ONE LIFE BLOG
Interviews & Podcasts
It was an absolute pleasure to work with Megan from @vetthrivecollective in this podcast interview.
Megan is a veterinarian who has taken it upon herself to support, promote and care for colleagues in her industry. Unfortunately, vets have a high incidence of poor mental health - including depression and anxiety.
Megan had participated in the Nutrition and Mental Health course and since then we've had a few conversations about how we can improve the mental health of the professionals in her workforce.
Listen to the full podcast for more information and hear what she has done to support the health of the people she works with in her clinic.
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.
How to beat procrastination
the 10-minute anti-procrastination rule??
Try this hack anytime you notice that you are putting something off.
For most of us - there is always something that is in the ‘too hard’, ‘too unappealing’ or ‘too boring’ box that we are avoiding. Sometimes these things are things we put off not for hours or days - but for years.
I had this once. I had a stack of old paint. House paint - that I didn’t know what to do with. Every time I looked at it in the garage - I put it in the ‘too hard’ basket and let it sit there. For 10 years.
When you have difficulty getting something done (study, exercise, housework, cleaning the oven, getting rid of stuff...
Ask yourself - "Can I do (this task) for ten minutes?"
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.
Mental Health & Well-Being Courses
One Life offers two online courses to support mental health and well-being.
The first - Changing Lives is a four-week online course for anyone who wishes to approach their mental well-being outside of talk therapy and medication.
The second - has been developed for health professionals - however anyone who is interested in nutrition and how it can impact mental health is welcome to view this content.
Read more about both of the courses here.
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:
Six ways to Improve your mood
If you've ever wondered why we become depressed or anxious – believe it or not, there is a suggestion that it is in our best interest to feel this way at times. Our human brain is naturally wired to seek the 'bad' or negative in circumstances – as a life-saving strategy. In historical times, for example, it was more conducive to assume that the noise in the bush was a lion rather than a bird - for obvious reasons! The brain is constantly scanning for what might endanger us, sifting through the past to ensure we don't repeat mistakes that caused us pain (physical or otherwise) and attempting to predict the future (otherwise known as 'worry') to save us from entering into a dangerous situation.
However, this way of thinking doesn't always serve us well in the modern world. An overactive mind can contribute to a chronic state of depression or anxiety.
The good news is that we can retrain our brains.
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?