How I Recovered From Depression

Depression affects more than 300 million people worldwide*.  The World Health Organization states, "Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide, and is a major contributor to the overall global burden of disease."*  Some stats report up to 15% of people will experience major depression (who know how many will have to deal with mild or moderate symptoms).**

But beyond statistics, it gets personal when it’s a dear friend, close family member, or even closer to home, yourself. I’ve certainly not come away unscathed. Several years back I was diagnosed with depression and given some antidepressants. But what really helped me to completely heal was an integrative approach. The program I went through was called the Depression Recovery Program by Dr. Neil Nedley.  This program has since been renamed The Depression and Anxiety Recovery program because it works for both. This integrative approach aims to eliminate or reduce the risk factors for depression as far as possible. Those risk factors according to Dr. Nedley's research include***:

• genetics
• certain events during upbringing
• nutrition (lack of certain nutrients or too much of others)
• certain lifestyle choices (such as not enough activity)
• frontal lobe function 
• toxins (certain heavy metals)
• social support
• addictions
• medical conditions such as diabetes
• interrupted circadian rhythm

Some of these you can’t do anything about now, such as your genetics or childhood development. (although you could make a difference in future generations). But the good news is Dr. Nedley found that you usually had to have four "hits" to get depression. That means even if you had the genetic marker and a rotten child hood you could still work on the other eight hit categories of risk factors to prevent or reverse depression. Note: there are several individual items within each of these risk factor categories, but he found that that did not increase your likelihood of having depression. Another words, if you had 2 addictions and 2 nutrition issues that wouldn’t necessarily give you depression.

This makes a lot of sense because when researchers try to isolate and study, say tryptophan, they find it has an impact on depression but not everyone with a tryptophan deficiency has depression.  Dr. Nedley's approach is a more accurate way to work toward healing depression because it's covering a multitude of risk factors. His 10 category "hit" model has been researched and given an 84% sensitivity rate (research speak for a form of accuracy).

And he has been very successful with using this category approach in practical programs. In one study, after only 8 weeks on the program (done by video, workbook, and small group classes once a week), 57.6% (2754 participants) did not qualify as depressed. Keep in mind, the whole program is 12 weeks, and many participants do not work the program but only watch the videos. I would love to see the numbers from this study on those who actually do the program. In my limited experience (and other director's I've been in contact with) it's been close to 99% for those that do the whole program, and this is substantiated by the 99% success rate of those that attend the live in program*****.  Anyway I don’t want this to be an advertisement, I just wanted to set the foundation for my experience and why I believe so strongly in an integrative approach.

Dr. David Burns, who uses cognitive behaviour therapy along with other powerful tools he has developed also has an incredibly far above average success rate.  I believe one of the reasons Dr. Burns model is so successful is because the power of the mind is incredible in healing the body. Also when doing this kind of cognitive behaviour therapy (more advanced than standard CBT) you really are working on several of the risk categories identified by Dr. Nedley such as social, lifestyle, frontal lobe, addiction, and even developmental, in as far as how you perceive its effects on you now.

Back to my story. I found the medication my doctor prescribed gave me the ability to complete Dr. Nedley's program, and work through the Feeling Good book, which shows medication can have a place in this process. To date, I haven’t needed medication since, and that was over 12 years ago.  Yes, part of Dr. Nedley’s program is using cognitive behavior therapy. In fact, in the original program that I took, we used Dr. Burns book "Feeling Good". That’s how I learned about Dr. Burns and eventually TEAM therapy.

But it wasn’t just me, it helped two of my friends and my husband, who took the program with me (we used the in home video program). All four of us recovered from depression within the 12 week program time frame. I went on to become a director and facilitator and found those who stuck with the program had a full recovery from depression. As a bonus we had participants also do better with their diabetes and heart disease. Their doctors even had to reduced their medications just 6 weeks in.

So, while integrative approach is a lot of work, it also improves other aspects of your life. Because you’re not just going to feel better emotionally but also physically. And this means you’re around longer to be with your kids and grandkids. You have more vitality and energy to do the things you would like to do as you age. And if you’re younger, you can help to avoid those top five fatal diseases in Western society that are often preventable****.

So whether you are interesting in learning more about the integrative approach or simply working on your thinking process and emotional health, I’m happy to help you either way. I don’t have a burden to pressure you with what helped me because we all are different and only you can choose what's right for you. I just wanted to share part of my story so you can see there is light at the end of the dark depression tunnel and I understand what it's like to be in that dark place where hope is bleak. Book a free 15 minute consultation with me to learn more how we can work toward a brighter future.

