The Wave
Autumn 2013
You can’t stop the waves… but you can learn to surf
In this issue: When “healthy” food is bad for you The myth of McMindfulness News round-up Let’s make mental health cool 5 ways to cope with Xmas Are we really happier this year? Turmeric - a new antidepressant? Food for mood recipe 5 quick ways to de-stress (without alcohol)
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When “healthy” food is bad for you the salads and other foods sold by a range of popular fast food outlets. The results are startling: A Grilled Chicken Salad was found to contain 490 calories and 28 grams of fat (more than anyone should consume in one meal), the same as 11 Chicken Nuggets. A Caesar Salad was even worse, weighing in at 670 calories and 44 grams of fat - the same as a Triple Stacker (which contains three beef patties, three slices of bacon and cheese). Opting for a Smoothie might not help much either. According to Melnick, A 16 ounce Strawberry Banana Smoothie will set you back 310 calories and 60 grams of sugar. That's a bit better than the OREO Sundae (440, 57 grams), but not much.
One reason why so many of us are overweight despite trying to eat well is that we often misunderstand which foods are bad for us. The food industry notoriously profits from this misunderstanding by labelling high calorific products as “low fat”, while labelling high fat products as “low calorie”. And far too many of us eat this stuff then wake up wondering why the pounds keep piling on. The situation is much worse when we eat out. With fewer people cooking for themselves today than ever before, many of us rely on fast-food outlets to grab a meal during our lunch break. And the pressure of work means that we don’t have much time to consider the nutritional content of the food we are buying. What most of us do is take a guess as to what types of food are healthy, and what types aren’t. So, faced with a choice between a burger or a salad, most of us choose the salad as the “healthy” option. Surprisingly, if we do this, then we make the wrong choice! In an article for the Huffington Post, Meredith Melnick has compared the fat and calorific content of
While most of us have learned official health messages such as: “5-a-day” and “low-fat/high-fibre”, we still struggle to work out what this means in an environment in which the advertising is written in large text while the nutritional information is hidden from view. Cooking for yourself is the best way to guarantee healthy eating. But if you do have to eat out, don’t simply assume you
know what foods are healthy… they may be anything but. You can view a video showing the comparisons at:
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http://youtu.be/Q1kDezVCTE8
The Myth of McMindfulness Western forms of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and Mindful Cognitive Behavioural Therapy have only proven themselves in the last 20 years, and were largely ignored (and occasionally ridiculed) until about 5 years ago. But in recent years, we have witnessed a growing interest in the application of mindfulness practice not just as a therapy for treating mental illness, but as an aid to educational, business and even military success. Worryingly, in order to sell Mindfulness to a mass market, much of its ethical and spiritual context has been removed. Professor of Management, Robert Purser and Zen teacher, David Loy note that:
Mahatma Gandhi once said:
While a stripped-down, secularized technique -what some critics are now calling "McMindfulness" - may make it more palatable to the corporate world, decontextualizing mindfulness from its original liberative and transformative purpose, as well as its foundation in social ethics, amounts to a Faustian bargain. Rather than applying mindfulness as a means to awaken individuals and organizations from the unwholesome roots of greed, ill will and delusion, it is usually being refashioned into a banal, therapeutic, self-help technique that can actually reinforce those roots.
First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, and then you win. This sentiment might well be applied to the recent popularity of Mindfulness as a therapy for treating common mental illnesses and as a method for stress management and reduction. The practice of Mindfulness – of stilling your thoughts, relaxing your body, and becoming focused on the here and now – has been around for several millennia. Popularised in the west by the hippy generation, Mindfulness was largely ignored as a somewhat obscure practice that could have little useful impact for most people. It was only when Professor of Medicine Jon Kabat Zinn brought Eastern meditation practices from the practice of Yoga and Zen Buddhism into medicine that the potential benefits of Mindfulness for people experiencing stress and mental health problems began to be realised.
