The Mental Emotional Health Blog

If you haven’t heard of this publication yet, it is definitely worth your time to check out Psychologies Magazine from the United Kingdom. The link to the website is here: http://www.psychologies.co.uk/ .

Last year I reviewed this magazine, and this year I am still impressed (link).

Here is my only complaint; I am not able to subscribe in the United States to have it mailed to me. Aaarrggghh!! Luckily I can continue to visit Target and Barnes & Noble to find it on my own.

Thoughts and feelings influence each other, meaning one can precede and affect the other one. The context I am using here is meta-cognition (thinking about how you are thinking). When you are mindful of how you are thinking, your emotions follow. On the other hand, if you are just thinking without giving much thought to what you are thinking about, your feelings may have a greater effect on your thinking without you being aware of it.

In general, however, I consider thoughts to be more proactive and feelings more reactive. Sometimes feelings just come up, seemingly on their own. By paying closer attention to your thoughts, and how positive or negative they are, you can provide more influence over how you feel.

For more on this subject, which is related to cognitive-behavioral therapy, check out these websites:

http://www.nacbt.org/whatiscbt.htm

http://www.sleepeducation.com/Treatment.aspx?id=5

As we grew up, most of us had daydreaming scolded out of us. Actually, what I should say is that the idea that daydreaming is okay was scolded out of us. We all daydream. Plus, I think daydreaming is useful and healthy when used correctly.

Daydreaming allows you to escape your current situation, whether it is boring, frustrating, or you just don’t want to be there. It’s like a free vacation for a few minutes. Now obviously you shouldn’t get into deep daydreaming while you are driving. But in general, as long as you get the things done you need to, why not allow yourself the freedom to have some pleasant thoughts?

People that struggle with anxiety often have difficulty limiting their daydreaming, and the thoughts tend to be negative. The way to fight anxious thoughts is to find a variety of quick, soothing thoughts to combat them. It’s kind of like “finding your happy place” or bringing your comfort zone with you wherever you go.

With depression, daydreaming also needs to be positive because negative thinking can really persist when someone is depressed. Find some quick, positive thoughts such as nice vacation spots or good memories.

Daydreaming isn’t bad, and I would almost say it’s necessary for our sanity. I think daydreaming functions as a type of light meditation. As long as you aren’t completely avoiding your responsibilities, it can be a nice way to give yourself a break.

First of all, I want to say Happy Thanksgiving to all of my readers in the USA. And to all of my readers wherever you are, I am thankful each time you visit and write comments. This site is so much better because of all of you. I plan to someday add a wellness or positivity discussion board to allow MentalEmotionalHealth.com to become more interactive.

After my previous post on Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), someone asked me about the lights some people use to help get them through the Winter months and the shortened hours of sunlight. Use of these special lights is called “phototherapy”, which has been shown to have some effects in counteracting the depressive symptoms of SAD. For a brief summary of SAD, check out http://www.smhca.org/sad.aspx . My previous post on Seasonal Affective Disorder is here:  http://mentalemotionalhealth.com/2008/11/19/get-those-healthy-habits-down-now/ .

Take care, everyone!

It’s already starting to affect me this year. The last few years I have seemed to get a taste of the Winter Blues, also known as Seasonal Affective Disorder. It usually isn’t bad enough to really nail my functioning and mood, but I have noticed a change already. The form it takes for me includes: tiredness with occasional fatigue, short-term memory challenges, little spurts of irritability, a little more difficulty getting out of bed in the morning, and each day I seem to either have noticeably more or less appetite.

The bad news is I’m expecting this in varying degrees until probably February. The good news is it will end and I am used to it and know what to do, and any of you that suffer through the winter months hoping for longer days can fight back these symptoms too.

Here are some ideas, pretty standard for fighting depression:

• Practice good nutrition, with meals or healthy snacks every 3 hours or so
• Stay hydrated with water
• Go to bed 1 hour earlier than usual
• Exercise lightly or moderately each day (even if it is for 5-10 minutes)
• Every once in a while, change your routine slightly or try something new (such as driving or walking a different way to work than usual)
• Talk with your physician or physician’s assistant now if you haven’t already, and then follow up again if you feel worse as the weeks go on
• Keep paying attention to your personal hygiene and shower daily, it helps
• Travel somewhere sunny and warm if you can

The important thing to remember is to not give up. Symptoms may be happening to you, but they don’t have to define you. Also, improvement is gradual so don’t expect a benefit to your efforts for at least 2 weeks.