If we look back over the past 100 years there’s something disturbing that many of us fail to see. Study shows that every 10 years illnesses such as Anxiety, Depression and Bipolar increases by 10%. So over the past hundred years the increase is 100%.
How could this be one might ask. It’s quite simple if you think about it. The world has evolved yet man hasn’t.
The first thing that has changed over the past 100 years is Diet. 100 years ago food came from the ground, forest and sea. The foods were pure with the right nutrients and healthy fats (omega 3 & 6). Over the past 100 years our food went from pure to processed minus the good fats and add the bad fats (trans fat, saturated). Our bodies are not set up to process processed foods nor can we take in the wrong fats hoping for the best.
The second is Stress. Life 100 years ago was so much simpler. As the decades flew by, so did our common sense. The more man discovered the more man wanted. Today opposed to 100 years ago we have the stress of work, finance ( bills for cars, houses, cottages, fancy furniture, phones, big screen tv’s, luxuries and the list goes on…), relationships (it’s easier to get divorced than to get married…and we wonder why so many marriages fail today), social expectations became higher and higher and today it’s a task just to fit in, these are just a few.
The third is sleep. 100 years ago people slept alot better than today. You go to bed early, get 8 – 9 hours sleep and your up early refreshed and ready to start the day. Today most people stay up alot later still having that early rise. 4 -5 -6 hours sleep just don’t cut it. Our bodies and minds need a good 8 – 9 hours of rest each and every day.
The fourth is the fact that 100 years ago we had to think and act. Today the majority of jobs are either seated or there’s machinery doing the work for us. We don’t even need to think for ourselves anymore. Every answer is just a click away. Our bodies and minds are one with the purpose to work and function. Less exercise as well as less brain stimulation can only do us harm.
The fifth is the fact that family values are not the same as 100 years ago. Family and friends don’t look out for eachother like they once did. Today it seems as if everyones problems are their own with nobody really supporting.
With poorer diets, outragous stressors, weakened bodies and minds and limited support there’s no doubt illnesses like Anxiety, Depression and Bipolar keep increasing.
Monthly Archives: January 2012
The Secret
Through twenty years of Bipolar ups and downs, medications, psycho-therapy and study I have searched for the Secret.
What’s the secret you might ask. Well if you think about everything that takes effort you will hear someone say there’s a secret to it.
Living with Bipolar I thought I was doing everything right accept for the fact that I would keep getting sick. It wasn’t until I began realizing that it wasn’t the episodes but rather what the episodes were about that kept making me sick.
Understanding that it’s the Issues not the illness changed my way of thinking. I began facing my Anxieties and dealing with my issues and to my amazement I learned that episodes can be stopped as quick as they can start.
I still take the medications, at times psyco-therapy, still study and still have that energy beyond ones belief but the one thing that’s not there are the episodes.
Many people are too caught up about medicine and emotion when to me
The secret was dealing with what caused the emotion.
A Kickstart is Smart
In my experience I have come to realize that in many cases it’s the mood you wake to that determines the days outcomes. I call it Waking Up On The Dark Side Of The Moon. This is where you need a Kickstart.
Assuming you have dealt with the Issues that got you sick and assuming you have a Treatment Plan made and in place your ready.
Add to your daily Treatment Plan a card with why you love the ones you do, why you love yourself and as well some reasons to stay strong. Place it where you go when you wake up eg. next to the percolator, nightstand, bathroom, where ever. Make it a habit to read and ponder for a minute each morning and watch how your mood changes. Remember mood affects feelings, feelings affect thoughts, thoughts affect behaviour and so you have the outcome of your day.
The fact of the matter is that all you are doing is writing your own personal mission statement giving yourself something worth fighting for. Not only does it change mood but it gives you that Kickstart to tackle the ups and downs of everyday life. Try it, it works…