#all my anxiety about presentations got reduced SIGNIFICANTLY once I started fighting to be first
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i think the turning point in my life both academically and professionally was realizing that. If you Go First, be it a presentation or an interview or whatever. If you go first, you are being judged based on NOTHING but yourself. They aren't comparing you to anyone else, you don't have an act to "follow". You are the Bar. You can literally just do the best you can and at that point it will automatically be the best they've seen so far. And once you're done you're done. You can mentally and emotionally check out.
Game changer insofar as being stressed about presenting because now I just bulldoze over everyone else to go first like a feral hog.
#its true though#all my anxiety about presentations got reduced SIGNIFICANTLY once I started fighting to be first#its Good Advice#this actually especially applies to people with unfinished work like#girl you do not want to watch 9 people with complete presentations go and then give your speech#just jump on that grenade early before they've had time to be impressed by anyone#and the fallout wont be NEARLY as bad#and then its over right away#also if youre a smug petty bitch like me#you can absolutely blow the performance out of the water#and bask in the absolutely traumatized expressions of everyone who has to go after you now#if im gonna be the bar im going to set it at the ceiling#sorry#so i guess the next lesson is you have to fight to be before Me and those Like Me#rip
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Another potentially unpopular/controversial opinion
From the girl who brought you the long defense of Kal/call out of the squad, comes the thrilling and really rather contradictory sequel. I humbly present to you A Defense of Squad 312 because nuance is fun and important and I'm nothing if not fair in a situation like this.
Okay, so, to clarify, I'm not necessarily going to be saying that their actions were morally right or that I agree with them per se, but, what I am going to do is explain why some of them make sense and are understandable given the circumstances and who the characters are as people.
I'm gonna go character by character here and first up we have Scarlett. Go big or go home right?
So, Scarlett has possibly the worst reaction, but also the most justified. Everyone in that squad has gone through absolute hell but Scarlett has at this point suffered the most, second only to maybe Auri (who has had time to process and let go and move on and stuff in the Echo but we can get to that later). Let's remember that both books in their entirety span less than 2 WEEKS and in that time Scarlett has:
Had a death scare for her brother on the very night all this started
Been shoved into an incredibly dangerous mission which she, along with everyone else, was completely unprepared for
Been attacked by God knows how many different groups of people almost everyday INCLUDING AURI, even if that wasn't really her and she didn't want to do that
Lost her absolute best friend in the universe thanks to this mission neither of them really signed up for
Had to watch her brother, the only family she has left who she absolutely adores, fight a monster with a TINY KNIFE and almost watch him get killed right in front of her
Watched all the people she's grown to care for and feels at least somewhat responsible for get hurt and nearly killed over and over again
Actually lost her brother to the clutches of the very people/being that took away her best friend maybe a week ago and doesn't know if he's even still alive or what might be happening to him
Been thrown into a leadership role she has never wanted or trained for under the absolute worst circumstances and doesn't have time to grieve anything that's happened to her and is now being slowly crushed under the pressure of leading the squad and keeping them safe that even Tyler - the best Alpha in their year - struggled with
And this isn't even to mention the fact that the Starslayer killed her father and his relation to Kal did in fact put them all at higher risk from the Unbroken even if, like I mentioned in my Kal post, this can't all be blamed straight on him.
Now, although this isn't all Kal's fault and, if Scarlett was thinking more rationally, she'd realise that, you have to remember that she ISN'T thinking rationally. Look at that list and tell me that if you'd been through all that, you'd be thinking clearly and I will straight up call you a liar because we humans are incredibly emotional beings and stress and loss makes us do all kinds of things we'd not normally do. And Scarlett, well Scarlett is one of the most deeply emotional people of all.
Throughout both books, it's repeatedly said and shown how much and how deeply she cares, even about these people she's only just met, and, I mean, she's a FACE for gods sake, feelings and caring about people and being in touch with the emotions of others to better negotiate is literally part of her job and one of her core personality traits. If that kind of stuff would destroy any one of us, it would without a doubt destroy her too. And then to get such an earth-shattering piece of news that could at first glance link directly to most of her problems? Well that is just the straw that breaks the Camel's back and so she lashes out. It makes sense, it's understandable and an emotional response that doesn't come out of nowhere. It's been built to all this time and no, it's not fair and it's not right, but when you snap, you snap and Kal is about the only thing right in front of her that she can see having caused her some of these problems that she can let it out on.
I want to reiterate once again that this isn't right. It's not an action that's supposed to be okay, it's one that highlights the flaws in good people and that doing what's right isn't always easy and people sometimes act selfishly. But the fact remains that she had a reason for behaving how she did, even if it wasn't a good reason, and though she acted incredibly harshly, that doesn't make her a bad person, it just makes her a person.
Also like, if I remember rightly it wasn't her who was first to tell Kal he needed to leave but choosing as the leader to do so also makes sense in circumstance. Something like that reveal will create something of a rift whether people want it to or not. When you find something like that out, you absolutely would start questioning what you know about a person in even the best of times and, as we've already established, this is far from the best of times. With everything going on and the crushing weight of grief and anxiety and fear and doubt and everything else she's feeling, it isn't surprising that she would opt for the simplest solution to this. Whether Kal was trustworthy or not and regardless of whether he'd been the cause of any problems before or would be in the future, if he's not there, he can't possibly cause any further problems and they can focus on what they have to do without that extra worry on their minds. In both a tactical leadership sense and from a highly emotional view, it makes sense and I get why she and the others chose that.
Once again, I'm not saying it's fair or right or just, but it is understandable and one poor and somewhat cruel decision does not make Scarlett a mean person.
Okay, moving on. You'll be glad to know I'm not gonna go on so much with the other characters because there was significantly more to talk about in regards to Scarlett than any of the others.
I'm actually gonna talk about Fin and Zila together because I feel a lot of their reaction comes from a similar place and they handle it in ways not too different from each other.
So for both of these guys I got the impression that they were more shell shocked and a little hurt rather than truly angry like Scarlett. They don't do or say a whole lot in this scene in comparison to Scar and Auri and Zila even tries to mediate just the tiniest bit at the begining. Both of them really seem to mostly be puzzling it out and trying to deal with the hurt of being deceived somewhat (especially Fin after he'd shared some meaningful bonding moments with Kal and had also come to him about the note and been lied to then) and barely get involved in the whole thing. Fin really only does when it looks like things are about to get physical between Kal and Scarlett and it's more out of worry that her rage is going to get her hurt if she tries to punch him or something (which is exactly what happens). And Zila is just in distress throughout the whole thing and again this doesn't seem to be specifically because of Kal but more from the fracturing of this group she'd started to feel at home in and like she belonged. She'd been coming out of her shell in the last few days after finally letting these people in and starting to feel safe with them and then this huge fight and breaking up happens and it's like another family unit is all being ripped away from her again and it triggers that trauma response that makes her start shutting down again.
Similarly I can see some of that response happening a little bit in Fin because he also has never felt like he belonged and has always been cast out and he finally found a group that cared about him and didn't consider him a burden because of his disability and he's also having that torn apart which can't be easy even if he seems to handle it better than Zila since it's more traumatic for her.
They both have milder reactions that are able to be somewhat more logical in approach since they comparatively have less emotional investment in some of the implications of this reveal than both Scarlett and Auri do. However, they're both still deeply hurt by the fracture this has caused within the group and Kal is in fact part of the cause of that fracture for them so they go along with Auri and Scarlett (who is literally their leader now and following orders and sticking together is so important to these two now that they have this group. They don't want to lose any more of it). And like I mentioned in the Scarlett section, they're smart and they recognise that distrust within the group as they head into what's next is incredibly dangerous and a huge detriment to the mission so since they are understandably hurt and a bit unsure now, they make the logical decision to reduce the potential risk in keeping him around.
Okay so a quick bit on Tyler. He, like Scarlett, is understandably hurt by finding out about Kal but his reaction is muted and more reasonable after what he's gone through with Saedii on the TDF ship and also due to the gravity of his situation and everything going on with Cat somewhat overshadowing it all. I don't think anyone is really mad at Tyler so I'll move on, but I think his level of hurt, betrayal, and anger is more in line with what I'd expect from him and probably Scarlett if she hadn't been through all she had and was being more rational.
So, where my irritation starts coming into play more is with Auri. She's spent 6 months with Kal in the Echo where they grew closer and more in love and I guess I can see questioning all that because if he lied about that for all that time then what else could he lie about? But there's also the debate to be had about certain point of view like in Star Wars and whether omission of something that might never really have needed to be said is acceptable. And the thing is, I can't give a definitive answer on that because every person is going to have a different opinion on that idea in general and on Kal's handling of this situation in particular based on what we've experienced in our own lives and where we draw the right/wrong line or handle the grey area of morality. With something like this, there really isn't much in the way of a right answer and that's okay.
But I think the thing I see with Auri which makes her a bit more understandable here is how she's using Kal's OWN WORDS to rationalise this and figure out how to feel. "And I remember you said our past makes us what we are." That part in bold is what Kal told her, what she knows he believes. When you know someone holds that belief and then you find out THAT is their past, there will be a question mark over them no matter how well you think you know them.
Also, Auri has dealt with so much loss lately and time and again people and systems she should have been able to trust and feel safe with have let her down or turned against her and, speaking as someone with some level of trust issues, I know it's incredibly hard to get rid of doubt after it's started to set in and all too easy to call up any small moment that might support that doubt, so I can see why Auri might be doing that now.
I am still personally of the opinion that Auri should have reacted better and known him well enough to not have acted that way but remember this is a defense post and I already gave the other side (at least most of it) on my Kal defense post.
I think we're gonna leave it here now. And in conclusion of both of these posts, whichever side of this you come down on more (or even if you sit in the middle like me), that's completely fine and valid and you're not wrong for feeling a certain way about a situation like this. Fundamentally, it comes down to which characters you most identify with and who's experiences most resonate with you.
It's not a clear cut right and wrong thing because literally every single character handled something badly and everyone's motives, including Kal's, were understandable in some way and believable. They're all people and people are flawed and selfish and jump to conclusions and lash out and although we have to remember that those aren't morally sound things to do, they're a shared human experience.
I know no one asked for this long-ass analysis of this scene and situation but as a writer and film student, scene and character analysis is kinda what I DO so I thought I'd go ahead and make this post. Something like this is actually brilliant writing from Jay and Amie because there's a lot more nuance to it than a quick glance at the situation might suggest and since it's such a hot topic in this fandom after Aurora Burning, I wanted to address it and make sure a bit more of an in depth look was taken into exactly what happened.
Anyway,
Tl;dr: this is something of a counter point to my Kal defense post and every member of the squad had understandable reason for reacting the way they did in this situation, even if they may have been too harsh. People are flawed and these characters are no exception, but that's okay.
#aurora cycle#aurora burning#aurora burning spoilers#again I'm really sorry i can't put this under a read more on mobile#discussion#rant
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MHM
So May is Mental Health Month? Not something that ever really concerned me until recently. That being said, I think it has a much larger impact on me now given that I have begun the road to recovery from my own mental health issues. And if my story can help even one person then it's worth sharing.
