Sea Crest Health Care Center

The current recession is taking a toll on the mental health of the ranks of unemployed and underemployed. The risk of severe depression is four times greater for those without a job than those who are working – according to a recent national survey conducted by Mental Health America, the National Alliance on Mental Illness and the Depression Is Real Coalition. And those people still lucky enough to be employed, but who were coerced into reduced hours or pay cuts, were twice as likely to have symptoms.

The findings were released during Mental Illness Awareness Week that recently took place on Oct. 4-10.

According to Michael J. Fitzpatrick, Executive Director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, “Unemployment today stands at almost 10 percent. Nationwide, we face a mental health crisis as well as an economic crisis.”

Approximately 15 million U.S. adults (5 percent to 8 percent of the adult population) are affected by major depression each year, and only 50% seek treatment, regardless of their economic or employment situation the survey found.

Aside from therapy and medication – crucial elements in one’s battle against serious doldrums, there are some natural lifestyle changes that can be quite effective.

“Having a routine gives you a sense of control over the day,” says Ian A. Cook, MD, director of the Depression Research Program at UCLA. “We know that helps, and we know that not having a sense of control makes people feel worse.”

– Exercise is proven to be a great mood-booster.

– A basic healthy eating plan will do wonders.

– Get a good night’s sleep.

–  Set realistic goals daily and try to meet them.

–  Incorporate some downtime for fun or relaxation into your schedule.

– Have a support network of family and friends and don’t distance yourself from them.

–  Make sure you have some responsibilities that give you a sense of accomplishment and keep you active.

– Try a natural supplement such as fish oil, but only after checking with your doctor.

– Stay away from substance abuse.

– When you’re in a rut, go out of your way to try something new and different. Push yourself to go to a museum . . .Volunteer at a soup kitchen . . . Take a language class. . .

Here are some cognitive ways to fight automatic negative thinking:

– Use logic when you have exaggerated terrible thoughts about yourself.
“Try to impose some reason,” says Cook. “Inject some reality.” Is it really true that no one likes you? Is there real evidence for that?  Sure, you might feel like the most stupid and hateful person on the planet, but really, what are the odds?”

– Clear your head of negativity by taking a break. Breathing exercises or a simple walk around the room can help.

Just remember not to ignore serious signs of depression. If you’re not functioning make sure to get professional help.

by Nechama Drillick

You’ve been given fair warning – the more socially active you are, the slower you’ll age. Research data in the June 22 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine reveal a direct connection between social activity and physical function.

The study focused on a group of 906 adults who averaged age 66.5 and were free of stroke, Parkinson’s disease, and dementia at the onset.

Everyone’s activity level was scored on a range from 1 to 4.17, with a mean baseline of 2.6.

Participants who volunteered, played bingo, ate out with friends, attended church and partook of other activities with greater frequency had a slower decline in motor function than those who were more socially withdrawn.

“For each point below the mean social activity score at baseline, the average rate or decline in global motor function was 33% more rapid,” they wrote. “In terms of declining motor function, a 1-point decrease on the social activity scale was equivalent to being five years older at baseline.”

And that age difference of five years translated into a 40% increase in the risk of death and more than a 65% increase in the development of a disability.

There you have it. There are significant benefits to being a social butterfly as opposed to a wallflower. Staying socially fit is an essential part of staying young.

by Ruth Folger Weiss

“Aha!” :  all those Eureka moments I’ve come to count on as a creative professional in the advertising and marketing field, were really instances of insight reflective  of an active mind with some serious neuron brain activity. And though the classically cerebral thought processes of my so analytical spouse are  more often associated with “smarts”, researchers mapping the anatomy of the brain’s breakthrough moments reveal that insight is crucial to intellect.

Epiphanies that lead to bursts of mental clarity are often so physical because of the intense activation of alternating electrical currents- that have lead to monumental breakthroughs and revelations  in the sciences. Think Einstein imagining trains and lightning when the idea of special relativity hit him like a bolt of lightning. Sir Isaac Newton, lolling in his orchard, espies universal gravitation. And perhaps the one most readily identified with: Archimedes taking his bath came upon his formula calculating density and volume- and, as legend would have us believe, emerged from the tub, exclaiming: “Eureka! I’ve got it!

