Thankfulness #8: My Six

LAUGHTER
 I've been pondering about mental illnesses, such as depression, bipolar disorder, ADHD, OCD, etc. Many people on both sides of our family are diagnosed with various mental illnesses. Several of them are on medications for their problems. Now this post is written in NO WAY to judge the validity of any one's diagnosis. I am NOT an expert on mental illnesses. I just have second hand knowledge by observing various individuals and working along side special education teachers. Rather, this post is written to process incidents in my own life.

I had an absolutely positive attitude on Election Day, for which I am thankful. My spirits were high and joyful. This day contrasted with the preceding and seceding days, where I felt overwhelmed, discouraged, and negative. Why is that? After doing some personal reflection and analysis, I have come up with six key elements that assisted in transforming a usual day into a superb day.
  1. SLEEP. My son had a good night, which means I had a good night.
  2. DIET. My diet was generally healthy. I consumed various fruits and veggies. I ate smaller portions several times a day instead of three huge meals. I tried to drink more water.
  3. EXERCISE. I went for a walk with my kids and played in the park. Later on I raked leaves in our backyard while my children explored. The fresh air was fantastic.
  4. BALANCE. My day was a healthy balance between work and play as well as routine and spontaneity.
  5. CONNECTION. I find I truly worship God outdoors. Thus, since my day had more moments outside, I felt connected to God through the beautiful nature He created. Later on that evening, my husband and I enjoyed watching the election highlights together. Several moments brought laughter to our lips, which leads to my last point.
  6. LAUGHTER. I was blogging during the election highlights and when I found the graphic in my previous post, my husband and I practically fell of the couch in giggles. What a great feeling!
Sleep, diet, exercise, balance, connection, and laughter. Now this is where my pondering on mental illnesses comes in. How many mental illnesses are actually due to lack of sleep, diet, exercise, balance, connection, or laughter?

I was talking to a close friend the other day. She recently had a baby and she thought she was suffering from postpartum depression. She spoke to her doctor and the doctor's reply was, "Are you getting enough sleep?" "No," she replied. Sleep was elusive to her, since her infant son was very fussy at night. Plus she had two other children to parent during the day. After her explanation, the doctor concluded that her feelings were due to a lack of sleep instead of postpartum depression. "If you are feeling this way after you are getting more sleep, then we have a problem," the doctor replied. Once my friend starting getting more SLEEP, she felt much better.

My last observation is what I have seen as a teacher. My teaching experience has been mostly with teenagers. And I must say, the teenagers of today are doing much more than I every did at that age. The students of the 21st century attend school full time, work part time, and participate in several simultaneous extra-curricular activities in and outside school. It is NO WONDER that teenage anxiety is on the rise. Sadly, over-involving our children starts at infancy. There is a lot of pressure on new parents to provide the best for their children, especially since today's familes are smaller in number. And there are many programs out there that claim to enhance young children's intellectual, spiritual, mental, and physical developoment. But, as a parent, I need to make a choice to limit the activities to a few that resonate with our parenting values and coincide with our children's natural interests. I don't want to stress my kids out! Neither do I want my children to grow up quicker than necessary. They need BALANCE.

Do you have any other examples of the above six points: sleep, diet, exercise, balance, connection, and laughter? Or do you know of any other elements that are essential for positive mental health? I'd love to hear your thoughts, if you have time.

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