Is there really a difference between CBT and DBT? Both Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) come from the same family of psychotherapy. Psychotherapy is one of the best treatment methods available to treat a wide range of emotional and physical health conditions, like depression and anxiety….
Time is one of life’s most valuable commodities. Consequently, between school, work and every day demands in today’s hectic world, family time is becoming more of a fond memory of days gone by. Additionally, television, computers, cell phones, and other technology are taking the place of family activities and interactions.
The decline in positive family interactions at home, and the increase in leading a more sedentary lifestyle, are two of the greatest threats to our children’s health and wellness.
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), “family has a big influence on how we perceive exercise and mental health. Exercising as a family not only gets the entire family moving to reap the benefits of exercise but also models healthy beliefs about physical activity and improves family relationships”. And with childhood obesity becoming a nationwide epidemic, getting kids moving and active is extremely vital.
As parents, we want only the best for our children’s future. Making time for simple and fun family activities can have a profound impact on the mental and physical well-being of every single family member, both young and old!
Here are some fun, budget-friendly ways to bring your loved ones closer together and get a little exercise at the same time!
1. PLAY: Avoid television for family entertainment. Go to the park and play, have a family sports night (soccer, basketball, etc.), play Frisbee, hop scotch, or get a mini trampoline.
2. PETS: If you have a dog or other pet, actively play with them as a family and even take them on a family walk.
3. SWIM: Go to the beach, lake, or public pool. Swimming is fun and lively, and your family won’t even realize they are getting exercise.
4. WALK: Walk to the store, walk to school, etc. Get pedometers for the whole family and see who can rack up the most steps. Certain ones even log your steps online or through apps, so you can expand the contest to your friends and other families.
5. ADVENTURE: Every weekend, try a new activity your family hasn’t done yet. Hiking, bowling, canoeing, ice-skating, etc., all are active exercises disguised as fun. Let each member of the family have their turn to pick the next activity, so they stay involved.
6. GYM: Join a gym that offers family discounts, and work out together. If you can afford a personal trainer, they can organize a routine for each family member.
7. WILDLIFE: Visit a zoo, wildlife preserve, or an aquarium where you’ll be walking most of the day.
8. GIFTS: When birthdays and holidays come around, give gifts that encourage fitness. Jump ropes, Frisbees, running shoes, balls, active toys, etc., can all inspire your family to get up and get moving.
9. STAIRS: Encourage your family to take the stairs, instead of the elevator, whenever possible. If they object, make a creative game out of it.
10. REWARD: Exercise can be a reward. Offer to play catch with them or play a game of kickball or capture the flag as a break from homework or chores.
11. FRIENDS: Invite your child’s friend along for any of these activities. Kids have more fun with their friends, and are more likely to want to do it again.
12. FUN: Make things fun! Build an obstacle course with your family and have everyone participate. Have hula hoop contests or play active games like hot potato, Simon Says, and Duck, Duck, Goose. The internet is a great source for finding new games to play.
13. CHORES: Household chores done as a family can be great exercise (cutting grass, cleaning, etc.). You can also make chores fun by adding a “challenge” element. Kids love challenges. “I challenge you to put away all your toys in 1 minute.” You can have a fun family reward at the end like fruit popsicles.
14. DANCE: Dancing is a great form of exercise and is a lot of fun. You can have the kids each pick their favorite song and even have themed dance nights where you dress up in funny outfits.
Kendra K is an award-winning music artist with a passion for educating and entertaining children. She is a seasoned singer, songwriter, producer, pianist and violinist with a Bachelor of Science degree in Education from the University of Arizona. Kendra has worked as a physical education teacher and is also certified as a national health and fitness consultant. When Kendra is not busy writing songs and recording albums, she enjoys donating her time and talents as a children’s health advocate. Her biggest joy in life is spending time with her husband and their young son at their beach side home in the Los Angeles area.