There is no doubt that the practice of Mindfulness can be very helpful for thousands of people affected by common mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression. But Mindfulness isn’t a miracle cure. Nor is Mindfulness an entirely benign and peaceful practice – while the aim of
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Mindfulness is to switch off unruly thought processes in order to become fully present, the practice often involves wading through traumatic memories, fears and worries. Without skilled support, these can result in mental illness getting worse.
and sat back to wait for a miracle to happen - and for millions it didn’t It simply added a raft of unpleasant side effects to the symptoms of the depression they already had.
Mindfulness has to be a life-long practice. It cannot be a (“McMindfulness”) 6-hour quick-fix for the often profound psychological and social causes of mental illness.
A need for honesty Similar failures are now emerging with CBT. As with antidepressants, far too many people have been led to believe that attending 6 - 10 CBT sessions is all they have to do to overcome common mental illnesses.
Like Prozac and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) before it, Mindfulness has followed a path to popularity that will inevitably lead to mass disappointment. This disappointment will not come from Mindfulness itself – Prozac and CBT continue to help millions of people every year, and there is no reason why Mindfulness should be any different.
If people are led to believe the myth that attending 6 - 10 Mindfulness sessions is all they have to do, then it too will fail.
Rather, the disappointment comes when politicians and public health managers seek to package these approaches as the therapeutic equivalent of fast food: one size fits all “miracle cures” that are anything but.
Mindfulness can and will help millions of people worldwide to overcome their problems. But only by helping them to take action to help themselves.
Prozac didn’t fail because it didn’t work. It failed because it didn’t work for everyone. CBT has not failed because it didn’t work. It failed because it didn’t work for everyone. Mass produced McMindfulness will not work for everyone either.
The trouble is that stress, mental health problems and mental illness sap motivation, and most of us either do not want to, or do not know how to take action.
So when someone sells us the myth that their therapy can cure our ills without The most dangerous myth in mental health much effort on our part, we are only too is that all you have to do is be the passive happy to buy into it. recipient of the latest fad medicine or In the end, the difference between therapy. genuine Mindfulness and McMindfulness is in the dishonesty of the latter. Anyone Antidepressants like Prozac failed who has followed the history of treatments because the pharmaceutical companies grossly over-stated their impact on people for mental illness knows all too well that there are no quick fixes - anyone who with depression. This caused millions of says otherwise is defrauding you. people to believe that all they had to do was to take Prozac. So they took the pills
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News round-up Rates of depression are the same in men & women
However, nurses and local government workers are not far behind.
A new study published in JAMA Psychiatry The ongoing loss of sleep is causing casts doubt on the received wisdom that problems with productivity and quality in depression affects significantly more these sectors. women than men. For decades, doctors had assumed that women accounted for around 66% of cases of depression with men accounting for around 33%. However, the new study suggests that this difference is a result of the symptoms used to make a diagnosis of clinical depression.
Exercise beats insomnia …eventually
Lisa Martin, the study's lead author from the University of Michigan in Dearborn says that when slight changes are made to diagnostic criteria (such as including symptoms like aggression and sleep In theory, tiring yourself physically should problems) the rates of depression help you sleep. But in practice it often equalise. doesn’t. And many of us give up in the belief that exercise is simply adding What teachers have in common exhaustion to our sleep problems. with bankers But a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine suggests that many people give up on exercise too quickly. The study found that practicing a routine exercise programme for 16 weeks added Heavy workloads and time spent worrying nearly an hour to the sleep of people with about work make bankers and teachers insomnia - taking the average nightly the two most sleep-deprived professions in sleep up to 6 hours and 46 minutes for the UK according to a survey conducted this group. for Travelodge. Banking and teaching are the only professions that spend more than 1½ hours a night worrying instead of sleeping.
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So exercise is an effective means of promoting sleep … so long as you give it time.
News round-up Mental health still underrepresented in politics
and slept an average of 46 minutes more per night.
