If you are dealing with anxiety and/or depression, exercise is something that you should begin, increase, or continue. There is 40 years of research that exercise is not only be very helpful, but some studies indicate they work better than anti-depressant medications, especially in follow-up studies! The self-help group Recovery, International (formerly Recovery Inc.) has taught for over 70 years that when depressed to "move your muscles.” Sleep quality and insomnia often improve with exercise.
It is best to consult with your physician before beginning a mild to moderate exercise program. Often, walking is a great place to begin. No special equipment is necessary and you can do this year round. In winter, many go to indoor malls to walk. Start at a comfortable pace and don't over do. Even 10 minutes has been shown to be beneficial.
The trick is to find something that you don't hate and preferably enjoy. Studies generally utilize 20 to 60 minute sessions at least three times a week, although you may not be ready to begin at that length of time. Nor do you necessarily have to join a gym. Finding someone to exercise with can be very helpful, but should not be an excuse to not exercise. Consider walking with your spouse or a friend. Bike ride with your kids. Consider exercise classes.
Having different things that you sometimes do can help keep things from getting boring. However, if you say love and want to primarily do one activity, Great! Changing where you walk, run, bike, etc. can also help keep things more fresh. Another advantage of sometimes doing different things is using different muscles.
Exercise is not guaranteed to beat your anxiety or depression alone, but it frequently is very helpful.
Best wishes,
Mike
Monday, February 9, 2009
Sunday, February 8, 2009
What is Your Recovery Plan for Anxiety and Depression?
What is your recovery plan? What is it that you will do to get past your depression, anxiety, or whatever? This may be a foreign concept to you. Many may wonder, “What is it that I CAN do to improve my anxiety, mood, or whatever? Non-medication possibilities include (but are not limited to) exercise, self-help reading, tracking and challenging negative thoughts, self-help group involvement, facing your fears, affirmations, diet, spiritual practices, relaxation exercises, yoga, and journaling.
Whether or not you are seeing a therapist, generally, the more you do the kind of things just mentioned, the more quickly you get better. If you are working with a therapist, it is best to check your activities with them. Most of the time, you will get encouragement and possibly tips. Many to most therapists will gladly make suggestions of thing they think you will find helpful.
If you have experienced a lot of trauma and/or very severe trauma, then trying to recall memories and some self-help reading may take you at a faster pace than you can manage. In these cases, it is better to go too slow than too fast. However, it does not preclude you from doing most of the other activities listed above.
Activities that are often suggested and helpful are to think about different things related to what you want to change, to notice the times when things are actually better, as well as trying to picture in your mind how you would like things to be.
Best wishes,
Mike
Whether or not you are seeing a therapist, generally, the more you do the kind of things just mentioned, the more quickly you get better. If you are working with a therapist, it is best to check your activities with them. Most of the time, you will get encouragement and possibly tips. Many to most therapists will gladly make suggestions of thing they think you will find helpful.
If you have experienced a lot of trauma and/or very severe trauma, then trying to recall memories and some self-help reading may take you at a faster pace than you can manage. In these cases, it is better to go too slow than too fast. However, it does not preclude you from doing most of the other activities listed above.
Activities that are often suggested and helpful are to think about different things related to what you want to change, to notice the times when things are actually better, as well as trying to picture in your mind how you would like things to be.
Best wishes,
Mike
Friday, January 23, 2009
Setting Goals
With the New Year, many of us have decided to make changes. Losing weight is probably the most frequent goal. A problem that prevents many of us from achieving that goal is the failure to spell out HOW we will do that. We may have general goals like exercise more and eat less. These are generally too vague to be effective, Instead, we need to be more specific. What will we do? How many times a week will we exercise? For how long? Specific ways of addressing food might be to follow a diet, increase eating healthy snacks, or stop buying sweets.
When a goal is stated in a negative way, ex. stop picking on one's brother, what will the siblings do INSTEAD? One goal might be to increase playing together in a cooperative way. When you want to change a negative behavior, it is best to try to increase an incompatible behavior. An example might be for one who wants to feel less tension in their body, to do 10 or more minutes a day practicing relaxation exercises, listening to guided imagery recordings, meditating, or doing Yoga. Many ex-smokers have found other things to do with their hands than hold a cigarette.
When you create specific goals, it is much easier to spell out what concrete tasks might help you achieve those goals. It has been said “If you DON'T know where you are going, you will probably end up SOMEPLACE ELSE!”
