The Dangers of Adderall

The cover story in this weeks’ Sunday New York Times is titled Drowned in a Stream of Prescriptions.  It’s a tragic story about a young man, a good student and president of his college class, who recently committed suicide after becoming addicted to Adderall, an A.D.H.D. medication.  Richard did not have A.D.H.D. but was easily able to procure prescriptions for Adderall from several different doctors.  I read the article and was shocked to learn how simple it was for Richard to get prescriptions for a medication that treated a condition he did not have. 

 

Wow!  I guess I’m pretty darn naïve.  Yesterday afternoon I spoke about this article with the Mother of two college students.  She informed me that her daughters tell her  “many kids take drugs meant for A.D.H.D.” Apparently these drugs make it easy to stay up all night to study. 

 

A clinical neuropsychologist, named DeAnsin Parker, made the following statement in reference to Adderall.  “Stimulants will help anyone focus better.  And a lot of young people like or value that feeling, especially those who are driven and ambitious.  We have to realize that these are potential addicts—drug addicts don’t look like they used to.”

 

To be ambitious is OK.  As a matter of fact, most people consider ambition and competiveness to be desirable traits.  Don’t we all feel happier if we perceive that we are reaching our potential?  It’s been said that work should be to adults what play is to children. We should enjoy our work and wish to do well at it. Parents want their kids to achieve and kids want to make their parents happy. If an ambitious and driven kid feels blocked or thwarted she is going to look for a solution.  What a tragedy that too often the solution is medications.

 

In our book Healing Depression the Mind-Body Way Sandra and I write about the incredible benefits of physiological balance.  When the mind-body-spirit is balanced potential is more easily reached.  Understanding the essence of physiological balance and suggestions on reaching this desirable state are offered in our book.  One of the interventions we suggest, and the one I wish to write about today, is the Transcendental Meditation technique.

 

Increased inner control, decreased anxiety, relief from insomnia, improved job performance and increased job satisfaction are only a few of the myriad positive benefits gleaned from practice of the TM technique.  Increased well being and improved grades are also reported after learning this meditative technique. TM is a positive solution for the competitive kid who feels thwarted.  Drugs are not!

 

Millions of people worldwide practice the TM technique but word needs to get out to millions more.  If you know of someone who is using a stimulant to stay up all night and study, someone who doesn’t have A.D.H.D., but who just simply wants to do well——-please tell her to get online and click on TM.org——–do that first and then click on Amazon and order copy of Healing Depression the Mind– Body Way.  Non-drug solutions do exist!

 

As always, Sandra and I wish you perfect health and happiness.

 

 

 

 

 

Let’s Have a Health Care System Instead of a Disease Care System!

The National Institute of Health, the federal government’s top medical research agency, recently completed a study comparing the health of Americans with the health of individuals living in other affluent democracies. At the completion of the study, Dr. Stephen Woolf, the panel chairman, and a professor of family medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University, commented that he, and other panel members were struck by the gravity of the findings.

 

And what were those findings? According to The New York Times they were as follows:  American men ranked last in life expectancy among the 17 countries studied and American women ranked at or near the bottom in nine areas, including heart disease, chronic lung disease, obesity and diabetes.

 

The panel suggested a campaign to raise public awareness of the American health disadvantage and a study of what could alter this dismal picture.

 

I have a suggestion. How about a focus on prevention?

 

It has long been noted that the American medical system is focused on disease care.  Doctors attempt to fix sick people.

 

What Americans need is a health care system; a system that focuses on health and attempts to help people to create and maintain health.  This is called prevention and it is true health care—-not disease care.

 

Symptoms are the last stage of a disease process and by the time symptoms appear medical intervention is all too often too little too late.

 

On the other hand, Ayurveda, is a medical system that focuses on the elemental imbalances in the physiology.  Imbalances are readily assessed and identified by a well-trained Ayurvedic practitioner.  In the Ayurveda handbook are a plethora of interventions that can be utilized to restore balance.  It is unattended imbalances that eventually become symptoms.  Ayurveda nips these in the bud!