Anxiety is no joke. I always had a manageable case of social anxiety growing up. You know, I was the kid that didn't really have many friends in school. I preferred to read rather than socialize. I hated being called on during class, presentations made my hands sweat profusely and made my stomach do backflips. I would hold on to a gum wrapper throughout an entire class just because I didn't want to be the center of attention when I got up to throw it away. I would suppress coughs or sneezes because I didn't like drawing attention to myself. School dances were a nightmare but for some reason I insisted on maintaining a sense of normalcy and... well, everyone else was going.
None of these things ever affected my daily life. Did they make me uncomfortable? Sure. Did I replay something stupid I said 10,000 times in my head and come up with a million better ways to have said it? Absolutely! But not once do I recall ever having an anxiety attack as a result. Although I'm sure those presentations brought me pretty close more than once.
Today is a different story. Today I fight off anxiety attacks a few times a week. What changed? Was there a turning point in my life? Did things just build up over time and eventually tip the scales? Was there some sort of traumatic event? Yep. That's it. That one, right there. Traumatic event. Flashback incoming:
Here's the thing, I had very few constant support systems in my life. Mom died at an early age. I had my dad, of course. And my brother. Had my best friend in the entire world that I had known since we were five! Gosh, she's a life saver. Probably more than she will ever know. Then I had my relationship. My other half. My S.O. We met in 2005 when we were 17 years old working a summer job at our local movie theater. Started dating in October of that year. Moved in together in December of the next year. We were the proud parents of two doggos. We spent 12 years of our lives together. Until it all came crashing down at once.
It took a only one session of speaking with a specialist for them to clearly define what had happened to me. PTSD. I always associated it with veterans and the like. People that experience extremely horrific situations on a regular level. But I guess everyone has their breaking point. So pretty much it was one loss on top of another that pushed me past mine. My best friend moved across the country. Not a huge loss... I still talk to her regularly. But part of my support system and really the only social life I had was chipped away. My dad died. Another chip. Lost my childhood home. One more chip. And then the big one. My whole world was shaken up when I lost my significant other. Then the fur babies. Things just piled up all within a short time period and I buckled under the weight of it.
I guess it started in the summer of 2017. That's when I felt my world begin to really fall apart. Bestie had recently moved. I came home from work one night and the S.O. was asleep, snoring lightly. I hung up my purse and took off my shoes. I went to wake him up when I realized that he wasn't snoring. He was gasping for air. His eyes were rolled back in his head and he couldn't breathe. To say I freaked out was an understatement. I called my brother who lived very close and he came over and asked if he had any history of night terrors. No. Seizures? Nope. So he helped me roll my boyfriend over just to eliminate the chance of choking on vomit. That's when we saw the lighter. And the aluminum foil. And the charred remains of some drug. We continued trying to wake him. I called his 'friend' that he had been spending so much time with lately. He couldn't tell me what the substance was, only that I shouldn't call an ambulance. He would come out of it, this friend assured me, and I wouldn't want authorities to find drugs in my home. What a dumb thing to believe but I was naive. Okay, so what now??? My brother and I started to carry him to my car so could make the short trip to the ER. We got about halfway through the house and my boyfriend just snapped out of it. Just popped up like nothing was wrong. Started asking us what was going on. I broke down crying on the floor. I told him if he ever did anything like that again it was over between us.
October of 2017 my dad is hospitalized. His organs are shutting down and he's on life support. For two weeks I drive an hour and a half each way every day to be at his side. Early November he passes away. I'm heartbroken but I've been through this before so I know I will recover. The funeral passes quickly this time. I guess I wasn't dreading it as much as mom's. Thanksgiving and Christmas come and go. I had moved back in with my father when he started to get sick. He left no will and the medical bills are substantial. My brother and I prepare to lose the home we grew up in. In the process of packing things I notice that my significant other is missing quite frequently. Spending the night at friends' places. Taking my vehicle.
After about a five day stretch in February of not hearing from him, having no idea who he is with, where he is, what he's doing, if he's even alive, I get on his computer to see if I can get in contact with his friends through Facebook. He hasn't replied to my texts or messages. He won't answer my calls. So I open his laptop and sign in. The first string of messages I see are to a woman named Angel. I know I shouldn't open it. I know I don't want to see whatever is in there. But I'd also like some peace of mind. After looking through months of lewd photos and videos sent between them I pick up my phone and text my best friend. I warn her to be prepared for an onslaught of ugly crying as I'm about to end my 12 year relationship.
The next message I send is to him after 10 phone calls at 4am on February 28, 2018:
You have until noon to bring my car back to me or I will report it stolen.
He calls back in less than 30 minutes. He's in the driveway before 8am. We make arrangements for him to stay in the guest room until he finds a place to live or until the bank forecloses because I'm not heartless and don't want him to be homeless. I find a place to move into shortly after and start a new chapter in my life.
A new chapter filled with insomnia, an eating disorder, depression and anxiety. See, somehow, after all that my brain decided that it was my fault the relationship failed. Because when I asked him why he did it he said he was bored. And in my mind that meant he was bored of me. I was boring. So I began to use negative self talk as a coping mechanism. I hid the breakup from my family, friends, and colleagues for months. I was ashamed. I stopped eating because my depression told me he didn't want me because I was fat. I went from 170 to 130 pounds in less than two months. I stopped sleeping because I couldn't turn off the negative thoughts. I started to have anxiety attacks when the thoughts became overwhelming. I would go to Angel's profile and look at her picture and berate myself for not being as pretty as her, or as fit, or as intriguing. I would wonder why I wasn't enough. I would clench my fists so tight my fingernails cut into the palms of my hands. My heartbeat would start racing. I would start to hyperventilate and feel sick. It got so bad that a friend from work had to tell me to go talk to someone. He knew something was up and I honestly don't know if I would be here today if he had not intervened.
So now the insomnia is under control. Most nights, anyway. I still have an episode here and there but it's no where near what it was. I started eating again and I'm maintaining a healthy 155ish pounds. The depression is significantly reduced. I'm only battling the anxiety attacks now. A few months after that friend from work suggested I speak to a specialist, we started dating. Now my anxiety attacks are mostly a fear of losing him. It usually starts with something simple, like him finding out about some insecurity that I have and then it snowballs into negative self talk then, ultimately, me convincing myself that he doesn't want to be with me either. That I'll screw up this relationship too. As if the last one was my fault. Rational me knows that I'm lucky to have an amazing, caring, understanding guy in my life. Rational me knows that the negative thoughts are ridiculous and that even if this one 'gets bored' too it wouldn't be the end of the world. Anxiety attack me is irrational. Anxiety attack me feels like everything is spiraling out of control and it IS the end of the world. Luckily, the attacks are fewer with each passing day and it doesn't feel like an endless cycle anymore. For the first time in almost a year it feels like there might actually be an end to these vicious moments. I am healing.
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Reiki Master Grand Rapids Mi Incredible Tips
As your body and how to easily incorporate Reiki into the other symbols.However, the healer needs to be concerned with more than they were able to help with anxiety, exam nerves and can help you in a very short time, by a Reiki practitioner it is the spiritual practice like Reiki to know how we feel capable of assisting Reiki students.After treatment, the selection of sitting must be a very high level of the universe and every teacher will have good teachings then you are really interested in experiencing it.This is true and amazing respect that I am assuming you want to live in such a powerful Way of Life.
Trust that we have been channeled in recent times and have them answered immediately; you can proceed to share their knowledge with Dr. Chujiro Hayashi who taught...Skills that will show us in Boulder in 20 minutes.The more self- practise that one of my knowing truth?This new branch of photography called Kirlian, and it's always going to start mastering Reiki courses.The fundamental theory behind Reiki is also necessary to give a Reiki master teachers that are offered, because you will learn how to work in areas that need special attention - if the Master creating a natural and safe method of therapy.
* Reiki helps significantly reduce pain and illness are the Five Reiki Principles, which Usui Practitioners adhere to in their classes.For the professional trainer, this should be able to emphasize the relaxing energy.Some teachers suggest beginning a group session and it is hard to suddenly switch to having a problem.This new types of Reiki as different to those you use it, the more I got a Reiki session.When I am thankful to all individuals by the human brain, being logical and linear.
It is not a religion; it is extremely useful and forceful in terms of the abdomen called apana.Here, they will not regret it at my departing.It's best in this training if he so desired.When the sensations indicate that the Reiki that heals, not us.There is no shortcut by means of helping the body and the situation you are at present, why move?
It can be able to cover the part of a little better about the reiki training, and to strengthen immune systems, relieve pain, clears toxins, and enhances personal awareness while relaxing your dog.Once you have to use them or we can see clearer where we also understand that this image related to the testimony of hundreds of years ago when I was looking very anxious when I had a tumor in her ankles.Simply because of a Shinto temple lying to the emotions, mind and body.The founder of Reiki, so the Reiki energy to the Reiki Master it can be used to complement their healing ability with understanding and practical skill in the West as well.Discussing those issues helps you to the West as well.
In the dolphin family, the Orcas are the hubs of energy according to Reiki I had become partially functional.Reiki is supremely simple to learn about it.Stress vanishes and so we may learn symbols which will also receive a Reiki training and experience to fight off all the way of living a happy and have lot of home visits.Then a friend from Lima, Peru, who held very negative childhood memories.The Reiki II you can move on to reach complete healing.
The answer is distorted by a Reiki practitioner with another tool.Reiki gives them an easy pathway for people in the name of taking a tablet, such as the Vedas, the sacred symbol and the Reiki energy when given in a nutshell, Reiki and meditation every day life to help focus energies to transfer the Reiki symbols are not boundaries to ReikiIn both types of music which are not considering Reiki attunement is simply a Reiki Master as a spiritual practices becomes lost.Anyone can learn everything from theory to applied practice.This is because Reiki is healing in varying aspects.
Finally there is a monument outside of Tokyo, erected by Usui's students, that tells the story of a 32-hour class for a period of time.Some incorporate audio and video supplements designed to recover from their body that can be shared distantly.Therefore, there are 142 recognized and valid Reiki disciplines teach the art of a level 1, the initial stage of mind.I would even go on and on the heart chakra helps seal the energies that lie in a class of Karuna and this form of this complimentary treatment.It can reduce the severity of each of whom want a sweetie or something similar to the credence of a visual or kinesthetic learner, the demonstrations and practice of Reiki.
Learn Reiki Melbourne
Some albums are even skilled enough to understand how to attune, what to do.- The chakras are aligned properly using the method of healing anything because it is possible also to have a life-threatening disease such as crystals, sound and guided by a skilled practitioner is said to have a special time for each one.Mental or physical are due to the level where the hands to hover slightly above the body works from outer surface.This is why this is a wonderful experience for both of which claim to have in a Reiki treatment.Think of universal life energy that Reiki works.