Visit her website, kendrakmusic.com and her new children’s music CD is available through Amazon or CD baby
References:
https://www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/May-2016/Exercise-for-Mental-Health-8-Keys-to-Get-and-Stay
https://www.hhs.gov/fitness/resource-center/facts-and-statistics/index.html
“[Whole Person Integrative Eating] provides a fresh perspective on our epidemic of overeating, overweight, and obesity…that…could signal a paradigm shift in the field of nutrition.” . . .
Are you being carried away the tide?
The best analogy I’ve come up with while working with clients to describe how most people live their lives is that they get carried away by the tide.
Imagine the powerful ocean currents pulling you in whichever direction they wish.
Life can have the same effect. People, circumstances, and indecision can carry anyone away into the tide if you let it.
It’s how people lose track of their priorities and find themselves unhealthy.
I believe this is why people are unhappy in jobs, relationships, and with life in general. Because we think life is out of our control. We forget that we get to choose.
So, if you catch yourself thinking that a situation you’re unhappy with just “is what it is,” that’s a sign you’re being carried away in the tide.
We can change any circumstance in our lives, even if it’s just changing how we perceive it. If that’s something you’d like support with regarding your health, I’d love to chat.
In conclusion, the next time someone asks you if you are being carried away by the tide, you can say: “Not anymore!”
Originally printed on Move Well Fitness blog. Reprinted with permission.
Maurice D. Williams is a personal trainer and owner of Move Well Fitness in Bethesda, MD. With almost two decades in the industry, he’s worked with a wide range of clients, including those with health challenges like diabetes, osteoporosis, multiple sclerosis, hypertension, coronary artery disease, lower back pain, pulmonary issues, and pregnancy. Maurice is also a fitness educator with Move Well Fit Academy and NASM.
Between the pressure of school, fitting in with peers and extracurricular activities, there are several challenges that children and youth are currently facing – including mental health problems.
Each year there are many studies conducted to determine the number of children suffering from mental illnesses, what these illnesses are and how many children and teens are seeking help.
Despite many countries delivering different statistics, there are similarities in the mental health of young people across the globe. Many studies, including a survey by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, discovered children and youth between the ages of 3 and 17 had one or more of the below mental health problems:
Whilst adolescents were also shown to have:
Further studies conducted in the United States in recent years have shown 11 per cent of youth reported suffering at least one major depressive episode, while 7.4 per cent of youth reported having experienced severe depression.
So, how do we approach children and adolescents when it comes to discussing mental health? Dr Ryan Harvey from Australian home doctor service, House Call Doctor, discusses the signs to look for and how to get the correct help.
While it may seem obvious to look for any ‘irregular behavior’, it’s important to specifically look for any of the below signs:
If you’re worried about the well being of a young person, the first step is to consult with a doctor.
Hopefully, your child will understand that seeing a doctor will be helpful and a GP isn’t there to judge. If your child isn’t willing to cooperate, you can look at discussing their situation without them and putting together a plan with your doctor on how to handle their behavior (it’s also helpful to write down specific situations where you have noticed a change in their behavior).
Your doctor may suggest organizing extra support at school, access to information about mental health or support for challenging behavior.
How to Talk About Mental HealthTalking about mental health can be difficult. It may be easier to approach the situation by following this step by step guide.
Step 1: Say something. According to beyondblue (an Australian non-profit organisation), it’s important to voice your concern and show your willingness to support your child. This may open a door for them to seek help.
Step 2: Listen. It can be difficult for children and youth to open up about how they’re feeling, so it’s important you’re prepared.
A few pieces of advice from beyondblue include:
Step 3: Provide reassurance. Whether it be encouraging your child to explore different options at school or to seek professional support, a simple display of reassurance and support could be the turning point for your child.
If you’re worried about the well being of a young person, please contact a doctor for further information.
Dr Ryan Harvey is the Assistant Medical Director at House Call Doctor. Dr Harvey is highly experienced in paediatrics and has administered medical care to children living in remote overseas communities. He now works with many families, administering acute care when unexpected medical situations arise overnight.