Depressed people struggle to set achievable goals Researchers at the University of Liverpool have found that people affected by depression were much less likely to set specific and achievable goals. Dr Joanne Dickson, in the University's Institute of Psychology, Health and Society says: We found that the goals that people with clinical depression listed lacked a specific focus, making it more difficult to achieve them and therefore creating a downward cycle of negative thoughts.
The UK Council for Psychotherapy has published research that shows our politicians give physical health 10 times the attention given to mental health. Despite all of the main political parties adopting more holistic health policies and several MPs and AMs speaking publicly about their own mental llness, debates around health continue to follow a default “physical health only� narrative.
The study suggests that a coaching approach that helps people set specific, achievable goals could be a key element in promoting recovery and wellbeing.
David Pink, chief executive of UKCP, says:
Calls for mental illness help up 50 percent
Our emotional and psychological wellbeing is too important to remain on A survey by the charity Mind has found an the sidelines. It touches every family in alarming 50 percent increase in calls to mental illness helplines since 2011/12. the country and it needs to become everybody's business. The figures come on the back of a 30% Daylight at work linked to wellbeing increase in suicides over the same period. Also research by Dr David Stuckler and Workers exposed to daylight in the office Dr Sanjay Basu has concluded that: sleep longer at night, record more physical activity and have a higher quality of life Austerity is devastating the health of than their peers working in offices with no people in Europe and North America daylight exposure according to a study at by driving suicide, depression, and the Northwestern University in Chicago the spread of infectious disease. Compared to workers in offices without windows, those with windows in the workplace received 173 percent more white light exposure during work hours
The survey further contradicts government claims that public wellbeing is improving.
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Let’s make mental health cool! Our medical approach to mental health is damaging millions of people worldwide according to Clinical Psychologist Art Frenz - and not because of the treatments or highly suspect approaches taken to diagnosing illnesses.
For every 1,000 people: 6 treated in hospital
The real problem is that the term “mental health” has been usurped by those who make a living out of mental illness. As Frenz points out:
24 have severe mental illness 102 diagnosed with mental illness
The word ‘health’ has positive connotations. Put the word ‘mental’ in front of it and it becomes a negative.
240 will seek help
People with mental health problems are a much bigger “market” than people with mental illness. More than 30% of us have problems while just 2.4% are diagnosed with a severe mental illnesses.
300 will have “mental health problems” Source: Mental Health First Aid (Wales)
There is a huge difference between having “a problem” with one’s mental health and having a diagnosed “illness”. And while there will be many borderline cases where the distinction between a problem and an illness gets blurred, it is essential that we don’t overload our struggling public health services with ordinary (albeit unpleasant) problems that are best resolved by individuals and communities. Veryan Richards (Mental Health Promotion Wales, Sept 2013) notes: We do not refer to physical illnesses and conditions in this way. People would say “I have Crohn‟s disease” not “I have a Crohn‟s problem”; “I have ovarian cancer”, not “I have a cancer problem”; “I am blind in one eye; I have a disability not a problem”.
General health wasn’t always seen in a positive light. It only became positive
because we developed a health market that included diets, gyms, sports clubs and sports equipment. It was the money invested in advertising these goods and services that finally made it cool to get fit. The trouble is that treating mental health and mental health problems as mental illness removes personal responsibility while millions of us now look after our physical health, only a tiny fraction of us look after our mental health and wellbeing. According to Frenz: The more we see mental health as a medical condition, the more we expect the state to pay for it. But if we regard mental health as a positive goal worth investing in, we might be willing to personally shoulder more of the cost. So we could make mental health cool but we must begin by clearly separating it from mental illness!