When a goal is stated in a negative way, ex. stop picking on one's brother, what will the siblings do INSTEAD? One goal might be to increase playing together in a cooperative way. When you want to change a negative behavior, it is best to try to increase an incompatible behavior. An example might be for one who wants to feel less tension in their body, to do 10 or more minutes a day practicing relaxation exercises, listening to guided imagery recordings, meditating, or doing Yoga. Many ex-smokers have found other things to do with their hands than hold a cigarette.
When you create specific goals, it is much easier to spell out what concrete tasks might help you achieve those goals. It has been said “If you DON'T know where you are going, you will probably end up SOMEPLACE ELSE!”
Monday, December 22, 2008
INNER PEACE
Below is my wish to everyone. To print out, go to http//drmikemiller.com/peace.html
May You Develop
SIGNS and SYMPTOMS of
INNER PEACE
* Frequent overwhelming periods of gratitude
* A tendency to react spontaneously rather than in
reaction to fears
* An increasing tendency to go with the flow and let
things happen
* A lessening inclination to interpret the actions of others
* A decreasing involvement in conflict
* A feeling of contentment and oneness with man
and nature
* An increasing tendency to enjoy each moment
* An increase in the ability to receive love from others,
as well as the ability to give it
* A lessening of the motivation to worry
* Frequent attacks of smiling
drmikemiller.com
This looks nice on the fancy papers you can buy in office stores. You can also change the font to your liking.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS,
Mike
May You Develop
SIGNS and SYMPTOMS of
INNER PEACE
* Frequent overwhelming periods of gratitude
* A tendency to react spontaneously rather than in
reaction to fears
* An increasing tendency to go with the flow and let
things happen
* A lessening inclination to interpret the actions of others
* A decreasing involvement in conflict
* A feeling of contentment and oneness with man
and nature
* An increasing tendency to enjoy each moment
* An increase in the ability to receive love from others,
as well as the ability to give it
* A lessening of the motivation to worry
* Frequent attacks of smiling
drmikemiller.com
This looks nice on the fancy papers you can buy in office stores. You can also change the font to your liking.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS,
Mike
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Holiday Inventory
The Holidays are difficult for many - missing lost ones, anniversaries of deaths around those times, dealing with job loss/financial difficulties, not being where you want to be in life, etc. Even when life is in the groove, many of us stress over finding the "perfect gift," dealing with difficult family members, and/or being unable to afford what we would like to do for our loved ones.
For many, the Holidays are just another day, without special meaning. For Christians, it is a time to celebrate the birth of Christ. Regardless if one believes in virgin births, etc., Christmas can be a time to aim to be born anew. This does NOT mean preaching to others or evangelizing. Rather, I take it to mean to look at yourself everyday and see what you think you can do better. Are you loving enough to your family and those around you? Do you make a point to treat others better (if there is a need)? How is your patience? Do stupid things needlessly upset you?
Of course, people of other or no faith tradition can also take inventory and work on themselves. My one remaining uncle proclaims himself to be an atheist. He is one of the most decent and loving people that I have had the privilege of knowing. All of us can work on being more loving and better people. For a very humorous reminder, revisit Bill Murray in Scrooged.
Take inventory on how you treat others, including yourself. Work on having more patience with self-centered or otherwise difficult people, rather than responding to them in kind. Contact family and friends who are overdue a call, visit, card, etc. Make a decision to work on your poor habits and to begin any changes that you know you should make. Not only be kind to others, but also be kind to yourself. In doing these things, we renew and deepen ourselves and our relationships. These things also help bring meaning and enjoyment to us and those around us.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS,
Mike
For many, the Holidays are just another day, without special meaning. For Christians, it is a time to celebrate the birth of Christ. Regardless if one believes in virgin births, etc., Christmas can be a time to aim to be born anew. This does NOT mean preaching to others or evangelizing. Rather, I take it to mean to look at yourself everyday and see what you think you can do better. Are you loving enough to your family and those around you? Do you make a point to treat others better (if there is a need)? How is your patience? Do stupid things needlessly upset you?
Of course, people of other or no faith tradition can also take inventory and work on themselves. My one remaining uncle proclaims himself to be an atheist. He is one of the most decent and loving people that I have had the privilege of knowing. All of us can work on being more loving and better people. For a very humorous reminder, revisit Bill Murray in Scrooged.
Take inventory on how you treat others, including yourself. Work on having more patience with self-centered or otherwise difficult people, rather than responding to them in kind. Contact family and friends who are overdue a call, visit, card, etc. Make a decision to work on your poor habits and to begin any changes that you know you should make. Not only be kind to others, but also be kind to yourself. In doing these things, we renew and deepen ourselves and our relationships. These things also help bring meaning and enjoyment to us and those around us.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS,
Mike
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