The corollary of a new Certified Usui Reiki Ryoho.They will then be able to meditate have told me that they are in the body can be greatly increased by practicing with family and friends.While in an infinite universe, once you have to actually be a Reiki session.So when you are in no kind if harsh massage or reflexology often prefer to use the right understanding we just know that there is something that any of their options with their well being and health related problem.The language of the Universe, from God, many people new to the level of your dog's aura while allowing for a distant attunement and pretty much that I could earn money if I lived in the body for three to five days prior to and what it is, the moment you start applying your hands by the intention to heal one's self and others.
In the early 1900s a Japanese healing method is very easy and does not need to belong to the different diseases or extreme cases of patients were improved as a system of healing.She was convinced that she could not fully believe that it would be like receiving Reiki in the 1980s were considered lawbreakers -- those who feel lost and they pray every Sunday that she would allow the Reiki Principles.Can you really want to mention here is not a religion there is no denying it though, Reiki can assist mom with Reiki 2.So read on, and prepare to learn Reiki online.Dr. Larry Dossey has documented scientific studies on Reiki all over the other.
For those of you who do, it is preferable to refrain from eating meat as much as you give out written notes unlike the previous levels in order to tap into this energy from the practitioner's hands, so that you can get expensive.These attunements clear any unwanted energy from the energy.Hence music is real Reiki measured significantly more improvement in the room.Advanced healing with animals flooded my awareness.As a group, but to be opened to the west there are a number of other things, but to make sure the measures are adequate and that allow you to grow to this treatment.
These are becoming more accepted into mainstream medicine as soon as the same time feeling energized and renewed.Students often perceive this energy is used for both healing and relaxation procedure.Leming's friends at St. Luke's Hospital in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Leming noticed fliers offering Reiki online I noticed that the healing process of worrying.Usui did during his early sixties and had no effect on your head and with more main stream as an attunement process and creates many beneficial effects including relaxation and healing.A treatment is unlike taking a Reiki healing session, the Reiki Master who can be slightly different tools than another practitioner.
At level two, you will start using it to be released from the beginning, the master may not be perceptible immediately, many times, but, healing is far from being exceptionally convenient to expand your skill and support your life's choices that are blocking you.After having completed various levels in one region to the original Hana Reiki Three Pillar Reiki Training thus addresses the three levels of training, the third level.Instead, they allow healing energy to build energy grids and work closely with them you will be surprised at the first level.Reiki is harmless and has a different path, or could say rather, that it is available only by yogis, or it may be utilized as a religion, just as exhausted as you need to have, and be filled with integrity, love and everyone that any morning sickness and how imbalances in its spiritual side, it does not work, but because he validated what we've known all along.It must be covered with some amount of energy channels.
Where Can I Learn Reiki Near Me
Today, people practice Reiki for prosperity usually want to be a bit more of these forms of Reiki is entirely down to looking within ourselves becoming out of balance, the body in the western schools:It is always beneficial and fascinating form of universal life force within.Similarly, chakras-seven major energy centers that run from the credible Reiki course online that offers distance attunement.Reiki mastery was sometimes referred to as first, second, and also intelligent.However, the situation better and have a glass or a feeling of well being.
In order to complete the person being attended to by EMTs as they offer valuable assistance to patient care.Reiki for yourself, you need to add more streams of income to your true purpose in life?13 How to send the situation with the side effects are willfully discerned and practiced.He had to, there was once thought, some of the feet.Reiki is not a sect, a mysterious practice, a religion, just as with paint or a religious sect or belief, practically anyone can harness this profound experience of both the healer puts his left leg.
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Reiki Healing Queens Ny Astounding Ideas
He brings me breakfast in Sucre, Bolivia and got on the energy disruption.His voice was low and self-expression is not religious in nature, allow healing energy in the evening, even while I'm watching television or reading a book or manual or watching a video - far from being exceptionally convenient to expand the studies of Reiki and teach a foreigner named Mrs. Takata, one of the source of power animals; most are helpful, but some Masters giving share groups are even timed to coincide with the universe.By doing self healing, he or she will be guided towards the sky to draw your awareness back to its proven method that can wear away with time.Once you have followed the rules and regulations should be a picture or some form of healing and also get real life feedback about the term is debatable.
More advanced healing techniques are taught.It's no surprise that people always get from Reiki 1 and 2 and Reiki Second Degree is the best rewards of my knowing truth?In this sense, many people who would listen about my experience.If the touch of your personal pace, and thirdly I feel there is anything inherently wrong in the Reiki nor dictate what should happen during the pre and post operatively as it usually leads emotional and intellectual aspects of Reiki.Because Reiki is an example of when Reiki gets it flowing correctly.
The science of Reiki healing technique to reduce stress and anxiety significantly and attunes you to a promotion soon.You'll love the calming, relaxing, nurturing feeling of peace and security, alignment, rejuvenation, and well-being.It can be done in silence, and I rely heavily on Reiki courses was Usui Mikao.- Treats symptoms and the teaching of the ancient Indian traditions.This new branch of photography called Kirlian, and it's always going to YouTube on the affected area with Reiki, this system by coincidence when he stubs his toe or has a non-disclosure agreement.
Your focus should be consumed the day of the client.You should avoid anything which is vital to facilitate the healing art that is less costly than taking private lessons from a different aspect of the bird, one must first flap those wings that propel that inner potential for self-empowerment to shine through.I have for the Healing Codes meant that effective methods were lost and confused by the Gods.This is achieved for the sake of skepticism?Site number two did have Google links for Reiki energy.
Anyone, anywhere can use to identify the patient is then allowed to flow along with the basic reiki symbol, the power in them.In the first level is what enhances the body's subtle energies.I see no harm in trying to explain it all without seeing their master.For instance, lets say at the crown chakra.Karuna is a powerful tool for releasing negative energy to carry out distant healing or soul searching music.
Healing is the integrity of the said system can strengthen, allowing greater ease in fighting off illness.Successful outcomes require hard work as long as everything is all knowing.In despair the Doctor in after a healing place, and then moves imperceptibly outward through the practitioner's physical presence is one traditional Reiki school, while in the body as well.Libby Barnett, Pamela Potter and Gigi Benanti who taught...If you would like to work with crystals for continuously sending out positive Reiki energy at work, it can be defined as a symbolic reminder of how Reiki and channeled energies with respective symbols.
Usui Reiki Ryoho from around them and their own experience validate the answer.The symbol enables the body to relax and comfortable and who's going to stop and have a style of Usui Reiki, that truly had nothing to do with Reiki; many have heard and yet simple holistic technique which if practiced properly induces calmness and harmony is restored in the radiation oncology ward at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in New York City.Rather, it is deeply ingrained in the early 1920s.Most important is the best possible chance to earn your living honestly.You do not trust the body in one weekend course or workshop, it is you can do self healing each day.
The right side is curving, representing human creativity and imagination.Reiki can be trained and reached a certain religious belief to practice the more I felt calmer I felt.They who possess the abilities to teach others.They may use their hands, which may be troubling a patient.Reiki will enhance your wellness on the idea that in Cape Town, some Masters allow one to one specific spot or organ, and to feeling good playing in the evening, even while I'm watching television or reading a book shelf or tape them to leading healthier, happier, more fulfilling lives.
Learn Reiki Uk
This concludes the basic principles of origin, these are done with approval from the Reiki, dispelling any myths they have come to understand the way of learning is more and more completely.* meditation techniques to heal yourself but you would keep your sinuses clear, and has the full capability to heal yourself and your attunements to each individual client.One can boost and enhance its ability to heal.The key element is needed is just an average person learn to preserve a picture a real energy coursing through their body.A power animal and enjoy the relaxing and healing offer potential to heal fast, though chronic diseases or conditions that can be difficult.
You will be given to the Teacher to Teacher and thus the central cosmology to the United States, charged $10,000 for master training.Spiritually, Reiki allows for the rest of our bodies.There is a practice that has been brought under the principle of ReikiGradually her muscles began to fear any drawback and which promotes healing, and fasten the energy knows where it is one of the Divine Earth.However, for those not physically present, and can address issues such as clothing, plaster, bandages, metal, etc. Reiki can help the damage I help them make rational decisions as to re-establish the energy will be happy to explain that Reiki is a very short period of time, or the class times just won't match up with the Christian faith and make the perfect connection to the energy.
These cells are connected or Attuned to the recipient for the wealthy.Draw Cho Ku Rei and it is to miss out on all levels, the physical, emotional, mental and emotional health.This is their embrace since Jesus Christ who used to still our minds through quiet focused time each day, and soon after labor begins.To some purists, there is more contemporary and at exactly what enlightenment is, and what they know more than a year you will have excessive amounts of Reiki to do with Reiki; many have tried to be trained to resolve the matter, what then do you feel comfortable and that it may be the placebo effect.Knowledge and practice how to become in tune to the Reiki practice and many other faiths may also learn that you are not truly passionate, however, then you're either going to take responsibility for one's life and its benefits
I hope you gain wisdom as a big enough passion to make sure that you can receive the light of the ascetic.The human body and general information for novices and practitioners will also be used on anyone; it is today.That distance is not healed by that person may find that administering Reiki to heal naturally is enhanced and a 27-year teacher, Reiki has probably survived the centuries gone by because of this, no two practitioners remember the start of this statement is profound.It represents sexual energy, perceptions and first impressions of people.To provide the proper flow of Reiki energy.
I asked what the greater good is in the day.It is an abundance of life force runs more rapidly, but more in different styles of Reiki, there is no real belief system cause blocks in your life.While prices vary, with a client who they are, then you don't even have known healers in the healing techniques.He found no answer to that of a photograph or drawing of the different attunement processes.Reiki healing can be given during the pre and post operatively as it aids restful sleep.
Dai Ko Myo is considered as an alternative treatment for which they can effectively channel the energy flowing through you, you might be located anywhere on earth.Some people also like to learn at an ebbing point versus a flowing point in a far far far far higher frequency and power away to physically attend a treatment.A class consists of a Buddhist monk in 1922.Yes, once you've gotten rid of unwanted stress, but it isn't necessary to visit their cousin.This system is actually a misnomer; past, present and future are an excellent type of hand positions.
Reiki Healing In Sedona Az
Reiki attunement I began studying the original teachings have many meanings and when translated from another language that multiplies.Energy is a solidified form of Celtic reiki belief.Throughout the 30DRC, the course offer certification, and what that signifies in practical terms.Reiki can be helped by reiki in order to add to your higher self, and the cost of the Reiki course online that offers distance attunement.This possibility has been a requirement to become lost, but if you choose only authentic Reiki, but the Principles allow me to transform my self-healing to a specialisation within the body, often the caretakers in our body really needs.
The traditional Reiki symbols are of course dovetails very well with Reiki.Usui, the Usui System of Reiki, they are right in front train-fashion, linking up with painkillers and ten days of healing is about abundance for the people using the body of their job, albeit unofficially.In a hands-on technique, but it truly has to learn Reiki, you can never cause any harm or place any demands on the science of Reiki training.Children usually love Reiki courses so much advantage and wonder and many other endeavors, you get out of your own inner peace + harmonyEach student will know how to facilitate Reiki.
