http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/12/131231094353.htm
Researchers found that the most common emotions trigger strong bodily sensations, and the bodily maps of these sensations were topographically different for different emotions. The sensation patterns were, however, consistent across different West European and East Asian cultures, highlighting that emotions and their corresponding bodily sensation patterns have a biological basis.
Gina Rose of Nourished Naturally writes:
I often spend 5-30 minutes a day with my feet up the wall.
What’s going on in this pose?
Your femur bones are dropping into your hip sockets, relaxing the muscles that help you walk and support your back.
Blood is draining out of your tired feet and legs.
Your nervous system is getting a signal to slow down. Stress release and recovery time.
This position is great for sore legs, helps with digestion & circulation as well as thyroid support. If you suffer from insomnia try this before bed.
I’ve done this at times but at the time never thought through why it might be beneficial. Worth a try! And as they say, it doesn’t hurt to try – but of course it could and if it does hurt, obviously stop straight away.
http://www.gohomeontimeday.org.au/
Mark and then sync all your calendars – Wednesday 20 November is this year’s national Go Home on Time Day. Go Home on Time Day is an annual initiative of The Australia Institute, in partnership with beyondblue. The Day is a light-hearted way to start a serious conversation about work-life balance.
One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn’t worth it to retrieve the donkey. He invited all his neighbours to come over and help him. They each grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well.
At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone’s amazement he quieted down. A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw.
With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up. As the farmer’s neighbours continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!
MORAL : Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a steppingstone. You can get even out of the deepest well.
October 10th is World Mental Health Day, a yearly item of awareness on the agenda since 1992. A few links:
On this day, I would like to draw your attention to an article (in the Vancouver Sun) this week on Dr Gary Greenberg, about the American Psychiatric Association‘s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), the leading authority on mental health diagnosis and research. This document is used in the US, (Canada?) and UK for assessment/diagnosis.
Dr Greenberg makes the point that in recent times in particular, the number of classified “disorders” has skyrocketed, in general but also in particular in the realm of young children. A small child having a temper tantrum can now be classified as a disorder!
This in itself is of course already a problem. Obviously, not diagnosing something is detrimental. But from my perspective, lowering the bar too far and casting the net too wide has the potential to do a great deal of harm to the wellbeing of lots of people. I’d suggest that beyond not being helpful, it’s counterproductive.
Dr Greenberg also notes that with DSM regarded as authoritative, and diagnosis increasingly resulting in medication, the problem is exacerbated. When other organisations use DSM diagnoses as a reference point for policy, things go bad. Take for instance the forced medication of children based on ADHD diagnoses – it’s forced because the medication is a prerequisite for schools accepting them. Of course there will be kids with issues that merit some form of support and treatment. But you can see how the aforementioned trail from DSM to school authorities forces the child on medication, even though medication might not be the (most) appropriate avenue. Medicating everything is not the way – life is not a disease, and what’s considered “normal” has a pretty broad spectrum. Demanding narrow conformity and medicating everything outside that boundary is scary.
On the other hand, other support mechanisms (including education) hinges on diagnoses as well – so when a threshold is effectively raised, this might remove some people from the medication realm, but it also removes other support. So there it goes wrong again. Complicated matters.
http://www.hungryforchange.tv/article/could-diet-sodas-be-making-you-depressed
We now know that sugary sodas aren’t good for our bodies but a recent study has found that they may not be good for our mind or our mood either. Find out more about the link between consumption of sweetened drinks and depression.
http://www.madinamerica.com/2012/02/why-anti-authoritarians-are-diagnosed-as-mentally-ill/
In Bruce Levine’s career he as spoken with hundreds of people diagnosed with ODD & ADHD. An astonishing number of these people are also anti-authoritarians.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/10/asperger_syndrome_beneficial_effects_for_it_clients/
[…] my prejudices matter because what I recommend to my clients must be the absolute best solution for their needs. Point blank, no excuses, period. […]
I will design for you, and assist you in implementing, the best IT infrastructure that I can. This is what you pay me to do. Just please don’t be too upset if I forget little Johnny’s name.
A resource link you may find useful:
http://www.onlineeducation.net/2013/04/05/autism-and-online-learning-a-guide-for-teachers
Online learning environments present an opportunity to better serve autistic students that teachers can learn to use effectively.
Researchers found something relevant to people with depression while working on something else (original article at Independent.co.uk, tnx Andrew for the link).
In a nutshell, what they found was that people with severe depression had their body clock out of whack: they were essentially living in a different timezone. I don’t think it’s actually news to us, I wrote about this and it being the equivalent of jetlag in the BlueHackers HowTo. But, I do think it’s interesting in the sense that at least in the cases the researchers encountered, for people with severe depression there was a genetic cause. We like to know why things are the way they are, so this new info can help in that respect.
Modern life, in particular with the type of work many of us do, makes it really easy to stuff up your day and night rhythm, and also your eating pattern which is actually related to this as well. Getting your day/night, daylight and food intake patterns right is generally a very important base. Not for everybody, but I think definitely for most of us. And while some of these things might still be hard for some, they’re relatively easy steps compared to others. It’s worth a try and they’re also specifically things you can get external help with – you can get a friend to come by for a walk at a specific time of day, or go get a meal.
Once the new pattern is trained (can take up to three months but often it’s much sooner) you’ll find it much easier to stick to, and also that other tasks become easier.
Mind you, I’m very aware that this is still easier said than done – I have my own company arranged in such a way that it doesn’t create nasty work hours, but I also have a family and thus in the mayhem (or even just because of the weather) I sometimes lose (some of) the pattern for a while. But, I’m now aware of it and that does make a difference already – it’s easier to fix. Typically my food pattern stays ok, but the morning walk loses out (by the way, it may be an afternoon walk that works best for you).
Do you know what’s messed with my morning walk lately? The city council has closed off a footbridge crossing a creek (storm damage), and that was the only way through in that particular direction. I can create other walking loops but they’re less convenient for several reasons – I’ve walked some but it feels less comfortable. I’m generally ok with change but it’s funny how this is just very disruptive!
How do day/night, exercise and food patterns work for you, and how have you tweaked them to work better for you? Please tell, it will help others.
Kung Fu Wonder Woman’s
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