mental health – allgoodthings4you

Too Much Moodiness?

August 20, 2017

I have noticed that we tend to get irritated way too easily. A hiccup in our plans, rearranging the schedule last minute, the slow driver on the highway, technology that won’t work. Anything that causes us a little inconvenience just gets under our skin and turns our whole mood sour and our day is ruined.

Now, I want to say first off that it’s not wrong to get a little irritated sometimes… because it IS rough when you are stuck behind a really slow driver, or you are trying to get something accomplished and technology is just not working with us. However, we let those inconveniences bother us WAY more than we should. We constantly dwell on them and, instead of taking a deep breath and controlling how we think and look at our situations, we let them control us and our thoughts. Then we have a big mess. 🙂 We ourselves are miserable, and we also make it miserable for those around us. What is inside, what we meditate and dwell on, is eventually going to come out… and no one wants to be around someone who is miserable. They will be miserable, too.

It is impossible in this life to have positive thoughts all the time and never get irritated. We are sinful people living in a sinful world after all; but we don’t have to be in a bad mood ALL the time. And we don’t have to transfer that bad mood to others. Here are some helpful tips to try and reduce those moods:

1. Positive Noise

What you let yourself listen to has a great impact on how you behave and what you think about. It is very easy to get annoyed when we are on the road. With construction, crazy drivers and annoyingly long traffic lights, there is a lot that can mess up our day and our plans; and don’t even get me started about when there is a time limit involved!

So plug your ears to all the negative thoughts flying around you and pop in some of your favorite music… or an audio book. You are much less likely to be fuming about the length of the light or the slowness of the cars around you when you are trying to concentrate on the words to your favorite song. It makes time go by much faster. And don’t be afraid to sing along! Hey, when you are sitting in bumper to bumper traffic, roll down your windows and share the joy! 🙂

2. Smell the Roses

Nature is very therapeutic. Have you ever noticed how calming a walk in the park is? A hike through the woods? A swim in the lake? Try taking a walk when things start getting under your skin. Even just walking barefoot in your backyard (this is called grounding) feels so relaxing. All the irritating things we struggle with seem so small in the midst of the beauty in nature.

Try applying or diffusing some of the many soothing and uplifting essential oils. I’m sure you have a favorite smell that just makes everything around you seem brighter.

3. Talk About It

You know, sometimes we just NEED TO RANT; and occasionally that is OK. Keeping our feelings locked up inside is not always a good thing. If we are struggling with frustrations and we keep it tucked away it can easily grow until it eats away at us… or we explode. Neither of those options are good. 🙂 Sometimes talking to your family and friends about things that bother you is a great way to relieve stress. Be careful with your words, you don’t want to drag anyone down or make them desire to run away. After you talk about it, let it go. The more you bring it up the more you are tempted to dwell on those little details. Then it is a very slippery slide to where it consumes your thoughts again.

Pray. God will always listen and He is willing to help you with your struggles. As a side note… it may be thought of as crazy, but talking about things out loud to yourself can help a lot. 😀

Look around you. God gave us an amazing life to live; and it is a shame to waste it by letting the little troubles of the day get under our skin and make us miserable. Trust me, it is not worth it. Besides, we all think it would be wonderful if the people we meet every day would be in good moods for us. How can we expect something from someone else that we are not willing to do ourselves?

So begin with you (and me), and get out there today and start that positive domino effect! Spread the JOY!!

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope…”

Wonderfully Made

May 19, 2017

Woman Silhouette Waiting For Summer Sun

I know this can be a touchy subject for many people. But it is all over in our culture today and it is pretty damaging to many people.

Advertisements on a billboard, or a commercial during your favorite TV show: “Get the body you’ve always wanted.” “Look like a supermodel.” “Have perfect skin.”

Here’s a question to think about: What makes a supermodel?

You see, our world believes you should look a certain way in order to be beautiful and to be noticed. There is only one shape, one size, a perfect weight. And we have been sucked into believing this, whether we realize it or not.

Don’t think so? Let me ask you: Have you ever been dissatisfied with your shape? Have you ever, even for just a moment, wished you looked different? Had different hair, better skin, prettier features? Have you ever doubted, or denied, you were pretty – even after having so many people tell you how beautiful you were? Too many girls and women fall into this way of thinking. The harm that this causes comes in several forms, but I’ll just mention two major ones that I’ve seen (and felt) through the years.

Form #1: Not Enough

We begin to hate ourselves. We don’t care. We get embarrassed about ourselves and we also tend to annoy others with our constant denials when they complement us. We get discouraged, and jealous, when we see others we think are prettier than ourselves. We don’t believe we are worth much, if anything.

This has to sadden God, who put so much into us and considers us His masterpiece, and we neglect it and think it ugly and worthless. We are always trying to change it. Yes, we may be a mess (we don’t meet our beauty standards) but we are a BEAUTIFUL mess – because we were made by the author of beauty. Just look around. See the sunset? The stars and the moon? Look and see the flowers that grow in the field every spring. Why do we care so much what the world thinks beauty is? “Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.” It is defined by the person who sees it. And the world is fickle. It will change its definition of beauty every day. But God’s is constant.

Form #2: Too Much

On the other hand…. In our efforts to look better and be better (to prove ourselves to everyone) we can easily go overboard. We don’t eat enough and we wear ourselves out, making it worse instead of better. We can easily get overzealous and injure ourselves (I’ve been in this form, too). It can be very hard to recover from this.

