Mental Health

Where did the time go?

Submitted by adewberry on Thu, 02/04/2010 - 22:17

It has been a while. My bad. I suppose life and its attendant demands has sucked me into the vortex of something more pressing than blogging the gory details of everyday life in South Florida... oh wait... I meant Colorado. Yup... we made a move from warm to cold, water to mountains, you get it.

Dr. Kozhi Makai's picture

Energy - The Real Currency Of Life

Submitted by Dr. Kozhi Makai on Sun, 10/11/2009 - 07:15

My least favorite course in high school was Physics. Mr. Jacob, from India, was a good man with a very distinctive accent. Yet, because this course was required, I sat through many classes learning about Newton’s Laws and other components of the course. As I think about the direction that this post (and others over the next few weeks) will take, I am drawn to…”energy”. According to my physics class, energy is the capacity to do work.

If that is truly the case, it is safe to say that energy is the currency we use to “pay” for life. As I have mentioned before, “time” isn’t what we must manage from day to day; it is energy. How we manage our energy (replenish it, use it, and conserve it) determines how successful and whole our days are.

Livin It's picture

Nutritional therapies for mental disorders

Submitted by Livin It on Wed, 09/09/2009 - 19:37

I recently read an eye-opening article from the Nutrition Journal about the link between the high rates of mental disorder in developed countries and diet.  Here's an excerpt and a link to the article...

"According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4 out of the 10 leading causes of disability in the US and other developed countries are mental disorders. Major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) are among the most common mental disorders that currently plague numerous countries and have varying incidence rates from 26 percent in America to 4 percent in China. Though some of this difference may be attributable to the manner in which individual healthcare providers diagnose mental disorders, this noticeable distribution can be also explained by studies which show that a lack of certain dietary nutrients contribute to the development of mental disorders..."

Dr. Kozhi Makai's picture

Only if it Matters...

Submitted by Dr. Kozhi Makai on Thu, 08/13/2009 - 20:55

"We survive on too little sleep, wolf down fast foods on the run, fuel up with coffee and cool down with alcohol and sleeping pills. Faced with relentless demands at work, we become short-tempered and easily distracted. We return home from long days at work feeling exhausted and often experience our families not as a source of joy and renewal, but as one more demand in an already overburdened life"
- Loehr & Schwartz in 'The Power of Full Engagement'

Wendie Pett's picture

Living in the Moment

Submitted by Wendie Pett on Wed, 07/29/2009 - 20:35

Recently, after hours of pounding the concrete floor at a convention in Florida, I stepped outside to gather a moment of peace. I felt as though all of my energy had been sucked out of me. Walking over to a beautiful oak tree, I sat down and shut my eyes. Then, I was startled to hear a female voice say, “Hi, looks like you’re enjoying yourself.” My immediate reaction was to hope she’d go away, but her familiar Dallas accent was welcoming, and I opened my heart to hear her words.

Dr. Kozhi Makai's picture

Persevering through Adversity...

Submitted by Dr. Kozhi Makai on Sun, 05/31/2009 - 15:38

"In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins - not through strength, but by perseverence."
- H. Jackson Brown, Jr., Author of "Life's Little Instruction Book"

I have always wondered about people who stop just short of the goal...those who give up when a little more would have turned the battle. I am not one to judge; simply pointing out a simple observation. We tend to give up too quickly!

I recently discovered something about myself: I have no desire to run a marathon...not for ego reasons or for accomplishment's sake. I can give a plethora of excuses, but it all boils down to this simple fact: I-have-no-desire. There are, however, other things I wish to accomplish in life - things I greatly desire to see through. For those, I will put my head down, like a Tour de France cyclist, and fight a strong headwind towards the finish line.

smnepa's picture

The Bipartisan Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act

Submitted by smnepa on Fri, 05/22/2009 - 12:32

Lifetime Entertainment Services is campaigning to help restore patient and consumer rights to breast cancer patients and their families.  On their mylifetime.com website here is what they are saying:

Representatives Rosa DeLauro (D-Connecticut) and Joe Barton (R-Texas) and Senators Mary Landrieu (D-Louisiana) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) recently re-introduced the bipartisan Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act in Congress. Thanks to its viewers, Lifetime has so far collected more than 23 million online petition signatures urging Congress to pass this critical legislation, which would end the practice of so-called "drive-through" mastectomies when women are forced out of the hospital only hours after invasive breast cancer surgery.

Dr. Kozhi Makai's picture

Tough Psychology

Submitted by Dr. Kozhi Makai on Wed, 05/13/2009 - 19:44
"Feeling inadequate has a universal zip code"
- Victory Ford on Season II of NBC's 'Lipstick Jungle'

I'd like to meet anyone who does not have "crises of quality" - OK, fine; this is a phrase I use to mask the feelings of "inadequacy" or "impotence" we all get to feel at some point(s) in our lives. This is a time when we doubt the quality of God's workmanship in us and feel completely useless and lacking in viability. For many of us, this is a tough season marked by picking through the rubble of the financial tornado that has hit many of our businesses and homes...

I have to say, however, that the great challenge of our age is not at the bank or on the job, but in the mind

Dr. Kozhi Makai's picture

Stress

Submitted by Dr. Kozhi Makai on Sat, 05/02/2009 - 18:21

"Stress is the fertilizer of creativity"
- Jon Voight ("24")

With the global economy as it is, "stress" has become the staple of many minds. If you aren't feeling the pangs as a woman in labor, you are among the fortunate few. Over the weeks, I have been quietly researching and recording the vocal thoughts of both the well-to-do and the middle class. It is amazing how there is stress in each of these classes. The middle class hope to save their homes and vehicles primarily, while the well-to-do hope to stop the hemorraging in their investment accounts. With that precursor, it is quite clear that we are all feeling the stress that comes with an economic downturn...

Bear with me, then, as I play my psychoanalytical role for a few moments. Stress, as a matter of course, is not a bad thing. In fact, stress can be in two forms: