Photo by D Sharon Pruitt via Flickr

It is normal to occasionally feel sad or unhappy with a situation.  Life can be stressful and overwhelming at times and can lead people to feel sad.  Things like breakups, losing a job, getting a pay cut, having an argument with a friend or spouse are all examples of things that can bring on sadness, pain or grief. However, these negative emotions usually fade with time.  But with depression, those feelings can linger for weeks, months or even years and are more intense than just the normal blues.

Depression is not uncommon though.  It is estimated that about 12 million adults suffer from depression in the United States alone.  That is quite a few people affected.  So, today I will go over how depression is different from normal sadness, what symptoms to watch for, the different types of depression, who is at risk and ways to prevent and cope with depression.

Some references I used while researching this show are the Mayo Clinic, MedicineNet.com and kidshealth.org.

The video podcast for this week is:

1. Laughter Is Contagious, But In A Good Way!

The blog posts for this week are:

1. Study: Coffee and Tea May Lower Risk of Type 2 Diabetes
2. Diabetes Awareness Month: Exercise to Control Those Sugars!

If you like the show, please head on over to iTunes and give me a nice review.  It’s a great way to give me some good exposure and can help me get more listeners.  Thanks for listening, everyone!

Are you staying up at night worrying about your investments, about whether you will lose your job or how you are going to pay your bills? Are you feeling depressed, anxious or getting headaches?  Do you find yourself overeating, unmotivated or withdrawing from others?

If this sounds like you, you are not alone.  Many people are feeling the extra stress caused by the current state of the economy.  And people are trying many different approaches to get rid of that stress. While completely eliminating stress may not be possible these days, it can be managed.

Why is it important to control stress?
Managing stress is important because being stressed for long periods of time takes a toll on almost every system in the human body.  It can can cause anxiety, depression, insomnia, suppress the immune system, increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes, increase blood pressure and heart rate and cause digestive problems, among other things.

How can I manage stress?
Here are a few suggestions to help you manage the financial stress you are feeling:

1. Keep a positive outlook: Even though there are many negative stories about the state of the economy, there are also some positive ones.  Try not to focus on the negative stories and don’t panic when you hear something negative occurring.  It is not all doom and gloom. The stock market is starting to make its way back up a little and some analysts believe we might come out of the worst of this in the near future.
2. Take a break from the news: If the news makes you overly stressed, then it might be time to take a few weeks off from watching, listening, reading or talking about the news.  That goes double for checking your investments daily.
3. Make a plan: If money is tight, write a budget: Figure out how you and your family are going to allocate your money to cover your expenses.  Then put the budget into action.  Committing to your new budget will decrease your stress, because you are taking control of your financial situation and one of the most stressful things in life is feeling out of control.
4. Be aware of unhealthy activities: During these tough economic times, many people turn to unhealthy activities to help them cope, like smoking, drinking, gambling or overeating.  If you find yourself doing that, stop.  These unhealthy activities can actually make you spend more money and can lead to family strain and more stress.  If you are unable to stop these unhealthy habits, make sure to seek professional help before it gets worse.
5. Learn to relax: Find something positive that relaxes you and makes you happy.  That could be reading a good book, listening to music, meditating or going for a walk.  Find outlets to relieve your stress.

The bottom line
In these tough economic times, it is important to manage your stress because long term exposure to stress will take a toll on your health.  Luckily, some people think the economy might be making a slight turn in the right direction.  Right now, you need to hang in there and be positive and proactive while finding ways to cope with financial stressors.  Remember, being healthy is the most important thing because without good health, nothing else matters!

Time and time again, I have heard people say that they don’t have the time or energy to do what it takes to be healthy. They complain that it is hard enough just going to work and taking care of their kids. And on top of that, they say, it’s too much to expect them to watch what they eat, exercise three to five times a week, stay away from chemicals, buy organic, etc.. They just can’t do it.

But is it really too much to ask? Everyone wants to live a long time with a high quality of life, right? What these individuals forget is that being healthy it is not an all or nothing choice. You can’t overhaul all your health related habits overnight, but you can continuously improve upon them. By taking small steps in the right direction, you will be improving your health, so don’t feel like you’re falling short of the ideal.

Besides, no one said you had to be perfect. You can occasionally indulge in a dessert or even a hot dog at a baseball game. The problem arises when you indulge unhealthy habits too frequently or worse yet, daily. That can cause medical problems in the long run.

Take control of your life!
When it comes to your health, ignorance is not bliss. Knowing what is good or bad for you, may one day save your life. For example, imagine a young man that eats a high salt, high fat diet and lives a very sedentary life. Let’s also imagine that he is unaware of how unhealthy it is to lead such a lifestyle. Because of that ignorance, he has a major heart attack in his forties and it kills him. If he had known that the way he was living was dangerous, he might have made some different choices and lived a little healthier. Those healthier choices might have been enough to have prevented the heart attack that killed him. The information was out there that could have saved his life. The problem is that he never paid it any attention.

Here are a few choices he might have made differently, if he had just learned a little bit more about health.

1. Bought different groceries: He ate a lot of chips and cookies and a limited amount of vegetables. With more knowledge, he might have bought more fruits and vegetables and made those a bigger part of his meals.  He might have saved the chips and cookies for parties.
2. Limited fast food: He ate fast food daily.  After learning about the health effects of fast food, he might have only had it once a week.
3. Prepared his foods differently: He barbecued and fried his foods a lot.  Armed with knowledge about healthy living, he might have decided to primarily bake, broil or poach his foods and saved barbecuing or frying for special occasions.
4. Decreased his intake of alcohol: He drank fairly heavily most days and drank margaritas until he passed out at least once a week.  Knowing how that behavior would effect his health, he might have only drank a few times a week and always in moderation.
5. Increased his activity: He spent all his free time watching movies or playing video games.  Knowing the benefits of regular exercise, he might have started taking a daily half hour walk during his lunch break or after dinner.

