The practice where I work, Mental Health Counseling and Marriage and Family Therapy of New York, PLLC, is reforming as a not-for-profit agency to better serve uninsured people who are seeking affordable therapy. As Our Collective Mental Health, Inc, we will continue to offer affordable therapy to individuals, couples and families in our New York offices (Union Square in Manhattan and Bushwick, Brooklyn). We have a generous sliding scale and a range of practitioners so that we can provide mental health services to everyone, regardless of income; we also offer therapy by donation to older adults, 65+, so that income is not a barrier to service. We will offer enhanced services in our new Vermont retreat center including:
~weekend wellness retreats for individuals, couples, and poly groups, including psychotherapy and recreational activities
~massage therapy workshops
~guest speakers
~nutritional counseling
~and more!
The retreat center is accessible via public transportation from NY, MA, RI, and NH, and is conveniently located in Londonderry, VT, near populat ski destinations like Stratton and Magic Mountain.
If you support our mission of offering affordable therapy to everyone, regardless of financial circumstance, employment or insurance status, please consider giving a donation this holiday season -- your support is appreciated!
Click here to donate, all amounts welcomed: http://www.chipin.com/mywidgets/id/0148746eab68abb7
Friday, December 17, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Tryptophan Strikes Again!
PsychCentral recently released an article about a study conducted at Purdue University that found mice who were predisposed to trichtillomania (hair pulling) were *more* likely to engage in these behaviors when fed a diet high in tryptophan and sugar. This study raises the question of whether a similar phenomenon may be occurring in humans -- are we more likely to manifest symptoms of mental health issues in part due to our dietary choices?
There is a tendency in the U.S. to use the term "drug" to refer to an illicit class of mood altering substances, when in reality there are a number of drugs that are naturally-occurring in the body, like tryptophan, and our nutritional choices can sometimes throw off our bodies' natural balance. Parents may caution their children not to eat "too much sugar," but then stop at the donut shop or coffee cart on the way to work, "because I'm in a hurry" or "I don't have time to eat at home," and these daily choices deeply affect our mental health. We feel gluttonous, greedy, lethargic. When the "crash" inevitably comes, as our bodies try to balance themselves after an intake of caffeine or suger (or both, simultaneously), we feel...worse. Cognitively, we know this, but we have come to accept it as normal.
We tell ourselves we'll "be good" tomorrow and restrict, avoid, cut back...that we should go on a diet, lose that extra 10 pounds. Sometimes we do, and then we tell ourselves we're good, virtuous, healthy; and when we don't, we feel worthless, like failures or weak-willed creatures at the mercy of our desires. Furthermore, if we are like our rodential brethren, we may be making ourselves sicker, more frenzied, more symptomatic -- more anxious, more depressed. Tourette's Syndrome, characterized by uncontrollable verbal outbursts and tics, is one mental health concern that the researchers at Purdue think may be affected by the average American diet and its high volume of processed sugars.
Particularly with a New Year right around the corner -- and, for many, its requisite resolutions -- what if we reassessed our appetites and our desires, let them in? What if, instead of "I should lose 10 pounds," we said, "I want to lose 10 pounds," and made a plan to do so? Desires are natural, positive elements of our lives as humans; it is when we try to restrict, repress and deny them that we give them undue weight in our psyches, and invest desire with attributes: out of control, can't help it, I had to... Then some of us binge, purge, exercise excessively, or use other mood altering substances to check out, to avoid feeling bad.
Stop at the donut shop because you want to, not because you think you have no choice. Then, the next day, try a breakfast with fresh fruit, to give yourself the natural sugars your body craves, and see if you feel any different.
Here's a New Year's suggestion: Let yourself be aware of your body's reactions to foods and beverages. In particular, notice your moods. Do you feel edgier, more irritable at a certain point in the day? Are you drinking enough fluids, especially water? Sometimes we translate thirst as hunger. If we choose to ingest coffee or other caffeinated beverages, drinking even more water helps rehydrate the body and replenish its natural balance. Try to be gentle with yourself, to appreciate your desires as natural, and indulge them in moderation.
Happy holidays, and happy desiring!
For the original post on PsychCentral, follow this link: http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/12/14/animal-study-suggests-dietary-link-to-mental-illness/21786.html
There is a tendency in the U.S. to use the term "drug" to refer to an illicit class of mood altering substances, when in reality there are a number of drugs that are naturally-occurring in the body, like tryptophan, and our nutritional choices can sometimes throw off our bodies' natural balance. Parents may caution their children not to eat "too much sugar," but then stop at the donut shop or coffee cart on the way to work, "because I'm in a hurry" or "I don't have time to eat at home," and these daily choices deeply affect our mental health. We feel gluttonous, greedy, lethargic. When the "crash" inevitably comes, as our bodies try to balance themselves after an intake of caffeine or suger (or both, simultaneously), we feel...worse. Cognitively, we know this, but we have come to accept it as normal.
We tell ourselves we'll "be good" tomorrow and restrict, avoid, cut back...that we should go on a diet, lose that extra 10 pounds. Sometimes we do, and then we tell ourselves we're good, virtuous, healthy; and when we don't, we feel worthless, like failures or weak-willed creatures at the mercy of our desires. Furthermore, if we are like our rodential brethren, we may be making ourselves sicker, more frenzied, more symptomatic -- more anxious, more depressed. Tourette's Syndrome, characterized by uncontrollable verbal outbursts and tics, is one mental health concern that the researchers at Purdue think may be affected by the average American diet and its high volume of processed sugars.