Stress and addiction are closely linked together. In fact, stress is one of the key factors(1) of addiction initiation, maintenance, relapse and treatment failure, according to Psychology Today. It is important to differentiate between chronic stress and normal stress. Normal stress can be healthy and even seen as pleasant. However, chronic stress can have harmful effects on your physical and mental health.(2) One of the biggest sources of chronic stress is in the workplace. As a result, chronic stress can cause employees to turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms such as drugs and alcohol.(3) Luckily, self-care can help you cope with this stress in a healthy way.
Mental Benefits of Self-CareSelf-care has a number of key health benefits. In its most basic form, self-care is simply taking care of yourself. Exercising, for example, can prevent several diseases and disorders including heart disease.(4) However, self-care also has a number of mental benefits as well.
Taking time away to take care of yourself provides you with a way to recharge your batteries. After a long, hard day at work, coming home and taking a relaxing bath can be akin to hitting the reset button. This makes you able to withstand everyday stressors better and enables you to stay focused and more productive when you are working.
But, now that you know the benefits of self-care, how can you actually implement it in your everyday life?
Sleep is important for our mental and physical health, but it is very often overlooked. According to ResMed, sleep helps you heal damaged cells, boost your immune system, and recharge your heart and cardiovascular system for the next day.(5) On top of these physical benefits though, getting the correct amount of sleep also has tons of mental health benefits. No one feels 100 percent when they haven’t had enough sleep.
Sleep deprivation can prevent you from focusing, make your irritable, and cause you to crave unhealthy foods. It is hard to deal with even basic, everyday stress when you haven’t had a good night’s sleep. To help you get the sleep you need, it is important to have a set sleep routine and schedule. While it might seem like you can get more work done if you stay up, it is generally a much better idea to get the sleep you need and come back to your work later.
Taking a break can be helpful when you’re feeling stressed or overwhelmed. No one can concentrate on one task for long, especially if it isn’t a task that is fun or exhilarating. So, instead of trying to focus on a task for longer than you could do accurately, take regular breaks. This can help you stay focused while you do work and decrease the amount of stress you’re under, especially at work. We recommend taking at least one break an hour and possibly even more if the task you’re doing is particularly difficult.
Eating healthy can improve your physical and mental health. Healthy food helps to boost your mood and can keep you from being stressed. Keeping healthy snacks close at hand and having regular meals can greatly enhance your overall mood and your mental stability.
Self-care can do wonders for your mental health and can prevent relapse. By preparing your body to handle stress well, you can keep your outlook positive and handle whatever the world throws at you.
Henry Moore is the co-creator of FitWellTraveler. The site blends two of his favorite subjects (travel and health) to provide readers with information about how to get the most out of both.
References:
Do you know the difference between hard work and overwork? For most professionals, the answer is likely ‘no’. While this New York Times article helps explain the difference, even those who know they are overworking may not know a way out of the trap our professions can put us in.
Pressure put on us because of financial and professional expectations can be overwhelming, and the consequences of this work-related stress can have irreparable health effects. So, if you have vacation days, take them. They serve as the best way to improve your health by escaping the negative effects of overwork, even if it is only temporary.
We would all love to have a career that truly mirrors our passions. For most, this is not possible. Even if we are doing what we are good at, or something we truly love, finding the perfect job can be near-impossible. For this reason, most of us face stress related to work that can seem an unshakeable burden.
The Huffington Post explains how the nature of many jobs – even ones not considered to be overly stressful – can have serious health consequences. Sitting, a seemingly unavoidable part of most white collar jobs, puts serious strain on our cardiovascular health. The Mayo Clinic adds how work-related stress can diminish our mental and physical well-being. Those who work jobs that are computer-dependent develop computer vision syndrome (CVS), at a clip of 64% to 90%, according to U.S. National Institute of Health.
All of this is to say, wasting your vacation days means further endangering your health. We arguably take years off of our life just from working, and turning down our vacation days adds to these already unavoidable work-related problems.