 

A few medical schools have incorporated Ayurveda into their curriculum.  Some western trained physicians have turned their attention toward Ayurveda.  In many cities there are Vaidyas (Ayurvedic practitioners) working to help people create and maintain health.  If you are interested in learning if there is a Vaidya in your zip code you can check out the NAMA (National Ayurvedic Medical Association) website.

 

It is time for Americans to become health conscious.  It is time for our medical system to stop being a disease care system and to become a health care system.  It is our hope that the current study by the National Institute of Health will push us in the right direction!

 

As always, Sandra and I wish you perfect health and happiness!

 

 

 

www.depressionproofyourlife.com

Try Rethinking Your Resolutions To Better Inspire Your Mind-Body

Happy New Year!  I’ve been reading articles about the need to be careful when making a New Year’s resolution.The jist of these articles is that we start out with the best of intentions but do not stick to our resolutions. Most of us have forgotten our positive intentions by the middle of February. We aren’t quite “there” yet.  How are you doing?

Not sticking to what we said we would do or not do serves to harm self-esteem.  The majority of us will meet 2014 holding the same old worn out resolution. Isn’t this a sad state of affairs?

Does this speak to how difficult it is for the human being to change even if change is in a desired direction?

Perhaps it is difficult for the human being to achieve real and lasting change but I think we also make a mistake when we set our intention for change.  All too often the desired change is coupled with deprivation or hard work.  Examples of this are the intention to eat less or to work out more.  We set ourselves up for punishment; not reward.  Why would anyone want to stick with something that doesn’t feel good?

When I read these articles I was reminded that we are all more aware of our weaknesses than we are of our strengths.  When we want to change we look at behaviors we perceive that we do incorrectly instead of the things we do correctly and well.  We think of improvements we “should” make instead of thinking of how we can enhance our arsenal of strengths.

We also forget that as human beings we lead with our hearts; not our heads.  In other words, it is difficult to change a behavioral direction unless we acquire a means to relieve internal stresses.

Feeling positive leads to positive behaviors.  It is difficult to maintain positive behaviors if the feeling life remains chock filled with stress.

How about doing two new things in 2013.  First, think of something you do well and resolve to do more of it.  In this way you will enhance an existing strength.   Second, consider adopting an Ayurvedic lifestyle.

An Ayurvedic lifestyle is geared to helping the individual to feel perfect health and its by-product, happiness.  What more could you possibly desire for yourself in 2013 (or any other year, for that matter)?

In our book Healing Depression the Mind-Body WaySandra and I help you to identify your unique constitutional type and we give suggestions for the creation and maintenance of health and wellbeing. Ayurveda never suggests making a big lifestyle change all at once.  Big lifestyle changes are like New Years’ resolutions.  They aren’t lasting.

According to Ayurvedic philosophy we should chose one or two easy things to do.  The physiology responds quickly to positive change and as we feel better we can add another alteration to our lifestyle. The mind-body will always lean in the direction of more health if it is encouraged to go in that direction. Feeling good is the best encouragement one can have to add another positive lifestyle change.

How about re-thinking your resolutions and  choosing something easy?  Perhaps you will begin to go to bed an hour or even a half hour earlier. Maybe, for you, eating a warm lunch will be a health promoting change.  Or perhaps you will profit from choosing to imbibe in drinks which are at room temperature, foregoing ice and its deleterious effects on the physiology.  Maybe you will eat fresher food or to find another way to enhance digestion and create increased vitality for yourself.

Perhaps you desire to receive more positive feedback from other people.  If this is your wish you can begin to offer to others more of what you want from them.  Every communication is a response to what was heard and positive communication breeds more of the same.

Have you guessed yet what I am going to suggest for your New Year resolution?  I am suggesting that you buy a copy of Healing Depression the Mind-Body Way and that you choose something   positive that you can do to enhance your overall health.  Do this with the realization that as you feel better it will be easier to correct any perceived weaknesses.

