Association Between Diet and Mental Well-Being Jodi Corbitt had been battling depression for decades and by 2010 had resigned herself to taking antidepressant medication for the rest of her life. Then she decided to start a dietary experiment. To lose weight, the 47-year-old Catonsville, Md., mother stopped eating gluten, a protein found in wheat and related grains. Within a month she had shed several pounds — and her lifelong depression. “It was like a veil lifted and I could see life more clearly,” she recalled. Corbitt had stumbled into an area that scientists have recently begun to investigate: whether food can have as powerful an impact on the mind as it does on the body. Research exploring the link between diet and mental health “is a very new field; the first papers only came out a few years ago,” said Michael Berk, a professor of psychiatry at the Deakin University School of Medicine in Australia. “Diet quality” refers to the kinds of foods that people eat, how often they eat them and how much of them they eat. Gut bacteria
Meditation Produces Opposite Effect of ‘Fight or Flight’ By Traci Pedersen Associate News Editor Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on May 4, 2013 A new study reveals that practitioners of meditation experience changes in gene expression that are the exact opposite of what occurs during the “flight or fight” stress response. Specifically, genes associated with energy metabolism, mitochondrial function, insulin secretion, and telomere maintenance are turned on, while those involved in inflammation are turned off. These effects are more significant and consistent for long-term practitioners. People who practice simple meditation aren’t “just relaxing,” explained the study’s senior author, Dr. It’s been shown that repeating a yoga pose, prayer, or mantra while disregarding other thoughts protects against anxiety and depression as well as physical conditions such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and types of cancer that are exacerbated by stress. All of the subjects’ blood samples revealed changes in gene expression following meditation.
How physical exercise protects the brain from stress-induced depression Physical exercise has many beneficial effects on human health, including the protection from stress-induced depression. However, until now the mechanisms that mediate this protective effect have been unknown. In a new study in mice, researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden show that exercise training induces changes in skeletal muscle that can purge the blood of a substance that accumulates during stress, and is harmful to the brain. The study is being published in the journal Cell. "In neurobiological terms, we actually still don't know what depression is. It was known that the protein PGC-1a1 (pronounced PGC-1alpha1) increases in skeletal muscle with exercise, and mediates the beneficial muscle conditioning in connection with physical activity. These mice, and normal control mice, were exposed to a stressful environment, such as loud noises, flashing lights and reversed circadian rhythm at irregular intervals. Depression is a common psychiatric disorder worldwide.
25 Psychological Life Hacks Social situations are among the most important in our lives. Yet, there is a huge chance that you are oblivious to the plethora of unwritten social rules that structure everybody’s behaviour. Failing to comply to these cultural imprints can cause irreversible damage. 1) Assume comfort in any interaction. Our brain is an incredibly complicated instrument. In most of our social interactions, we find it difficult to feel comfortable among strangers because our brain tries to protect us from exposure. This however isn’t helping us when trying to be social and meet new people, is it? This is why assuming comfort is so powerful. 2) Pay attention to people’s feet when you are approaching them. Interrupting people when they are in the middle of an important conversation is one of the most annoying things to do. When you approach a group of people while in a conversation, pay attention to their bodies. If they turn both torso and feet, it means you are welcome. Admit it. We love validation.
If You're Too Busy to Meditate, Read This This morning, like every morning, I sat cross-legged on a cushion on the floor, rested my hands on my knees, closed my eyes, and did nothing but breathe for 20 minutes. People say the hardest part about meditating is finding the time to meditate. This makes sense: who these days has time to do nothing? It’s hard to justify. Meditation brings many benefits: It refreshes us, helps us settle into what’s happening now, makes us wiser and gentler, helps us cope in a world that overloads us with information and communication, and more. How? Research shows that an ability to resist urges will improve your relationships, increase your dependability, and raise your performance. Our ability to resist an impulse determines our success in learning a new behavior or changing an old habit. As it turns out, that’s one of the things meditation teaches us. When I sat down to meditate this morning, relaxing a little more with each out-breath, I was successful in letting all my concerns drift away.
Reversing Regrets All of us have regrets at some time. It may be spending too much time in a problematic relationship, buying something you realize is not what you thought it would be, wearing a tie that clashes with your jacket, or eating too much dessert. For me, it was buying Lehman Brothers stock before the company crashed. We would have to be immune to learning from experience to say that we never regret something we have done. How can we move beyond the moment of regret so that we don't get stuck? Is there any advantage to continuing your regret? Keep in mind that good decision making is acknowledging a mistake, learning from it, and making life better in the future. For more by Robert Leahy, Ph.D., click here. For more on mindfulness, click here.