Daydreaming, scientists have found, is often the brain hard at work; MRI scans indicate intense activation in problem solving areas. Patterns of high frequency neural activity in the right frontal cortex are easily manifested right before an answer to a problem dawns upon the person!

Sudden insights are the fusion of  a complex series of brain states that require more neural resources than methodical reasoning!

A  person’s frame of mind influences whether she has a Eureka moment.

Your state of mind affects your inclination to insightful thinking.

Your positive mood impacts your likelihood to experience insight.

Which leads me to my exit, as I anticipate the drawing of a luxurious bath… and some brilliant flashes of insight…

By: Nechama Drillick

Advanced dementia is something that the average healthy person has a hard time imagining unless they are the caregiver of a loved one in that condition. Researchers in Boston recently documented the ravages of this incurable state on video. After showing this heartwrenching movie to adults over age 65, many had the same reaction; if they were faced with such serious loss of cognitive function they would not want their lives aggressively prolonged. The conclusion of researchers (published in the current BMJ journal) – people should make decisions about their future care while they are fully informed and healthy, and have them legally documented.?Otherwise, once one reaches the point of incapacity, other will make those significant decisions for you, regardless of your wishes.

This footage underlines the importance of surrounding one’s self with devoted loved ones, especially in one’s old age. The knowledge that your family will sincerely and patiently see to your comfort, well-being and dignity provides one with the security to face the vulnerability of old age and its possible side effects head on.

VIDEO LINK
http://www.bmj.com/video/care_preferences_dementia.dtl

Is it a question of “Beauty OR Brains” that influences one’s success in the work force?

New research conducted by Timothy Judge, PhD, a management professor at the University of Florida, suggests replacing that “OR” with an “AND.” His research appears in the May issue of the Journal of Applied Psychology, published by the American Psychological Association.

Attractiveness will definitely be integral to your landing jobs, but one’s intelligence quotient gives one the edge when climbing the salary ladder.

“Little is known about why there are income disparities between the good-looking and the not-so-good-looking. We’ve found that even accounting for intelligence, a person’s feeling of self-worth is enhanced by how attractive they are, and this in turn, results in higher pay.”

Judge and his team analyzed data from the Harvard Study of Health and Life Quality. 191 men and women between the ages of 25 and 75, each interviewed three times, six months apart beginning in 1995, answered queries about household income, financial strain, education, and also evaluated how happy or disappointed they were with their achievements up to that time. After completing several intelligence and cognitive tests to gauge mental ability they had their photographs taken.

Scientific researchers averaged the results of six ratings of each person’s attractiveness, relative to their age and gender.

Significantly, the researchers found that physical attractiveness had a significant impact not only on how much people got paid, but how educated they were and how they evaluated themselves. They found that people who were rated as good-looking made more money, were better educated, and more confident.

But a person’s intelligence affected their income more than their looks did.

“We can be somewhat heartened by the fact that the effects of general intelligence on income were stronger than those of facial attractiveness,” Judge and colleagues write. “It turns out that the
brainy are not necessarily at a disadvantage to the beautiful, and if one possesses intelligence and good looks, then all the better.”

It became readily apparent that good-looking people do tend to highly assess their worth and capabilities, which may lead to less financial stress and more money.

“Moreover, the effects of self-concept are particularly noteworthy. Its effects on income are stronger than those of attractiveness and nearly as strong as those of intelligence. The influence of core self-evaluations on both income and financial strain underlines the critical role it can play in both objective and subjective life success,” the researchers say.

Validation is not just a feel-good exercise, but a key ingredient to the successful life.

Love it when the  different passions of my life converge and… beg for a creative solution.

Fashion, the Health Care Universe and Marketing all came together in Lucette Lagnado’s article in The Wall St. Journal. So Doctors and Hospitals still haven’t whipped up an all-encompassing solution to the dressing gown we all love to hate… Aside from making me smile, I’m gonna whip Ad Lib Unlimited’s   designers into a designing frenzy to come up with a sharp “cover-up” that should cover all bases.