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5 Ways to cope with Christmas gloomy time of year. For some people, this gloom causes a condition called Seasonal Affective Disorder. For many more of us it causes “winter blues”, and can leave us feeling tired and gloomy. Both conditions are alleviated by exposure to daylight. And the best way of getting daylight at this time of year is to go for a walk (or a jog or bicycle ride) on Christmas morning once the turkey is in the oven, but before the cooking starts and the guests arrive. 4.Set limits on socialising. Don’t feel obliged to attend functions or stay longer than you want to. Since at this time of year there are lots of things Although it is still a few months away, it is going on, it is easy enough to tell worth preparing for Christmas now if you people that “I can only drop in for a bit want to avoid some of the anxiety, stress as I have other things to go on to.” That and worry that so many people experience way, you can keep control of your time. during what should be a happy and festive 5.Avoid perfectionism. The perfect time. Christmas is a myth created by the Here are 5 things you can do to make media. The more you try to live up to it, things easier: the more you are creating stress and spoiling your Christmas. So rather than 1.Plan ahead, and put it in writing. Taking worrying about everyone else’s time to plan your Christmas now will Christmas, make sure that your save you from getting flustered at the Christmas is both enjoyable and last minute. It will also help you avoid recreational. the need to join the crowds doing lastminute shopping on Christmas Eve. Life Surfing has published a 12pp booklet 2.Drink soft drinks. Alcohol is an inevitable part of Christmas for most people. But too much will make you ill. One way of moderating your consumption is to alternate soft drinks and alcoholic drinks. 3.Go for a walk. People have been celebrating the winter solstice for thousands of years (Christmas was superimposed on the pagan festival) as it marks the point at which the days begin to lengthen again. This means that Christmas is a particularly cold and
Coping with Christmas to help you manage your stress levels during the festive season. The booklet contains useful information and advice that will help you get through Christmas unscathed. You might also be interested in Life Surfing’s 32pp booklet Distress to De-stress which explains what stress is and how you can manage and overcome it.
www.life-surfing.com Freephone 0300 321 4514 Or 07922 537 646
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info@life-surfing.com
Are we really happier this year? These events are too superficial to have an effect on real, lasting wellbeing. As US professor Angus Deaton says: In a world of bread and circuses, measures like happiness that are sensitive to short-term ephemera, and that are affected more by the arrival of St. Valentine's Day than to a doubling of unemployment, are measures that pick up the circuses but miss the bread.
According to the Office for National Statistics, our happiness levels on the government’s Wellbeing Index rose to 7.45. Up from 7.41 in 2012. The UK government was quick to trumpet these figures as proof that the economy has turned the corner and that the future is looking bright. But the figures beg two questions. First (the boring one) is a 0.04 increase all that meaningful? Such a small increase may actually be within the margin of error for polling. And there were problems with the surveys on which the index is based. Between 45 and 50 percent of the people surveyed refused to answer. It doesn’t take a genius to work out that those who are least happy and whose lives are under the most pressure are less likely to participate in surveys than those who are relaxed and have time to spare. Second, is the government’s wellbeing index really measuring our levels of happiness? Clues to the superficial nature of the index are found in the explanation for the rise in happiness - the effect of the Diamond Jubilee, Olympics and Paralymics.
There are other, much more serious measures of the nation’s wellbeing. We might look, for example, at the huge increase in antidepressant prescribing or growing rates of mental illness in the last five years. But the most alarming measure of our falling wellbeing is the 30 percent increase in suicides since 2010 hardly a measure of a nation brimming with joy. This is not to say that we shouldn’t try to measure public wellbeing. But, as Arianna Huffington, founder of the Huffington Post says: Our well-being is too important to use superficial measures that, whether intentionally or not, end up letting governments off the hook by ignoring data that show serious challenges to our well-being. If it's a problem that can be solved by watching the Diamond Jubilee or Usain Bolt win three gold medals, it's not a serious problem. To reach a real place of true well-being, we need an accurate picture of where we stand now. This is particularly important in Wales, where we have particularly high rates of suicide, depression and economic stagnation.
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Food for Mood
Turmeric - A new antidepressant? Turmeric has been used in cooking and herbal medicine for more than 10,000 years. It is most commonly used as an ingredient in curry powder, although it is a key ingredient in a range of south Asian dishes and was used as a substitute for saffron in medieval Europe.
