STRESSED? PART ONE

IF taking care of yourself usually shows up on the bottom of your to be done list it’s time to make a change. Women especially are at risk for depression because we tend to be the first line of defense in our families to take care of others and not us. As a Licensed Independent Social Worker counseling nursing students, I deal with mental health issues every day at work. But what many of us don’t think of until we get depressed or suffer from anxiety is what does mental health look like? What is a definition of mental health as opposed to mental illness?

One definition of mental health is:
–noun
1. psychological well-being and satisfactory adjustment to society and to the ordinary demands of life.
________________________________________
Origin:
1825–35
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.

My definition of Mental Health is the absence of disease and the enjoyment of life. I like to say the absence of dis-ease. Just like any other part of the human body the human mind can have illnesses. You can read up on all of these problems at http://www.nami.org/ . You can help stamp out the stigma against those with mental illness just by becoming informed and sharing your knowledge. I think Jesus demostrated the objective of mental health when HE said:

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28 NIV. It's not just our bodies that need rest but our minds as well.

There are many ways to relieve stress in our lives (my top pick is massage, bet you couldn't guess). I think other effective strategies are 1) Talking about your problems with someone you trust, 2) Pray and seek God’s wisdom for your particular concerns, 3) Set healthy boundaries, in other words, learn to say no. Resource: Boundaries (When to Say YES When to Say NO To Take Control of Your Life) Dr. Henry Cloud, and Dr. John Townsend, and 4) Excercise that releases endorphins and helps you feel better.

I followed my own advice and got a massage yesterday. Ahhhh. How are you coping with stress?

Just Enough Light

I needed this reminder today. If you've been struggling lately you might want to read this.

If you are experiencing a difficult time in your life, or you know someone who is, this is a great book to use while you work your way through painful situations. I don’t say that casually. I’m employed as a full-time counselor for nursing students and have a master’s degree in social work, and I believe this book is a valuable tool for anyone.

Stormie O’Martian discusses how we learn to walk with our heavenly father. This hasn’t always been easy for me because I didn’t grow up having a father in the house, so it was hard to learn to trust God when my earthly father had abandoned me. Perhaps some of you have faced the same experience. Once in awhile I still need a reminder that God is there, and providing just enough light so I don’t get overwhelmed.

I love the image of just enough light because it helps me focus on what I can do today and encourages me not to look too far ahead. It reminds me of the scripture: Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.Matthew 6:33-34.

The Prayer Light in each chapter is a prayer related to the chapter. For instance, on page 36 following the chapter on, Refusing to be Afraid of the Dark, the prayer begins with “Lord thank you that because I walk with you I don’t have to fear the dark.”

Footlights provide a list of several scriptures that shine light on the chapter subject, i.e., Isaiah 50:10.

Stormie offers a study guide at the end of each chapter which is very helpful for further study and insight.

The Bottom Line: If you’re walking in a dark place, a little light will help you find your way.

When Making Your Daily Word Count Drives You Crazy

Ever have trouble keeping yourself focused on your writing? Life got in the way you say? Me too. But then an awesome opportunity showed up in my e-mail. ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) decided to introduce us to NovelTrack this July. And it made a huge difference in my ability to write and reach my goal of 25,000 words. Hey, I even went a little over that. It felt great!

So what did  I learn from NovelTrack?

Preparation - I knew a couple weeks ahead of time that I was going to do this. I thought about it and prepared for it mentally, told my family I was going to write every spare moment I had in July, and looked at what I had already accomplished with my WIP. I did a lot of mental preparation.

Methodology - I wrote in different places. I wrote in the library, coffee shops, on the deck, in my office, in the living room, and on my lunch break after I had to return to my day job in the middle of the month.

Tools - I wrote on my laptop, my desktop, my Neo, and yellow legal pads.

Math - I learned how to figure out how many words I wanted to write every day and became friends with my calculator. Each day I would log in to the NovelTrack account and record my total for the day and got to see what the entire group of us achieved each day.

Accountability - telling others on the NovelTrack Loop how I was doing, seeking encouragement, giving encouragement, being honest on the three days I had when I my totals were zero.

Accomplishment - Each day I met my goal or even moved in the right direction made such a difference to me. I was writing every day and I was developing a great habit.

Staying In The Story - I  thought of new ideas each day I sat down to write. I struggled a few times but when I just decided to write and not think too much I was able to consciously and subconsciously remain in my story.

Discovery - I wrote in scenes and I didn't try to write in a linear fashion. I wrote whatever I thought might make a good scene somewhere in the book.

Giving Up The Internal Editor - I wrote fast and left my internal editor in the dust. I used my Neo by Alphasmart almost always after the first week because the small screen only allows me to see about four lines at a time. This allowed me to write faster and not worry about having perfect sentences or the right word. I could do that in revision.

Success - I loved making my goal, but developing the ability, the habit, of writing every day is what really made me feel like a success.

So if any of you would like to try and develop a healthy new habit, write every day, and get lots of encouragement while you're writing lots of words, I'd suggest you sign up for NovelTrack in October when the challenge is offered again.

Today Is My 29th Wedding Anniversary

Marriage is a really good thing. It's not easy, and I think some couples still get married way too quickly without thinking through what it really means to live with another person and make a committment to stay with that person forwever. Till death do we part. That's a long time. But if you can work through your problems and really respect each other, 29 years flys by so fast it's difficult to believe you've been married to each other that long.





Trust has everything to do with a good marriage. If you can't trust your spouse, you can't have a happy marriage. Love without trust isn't healthy. My hubby and I are good friends. In fact our wedding invitations started out with, "This day I will marry my friend." And we've been friends through the good times and through the really tough times. Happy Anniversary, Randy. I'm believing the next 29 will be the best!



Faith and love will take you far. Have a great week and fireproof your marriage.

BEDLAM TUESDAY: LET'S TALK ABOUT INCEPTION

SPOILER ALERT

Don't read if you plan on seeing the movie.

I went to see Inception  last week with my hubby. There's been a lot of discussion about this movie. If you've seen it, I'd love to know your take on it. Perhaps being a full time counselor as well as an author has clouded my judgement. But I thought it was all about mental health and one man's journey back to sanity after his wife's suicide, which he feels responsible for and carries extreme guilt related to what he feels he did to her. 

Your mind is the scene of the crime.

I will definetly go back to see this movie because (ahem) I can't get it out of my head. It's a fantastic way to depict mental illness and how the mind fights to find and stabilize reality. It should be a requirement for every psychology class.

Christopher Nolan, the writer and director has developed a real winner in my opinion, no matter what you think it's about. Any movie that can keep people talking about it is doing something right.

If you go to http://www.imdb.com/ and look at what genre it is you'll get a smile on your face. For me this movie showed a man and all the characters he would come across on his way back to sanity. Let's see, we had dreams to begin with, very Freudian. Then we had projections, the difficulty of getting lost and never coming back. Knowing when you're in reality and when you aren't. Unlocking the vault to discover the secrets of the mind. I could go on, but I'd rather you did.

So what was Inception all about?

Impression or Impact

http://www.intouch.org/