The brain is a phenomenal problem-solving machine. It will work on problems even when you aren’t aware that this is happening. How many times have you experienced an idea popping into your mind that provides a perfect answer to a problem you have been wrestling with. Our subconscious mind constantly churns over problems. It even does this when we are asleep.
When people become depressed they also tend to suffer with sleeplessness. For years, the standard view was that the depression caused the sleep problem. However, more recent studies suggest that the relationship works both ways – depression influences sleep problems and at the same time these sleep problems can fuel further depression. This has some important implications for treatment.
According to American life-coach Mel Robbins, a simple intriguing countdown technique can help us achieve our true potential. This technique attempts to help us solve a fundamental human problem. That is, we all have great ideas about the kind of life we want and the things we want to achieve. However, and here’s the catch, whenever we decide to take action we often don’t feel like doing it!
Don’t you love television? We all have our favourite programmes. It’s part of life in the modern age. So, are there any downsides?
Earlier this month, an Australian study provided the first solid evidence that diet can have a role in treating major depression. It is somewhat surprising that this research hasn’t been done before. We have long suspected that the nature and quality of our food can influence people’s risk of depression. It has always been a fairly confident best guess that ‘we are what we eat’ and that some foods change our moods for the worse whilst others offer more protection.
Getting therapy and counselling for anxiety or depression doesn’t always involve having to visit an office or location somewhere to talk to a complete stranger face-to-face. An exciting area of development is that psychological therapy can now be provided online. It is possible to receive therapy for a range of problems, such as stress, anxiety and depression, in the comfort of your own home. The online solutions are delivered through a range of devices, including desktop computers, tablets and mobile phones.
We all know that getting enough sleep is important but unfortunately, more than a third of us get less than six hours sleep each night. All of the recent research suggests that this may be putting our physical health at risk. Four lifestyle factors that are worth knowing about and giving a try if you want more sleep.
These days there are so many books on time management and improving productivity you could spend a lifetime exploring them. And this would not be a good use of time! So, I prefer the simplicity of a one-hundred year old method that was developed in 1918 by a productivity guru of the time called Ivy Lee. It earned him nearly half a million dollars in today’s money, when he increased productivity in steel executives by twenty percent. There are five basic steps.
Many dog-owners were moved by Walnut the Whippet’s last journey across Porth Beach in Newquay. Walnut’s owner, Mark Woods, was accompanied by hundreds of well-wishers as he carried his special pet along the beach, before the frail and elderly dog was put into a ‘final sleep’ at the local vets.
The Russian playwright Anton Chekhov is alleged to have said, “Any idiot can face a crisis — it’s this day-to-day living that wears you out”. We can all recognise this. You see mostly people can endure major traumas and heartaches with great resilience. They may have a rough time in the process, but invariably they end up in a stronger position. We are pretty robust creatures when it comes to the big things that happen to us.