Read full article at WSJ.com.

The staff sat expectantly around the conference table as I pressed the YouTube link to Britain’s Got Talent. “What’s Ruthy doing now?” was surely the predominant cognitive thread… Obvious emotion filled the room as they watched Susan Boyle upend the world with her other-wordly voice… And as outraged as they were at the sneers and cynicism evinced by smug audience members at the sight of the plain-Jane, ungainly elderly woman (was she really only in her forties?), they could not honestly separate their pre-conceived negative expectations, and later, amazement , upon hearing the beatific voice emerge.

We may not be proud of it, but all of us are subject to a whole host of factors influencing our responses to people and the objects we introduce to our lives. Scientists have long categorized the elements of universally perceived beauty, and libraries are filled with our less than laudable embrace of the visually pleasing over the simple and unattractive.

And what happens when a remarkable sensation explodes on the zeitgeist of millions of people around the world-probably one of the most prolific viral emails ever? Does she remain as visually unremarkable and we, as a society learn to love her- gray, frizzy hair and all?

Not a chance! Marketers got a hold of her real quickly, and cognizant that her future was linked to her marketability, launched the new and repackaged talent—new hairdo, clothes and all- to an adoring, receptive world!

View YouTube Video

It was a night out of some horror movie. A dear, beloved aunt had died very suddenly from a stroke and family and friends had just been through a grueling funeral. It was 8pm, getting dark, and the torrential rains were accompanied by sonorous thunder and insistent lightning. Most of those gathered tried their best to huddle into the little protective rain gear they had to make a run for it. One young lady,obviously deeply grieving for the very deep loss, opted to sit down next to me- not before I noticed her dependence on the cane at her side.

We both knew of the curves life had thrown her this year, and this was the first moment we were seeing each other face to face. She had come through serious surgery and brutal treatments and now was successfully winning the battle with her fierce determination in her rehabilitative process.

She looked up at me with her radiant eyes, and her exquisite face was aglow as she talked about the legions of friends who had rallied to her from the first moment on…. and whose size and commitment just kept growing. She evinced amazement as she exclaimed… “I never knew I had so many friends. They have been amazing! At first I could not believe how many people took the time to reach me on any level they could. They pulled me through. They’re sharing every moment. I couldn’t have done this without them”.
She attributes her friends’ prayers and actions for pulling her through…and now, she knows they will be accompanied by her most ardent guardian angel. She’ll discard that cane soon!

The impact of friendship on our quality of life is fairly well known, but recently there has been a flurry of scientific studies on the importance of friendship and social networks in overall health- they are undeniably powerful weapons in fighting the scourge of illness, depression, kick- start recovery, slow the aging process and prolong life.

A 10-year Australian study found that older people with a large circle of friends were 22 percent less likely to die during the study period than those with fewer friends.

A 2007 study showed an increase of nearly 60 percent in the risk for obesity among people whose friends gained weight.

In a six-year study of 736 middle-age Swedish men, attachment to a single person didn’t appear to affect the risk of heart attack and fatal coronary heart disease, but having friendship did.

And though you’d think proximity of one’s friends would be a determining factor in their influence on your health, that is not the case, as the benefits reverberate well beyond physical presence or distance.

“People with stronger friendship networks feel like there is someone they can turn to,” said Karen A. Roberto, director of the center for gerontology at Virginia Tech. “Friendship is an undervalued resource. The consistent message of these studies is that friends make your life better.”

It’s not the way my parents acquired their citizenship… but it certainly underlines the remarkable embrace of technology, social networking and marketing on the individual. Canada’s reveille to the possible hundreds of thousands of heretofore foreigners, many of them Americans, that they have been bestowed citizenship was announced via You Tube. In a quirky ad there titled “Waking up Canadian,” a man awakens on April 17 to a room replete with red-and-white Canadian flags, and is greeted by a welcoming committee consisting of two stuffed plush moose, a hockey player, and a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

The point:

The April 17 amendment to Canada’s Citizenship Act automatically restores Canadian nationality to many people, and their children, forced to renounce it when they became citizens of another country.

Remember how we wondered what the practical applications of You Tube would be?