Shortcuts to Inner Peace.

Approximately 10% of Americans -- that’s close to twenty-one million people – suffer from depression. Some accounts claim that one hundred and twenty million people worldwide suffer from this burdensome disease. While treatments range from medication to meditation, talk therapy to exercise – having an assortment of tools in your toolbox is obviously helpful. The following five tools are easy to weave into your day. They are deceptively simple; they help relax the body, calm the mind, and open the heart. When you use them regularly, they will help bring light into the darkness.

Take Five

The instruction for this breathing exercise is to inhale through your nose for the count of five, hold for the count of five, and exhale through your mouth for the count of five. This relaxes your body and stops any spiral of stressful thoughts.

Light a Candle

Simply light a candle and gaze into the flame for several minutes. The symbolism of creating light in darkness is bolstered by the hypnotic, relaxing effect of watching the flame dance. Notice the color, the movement, the sound. When you blow out the flame, notice the stream of smoke curling skyward. This mindfulness practice anchors you to the now.

Big Sky

When you walk outside, remember to look up at the sky. Notice cloud formations, color, movement. Add the thought, the spaciousness above me is mirrored in the spaciousness within me. Remember that you are bigger than any condition or diagnosis. 

Take Me Away

Close your eyes and spend a few moments remembering a beloved beautiful place where you felt completely at peace. If you are having trouble thinking of a place, you can imagine a place of beauty or comfort. Try to summon details: sounds, colours, tastes, smells. Savor each detail and imagine the scene expanding in your body. This 'peace place' experience is available to you in any situation.

Rest in Peace

Before you fall asleep at night, think if three things from your day for which you are grateful. Think of specific experiences and actually relieve these moments from your day, allowing the warm hearted gratitude to soak into your body.

Each of these well-being practices take only a few moments to do and yet their impact is dramatic. Used regularly, they will keep you anchored to the light.

Ashley Davis Bush, LCSW is a psychotherapist in southern New Hampshire and the author of three self-help books including: Shortcuts to Inner Peace: 70 Simple Paths to Everyday Serenity.

Mental illness reaching severe levels in Manitoba

Non-profit organizations say community approach, funding necessary

by Ethan Cabel (News Assignment Editor)

A recent campaign by the Mood Disorders Association of Manitoba aims to get people talking about mental illness. 

Instances of mental illness in Manitoba have skyrocketed in recent years, according to experts, and provincial organizations are now calling for community-based approaches to addressing the problem. According to media reports based on freedom of information requests, the number of Manitobans diagnosed with mental illnesses has increased 56 per cent in a 15-year period, up from 111,544 Manitobans in 1995 to 173,496 Manitobans in 2010.

“The bleeding happens on the inside, not on the outside, so awareness of the issue is a constant challenge,” said Tara Brousseau, the executive director of the non-profit Mood Disorders Association (MDA) of Manitoba, a community-based organization helping those with mood disorders out of eight branch locations throughout the province. Part of the awareness issue, according to Brousseau, is that Manitobans have less access to psychological help, in the form of therapy, than Canadians living in other provinces. According to statistics from the Manitoba Psychological Society, there are 17 psychologists per 100,000 Manitobans versus 47 per 100,000 Canadians. The MDA has sought to address this through its mandate, which focuses almost on self help exercises, but even that form of therapy is under-funded.

“On our side, which is the self-help side, our funding has been frozen for the last four years by the provincial government,” said Brousseau, adding that, while five years ago the MDA came in contact with 21,000 people, in 2011 they came in contact with 36,000 people. Meanwhile, the association’s provincial funding has been frozen at $351,000 for four years. That number would have to be doubled or even tripled to match the growing demand for the services that the MDA offers by hiring beyond the 16 part-time staff that keep the organization afloat, she said. Even a recent awareness campaign that appeared on billboards and transit buses throughout the city did not receive any direct provincial funding. The campaign, titled “We’re Crazy Not to Talk About Mental Illness,” was funded through a $20,000 annual fundraising drive and provided to the MDA for the campaign.

Today is Bell Let's Talk Day (February 8th)

Bell Let's Talk Day is about recognizing the fact that talking about mental health is the first step in making a difference in the lives of all Canadians so... let's talk.
Start a conversation. There are many misconceptions and fears about what mental health means in the context of home, work and school. Often it is the elephant in the room that no one wants or knows how to talk about. 

For every text message and long distance call made by Bell and Bell Aliant customers today, Bell will donate another 5 cents to programs dedicated to mental health. Last year’s Bell Let’s Talk Day raised $3,303,961.80 in new funding.

Why do we need to start talking about mental health? 

