Mental & Emotional Health

I was reading about a 37-year-old Ukrainian man named Leonid Stadnyk, who at 8 feet 5 inches tall is the word’s tallest man. His unusual height came about from an over stimulated pituitary gland that was the result of an operation on his brain when he was 14.

He lives in a house in a small village with his widowed mother. Since he doesn’t like the spotlight, he has mostly kept to himself but it’s hard not to be noticed when you’re that tall.

After refusing several times to be measured by the Guinness world book of records, he finally succumbed. Although he enjoys solitary activities like gardening, he is appreciative of the support since it has helped make his life, home and family more comfortable.

Leonid has received the world’s biggest bicycle and Ukraine’s president has given him a special oversized car. He was also given a computer so has developed many supportive online friendships.

Previously he went through some hard times since he had to quit his former job at a cattle farm as a veterinarian after getting frostbite from walking to work in his socks. He couldn’t afford shoes for his huge feet. Another health problem for Leonid is knee pain and he sometimes needs crutches to help support his 440 lb frame.

Garden Therapy

“I do not smoke, do not drink. Every penny I can save I spend on buying seeds and seedlings. The garden is a place for me. Height doesn’t matter there,â€? said Leonid (Too Tall to Be Happy)

There is no judgment in the garden. Gardening is good therapy and I find it peaceful and empowering at the same time.

I only got into it in the last couple of years and at first grew a few flowers in the front. Then I dug up a strip in our small back yard and planted some herbs and vegetables. Some of them fizzled out but some thrived. Thankfully my mother and a few of my friends were around to advise me and each year is more successful.

It doesn’t matter what you look like or what you know or where you’re from in the garden because we can all make things grow.

• For more information on Leonid see the video “World’s Tallest Man Has Trouble Fitting In” and Wikipedia’s page on Leonid Stadnyk.

• See Portable Garden and Horticultural Therapy for garden therapy resources.

I have been reading about zen lately and working on letting go of negative things such as blame, judgments, cravings and rushing around.

It’s common for people to multi task and it’s often encouraged and even admired to be so busy that you don’t have time to stop for even a minute. Sometimes we work to escape so we don’t have time to stop and be alone with our thoughts.

If tasks are done with the expectation that when complete they will bring happiness, it’s a huge let down when they do not. There’s nothing wrong with setting goals either and in fact it’s a good idea to plan some things in advance but if you are not satisfied now, you are not likely to be later either.

• I love this quote: ‘If I had a little more, I should be very satisfied.’ You make a mistake. If you are not content with what you have, you would not be satisfied if it were doubled. –Charles Haddon Spurgeon

There are so many celebrities that have overdosed or committed suicide. I often wonder if it’s because they had everything they thought would bring them happiness only to realize it wasn’t enough.

How to stop searching and be satisfied now?

• A gratitude journal is a very good way of realizing what you have to be grateful for and to stop taking things for granted. It only takes a few minutes to come up with five things for the day.

• Meditation is also a good way to quiet your soul because it clears your mind of clutter and puts you in the present moment. When you are still and focus on your breathing and/or just enjoy nature you come away refreshed.

• Simply stopping to enjoy the simple things in life is important to your peace of mind. Savor the flavors of your food slowly, stop a minute to look at that dandelion a child has pointed out, stop and listen a minute to the street musician on the corner.

• Taking the time to help someone else is satisfying. Donating money is not the only way you can contribute to helping others. Volunteering, visiting a sick friend or calling someone you know is lonely are all ways that you can give your time. By helping others, you also help yourself by putting things in perspective.

Just sharing something light for the holiday weekend. It looks like I’m more right brained according to the Blogthing quiz which is no big surprise.

For more information and another quiz, see What Right Brain Left Brain is All About.

Happy Easter to all who celebrate!

You Are 35% Left Brained, 65% Right Brained

The left side of your brain controls verbal ability, attention to detail, and reasoning. Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others. If you’re left brained, you are likely good at math and logic. Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet.The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility. Daring and intuitive, right brained people see the world in their unique way. If you’re right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art. Your right brain prefers day dreaming, philosophy, and sports.

Are You Right or Left Brained?

Thanks to Fear and Anxiety (learn to live without them), I came across an enormous list of stranger phobias.

• Ablutophobia- Fear of washing. This one has to be challenging. Fear of bathing or water is not that uncommon especially with children.

• Cryophobia is the fear of cold or ice. This would be a difficult phobia because even in warm weather would probably stay away from ice cream, popsicles, ice cubes etc.

Lachanophobia- Fear of vegetables. Having a legitimate fear of vegetables cannot be easy because the darned things are everywhere.

• Thaasophobia- Fear of sitting. I cannot even imagine this one but it would definitely interfere with participating in many things such as meetings, classrooms etc.

Pluviophobia- Fear of rain or of being rained on. Can’t be fun. Have you noticed how many people start running very quickly when it rains though?

• At Life in the Fast Lane, there’s an excellent listing of the 60 Weirdest Phobias People You Know May Have.

Treating Phobias

Everyone has been afraid of something at some point or another. A phobia is different in that usually people know the fear isn’t rational and yet they still can’t control it.

Phobias are frequently treated with behavior therapy or exposure. Over time the hope is that the fears will become reduced and eventually subside.

Flooding is a quicker method where a person is exposed for a lengthier time. Apparently, you can only be full of anxiety for so long so after 40 minutes or so your fear usually subsides.

I’m curious if this is the method Dr.Phil’s guests with phobias are exposed to because many of them seem cured in a hurry. Not everyone can deal with this and if it’s used needs to be supervised by a professional.

