Re: What's the single most important thing you can do for overall health?
da5zeay
go first :-)
I think it's cool to share experience and ideas about things, because
in any given group of people you will learn the most surprising and
unexpectedly useful things. I also think that sharing openly is pretty
healthy, and the more confidently I can do so, the better adjusted I
think I may end up being.
I'm not happy ALL the time, but it's a general state of mind that I
like to be in. It doesn't necessarily mean being in a "giddy" state of
happiness like some kind of "high emotion". In general I like to feel
that I am moving in a direction that's right and that there are other
people that "get it". Peeling away my various hangups, fears, and
counter-productive attitudes is a pretty good hobby for me :-)
Maybe happiness for me is not having to think about it...that's sort of
zen! However, the path to such enlightenment may require the kind of
reflection that you come across here. Plus, I just like chatting about
this stuff :-)
Think_n_See
* Get to bed and wake up at about the same time every day.
(This'll keep you alert consistently, and then you'll really be living
life!)
* Exercise
(This improves your mood every time you do it, plus it gets oxygen to
your muscles, which then get it to your brain. It's self-perpetuating
once you get into a routine of exercise because you start to love it
very very quickly.)
I'm not sure which is the more important. I think the regular sleep
cycle, but I'm not sure. What are your answers to this Q?
da5zeay
friends, etc. So cultivating those relationships, I think, along with
the mentality that leads to quality relationships, is also super
important. Maybe ultimately the most important!
Exercise and sleeping regularly are important too...for some reason I
have a lot of trouble with both of them. It might be because I tend to
think of life as a series of discrete events that happen one after
another. I have been trying to shift this lately into a continuous
stream of overlapping events, which then helps me put exercise/sleep
into a kind of "maintenance of life flow" instead of an "interruption
of activity" category.
Think_n_See
Yes, friends and family is ultimately super-super tops important.
On exercise, here is an excerpt from Neuroanatomist Marian Diamond
about how important exercise and oxygen are to the brain! I found this
very cool to read!
"EXERCISE
Now let us turn to our second key factor in maintaining a healthy
brain: EXERCISE. We know that exercise improves skeletal muscle tone
and function and that it helps the venous return in our legs, a good
reason to keep our legs active. In fact, the value of regular exercise
cannot be overrated. Among the long list of routine health conditions
ameliorated by exercise, we hear today from many corners that lack of
exercise is responsible for or contributes to the increased incidence
of sugar diabetes, cardiovascular problems, obesity, and depression.
Very important about exercise is that it is essential for bringing
oxygen to all parts of the body, and, as I will explore now, especially
to the brain. One particular brain structure is most vulnerable to a
lack of oxygen, and that is the hippocampus. Early anatomists thought
that the hippocampus resembled a seahorse.
The hippocampus deals with the processing of recent memory and visual
spatial processing. As we age and our blood vessels become less
efficient, it is very important to get the oxygen through the vascular
system up to the hippocampus, as well as to the rest of the brain and
body.
As a good exercise, I agree with those who emphasize swimming. Yes,
walking is a wonderful form of exercise that uses our lower
extremities, but total body swimming exercises both upper and lower
extremities. Many are well aware of feeling depressed after having been
indoors for several hours. I certainly do. Exercise is a trustworthy
antidote to depression. I am focusing on older adults now, but there is
increasing concern that children are spending too much time sitting in
front of their computers and video games, and not getting the exercise
they need. (Interestingly, exercise has also been shown to benefit
children with hyperactivity problems.)
Suffice it to say that everyone, from the toddler to the frail elderly
should have some appropriate daily exercise routine that is as
implanted in your day as brushing your teeth, getting dressed, and
eating your breakfast. I advise a minimum of an hour a day, but you can
work up to it. Five minutes is better than no minutes, and, for those
who have never been exercise enthusiasts. Don't be surprised to find
that it will cease being a "have-to" and become something you look
forward to."
da5zeay
brain, etc!
Atomic-ideas
with all these ideas for happiness I know I already asked you if your
ideas worked but now I ask you why do you make them. Are you not happy
right now? Or do you fell incomplete? Maybe this is just an outlet for
your emotions. Are you botteling them up here? Maybe botteling them up
somewhere else? Is it this is how your remind yourself to be happy? Are
you trying to tell other people ideas? Or maybe trying to find the
right one for yourself. Is it that you want to share your success or
that you are proud of yourself for being happy. How much is happiness
worth to you then? Without it is life worth living? Maybe you just want
to pour all your thoughts on happiness somewhere and tend to release it
here. Is this just a spot to go when you are not happy? Or maybe you
started it looking for something and got hooked and are to far in to
just stop. But what is it that makes you come here and even more to
what end? Also why do you come up with all these ideas? Do you feel its
your purpose or that you need to maybe your obligated? Is it just to
chat? Maybe you have no human contact or not enough so you come here
for friends (not anything to be ashamed of). I come here to learn
psychology in some ways intresting to me and to communicate with
someone different with ideas I don't have. I also come here to chat
when I'm bored or am in deep thought. So what is your reason?
P.S. Can there be to much happiness? Is there a point when you just
have to let it go and not worry about it? Do you worry so much about it
you defeat the purpose of it? Considering happiness is a reward, do you
deserve it or desire it?
anata no tomodachi, (your friend)
Tom
Atomic-ideas
is America, we eat like there is no tommorow to make ourselves happy
and while it works for the short term it doesn't for the long term so
something I just thought about: Maybe happiness you deserve is long
term (sometimes short term to like swimming to me is, I would swim for
hours ever day if I had the chance). But happiness you don't deserve is
short term only but hurts you in the long term. A perfect example is,
food and drugs.
