The Mental Emotional Health Blog

I recently found a magazine named “Psychologies”, and it is an impressive publication. My understanding is that it originates from France, but the issue I read was published in the United Kingdom. It is also appears to be for women. I did not realize that fact as I paged through, and I think the material is beneficial to men as well.

“Psychologies” is completely new to me in the area of mental health magazines. I have read “Psychology Today”, “Family Therapy”, and “Mental Floss” in the past. I’ll use the 5-star approach for quality assessment of “Psychologies” and maybe someday I’ll get to reviewing the other magazines listed above for comparison. This review covers the March, 2008 issue.

Content (5 stars out of 5) - This is what I buy magazines for: to learn. The content in this issue covered a multitude of areas in the mental health field: personality, social functioning, parenting, relationships, depression, and others. I am nothing but impressed at the range in quality topics.

Readability (5 stars out of 5) - This is also what caught my attention. The writing is as good as I’ve seen in terms of using practical, every-day language whenever possible. You will find psychological or medical terms in any mental health publication, but I didn’t feel overwhelmed with jargon or “psycho-babble”. Another aspect I enjoyed was what I call Action Lists that have specific steps to take, or just some reminders. Organization is often as important as content. The Table of Contents was presented well, and articles/sections were easy to find.

Interest (5 stars out of 5) - Yes, it kept my interest. I occasionally found myself finishing a page and quickly moving on, and the rest of the time I just went through normally. After about the first 30 pages, I shifted my strategy and started going back to the Table of Contents to determine where to go next instead of reading straight through. The results were improved, and it seemed better to be selective and jump around (figuratively).

Overall (15 stars of out of a possible 15) - Was there any doubt? I would consider this one of the best magazines I’ve ever read on any subject, including sports. With some magazines, the content starts getting reprinted or repackaged, and I hope I don’t find that with “Psychologies” as years go by. The content was relevant with today, and the writing was excellent. Although the publication seems to be geared towards women, I consider it to be a good resource for me as a male and a therapist. I would suggest “Psychologies” to anyone.

(Note: I wrote this review on my own, without prompting from anyone including “Psychologies”. I was not compensated or promised compensation before writing the review.)

Oh, and I would love to hear your thoughts and comments if you read the magazine.

There is a saying, “The sky is always darkest just before dawn.” People sometimes feel the most discouraged just before their greatest blessing.

Oh, I don’t know what your dreams mean. But it’s fun to guess isn’t it?

There are plenty of books claiming to interpret dreams. But I feel you are your own best dream interpreter. You are the only one with your specific memories, experiences, and hopes. Still, it doesn’t hurt to ask someone close to you for their ideas about what your dreams might mean, and it can be a fun exercise.

So why do we dream? From talking with clients and throwing in my own dream experiences, here’s my working hypothesis. Dreams are the mind’s playground and research lab all rolled up together. When we are unconscious, the brain doesn’t have to pay as much attention to what the senses are taking in from the environment, freeing it up to focus inward. Then the mind can consider what happened just before falling asleep or the jerk that cut you off on the road the other day. Sometimes the mind looks back to important memories from childhood or a dramatic event at any age. Some people that have been through trauma or abuse can get their memories “stuck” onto the traumatic situation, which can continue through dreaming. Maybe that’s why some abuse victims dream the same event over and over years afterward. I wonder if somehow the mind keeps playing the memory over while it looks for a way to adjust personal perspective, sort of like an investigator watching video of a crime repeatedly to see if something was missed.

Sometimes dreams mix memories together. Some people dream about a certain place, but with people that wouldn’t be there. An example would be dreaming about a current co-worker talking with you about your current job, but you’re both students in your high school that your co-worker never attended. I think in dreams like this, the mind is just trying different possibilities out of curiosity.

Other times, dreams are just abstract and don’t seem to make any sense. I don’t know why I dreamed about a multi-colored horse running underwater (while I was also underwater watching the horse) when I was a child. Some people dream about faceless people, some dream they are in very vague settings with very vivid emotions.

In closing, I’m guessing dreams cover the whole range of importance, from no direct life relevance to very specific meaning. I still think you’re the best resource for finding that out, though.

Have fun, and happy dreaming!