PS: If you are dealing with depression, whether or not you want to work with someone to get help, I encourage you to start with getting Dr. Burns book "Feeling Good", usually under $10, and found in almost any book store in North America or internationally on Amazon in several languages (I checked, it's available in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, China, France, Germany, and India just to name a few). 2/3 of patients on a waiting list for therapy found they had symptom improvement from depression just from reading this book.

PPS: If you’re feeling like life is not worth living and you’d rather not even be here please contact: 

Crisis Line for Canada toll free 24/7: 1-833-456-4566 Or chat or text www.crisisservicescanada.ca/

National Suicide Prevention Hotline for USA:  1-800-273-8255 OR you can chat with them and other resources online visit suicidepreventionlifeline.org

For International Crisis lines: thelifelinecanada.ca/help/crisis-centres/international-crisis-centres/

Sources:

* “Depression.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/depression.

** Morin, Amy, and Lcsw. “How Many People Are Actually Affected by Depression Every Year?” Verywell Mind, www.verywellmind.com/depression-statistics-everyone-should-know-4159056.

*** Nedley, Neil, and Francisco E Ramirez. “Nedley Depression Hit Hypothesis: Identifying Depression and Its Causes.” American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, SAGE Publications, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5103329/.

**** “The Top 10 Deadliest Diseases in the World.” Healthline, Healthline Media, www.healthline.com/health/top-10-deadliest-diseases.

***** Carney, Linda, MD. "Nedley Depression Recovery Program" DrCarney.com Blog, June 2, 2016  https://www.drcarney.com/blog/entry/nedley-depression-recovery-program.

Insomnia driving you crazy? Tips on getting better night’s sleep and the connection to mental health.

Type the words “sleep & mental health” into Google and you’ll get article after article from reputable sources relating how important sleep is to our mental well-being. From medical journals to blogs by psychologists, the interconnection between body and mind play out very closely when it comes to sleep and poor mental health.

While the studies of neurochemistry and neuroscience are still in infancy, researchers are discovering some very real connections between sleep and mental stability, or lack thereof. “There are some studies in both children and adults are suggesting that a lack of proper sleep may raise risk for, an even directly contribute to some psychiatric disorders And that treating the sleep disorder may actually help alleviate symptoms of the mental health problems caused by that sleep disturbance”. (Harvard Health 2009)

Depression, anxiety, ADHD, bipolar, Schizophrenia, PTSD, and psychosis, just to name a few, are disorders that have been studied in relation to sleep. Up to 80% of the people who have these disorders also have sleep problems and while it’s been long thought there was some kind of correlation, now scientists are starting to see an actual causal relationship. That means lack of sleep is actually contributing to the disorder itself. (Scott 2017) Just one statistic reports, people with insomnia are twice as likely to develop depression as those who sleep normally. (Khawja MD 2017) This is it to say sleep alone will cure all these diseases, but the more we can make a positive choice, the more we get a handle on each aspect of health, the more we can improve both our physical and mental health.

So what constitutes a good night's sleep? Is there a set number of hours you should sleep? What time is best? How do you get a good quality of sleep? The answers to all these questions are important so let’s dive into each one. 

A good night's sleep is one where you fall asleep within 30 minutes of going to bed, don't wake more than a couple times during the night, more than 20 minutes awake during those periods of time,  you spend 85% or more of time asleep while in bed, you don't need an alarm to wake you up, and you feel rested in the morning. 

Most sleep experts agree 7 to 8 hours is the optimal amount of time for a good night's sleep.  It is true some people seem fine, even appear to thrive on, under 7 hours on the pillow.  I've know a gentleman who slept less than 4 hours per night most of his life and he had so much energy he thought it was ok. Turn out he was bi-polar and sadly he ended up drying of suicide in his 60's.  Let this be a warning, you can't judge your sleep only by how much or little energy you have.  This can be a dangerous road. People think they are the exception to the rule until poor health sets in and it's too late.  Too much sleep can be indicative of a health issue was well.  Generally over 9 hours on a regular bases is cause for concern. Talk to your doctor if either of these apply to you.  

I know some of you night owls will disagree with this next one, but studies confirm it's best to get to bed between 8pm and midnight depending on time of the year, where you live, and other factors.  Most people have a spike in melatonin around 9pm, which is the hormone to help you sleep deep and to repair your body.