Particularly with a New Year right around the corner -- and, for many, its requisite resolutions -- what if we reassessed our appetites and our desires, let them in? What if, instead of "I should lose 10 pounds," we said, "I want to lose 10 pounds," and made a plan to do so? Desires are natural, positive elements of our lives as humans; it is when we try to restrict, repress and deny them that we give them undue weight in our psyches, and invest desire with attributes: out of control, can't help it, I had to... Then some of us binge, purge, exercise excessively, or use other mood altering substances to check out, to avoid feeling bad.
Stop at the donut shop because you want to, not because you think you have no choice. Then, the next day, try a breakfast with fresh fruit, to give yourself the natural sugars your body craves, and see if you feel any different.
Here's a New Year's suggestion: Let yourself be aware of your body's reactions to foods and beverages. In particular, notice your moods. Do you feel edgier, more irritable at a certain point in the day? Are you drinking enough fluids, especially water? Sometimes we translate thirst as hunger. If we choose to ingest coffee or other caffeinated beverages, drinking even more water helps rehydrate the body and replenish its natural balance. Try to be gentle with yourself, to appreciate your desires as natural, and indulge them in moderation.
Happy holidays, and happy desiring!
For the original post on PsychCentral, follow this link: http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/12/14/animal-study-suggests-dietary-link-to-mental-illness/21786.html
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Drinking and Thinking
The NYC Dept of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) recently released a new public awareness campaign about alcohol use and the holidays. Their tagline is "stop drinking while you're still thinking," and the ads, soon to be released into subways throughout New York City's five boroughs, depict some of the possible consequences fo alchol use -- theft as a result of a blackout, or alcohol-fueled violent behavior. This prompted me to wonder about the relationship between drinking (or using other substances) and the holidays, and how much the messages we tell oursleves play a role in this use.
For example, how often have you found yourself thinking, at a boring work function or a networking cocktail hour, "I'll bet a drink would make these people more fun." Or on a date that's going sour, "I have to have a drink or I'll never get through this!" The truth is, our thinkng plays an important role in whether or not we have the *first* drink, not to mention the 3rd or 4th or 10th, and the fact that alcohol frequently leads to decreased inhibitions means that once someone has gotten to the 4th or 5th drink, their ability to determine whether "just one more" is a good idea has been chemically impaired. At that point, continuing to drink isn't a moral concern ("I shouldn't be doing this") or an issue of willpower ("I can stop whenever I want"), it's a neorologically-induced snowball effect! Alcohol can contribute to changes in mood and behavior, and is a central nervous system depressant, so "I feel better after a few drinks" may be true, but often people have emotional crashes after a few more or the next day. Alcohol has been called the truth serum because it lowers our verbal inhibitions as well -- so think twice before having the fourth gin and tonic unless you really want your boss to know what you *really* think of him.
So, if we want to get through the holidays with our dignity -- and out wallets -- intact, thinking about drinking is preferable BEFORE the first sip. If I'm thinking, "Alcohol makes me more fun," or "I can't talk to that person without a shot first," those things will be true. I create my own meaning. And if I tell myself, "yes, it would be easier to talk to that person with a shot in my belly, but if I want the rest of the night to go well, I'd be better off without it," that will also be true.
The simple fact, whether at the holidays or on any other day: Alcohol is not a magic elixir. You are probably not the hottest thing in the club because you had that Sminoff Ice. However, you ARE a worthwhile person, and you are probably lots of fun to be around (when you're not sloppy drunk), so remember that the next time you head out for a holiday party. Whether you choose to drink alcohol or not is up to you, and so is how you choose to feel about yourself.
For the NYC DOHMH press release, click here: http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/pr2010/pr058-10.shtml
For example, how often have you found yourself thinking, at a boring work function or a networking cocktail hour, "I'll bet a drink would make these people more fun." Or on a date that's going sour, "I have to have a drink or I'll never get through this!" The truth is, our thinkng plays an important role in whether or not we have the *first* drink, not to mention the 3rd or 4th or 10th, and the fact that alcohol frequently leads to decreased inhibitions means that once someone has gotten to the 4th or 5th drink, their ability to determine whether "just one more" is a good idea has been chemically impaired. At that point, continuing to drink isn't a moral concern ("I shouldn't be doing this") or an issue of willpower ("I can stop whenever I want"), it's a neorologically-induced snowball effect! Alcohol can contribute to changes in mood and behavior, and is a central nervous system depressant, so "I feel better after a few drinks" may be true, but often people have emotional crashes after a few more or the next day. Alcohol has been called the truth serum because it lowers our verbal inhibitions as well -- so think twice before having the fourth gin and tonic unless you really want your boss to know what you *really* think of him.
So, if we want to get through the holidays with our dignity -- and out wallets -- intact, thinking about drinking is preferable BEFORE the first sip. If I'm thinking, "Alcohol makes me more fun," or "I can't talk to that person without a shot first," those things will be true. I create my own meaning. And if I tell myself, "yes, it would be easier to talk to that person with a shot in my belly, but if I want the rest of the night to go well, I'd be better off without it," that will also be true.
The simple fact, whether at the holidays or on any other day: Alcohol is not a magic elixir. You are probably not the hottest thing in the club because you had that Sminoff Ice. However, you ARE a worthwhile person, and you are probably lots of fun to be around (when you're not sloppy drunk), so remember that the next time you head out for a holiday party. Whether you choose to drink alcohol or not is up to you, and so is how you choose to feel about yourself.
For the NYC DOHMH press release, click here: http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/pr2010/pr058-10.shtml
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