I decided to stray a little from the world of mental health today and add some variety. A while ago on my sports-related blog on SportingNews.com (link is on the right of this page), I posted an entry on how some people on sports radio talk. I’ll adjust it a little, so if any of you have ever heard someone “talking sports” and it didn’t make sense, this should help. Also, if you want to sound like you understand sports without having to spend a lot of time immersing yourself in it, this will help. Believe me, there are many sports analysts that love hearing themselves talk and have learned little phrases to make themselves sound smarter. Here’s my list of 10:

1. “I mean, here’s a guy who . . .” This phrase is used to add weight to a point you’re trying to make. It’s much easier to say, “Derek Jeter is a leader and a clutch hitter”, but that’s boring for sports talk. It’s more sports-like to say ,”I mean, here’s a guy who’s a leader, and a clutch hitter.”

2. “You look at . . .” Again, just a phrase that adds to a point, probably an obvious one. This phrase is used several times a day in sports radio.

3. “I’m forced to consider . . .” This is a lot like #2. Again, you’re probably emphasizing an obvious point, as if you’re using your intelligence.

4. Using athletes names as if they are general nouns. Anyone can say this, sports fan or not. As long as you get the right position, you’re safe in talking about anyone. Example: “He’s never going to be a Brett Favre, or a John Elway, or even a Tom Brady.”

5. A continuation of #4 is using the plural form, as if several of each sports superstar actually exist. Examples: “Teams need guys like this, you know the Kobe Bryants and the Michael Jordans and the David Robinsons.”

6. This one takes a little homework, but the internet has tons of stats from all sports. Use a stat from last year, something around the drive to the playoffs, and relate it to this year. “Last year in the month of August, this baseball team hit .348, which was tops in the NL. This year, they’re hitting .252 through August 25th.” No one can dispute your point because no one cared enough to actually look it up before you said it, and probably won’t afterward. (Note: In case you didn’t know, in baseball .252 is spoken “two-fifty two”.)

7. Treat the obvious as if it isn’t. Examples would include: “You know, the Celtics are the Celtics.” “Bill Parcells is gonna be Bill Parcells.” “If this team can’t score points, they’re just not going to beat anybody.” “Ahman Green isn’t hitting the holes because there aren’t any.”

8. “That said . . .” Ahhhh, this one’s a beaut. These two words allow you to make two points at the same time, probably in an attempt to sound like you’re looking at a topic intelligently. You can even contradict yourself if you want. Example (also using the obvious method in #7): “Notre Dame is a team that really struggled on defense last year, and now they’re without Brady Quinn and other important players. That said, Notre Dame is Notre Dame so they might surprise some people.”

9. Ask a simple question and throwing in a important-sounding but pretty much isolated stat. “How can this team have the best average starting field position in the league and still not score points?”

10. Just answer your own question. “How did this guy pitch 235 innings during the regular season and still have enough in that arm to throw a complete game in the 2nd game of the World Series? I’ll tell you how: superb conditioning and he’s just a freak of nature.”

I hope you enjoyed my departure from the norm today in the Mental Emotional Health Blog, and as always I welcome your comments. Thanks for stopping by.

Here is a cheat sheet for giving yourself good opportunities to sleep well.

• The Bedtime Ritual - about 20 minutes or so before bed choose 3-5 specific activities you complete each night, to prepare your mind and body for sleeping 
• Create a good sleeping environment
  • lighting
  • preferred sounds (using a fan for background noise, relaxing music, silence)
  • temperature control (air temperature, # of blankets)
  • the texture of the blankets you use
  • comfortable bed and pillow
  • pleasing aromas, or at least no yucky ones
• Once in bed, mentally review the day you had in no more than 30 seconds
• Mentally consider the first activity you plan for tomorrow (only the first!)
• Close your eyes and pay attention to your breathing: how it sounds, feels, the rhythm.
  • After a few breaths, mentally attach a count of 3 to each breath (In-2-3 . . . Out-2-3 . . .) and repeat several times.
  • If you are not asleep at this point, determine the primary thing that’s keeping you awake, whether it’s something about the sleeping environment, one thing you forgot to do before bed (putting the milk back in the fridge, locking the front door, etc.), or a restless mind
  • Deal with that primary thing, and then pay attention to your breathing again
• Consider the term “falling asleep”, which is a letting go of consciousness. Many of us seem to forget this and try to mentally “jump asleep” and then get more frustrated when we are still awake. Let go mentally, and then it will be easier to fall asleep.