It is not altogether clear why curcurmin should have such a powerful effect on depression. However, it may be to do with its anti-inflammatory properties and its ability to promote the growth of new nerve cells. Dr Ajay Goel, a researcher on the trial said: It is a novel and surprising application for this natural medicine. People with depression have higher levels of inflammation in the brain. Also, people with depression have lower levels of neurogenesis in the brain, meaning they make fewer new brain cells than people with no history of depression. Curcumin is both a potent antiinflammatory agent and a powerful stimulator for neurogenesis.
A powerful antioxidant, turmeric has been used by herbalists to treat a range of ailments. It is thought to promote the health of our: ● ● ● ● ● ●
Skin Eyes Immune system Bones and joints Digestive system Blood and circulatory system
Turmeric is also thought to prevent high cholesterol and blood sugar levels, as well as combating the effects of stress.
Although the amounts of curcurmin used in the trial were much greater than that found in turmeric, claims for the health benefits of the spice appear to have some grounding.
Although there has been some research Taken as part of a balanced and varied into the medical benefits of turmeric’s active ingredient curcumin, most falls short diet, turmeric will help promote your wellbeing - particularly if you like a curry! of the clinical trials that would be required for it to be considered a medicine. This * (J Sanmukhani, V Satodia, J Trived, T Patel, said, a recent controlled clinical trial has D Tiwar, B Panchal, A Goel and CB Tripathi. found that curcurmin is as effective as Efficacy and safety of curcumin in major Prozac as an antidepressant*. The depressive disorder: A randomized controlled research also found that combining trial. Phytotherapy Research. BCM-95) curcurmin and Prozac had an even greater benefit than either taken in isolation.
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Food for Mood Recipe
Fat-free chicken curry Ingredients pan and cook gently for 20 minutes, until the onion is tender, and syrupy.
SAUCE 600ml Chicken Stock 4 Skinless Chicken Breasts 3 Onions (medium) 1 Large Tin Tomatoes 2 Garlic Cloves (crushed) 6 Small Green Chillis 2-4cm Ginger (chopped) 1 Teaspoon Cumin 1-2 Bay leaves 1 Cinnamon stick 3-4 Cloves 2 Teaspoons Turmeric 1 Teaspoon Salt 1 Teaspoon Coriander 2 Bell peppers (optional) 150gm Mushrooms (optional) 275ml fat free natural yogurt
2. Add all the spices, herbs, garlic and ginger to the pan, and cook for 3-4 minutes. Then add the chicken and cook for a few minutes to coat in the spices, then stir in the remaining chicken stock and tomatoes. 3. Cover the pan and simmer very gently over a medium heat for 20 minutes until the chicken is cooked. 4. Add 4 tbsp of the cooking sauce to the yogurt and stir well. Gradually add the yogurt into the curry, stirring continuously.
RICE
RICE
In a separate pan, sweat the cumin seeds in a drop of water for a few seconds until they release their flavour. Pour in 2 cups of water. Add a dash of turmeric for colour. Add salt. Bring to boil. Cover pan and simmer until rice is soft (The rice should absorb all the water and there should be no excess and no burning when the rice is ready).
1 Cup Basmati Rice 2 Cups Water 1 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds Salt (pinch) Turmeric (pinch)
Method SAUCE 1. Put the onion, peppers and mushroom and 425ml of the chicken stock in a large, heavy-based saucepan. Cover the pan, bring to the boil and then boil for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat, uncover the
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Serves 3-4
5 quick ways to de-stress (without alcohol) Most of us reach for quick-fixes when we are stressed. But the things you do to relieve ordinary day-to-day stress are also the things you will reach for when you face a big life crisis. And when this means alcohol, nicotine, caffeine and comfort eating, it also means your long-term health is in danger. Learning healthy ways of de-stressing now will help protect your wellbeing when (inevitably) you have to face a major life crisis. 5. Write
1. Drink Green Tea Green tea is a source of L-Theanine, a substance that helps relieve feelings of stress, frustration and anger. 2. Laugh Laughter benefits us physically as the body has to breathe differently and blood flow is increased. It is also good psychologically, taking our minds away from our worries. So take 5 minutes to watch a YouTube comedy clip or read a cartoon strip.