Have a blessed and happy 2013! Sandra and I wish you health and prosperity in the New Year.

Staying Calm, WARM, and Collected During the Winter Months

 

Sandra and I live in Michigan.  We aren’t having blustery weather (at least not yet!) but there is no doubt that winter has arrived. As the song says, it’s time to “button up your overcoat.”

The effect of seasonal changes on the mind-body are beginning to be considered by modern medicine. However, teaching us how to transition from season to season has been an integral aspect of Ayurveda for thousands of years.

Even if you aren’t a student of Ayurveda you know that you instinctively and automatically make some seasonal changes. For instance, in winter you most likely enjoy heavier food than you do during the summer months. But do you make enough alterations in your lifestyle? 

Oftentimes we are not aware of the many interventions easily available (and easy to implement) that we can utilize for our benefit.   Ayurveda can help.  This ancient system of natural medicine provides an instructional manual helping us to more completely understand the importance of seasonal lifestyle changes.  

According to Ayurveda (and modern science) nature and the body exist on single continuum of intelligence.  Natural intelligence (sometimes referred to as “consciousness”) is exhibited differently at different times of the year.  Each of the five elements (air, space, water, fire and ground) has a time to be the “star.” 

During winter the combination of air and space is “starring” and it’s our task to adapt.  If we fail we run the danger of creating a fertile field for all types of physiological problems to occur.  These problems can erupt either now or in the springtime.

In Chapter 3 of Healing Depression the Mind-Body Way: creating happiness with meditation, yoga, and Ayurveda we discuss the mechanics of how natural intelligence is imparted into our physiology.  Gaining insight into these mechanics is immensely helpful in our quest to maintain balance during seasonal transitions. 

Winter

 

Do you notice an increase in appetite during the winter months?  Many people do.  The digestive fire burns at its brightest during the winter months.  Increased energy, vitality, and liveliness can also be side benefits during the winter months. 

Problems occur during the colder months if our elemental balance becomes disrupted.  Common problems are oversensitivity to cold, respiratory infections, insomnia, dry skin, indecisiveness, hyperactivity, and anxiety. 

Ayurveda identifies three distinct types of depression and a mixed type. Each type is based on particular imbalances.  Depression mixed with anxiety is the result of having the physiological balance of space and air out of whack.  This can easily occur during the winter months.

Ayurveda offers many practical interventions to help us maintain our elemental balance.  If we follow these suggestions we can avoid physical and emotional ups and downs.  Healing Depression the Mind-Body Wayhighlights these suggestions. Today I’ll offer one significant intervention that is exceedingly helpful for the maintenance of physiological balance during the winter months.

The Abhyanga (Sanskrit for “Massage”)

 

Abhyanga is an oil massage with sesame oil.

The abhyanga has, according to Ayurveda, profound health benefits. Ayurvedic tradition maintains that frequent oil massage promotes softness and luster of the skin, lubricates the muscles, tissues, and joints, and increases their flexibility.  Moreover, by stimulating the tissues in the body, oil massage is said to help keep impurities from accumulating in the system.  Daily abhyanga is recommended but if you cannot do the abhyanga on a daily basis even two or three times a week will offer you significant benefits.

Different oils work for different constitutional types.  But, in the cold of winter sesame oil works best for most people because sesame oil has particular properties that nourish and warm the body. 

Although oil massage is considered, in Ayurveda, to be important all year long it is particularly important in winter.  The soothing influence of warmth and touch on the skins’ many nerve endings has a calming effect on the elements which are predominantly expressed during this time of the year.

Abhyanga will benefit everyone at all times of the year, but it is particularly important in the winter.  Apart from the benefits mentioned above abhyanga will keep the skin from becoming dry and cracked, a frequent problem when physiological balance is aggravated in winter.

The oil must be organic and cured.  To buy high quality sesame oil go to Mapi.com or call Mapi at 1-800-345-8332.

