Getting Along With Family

Getting along with family members always has some difficult moments. Sometimes unresolved issues or habits impact our current situation. It helps to understand how our communication developed as well as finding ways to improve communication.
People may have different patterns of responding due to earlier life experiences. For example some people with military training may believe there is one 'right way' to do things and at times react angrily towards semingly small events, due to being trained to be ready to 'fight'. Some may find they tend to focus on the practical part of the problem rather than the emotional or relationship elements.
When a person is experiencing depression, anxiety or posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) they may have less energy towork on their relationships. Physical Illness can also impact on relationships in a similar manner to mental health problems.
Here are some techniques that we can choose to improve relationships with family members.

• Choose a time and place to talk when you won't be disturbed and both are willing to talk.
• Talk when you are not highly emotional
• If either person becomes emotional or if the argument gets too heated, have a break and resume when both parties have cooled down. Undertake some constructive and calming activity during the break which may need to be up to 24 hours.
• Be Respectful through listening, open body language and your tone of voice. Try not to criticise, be defensive, call names or use sarcasm.
• Attack the problem, not the person. Own your part of the problem and use "I" and "We" statements rather than "You", which sounds blaming and creates defensive responses. For example, 'when this happens ....I feel hurt" rather than "You're such an idiot, you always do that!"
• Stay on the Subject. Handle one problem at a time and do not bring up past mistakes.

Information taken from the Veterans and Veterans Families Counselling Service Newsletter 2010

Serotonin - Some Useful Information

Tryptophan is an essential amino acid with is conerted in our bodies into serotonin, a neurotransmitter or chemical in the brain. Low levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin are often associated with depression.
Our bodies can't produce tryptophan so we need to get it through our food.
Amino Acids are protein fragments, so it is protein-rich foods that can keep your serotonin levels in the happy zone. And the need for serotonin may even explain why we crave carbs - the blood-to-brain absorbtion of tryptophan is helped by carbohydrates, so those cravings may be our brains crying out for more serotonin.
This means protein and tryptophan-rich foods-such as chicken and turkey, tuna and salmon, beans and seeds - can be most effective when eaten alongside slow-release carbohydrates.
If you can improve your diet to include more tryptophan-rich foods, as well as increasing exercise, cutting out caffeine and sugar, and drinking more water, this will boost sertotonin production - doctors claim acts "exactly the same way as anti depressant drugs"

Extract taken from "How to lift your mood with the right food" SMH 22 April 2010

Lift Your Mood with Food

There is a wealth of research that suggests that certain types of food actually contain essential components for good mental health, with deficiencies potentially worsening diagnoseable mental disorders such as depression.

Two recent articles provide some useful information including links .

Thyroid problems can contribute to fatigue, moodiness, anxiety and depression, but a simple step to combat thyroid dysfunction is to get enough selenium. Selenium is a micronutrient found in plant matter that helps the body function and is found in abundance in brazil nuts. "If you have one to two brazil nuts a day, you get your daily intake of selenium".

Top Foods for increasing our intake of folic acid include yeast extract, green vegetables (lightly cooked) and beans and pulses.

One study showed that Mediterannean-style eaters were 30 per cent less likely to develop depression. Try swapping red meat and dairy for fish and olive oil and ditch processed foods in favour of fresh fruit and veg.

How to lift your mood with the right diet

http://www.optuszoo.com.au/news/130364//how-to-lift-your-mood-with-the-right-diet.html

How food can change your mood

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/sunday-heraldsun/how-food-can-change-your-mood/story-e6frf936-1225846356958

Smile for Life

Smile and the world smiles with you. Now Research shows that smiling may give you more time in this world as well. US researchers analysed the smiles of professional baseball players from the 1952 Baseball Registry, rating each player's expression, noting where they had no smile, a partial smile or a full smile. Players with a broad smile lived an everage five years longer than players who didn't smile, the researchers reported in the Journal Psychological Science.

The Washington Post

Life and Death Struggle, An Ambo's Story

Day after day, paramedics pull mangled bodies from car smashes, crawl under fallen buildings and fend off attacks by drunks. They witness unspeakable trauma, some for decades, but when they collapse emotionally the ambulance service too often fails them.

One paramedic commits suicide each year in the state, on average, yet the ambulance service often refuses to accept battle fatigue is significant, in some cases blaming their personal lives instead.

The following article gives us an insight.

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/everyday-heroes-pay-the-ultimate-price-when-the-siren-stops-20100430-tzah.html

Help Young Children Recognise Emotional Pain

"I've got a pain!"

Stress or indigestion?

Children may report emotional distress as a physical symptom. When children report a headache or tummy ache this may be a symptom of an underlying psychological problem. Parents can teach children from a young age to recognise emotional pain.

Clues to distinguish emotional pain could be that the onset is associated with another event such as fear or worry about a new or difficult situation .

If you suspect a psychological cause,

reassure the child and validate their experience.

Help the child understand the body signal for stress.

Assist them to relax and

make a plan about how to handle the stress.

teach how to cope do not avoid the situations

Congratulate the child when the pain eases.

Help them express their worry in a drawing, write a story, dance, play with a ball, be creative!. Children have a natural ability to use their imagination. This can assist them to be brave and face difficult situations.

Listen to the child's suggestions, they may come up with a magic thinking remedy! Remember we DO USE imagination with Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy, why not try imagination for healing a psychological pain. Medical hynosis has a scientific basis which demonstrates how we can use the mind to improve health.

"If the pain persists of course, talk to your doctor."

Breathe in , Breathe out. Relaxxxxxx. Physical pain will be easier to manage when the patient is calm.

Lyn Everingham, Director
Focus Psychology