Those changes wouldn’t turn him into the ultimate health nut, but they would have been enough to make him significantly healthier and at lower risk for many health conditions.  So, that shows how making any improvements are a good thing.  After all, being healthy is not an all or nothing situation.  The more you do, the healthier you’ll be, so you just want to start down the path and go as far as you are able.  The farther you go, the more you’ll find that you can get farther than you expected.

Knowledge is power, so learn as much as you can about staying healthy and try to implement what you have learned.  It doesn’t have to be overwhelming or difficult.  Just learn as much as you can and implement one thing at a time.  Think about how much you love life and how you want to be around for a long time.  That will motivate you to learn more about health and to make changes to become healthier!

Have you taken steps towards improving your life and your health? Good! I’m glad to hear that resounding chorus of “Yes!” Have you reached your goal? No? That’s okay. Remember, people need time to achieve their goals. In fact, sometimes there will even be setbacks. The key to achieving your goal is to pick yourself up when you fall, dust yourself off and acknowledge what you have achieved rather than lament what you haven’t and give up.

Goals take time to achieve
If you’re not in the shape that you want to be in, realize that you didn’t get to where you are in a few days. It took months, years or even decades. So, you won’t achieve your goal in just a few days. It takes time. You just have to acknowledge that you’re moving closer to your goal along the way.

Think about getting on a plane in San Francisco to fly to Australia. That’s a long flight. Imagine if the pilot hit a stronger headwind than he expected that would make the trip take longer and decided that the trip was too slow when the plane was halfway there and gave up and crashed the plane into the sea. That would be horrible! But, he wouldn’t do that. He’d adjust the speed to make up some time or acknowledge that while he wasn’t going to arrive on time, he sure as heck was going to arrive eventually and that was good enough. You need to do the same thing. If something is slowing your progress, fix it or, if it’s out of your control, accept it and continue on. You need to finish the trip from the old you to the new you. Don’t crash into the sea just because the trip is a little longer than you expected.

Appreciate your progress
A positive attitude can go along a way. So hold your head up and smile, you are on the right track. Here are a few tips to help you keep positive about your progress.

• Realize that it takes hard work: Getting in shape does not occur magically overnight. It takes months to years of hard work. Once you realize that, you won’t be so hard on yourself if you haven’t reached your goals yet.

• Focus your attention on the positives: Remember what you have already accomplished, don’t just focus on how much you still want to achieve.

• Stop cynical thoughts: Thinking negatively will not get you anywhere. It will just make you frustrated and more likely to quit.

So, remember don’t make excuses for any setbacks, but don’t beat yourself up so much that you give up the struggle either. This coming week is “Appreciate Your Progress” week on BeingHealthy.tv. I want you to see how far you’ve come and give yourself a pat on the back. Realize that you’ve already accomplished something that you might have thought you couldn’t. You’ve gotten to where you are now, instead of moving in the opposite direction. That’s the first step. Now smile, hold your head up and take that next step…you’ll get there. I know you will. You should know it, too.

We all know that exercise is important, but today I want to talk about a different kind of exercise. We all need a regular regimen of exercise to keep our muscles in tip top shape. However, we can’t forget the most important muscle that we have. I’m talking about your brain.

Why workout your brain?
People often don’t think about the fact that you have to challenge yourself mentally or your brain will decline in function. Studies have shown that failing to challenge the brain could actually result in Alzheimer’s and possibly dementia. Those are conditions you definitely want to avoid.

How should I exercise my brain?
How you workout your brain depends on your interests, but remember, you don’t have to be good at whatever activity you choose. In fact, that’s the point. By tackling something that you’re not good at, you have a chance to really challenge your brain.  If you’re very good at the activity already, it doesn’t stimulate your brain very much.  It’s similar to how a short walk doesn’t challenge a marathoner, but swimming some laps will. Here are a few things you could try, but remember this is hardly a definitive list. It’s just a few ideas to get you started.

1. Do puzzles or brain teasers: Want to challenge your brain? Try some brain teasers or puzzles.  If you don’t know where to find some, try one of the brain teasers on sharpbrains.com. Or, if you have an iPhone or iPod Touch, download one of the puzzle games available on the Apple app store such as a version of Sudoku or Wurdle. (Many other mobile devices have equivalent programs, but I only own an iPhone.)
2. Go to a museum: They are a great place to learn about historical events, art, natural history and the community.  There are museums for almost everything you are interested in and learning is a great way to stimulate your brain. For maximum effect, go to a museum about a subject you know little about and learn as much as you can.
3. Learn how to sing or act: Learning something outside your normal experience can be beneficial to sharpening your mind and singing or acting are extremely different from the activities that most of us pursue on a daily basis.
4. Learn a new language: Learning a language can be very stimulating for the brain. It involves memory, comprehension and creativity. As a bonus, you’ll be able to speak a new language, which is always fun, and can be beneficial in the long run if you travel.
5. Read: Reading is not only fun and entertaining, but it helps stimulate your mind and keeps it sharp by introducing you to new topics.
6. Introduce something new to your routine: Doing something new on a daily basis, challenges your brain, gives it new pathways to process and keeps it sharp.  So try cooking a different recipe, traveling to a new destination or taking up a new hobby.

The key is to push your brain into doing something new or difficult fairly frequently because it will exercise your brain and keep it sharp as you age. Don’t forget the old saying, “If you don’t use it, you lose it.” And the worst thing to lose, is your mind.