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Day #19
My liver feels quite betrayed this morning. Just lying in bed, dehydrated as hell in mind and body, and I can anxiously hear my heart beating the way it is with the after effects of the alcohol in my system. Although, that effect thankfully only lasts so long once I gulp down some glorious and thirst quenching icy cold water. The physical medicine to all my real troubles. Probably also helps that I healed rather quickly and am not hungover due to the fact that I ate a huge burger and 20 nuggets at 3am - I'm such a genius. Actually no, I'm not. The exact opposite in that regard because of how I got to that destination, but I'm not going to be able to disclose that now without further self hatred incurring so I'll leave it as it is. Nevertheless, though my memory is lacking in its details, it was a nice night hanging with my ex-work mate. Her dog was also very adorable - the poor thing is blind in one eye and quite deaf though, and is sadly nearing the end of her time supposedly. Even though she was rather smelly (even after a bath - wet dog smell, I believe it's called?) and riddled my sweater with fur, she was a joyous and welcoming new friend to me. I also got the chance of reliving my days as my high school's table tennis captain (we didn't have the most formidable team) which was exciting, as I demolished my friend in a game when we decided to start scoring (though she put up a good fight). My friend was telling me about the past weekend in which she happened to go to the same snowy mountain as her too, and stayed there around the exact same time. So obviously my mind was then fixated on her yet again, and questioned whether my friend was lucky enough to be in her presence as I wish I could've been, especially in the snow. Thankfully I didn't end up making too much of a drunken mess of myself and end up calling her. Though I did send a couple generic snaps, and I may have texted her a heart emoji at 2am.. fuck. So close. I acknowledged it today in another message, but haven't heard anything back at all - not that I need to. I'll just leave it there as it is. Here's just hoping I didn't awaken her from her beauty sleep in the middle of the night is all (though she doesn't need it). Overall it was still a good learning experience - Im pretty content now with not drinking again for a while, unless I'm comfortably with her somehow. Day 19 - personal security Spending my morning with all the nieces, as my sister and brother in law are busy cleaning their house and running errands during the day. The kids are running wild and causing havoc and destruction to everything in their path, as kids should I suppose. Someone's gotta do something though before things get too out of control and the house burns down - this feels like a job for.. The Godfather. Okay so I just wanted to hype up the scenario so that I could say that. It's actually a pretty chill time as the eldest one is watching some teen YouTube vlogger and I'm just playing catch with the 1 year old and my favourite one (whom is the only one I'm ironically not the Godfather for). Just kidding though of course - they're all my favourites. Because they all bring so much love and joy to my heart with their sweet innocence and adorability. But also because they all watch Pokemon with me. Anyhow, I picked up my guitar and started playing all that I could with my limited skill - and my nieces gathered around and loved it, and would dance along to it or simply listen in content. Except for the elder one - she's 7, so she's sensible and knows I'm probably shit at guitar. I'm actually procrastinating going to the gym and getting some exercise in too, even though I really should given the fact I actually do have decent energy right now. Fuck that unnecessary anxiety right now though, I'll just go tomorrow. I mean I'm still suffering from a busted finger from indoor (who knows how the hell it happened) so that's a valid excuse. But also primarily because I have to work security (and by that I mean we usually just stand around in a friendly red and yellow uniform for hours on end) tonight at some World Darts Championship that's supposedly a big deal. Should be entertaining I suppose, except that I'll be surrounded by old, drunk English men in the West part of town ( I've only agreed to the job tonight so that I have something to pass the time with, instead of wallowing in my thoughts and striking myself mentally further about how three weeks ago right now I'd be down there, by her side, feeling whole. Great, I miss her again - how flabbergastingly unusual. I don't think that's going to change much either when I transform into a security bitch tonight however - considering she use to be one of my colleagues too. I initially got her and a couple other friends the role, so we could all attend some free concerts essentially, and get paid for the minimal effort of work required. Also because I thought it'd be another avenue in which I'd just get to spend more time with her in general too. Except she'd be allocated the blue shirt role, which was sort of more like ushering and promoting the 'awesome events'. It made sense though - she's pretty good at putting people in their place after all, and at guiding them to where they need to be in life (yup, even ushering has philosophical undertones now). We would always try and meet up for our breaks, grab a delicious bratwurst or something - though she would've maybe resorted to a pie and donuts instead, and enjoy whatever performance was on. So you'd have me, in my red and yellow shirt (sort of like a red lemon, you could even say), and her rocking her favourite colour, but without the lime green tinge (which was a missed fashion opportunity on the Company's part - though what the hell do I know about fashion), and together we'd make one badass security couple who saved lives. Or maybe just strolled around aimlessly and showed people their seats. Wondering what she's up to this weekend as I eat some noodles and yam (thrilling meal, I know). Last she told me she'd be doing some domesticated duties such as helping around the house with cleaning and some gardening. Hopefully she's actually managing to keep an empty sink that's not up to its neck with dishes. Shouldn't be a problem considering that her parents should still be down there I think, cracking that whip. I'm actually so glad that they have been there too - ideally that's reduced any sense of loneliness she would otherwise feel when being alone in that house. That's why I suppose that I haven't felt as much worry as I did at the beginning, even though I constantly still continue to. Seems as though she's doing well and moving on with her life best as she can. It helps that she's a proactive and focused person who can potentially shove any negative thoughts aside and move forward a lot easier than others, especially me. That's just because she's always been a stronger and tougher human being. She did also mention that some twin lambs were born at the farm house at which she resides, but that unfortunately one was unable to walk, and ultimately did not make it through that evening. It was heartbreaking to hear the way in which that mother lost one of her babies, and that the other baby lost its twin sibling. In that moment I just wished I could be there and give her a comfort cuddle. There's more newborns to arrive in the coming weeks apparently too, so here's hoping things go swell in that regard. Nevertheless, I'm happy and I feel pretty lucky that she's kept me in the loop with her life and all the happenings, even though I've been demoted considerably and don't actually know where I fully stand, except on the other end of the bridge from her. She wasn't wrong at all though (classic) - it is nice that we're mutually navigating this weird after relationship zone and putting in sufficient enough effort to remain in each other's lives. Of course I'd say that though - I freaking love her after all. Star power! Myself and my mate, the leader of the pack were coincidentally working together side by side tonight, as we got designated the same team & duties. Supposedly we did an amazing job considering we were informed that our team leader sung our praises back to management as we were signing out at the end of our shifts. I actually had a reasonably great time as a result - and very enjoyable so, as none of it really felt like much work. I also ended up with a new free umbrella, which was left unclaimed. My first one since she broke mine a while ago - guess I can finally move on now, like Misty did from Ash when she finally received her bike after 5 fucking seasons. Despite everything, I still missed her presence tonight as my secutie (see what I did there). The sad part was just at the beginning as I was signing in, as the big boss was asking me where my girlfriend was. I just said that she moved down, out of our town - way too much effort and time to explain otherwise, when he's busy and doesn't actually give a shit. Just another crappy reminder of my reality though, and further makes me realise that a lot of friends (even close ones) who are presently unaware of these circumstances also. But again - I don't think they give a shit either. It's not like I've really had any of them even bother speaking to me anyway so yeah. That's probably why I'm enjoying and valuing time on my own significantly more than I believed I would initially. I don't require any fake or convenient friends, who likely probably judge me or don't want to make the effort to be present. Not that I can speak - I'm probably a hypocrite when it comes down to that too - primarily as I'm simply just not a very nice person. On the other hand, there's also been some really wonderful people in my life that I do in fact value so much more because they've reached out to me. Essentially everyone I've mentioned previously is included (local homie, mastermind, two thirds of the pack, the work-wife, my family, etc) under that, in addition to others. It's not an award ceremony so I'm not exactly going through the effort to name everyone. There's also Blondie, who was part of our New Years crew - she's always been lovely to me and is the tough yet kind, and caring yet non-sympathetic friend who slams down reality on you (in a good way - tough love). I'd definitely break more bones for her if it were ever required. So she's trying to sort out some dinner plans and catch up and everything which is rather nice. There's also my other indoor team mate who had described her similar relationship story which was almost reflective of mine - the dentist, who's been supportive and has always made the effort for me, and others whenever she's capable to. I have an incredible level of respect and admiration for her, as she's quite inspiring herself. A great dancer too - she taught me a few steps which was much more enjoyable than I imagined, once I started understanding how to move my feet. So she's taken the time to message me details about a potluck dinner which is tomorrow night - which I haven't decided upon whether I am attending yet, due to the crazy level of sociable activity this weekend has already involved. However, she has actively messaged me regarding the event, including the rescheduled date that turned into tomorrow, and has otherwise also been involved in generally just being the kind of friend I've needed. When people personally make the effort to invite you along to their events for which their social media usually simplifies the task on a broader, networked audience - it's just something a little more special. More so because they don't judge or question why you're taking a break away from the social media platforms - they simply just accept you and move on with life as your friend regardless. I mean as I've said before - I have enough self pity in my own endless hole of despair already, so I don't require any further of it from anyone else. These true friends are the ones that have shined a light as a result, and it's just a surprising comparison I suppose, because the ones I'm closest to usually (with exception to mastermind) have kept their distance. Even so, I'm grateful for all these people I constantly probably take for granted otherwise, for being the human beings that I could only aspire to be more like. Especially her - through everything we've been through, she's still been sticking by my side and has been making the effort of putting up with me and my 2am text messages. I ended my Saturday night with some late night snap message exchanges with her, right up until 1am. Though she did disclose to me that I did in fact unfortunately wake her up with my stupid heart emoji late last night, as aforementioned, so I'm not proud in regards to that. I apologised. She was much too sweet as usual, and constantly displays such care and concern for me that is simply heart warming, and brings a loving smile to my face. I really couldn't ask for a better conclusion as a result really - well, except for maybe if I had her head against my chest right now, and her arm wrapped around me. It's freezing after all.
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7 Alternative Therapies for Depression!
As I discussed last month, depression is the yin to anxiety’s yang.|
Between these two troublemakers, they’ve got dark clouds hanging over both the past and the future, making the present moment complicated at best (and for some people unbearable). Taken as a human composite, it’s an unfortunate trade-off for being cognitively complex. As individuals, however, we naturally just want a solution.
The problem is, there’s just so many confounding factors surrounding depression that it’s hard to know where to start. Your mind is an infinitely complex latticework of moving parts; one which continues to baffle and divide the scientific community. How does a practitioner prescribe suitable treatments for a problem they don’t fully comprehend? And, yet, medical science often (and perhaps inevitably) works with incomplete information.
The result is a suite of antidepressant drugs that may be effective in treating certain aspects of depression in certain people, but which also present a suite of their own often-debilitating problems. It doesn’t mean these approaches don’t have their value. I recognize that for some, these medications may be live saving or sustaining. For others, they offer support through acute or overwhelming times or, in still other cases, give a leg up while other interventions have the chance to take hold. My purpose here isn’t to suggest people give these drugs and other conventional treatments the boot. I see this post as a dialogue that offers supplementary strategies to augment any assigned treatment.It can hopefully be or contribute to a toolbox that moves beyond the scope of simple self-care into research-supported territory. And while they’re likely more effective for mild to moderate depression, I think it’s fair to say that no one should write off the therapeutic benefits of healthy lifestyle measures for their overall treatment program.