Authentic and Eudaimonic 8 Acts Of Authenticity "It's the best way to figure out what it feels like to be in someone else's head—and that's what helps us to distinguish our own identity ." — "Meditative absorption creates moments of happiness not contingent on outcomes or external factors or manipulation of the environment . "Authenticity consists in being aware that you have choices and consciously choosing what you do "People often make better decisions when they don't think about them. "Quiet and time for the self are a big plus. "Community is an outlook toward life in which you define yourself in relation to the world around you, rather than only in connection with yourself. "Whether it's taking an art class, playing basketball, running, or just hanging out with friends, doing something you really enjoy allows you to express who you really are "Feelings of inauthenticity are heightened by a lack of a philosophy that allows failure to be part of life. The New, True, Eudaimonic You
6 Things You Can Do When You Lack Discipline Post written by Leo Babauta. Follow me on Twitter. One of the biggest problems people face is the lack of discipline — they have goals or habits they want to achieve, but lack that discipline needed to stick with it. Then we beat ourselves up about it. We feel crappy because we can’t stick with it. And that leads to more failure, because we’re forming a mindset that we don’t have the necessary discipline. Here’s what to do when you face a situation like this: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. —If you liked this article, please share it on del.icio.us, StumbleUpon or Digg.
50 Ways to be Happier, Healthier, And More Successful 1. Stop consuming caffeine Although people think they perform better on caffeine, the truth is, they really don’t. Isn’t this absurd? With healthy eating, sleeping, and exercise, your body will naturally produce far more and better energy than caffeine could ever provide. 2. In a recent interview at the Genius Network mastermind event, Joe Polish asked Tony Robbins what he does to get focused. “I don’t know that I meditate. Instead of full-on meditation, Tony has a morning routine that includes several breathing exercises and visualization techniques that get him to a state of clarity and focus. Whatever your approach, the goal should be clarity and focus. What few things matter most during the next 24 hours? I’ve gotten the best results as my morning prayer and meditation are motivational; my afternoon prayer and meditation are strategic; and my evening prayer and meditation are evaluative and educational. 3. Ordinary people seek entertainment. 4. This habit will change your life. 5. 6.
Seven Weird Habits That Will Change Your Life Some habits will help you live a better life. They’ll help you improve what’s already working or help you fix what’s not working very well. But what about habits that completely change the game entirely? What are the questions that uproot your beliefs, shake them from its roots and move you into a bigger pot? These are seven habits that won’t just improve your game, or help you “level up.” Regularly engage in time travel. These are just a few habits I’ve found that have made a huge difference for me. So now my question for you is this: What habit has made the biggest difference for you? photo courtesy of platinum Share: Get everything you need to finally leave your job for good. The first few weeks of the Job Escape Kit has already produced some outcomes I’d never thought I’d see in my whole career.” ~ Nick Burk
The Happiness Course: Here What's Some Learned The Yale happiness class, formally known as Psyc 157: Psychology and the Good Life, is one of the most popular classes to be offered in the university’s 320-year history. The class was only ever taught in-person once, during the spring 2018 semester, as a 1,200-person lecture course in the largest space on campus. That March, a free 10-week version made available to the public via Coursera, titled “the Science of Well-Being,” also became instantly popular, attracting hundreds of thousands of online learners. “We octupled the number of people taking the class,” said Laurie Santos, a professor of psychology at Yale and the head of the university’s Silliman College, of its pandemic-era popularity. “Everyone knows what they need to do to protect their physical health: wash your hands, and social distance, and wear a mask,” she added. The Coursera curriculum, adapted from the one Dr. The practical aspect of the Coursera curriculum appealed to Ms. “I found myself looking inward. Dr. Mr. Mr.
Scientists identify depression and anxiety biomarker in youths Scientists have discovered a cognitive biomarker – a biological indicator of a disease – for young adolescents who are at high risk of developing depression and anxiety. Their findings were published today, 28 November, in the journal PLOS ONE. The test for the unique cognitive biomarker, which can be done on a computer, could be used as an inexpensive tool to screen adolescents for common emotional mental illnesses. As the cognitive biomarker may appear prior to the symptoms of depression and anxiety, early intervention (which has proven to be one of the most effective ways of combatting mental illness) could then be initiated. For the study, 15-18 year old participants underwent genetic testing and environmental assessment, an exercise which would currently be too expensive and take too long to use as a widespread method of screening. “The evidence is that both our genes and our early childhood experiences contribute to such personal thinking styles.