internet can lull you into stupid choices or a sense of intimacy with complete strangers. We still need to get outside, enjoy nature, and be active. Parents need to make sure their children and teens still develop people skills, because technology only goes so far. We need to make sure that as technology advances, we still develop our soft skills, our ability to communicate verbally, and the ability to give another person our full, undivided attention.

Plus, you just can't break up with someone by e-mail or text, it's just emotionally wrong. Not everything is technologically enhanced. We need to be discerning technology users, and know when to turn it off, go outside, or connect with another human being with our full focus.