So how do you get the best quality of sleep? Develop a healthy bedtime route. Routines help our bodies maintain a systematic circadian rhythm enabling good sleep cycles.  Go to bed at the same time each night, get up the same time each morning, limit caffeine throughout the day, don't eat a large meal at least 4 hours before bed, have a relaxing routine 1 hour before bedtime, limit screen time 1 to 2 hours before bed (blue light affects sleep), keep the room dark as possible, leave electronics out of the bedroom, and don't do anything but sleep in bed (well, there is one other thing you can do but no reading in bed, texting, etc.).  The mind and body are habitual.  If you only sleep in bed it becomes a trigger to sleep just by laying there.

If you'd like to know how you are sleeping visit: www.higherpath.ca/sleep for a free assessment and hand out on sleep.

References:
“Understanding Sleep.” Mental Health Canada, www.mentalhealthcanada.com/article_detail.asp?lang=e&id=28.

Allen, Lauren. “How Sleep Affects Mental Health | Effects of Poor Sleep on Anxiety, Depression, & ADHD.” Neurocore, Neurocore, 12 July 2018, www.neurocorecenters.com/blog/how-sleep-affects-mental-health.
Breus, Michael. “Sleep and Mental Health Disorders.” Psych Central, Psych Central.com, 8 Oct. 2018, psychcentral.com/lib/sleep-and-mental-health-disorders/.
Scott, Alexandar J, et al. “Does Improving Sleep Lead to Better Mental Health? A Protocol for a Meta-Analytic Review of Randomised Controlled Trials.” NCBI, 18 Sept. 2017, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5623526/.
Harvard Health Publishing. “Sleep and Mental Health.” Harvard Health Blog, Harvard Health Publishing, July 2009, www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/sleep-and-mental-health.
Updated: June 19, 2018
Curtin, Cathryn. SHFAustralia. “Sleep and Mental Health.” The Sleep Health Foundation, www.sleephealthfoundation.org.au/news/sleep-blog/sleep-and-mental-health.html.
Khawaja, Imran, S, M.D. “Sleep Disorders and Mental Illness Go Hand in Hand.” UTSouthwestern Medical Center, utswmed.org/medblog/sleep-disorders-mental-illness/.
“Sleep Disorders, Depression, Schizophrenia -- How They're Related.” WebMD, WebMD, www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/guide/psychiatric-disorders.
“Sleep Matters: The Impact Of Sleep On Health And Wellbeing.” Mental Health Foundation, 17 Jan. 2016, www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publications/sleep-report.
“Find Out Your Best Hours for Sleep Based on Your Biology and Your Life.” Sleep.Org, Sleep.Org, www.sleep.org/articles/best-hours-sleep/.

Body, Mind & Soul An Integrative Approach

So I thought today I would talk a bit about why I believe in an integrative approach of body, mind, and soul.  And why I follow a plant-based diet as well as other lifestyle choices.  

Since science can’t really articulate the separation of the physical brain and emotions/thoughts, this will be a little bit philosophical. We all have our different views that come from a combination of things we’ve read from science or the Bible or even social media posts. And while I could document the sources where I get my ideas from, the reality is, I cannot prove it and my goal is not to convince you of my believe but rather to understand a little bit more about why I do what I do.  So, I hope you will read all the way through this article with that in mind.

You may have heard me say body mind health, or body mind and soul, or integrative approach, or various combinations of these. Certainly it's in the name of my blog, website and facebook pages. LOL. Obviously, when I say 'body,' I’m referring to your physical body. Mind refers your thoughts and feelings and soul is the essence of who you are or your personality. 

You might be with me so far, or not, but I’m not sure you’ll be on board with my next belief which is that not only our minds, but our souls are also intricately linked to our physical brain. One of the evidence is for this is Phineas Gauge who had an abrupt personality change when a tamping bar went through his frontal lobe. There’s actually many more stories of people who had brain injuries or disease, and had personality changes, emotional problems, or even the way they think changed. Unlike alzheimer's, some dementia patient's family members will tell you this is NOT the person they remember. So we know that physical disease and injury to the brain do you change thoughts and emotions in a person, and even their personality. As a Christian I believe the breath of life comes from God, as mentioned in Genesis and in the New Testament, and goes back to God when we die. I just don’t believe that the soul and the breath of life are the same thing. I don’t think that your soul lives on without a body.  I actually have a Bible study on this if you like and you can get that here. Don't get me wrong, I do believe in heaven and life after death, just not life immediately after death, I believe in the resurrection John 5:28. 

