ONE LIFE BLOG
Unlocking the Power of Nutrition: Enhancing Mental Health for Health Professionals
As a nurse or other health professional - it’s important to keep up to date with the latest research. Online learning can offer a way to improve knowledge and gain professional development hours (PDRP) and is something you can do at your place and your own pace.
The Nutrition and Mental Health for Health Professionals is a course designed for those working in the mental health field
We are all broken
I was talking to a friend recently. We were discussing where we both were in life. With my wonderful ‘depression’ snapping at my heals and the revolution of what seems like 100’s past wounds come to inflict my soul, he reflected how, two marriages down, he felt as if he was living life leaving a(n) (unintentional) trail of destruction behind him.
Which reminded me of the saying; “we are all a little broken”.
And that we are also doing the best that we can. And then the discussion of; would we do things any different? Can we do anything now that might change the outcome?
We are such unperfect beings. We make decisions, take chances, make choices. Some of which work out for the best. Some leave us wondering how on earth we got to where we got and scrambling to try and put things together again, to plaster the cracks, to put salve on the wounds.
Top Ten Supplements for Mental Health
While our first approach to our mental health should come from lifestyle adjustments - focusing on our food, sleep and movement - we may also need extra support.
We may not want to take medication because we don’t feel our symptoms are bad enough, we’ve tried medication in the past and didn’t find it helpful or we simply want short-term support to help us get on top of things.
How to exercise for mental well-being
Find it a struggle to exercise? I have good news!
I recently listened to a book called “No Sweat” by Michelle Segar.
Another coach had recommended it.
I had a belief for a very long time about exercise -.we’re often made to believe that exercise has to be:
Hard
Uncomfortable
Sweat inducing
Something you ‘do’
But actually, unless you are training or want to achieve a specific goal, exercise didn’t need to be uncomfortable, difficult or even ‘exercise’. In fact, it’s everyday movement that is important when it comes to physical and mental health.
The Gut & Mental Health
Many years ago when my daughter ended up in A&E with abdominal pain, the doctor on duty asked her about her history. When she explained that she had been given the diagnosis of IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), he replied “There is no such thing as IBS”.
You might be thinking ‘What the heck?’
What he meant by this, is that ‘IBS’ is a name given to a set of symptoms. It's a syndrome and doesn't describe the cause of the abdominal discomfort or the contributing factors.
IBS can be triggered by many different things, including poor digestion, dietary triggers or food sensitivities, lack of digestive enzymes, hypochlorhydria (low stomach acid), gut dysbiosis (an abnormal balance of bacteria, viruses or fungi in the gut), thyroid issues, stress, parasites…
Therefore the diagnosis of ‘IBS’ requires further investigation.
We've got to go through it
Do you remember the children’s storybook ‘We’re going on a Bear Hunt’? It is a 1989 children's picture book written by Michael Rosen and illustrated by Helen Oxenbury.
It’s a story about a family who goes ‘searching for bears’. And along the way, they stumble across a number of obstacles.
Mental Health in Menopause
Although some women sail through menopause - for others it is a tough time which causes significant physical health issues and significant mental distress.
For those of you with primarily female hormones (oestrogen and progesterone) - unless you have experienced early menopause, these hormones begin to decline in your 40s. How much they decline and how this impacts you can depend on a number of things. Testosterone also declines as we age, however, unlike oestrogen and progesterone, post-menopause testosterone levels actually increase - and can revert back to levels that we experienced in our earlier years.
Oestrogen and progesterone don’t only affect our periods and sexual health - these hormones also impact our immune function, inflammatory response, cardiovascular health and our brain function - the decrease of these hormones can have a significant impact on our overall health and well-being.
Before we continue - to help you understand a bit of terminology.
Three things you can do to relax right now
We’re generally stressed.
We have a lot going on. Children, jobs, relationships - a swirling to do list.
We’ve had chronic stress (thanks Covid). We have monthly stress (thanks menstrual cycle). We have hormone stress (menopause, puberty).
And we often walk around with a body full of tension.
So; here are three things to do to relax right now:
How to cope with Covid division
We are being exposed to friends and family members that have very different viewpoints from ours. The result of which can leave us feeling confused and threatened. I recently experienced a person who is non-vaccinated, non-mask wearing, who failed to inform a family member that they were Covid positive. The family member lives with my 95 year old father. The family member now has Covid.
Needless to say, my blood was boiling.
But I am hearing stories from other friends, family member and also clients.
How do we cope, when our best friend who we have known and trusted ‘forever’ suddenly appears to ‘be on the other side’? How do we cope when the family member who isn’t vaccinated and will not test, still wants to come to the family dinner? How do we cope when a person we know, refuses to wear a mask to the supermarket, not for legitimate reasons - apart from their belief that ‘Covid is just a sniffle’? How do we cope when you are friends with someone who isn’t vaccinated and uses a ‘fake vaccine passport’ to go to cafes and socialise?