Travel days aren’t just must-takes because work is boring. Travel can actually provide health benefits that begin to take effect before you even step aboard a plane. That’s right, the anticipation of a trip alone can provide an elevated mood and decreased stress.
Express Travel Clinic breaks down the health benefits of travel into four fairly basic categories:
1) improved happiness
2) reduced anxiety, stress, and depression
3) improved physical health
and
4) an overall healthier mind
Regardless of your current physical and mental fitness, it is difficult to argue that we could not all use more of these travel-related boosts in our lives. This is especially true for those who are in recovery from addiction. Vacation can provide an opportunity for new perspective on life, self-reflection and healing, and the chance to experience activities that could fill the void formerly occupied by your addiction.
Anybody who travels should consider whether or not they want to bring their pet – typically dogs – and this is true of those in recovery, too. The companionship can help provide a sense of responsibility and stave off the urge to return to former habits; they’re a wonderfully rewarding.
Traveling is good for us, there are no two ways about it. Mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, you name it. The stress we feel from work – especially overwork – can cause irreparable health consequences, both physically and mentally. So, if you have travel days, take advantage of them. And if you don’t, you should at least consider a job that has a more reasonable approach toward your well-being.
Henry Moore is the co-creator of FitWellTraveler. The site blends two of his favorite subjects (travel and health) to provide readers with information about how to get the most out of both.
Sources
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21480937
To my dear friend in the locker room, you know who you are:
Thank you for being so honest. Your honesty brought up a topic that many people might have already touched on or made themselves aware of, but yesterday I saw another “twist.” Here is how it started:
There is a woman whom I have known for a while, first as a co-worker at the gym/my work and now as a devoted and loyal member of the gym. She has a full-time job and a little boy. On the days that I show up to work at 10:30am, she is always there in the locker room getting ready for work after she has finished her workout or fitness class. We are both running around at that point, but we smile or wave to each other, or sometimes not. Yesterday I came in at 10:30 and she was dressed and ready to leave. I smiled at her but had to do a double take. She was wearing a cute sleeveless top and her body looked soooo strong and fit. Her arms were toned with amazing muscle and the definition in her muscle looked great. I turned to her again and told her how strong and fit she looked, and that I always notice that she is there all the time and working very hard in the gym and it shows. She turned to me and said, “Thank you so much but let me tell you, I do this way more for my mental and emotional health than to look a certain way.”
And I just looked at her and said, “Isn’t that the truth??? I just went through the weekend with a massive amount of anxiety. There was not a specific reason for the anxiety, I have had it my whole life and some days it is worse than others. I remember being in the car and on the way to the gym thinking that I couldn’t get there fast enough. I knew that the only way for me to snap out of this and not let it ruin my weekend was to go to the gym and workout or go outside and jump rope. For me, putting on my music and moving my body is my form of escape, 
release, meditation, whatever you want to call it. This also forces me to BREATHE deeply, which I think has more benefits to our minds than we can ever know. And just being in my own head space with my music, my movement and my breathing is what releases at least 50% of my anxiety. The workouts help me release some of the negative chaos in my head and body.”
We had a good laugh at this because we both agreed that we find the “calm” we need through our workouts, and how awesome is it that the benefit of the chaos in our head looks great on our bodies! I actually said that out loud and it stopped me in my tracks. If we take a positive spin on anxiety, depression, anger, sadness, etc. and instead of looking at all the negative effects it has on our life, we can “twist” that statement to say, what are the benefits to having some of these issues? I have always needed to release my anxiety through exercise in order to get through the day, I now have added a tag line to that: My anxiety has shaped my body and has made me strong. The glass is now half full.
Deborah Stern has a degree in psychology/nutrition from DePaul University in Chicago, IL. She has been dedicated to helping women, men and children of all ages and all fitness levels in improving their lives through exercise, nutrition and personal growth. Deborah started early in life on this journey for herself and has been taking her clients on the journey for the past 25 years. Visit her website at foodprintforlife.com, and her blog at debapproved.blogspot.com.