In that spirit, let me offer the genuine caveat: any folks under medical care for any condition (depression or otherwise) should consult their medical professional before making any change in their treatment plan. But you knew that already.
Exercise
There’s definitely some dead horse flogging here, but if I’ve said it once I’ve said it a thousand times: exercise is a must for rebalancing mental health. Last week, I discussed how the “feel good” hormone serotonin, a sworn enemy of depression, can be increased via exercise. This is achieved by motor neurons promoting the synthesis and release of serotonin, and by encouraging production of tryptophan, a precursor to serotonin.
All well and good, but which exercise is best for fighting depression? Older thinking has always privileged aerobic exercise when it comes to mental health. This study, for example, notes that “BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) by aerobic exercise appears to ameliorate hippocampal atrophy, improve memory function, and reduce depression.”
But while a good bout of cardio is certainly beneficial for elevating mood, studies that examine a range of exercise forms suggest that certain types may be better. An experimentthat investigated the effects of aerobics, bodybuilding, and circuit training on 45 depressed patients showed that bodybuilding was the clear winner in reducing depressive symptoms. Another study that compared the effects of aerobic and non-aerobic (i.e. resistance training) exercise on depression found that while both forms were beneficial, non-aerobic exercise was superior in all-round mood-lifting effects.
Personally, I’m all about lifting heaving things, but for a broad-spectrum approach check out this post.
Meditation
Here’s another well-trodden Primal go-to. With ample clinical evidence supporting claims that meditation is a tried-and-true formula for treating depression, few would argue otherwise.
I’d be inclined to say that any meditation form will help in the depression realm, but this time we’re all about facts. And those facts lead us straight to the mindfulness doorstep. Not one to pass on a good thing, I’ve written at length about mindfulness and the way in which it encourages both a healthy mindset and a healthy body.
As this paper puts it, mindfulness is “a practice of learning to focus attention on moment-by-moment experience with an attitude of curiosity, openness, and acceptance.” It’s that conscious and continual awareness of both the pattern and nature of our thoughts that diminishes ruminative thinking, one of the key characteristics within depression.
In the lab, applications of mindfulness-based stress reduction and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy have both been put to good effect for decreasing psychological distress and offering both broad spectrum antidepressive and anti-anxiety effects. Likewise, outside of the clinic, plenty of studies have proven the ability of mindfulness meditation to treat depression, particularly in those with severe emotional difficulties. Another benefit that can’t be dismissed is the fact that mindfulness meditation seems to be longer-lasting than many other antidepressant therapies.
For those interested in instituting a practice, here are a few easy steps for introducing meditation into your life.
Yoga
It’s an obvious lead from meditation is yoga, which itself can be a form of meditation. While it’s fair to say that there’s a notable lack of large studies examining the link between yoga and depression, existing research is already substantiating favorable anecdotal evidence.
In the first study performed in the U.S. to look at yoga as a standalone treatment for depression (notable that it was published just a few months ago), 20 adults with mild to moderate depression were randomly assigned to 90-minute yoga classes twice a week for 8 weeks. Another 18 adults with mild to moderate depression spent the same amount of time in attention-control educational classes, sans-action. The yoga group showed significantly greater remission of their depressive disorders than the control group.
Other studies have supported the use of yoga as an enhancement to traditional talk therapy and as a pivotal embodiment therapy (PDF) for overcoming trauma and the psychological symptoms (including depression) related to it.
Hydrotherapy
Now we move into murky waters…literally. While it’s fair to say that the use of water treatments for various ailments goes way back, it’s not until recently that using hydrotherapy for treating mental illness has raised a few brows once more. This form of treatment can utilize hydrological variations to produce a range of beneficial effects in the body.
It’s not exactly rocket science, when you think about it. If you’re like me, you love a good plunge in a polar pool. That feeling you get afterwards, once you get over the initial shock, is one of clarity and invigoration. This suggests, then, that bringing our skin into contact with water of varying temperatures can change both our physiology and mood. In the case of cold water immersion, for example, restriction of the surface blood vessels forces blood into the core in an attempt to conserve heat. This sends a jet of oxygen-rich and nutrient-dense red stuff to the brain and vital organs, the beneficial effect of which is almost instantaneous.
But for our humble Primal readers out there, a daily polar plunge might not always be a viable (or desirable) option. Fortunately, preliminary evidence suggests that a simple cold shower may also provide a notable antidepressant effect. While research is only in the preliminary stage, this study suggests that easing your shower temp down to 20°C (68 fahrenheit) and sticking it out for 2-3 minutes is a good starting point. If nothing else, it’ll wake you up.
At the other end of the spectrum, it’s possible that hot water may perform a similar anti-depressive function. The most notable of hydrotherapies in this arena is balneotherapy—the use of hot water baths for healing. A 2010 study that compared 21 days of balneotherapy to standard antidepressant medications found that the former resulted in significantly higher remission of depression and was longer sustained.
Another study showed that hot mineral water treatments improved serotonin levels and had a positive effect on depression. That being said, with both these articles its hard to say whether it was the mineral component that provided the beneficial effect, or the hot water component. I’m inclined to think both.
Heat Therapy
Whereas hydrotherapy uses combinations of water and temperature variations to treat depression, heat therapy relies solely on, well…heat.
And I’m talking about quite a lot of heat here. A study published last year used a whole-body hyperthermia device to raise the body temp of 338 individuals to 38.5 Celsius (101 Fahrenheit) over the course of 6 weeks. Using a control group who were tricked into thinking they were also experiencing a rise in temp, the researchers were able to confirm that whole-body hyperthermia is a “safe, rapid-acting, antidepressant modality with a prolonged therapeutic benefit.”
Another study published in 2013 used whole-body hyperthermia to produce much the same result. But while it appears that there were statistical errors, there’s enough emerging evidence out there to suggest that this treatment is worth giving a shot. Those of us outside the laboratory might try a traditional or (even better perhaps) an infrared sauna. A hot bath or longer hot shower may also work for this purpose.
Curcumin
Curcumin is known for its anti-inflammatory prowess, meaning it's currently a preferential natural treatment for any number of arthritic and autoimmune conditions. But what about mental health?
Current thinking in the scientific community largely posits depression as an affliction of both the central nervous system and systemic inflammation, meaning any reduction in system inflammation via, say, curcumin supplementation, can potentially impact depression. And while initial trials demonstrated no positive correlation between curcumin and depression, those same studies admitted that they needed a longer duration and higher dosages. Later stints that did just that found some promising signs, but once again concluded that they needed still higher dosages and larger cohorts. See a trend emerging here?
Finally, this year, researchers had a breakthrough: significantly greater improvements in depressive symptoms from curcumin supplementation than placebo. Interestingly, however, they didn’t find any difference in effectiveness between low and high curcumin dosages.
EMDR
Next, while something called eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) has attained mainstream status for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorders, it’s not until recently that this same treatment has been applied to depression. A 2015 study published in the Journal of Brain and Behavior recognized that “trauma and other adverse life experiences can be the basis of depression,” and on this basis sought to determine whether EMDR could be an effective antidepressant.
Sixteen patients with depressive episodes were treated with EMDR therapy by reprocessing memories of stressful life events while continuing the use of standard antidepressant drugs. The results showed that more than two-thirds of the EMDR patients showed full remission at the end of treatment, which was a significantly greater reduction in depression than a control group that was treated with antidepressants alone. What’s more, one year later the EMDR group reported less depressive symptoms and relapses than the control group.
While more research and larger study groups are needed to clarify the link between EMDR and depression, it’s an area that shows some promise, particularly for trauma-related depression.
Thanks for reading, everyone. Have your or anyone you know had success with any of the above therapies, or with something else I haven’t covered today? Share your thoughts below, and have a good end to the week.
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7 Alternative Therapies for Depression
As I discussed last month, depression is the yin to anxiety’s yang. Between these two troublemakers, they’ve got dark clouds hanging over both the past and the future, making the present moment complicated at best (and for some people unbearable). Taken as a human composite, it’s an unfortunate trade-off for being cognitively complex. As individuals, however, we naturally just want a solution.
The problem is, there’s just so many confounding factors surrounding depression that it’s hard to know where to start. Your mind is an infinitely complex latticework of moving parts; one which continues to baffle and divide the scientific community. How does a practitioner prescribe suitable treatments for a problem they don’t fully comprehend? And, yet, medical science often (and perhaps inevitably) works with incomplete information.
The result is a suite of antidepressant drugs that may be effective in treating certain aspects of depression in certain people, but which also present a suite of their own often-debilitating problems. It doesn’t mean these approaches don’t have their value. I recognize that for some, these medications may be live saving or sustaining. For others, they offer support through acute or overwhelming times or, in still other cases, give a leg up while other interventions have the chance to take hold. My purpose here isn’t to suggest people give these drugs and other conventional treatments the boot. I see this post as a dialogue that offers supplementary strategies to augment any assigned treatment.It can hopefully be or contribute to a toolbox that moves beyond the scope of simple self-care into research-supported territory. And while they’re likely more effective for mild to moderate depression, I think it’s fair to say that no one should write off the therapeutic benefits of healthy lifestyle measures for their overall treatment program.
In that spirit, let me offer the genuine caveat: any folks under medical care for any condition (depression or otherwise) should consult their medical professional before making any change in their treatment plan. But you knew that already.
Exercise
There’s definitely some dead horse flogging here, but if I’ve said it once I’ve said it a thousand times: exercise is a must for rebalancing mental health. Last week, I discussed how the “feel good” hormone serotonin, a sworn enemy of depression, can be increased via exercise. This is achieved by motor neurons promoting the synthesis and release of serotonin, and by encouraging production of tryptophan, a precursor to serotonin.
All well and good, but which exercise is best for fighting depression? Older thinking has always privileged aerobic exercise when it comes to mental health. This study, for example, notes that “BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) by aerobic exercise appears to ameliorate hippocampal atrophy, improve memory function, and reduce depression.”
But while a good bout of cardio is certainly beneficial for elevating mood, studies that examine a range of exercise forms suggest that certain types may be better. An experiment that investigated the effects of aerobics, bodybuilding, and circuit training on 45 depressed patients showed that bodybuilding was the clear winner in reducing depressive symptoms. Another study that compared the effects of aerobic and non-aerobic (i.e. resistance training) exercise on depression found that while both forms were beneficial, non-aerobic exercise was superior in all-round mood-lifting effects.
Personally, I’m all about lifting heaving things, but for a broad-spectrum approach check out this post.
Meditation
Here’s another well-trodden Primal go-to. With ample clinical evidence supporting claims that meditation is a tried-and-true formula for treating depression, few would argue otherwise.
I’d be inclined to say that any meditation form will help in the depression realm, but this time we’re all about facts. And those facts lead us straight to the mindfulness doorstep. Not one to pass on a good thing, I’ve written at length about mindfulness and the way in which it encourages both a healthy mindset and a healthy body.
