Such truth and pain in these words, and such strength. Unless you’ve been through this, you’ll never know. But then I’ll never know what you’ve walked through either. Life demands strength, we cannot be weak and wallow and expect to thrive. After everything, after the fall, after the storm, after it all, the one standing is the strong one.
How Walking in Nature Changes the Brain (hint: it’s good!)
JULY 22, 2015
A walk in the park may soothe the mind and, in the process, change the workings of our brains in ways that improve our mental health, according to an interesting new study of the physical effects on the brain of visiting nature.
Most of us today live in cities and spend far less time outside in green, natural spaces than people did several generations ago.
City dwellers also have a higher risk for anxiety, depression and other mental illnesses than people living outside urban centers, studies show.
These developments seem to be linked to some extent, according to a growing body of research. Various studies have found that urban dwellers with little access to green spaces have a higher incidence of psychological problems than people living near parks and that city dwellers who visit natural environments have lower levels of stress hormones immediately afterward than people who have not recently been outside.
But just how a visit to a park or other green space might alter mood has been unclear. Does experiencing nature actually change our brains in some way that affects our emotional health?
That possibility intrigued Gregory Bratman, a graduate student at the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources at Stanford University, who has been studying the psychological effects of urban living. In an earlier study published last month, he and his colleagues found that volunteers who walked briefly through a lush, green portion of the Stanford campus were more attentive and happier afterward than volunteers who strolled for the same amount of time near heavy traffic.
But that study did not examine the neurological mechanisms that might underlie the effects of being outside in nature.
So for the new study, which was published last week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Mr. Bratman and his collaborators decided to closely scrutinize what effect a walk might have on a person’s tendency to brood.
Brooding, which is known among cognitive scientists as morbid rumination, is a mental state familiar to most of us, in which we can’t seem to stop chewing over the ways in which things are wrong with ourselves and our lives. This broken-record fretting is not healthy or helpful. It can be a precursor to depression and is disproportionately common among city dwellers compared with people living outside urban areas, studies show.
Perhaps most interesting for the purposes of Mr. Bratman and his colleagues, however, such rumination also is strongly associated with increased activity in a portion of the brain known as the subgenual prefrontal cortex.
If the researchers could track activity in that part of the brain before and after people visited nature, Mr. Bratman realized, they would have a better idea about whether and to what extent nature changes people’s minds.
Mr. Bratman and his colleagues first gathered 38 healthy, adult city dwellers and asked them to complete a questionnaire to determine their normal level of morbid rumination.
The researchers also checked for brain activity in each volunteer’s subgenual prefrontal cortex, using scans that track blood flow through the brain. Greater blood flow to parts of the brain usually signals more activity in those areas.
Then the scientists randomly assigned half of the volunteers to walk for 90 minutes through a leafy, quiet, parklike portion of the Stanford campus or next to a loud, hectic, multi-lane highway in Palo Alto. The volunteers were not allowed to have companions or listen to music. They were allowed to walk at their own pace.
Immediately after completing their walks, the volunteers returned to the lab and repeated both the questionnaire and the brain scan.
As might have been expected, walking along the highway had not soothed people’s minds. Blood flow to their subgenual prefrontal cortex was still high and their broodiness scores were unchanged.
But the volunteers who had strolled along the quiet, tree-lined paths showed slight but meaningful improvements in their mental health, according to their scores on the questionnaire. They were not dwelling on the negative aspects of their lives as much as they had been before the walk.
They also had less blood flow to the subgenual prefrontal cortex. That portion of their brains were quieter.
These results “strongly suggest that getting out into natural environments” could be an easy and almost immediate way to improve moods for city dwellers, Mr. Bratman said.
But of course many questions remain, he said, including how much time in nature is sufficient or ideal for our mental health, as well as what aspects of the natural world are most soothing. Is it the greenery, quiet, sunniness, loamy smells, all of those, or something else that lifts our moods? Do we need to be walking or otherwise physically active outside to gain the fullest psychological benefits? Should we be alone or could companionship amplify mood enhancements?
“There’s a tremendous amount of study that still needs to be done,” Mr. Bratman said.
But in the meantime, he pointed out, there is little downside to strolling through the nearest park, and some chance that you might beneficially muffle, at least for awhile, your subgenual prefrontal cortex.