Writing down the things that are troubling you can help you put them into perspective. You can also write down anything that you need to remember later on—this will save you worrying about it for the rest of the day.
For deeper relaxation
3. Brush Your Hair
The repetitiveness of brushing and the physical sense of the brush massaging your scalp can help relieve stress and bring about a sense of calm. 4. Use a Stress Ball Like chewing, fist clenching is a natural response to stress. Using a stress ball to clench and relax your fist can help dissipate stress and anger.
There are times when you need something more to relieve your stress. This is where complementary therapies such as aromatherapy, massage, reflexology and shiatsu can be really beneficial. A growing number of people also find that regularly attending classes in Pilates, Tai Chi or Yoga not only relieves stress but actually builds your resilience and improves your sense of wellbeing. So wouldn’t now be a good time to start practicing healthy ways of de-stressing?
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Life Surfing publications Life Surfing has published a growing range of wellbeing and self-help guides for anyone who is struggling with life’s ups and downs, and anyone who wants to do more to help. Our publications are available from Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats - see the the Life Surfing website for details. Beating Anxiety: A Guide to Managing and Overcoming Anxiety Disorders This Life Surfing guide explains what anxiety is, how it is treated, and - crucially - what steps you can take to help yourself recover and sustain your personal wellbeing.
Getting to sleep: A guide to overcoming stress-related sleep problems With 1 in 3 of us experiencing stress-related insomnia, this important Life Surfing guide will give you a good understanding of sleep and crucially - the steps you can take to improve the quality and duration of your sleep... night after night.
Depression: A guide to managing and overcoming depression This Life Surfing Guide to depression provides you with an introduction to what depression is, how it is treated, and - crucially - what you can do to help yourself overcome the condition and create long-term personal wellbeing.
How to Help: A guide to helping someone manage mental distress In this Life Surfing guide, we explain what mental health and mental illness are, and - crucially - the steps that you can take to help someone experiencing mental health problems or mental illness.
Depression Workbook: 70 Selfhelp techniques for recovering from depression This book provides you with 70 self-help techniques covering the seven key areas of your personal wellbeing.
Helping Hands: How to Help Someone Else Cope with Mental Health Problems Worried about the wellbeing of a relative, friend, colleague or client? Not sure what to do or worried you might say or do the wrong thing?
Distress to De-stress: Understanding and managing stress in everyday life This Life Surfing guide explains what stress is, and - crucially - what healthy steps you can take to manage stress and promote long-term personal wellbeing. The guide includes 30 stress management techniques. Food for Mood: A guide to healthy eating for mental health In this Life Surfing guide we explain how mental health problems can impact on diet, how you can improve your diet by using foods from the helpful lists of good mood foods set out in the guide. We also provide some good mood food starter recipes for anyone who is relatively new to cooking.
Helping Hands will provide you with an understanding of wellbeing, and knowledge of mental illness, and will show you how you can help and support someone who has, or is at risk of developing, a mental health problem. Helping Hands also sets out a great deal of what has been learned about self-help and self-management strategies for recovery from mental illness over the last 25 years.
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Listings Beth Whelan, Duopody Reflexology (illness, injury, stress, fatigue) in tranquil St Hilary, near Cowbridge. Tel 07504982623. Email: barefootbeth1@gmail.com YogaMobility provides specialist accessible yoga classes for disabled and less able adults. Classes are held at Sbectrwm Community Centre, Fairwater, Monday and Thursday (10.30-12.30) and Roath Church House, Wednesday (6.00-7.20pm). www.yogamobility.org
If you would like to advertise in The Wave please contact Julia or Tim at Life Surfing. Freephone 0300 321 4514 - mobile 07922 537 646 info@life-surfing.com Cover photographs: Vladimir Morozov (front), Nick Kaye (rear)
The Wave is designed and printed by Waye Forward Ltd - www.wayeforward.com
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“You can’t stop the waves… … but you can learn to surf”
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