Atomic-ideas
one).
So be sure that if you are happy you deserve it because now that I
think about it practically no happiness not well earned is going to be
worth it in the long run. But if you exersize then you earned it and it
can be nice short term (not as good as drugs maybe but...) and long
term!
da5zeay
is "desired". I wouldn't be comfortable putting that kind of
precondition or "reward" mentality on it, though a lot of people
associate reward with happiness.
In the case of drugs, you're right about it not being a long term
solution of any kind unless they kill you or destroy your brain. I
happen to be rather fond of my brain, so I don't like to mess with it.
I guess I don't really think of "happiness" as the emotional state of
"feeling happy". Instead, I think of it in terms of "positive
psychology". Drugs I would say induce the emotional state through
alteration of brain chemistry, but I don't think it addresses "positive
psychology" per se. In real life, one has to deal with unpleasant
things and difficult situations; one can apply a positive approach
while still being realistic, so you come through on the other side
better off than worse. That's really what I'm thinking.
Think_n_See
Konnichiwa. :)
I come here and post and read because it's fun.
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On a different note, Atomic, what you mention about deserved happiness
and not... from the examples you use (swimming as all three: short-term
and long-term and deserved happiness, and drugs as short-term and
undeserved happiness), your observations seem very close to a term from
psychology. The term describes these
short-term-but-at-the-same-time-bad-for-you things. They're called by
some psychologists "shortcuts"... and like you say, psychologists
believe that shortcuts are a recipe for dissaster because you end up
hurting yourself (the shortcuts don't actually give you what you really
crave... they're hypocritical lies to yourself)...
Here's an article that describes these shortcuts. (See page 2, the
article's titled "Why all this living it up gets us down," and
describes four reasons why current lifestyles can leave people
statistically depressed. See reason four.)
http://smh.com.au/news/ross-gittins/why-all-this-living-it-up-gets-us-down/2006/02/21/1140284067606.html
"Fourth, the growth in "short cuts to happiness". We're encouraged to
do all manner of things that bring instant pleasure but require almost
no effort on our part: junk food, television, drugs, shopping, loveless
sex, spectator sport, chocolate and more.
The trouble is that the pleasure they bring is fleeting and they soon
leave us feeling empty. Nature built us in a way that we gain more
lasting satisfaction from things we have to work for. A lot of the
satisfaction comes from the work itself.
A life spent pursuing short cuts to happiness allows our strengths and
virtues to wither, rather than develop, and sets us up for depression."
Thanks for the q and the hypothesis about deserved-undeserved.
Atomic-ideas
Good answers and thank you,
But now I have some more questions (MORE?!?!?!..Yep I could talk till I
die...infact I just might). First let me say how I achieve happiness in
the sense of not neutrality or depression yet not nesscecarily feeling
happy kinda of happy. I just like the article said suffered a time of
major depression (and I'm not even an adult in some cultures). I was
young and rather stressed and loved the "instant happiness" of video
games. So I would play them non stop and feel empty without them. I
eventually listened to my self and my self conscience in one of many
anger fits and dismantled my computer (as not to play games). I then
changed (At first I really didn't notice but later I did though kept
the impression I didn't to keep my computer :P) I started getting nicer
and didn't suffer depression after a while and came to find happiness
from other sources (or atleast contentness). At this day I have slowly
gained more control over my emotions than anyone I have ever known.
Irony: it was through playing games in a more controled state that
actually reduced my anger, Now through playing those games I found a
rare thing (which means that this doesn't justify it). After being a
victim to major depression I wished not to have that happen again. I
was also more mature, older and was in a "clan" that demoted violence
and the sort. So through these I can no play games with no harm (I also
play in shorter slots). Of course I have been kinda getting off topic
and games aren't justified but what I just said because not everyone
can react the same way.
At present day I can keep my cool under alot of pressure and have only
gotten angry once as in expressing anger physically (not fighting just
showing it really well). That once was in between a long period of
stability and is followed by it. I can keep my emotions under check
more than anyone I know aswell (I say it alot to emphisize it). Now I
believe that as dangerous as depression can be thats its not all bad if
it happens only once and doesn't get out of control. I believe I
wouldn't be the person I am today were it not for that. It's almost
like a vaccine.
As for rich countries doing this. I don't believe thats the cause.
Being a wealthy nation can't benifit the solution much unless you use
the money to. I believe the real reason for depression is (from my own
experience and others)............SHORTCUTS!!!! *ding ding ding*.
Shortcuts are not found as easily in poorer countries (though in
countries ther'ye made is different sometimes). In China not only is
there less acssessability to drugs but the culture leads away from
shortcuts while American cultures doesn't generally (like the artical
said). Well I just explained my ideas on a first come first serve basis
in a horrible format sorry about that (lo siento) I hope you learned
something and have a good day/night.
anata no tomodachi,
Tom
Indeed
And then moving your body - whatever your thing - I like the answers
all of you wrote: exercise, swimming, different sports - I prefer
walking outdoors between 6am and 7am. That is my thing.
Then eating mainly a rawfoods diet - I'd say salads twice a day, some
seeds. I do not do this exclusively. I eat cooked vegetables and lots
of grains as well, and seaweed. I like food that is light - like
Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai cuisines.
Then having some alone time - to regroup - and to plan goals.
Then reading and speaking to people that make you think and make you
happy. Both mind and emotions (or some people that affect your mind
and some that affect your emotions).
So, in short,
SLEEP
movement
healthy eating
alone time growth
mind and emotions growth from with-others time
Indeed
The most important thing you can do for overall health is READ.
For overall health - mind and body.