“I spent five days looking up ways to kill myself.” by Shareen Mansfield
Wow, this is very powerful and scary yet such important information for anyone experiencing suicidal thoughts on antidepressants. It’s by Shareen Mansfield.
Reblogged on WordPress.com
Cool News: Raising Body Temperature Can Relieve Depression
Apparently, depressed patients have higher body temperatures. So increasing their temp even more so that the body’s cooling mechanism kicks in and cools the body and brain is a good thing. It alleviates depression for up to 6 weeks. Ok.
http://bipolarnews.org/?p=3660&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitterRaising body temperature by a few degrees may produce antidepressant effects as the body’s cooling mechanisms kick in. At the US Psychiatric and Mental Health Congress in 2015, researcher Charles Raison described a study comparing the effects of exposing participants to a special heating coil in a tent that retained the heat until their body temperatures increased by a few degrees to those of a sham procedure that did not raise body temperature. Those participants whose body temperature was increased had a lower body temperature the following day, and their depression improved as their bodies cooled. These improvements lasted six weeks or more.
Depressed patients tend to have elevated body temperatures. Raison suggests that raising body temperatures even more prompts the body’s cooling mechanisms to compensate, bringing cooling activity to normal levels from the skin to the brain and improving depression.
Blocking inflammation prevents cell death, improves memory in Alzheimer’s disease
Once again, the immune system, specifically inflammation, plays a huge role in Alzheimer’s, a neurodegenerative disease. Mental illness, in some ways, is very close to a neurodegenerative disease. I wonder, I always wonder, what if it’s the immune system and inflammation that is responsible for diseases such as bipolar d/o or schizophrenia.
Using a drug compound created to treat cancer, University of California, Irvine (UCI) neurobiologists have disarmed the brain’s response to the distinctive beta-amyloid plaques that are the hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease.
Kim Green and colleagues with UCI’s Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders found that flushing away the abundant inflammatory cells produced in reaction to beta-amyloid plaques restored memory function in test mice. Their study showed that these microglia cells contribute to the neuronal and memory deficits seen in this neurodegenerative disease. Results appear in the journal Brain.
“Our findings demonstrate the critical role that inflammation plays in Alzheimer’s-related memory and cognitive losses,” said Green, an assistant professor of neurobiology & behavior. “While we were successful in removing the elevated microglia resulting from beta-amyloid, further research is required to better understand the link among beta-amyloid, inflammation and neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s.”
The neurobiologists treated Alzheimer’s disease model mice with a small-molecule inhibitor compound called pexidartinib, or PLX3397, which is currently being used in several phase 2 oncology studies and a phase 3 clinical trial to treat a benign neoplasm of the joints.
The inhibitor works by selectively blocking signaling of microglial surface receptors, known as colony-stimulating factor 1 receptors, which are necessary for microglial survival and proliferation in response to various stimuli, including beta-amyloid. This led to a dramatic reduction of these inflammatory cells, allowing for analysis of their role in Alzheimer’s. The researchers noted a lack of neuron death and improved memory and cognition in the pexidartinib-treated mice, along with renewed growth of dendritic spines that enable brain neurons to communicate.
Green said that although the compound swept away microglia, the beta-amyloid remained, raising new questions about the part these plaques play in Alzheimer’s neurodegenerative process.
In healthy tissue, microglia act as the first and main form of immune defense in the central nervous system. But in a disease state, such as Alzheimer’s, microglia appear to turn against the healthy tissue they were originally assigned to protect, causing inflammation in the brain. The beta-amyloid plaques in brain areas related to Alzheimer’s disease are rich with these rogue microglia, Green added.
“Our work is telling us that these cells may contribute to the disease process, and targeting them with such specific drugs is a promising new approach,” he said.
What’s Mental Illness Got to Do With Success?
You can read the whole article if you click on the link below. For me the most important thing in the article is what I have put in quotes below. And the sentence I’ve made bold is what I’m trying to achieve, and therefore it talks loudly to me. It’s not easy to recognize why you do the things you do, and keep on doing even when they are counterproductive. It’s only when you stop and examine your behavior, that’s when you realize the source of your behavior. And when you can pin it down, then you are able to change it. So that’s what I’ve been doing examining some things, some behaviors, actions, trying to understand where they come from and once understood then I can stop engaging in those behaviors. And that is true change. To start out with being oblivious as to why you are doing certain things, that’s where you start, then you go onto trying to understand why you’re doing something, then you get some understanding and then you make a change. That is pretty revolutionary! I would say that is pretty inspirational, that you can change something, a behavior based on childhood trauma, (let’s say abandonment by your father or abuse by your mother.) That is the change I am capable of, it is the change we are all capable of! And that is success!
“The challenge, then, is twofold. The first part: Helping those suffering from mental illness learn to recognize, and then harness, their illness to their benefit. The second: To encourage an open dialogue that’ll encourage those who suffer to talk about their struggles in a way that encourages others to get the help they need if and when they need it. Certainly, these are minds that have the capability of imparting real change, both in themselves and in others.”
http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/whats-mental-illness-got_b_9272768.html
Kamp Kessa, Cedar Fire Ranch
I spent a weekend at Cedar Fire Ranch. It was pretty amazing. I went on one 4 hour long ride on Saturday, no idea at all what lay in store for me! It was on a very advanced trail (for me), very hilly, raviny, with creeks, and almost worst of all, trees with some branches extending into the trail (had an accident with a branch, had to get 20 stitches on my eyelid once when I was riding a horse…) I haven’t ridden a horse for about 20 years, so this was really a terrifying experience for me. But with each step, and each breath, and each branch waved away, I conquered my fear. I learned how to run uphill (on the horse) and cantor or jog and actually relaxed enough to enjoy it by the end of the second ride (2 hours) on Sunday. My handsome, lovely, chill mount was TLC, who I renamed Ice T because of his amazing, chill temperament. Dr. T (Thecla) whose ranch this is, was amazing, when on the first ride, in the throes of fight or flight, I anxiously said “I want to get off, I don’t want to ride!” She said “No, that’s not happening.” Haha, yeah now it’s haha, then it was like wtf! But she took my horse’s lead and held it and we walked, she was first, I was second, and the rest of the riders following, and the whole ride she held my horse’s lead, the lead was long enough so I could ride seemingly on my own. Once Dr. T. was on one side of a tree and TLC and I ended up on the other side of the tree, TLC realized that the lead was in her hand, and backed up (!!!!!) and went over to the other side, so the lead wasn’t stuck around the tree. He backed up, how in the world does a horse know he needs to do that, without any prompting? He and I became good friends, he was giving me head bumps with his big old head, and I was feeding him carrots and apples and treats. It was an amazing weekend, with amazing people. When I get a chance, I will go back again.
Just one sad note, the barn cats, and one of the cats had decided to take residence in the main cabin, they didn’t like the cats and no one was really taking care of them. Apparently the big dog, part German Shepherd, had eaten some of the cats. Well as much of a cat lover as I am, that was heartbreaking for me. Everyone loved horses, they loved the dogs, but they didn’t love the cats. Everyone creature big, every creature small, every being deserves love. I’m having trouble with that. I wish I could just get this little one who has moved into the cabin, but I have my Fluff, too old now, at 20.5 years to deal with a young cat. I hope this little cat survives, she is adorable and sweet and so deserving of love and care and all good things. I’ve called no kill shelters, maybe I’ll go get her and take her to a shelter, but that will be traumatic for her too. I have to think about what to do, what’s best for her.
Anyway, in general, the weekend was amazing, and I rode and jogged on the horse, like I’ve never done before. I will go again. And next time, I’ll bring the cat with me, and give her to someone who will love her 🙂
TLC, my beauty, and I, a special rider, hahaha. Forgot my sunglasses, these borrowed ones were huge and with the helmet, I certainly did look special! :)))
With my new ride!
My new love, TLC or as I called him Ice T, because he was SO chill!
Beautiful skies!
Another kind of Mustang!
TLC, my horse!
Dr. T, horsewoman extraordinaire and tough love expert!
Women’s Weekend at Cedar Fire Ranch
I am off to Cedar Fire Ranch, for the women’s weekend (description below). I absolutely love horses, and I am so looking forward to spending the whole weekend with them! Pictures, stories and descriptions to follow.