So now you may be thinking, “Where is the balance? How do I keep from going too far one way or the other?”

Believe me, it is not easy to find the balance. On the #1 hand: be content with yourself and don’t long to be someone you are not meant to be. But DO NOT be content with letting yourself go and accepting it as “this is who I am”. We have been given a beautiful gift to take care of. And we should do our best to keep our bodies in the best condition they can be. And that leads me to hand #2… 3 words: everyone is different. Each person can handle different levels of diet and exercise. The important thing here is to know your body… and to listen to it AND the people around you who know.

To sum it up in a nutshell: Take care of what you have been given, but also be confident in who you are. In who God made you to be. For you are wonderfully made. His beautiful creation.

Now go forth with these new thoughts in your mind… and live long and prosper! 😀

4 Simple Ways to Get Your Brain and Body in Gear for Each Day’s Adventures

August 2, 2016

Walking Or Running Legs In Forest, Adventure And Exercising

Each day and its events are gifts. New adventures to live and lessons to learn. Fun times to spend with family and friends, or maybe you are working today or going to school. Whatever the day holds for you, you want to be able to have energy to do what you need or want to do, and you want to be able to enjoy it as much as possible. But let’s admit it, there are those days when the alarm goes off in the morning and you just wish you could stay in bed. You can’t seem to get yourself going. You, half asleep, prepare for the day and slowly make it through the list of things to do (or most of them).

We all have many days like that. But how can we avoid them? Well, we can’t always avoid them. But here is the good news: We can help to lessen those days.

Here are some tips that can help you get your brain motivated and make you feel ready and alert for each new adventure.

1. Exercise

Keeping physically active is so important to your body’s health. Your brain included. Exercise increases the heart rate and gets more oxygen pumped to the brain. It also helps to release hormones that aid in the growth of brain cells. It helps us be more awake and alert and eager to get our day accomplished. So take just a few minutes a day to get that heart pumping. Do a few jumping jacks, take a short brisk walk around the block, and get ready for the day!

2. Food

While we know that eating food for fuel is a must, keeping our energy up, eating the right food is essential. The food we eat (and don’t eat) affect every part of our body, and God created foods to help each part. You probably grew up hearing certain foods referred to as “brain food”.

Green leafy vegetables
Salmon
Blueberries
Avocados
Walnuts

These brain foods, rich in antioxidants and good fats, vitamins and minerals can help improve overall brain function and memory and help your body to fight diseases.

3. Rest and Sleep

A well rested brain keeps the body functioning efficiently. We all know that when we are well rested we perform our duties much better and we are better equipped to tackle the day’s “To Do List”. Sleep has also been known to enhance memory and help improve performance of challenging skills. You are also better equipped to fight sickness. So let your brain relax at the end of the day. Clear your mind of stress and events from the day and get plenty of sleep.

4. Prayer and Bible Reading

What better way to get a healthy brain than to go to its Creator! Take all your stress and the things that clutter and slow her brain down and talk to God about them. Ask Him for help in clearing your mind and trusting Him with everything you worry about. He wants you to have a healthy brain, too.

Mental Health and Whole Body Approach: Saving Laura

September 29, 2014

Laura is a client who wants to share her story. It NEEDS to be shared. It needs to be shared FAR AND WIDE! She is a young woman and mother who has been buried in psychotropic drugs for years. The mental image is absolutely implied! It has been taking a terrible toll on her body and mind. She and her mom are excellent writers. Below is a blog about the work we are doing as a team to Save Laura. Her mother, Dawn, is a Licensed Professional Counselor and has had a paradigm shift. She had shifted so far towards Natural Health practices with her clients, we have created a community for her to see clients in one of the rooms in my suite! She has seen the devastating impact psychotropic drugs on many of her clients. Far too many people are on them.

My brother-in-law died a few years ago due to the devastating effects of his psychotropic drugs. His young body just had enough. Lithium had been given to him at lethal levels for years. I dream about him from time to time. I dream of him healed but in heaven. If I knew what I know now, he might have been able to recover in this life. I’ve heard stories about how he was an amazing kid! His talent for sports was remarkable. He tested at genius levels. He was very active as a kid and, one day, his teacher told his parents to put him on Ridilin. And so the spiral downward began… ADHD, Bi-Polar, Schizophrenic, Schizoaffective Disorders, etc… And you already know the end of the story, too soon. He was 47. I never knew him with a sane moment during my time with him. So, instead of saving Roy, I look forward. He is healed in heaven, but Laura has work to do here. She will need her full faculties until her time to go. I will support her whole body because… Masterfully created, the body absolutely has the ability to heal, if it is given what is needed.

PLEASE read the blog link and SHARE it if it makes an impact on you. We have a great deal more work to do, but working with the design of the body, instead of fighting it, we can nourish it! Instead of fighting it, we can detoxify. Her body is young and smart, it just needs support. It CAN reset.

Dawn and I will be making videos and recording about the value of Mental Health + Whole Body Health. More of that to come soon! I am actually very excited about this. Her website is http://www.hopeharbordfw.com

Here is the link to Laura’s Whole Body approach and how I am working with her:

http://savinglaurairons.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-paradigm-shift-exploring.html

When you finish there, read THIS link. It is how Laura describes what it feels like to be on the meds. It will leave you thinking. And then you will get it.

http://savinglaurairons.blogspot.com/2014/08/what-life-is-like-on-psychotropic.html

And when you finish these, pray for her! And her team. She gets to LIVE.