TREATING DEPRESSION

HERE is an article reiterating what I already knew after working as a psychiatric nurse: Antidepressants are NOT effective in treating depression.

Antidepressants have been shown in several studies to have equal efficacy to a placebo, meaning that it is more the idea of the antidepressant helping people rather than the pill itself. Perhaps short-term, in a crisis, adding an antidepressant to an overall treatment plan may yield some benefits, but for long-term treatment, I have seen antidepressants cause more harm than good. ECT (electro-convulsive therapy) is still by far a better treatment than medication.

The main flaw in antidepressants is the pill itself: it isn't really effective. Why, you may be asking? Because no matter how much you alter brain chemistry, if you do not alter the way you react to negative emotions and life events you will never free yourself from the grips of depression. Not to mention the side effects many antidepressants have on your sex life...

It is the way we interpret our world that has the biggest effect on mood and as far as altering your responses, therapy with someone OTHER THAN a psychiatrist (ie: a psychologist, a social worker, an MFT, etc.) is the most effective since psychiatrists tend to push medication rather than treating the underlying issues. DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy) and CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) are some of the treatment approaches that I have seen work best, and neither one comes in a pill.

And that is where the second half of the problem arises: we as consumers crave a quick fix. We want to just take a pill and be better. The prospect of instant gratification is intoxicating! Unfortunately, battling depression takes hard work and time, just like effective treatment of high blood pressure takes a commitment to long-term behavioral changes. We are only lying to ourselves and setting ourselves up for more disappointment (and deeper depression) when we pin our hopes on a pill.

The upside of pills as treatment in the field of psychiatry? It's a quick way to treat a patient and get them out the door while covering your ass legally. You have concrete proof that you did something to treat the person without wasting the time treating them (doctors are pressured to see as many patients as possible, since reimbursement to the hospital and payment to the doctor increase with each additional patient cared for). Psychiatrists and NP's are the only mental health professionals who are licensed to prescribe medication, making those who are trained instead solely in actual therapy/psychology much better long-term therapists.

It takes hard work, but if you (sometimes with the aid of a friend or family member) can just drag yourself to see a therapist consistently, there is still hope in the treatment of depression. :)

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

Your inspiration for the first week of 2010:

There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth... not going all the way and not starting. -Buddha

Be yourself. Everyone else is taken. -Oscar Wilde

Live out of your imagination, not your history. -Stephen Covey

Every moment is an experience. -Jake Roberts

If you want one year of prosperity, grow grain. If you want ten years of prosperity, grow trees. If you want 100 years of prosperity, educate people. -Chinese Proverb

As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives. -Henry David Thoreau

It takes more courage to reveal insecurities than to hide them, more strength to relate to people than to dominate them, more "manhood" to abide by thought-out principles rather than blind reflex. Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles and an immature mind. -Alex Karras

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

Here they are, your little pieces of inspiration for the week:

Don't ask for a light load, but rather ask for a strong back. - Anonymous

Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful. - Joshua J. Marine

In order to be walked on, you have to be lying down. - Brian Weir

I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward. - Thomas Edison

Try not to become a man of success but a man of value. - Albert Einstein

Pretty is something that you are born with. But beautiful, that's an equal opportunity adjective. - Anonymous

It is not the critic who counts, nor the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows great enthusiasms, great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat. - Theodore Roosevelt

IMPROVE YOUR MOOD WITH FOOD

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2010 NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS (AND HOW TO RUN A MARATHON)

Here at SexyHealthyHappy, 2010 has been dubbed "the year of 'no more excuses'"! So much of life and living is mentality and mindset, so let this year be the year that we all focus on changing ours.

If you have a dream, 2010 is the year to stop reminding yourself of all the reasons why you "can't" and just start doing! Each of us is literally capable of anything, we just need to start believing it. This year it's time to take the plunge!

*So you always wanted to write a book, "but there's no way I'll ever get published". POPPYCOCK! How do you know until you try? If we are so afraid of failure that we never act, our lives will forever be filled with regret and what-if's. Don't think, just put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard); you can worry about the future of your book once you're finished writing it!

