Mental Health and Mood Support Archives

October 21, 2022October 21, 2022

Whole Grain Bread: Why You Should Make Your Own

Whole-grain bread is delicious. It’s also very healthy. In fact, whole-grain bread is so good for you that I encourage you to learn to make your own. As I’ll explain below, there are several compelling reasons to make your own whole-grain bread.

You might be surprised to read this recommendation, especially if you’ve been avoiding grains. But I spend hours every day reading the most updated scientific literature about health. So I can tell you with confidence that the current fad pushing people to eat a high-fat no-grain diet is not backed by tradition, culture, or science.

July 12, 2021March 8, 2022

Antidepressants May Be No More Effective Than Placebo: But What About St. John’s Wort and Other Herbal Medicines?

“When going thru hell, keep going.” Winston Churchill

Depression is one of the most common mental illnesses and can affect anyone at any age. Characterized by anhedonia (the inability to feel pleasure), despair, and pessimism, depression has high morbidity and recurrence.^[1] Overall, more than 50% of the general population in middle- and high-income countries will suffer from at least one mental disorder at some point in their lives. This is obviously a major public health problem with significant consequences for society.^[2] We need clear guidelines as to what does and doesn’t work for treating depression.

December 21, 2020March 14, 2022

Winter Solstice Reflections on Silence

As I sit in reflection in the very heart of the darkest time, the shortest day of the year, I am more aware than ever of the importance of silence, the silence that surrounds us as the world quiets, and the silence we find within ourselves when we stop and listen.

When I am silent, I hear my true self and access the depths of my soul. When I am silent, I hear with a caring heart. Silence teaches us to know reality by respecting it where words have defiled it. In silent reflection, I am able to abandon myself to the will of the Divine One. If our life is poured out in useless words, we will never hear anything because we have said everything before we had anything meaningful to say.

June 10, 2020March 22, 2022

The Courage to Step into the Great Outdoors

“Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

There are plenty of good reasons to be outdoors this summer, and now we can add ‘safe haven’ to the list. As we all know, strict isolation strategies have been employed since mid-March to curb the spread of the pandemic. The resulting isolation, combined with fear of contagion and misinformation overload (“infodemic”) is creating a great deal of confusion and stress.[1]

There is no question that reducing the contact rate of latent individuals, and interventions such as quarantine and isolation, can effectively reduce the potential peak number of infections and delay the time of peak infection. However, as much as I believe this to be true as it applies to being indoors, I question whether being outdoors—even in groups—poses much risk at all. While there is still so much we don’t know about the virus transmission, we have yet to see proof or a strong likelihood that the outdoors poses a significant risk. In fact, research suggests it may be safer compared to indoors.

June 3, 2020March 22, 2022

There’s No Substitute for Sunlight: The Essential Influence of Nature’s Sunshine Vitamin on Health

The distribution of community outbreaks of the current global pandemic shows seasonal patterns associated with latitude, temperature, and humidity, which is similar to the behavior of seasonal viral respiratory tract infections.[1]

The seasonality of many viral infections is associated with a lack of sunlight, which results in low 25(OH)D concentrations and an uptick in diseases such as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection.[2]^,[3]^,[4]While it’s obvious that winter in temperate climates interferes with sufficient exposure to ultra violet rays, the rainy season in tropical climates also results in low UVB exposure.

May 20, 2020March 28, 2022

The Importance of Cultivating Spiritual, Mental, and Emotional Fortitude

“The greater the suffering, the greater God’s love is bestowed onto you.” Padre Pio

People have been increasingly distancing themselves from each other, even before this horrific pandemic hit. Years ago, in an interview with Self magazine, I was asked what I thought the number one contributor was to our poor health. My answer then was the same as it is now—a lack of intimacy. We’re losing the quality and ability to relate, not just to each other, but to our environment and Nature. For example, people go for walks, but instead of quietly connecting with nature, many are focused on their phones. People at my gym walk around with earbuds in and don’t make eye contact with each other. We are lonely, and most of us don’t even know it. With the sudden onset of COVID-19, we’ve isolated even more. Meanwhile, the opportunity to be present and in tune with our surroundings and each other exists every day. Even if we are physically distant, the importance our deep presence can make even the briefest or seemingly small encounters more lasting and meaningful.