Importance of Exercise in Mental Health

Importance of Exercise in Mental Health

The mind and body are intrinsically linked. Unfortunately in the Western world, there is often a separation drawn between them. Studies show that exercise can treat mild to moderate depression as effectively as antidepressant medication—but without the side-effects, of course. In addition to relieving depression symptoms, research also shows that maintaining an exercise schedule can prevent you from relapsing. Some psychologists will only treat people who suffer from depression if they agree to an exercise routine. Exercise fights depression for many reasons: it increases neural growth, reduces inflamation, releases endorphins- chemicals that help…Read more
משמעות החיים- מאייל יפרח

משמעות החיים- מאייל יפרח

אייל יפרח הי"ד אחד מ- 3 הנערים שנחטפו בחודש יוני 2014 כותב על משמעות חמש שעות וחצי לפני העלייה לרכב החטיפה.   "משמעות". זו המילה כיצד אדם יכול לחיות את חייו כאשר כל כולו עסוק רק בלשרוד? בין אם זה לשרוד על החיים כשמצד שני יש מוות, ובין אם זה 'לשרוד' במובן של רדיפה כל הזמן אחרי עצמך, לחפש את עצמך מאחורי מסיבות, תרבות, הנאה, מקומות שבהם תמצא רק את ההופעה הבזויה שיכולה להיות לך. ההופעה שבה אדם קושר את עצמו לכלוב של זהב! כיצד אדם יכול להרשות לעצמו לחיות ללא שום מטרה שהיא…Read more
The Growth Mindset

The Growth Mindset

Over 30 years ago, Dr Carol Dweck coined the term fixed mindset and growth mindset. Not surprisingly, people who have a fixed mindset do not change so much in their abilities. People with a growth mindset, meaning that they believe they can change and grow, will have much higher levels of accomplishments.Research shows that we can teach our brain to create new connections and strengthen existing ones. People who have a growth mindset behave differently. Many people have a mix of different mindsets. For example, one person may believe that they can continue…Read more
Three Ps battling the three Ms

Three Ps battling the three Ms

In Tal Ben Shachar's lecture in positive psychology, he discussed the three M's that can be detrimental when dealing with a situation:  Magnifying, Minimizing , Making up. We tend to magnify a tough situation and make it to be worse than what it is. Sometimes we minimize the importance of something and sometimes we imagine things to be worse than what it is. To combat it we have three P's: Permission, Positive reframing and Perspective Permission to be human- It is important to embrace what we feel. We should not deny our feelings,…Read more
End of Year

End of Year

The end of the school year is upon us, and summer vacation is about to begin. While most kids and teens look forward to vacation (or at least claim to ), the long summer vacation can be a very challenging time for everyone. Two months with no routine is a very long time. For many, the biggest challenge is boredom. How can we make the most out of summer vacation? It is very useful to sit with each kid, or teen, and to figure out goals for the vacation. I recommend to set…Read more
Importance In Routine

Importance In Routine

Leo Babauta presented a very interesting talk titled, Mindfulness: The Key to Habit Change. He stressed how important it is to convert our goals into habits. When we focus on goals, on the future, we often get stuck in: procrastination, rationalisation and self talk. We need to put our goals into our routine. For example, every sunday morning we will exercise before breakfast as part of the routine. Or every wed night we will write in our journal. The idea is we pick a goal and force it to become a habit, so…Read more
mother-daughter connection

mother-daughter connection

This past week I gave over a workshop designed for Mothers and Daughters, who were learning together in preparation for the daughters bat mitsvah. Oftentimes the relationships which are most important and special to us, can be taken for granted. Just as it is important for us to work on ourself, on self actualization, it is important for us to work on our relationships with other people, particularly ones who are important to us. Tal Ben Shachar, Professor at Harvard University, recommended writing a letter to someone that includes detailing why the relationship…Read more
Using Music in Emotional Regulation

Using Music in Emotional Regulation

In a previous post, I described about a new method I learned to deal with emotional regulation called, הפרוטוקול הגמיש. This method teaches people how to understand, and control their various emotions in a fun, interesting and controlled method. One aspect that I particularly connected to, was the ability to use music, art and drama as part of the program. Other CBT methods that I had seen didn't use the whole array of creative tools that this method used. While some people don't need or want the various creative means, other people don't…Read more
Music Helping Grief

Music Helping Grief

Music plays a big role in helping people to grieve. Music can be used in many different ways: Music has been proven to release stress and relieve tension. While one must be careful with which music is chosen to help heal, music can help relax and make a person more happy. Music can also provide a means of expressing the grief, anger and pain. Hearing certain words can be healing, as well as singing them oneself. Music can be used to inspire and encourage. Tony Falzano, a writer, composer and grief specialist, described…Read more
Learning How To Grieve

Learning How To Grieve

John James and Russell Friedman wrote an insightful and practical book on grieving. They lead the reader through various steps to help grieve. Many of us have experienced things in our lives that are a cause for grief. They defined grief as "conflicting feelings caused by a change or an end in a familiar pattern of behavior. " I found this definition to be fascinating, as I always associated grief as extreme sadness and sorrow relating to very tramatic events. Grief however can apply to any change. While grief is often felt regarding…Read more
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