*So you always wanted to change careers, "but the instability of leaving my current, miserable job could ruin me financially". HOGWASH! If you stay in a field that doesn't make you happy just for the money, in time you'll ruin yourself emotionally. Nothing meaningful is ever accomplished by "playing it safe"; believe in yourself and start pursuing your dream career! True happiness is living the life you love, so stop settling for the life you can "live with". A huge paycheck will never hold a candle to true happiness :)

*So, like Li, you've always wanted to run a marathon, "but I'll never find the time or drive to train for it". HOOEY! If you can breathe and walk, you can get off the couch and start running! Your body can do more than you ever imagined, just give it a try. Stop viewing those 26.2 miles as insurmountable and start walking/running them, one step at a time. Life is short and fragile, so get your ass up and run toward your dreams!

You get the point! Regardless of your dream, start reaching for it! Perfection isn't the goal, self fulfillment is. Do your absolute best and pull out all the stops; it's knowing that you did everything you could to realize your own happiness that is the ultimate reward. Don't get discouraged and don't lose sight of the prize. It's yours to have if you believe it is.

MARATHON TRAINING
You've thought about it for years, dreamed of the triumphant crossing of the finish line, but how to get from now to 26.2 miles can be confusing and overwhelming. Not any more! Check out this training plan for your "how-to" guide from week to week. The show NOVA on PBS did a special where they took a bunch of couch potatoes and trained them for the Boston Marathon in 9 months!! The specialists created the above training plan for them, and almost all of them finished the marathon! If you are already a runner, just pick up the plan from the week where your long run is one you can already accomplish (ie: I will be starting the week with a Sunday run of 8 miles, meaning my training plan will take a little over 3 months). Good luck! Now get out there and start pounding the pavement!

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

A little inspiration for the week ahead :)

QUOTES FOR THE WEEK:

The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die,
is a process of learning. -Krishnamurti

Remember, there are no mistakes, only lessons. Love yourself, trust your choices, and everything is possible. -Cherie Carter-Scott

Bite off more than you can chew, then chew it. -Ella Williams

Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm. -Winston Churchill

A ship is safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are for. -William Shedd

Better to do something imperfectly than to do nothing flawlessly. -Robert Shuller

If your ship doesn't come in, swim out to it. -Jonathan Winters

WORLDLY WISDOM

HERE is a great article titled "10 Truths I Wish I'd Known Sooner".

As we get older, we tend to become more introspective as we examine our behaviors, our lives, our views of the world, people in our lives, and our surroundings. When you dip your foot into the truths of yourself and your life, you tend to do 1 of two things:

1) dive in! learn from past mistakes and change who you are for the better (with some back peddling along the way), accepting opportunity for growth as it arises, or
2) step back, turn around, an dig in your heels; scared or unable to face the truth, you seek to follow your current path blindly (hence people who still get trashed playing beer pong at 36 while the kids are sleeping).

Regardless of age or which path you choose, you can always learn and grow. The article above is written by a woman who has clearly taken the leap into the unknown and, through time and grace, has detailed 10 truths that resonate throughout the ages.

A summary of the 10 lessons (directly listed from the article):

1. Events reveal people’s characters; they don’t determine them.

2. Lying, by omission or commission, is a bad idea.

3. Sex always give [sic] you an answer, although not necessarily the one you want.

4. Most talents are transferable.

5. Fashion fades; style is eternal.

6. You can’t fake love.

7. Mean doesn’t go away.

8. No one’s perfect.

9. Ask for help.

10. Keep your eye on the prize and your hand on the plow.

I plan on sending this article to all the women in my life, including Mom and Grandma :)

HEALTHY AND HAPPY

A new study has been released linking increased intake of processed foods and higher rates of depression.
Eating a diet high in fruits, veggies, and fresh fish can help to fend off fatigue and battle the blues. More incentive to eat a fresh plant-based diet! Look good, gain energy, and feel happy :) You can read more about the study from the link above.

As always, when buying fruits and veggies, look for organic and preferably local produce. Better for the earth, waterways, and your body!

SELF LOVE

Take a moment today to relax and think about all that you love about yourself. Think about all that you appreciate and all the blessings you currently have in your life.

A game that I encourage everyone to try today:

1) Look around the room for 1 whole minute. Focus on finding all of the red in the room. Go ahead! Don't read ahead till you've finished!


2) Now, without looking, review all of the green you saw in the room.


Hard, isn't it? Isn't it interesting how difficult it is to notice something right in front of your eyes when your focus is elsewhere? Think about this today. Try to find the positive and suddenly the negative doesn't feel so overwhelming. :)