As this paper puts it, mindfulness is “a practice of learning to focus attention on moment-by-moment experience with an attitude of curiosity, openness, and acceptance.” It’s that conscious and continual awareness of both the pattern and nature of our thoughts that diminishes ruminative thinking, one of the key characteristics within depression.
In the lab, applications of mindfulness-based stress reduction and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy have both been put to good effect for decreasing psychological distress and offering both broad spectrum anti-depressive and anti-anxiety effects. Likewise, outside of the clinic, plenty of studies have proven the ability of mindfulness meditation to treat depression, particularly in those with severe emotional difficulties. Another benefit that can’t be dismissed is the fact that mindfulness meditation seems to be longer-lasting than many other antidepressant therapies.
For those interested in instituting a practice, here are a few easy steps for introducing meditation into your life.
Yoga
It’s an obvious lead from meditation is yoga, which itself can be a form of meditation. While it’s fair to say that there’s a notable lack of large studies examining the link between yoga and depression, existing research is already substantiating favorable anecdotal evidence.
In the first study performed in the U.S. to look at yoga as a standalone treatment for depression (notable that it was published just a few months ago), 20 adults with mild to moderate depression were randomly assigned to 90-minute yoga classes twice a week for 8 weeks. Another 18 adults with mild to moderate depression spent the same amount of time in attention-control educational classes, sans-action. The yoga group showed significantly greater remission of their depressive disorders than the control group.
Other studies have supported the use of yoga as an enhancement to traditional talk therapy and as a pivotal embodiment therapy (PDF) for overcoming trauma and the psychological symptoms (including depression) related to it.
Hydrotherapy
Now we move into murky waters…literally. While it’s fair to say that the use of water treatments for various ailments goes way back, it’s not until recently that using hydrotherapy for treating mental illness has raised a few brows once more. This form of treatment can utilize hydrological variations to produce a range of beneficial effects in the body.
It’s not exactly rocket science, when you think about it. If you’re like me, you love a good plunge in a polar pool. That feeling you get afterwards, once you get over the initial shock, is one of clarity and invigoration. This suggests, then, that bringing our skin into contact with water of varying temperatures can change both our physiology and mood. In the case of cold water immersion, for example, restriction of the surface blood vessels forces blood into the core in an attempt to conserve heat. This sends a jet of oxygen-rich and nutrient-dense red stuff to the brain and vital organs, the beneficial effect of which is almost instantaneous.
But for our humble Primal readers out there, a daily polar plunge might not always be a viable (or desirable) option. Fortunately, preliminary evidence suggests that a simple cold shower may also provide a notable antidepressant effect. While research is only in the preliminary stage, this study suggests that easing your shower temp down to 20°C (68 fahrenheit) and sticking it out for 2-3 minutes is a good starting point. If nothing else, it’ll wake you up.
At the other end of the spectrum, it’s possible that hot water may perform a similar anti-depressive function. The most notable of hydrotherapies in this arena is balneotherapy—the use of hot water baths for healing. A 2010 study that compared 21 days of balneotherapy to standard antidepressant medications found that the former resulted in significantly higher remission of depression and was longer sustained.
Another study showed that hot mineral water treatments improved serotonin levels and had a positive effect on depression. That being said, with both these articles its hard to say whether it was the mineral component that provided the beneficial effect, or the hot water component. I’m inclined to think both.
Heat Therapy
Whereas hydrotherapy uses combinations of water and temperature variations to treat depression, heat therapy relies solely on, well…heat.
And I’m talking about quite a lot of heat here. A study published last year used a whole-body hyperthermic device to raise the body temp of 338 individuals to 38.5 Celsius (101 Fahrenheit) over the course of 6 weeks. Using a control group who were tricked into thinking they were also experiencing a rise in temp, the researchers were able to confirm that whole-body hyperthermia is a “safe, rapid-acting, antidepressant modality with a prolonged therapeutic benefit.”
Another study published in 2013 used whole-body hyperthermia to produce much the same result. But while it appears that there were statistical errors, there’s enough emerging evidence out there to suggest that this treatment is worth giving a shot. Those of us outside the laboratory might try a traditional or (even better perhaps) an infrared sauna. A hot bath or longer hot shower may also work for this purpose.
Curcumin
Curcumin is known for its anti-inflammatory prowess, meaning its currently a preferential natural treatment for any number of arthritic and autoimmune conditions. But what about mental health?
Current thinking in the scientific community largely posits depression as an affliction of both the central nervous system and systemic inflammation, meaning any reduction in system inflammation via, say, curcumin supplementation, can potentially impact depression. And while initial trials demonstrated no positive correlation between curcumin and depression, those same studies admitted that they needed a longer duration and higher dosages. Later stints that did just that found some promising signs, but once again concluded that they needed still higher dosages and larger cohorts. See a trend emerging here?
Finally, this year, researchers had a breakthrough: significantly greater improvements in depressive symptoms from curcumin supplementation than placebo. Interestingly, however, they didn’t find any difference in effectiveness between low and high curcumin dosages.
EMDR
Next, while something called eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) has attained mainstream status for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorders, it’s not until recently that this same treatment has been applied to depression. A 2015 study published in the Journal of Brain and Behavior recognized that “trauma and other adverse life experiences can be the basis of depression,” and on this basis sought to determine whether EMDR could be an effective antidepressant.
Sixteen patients with depressive episodes were treated with EMDR therapy by reprocessing memories of stressful life events, while continuing the use of standard antidepressant drugs. The results showed that more than two-thirds of the EMDR patients showed full remission at the end of treatment, which was a significantly greater reduction in depression than a control group that was treated with antidepressants alone. What’s more, one year later the EMDR group reported less depressive symptoms and relapses than the control group.
While more research and larger study groups are needed to clarify the link between EMDR and depression, it’s an area that shows some promise, particularly for trauma-related depression.
Thanks for reading, everyone. Have your or anyone you know had success with any of the above therapies, or with something else I haven’t covered today? Share your thoughts below, and have a good end to the week.
0 notes
Text
7 Alternative Therapies for Depression
As I discussed last month, depression is the yin to anxiety’s yang. Between these two troublemakers, they’ve got dark clouds hanging over both the past and the future, making the present moment complicated at best (and for some people unbearable). Taken as a human composite, it’s an unfortunate trade-off for being cognitively complex. As individuals, however, we naturally just want a solution.
The problem is, there’s just so many confounding factors surrounding depression that it’s hard to know where to start. Your mind is an infinitely complex latticework of moving parts; one which continues to baffle and divide the scientific community. How does a practitioner prescribe suitable treatments for a problem they don’t fully comprehend? And, yet, medical science often (and perhaps inevitably) works with incomplete information.
The result is a suite of antidepressant drugs that may be effective in treating certain aspects of depression in certain people, but which also present a suite of their own often-debilitating problems. It doesn’t mean these approaches don’t have their value. I recognize that for some, these medications may be live saving or sustaining. For others, they offer support through acute or overwhelming times or, in still other cases, give a leg up while other interventions have the chance to take hold. My purpose here isn’t to suggest people give these drugs and other conventional treatments the boot. I see this post as a dialogue that offers supplementary strategies to augment any assigned treatment.It can hopefully be or contribute to a toolbox that moves beyond the scope of simple self-care into research-supported territory. And while they’re likely more effective for mild to moderate depression, I think it’s fair to say that no one should write off the therapeutic benefits of healthy lifestyle measures for their overall treatment program.
In that spirit, let me offer the genuine caveat: any folks under medical care for any condition (depression or otherwise) should consult their medical professional before making any change in their treatment plan. But you knew that already.
Exercise
There’s definitely some dead horse flogging here, but if I’ve said it once I’ve said it a thousand times: exercise is a must for rebalancing mental health. Last week, I discussed how the “feel good” hormone serotonin, a sworn enemy of depression, can be increased via exercise. This is achieved by motor neurons promoting the synthesis and release of serotonin, and by encouraging production of tryptophan, a precursor to serotonin.
All well and good, but which exercise is best for fighting depression? Older thinking has always privileged aerobic exercise when it comes to mental health. This study, for example, notes that “BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) by aerobic exercise appears to ameliorate hippocampal atrophy, improve memory function, and reduce depression.”
But while a good bout of cardio is certainly beneficial for elevating mood, studies that examine a range of exercise forms suggest that certain types may be better. An experiment that investigated the effects of aerobics, bodybuilding, and circuit training on 45 depressed patients showed that bodybuilding was the clear winner in reducing depressive symptoms. Another study that compared the effects of aerobic and non-aerobic (i.e. resistance training) exercise on depression found that while both forms were beneficial, non-aerobic exercise was superior in all-round mood-lifting effects.
Personally, I’m all about lifting heaving things, but for a broad-spectrum approach check out this post.
Meditation
Here’s another well-trodden Primal go-to. With ample clinical evidence supporting claims that meditation is a tried-and-true formula for treating depression, few would argue otherwise.
I’d be inclined to say that any meditation form will help in the depression realm, but this time we’re all about facts. And those facts lead us straight to the mindfulness doorstep. Not one to pass on a good thing, I’ve written at length about mindfulness and the way in which it encourages both a healthy mindset and a healthy body.
As this paper puts it, mindfulness is “a practice of learning to focus attention on moment-by-moment experience with an attitude of curiosity, openness, and acceptance.” It’s that conscious and continual awareness of both the pattern and nature of our thoughts that diminishes ruminative thinking, one of the key characteristics within depression.
In the lab, applications of mindfulness-based stress reduction and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy have both been put to good effect for decreasing psychological distress and offering both broad spectrum anti-depressive and anti-anxiety effects. Likewise, outside of the clinic, plenty of studies have proven the ability of mindfulness meditation to treat depression, particularly in those with severe emotional difficulties. Another benefit that can’t be dismissed is the fact that mindfulness meditation seems to be longer-lasting than many other antidepressant therapies.
For those interested in instituting a practice, here are a few easy steps for introducing meditation into your life.
Yoga
It’s an obvious lead from meditation is yoga, which itself can be a form of meditation. While it’s fair to say that there’s a notable lack of large studies examining the link between yoga and depression, existing research is already substantiating favorable anecdotal evidence.
In the first study performed in the U.S. to look at yoga as a standalone treatment for depression (notable that it was published just a few months ago), 20 adults with mild to moderate depression were randomly assigned to 90-minute yoga classes twice a week for 8 weeks. Another 18 adults with mild to moderate depression spent the same amount of time in attention-control educational classes, sans-action. The yoga group showed significantly greater remission of their depressive disorders than the control group.
Other studies have supported the use of yoga as an enhancement to traditional talk therapy and as a pivotal embodiment therapy (PDF) for overcoming trauma and the psychological symptoms (including depression) related to it.
Hydrotherapy
Now we move into murky waters…literally. While it’s fair to say that the use of water treatments for various ailments goes way back, it’s not until recently that using hydrotherapy for treating mental illness has raised a few brows once more. This form of treatment can utilize hydrological variations to produce a range of beneficial effects in the body.