Women’s weekend being offered Feb 26, 27, 28 entitled “Passive Leadership”, Aikido, Humans, and Horses: A softer way of being in the world. RSVP now to save you spot kampkessa@cedarfire.net
Cost $250, all inclusive.
We are an Equine and Nature Retreat Center, an incredibly fun Camp, an Ecumenical Mystery School, and organic farm.
We specialize in practicing transcendence and holistic interaction with the Horse and the Human Heart through;
*Centered trail rides with our beautiful, integrated herd of over 35 horses
*Summertime Children’s camps
*Homeschool Opportunities throughout the year
*Dynamic weekend retreats and day programs
*Private Equine Human Development Sessions with Dr. T
*
Please see our Upcoming Events for details regarding the Women’s Weekend schedule .
NEW Program available: Coed-
Dr. T’s 7 Week Intuitional Equestrian Evenings Course……. an exciting way to learn and be with our herd starting again spring of 2016. Level one: March 30 to May 6 every Wednesday 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm. Cost $50 per session. Must attend all to get certificate.
Level two: March 28 to May 4 every Monday 5:30 to 7:30. (pre-requisite, Level One Kamp Kessa model “Intuitive Horse” or by permission of Dr. T. Cost $50.00 per session. Must attend all to get certificate. RSVP: kampkessa@cedarfire.net
Our non-profit programs are a resource for humans and horses with special needs, to our diverse camps and resources for families with children with autism.
Dr. T has a lifetime of combining her Love and understanding of Horses with skills in educational leadership. She and Andy Helmbrecht-Howard, with his knowledge of ecology and psychology, have developed unique ways to engender a passion for the possible within us all through centered riding with their Radiant Herd and Nature. kampkessa@cedarfire.net or call (502) 376-4367.
“At it’s most fundamental level, all nature is organized by energy. By exploring ground work with horses, we initiate direct physical interaction with chi. Through a skilled interpreter- our equine partner- we can translate the abstactrations of energetic intention, assembly, action, and release into their physical equivalents. We can feel them, increase or decrease their amplitude, or move them faster of slower. We can practice thise central spiritual concepts in a direct, physical way that allows us to understand them, to observe them and to apply them.”
Allan J. Hamilton, MD
ZEN MIND ZEN HORSE
Little, Big, and You as the Mediator (+ A Surprise!)
This is an exercise you do with yourself. Little is the Inner Child. Big is the Adult You. And the real you is the mediator. So you can stand, and imagine that Little is standing at your left hand side, as Little is weaker, therefore stands on your weaker side (as most people are right handed, so the left hand is the weaker side.)
Big stands at your right hand side, stronger by virtue of being bigger. And you are in the middle, you are the mediator.
Now, Little and Big have a conversation and you mediate. Yes it is imaginary. You don’t even have to stand up. But with this conversation, Big listens to Little’s concerns and assures Little that Big is there for Little and loves Little and will always be there. This conservation is to be had once a day. It will be different everyday, it depends on what your issues are. The point is to make Little feel loved and protected, ALWAYS! If you can do that for your inner child, your fear and neediness will go away. You will realize you don’t need anyone to make you feel loved or safe, miraculously, you can do it for yourself. And that makes you self sufficient and strong!
A sample conversation follows:
Little: Big I was afraid today because the neighbor’s were yelling and you were asleep.
Big: Little, even when I’m asleep, I am still here and I will protect you and I love you. Those neighbor’s cannot come into our place and hurt you.
Little: Are you sure, they sure sounded loud, like mom and dad used to sound.
Big: Little, I know you were scared when mom and dad fought, but I am here to protect you now. I love you little, I will never let anyone hurt you.
Little: Ok Big, thanks. I feel better.
Have your own conversation and let me know how it goes. Hugs for all my readers, fellow bloggers, friends and family. 😻😻😻
On a Tuesday
Ok I know this has not much to do with bipolar d/o, except maybe that I do happen to have it🤓
But really, what’s wrong with pictures of a “made from scratch” birthday cake and birthday goings on with our good friends? Oh and my new haircut, it’s a bob! Love it! Hugs everyone!
Tomorrow, I’ll post about “Little, Big, and You, the mediator.”
Bipolar1Blog 