The Mental Emotional Health Blog

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.

I see people with Anxiety symptoms in my office as much or more than I see people with Depression symptoms. Anxiety is a large category with many different signs, but I’ll put it in the simplest terms I can. With Anxiety, you’re nervous about something specific or everything in general. Mentally, you either have difficulty focusing on any one subject or you feel you cannot help but focus on one subject. Emotionally, you could experience a range of feelings from uneasy to worried to panicked. Physically, you might notice tight muscles, headaches, stomach discomfort or pain, or shortness of breath, or other signs.

So what can you do? Here is a short list to get you started, but everyone has their own methods that tend to work better for them. The important thing here is to use what works.

Tips for Decreasing Anxiety
- Deep breathing (breathe from your belly, not your chest, and a little slower than normal)
- Distracting, pleasurable activities
- Exercise
- Meditation
- Positive self-talk (mentally say reassuring things to yourself)
- Talking to a trustworthy person
- Martial arts
- Eliminating or cutting down caffeine intake
- Training your mind to slow down
- Making preparations instead of just worrying

Discipline is one of the most important subjects in mental health. The style and effectiveness of the discipline parents or guardians provide can shape family communication patterns, individual self-esteem, social learning, ability to have healthy relationships, and obviously behavior.

I have compiled a short list of essential considerations for discipline:

•         Priorities as a parent or guardian:
  • Safety (never put a child in danger for the purpose of discipline)
  • Emphasize learning over punishment
• It is up to the adult to take the lead in showing appropriate character and responsibility.
• Earning respect usually works better than demanding it from a child.
• Respond to resistance or negativity from your child or teen with short positives.  Example:  Child – “My friend’s parent lets them stay out until 11pm!”  Adult – “Good, I hope it works for them.”
• In an argument, the person who tries to do the most convincing ends up losing the most power.
• Demonstrate more patience than your children. You can outlast them.
• Stick to one topic at a time, and try not to lecture on everything you can remember your child/teen has done wrong the past several days.

Here is my little cheat sheet on Seasonal Affective Disorder (or S.A.D., or Winter Blues), which I prepared from various sources for a media interview: 

• Seasonal Affective Disorder symptoms: increased sleep, lethargy (feeling sluggish or lazy), weight gain, irritability, typically occurs during the winter months        

• General symptoms in children: feeling down, crying, hopelessness, less interest in activities, more irritable or impatient than usual, anger, body complaints such as headaches or stomachaches, changes in sleeping or eating patterns
• Less sunlight may affect amounts of the neurotransmitters serotonin and melatonin, which in turn may contribute to depressive symptoms and affect sleep cycles. (This gives new meaning to the phrase, “Soak up the sun”!)
• How you think and how you feel about yourself have an impact on your functioning.  Pay attention to the messages you give yourself throughout the day, and keep them positive and realistic. This is very important!
•  Set reasonable expectations in terms of schedule, behavior, and rest. 
• Stick to the basics – healthy eating habits, good daily hygiene, drink enough water to stay hydrated, stay active
• Some people have only mild symptoms, but if they seem severe seek help from a health care professional 
• Good news: It’s already February, and as the days continue to lengthen the Seasonal Affective symptoms should decrease
• Start preparing for next Winter this Summer around August

 

As stated above, check with a health care professional (physician, therapist, psychiatrist, counselor, etc.) if the symptoms are severe, or if the symptoms or feelings affect your work, school, or relationship functioning. 

 

 

Light therapy (ask your health provider) has been used to assist some people with the shortage of daylight according to some studies, but tanning beds have not been shown to work in any research to date. 

 

 

As with other forms of depression there are always options, even if it doesn’t feel like there are or you can’t seem to see any.