If you maintain balance during the winter months you will transition into spring without encountering an excess of the mucus that triggers allergies and springtime colds and flus. Abhyanga is a helpful intervention for the maintenance of balance and the prevention of these springtime problems.  

Albeit with different language, modern quantum physicists echo Ayurvedic knowledge. Modern science and ancient wisdom agree on the nature of the universe.  But, only the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda gives us the practical advice necessary to roll with the seasons and keep our mind-body in balance.  Pick up a copy of Healing Depression the Mind-Body Way.  The information tucked inside its cover will help you to create and maintain perfect health and its by-product—-happiness!

Happy Holidays!

 

During the holiday season, when I worked as a therapist, friends would comment on how busy I must be.

 

It is a common belief that depressed people are knocking down therapist’s doors before and during the holidays.

Perhaps this is a myth.  Perhaps it is true in some quarters, but for me and my colleagues business slacked up a bit around holiday time.

 

People become caught up in the excitement and busyness of the holidays. The sound of silver bells echoes on street corners, children are excited, the office is decorated, and parties are planned.  In general, a feeling of anticipation reigns mightily over the emotions. Worries often get moved to the back burner.  During the month of December therapist’s phones do frequently ring—for cancellations— more than the scheduling of new appointments.

 

What happens to our mental perspective during the holidays?  I think that many people feel less isolated and alone and the see the future as a field of rich possibilities.  Positive expectations build.

 

Isn’t it interesting how much our perspective can affect our mood?  All too often, during the holidays, we allow ourselves a reprieve from the concerns of daily life.  It’s as if those concerns have floated off into the cosmos.  We eat, drink, make merry and put our regular routines on hold. Of course if we are experiencing economic problems it might be a different story. Economic problems can make the holidays an especially stressful time.

 

In January our mood often makes a large thud as it drops from above.  Perhaps the mood changes because there is a pile of bills sitting on our desk.  But, quite often this change is due to overeating, too much alcohol, not enough sleep or exercise during holiday time.  In our anticipatory mood we’ve let go of normal restraints.  We’ve had fun.  Unfortunately we have to pay the piper a few weeks later.

 

We let down our guard and changed our habits.  Indulgence in December means payback in January.  Physiological payback is in the mind-body but it’s as real as that pile of bills sitting on our desks.

 

In our book Healing Depression the Mind-Body Way Sandra and I offer many suggestions for avoiding the build-up of physiological toxins.  This build-up comes about from over eating, over imbibing, eating late at night, and consuming foods that aren’t nutritious.  We’re all going to do a bit of this during holiday time but you can prevent ill effects with a bit of know how.

 

1. Watch sugar intake.  That extra cookie really isn’t worth it.
2. Get sufficient sleep.  Life is a mess when sleep is amiss.
3. Drink hot water with lemon during the day. This simple concoction will help your body to detoxify.
4. Watch the intake of alcohol.  Imbibing is hard on the liver and can make you feel tired and less clear the day after, and the day after, and the day after……
5. Don’t forego your regular exercise routine.
6. Don’t over spend.  Parents want to give their kids a special time during the holidays.  Remember kids watch you—your mood—-.  You can create happiness for your children by your behavior and your excitement.  If you can’t buy expensive gifts don’t let it get you down.  The creation of a warm and cooperative atmosphere is a blessing and a great gift to the children.  Only do what you can comfortably do in the gift department.
7. Drink spiced water.  Spices have power and can be used to enhance physiological balance and remove toxins from your system.  During holiday time you can probably use a balancing boost.  Try the following recipe.
8. ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds (cumin helps to absorb and use nutrients)

¼ teaspoon coriander seeds (coriander helps to eliminate toxic chemicals and waste through your kidneys)

¼ teaspoon fennel seeds (fennel helps to normalize digestion, thereby reducing gas and bloating)

Add the spice seeds to 1½ quarts of plain, pure water, and boil for several minutes.  After straining the spice seeds, pour the liquid into a thermal container that has a glass or stainless steel (not plastic) lining.  Sip the powerful concoction every hour or so throughout the day.