You might have different definitions for these words, or beliefs, and that’s absolutely fine. I do know many things that affect one affects the other. Having a doctrinal difference won’t affect how we work together, it only explains why the body, and specifically the brain, is so important to protect. Because whether you believe the soul is a separate entity from your body or not, we can agree the mind is affected by physical health, and that one can no longer make good decisions if they get a stroke from a poor lifestyle. Our brain's can't function properly without our whole bodies working in good order.  We need proper nutrition for the chemical messengers in our brains, we need exercise for circulation and delivery of these, and so much more.  We’ve seen this in science many times. We know that extreme lack of sleep can cause emotional problems such as irritability and poor cognitive function. Likewise we know certain thoughts can actually reduce physical pain, reducing emotional stress can lower your risk of cancer and heart disease, and many other interconnections.

A plant based diet is one of the best ways to get on the road to optimal health.  The blue zones are centuries of proof that eating lots of plant foods and limited sugar, added fat, and animal products, is the most healthy way to eat.  There are hundreds of studies and books in modern research to back this up. And even some of those following a keto or low card diet believe this so much they endeavor to be vegan or close to it, which is not easy to do, but is possible. 

  

I think in general people forget how important their overall health is to their emotional happiness.  Of course I totally believe in any state of health you can have peace and even happiness. And I do believe that we can’t always determine how healthy will be by our choices. I realize there are other factors that influence our health such as DNA, environmental factors, and other unknowns out of our control.  Let’s do what we can, when we can, is my philosophy. This is why I choose to walk with you on your journey, rather than dragging you along on mine.

Lower Your Risk of Disease with Life Purpose

Life purpose may seem like a vague concept that has little meaning or value, but research is showing it does have a real impact on health.

One analysis of over 130,000 participants over 10 studies found: "The analysis showed a lower risk of death for participants with a high sense of purpose in life. After adjusting for other factors, mortality was about one-fifth lower for participants reporting a strong sense of purpose, or ikigai.  A high sense of purpose in life was also related to a lower risk of cardiovascular events. Both associations remained significant on analysis of various subgroups, including country, how purpose in life was measured, and whether the studies included participants with pre-existing cardiovascular disease."  “'Purpose in life' linked to lower mortality and cardiovascular risk.” Medical News Today, MediLexicon International, 4 Dec. 2015, www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/303569.php, retrieved 2017-10-19.

So what ikigai?  Its a Japanese saying for a life worth living or a reason for being.  Life purpose can also be described as being useful to someone else.  We talk about volunteering and how that has been shown to increase your life expectancy by up to 7 years in our Optimal Health course, which I'm sure you've taken by now, so I won't belabor the point.

Life purpose can even help improve the quality of sleep and is being research as a drug free way to help with sleep issues.   Prof. Jason Ong, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine stated, "Helping people cultivate a purpose in life could be an effective drug-free strategy to improve sleep quality, particularly for a population that is facing more insomnia. Purpose in life is something that can be cultivated and enhanced through mindfulness therapies."  “'Purpose in life' linked to lower mortality and cardiovascular risk.” Medical News Today, MediLexicon International, 4 Dec. 2015, www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/303569.php.

So how do you find your life purpose?  It starts with discovering more about yourself and what you enjoy.  What motivates you? What brings you joy?  And if you want to go even deeper, you can use your life purpose as a career.  We have a step by step plan to help you discover your life purpose, book a free 15 minute consultation today! Limited seats available.

 

The 3 Dangers of Healthy Diets

Let me say right now, a plant based diet is scientifically the most beneficial diet on the plant for your health and the environment and this article is not about changing your mind on eating right.  Last time I did a eye catchy tag line, I was roasted because people didn't even read the article. Read on please because we all know there are factors in all the choices we make that can lead in a wrong direction even when we are walking the right way.

The first danger in keeping any diet, even a healthy one, long term is getting into a rut.  Eating the same foods day after day with limited variety is usually not a safe bet for optimal nutrition.  When we first start a diet, we are excited about the positive change we are making.  We learn all kinds of new recipes, trading them with friends, and posting them on social media.  Then we start to get overwhelmed by all the options or we just get so busy we just recycle a few chosen favourites.  We can avoid this danger by refreshing our recipe box.  Another way to bring newest to life to a diet stuck in a rut is to share it with someone else.  When we share the benefits of a healthy diet, we become rejuvenated ourselves.