Stress and Depression linked to aging

Research reveals that people that experience recurring episodes of depression or those that are exposed to chronic stress have shorter telomeres in their white blood cells. “A telomere is a region of repetitive DNA sequences at the end of a chromosome, which protects the end of the chromosome from deterioration or from fusion with neighboring chromosomes.” Consequently, as we age, telomeres, the outermost part of the chromosome, shorten. 

Moreover, research suggests that oxidative stress and inflammation can accelerate this process. The lengths of telomeres are suggestive of our biological age and have been associated with age-related diseases, unhealthy lifestyle, and longevity. Additionally, new studies now show that the shortening of telomeres is also linked to recurrent depression and exposure to chronic stress. To demonstrate, researchers studied 91 patients with recurrent depression and 451 healthy patients by measuring the telomere length in their white blood cells. 
Results showed that telomeres were shorter among the patients with recurrent depression. Also, by examining the participants' stress regulation using a dexamethasone suppression test, researchers again revealed that cortisol levels, indicative of chronic stress, were also associated with shorter telomeres in both depressed participants and healthy ones.

“The fact that depressed patients as a group have shorter telomere lengths compared to healthy individuals can be largely explained by the fact that more depressed people than healthy people have disturbed cortisol regulation, which underscores that cortisol regulation and stress play a major role in depressive disorders” says Mikael Wikgren, a doctoral candidate in the research group. Accordingly, people could experience age-related complications much earlier in life; therefore properly treating and managing stress and/or depression may significantly impact the quality of life throughout the lifetime.

The myths of mental illness

There are many myths about mental illness. Until people learn the truth, they will continue to deny that mental illness exists at all or to avoid the topic entirely.

How much do you know about mental illness? Here are some of the common myths 

-and truths.

• People with mental illness are violent and dangerous. The truth is that, as a group, mentally ill people are no more violent than any other group. In fact, they are far more likely to be the victims of violence than to be violent themselves.
• People with mental illness are poor and/or less intelligent. Many studies show that most mentally ill people have average or above-average intelligence. Mental illness, like physical illness, can affect anyone regardless of intelligence, social class or income level.
• Mental illness is caused by a personal weakness.A mental illness is not a character flaw. It is an illness, and it has nothing to do with being weak or lacking will-power. Although people with mental illness can play a big part in their own recovery, they did not choose to become ill, and they are not lazy because they cannot just "snap out of it." 
• Mental illness is a single, rare disorder. Mental illness is not a single disease but a broad classification for many disorders. Anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, personality disorders, eating disorders and organic brain disorders can cause misery, tears and missed opportunities for thousands of Canadians.

Words can hurt

Words like "crazy," "cuckoo," "psycho," "wacko" and "nutso" are just a few examples of words that keep the stigma of mental illness alive. These words belittle and offend people with mental health problems. Many of us use them without intending any harm. Just as we wouldn't mock someone for having a physical illness like cancer or heart disease, it is cruel to make fun of someone with a mental illness.

SAD - Seasonal Affective Disorder:

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a debilitating, mood disorder with a predictable pattern of recurrence during the fall and winter. Experts estimate that as many as 10 million North Americans may experience SAD. Initial symptoms may include feelings of lethargy, trouble waking and getting up or cravings for heavy or carbohydrate-rich foods.

These initial symptoms often lead to a mild mood disorder for a few weeks and then may progress to chronic low mood, inability to do work, loss of pleasure in usual activities, etc. Symptoms are often most acute in January and February. The severity of symptoms, are the indicator experts use to differentiate mild winter blues from more acute SAD. With both conditions, as days become longer, symptoms tend to clear up usually by early May.

Anyone can experience SAD cycles, even thought they may not occur every year. Women of childbearing age appear to be the most vulnerable, but SAD may occur from childhood through to old age, and men can be just as strongly affected as women.

Bright light therapy is simple to administer and effective for many SAD sufferers when using a well-designed bright light therapy system on a regular daily schedule. Bright light may be "dosed" by changing the intensity level, exposure duration and/or the time of day when it is used. Generally, the recommended starting dose is 10,000 LUX for 30 minutes in the morning soon after waking. Dosage is then adjusted (increased or decreased) to suit the specific needs of the user.

One large study of SAD patients undergoing bright light therapy, published in the Archives of General Psychiatry, found significant clinical improvement in about 80% of cases when bright light was scheduled at the optimum early hour. If the bright light was scheduled later, the response rate dropped to about 40%.

To determine the optimum treatment time for bright light therapy, the Automated Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire provided by CET (Center for Environmental Therapeutics), is an excellent guide. It may be used in consultation with your physician to prepare an appropriate bright light therapy treatment schedule for your individual condition.

PostSecrets.

PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard.