Does What We Eat Affect How We Feel?

I never thought I'd  be writing this. But after several times of the Lord tapping me on the shoulder, I need to. What we eat really has an effect on how we feel. I read a book recently: Take Charge of Your Cholesterol by Dr. Richard Furman, and it really impacted me. For years I'd operated under the assumption that since I fasted once a week, I could pretty much eat whatever I wanted to on the other 6 days. After all, I'm not a junk food junkie, and ate "pretty healthy." Well, that's false. My cholesterol was sky high (and getting higher) and I couldn't manage to take off the extra weight I'd put on. Then I read a book by Carolyn Leaf, one of my favorite authors, and she devotes a whole book to food. I read some other books on the topic too. Hmmmm.  So I decided to do it. I ate vegetables, cut out most red meat, half and half, cheese, sour cream, and egg yolks, replacing them with fruits, lots of vegetables, and even fish. A drastic change... And the FIRST thing I noticed is that I felt better! Surprise! As time went on, I lost the extra weight too, and I have yet to have my cholesterol checked. But I continue to feel better!  So, from a mental health perspective, it DOES have an amazing effect on your soul if you take care of your body. Your soul is your mind, will, and emotions. The feelings we feel are often associated with the soul, but they are inextricably connected to the body as well. Think if you have a headache: it's from your body, but it affects your soul.  So it is with food. Now, if you are an emotional eater, like I am, that poses a problem. How can I get my needs met, and not over-indulge in junk? The answer is substitution. Substitute carrots, spinach, green peppers, broccoli, sweet potatoes, apples, oranges, pears, and bananas for as Carolyn Leaf calls "false food-like substances." The stuff when you read the wrapper, most of it is unpronounceable. That's not real food. And your body knows it.  Try it. Change your eating habits for a few weeks, and see if you don't feel better. Less groggy, less lethargic, more energetic, more zest for life. It's worth it! Take it from a foodie, who's now a real food foodie! -- Cynthia Gill

Covid and Empathy

What have we learned from 7 months of Covid? Well, one thing for sure: we can handle disappointments. They're not fun. They're hard. And we've all had more than our share of them this past several months, some big and some small. But we've all survived. It may seem to some of us that we have had more disappointments in the past 7 months than the past 7 years! I think our kids have had to put up with more disappointments than we ever had to in this short amount of time. How are they handling it? Well, it depends on how we adults are coping. Are we whining and complaining? Or are we accepting it, grudgingly to be sure, but are we accepting it? Children are more resilient than we give them credit for. Most of them don't even complain about wearing masks, that is unless they hear their parents grumbling about it. For many adults, it's more about loss of freedom than anything else. Children don't have that perspective. They simply shrug and adjust.  To be sure we've learned to wash our hands more often. This is great. Many people noticed the hoards of people walking, and families walking together. Bike sales have skyrocketed. So this is how we adjust...One thing that has amazed me is how creatively people have solved problems this past spring and summer. The seniors graduating in 2020 came up with some innovative ways to celebrate, since they couldn't do the traditional things. I saw gatherings at people's houses, in cars; processions of people (all social distancing) with creatively decorated cars. The exuberance of youth could not be extinguished by a pandemic! How about people that had church in their cars? Or on the lawn? Now they're wearing coats and bringing blankets. And everyone learned how to use Zoom, Google hangouts, and 100 other technological devices that make connecting possible. One parent observed that families are finding more things at home to do. Puzzles, crafts, gardening, board games are all making a comeback. My daughter in law went online and bought a whole bunch of crafts as soon as she found out school was going to be at home last spring. Good thing, they were all sold out in a week. Concerts are available online, another new thing.   I want to highlight the good things that have come from this unprecedented time. We all know the bad things (if we have seen any news at all).  We've had to limit our social contacts, and there's a danger that we will become even more cynical about relationships. It could cause us "people people" to spend time alone, reflecting. But for the person who's already lonely (most Americans), it is having lethal and terrible consequences in the rising suicdie rate, rising relapse rate, depression and anxiety have skyrocketed. As a mental health professional, my client load has doubled, and I'm turning people away. For some, they're turning to God and eternal things. "A person's ability to endure is based on their ability to look beyond the physical to the spiritual, and beyond the visible to the invisible.: That's based on II Cor. 4:16-18 "Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at things that are seen, but at things that are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal."   But sadly, not everyone believes it. We can have empathy for those who don't have faith. The elderly have been hit the hardest with Covid, and many of them are terribly lonely. Their kids and grandkids can't visit them. I'm convinced that some are dying of a broken heart. How sad! It's a tragedy. A good opportunity to teach empathy.  But it doesn't help to focus on the negative. Phil 4:8 says "Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things."  We can learn and teach empathy in this crazy time. We can keep on keeping on...

A Slap on the Wrist

 

If the plague of Covid and the riots/civil unrest in our cities is God’s judgement on our nation, it is a light punishment. Sure it’s inconvenient, it’s disrupted life as we know it. But it is NOT really serious judgement. I’ve talked to people who have lived in nations where they have had  severe discipline from God. People in Germany and Russia where they remember bombs falling out of the sky, and starvation. Have we in America experienced anything like that? NO!

 Wisdom. What does it mean? “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom…” doesn’t mean anything to the modern (post-Christian) mind. The average young person doesn’t know how to explain the fear of the Lord.

 But, our (older) generation might not know much better what wisdom is. Think of a 60 something person who has been married 4 times, squandered their lives with drugs, love of money, and fame, and is broken, bitter, overweight, and lonely.

 Jane Russell’s mother said to her, “The Ten Commandments are like the guardrails on mountain passes. The Lord puts those white guardrails there to protect you, not to restrict you…” (Jane Russell: An Autobiography).

 How much better if we just obeyed them! How much wiser we would be!

 God’s commands are simple: love each other, forgive your enemies, don’t strive for money and possessions for yourself, but put God and others first, take care of the world around you, be kind. And obey the 10 commandments.

 During Covid lockdown, I made a quilt of many T-shirts that I’d collected over the years. Hey, I had time! As it lies on our bed now, it brings back many memories: the times I taught volunteers on how to help victims of sex-trafficking, the many trips taking students to Russia, my husband’s bike marathons of the MS 150, my sons at the Naval Academy and in the Marines. As I look at them, I wonder, “What does God think of me?” These are awesome memories, but what about the times I was prideful, lustful, covetous? You don’t get a T-shirt to remember those. Thank God that they are buried, under the blood! Lord, I receive your forgiveness.

 In I Tim.1:8-11, it lists 13 grievous sins and contrasts that to the “glorious gospel” of Jesus. As I look at them, I realize that I was guilty of many of them, in fact even now I wrestle with some of them. Hmmmm. Lord, give me wisdom and grace to live as You would have me to! I’m glad that the verses following it speak of His abundant grace and mercy. Where would we be without those?

 

My point is that we need to live with wisdom now. The fear of God. When a law was passed legalizing abortion on demand in New York, a great cheer went up (The Harbinger II, by Jonathan Cahn). Times are getting darker. People are calling what is good evil and what is evil good. (Is.5:20)

 

For the sin of abortion alone we deserve to suffer the worst punishment. Lord, have mercy on our nation.

It is popular now to quote II Chronicles 7:14 “If my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” But what if we really took it seriously? What if we really did humble ourselves, return to the Lord, and seek His wisdom.

 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Let’s fear God, before anything worse comes upon this land. Let’s stop complaining about the inconveniences of Covid, and be GRATEFUL.

For people interested in seeking God and His wisdom, I’d like to refer you to The Return, a time of prayer and fasting for our nation, that coincides with the Jewish High Holy Days the end of September. (www.thereturn.org) Really powerful. The Harbinger II is a stunning book, you won’t be disappointed if you read even some of it.

Lord, have mercy on our nation.

Masks: We Hide...

 "Church people have worn masks for generations," said a pastor in a recent conversation about the Corona virus and its effect on our world.

 Hmmm, I thought, Too true. Why are people so afraid to be vulnerable? Vulnerability breeds intimacy. And people are so lonely now. It doesn't make sense why people wear (figurative) masks in church.

"How are you?" "I'm fine," we reply, with an artificial smile pasted on our face. "How is your husband?" the person asks. "Oh, he's doing great," we lie, because he's really depressed and we are too. 

The only thing I can think of to blame for this dishonesty-disguised-as-lack-of-sincerity is shame. 

Shame is something we will do anything to avoid. Think of a time you were shamed and I bet it will make you shudder. A visceral response. Humans will do anything to hide it from others. Even lie, be insincere, and pretend. What's a person to do?

 The opposite extreme, not having any boundaries, is equally as much of a problem. 

"How are you?" "Oh I'm going crazy, busy with everything, my son won't call me, my kitchen stove just broke, my sister is mad at me, my mother is a mess, my arthritis has flared up again, and on top of that I have the flu..." Somehow, when we overwhelm people with our problems, we don't end up feeling any closer to them, as they slink away, too eager to escape the awkwardness just unleashed on them. The person who said all that might go away thinking "Well, at least I was honest!" But the problem of our alienation remains. 

A third problem is we don't know how to receive. "How are you?" is always on the tip of our tongues, we don't think of receiving love for ourselves. Many people have trouble with this. Whether it's low self esteem (I'm not worthy of love), or pride (I can give to others, I don't need others to give to me), it needs to be addressed. Let's humble ourselves and receive love from others!

Americans are very lonely. Community is something many of us only dream of, but don't experience. When we go to church, we wear masks to hide our insecurities. After all, we don't want to be like that person with no boundaries. (Or maybe we used to be like that person, and it didn't work very well for us...) Our families are fragmented. We. Are. Lonely.

I'd like to suggest that we change our focus. Perhaps if we thought of how we can encourage them it would make a difference. Perhaps if we didn't spend all our time thinking about what they thought of us (the root of social anxiety, by the way), but made it our goal to say something affirming to a few people, we would leave church more fulfilled. Because then people would want to connect with us. 

Everyone is self-centered. I heard once "when I was 20, I worried what everyone thought of me. When I was 40, I said to myself, 'I'm not going to worry what others think of me.' But now that I'm 60, I realize that no one thinks of anyone else anyway!" Let's change that to start thinking that way when we're in our 20's and 30's. Start by saying positive and encouraging words to people, and don't worry what they think of you. Gradually they will warm up to you. They'll want to have coffee with  you, you can slowly get to know each other, for real.

 Some friends of ours have discovered the house church movement. (www.luke10.com) One thing that everyone does in these meetings is to "check in", to share with each other how they're feeling. "I'm feeling sad today, because I lost an account at work."  "I'm feeling pleased today, because I got a bunch of work done and my daughter called." Starting a small group meeting this way, allows us to have that element of vulnerability so lacking in the American church. I've even heard of marriages saved by this "check in" process. My husband and I have started doing it every day. 

Let's take our masks off in church. Not our physical masks, they're necessary for the time being. But our invisible masks. Find someone, preferably in a small group, that you can connect with. Encourage them. Open up and be a little bit vulnerable with them. Start a church if two or three if you like (read the website, it has some ideas on it).

 We all need connection, even if we're the most introverted person on earth. 

We're made for community.

Defeating Depression

One toll that Covid-19 is taking on us is a rise in Depression. Here are some ideas of how to overcome this malady. 

Depression is rampant in our society. We can win the fight against it!

1. Let yourself be grateful. All of us can find little things to be thankful for. We live in the most affluent nation on earth and have many blessings that we can say "Thank you" for. Write down three things every day that are different, some specific, small things, that elicit an attitude of gratitude in you.

2. Volunteer. Help at a homeless shelter, make meals for shut-ins, help out at a place for orphaned animals, visit elderly people in a nursing home, rake your 90-year-old neighbor’s yard. All of these get the focus off of yourself, and on to someone else. Who has it worse than you. It's guaranteed to make a person feel better.

3. Exercise. Even a 15-minute walk will produce some endorphins, making you feel better. However you like to exercise: biking, jogging, dancing, pilates, walking, playing tennis or basketball...choose one and then figure out how you can do it several times a week. It really works!

4. Write. Journaling is a very successful way to overcome depression. Somehow, committing it to paper gets it out of our mind and articulates it. That's better than letting it sit in our head and ferment. When I journal, I try to end it on a positive note. An inspirational saying, a Bible verse, a poem. This lifts my spirits.

5.  Read the Psalms. David was depressed for over half of the Psalms, and minced no words in expressing it. He vents quite vociferously in some places, for God isn't afraid of emotion! But notice, in every Psalm, there is at least one verse thar shows the faithfulness of God. A little light to illuminate the darkness. David knew all about the dark night, the agony of the soul

6. Connect with someone. It is the tendency of people who are struggling with depression to isolate themselves. Reach out, even though you don't feel like it! Ask a safe person if you can vent to them. Let them know that they aren't to fix you, you just want their listening ear. Don't stay alone, and it's best not to do it through texting. Face-to-face contact is 100% better.

7. Pray about it. I mean short prayers, like, "God, I have lost hope, please help me." "What shall I do about this despair?" Then expect God to answer you, even if you have doubts

8.  Work on something creative, use your hands. Knitting, sewing, weaving, making cards, drawing, painting, playing an instrument, baking, cooking, playdough sculptures, beading, making jewelry, woodworking. These are just a few of ideas you can use to focus on something that you're creating, and it feels good!

9. Cuddle with a pet. If you have one, your love will pour inro the animal, and often it will return to you. If you don't have one, borrow one. Consider getting one, as they are very therapeutic. Or, go to a pet shelter and cuddle with one there. 

10. Educate yourself. Reading or listening to podcasts about depression may help you to overcome it. There are many books and articles that address it, and do a good job. Finding Hope Again by Drs. Neil T. Anderson and Hal Baumchen is a good one.

11. Try something new. A new hobby, something that you've never thought of trying before, will distract you, and may give you a new lease on life. Another language (try Duolingo, a free app that allows you to learn languages easily), woodworking, writing letters to prisoners, gardening, any of the things mentioned in #8 above, Befriend a foreigner, write thank you notes to old teachers you liked, get involved with some cause that you feel strongly about.

12. Smile. It's scientifically proven that smiling makes a person feel better. It uses less muscles to smile than to frown, and it sends the message to your brain that there is something to be happy about. It's also infectious, causing other people to smile, thanks to mirror neurons. Try it!

13. Ask someone to tell you that this too shall pass. It might even get better tomorrow. Or next week, or next month. This came from a depressed client, and it makes sense. The distorted thinking one has is that it'll always be this bad. That's never the case.

14. Are you eating healthy food? Plenty of protein, fruits, and vegetables. And drinking enough water? Beverages low in sugar, caffeine, and alcohol? How about your sleep? You need to take care of yourself physically to feel good.

15. Listen to music. Music stimulates both sides of the brain, and can reach deeper recesses of our soul than talking can. It isn't understood why, (people who have had strokes can sometimes sing, but not talk), but it often works to calm and to encourage us. Have a playlist of encouraging songs ready to play when you get down, and see if they don't work.

If, however, you are seriously depressed, it would be good to see a professional. Rather than judge you, the counselor will help you learn some tools to defeat depression. lt's worth a try! 5 sessions could well be all the person would need. 

A word about medication. I believe that antidepressants are God's gift to us, but are to be used sparingly. If a person is very depressed, they might need something to get them back up to feeling decent again. But rarely should the medication be seen as a permanent solution. You need to change your thinking to get well and stay well. Medications in many cases (but not all) are like the scaffolding on a house that is being built. It's there for a while, but not there long term. Changing one's thinking, figuring out and beating the distortions, is how one builds the house.

You CAN overcome depression!  Many people go through it, and come out the other side. You will too!

"Wired for Love"

In my personal life, I struggle with fear, just like everyone does.

This weekend I had to take a test for HIPPA, something that clinicians do regularly. I had to watch a 35 minute video, and answer 14 questions afterwards, getting at least 10 right. My goodness, how I struggled with that! After failing the first 5 times (I’m not used to failing…), I called a friend to pray for me. I proceeded to fail another 9 times in 2 days. Yes, really, I’m being brutally honest here. To say I felt like a failure would be an understatement.

During the time I was struggling with the test, I listened to Dr. Leaf’s book on audible, and it really encouraged me. I asked for prayer at church from a pastor, came home, failed it once more, then passed it on the 16^th try!!! What a relief! My journey out of a fear-based mindset was continuing.

I remember when I was in grad school trying to decide if I should take a class from a certain professor whom I knew to be tough and have very high standards.  That day I went for a jog, and when I got home, I felt different: confident that I could indeed take it from him. I went on to even write my thesis with him as a mentor.

My point is that so often we sell ourselves short. We allow fear to define us. How much better we could be if we did self-care for our minds. We need to  “Choose to bombard the cells of your body with positivity, honing in on your natural proclivity toward love. We are all wired with an optimism basis.” *

“A mindset is an attitude, or a cluster of thoughts with attached information and emotions that generate a particular perception. … Your mindsets set your expectation levels, which will be either positive or negative.” So starts out Dr. Caroline Leaf in her new book Think, Learn, Succeed. It’s a marvelous book, the kind I have to read and re-read it slowly to be able to get what I want out of it. She is one of the most brilliant neuroscientists alive today. Google her, you’ll see what I mean.

In my profession, I’m challenged all the time to lead people out of negative, fear-based thinking, into positive, reality-based thinking. Many just don’t get that they really do have a choice. But many do. 

Wired for love; what does that mean exactly?

Love is an umbrella term for all the characteristics that we value as human being: gratitude, joy, peace, patience, kindness, positivity, happiness, responsibility, and so on. Fear, on the other hand is the opposite of love, just as ingratitude is the opposite of gratitude and cruelty is the opposite of kindness. Fear eats away at us, crippling our ability to live the kind of life we want to live. A fear of failure, for example, stifles creativity and the imagination, hindering an individual’s ability to pursue his or her goals and dreams. (p. 44)

One of my goals this year is to learn “to control and activate the power of mindset to influence life outcomes.” That’s a fancy way of saying “engage in more mental self-care.” I’ll be reading more of Dr. Leaf’s books and listening to her podcasts.

We need it now more than ever. With the Coronavirus continuing to rear its ugly head, and so much uncertainty in the world, how can we not do something different?

Stress can be toxic or healthy. Oh that we can learn to harness the energy we use to decry stress and instead meet it as a challenge. We can be anxious or look at it as an adventure. We can think of it as a challenge to overcome (and the human mind is infinitely creative at solving problems) or something we can’t handle.

The Scriptures say, “Fear not!” 365 times. Let’s obey both science and Scripture and learn to overcome fear. Our lives will be 100% better, we’ll thrive.

* p. 40, Think, Learn, Succeed by Dr. Caroline Leaf.

Hiking, Forest Bathing, and Mental Health

Wow, do we ever need a way to self-calm now! First it’s Covid-19, then it’s riots. What next? As a healer, I’m always looking for ways to help people calm themselves. A significant part of my practice is spent teaching these skills to my clients.

So today I want to talk about something that puts you in a better mood, decreases stress hormones, helps you recover from illness faster, lowers blood pressure, boosts your immune system, and helps you become more creative. Sound too good to be true? It’s not!

The secret is Shinrin-Yoku. What in the world is that? It’s Japanese for “forest bathing,” and believe it or not, there’s science behind it.  Much study is going on today on this rather strange topic, and everything I mentioned above is backed up with usually multiple studies. Don’t take my word for it, read up on it for yourself. https://www.forestholidays.co.uk/activities/forest-bathing/benefits/#:~:text=The%20Japanese%20practice%20of%20shinrin,and%20accelerate%20recovery%20from%20illness.

It comes as no surprise to many of us who like the outdoors. For years people have gone to the woods to escape stress. But now, we can put words and studies to it. Did you know that phytoncides are emitted from trees, that strengthen our immune system and help us fight disease? I didn’t, but that piece of knowledge is pleasant to my soul as I walk in the woods. Even just a few trees are beneficial, study after study shows.

Speaking of walking, I came across an article by Michael W. Pirrone on Hiking. What Hiking Does for the Brain is Pretty Amazing   https://muckrack.com/michael-w-pirrone/articles He makes the same claims for hiking, even just walking! It “clears your head” or lowers your level of brooding. How? By decreasing the flow to the part of the brain associated with bad moods. (the subgenual prefrontal cortex in case you wanted to know). This lowers your perception of stress, and makes you feel much better and able to handle it.

Pirrone also cites studies that show hiking causes people to be 50% more creative. Creative problem solving can be measured by a test, called the Remote Associates Test. Hiking also improves memory, and gives those with ADHD much better focus.

Best of all (I think, because I deal with it so much), it raises self esteem! There’s such a need for this today. Depression and anxiety have sky-rocketed. Kids are killing themselves at a higher rate than ever before. Do you know the top three ways to beat depression? The are 1) a friend 2) exercise/walking and 3) therapy and medication. So, the fact that taking a walk is in the top three, really says something (and it’s free!).

So, yes, Mr. Pirrone, I have to agree with you, that “what hiking (walking) does for the brain is pretty amazing.” And to the Japanese who have pioneered in the study of Shinrin-Yoku, my hat’s off to you.

One of the positive things about the quarantine has been seeing families walking together all around our neighborhoods. When we go back to work, let’s not get too busy to walk outside. 

My 6 & 8 year granddaughters walked a mile and a half the other morning. I thought that was pretty good, until my friend told me that her 7 year old grandson hiked 8 miles on the Superior trail! Oh well, we would do well not to compare ourselves to others. Just do what we can do, and strive for improvement. Compete against ourselves, not each other.

So, make it a priority to walk, to hike, to get out in Nature. You’ll feel better, and will NOT regret it a bit!

"When the going gets tough, the tough get going..."

We don’t know what the post-Covid world will look like, but one thing we need no matter what is resilience. When we get knocked down, we come back up again. And ALL of us have experienced being knocked down somehow, whether it is a big disappointment of not being able to go on a trip (that’s us, we were going to go to Ireland),  have a graduation ceremony, a wedding, or whether it be the little frustrations that build from being around the same people day after day.

I don’t know about you, but I’m really ready for this lockdown to be over! But, because people are still holed up in their houses, some more than others, I thought I’d publish today a list of tips by my boss, on how to maintain emotional health during this time. So, below are 10 tips on staying sane, and hanging onto hope that this will be over someday!

The tips come from nearly 40 years of mental health experience working with clients, and are very sound. Dr. Hal Baumchen, PsyD, LP, LADC has some good things to say here, and I hope you all benefit from them. Remember, the goal is to build resilience, not be perfect. We CAN pick ourselves up and keep going. Even if we get knocked down (did anyone say fail?) again and again, we can get up again and again.

When my granddaughter was learning to cross country ski, she fell 146 times (she counted) and picked herself up EVERY TIME! This is a picture of our lives, and we can choose to do the same.

Maintaining Emotional Health During Difficult Circumstances by Hal Baumchen, PsyD, LP, LADC

 We are living in trying times. Everyone has been affected, some a little, and some terribly. Very few can say that life is the same. How can we get through? What can be done? The strategies you’ve used to maintain your sobriety and mental health must be fortified in times of stress, not relaxed.

 Here are ten suggestions to help you navigate the present and prepare for the future.

1)      Maintain a Routine If your work or school schedule has been interrupted or altered, there is a tendency to disregard your normal life patterns and structure. This only causes more emotional chaos and disorder. Letting your routine collapse increases feelings of hopelessness, helplessness, and despair. Instead, stick to a schedule and maintain an organized, productive daily routine. Set an alarm, get dressed, and maintain good hygiene. Continue a healthy eating plan and get enough sleep. Limit staying up late playing video games, watching movies, or extravagant online spending. Also watch for a tendency to justify self-indulgent activities and schedule compromises because “it doesn’t matter.” Maintain your routine, then when the crisis ends, you’ll be ready to return instead of looking for the car keys and your work shoes like so many others.

2)      Exercise Your Work Muscles When you don’t work out physically, your body gets lazy and flabby. When you don’t work or go to school, your effort declines, your stamina deteriorates, and your enthusiasm is diminished. It seems to me that unless exercised, your desire and ability to work quickly erode. To preserve your current work ethic and level of performance, you must stay engaged and active. Your wit, mental speed, interest level, motivation, and energy levels all quickly wither if not maintained. To do this, make plans and design projects that are engaging and interesting. Set priorities, challenges, and deadlines for yourself. Stay accountable to others. Work with others (electronically) if you can and commit to certain tasks in advance when possible. This will boost self-esteem and create a sense of purpose and accomplishment.

3)      Exercise Your Body Physical activity and exercise kick-start your body’s natural antidepressant ability and acts like anti-anxiety medication. Mix up your activities to reduce boredom. Try walking, biking, running, doing calisthenics, bowling, volleyball, yoga, ping pong, swimming, Frisbee golf, basketball, canoeing or lifting weights. Although more difficult with social distancing, some of these can be done as solo activities. Exercise tones and maintains the vitality of your body, and is also useful to increase self-esteem, distract yourself, and increase confidence. Spending 20-30 minutes exercising each day serves as an important part of your anxiety management and recovery program.

4)      Abstain from Alcohol, Drugs, and Tobacco It is often a natural reaction to try to dull the pain of depression or calm the anxiety in times of distress. However, drinking alcohol or using drugs will only make the problem worse. Alcohol and drugs may make you feel better for a very short time, but self-medicating in this way often leads to serious overuse. Alcohol use impairs judgment and can easily lead to compromises in protective safety measures during this current pandemic. Chronic use of alcohol makes many people feel more depressed and withdrawal from alcohol adds to anxiety. Additionally, alcohol interferes with most psychotropic medications and may decrease their effectiveness and increase the risk and severity of side effects. If you don’t drink, don’t start. If you do drink, don’t use difficult circumstances to justify drinking more. Limit alcohol and abstain from drug use and get help when you need it. Also, studies indicate nicotine users have more than twice the likelihood of developing depression as those who do not smoke. For some, smoking is another form of self-medicating that creates more problems than it solves.

5)      Maintain a Positive Attitude Being optimistic and thinking positively can greatly reduce your anxiety level. Doubt and worry about the future will make you more anxious. Instead, learn to repeat positive statements to yourself such as: “I can get through this” or “I am making progress” or “this difficulty is manageable.” Review what went right, not what might go wrong in the future. Reviewing negative scenarios and having pessimistic thoughts can raise anxiety to extreme levels. Positive self-talk can be a way to calm yourself and reduce your overall stress level. Like many things suggested previously, this is a skill to develop and needs to be done every day. Work to recognize negative thoughts, reject them, replace with something positive, and repeat positive thoughts regularly. This simple practice will create an optimistic attitude and positive outlook.

6)      Rest, Relax, and Distract Stress is a natural response to change and challenges. The stress response floods your body with adrenaline and cortisol in preparation for “fight or flight,” breathing and heart rate increase, and you get a surge of energy. Stress management techniques bring your system back into balance: deepening your breathing, reducing stress hormones, slowing your heart rate, lowering your blood pressure, and relaxing your muscles. Use meditation, deep breathing, and progressive muscle relaxation to develop a relaxation response. Getting away from the present situation for just a little bit will help you calm down and put things in perspective. Find ways to take enjoyment breaks, pausing to notice your surroundings, being mindful of the wonder of the environment and the beauty of the people around you. Take a break from the daily grind. Find fun-filled and light-hearted distractions. Intersperse periods of rest within your day.

7)      Recommit to Your Purpose It’s vital not to lose sight of your purpose and life goals even in a crisis. Although you may be in survival mode now, as a new normal develops, you will have an opportunity to once again concentrate on important tasks and dreams. Remain intentional with your time, personal energy, and financial resources. Resist the urge to be random, scattered, and haphazard. Clarify your goals and pursue them wholeheartedly. Self-esteem goes up when you consistently live in harmony with your values, and it goes down when values and lifestyles conflict. Stick to your purpose in life and continue to develop your positive character traits. Take this opportunity to grow spiritually, develop as a person, and cultivate meaningful relationships.

8)      Stay Socially Connected Currently many countries around the world are on moderate to strict lockdown. Citizens are asked to stay at home, limit travel, visit in very small groups, and maintain 2 meters of distance between people. Large entertainment venues have closed. Many people are working from home when they can, and many others have lost their jobs. All of these things have greatly increased stress and have caused a degree of social disconnection. Perhaps you miss talking to co-workers at the water cooler, commuting with others, gathering in a restaurant with friends, attending family gatherings, going to church, or attending a support group. Work to keep social distancing from becoming social isolation. Use technology resources whenever you can to stay in contact with friends and family. Resist the urge to not visit because you couldn’t visit in person. Make it your goal to check on others who may be struggling. Common stressful situations are often instant conversation starters and shared experiences can quickly become the foundation of a new and lasting friendship.

9)      Maintain Resilience Stay positive and hopeful. You can bounce back from hard times and difficult circumstances. Resilience tends to be weakened by poor physical health and emotional stress. Our immune system and emotional maintenance system are both impaired by exhaustion, worry, poor eating and sleeping habits, harmful addictions, and a lack of regular exercise. By improving your emotional and physical health, your resilience will grow. The graphic to the right reveals some of the numerous components of resilience. Be flexible, laugh at yourself and this present situation when you can, and believe that you can weather this storm. Get around positive people who can support and encourage you without criticism or judgment. Using these components helps you build a strong emotional defense system.

10)  Manage Your Emotional Health by Working with Your Physician Having physical problems and health conditions can be stressful, cause anxiety, and can make anxiety worse. While some medications are helpful, others can add to anxiety. Antidepressants and other medications can be useful to reduce anxiety symptoms, and while anti-anxiety medications do work at first, they can pose long-term addiction risks. Review your health concerns, in detail, with your physician and follow their advice. Remember, if a doctor put you on a medication, let the doctor determine if and when you should change or discontinue it. If you have other illnesses or health concerns, don’t let fear keep you from obtaining necessary medical care.

Staying Positive and Strong Because stress is inevitable, managing it becomes our only option. Both mental health and substance use disorders increase stress levels. Managing stress also means managing your mental health symptoms and substance use disorder. Look for positive ways to cope with the difficulties of everyday life. Resist the urge to eliminate all stress or avoid everything that causes you to be anxious. Instead, become more resilient, face your fears, overcome life’s difficulties, and do whatever you can to strengthen your health and recovery.

You can do it! Become more resilient, no matter how hard life gets. “When the going gets tough, the tough get going,” we used to say. Become strong, tough, and resilient. You’ll be glad.

The One Secret

I spend a lot of time alone. (Many of us do!) The other day, seeing people walking and talking together, I was wishing I could have more friends. Then, one weekend, I was with friends practically non-stop. And I cried out “Help, I need some alone time!”

Contentment.  How elusive it is! Yet are there some secrets we can learn that will bring us to experience more of it? I told my granddaughter I knew the secret of happiness. I had her attention. It is: wanting what we have, not wanting what we can’t have.

How simple. Yet, how hard. The hardest commandment to keep is the last one: you shall not covet. Jealousy is part of our fallen nature. It was jealousy that led Lucifer astray. It was jealousy of God himself that led Adam and Eve to eat the fruit – jealousy is a lack of faith that God has our best in mind!

 
Jealousy takes many forms. Comparing ourselves to someone else, and wishing for their gifts. Particularly lethal is wishing our spouse would be like him/her.   Wanting more money, a certain car, house, or type of clothing. Aspiring to a ministry is ok, but where is the line between honestly hoping to do something great, and bitter jealousy or selfish ambition? We all can relate to some of these, perhaps all of them.

I’ve found that I need to be honest with myself when I’m jealous of someone else.  Only then can I deal with it. Whether it’s a small thing like “I wish I had more friends,” or a big thing like “Why did Psychology Today call about our book, but never followed up on it?” (this happened with our book),  I need to talk to myself directly. I can talk myself down from feeling discontented if I want to, if I am honest about it, really admitting that I am jealous of someone else. If I want to.  Perhaps I need some time to feel sorry for myself. But, the negative comments, the complaining that comes from a discontented soul…is that worth it?

There are three things that contribute to contentment.

1) Gratitude is part of the answer. We have so much to be thankful for! Think about if you lived in a war-torn country, or a developing nation. Then our “first world problems” wouldn’t seem so big! Or imagine if you were disabled somehow. The smallest thing would be a victory.

I often do this exercise with my clients. Imagine you are blind for a minute. Then list two things you are grateful you can see. The same for hearing: two things that give you pleasure to listen to. Imagine two things that you love to touch, two things you love to smell, and you love to taste. What a joy it is, listing 10 things they are grateful for! The smallest things we take for granted can be recognized as pleasures.

Our Intensive Outpatient Program uses gratitude to bring healing to its participants. Each person has to come up with three things they are thankful for every day - and they can’t be the same. One lady said that changes her attitude first thing in the morning, planning what she is going to say. Amazing.

2) The second part is intentionality. . The other day I was having one of those pity-parties. I let myself cry and feel sorry for myself for a while. But then I thought, “I spend the whole week, trying to get others to think positive thoughts, yet here I am, in the depths…” Just then I happened to look in the rearview mirror (I was driving). There was a man in the car behind me who reminded me of a dear friend, a pastor who was so kind and caring. I decided to think about him for a while, remembering words he had spoken, things he had done. Before I knew it, I was out of the dumps, thinking more rational and positive thoughts. 

But it was intentionality that did it. If I hadn’t wanted  to, I wouldn’t have been able to get out of the doldrums like that. The mind naturally goes to negative thoughts unless effort and intentionality are used.

3) The third tool that helps us achieve contentment is perspective. How long do we have to put up with pain, sorrow, heartache? I’d like to quote John MacArthur in this one “A person’s ability to bear up under sorrow is directly related to his ability to focus on the eternal, rather than the temporal.” (Bible Commentary) The Bible says “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory far beyond comparison. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen…” (II Cor 4:17, 18a)

One client who was real depressed told me how to encourage her: “Just tell me that this too shall pass.” It sounds simple, but it requires us to dial in to a different paradigm. That all of this life is just temporary, a preparation for the next one.

In conclusion, if we focus on what we do have rather than what we don’t/can’t have; if we want to, we can choose to be content. Sometimes we need to play tricks on our minds to get them there, but we can. If we focus on the unseen rather than the seen, we CAN be content!

 Let’s choose to be less complain-y and more contented and grateful. It is the one thing that can help us get thru this pandemic!
Doesn’t that sound like a better way to live?

---

Jamaica with My Granddaughters

Wow, has it ever been a time of rapid change! We left on March 13, when everyone was in school, work, church, going out to restaurants. When we returned 7 days later, none of that was true. Though the spread if the virus affected us somewhat in Jamaica (things were closed, including the school where we planned to teach), we didn’t feel it as much as when we got back. In fact, we learned that they were going to close the airport only one day after we left. Praise God!

I was able to take my two 12 year old granddaughters along, and their descriptions of the trip follow mine. It was my 6th trip to Jamaica, and Wanda's first. Though it was different than we expected, God showed up and we had a wonderful time.

I was very proud of Abi and Aryn. They spent time each day preparing their Bible lessons for the children, the story and the crafts. I think their confidence level went up over the 6 days that they taught. It was a beautiful sight to behold. If there had not been a coronavirus, they would have had too many children to handle, as it was they had between 15-20 kids.

Both the girls did a devotional for the group each day, and we had wonderful times of prayer together. Abi and Aryn got baptized in the Holy Spirit down there too.

Wanda and I taught the adults who were staff and administrators at the school. I taught on encouragement, trauma, woundedness and how to heal from it, anxiety, and boundaries. Wanda taught on Spiritual and Emotional intelligence, and some other pertinent things from Scripture. The talks were well-received, and they thanked us profusely for coming down in the midst of a pandemic to teach them.

Randy, the school head, took us to the ocean the last day, and the girls really enjoyed it. We had a sweet time having supper (take out) in a park before leaving the next day.

Thanks again for your prayers for the trip! God really showed up in amazing ways, and we are still rejoicing over what He did in the one week we were gone.

Here in Abi’s and Aryn’s own words are paragraphs describing it:

My Time in Jamaica

By Abigail Gill

            Being in Jamaica was super fun! Every day, at 3:00 PM, my Nana, her friend Wanda, my cousin, and I would go out to the picnic tables underneath a big tree right outside our place. All the kids would gather there. My cousin Aryn and I would stand up on one of the picnic tables and tell a Bible story to the kids. Some of the Bible stories we told were Saul/Paul, the Creation story, Moses and the Ten Plagues, and we told them about when Jesus comes back. After we told the story, we’d give them a craft to do. Some of the crafts we did were maracas they could color, T-shirts and little bags they could decorate, a coloring sheet of Jesus with children, and a sticker sheet of Paul writing parts of the Bible in jail. 

Kid’s club lasted from three to five so we had a lot of free time. I played a lot of card games with Aryn, and sometimes we went and visited the village doctor who is also from Minnesota, Dr. Gail. The day before we left, we swam in the ocean! It was really salty but the giant waves were super awesome. We shopped for souvenirs in a market where everyone was saying that their stuff was better than the others and they had better prices.

 I had an amazing trip to Jamaica, I am super thankful that my Nana let me go along!

        My Jamaica trip 

                                                By Aryn Gill

We got to Jamaica late, and I tried my first Jamaican food at 10:30 at night. It was a good spicy fish sandwich with fries. When we got to the mission the first thing I noticed was a twin sized bed with orange sheets that was really comfortable, I booked it towards the bed and fell asleep. The next day we had our first kids club. We told Bible stories then did crafts. During that time me and Abi met some girls who were very sweet and we played basketball with them. We remained in contact with them for the rest of the week. 

The tiny shops there were interesting, you didn't walk into it and look around you stood at a corner and peered through a window and had to decide what you wanted. The main food that we ate in Jamaica was chicken and fries, but on some occasions we would go to an air conditioned restaurant called Juici patties, where Abi’s and my favorites were the beef pattie.  When we went out for lunch once at Juici patties, there was a food market across the street. We tried some new fruits there. To pass the time Abi and I filled up an entire journal writing in igpa atinla (Pig Latin). We would play cards and walk around the mission. On our last day at Spring Village we gave away the gifts to the kids. It was so funny, even if they were 10 year old boys they would beg for the small little pink shoes. 😊   (a famous line was:“ I’m not greedy I just want lots of money to make me happy.”) The kids were fun to hang out with and do crafts with. 

On the last day a nice man named Randy, who is in charge of the mission, drove us through mountains to the beach where we swam in the ocean. We went tourist shopping, where I got my family gifts and got my birthday present from Nana which was a beautiful handmade purse. Then we stayed at a hotel for the night, and in the morning we flew home. 

Going to Jamaica was a great experience, and I would love to go on another one soon.

Again, we’d like to say thank you for all your support, prayers, encouragement! When all gather around the throne in that final day, and there are people from every tribe, nation, and language, we will rejoice with them. And YOU will also be with us, receiving appreciation as well.

Warmly,

 Cynthia, Abi, and Aryn

How Do I Get My Needs Met in a Pandemic?

Needs? How can we have them met in this crazy crisis? The whole world is thrown into chaos, and we are left reeling. Everyone says “Don’t be afraid,” (everyone except the news media, that is) but how do you do that?

Let me list four human needs and tell how you can meet each one in these unusual times.

The first one is for Connection.  All of us know intuitively that we were created for community, for connection, with other human beings. Even introverts. But socially isolating is wreaking havoc with all of that.

We must connect to feel human! At least once a day call, FaceTime, or talk with a human. A good friend. Make yourself do this, and if you feel awkward, DO IT ANYWAY! Better to feel momentarily awkward than to shrivel up and be depressed. (Texting is widely used, but only marginally connects people.)

The second need is for Routine or Order. Children especially thrive when there is an order to their day, when they know what to expect. If you have trouble with that one, imagine a classroom with kids milling around before the teacher comes in. It tends to become more and more chaotic, until the teacher restores order.

When you wake up in the morning, plan the day. Make a list if you want. Give approximate times: “at 8:00 we’ll have breakfast, at 8:30 we’ll do chores, at 9:00 we’ll start school, at 10:00 we’ll take a break for recess…” Of course some down time is necessary, but not too much! Plan a fun thing each day, but stick to a routine. (That’s why “make your bed” is the first thing in my previous blog, How to Stay Sane in Quarantine.) If you’re alone, it’s equally important to have some routine, and a plan for each day.

The third need is for Control. Every human being needs the freedom of choice, and certain amount of control over their lives. That’s why giving simple choices works so well with children. But we have lost much control recently! There are so many things we want to do but can’t.

Try making two lists. One is for things you can’t control, and that you worry about. For some, this list might be a long one. The set your timer for 5 minutes, and WORRY about these things. Do the “what if” for all of them, think of the worst case scenarios. When the timer goes off “DING,” the put these in a box, on the shelf. Give them to God. You can’t control them anyway, so what good does worry do?

Then make a list of things you CAN control. What you wear, what you eat, whether to FaceTime with someone now or later, what activities to do today. Most importantly, your attitude! You can control your attitude, if you will be grateful or grumpy today. Try it, it works. You can choose your words, you can encourage someone else, you can be cheerful. “A merry heart does good like a medicine...” (Prov. 17:22)

The fourth need we all have is sense of Competency. We need to engage in some activities that we are reasonably good at each day. If we’ve lost our job, or are temporarily laid off, we might feel dejected, like we can’t do what we’re good at. But you can! Now, for you perfectionists out there, I’m not talking about things you’re perfect at, nor that you’ve mastered. Rather, things that you feel somewhat good after doing.

Think baking, reading, juggling, playing an instrument, drawing, painting, sewing, telling jokes, knitting, cooking…the sky’s the limit. It is important that we feel good about ourselves each day. Perhaps you have a kind heart, and like to encourage others. DO IT! Smiling at someone might make their day. Each of us can find something we’re “kind of” good at everyday to do. How about a new hobby, one that you haven’t had time to do before?

 At the end of the day, list all the things you did right today. (Rather than all the mistake you made.) You’ll feel a lot better!

So, if you work at it, be creative and find ways to meet the needs of Connection, Routine, Control, and Competency be met.

 We’ll get through this! And have stories to tell others 20 years from now…