 

We send blessings to you for happy and healthy holidays!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sweeping Away Old Beliefs

Deepak Chopra– http://www.deepakchopra.com/

 

Last night I attended a lecture by Deepak Chopra.

 

Dr. Chopra has recently published a new book and he is traveling around the country on a promotion tour.  The title of his latest book is Super Brain.  This book was co-authored with Dr. Rudolph Tanzi, professor of neurology at Harvard University and director of the genetics and aging research unit at Massachusetts General Hospital.

 

I haven’t gotten into the book yet so I can’t really tell you much about it.  But, what I can tell you is that I was extremely impressed last night by the audience’s receptivity to Dr. Chopra’s lecture.

 

Since the mid-90’s I have been attending talks and reading about consciousness.  I’ve heard, over and over, from many speakers, about how science and spirituality are converging.  One eminent speaker, who I listened to a year or so ago, told the audience that we were all formed from stardust: a romantic notion for sure, but not terribly far off from the scientific understanding.  Usually the audiences, at the lectures I’ve attended, have been small and there has been an understanding that the message given wasn’t,  at the current time, widely acknowledged.

 

Yesterday evening was a different experience!

 

Dr. Chopra spoke to over one thousand people.  The general feeling in the audience was excitement and receptivity.  Dr. Chopra spoke with confidence and assured his listeners that science has no argument with ancient wisdom. He covered, in his lecture, a vast amount of material.  In this article I will mention only the old beliefs that he said are on their way out.

 

Truly at many points in history old beliefs have been swept away and new realities accepted.  The world is flat was a belief that existed for thousands of years.  The very idea that this wasn’t truth was threatening to many people. When new ideas are introduced into consciousness the normal reaction is, at first ridicule, then anger, and finally acceptance.  The notion that consciousness (natural intelligence) underlies the body and that consciousness is not generated by the brain, but lies outside of the mechanics of our human body has been through the first aspects of this process.  Currently, these concepts are reaching acceptance and becoming mainstream.

 

Following are the old beliefs that are on their way out!

 

1. The belief that the brain creates consciousness.  In reality, it’s the other way around.
2. The belief that the material world is solid and reliable.  In reality, the physical world is ever shifting and elusive.
3. The belief that sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell match the world “out there.”  In reality, all sensations are produced in consciousness.
4. The belief that the physical world is the same for all living things.  In reality, the physical world, we experience only mirrors our human nervous system.
5. The belief that science deals in empirical facts.  In reality, science organizes and gives mathematical expression to experiences in consciousness.
6. The belief that life should be lived by common sense and reason.  In reality, we should feel our way through life utilizing as much awareness as we can.

 

This is an exciting time to be alive.  When we comprehend the new reality, given to us by ancient wisdom and validated by modern science, our self-awareness increases and we experience freedom from previously assumed restraints.  Many scientists or students of the ancient sages are giving us this message but because of his fame Dr. Chopra is enthusiastically heard.  We send him our thanks and our blessings.

 

As always, Sandra and I wish you perfect health and happiness.

 

 

A Depression Breakthrough

I subscribe to a news magazine called The Week.

When on the cover of the latest issue I saw a blurb about a “new insight into the cause of depression” I rapidly turned pages to locate this wonderful news.

 

The news, billed as a depression breakthrough, was about a hallucinatory party drug that could “point the way to the first new treatments for depression in a generation.”

 

Apparently scientists have found that ketamine which club-goers take for dream-like highs, also improves mood disorders by repairing damaged connections in the brain.

Say what?  A recreational drug as treatment for depression!