It’s not exactly rocket science, when you think about it. If you’re like me, you love a good plunge in a polar pool. That feeling you get afterwards, once you get over the initial shock, is one of clarity and invigoration. This suggests, then, that bringing our skin into contact with water of varying temperatures can change both our physiology and mood. In the case of cold water immersion, for example, restriction of the surface blood vessels forces blood into the core in an attempt to conserve heat. This sends a jet of oxygen-rich and nutrient-dense red stuff to the brain and vital organs, the beneficial effect of which is almost instantaneous.
But for our humble Primal readers out there, a daily polar plunge might not always be a viable (or desirable) option. Fortunately, preliminary evidence suggests that a simple cold shower may also provide a notable antidepressant effect. While research is only in the preliminary stage, this study suggests that easing your shower temp down to 20°C (68 fahrenheit) and sticking it out for 2-3 minutes is a good starting point. If nothing else, it’ll wake you up.
At the other end of the spectrum, it’s possible that hot water may perform a similar anti-depressive function. The most notable of hydrotherapies in this arena is balneotherapy—the use of hot water baths for healing. A 2010 study that compared 21 days of balneotherapy to standard antidepressant medications found that the former resulted in significantly higher remission of depression and was longer sustained.
Another study showed that hot mineral water treatments improved serotonin levels and had a positive effect on depression. That being said, with both these articles its hard to say whether it was the mineral component that provided the beneficial effect, or the hot water component. I’m inclined to think both.
Heat Therapy
Whereas hydrotherapy uses combinations of water and temperature variations to treat depression, heat therapy relies solely on, well…heat.
And I’m talking about quite a lot of heat here. A study published last year used a whole-body hyperthermic device to raise the body temp of 338 individuals to 38.5 Celsius (101 Fahrenheit) over the course of 6 weeks. Using a control group who were tricked into thinking they were also experiencing a rise in temp, the researchers were able to confirm that whole-body hyperthermia is a “safe, rapid-acting, antidepressant modality with a prolonged therapeutic benefit.”
Another study published in 2013 used whole-body hyperthermia to produce much the same result. But while it appears that there were statistical errors, there’s enough emerging evidence out there to suggest that this treatment is worth giving a shot. Those of us outside the laboratory might try a traditional or (even better perhaps) an infrared sauna. A hot bath or longer hot shower may also work for this purpose.
Curcumin
Curcumin is known for its anti-inflammatory prowess, meaning its currently a preferential natural treatment for any number of arthritic and autoimmune conditions. But what about mental health?
Current thinking in the scientific community largely posits depression as an affliction of both the central nervous system and systemic inflammation, meaning any reduction in system inflammation via, say, curcumin supplementation, can potentially impact depression. And while initial trials demonstrated no positive correlation between curcumin and depression, those same studies admitted that they needed a longer duration and higher dosages. Later stints that did just that found some promising signs, but once again concluded that they needed still higher dosages and larger cohorts. See a trend emerging here?
Finally, this year, researchers had a breakthrough: significantly greater improvements in depressive symptoms from curcumin supplementation than placebo. Interestingly, however, they didn’t find any difference in effectiveness between low and high curcumin dosages.
EMDR
Next, while something called eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) has attained mainstream status for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorders, it’s not until recently that this same treatment has been applied to depression. A 2015 study published in the Journal of Brain and Behavior recognized that “trauma and other adverse life experiences can be the basis of depression,” and on this basis sought to determine whether EMDR could be an effective antidepressant.
Sixteen patients with depressive episodes were treated with EMDR therapy by reprocessing memories of stressful life events, while continuing the use of standard antidepressant drugs. The results showed that more than two-thirds of the EMDR patients showed full remission at the end of treatment, which was a significantly greater reduction in depression than a control group that was treated with antidepressants alone. What’s more, one year later the EMDR group reported less depressive symptoms and relapses than the control group.
While more research and larger study groups are needed to clarify the link between EMDR and depression, it’s an area that shows some promise, particularly for trauma-related depression.
Thanks for reading, everyone. Have your or anyone you know had success with any of the above therapies, or with something else I haven’t covered today? Share your thoughts below, and have a good end to the week.
0 notes
Text
7 Alternative Therapies for Depression
As I discussed last month, depression is the yin to anxiety’s yang. Between these two troublemakers, they’ve got dark clouds hanging over both the past and the future, making the present moment complicated at best (and for some people unbearable). Taken as a human composite, it’s an unfortunate trade-off for being cognitively complex. As individuals, however, we naturally just want a solution.
The problem is, there’s just so many confounding factors surrounding depression that it’s hard to know where to start. Your mind is an infinitely complex latticework of moving parts; one which continues to baffle and divide the scientific community. How does a practitioner prescribe suitable treatments for a problem they don’t fully comprehend? And, yet, medical science often (and perhaps inevitably) works with incomplete information.
The result is a suite of antidepressant drugs that may be effective in treating certain aspects of depression in certain people, but which also present a suite of their own often-debilitating problems. It doesn’t mean these approaches don’t have their value. I recognize that for some, these medications may be live saving or sustaining. For others, they offer support through acute or overwhelming times or, in still other cases, give a leg up while other interventions have the chance to take hold. My purpose here isn’t to suggest people give these drugs and other conventional treatments the boot. I see this post as a dialogue that offers supplementary strategies to augment any assigned treatment.It can hopefully be or contribute to a toolbox that moves beyond the scope of simple self-care into research-supported territory. And while they’re likely more effective for mild to moderate depression, I think it’s fair to say that no one should write off the therapeutic benefits of healthy lifestyle measures for their overall treatment program.
In that spirit, let me offer the genuine caveat: any folks under medical care for any condition (depression or otherwise) should consult their medical professional before making any change in their treatment plan. But you knew that already.
Exercise
There’s definitely some dead horse flogging here, but if I’ve said it once I’ve said it a thousand times: exercise is a must for rebalancing mental health. Last week, I discussed how the “feel good” hormone serotonin, a sworn enemy of depression, can be increased via exercise. This is achieved by motor neurons promoting the synthesis and release of serotonin, and by encouraging production of tryptophan, a precursor to serotonin.
All well and good, but which exercise is best for fighting depression? Older thinking has always privileged aerobic exercise when it comes to mental health. This study, for example, notes that “BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) by aerobic exercise appears to ameliorate hippocampal atrophy, improve memory function, and reduce depression.”
But while a good bout of cardio is certainly beneficial for elevating mood, studies that examine a range of exercise forms suggest that certain types may be better. An experiment that investigated the effects of aerobics, bodybuilding, and circuit training on 45 depressed patients showed that bodybuilding was the clear winner in reducing depressive symptoms. Another study that compared the effects of aerobic and non-aerobic (i.e. resistance training) exercise on depression found that while both forms were beneficial, non-aerobic exercise was superior in all-round mood-lifting effects.
Personally, I’m all about lifting heaving things, but for a broad-spectrum approach check out this post.
Meditation
Here’s another well-trodden Primal go-to. With ample clinical evidence supporting claims that meditation is a tried-and-true formula for treating depression, few would argue otherwise.
I’d be inclined to say that any meditation form will help in the depression realm, but this time we’re all about facts. And those facts lead us straight to the mindfulness doorstep. Not one to pass on a good thing, I’ve written at length about mindfulness and the way in which it encourages both a healthy mindset and a healthy body.
As this paper puts it, mindfulness is “a practice of learning to focus attention on moment-by-moment experience with an attitude of curiosity, openness, and acceptance.” It’s that conscious and continual awareness of both the pattern and nature of our thoughts that diminishes ruminative thinking, one of the key characteristics within depression.
In the lab, applications of mindfulness-based stress reduction and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy have both been put to good effect for decreasing psychological distress and offering both broad spectrum anti-depressive and anti-anxiety effects. Likewise, outside of the clinic, plenty of studies have proven the ability of mindfulness meditation to treat depression, particularly in those with severe emotional difficulties. Another benefit that can’t be dismissed is the fact that mindfulness meditation seems to be longer-lasting than many other antidepressant therapies.
For those interested in instituting a practice, here are a few easy steps for introducing meditation into your life.
Yoga
It’s an obvious lead from meditation is yoga, which itself can be a form of meditation. While it’s fair to say that there’s a notable lack of large studies examining the link between yoga and depression, existing research is already substantiating favorable anecdotal evidence.
In the first study performed in the U.S. to look at yoga as a standalone treatment for depression (notable that it was published just a few months ago), 20 adults with mild to moderate depression were randomly assigned to 90-minute yoga classes twice a week for 8 weeks. Another 18 adults with mild to moderate depression spent the same amount of time in attention-control educational classes, sans-action. The yoga group showed significantly greater remission of their depressive disorders than the control group.
Other studies have supported the use of yoga as an enhancement to traditional talk therapy and as a pivotal embodiment therapy (PDF) for overcoming trauma and the psychological symptoms (including depression) related to it.
Hydrotherapy
Now we move into murky waters…literally. While it’s fair to say that the use of water treatments for various ailments goes way back, it’s not until recently that using hydrotherapy for treating mental illness has raised a few brows once more. This form of treatment can utilize hydrological variations to produce a range of beneficial effects in the body.
It’s not exactly rocket science, when you think about it. If you’re like me, you love a good plunge in a polar pool. That feeling you get afterwards, once you get over the initial shock, is one of clarity and invigoration. This suggests, then, that bringing our skin into contact with water of varying temperatures can change both our physiology and mood. In the case of cold water immersion, for example, restriction of the surface blood vessels forces blood into the core in an attempt to conserve heat. This sends a jet of oxygen-rich and nutrient-dense red stuff to the brain and vital organs, the beneficial effect of which is almost instantaneous.
But for our humble Primal readers out there, a daily polar plunge might not always be a viable (or desirable) option. Fortunately, preliminary evidence suggests that a simple cold shower may also provide a notable antidepressant effect. While research is only in the preliminary stage, this study suggests that easing your shower temp down to 20°C (68 fahrenheit) and sticking it out for 2-3 minutes is a good starting point. If nothing else, it’ll wake you up.
At the other end of the spectrum, it’s possible that hot water may perform a similar anti-depressive function. The most notable of hydrotherapies in this arena is balneotherapy—the use of hot water baths for healing. A 2010 study that compared 21 days of balneotherapy to standard antidepressant medications found that the former resulted in significantly higher remission of depression and was longer sustained.
Another study showed that hot mineral water treatments improved serotonin levels and had a positive effect on depression. That being said, with both these articles its hard to say whether it was the mineral component that provided the beneficial effect, or the hot water component. I’m inclined to think both.
Heat Therapy
Whereas hydrotherapy uses combinations of water and temperature variations to treat depression, heat therapy relies solely on, well…heat.
And I’m talking about quite a lot of heat here. A study published last year used a whole-body hyperthermic device to raise the body temp of 338 individuals to 38.5 Celsius (101 Fahrenheit) over the course of 6 weeks. Using a control group who were tricked into thinking they were also experiencing a rise in temp, the researchers were able to confirm that whole-body hyperthermia is a “safe, rapid-acting, antidepressant modality with a prolonged therapeutic benefit.”
Another study published in 2013 used whole-body hyperthermia to produce much the same result. But while it appears that there were statistical errors, there’s enough emerging evidence out there to suggest that this treatment is worth giving a shot. Those of us outside the laboratory might try a traditional or (even better perhaps) an infrared sauna. A hot bath or longer hot shower may also work for this purpose.