The second danger in keeping a diet is the guilt or emotional stress when you make a mistake or if you get bored or tempted to cheat.  One study revealed many vegans return to their old diets. It's not just because they become disenfranchised with it's benefits but rather they feel bad when they fail, they  and eventually just give up all together.  When we put undue restrictions on ourselves and others, we create a poor environment for change.  Some are even mean about those who fall of the diet wagon and criticize them.

That leads me to the third danger in keeping a diet, getting married to the idea of it.  When we make a diet part of who we are, we can becoming pretty critical of others who have a different view. We can find ourselves putting down other healthy diet options that may not be as good but are still better than most. There is NO ONE diet that meets everyone's needs.  When we make food a god, we are in real danger of hurting those we love and even ourselves.

The best way to deal with the last two dangers, is to keep the long term objective in focus. Why did you start the diet in the first place?  What benefits does it have? Are you eating it in the best way, i.e. with variety, proper calorie intake, etc.?

I fell into all three of these traps.  I am refocusing and recommitting myself to eating a plant based diet.  Many of my long term viewers know I've been a flexitarian for a couple years, but today I am renewing my resolve to finding more variety in my low FODMAP diet while keeping it plant based.

Cheers,
Angela Poch

The Secret Behind Which is Healthier, Worry or Concern

Worry is defined as: allowing one's mind to dwell on difficulty or troubles, a state of anxiety and uncertainty over potential or future problems.  Anxiety is fast becoming a major risk factor for health problems.  Over 30% of Americans and Canadians will experience more than just worry, they will have an anxiety disorder. One study claims 86% of Brits are worriers, worrying about something almost 2 hours every day. Ok, we worry, so what?

Flight, Fight, or Freeze. Worry harms your body. by increasing stress hormones that have nowhere to go because you really don't need them. You generally don't need to run from a flash flood, freeze to avoid getting attacked by a bear, or fight off an attacker.  These hormones, such as cortisol, wreak havoc in the body when they are not put to work.  This can cause: 

• Suppression of the immune system
• Digestive disorders
• Muscle tension
• Short-term memory loss
• Premature coronary artery disease
• Heart attack. 

So, what if you have nothing to worry about.  Just image it right now.  Not a care in the world. No more worries.  Sounds great? Sure it would. What if you never had to worry again, what would that look like?

• Peaceful
• Restful
• Wonderful?

Maybe...maybe not.  If you had nothing to worry about what would that say about you? Indifferent, uncaring?  If you didn't worry about your kids would that be good parenting? So, what's the answer?  Find less things to worry about? That would be nice and even possible depending on your circumstances.  But there is a way to show we love others, be caring, and deal with life's ups and downs without so much worry.  What's the secret?

Redefining how we label it.  What?!  How will that help?  For a minute think about these two statements: "I care about my kids." vs "I worry about my kids."  As you ponder these, do they give you a different feeling?  Words matter.  Words bring up various emotions in us.  We can be concerned about important things in our lives without worrying about the things we can't control.

Worry and anxiety are about future events.  I don't know about you, but I can't control the future.  I'm mean, I've tried.  All I can do is make decisions based on current information and projected risk/rewards.  My concern for the value of certain people or things in my life factor into those decisions, but I need not worry about the things beyond my choices.

Matt 6:25-27 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?  Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?"

If you need help reframing things that cause you worry, I highly recommend the book "When Panic Attacks" by Dr. David Burns.  Available at most bookstores.  We also offer one-on-one CBT coaching that can help you reduce worry and turn the rest into a more productive and healthy form of concern. Visit our website for details.

References:

“Any Anxiety Disorder.” National Institute of Mental Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/any-anxiety-disorder.shtml.

Marie Claire. “Why Adults Worry; Anxiety Statistics In Adults.” Marie Claire, Marie Claire, 3 Sept. 2015, www.marieclaire.co.uk/life/health-fitness/86-per-cent-of-adults-are-worriers-51597.

“What Worrying Does to Your Health.” Daily Mail Online, Associated Newspapers, 26 Apr. 2002, www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-97853/What-worrying-does-health.html.

“How Worrying Affects the Body.” WebMD, WebMD, www.webmd.com/balance/guide/how-worrying-affects-your-body#1.