Mental Disorder: Looking At The Ability Versus The Disability

Many times when we encounter problems in our life or when we are not the same as other people, it is easy to feel sad, disempowered and withdrawn.  Similarly, when we encounter a person with a mental disability like autism, dyslexia, or attention deficit disorder, we tend to focus on how they are different from us and how their life must be lacking.  Yet, people with autism, dyslexia or attention deficit disorder have a different way of processing the world and other information.  Many times these different methods of processing leaves the person with a gift.  For example, people with attention deficit disorder have higher levels of creativity and are superb inventor types.  Those having dyslexia have better peripheral perception and excel at visual tasks like art and design.  People with autism can process large amounts of information while retaining many specific details.

When people who are perceived as different or less than us are looked at as having a special gift or as simply doing things in another way, we all benefit.  Each person brings their own unique gift to the world.

Bringing this idea in our own lives can enrich us as well.  It is easy to judge and be critical of things that are different from us.  It is also easy to judge ourselves when we do not have the same things as our friends and family (money, spouses, children, healthy bodies, athletic, spiritual, clever, patience, etc.).  Yet, these different things have upsides.  It may take a little searching and effort but when we find the gift hidden in something we were initially negative about, we get two gifts.  One, we get to experience the gift we found.  Two, we become creative, adaptive and resilient people who can turn things around.

Stay healthy & well,
Lisa

Parenting Children When They Lie

According to researchers most children are lying by the age of two and they continue to do so while most parents are poorly detecting it.  Parents want to believe their children are honest.  It is difficult to think of your children as having bad traits.

If children's lies go undetected and/or unaddressed, children continue to lie and the stakes get higher.  A little two year old may lie to get a cookie, but an older child may be hanging out with unsavory friends in dangerous situations.

While I am no expert and I can only explain my parenting position, my disclaimer has been offered.  Each parent needs to parent in a way they feel comfortable with.  While it is important deal with the lie in the moment, it is equally important to recognize whether our behavior as parents contributes to the lying.  When we lie out of convenience or for personal gain (getting out of that social invitation or to get a special discount), we show our children that lying is ok in certain situations.  Maybe we can go one step further by being concerned with whether we are lying to ourselves about the types of results we will have by the things we do.  It is easy to judge and blame someone else for a weakness, but it is hard to take an honest look at ourselves and see how we may have brought this "thing" into our life.

Our environment is made up of the beliefs we have and the actions we do.  Becoming the person we want to be requires us to put in the effort to support the beliefs and actions that will create this ideal.  Sometimes, we need to say no in an uncomfortable situation or admit we screwed up.  The easy lie seems great at first, but it tends to bring more lies into our life.  As we honestly appraise our actions, we can create more of what we want in our life.  As we struggle with this, our children watch and learn how to navigate life.  Raising children is not easy.  I believe that having children teaches us adults how to raise ourselves to adulthood.

Stay healthy & well,
Lisa

Stress- Eating Your Brain & Growing Your Waistline

We all know too much stress is bad.  It doesn't feel good and makes you unhappy.  Stress has become a part of modern life and most people have chronic elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol in their blood stream.  This constant presence of cortisol causes the body harm.  Most people are willing to put up with the stress and some people feel obligated to keep pushing themselves to achieve and do.  But maybe if people realized that stress makes them become stupid and fat, they would want to make some changes.  It is frightening to watch yourself forget simple things and have decreased decision making ability.  It is sad to watch your body increase in size and be affected by food cravings.

To prevent these side effects, one needs to use techniques to reduce the cortisol.  Some of the pillars of Ayurveda can help do this.  The first pillar is sleep.  Good sleep and rest restores mental and physical processes so the body is stronger and more resilient in the face of stress.  The second pillar is meditation.  Meditation calms the mind so that it does not ruminate and constantly recycle a disturbing situation.  The rumunating makes us relive the stress.  Exercise is also important in Ayurveda, and the benefit is that exercise burns off excess cortisol running through the body.  It also helps manage the weight better.

Once we reduce our cortisol, we will be smart enough to figure out how to deal with everything better and we will look beautiful and fit while we do it.

Stay healthy & well,
Lisa

Green Coffee And Weight Loss

Did you know that coffee beans that are unroasted, unripened and green are proving to be a miracle weight loss supplement?  Studies are showing people who take the extract made from these coffee beans are losing on average 16% of their body fat.  These people in the studies did not change their caloric intake to achieve these results.

The one complaint with the extract is its extremely bitter taste.  This bitter taste, according to Ayurveda, is one of the reasons that it works well for weight loss.  In Ayurveda, food is judged based by its taste and the energetic action it causes in the body.  The taste of bitter is anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, germicidal and detoxifying.  In general, it is purifying and very cleansing.  In small amounts, the taste of bitter stimulates the digestive process.  However, in excess, the bitter taste can cause a wasting away of the tissues in the body, which can lead to depletion and weakness.  On a mental level, it can cause delusions and dizziness. 

While the bitterness of green coffee may be good to jump start weight loss, Ayurveda looks to balance naturally so as not to stress the body.  Extreme and fast weight loss will not give us the health we want in the long run.

Stay healthy & well,
Lisa

Getting Your Mind To Rest And Revive

We all experience mental exertion and stress.  Some people are better than others at balancing work, stress and rejuvenative time.  Moreover, studies find that different types of "rest" are needed for different situations.  The experts all agree, however, that the break your mind needs does not have to be enjoyable or fun - your mind needs a break to function in the most healthy, productive way.

Ayurveda holds rest as one of the foundations of health and Ayurveda also gives recommendations based on a person's body or illness type.  There is no one size fits all.  The scientific studies support this individual approach. 

Here are some of the recommendations.  Someone who is involved in sustained focus like active studying or working with numbers should take a nature break by walking in a park, indoor atrium or even look at pictures of nature.  After the break, people's cognitive performance did improve.  The nature break is also a very helpful "break" for depression and anxiety.  The nature walk should not be in a crowded city street, because the details in a crowded city street require focused attention.

If you are in the middle of a stressful task that has a deadline, it is best to work through it.  If you believe you have the will power and strength to get the job done, you will feel good during the process.  In fact, you will achieve better results and have more will power for future tasks.  Having coffee when you are stressed, leaves many feeling more stressed and wound up.  So if you are looking for a pick me up, try a little exercise or have a small healthy snack with a little protein and fiber like almond butter and an apple.

As a mom, the recommendations seem like something I would tell my kids.  The most important thing is to believe in your strength and will power.  Your positive attitude will boost you the most.  Yet, you are not a machine, so take a break.  Get a little fresh air, get a little exercise and feed yourself good food.  Finally, get the rest you need by sleeping and you won't need caffeine to pull you through.  Ayurveda also espouses a healthy, balanced lifestyle to empower one both physically and mentally.

So, the next time you are overwhelmed and need a mental break, do what your mom, grandmother or Ayurvedic Practitioner would tell you.  You will be feeling great in no time.

Stay healthy & well,
Lisa