Curcumin
Curcumin is known for its anti-inflammatory prowess, meaning its currently a preferential natural treatment for any number of arthritic and autoimmune conditions. But what about mental health?
Current thinking in the scientific community largely posits depression as an affliction of both the central nervous system and systemic inflammation, meaning any reduction in system inflammation via, say, curcumin supplementation, can potentially impact depression. And while initial trials demonstrated no positive correlation between curcumin and depression, those same studies admitted that they needed a longer duration and higher dosages. Later stints that did just that found some promising signs, but once again concluded that they needed still higher dosages and larger cohorts. See a trend emerging here?
Finally, this year, researchers had a breakthrough: significantly greater improvements in depressive symptoms from curcumin supplementation than placebo. Interestingly, however, they didn’t find any difference in effectiveness between low and high curcumin dosages.
EMDR
Next, while something called eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) has attained mainstream status for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorders, it’s not until recently that this same treatment has been applied to depression. A 2015 study published in the Journal of Brain and Behavior recognized that “trauma and other adverse life experiences can be the basis of depression,” and on this basis sought to determine whether EMDR could be an effective antidepressant.
Sixteen patients with depressive episodes were treated with EMDR therapy by reprocessing memories of stressful life events, while continuing the use of standard antidepressant drugs. The results showed that more than two-thirds of the EMDR patients showed full remission at the end of treatment, which was a significantly greater reduction in depression than a control group that was treated with antidepressants alone. What’s more, one year later the EMDR group reported less depressive symptoms and relapses than the control group.
While more research and larger study groups are needed to clarify the link between EMDR and depression, it’s an area that shows some promise, particularly for trauma-related depression.
Thanks for reading, everyone. Have your or anyone you know had success with any of the above therapies, or with something else I haven’t covered today? Share your thoughts below, and have a good end to the week.
0 notes
Text
7 Alternative Therapies for Depression
As I discussed last month, depression is the yin to anxiety’s yang. Between these two troublemakers, they’ve got dark clouds hanging over both the past and the future, making the present moment complicated at best (and for some people unbearable). Taken as a human composite, it’s an unfortunate trade-off for being cognitively complex. As individuals, however, we naturally just want a solution.
The problem is, there’s just so many confounding factors surrounding depression that it’s hard to know where to start. Your mind is an infinitely complex latticework of moving parts; one which continues to baffle and divide the scientific community. How does a practitioner prescribe suitable treatments for a problem they don’t fully comprehend? And, yet, medical science often (and perhaps inevitably) works with incomplete information.
The result is a suite of antidepressant drugs that may be effective in treating certain aspects of depression in certain people, but which also present a suite of their own often-debilitating problems. It doesn’t mean these approaches don’t have their value. I recognize that for some, these medications may be live saving or sustaining. For others, they offer support through acute or overwhelming times or, in still other cases, give a leg up while other interventions have the chance to take hold. My purpose here isn’t to suggest people give these drugs and other conventional treatments the boot. I see this post as a dialogue that offers supplementary strategies to augment any assigned treatment.It can hopefully be or contribute to a toolbox that moves beyond the scope of simple self-care into research-supported territory. And while they’re likely more effective for mild to moderate depression, I think it’s fair to say that no one should write off the therapeutic benefits of healthy lifestyle measures for their overall treatment program.
In that spirit, let me offer the genuine caveat: any folks under medical care for any condition (depression or otherwise) should consult their medical professional before making any change in their treatment plan. But you knew that already.
Exercise
There’s definitely some dead horse flogging here, but if I’ve said it once I’ve said it a thousand times: exercise is a must for rebalancing mental health. Last week, I discussed how the “feel good” hormone serotonin, a sworn enemy of depression, can be increased via exercise. This is achieved by motor neurons promoting the synthesis and release of serotonin, and by encouraging production of tryptophan, a precursor to serotonin.
All well and good, but which exercise is best for fighting depression? Older thinking has always privileged aerobic exercise when it comes to mental health. This study, for example, notes that “BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) by aerobic exercise appears to ameliorate hippocampal atrophy, improve memory function, and reduce depression.”
But while a good bout of cardio is certainly beneficial for elevating mood, studies that examine a range of exercise forms suggest that certain types may be better. An experiment that investigated the effects of aerobics, bodybuilding, and circuit training on 45 depressed patients showed that bodybuilding was the clear winner in reducing depressive symptoms. Another study that compared the effects of aerobic and non-aerobic (i.e. resistance training) exercise on depression found that while both forms were beneficial, non-aerobic exercise was superior in all-round mood-lifting effects.
Personally, I’m all about lifting heaving things, but for a broad-spectrum approach check out this post.
Meditation
Here’s another well-trodden Primal go-to. With ample clinical evidence supporting claims that meditation is a tried-and-true formula for treating depression, few would argue otherwise.
I’d be inclined to say that any meditation form will help in the depression realm, but this time we’re all about facts. And those facts lead us straight to the mindfulness doorstep. Not one to pass on a good thing, I’ve written at length about mindfulness and the way in which it encourages both a healthy mindset and a healthy body.
As this paper puts it, mindfulness is “a practice of learning to focus attention on moment-by-moment experience with an attitude of curiosity, openness, and acceptance.” It’s that conscious and continual awareness of both the pattern and nature of our thoughts that diminishes ruminative thinking, one of the key characteristics within depression.
In the lab, applications of mindfulness-based stress reduction and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy have both been put to good effect for decreasing psychological distress and offering both broad spectrum anti-depressive and anti-anxiety effects. Likewise, outside of the clinic, plenty of studies have proven the ability of mindfulness meditation to treat depression, particularly in those with severe emotional difficulties. Another benefit that can’t be dismissed is the fact that mindfulness meditation seems to be longer-lasting than many other antidepressant therapies.
For those interested in instituting a practice, here are a few easy steps for introducing meditation into your life.
Yoga
It’s an obvious lead from meditation is yoga, which itself can be a form of meditation. While it’s fair to say that there’s a notable lack of large studies examining the link between yoga and depression, existing research is already substantiating favorable anecdotal evidence.
In the first study performed in the U.S. to look at yoga as a standalone treatment for depression (notable that it was published just a few months ago), 20 adults with mild to moderate depression were randomly assigned to 90-minute yoga classes twice a week for 8 weeks. Another 18 adults with mild to moderate depression spent the same amount of time in attention-control educational classes, sans-action. The yoga group showed significantly greater remission of their depressive disorders than the control group.
Other studies have supported the use of yoga as an enhancement to traditional talk therapy and as a pivotal embodiment therapy (PDF) for overcoming trauma and the psychological symptoms (including depression) related to it.
Hydrotherapy
Now we move into murky waters…literally. While it’s fair to say that the use of water treatments for various ailments goes way back, it’s not until recently that using hydrotherapy for treating mental illness has raised a few brows once more. This form of treatment can utilize hydrological variations to produce a range of beneficial effects in the body.
It’s not exactly rocket science, when you think about it. If you’re like me, you love a good plunge in a polar pool. That feeling you get afterwards, once you get over the initial shock, is one of clarity and invigoration. This suggests, then, that bringing our skin into contact with water of varying temperatures can change both our physiology and mood. In the case of cold water immersion, for example, restriction of the surface blood vessels forces blood into the core in an attempt to conserve heat. This sends a jet of oxygen-rich and nutrient-dense red stuff to the brain and vital organs, the beneficial effect of which is almost instantaneous.
But for our humble Primal readers out there, a daily polar plunge might not always be a viable (or desirable) option. Fortunately, preliminary evidence suggests that a simple cold shower may also provide a notable antidepressant effect. While research is only in the preliminary stage, this study suggests that easing your shower temp down to 20°C (68 fahrenheit) and sticking it out for 2-3 minutes is a good starting point. If nothing else, it’ll wake you up.
At the other end of the spectrum, it’s possible that hot water may perform a similar anti-depressive function. The most notable of hydrotherapies in this arena is balneotherapy—the use of hot water baths for healing. A 2010 study that compared 21 days of balneotherapy to standard antidepressant medications found that the former resulted in significantly higher remission of depression and was longer sustained.
Another study showed that hot mineral water treatments improved serotonin levels and had a positive effect on depression. That being said, with both these articles its hard to say whether it was the mineral component that provided the beneficial effect, or the hot water component. I’m inclined to think both.
Heat Therapy
Whereas hydrotherapy uses combinations of water and temperature variations to treat depression, heat therapy relies solely on, well…heat.
And I’m talking about quite a lot of heat here. A study published last year used a whole-body hyperthermic device to raise the body temp of 338 individuals to 38.5 Celsius (101 Fahrenheit) over the course of 6 weeks. Using a control group who were tricked into thinking they were also experiencing a rise in temp, the researchers were able to confirm that whole-body hyperthermia is a “safe, rapid-acting, antidepressant modality with a prolonged therapeutic benefit.”
Another study published in 2013 used whole-body hyperthermia to produce much the same result. But while it appears that there were statistical errors, there’s enough emerging evidence out there to suggest that this treatment is worth giving a shot. Those of us outside the laboratory might try a traditional or (even better perhaps) an infrared sauna. A hot bath or longer hot shower may also work for this purpose.
Curcumin
Curcumin is known for its anti-inflammatory prowess, meaning its currently a preferential natural treatment for any number of arthritic and autoimmune conditions. But what about mental health?
Current thinking in the scientific community largely posits depression as an affliction of both the central nervous system and systemic inflammation, meaning any reduction in system inflammation via, say, curcumin supplementation, can potentially impact depression. And while initial trials demonstrated no positive correlation between curcumin and depression, those same studies admitted that they needed a longer duration and higher dosages. Later stints that did just that found some promising signs, but once again concluded that they needed still higher dosages and larger cohorts. See a trend emerging here?
Finally, this year, researchers had a breakthrough: significantly greater improvements in depressive symptoms from curcumin supplementation than placebo. Interestingly, however, they didn’t find any difference in effectiveness between low and high curcumin dosages.
EMDR
Next, while something called eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) has attained mainstream status for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorders, it’s not until recently that this same treatment has been applied to depression. A 2015 study published in the Journal of Brain and Behavior recognized that “trauma and other adverse life experiences can be the basis of depression,” and on this basis sought to determine whether EMDR could be an effective antidepressant.
Sixteen patients with depressive episodes were treated with EMDR therapy by reprocessing memories of stressful life events, while continuing the use of standard antidepressant drugs. The results showed that more than two-thirds of the EMDR patients showed full remission at the end of treatment, which was a significantly greater reduction in depression than a control group that was treated with antidepressants alone. What’s more, one year later the EMDR group reported less depressive symptoms and relapses than the control group.
While more research and larger study groups are needed to clarify the link between EMDR and depression, it’s an area that shows some promise, particularly for trauma-related depression.
Thanks for reading, everyone. Have your or anyone you know had success with any of the above therapies, or with something else I haven’t covered today? Share your thoughts below, and have a good end to the week.
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