 

The Week informed the reader that researchers are maintaining that the previous model of depression—based on the idea of chemical imbalances in the brain—may be wrong and that depression may be the result of stress-induced damage to brain cells that control mood.  Using ketamine, as a treatment, is a twist because the theory is that ketamine speeds the growth of new synapses, the connections between brain cells. It doesn’t seek to alter brain chemistry.  Treatment, however, still keeps the treatment focus on the brain.  (Not to mention whether or not the use of a recreational drug would alter brain chemistry!)

 

Most scientists agree that the previous model of depression—based on the idea of “chemical imbalances” in the brain is incorrect.  There is a correlation between chemical imbalances and depression but no one knows what came first—-the depression or the chemical imbalances.  Depression is, in fact, caused by the interaction of many variables. To attempt to isolate the cause of this disorder to one aspect of the physiology, the brain, is simplistic.  Depression is a complicated condition involving the entirety of the physiology.

 

Using a hallucinatory party drug to treat depression seems pretty darn depressing.  However, even if one wishes to entertain the worthiness of such an approach treatment still only encompasses the brain.  The focus is on the growth of new synapses.  The remainder of the physiology is neglected.

 

Depression happens—it evolves and changes.  It is created one act at a time and depression can be undone.  In our book Healing Depression the Mind-Body Way Sandra and I discuss how to support the body, mind, and spirit to restore physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well being.  This is accomplished through life style.  Through life style we target the entirety of our being: not only one aspect.

 

Hopefully more scientists will turn their attention toward prevention and the power of the human physiology to heal naturally.  Ketamine’s negative side effects are hallucinations, delirium, and kidney damage.  Its widespread use is unlikely because of these side effects.  Changes in lifestyle that suit the individual have no side effects and only side benefits.  If you or a loved one is suffering from depression I hope you pick up a copy of Healing Depression the Mind-Body Way and begin a journey of learning about natural, easy to implement treatments that work!

 

As always, Sandra and I wish you perfect health and happiness!

Words: Powerful Vehicles Connecting Us to the World!

Last week we put up a piece by Molly Beauregard.  Molly contributes to a blog titled Tuning the Student Mind.  Check it out!  Tuning the Student Mind offers interesting reading about issues young people are dealing with and their perspectives on life and living.  I remember that many years ago a neighbor of mine, who was much older than I, advised me that as I aged I should stay in touch with the way young people think.  In that way, she said, “You won’t get stuck in old and rigid thought patterns.”  Good advice!  The young can keep us current with changing perspectives.

 

This week we won’t have a guest contributor.  I’m here to write our blog and as always I want to write about a phenomenon that interests me, in the hope that it is also of interest to you.  Today I want to share a few thoughts about speech.  Yes, speech!  I’ve been thinking about speech a lot lately.

 

Speech is the expression of both the heart and mind together.  It is a delicate medium and cannot be forced.  If we stress and strain to make our speech pleasant or powerful we will come across as insincere and will be ineffective. It is our intelligence and purity of heart and mind that makes our speech effective.

 

Whether we talk a lot or have a quiet nature matters not.  Our speech reflects our inner feeling life, shows our values, and is the foundation of relationships.  It is the tool that connects us to the world at large.  With proper speech we can turn an enemy into an ally.  With hostile or angry speech we can lose a loved one or destroy a child’s self esteem.

 

Do you remember the program called Scared Straight?

This was a government program in which ex-convicts or former drug addicts spoke to young people who were either on the fringe of trouble or had been in trouble with the law.  The idea behind the program was that hearing about prison and the problems delinquency leads to would help troubled youth straighten out their lives before it was too late.  There was a good bit of enthusiasm about this program.

 

Several years after its inception a study assessed the success of the Scared Straight program.  Much to the surprise of some and the dismay of others the study revealed that the kids involved in the Scared Straight program had a higher incidence of delinquency than those troubled youth who experienced different types of interventions.

 

The communication theorists were not surprised at this outcome.  You see we reinforce what we speak about.  Negative speech reinforces negativity while positive speech reinforces positive behavior.  The outcome of the Scared Straight program has been used as a strong lesson for parents.  If you want to help your child change in a positive direction encourage her to move in that direction.  Keep your speech positive; delete negativity, and you, as a parent, will be successful in helping your child achieve positive goals.  Of course, don’t overdo—but use the tool of speech to guide and encourage positive behaviors.

 

The story of the Scared Straight program is indicative of the delicacy of speech.  Attitudes, culture, expectations, feelings—-all are conveyed through speech.  Words are similar to hands molding clay and one wrong word can leave an indelible impression.  On the other hand, if heart and mind are connected and mind is clear then proper speech will ensue.  Proper speech will be the foundation for an atmosphere forming a fertile field for the growth of full potential, love, and positivity in all areas.

 

Who doesn’t wish to speak powerfully?  I think we all have this desire.  The Transcendental Meditation technique shaves off the stress we accumulate through daily living.  Through regular practice of TM we naturally and effortlessly increase the unity and purity of heart and mind.  Speaking usefully is an art that belongs to the contented mind and heart.  The TM technique can help us to achieve this contentment, therefore, increasing our effectiveness in the world and our ability to speak pleasantly and powerfully.

 

As always, Sandra and I wish you happiness, perfect health, and effective speech that brings you a meaningful, powerful and supportive connection to the world.

 

Rainy Days and the Start of a New Week: Do They Always Get You Down?

Good Morning!  Is it raining where you are?

It’s Tuesday and it’s pouring in Detroit. This weather and the day of the week remind me of the Carpenters’ song Rainy Days and Mondays always get me down.

Do you remember that song?

 

Rainy days are kapha days and on these days the following words of the song, “hanging around, nothing to do but frown” can ring true.

 

We might not feel energetic on a rainy day but do you know why this is so?  Do you know why weather affects the physiology?

 

According to Ayurveda, nature and the body are part of a single continuum of intelligence.  As the ancient Vedic sages told us: “As it is in the macrocosm, so it is in the microcosm.”  The microcosm (our physiology) is affected by the macrocosm (the weather!)

 

Actually our physiology is affected by everything in our environment. Certainly a phenomena as powerful as the weather possesses the power to affect us in myriad ways.

Rainy days can make us feel heavy or they can trigger a feeling of inertia.

 

Kapha dosha, the combination of water and earth, is expressed on rainy days.  In many parts of the United States rainy days are frequent occurances during springtime so Kapha dosha gets expressed often.

 

Maintaining doshic balance is the primary Ayurvedic tool for health and Ayurveda has helpful tips for maintaining physiological balance at this or any other time of the year.

 

What I got they used to call the blues…Nothing really to do…What I feel has come and gone before.

 

Do you feel more down at one time of the year than another?  Many people do and spring is a noted time for depression to rear its ugly head. When the heat and sun of summer arrive most people begin to feel more energetic and lively,  but you do not have to wait for the weather to change in order to feel better.  It’s possible to stay in balance despite climatic change.

 

If you only feel a little bit down on a rainy day and you know that this feeling will pass you’re probably doing just fine.  On the other hand, if you experience depression on these dreary days then I suggest you pick up a copy of Healing Depression the Mind-Body Way and begin your read by focusing on the sections about balancing kapha dosha.  The book will give you an understanding about how your physiology is affected by the environment and you’ll pick up tips for maintaining balance.

 

Feelin’ like I don’t belong…Walkin’ around, some kind of lonely clown…

 

This is no way to feel.  Depression is created and depression can be undone.  Ayurveda provides an instruction manual for maintaining balance and experiencing good health and happiness.  The rainy days of spring do not have to bring unhappiness, loneliness, or down days to your doorstep.  Ayurveda can give you help in maintaining balance no matter the weather!  Accompanying balance is the gift of vitality and a rainy day can’t dampen a vital and energetic spirit!

 

Sandra and I wish you the best and we hope that you feel energetic no matter what the weather is in your zip code!

 

Good Parenting Isn’t About Child Management Techniques: Let’s Take Care of the Parent First!

Has Amy Chua started a new trend in American parenting style?  Ms. Chua is the author of the controversial book The Tiger Mom.  In her book she advocates being an unyielding sort of parent who demands perfection (and long hours practicing the piano.)  She also advocates dressing down a child in front her friends for an offense as great as coveting a second cupcake.

 

Since the advent of The Tiger Mom several other books advocating strict parenting styles have been published.  They are also in direct contrast to the usual American books about parenting.

 

I think the enthusiastic acceptance of these recent books represent a sea change happening in American attitudes toward parenting.  American parents were considered to be permissive for many years.  Now the majority of American women work outside of the home, and they do not have the time or the energy to put up with much nonsense.  Being strict, and believing that is the way to go, can feel like a relief and seems to many to be an easier way to parent.

 

The dangers of The Tiger Mom, or Bringing up Bebe (which advises training children with methods from the French), or the new book (not out yet) about shaming a child into losing weight is that parents will adopt the recommended styles of parenting from these books.  Adopting someone else’s style is not the way to parent.  Good parenting is best done if you refine your own style. There is not, in general, a right or a wrong way to parent but there is a beneficial way to BE with children.

 

Parents need to be in charge of their kids.  Being in charge doesn’t mean making a child clean their room every Saturday at 10 a.m.  It also doesn’t imply forcing a child to spend many hours practicing the piano.  Being in charge denotes not being emotionally reactive, but staying grounded and objective in the face of a child’s emotionality and oppositional behavior. Being in charge requires using a sense of humor and having a lightness of spirit.  Because being in charge requires a lot of energy it is important that you feel physically, emotionally and mentally on top of your game.

 

Research shows that there are, in general, three distinct types of parenting.  There is an authoritarian style, a permissive style and an authoritative style.  Researchers have shown that the authoritative style works best for the development of happy, mature and successful children.  In this parenting style parents are supportive and nurturing. They are in charge, but they also set high expectations and clear and firm limits.  Makes sense doesn’t it?

 

If we are overly bossy the children will rebel and if we are overly permissive we sabotage the child’s efforts to develop self-esteem. If we set high expectations we build self-esteem.  If we build a nurturing foundation we encourage and insure that the child has the tools to meet those expectations.

 

With depression at epidemic rates how are parents going to get the energy to be authoritative?  Depression saps energy and overwhelms the spirit. Parenting takes a great deal of energy and even under the best of circumstances it is a difficult job.

 

I suggest that we turn our attention away from specific parenting techniques, and focus on fostering the wellbeing of parents.  At this time millions of parents and millions of children are depressed.  This is a drain on our countries greatest resource.  Helping a child to grow up is a challenging task.  This task isn’t doable if the parent is depressed and it becomes more difficult if a depressed parent is faced with a depressed child.

 

In Healing Depression the Mind-Body Way Sandra and I give the most up to date scientific information about the causes of depression.  With a plethora of research coming out that the anti-depressants do not work our book is a jewel offering natural techniques that do work!

 

In my many years of clinical experience I never met a parent who did not wish to do a good job.  What interfered the most in the achievement of that dream was not a lack of information about parenting techniques. Their own emotional issues got in their way.  Parents become discouraged and overwhelmed and often get stuck in communication patterns that fail to be helpful. In addition, it is not uncommon to find that a degree of depression drains the energy of all the members in a family system.

 

If we are to nurture our children, our greatest national resource, then we need to begin by focusing on ending the depression epidemic.  Health, your emotional, psychological, mental and spiritual health is the place to start if you want to become a terrific parent.

 

Healing Depression the Mind-Body Way can help you to create vitality. Vitality equals physical, emotional and mental energy.  You need a lot ofthat if you are to parent successfully.  Reading our book will be a good start in your quest to be an optimal parent.  Learn how to foster your overall health, create optimal vitality and the rest you will be able to figure out step by step in the way that works best for you and your family.

 

Sandra and I wish you success in that most important endeavor—parenting.