More Information on Phobias and Help

At the Phobia List, check out the huge list of phobias that took years to collect. There is also resources for help with your phobias if you need it. (Phobia Links)

I have been horribly distracted lately by noise so was pondering how much that might contribute to our mental and emotional health. I enjoy some music but screeching loud voices, ambulances driving by, snoring and blasting televisions get to me.

Occasionally I can tune things out but certain sounds I cannot. At night I sleep with a fan running so that I can’t hear noises from neighbors outside or next door.

Everyone here seems to manage to drift off no matter what’s going on. Wild parties, thumping, snoring, dripping taps, nothing deters them from going to sleep.

• Since I’m an introvert I think that adds to my noise sensitivity. If you’re interested in taking a personality test, there’s a free online one based on the Jung Myers-Briggs typology although most people already have a good idea anyway.

There are probably plenty of extroverts who have trouble sleeping as well and get disturbed by noises. When I googled sleep and noise, pages full of white noise products came up. A fan works for me and it’s much cheaper. It might look a little strange in the winter but I’m not using it to impress anyone.

Relaxation Methods

To relax before bed meditation works well but if there’s a racket going on it’s hard to do. Soft music helps cover some noise and there are some relaxation tapes and CDs made specifically for meditation.

It’s important to get enough exercise also and if you don’t have a physically demanding job, it’s a good idea to work some sort of physical exercise into your daily routine. I find I’m a lot more wound up if I fail to take my daily walk. Yoga and Tai Chi also promote relaxation and if you’re interested in learning more there’s 22 pages of useful information at SolveYourProblem.com. (Exercise and Sleep Restfully)

You wouldn’t think clutter sucks your energy and brings you down but it does. Rodika Tchi, the Feng Shui guide on About.com shares her take on How to Clear Your Clutter With Feng Shui. She makes some good points about how cleaning up clutter and organizing your space takes time and effort.

That does explain why many put it off including me. Your outer surroundings do often reflect how you’re feeling inside. If it’s cluttered around you, you’re probably cluttered inside with emotions as well.

Our main entrance is a nightmare but that’s because we don’t have a closet there. It’s in a very odd place way down the hall. If you saw the entrance right now, you would assume twenty people lived here because of all the pairs of shoes.

• I’m a bit of a pack rat but would like to become more organized. Instead of waiting for more energy I’m going to declutter and see if that doesn’t increase my energy. My sister is brilliant with that stuff and is actually going to become a professional organizer. I would love to have her over but need to tidy up first. I am still extremely uncomfortable in a home that does not look somewhat lived in. Throw a magazine on the coffee table or something!

I know someone who has a trunk full of stuff because there is not enough room in his house but the weight is really starting to strain on his car. He might need it some day though. See, I know I have a bit of a problem because I’m trying to find someone worse off.

Clutter and Hoarding

Over at the Psychology of Clutter Dr. Ragan wrote an interesting article about the difference between clutter and hoarding. (When is it Clutter and When is it Hoarding) Hoarders become extremely anxious about throwing anything out even if they know it’s useless. According to Dr.Ragan, it’s considered a form of an anxiety disorder. Clutterers are just disorganized although of course can be mentally ill as well.

Ending happy hours and increasing alcohol taxes is what the British Medical Association is lobbying for to fight alcohol abuse. Other suggestions were to stop selling alcohol earlier and to lower the blood alcohol level for driving.

“Britain is among of the hardest drinking countries in Europe, and the country’s alcohol-related death rate almost doubled between 1991 and 2005 — from 6.9 to 12.9 per 100,000 people.” (UK Doctors Urge Higher Tax on Alcohol)

I don’t know if they are really worse off because they have less homicides than America, yet one suggestion was to look to America because of the higher drinking age.

We ended happy hour in bars in Ontario, Canada years ago but then they decided to stay opened a couple hours later so I imagine they’re selling more alcohol than they ever did.

Apparently, in Britain they even have a bus deemed the booze bus because it’s specifically for scraping drunken people off the streets. Increasing the drinking age wouldn’t hurt regardless but that’s not going to stop people from drinking, especially if they’re already addicted. Raising the price won’t stop anyone either.

What may help is educating people on the damage abusing alcohol can cause. It damages families, causes financial hardships and health problems. Crime and violence tend to increase with higher amounts of alcohol consumption as well.

I don’t think the government changing the laws will make much difference. Offering more support for addiction treatment and educating young people on responsible drinking before they get to the legal drinking age might.

The example that adults show their children is the largest influencing factor for their future behavior and that includes how much they may drink. If children see others reach for a drink to handle stresses, that is probably what they will end up doing because it becomes the norm.

A study by researchers in Finland found that music helps increase alertness so stimulates the brain, which helps it recover from strokes.

The fact that many are inactive after a stroke shows the need for stimulation and music exposure makes sense. Of course, it helps if the style of music is something that people actually enjoy. In this study, they were able to select their preferred music.

“We found that three months after the stroke, verbal memory improved from the first week post-stroke by 60 percent in music listeners, by 18 percent in audio book listeners and by 29 percent in non-listeners,” Sarkamo says. (Listening to Music Improves Stroke Patients’ Recovery, Science Daily, February 21, 2008)

Teppo Sarkamo cautioned others not to give up on other forms of therapy because of the study but consider using it in addition to other therapies.

• Music therapy is also known to help reduce depression and alleviate pain. This is not really breaking news and many people figure this out on their own. I listen to music constantly and use it to help motivate, soothe, and generally improve my mood. I rarely do housework without music playing and I sing so much to my kids that it probably drives them crazy.

The fact that music also seems to help stroke patients recover is promising and I imagine it generally improves their quality of life while hospitalized. It can’t be too stimulating being inactive in the hospital without music. I remember reading about a woman in a coma who when she finally awoke said the only think that saved her sanity was the fact that someone turned on the radio for her.