Mental Health Critical During and After Pandemic

April 5, 2023April 5, 2023 ~ Loreeebee ~ Leave a comment

Mental health issues have become much more prevalent during the Covid pandemic. Unfortunately, these issues have not (yet) been given the respect they deserve. I say yet because I hope someone in power will step up and recognize the increased need for help.

Mental Illness Education Act (MIEACT)

This group in Canberra, Australia has stepped up to address mental illness in a big way. MIEACT or Mental Illness Education Act was created in 2014 but is recognizing the increased need for mental health support during the pandemic.

I saw this post on Facebook recently where MIEACT describes the ways to improve your mental health:

Did you know that you can consciously create opportunities for your body to release Dopamine, Oxytocin, Serotonin and Endorphin, increasing your wellbeing, stabilizing mood, improving motivation and increasing connection?
MIEACT

That’s lots of ways to make yourself feel more cheerful and healthier!

According to AtlasBiomed, endorphins, oxytocin, dopamine, and serotonin are all “happy hormones,” chemicals that are released within our bodies naturally sending positive, feel-good messages to our brains.

Good on MIEACT for sharing these ways to improve our mental health. Hopefully, the rest of the world can step up too to recognize, support, and tackle these important issues in their areas of the globe.

Jack Chapters

Jack Chapters are peer support groups in schools and campuses across Canada, led by youth. They provide safe and supportive connections for struggling youngsters so they do not feel alone. Group activities include board games, large group interactive games, guest speakers, gardening, and journaling.

You can support this initiative by visiting Jack.org and donating to support the organized activities.

Improve Your Mental Health at Home

There are things you can do within the comfort of your own home to improve your mental health and boost your immune system at the same time. Because the two are connected. Here is a list of inexpensive, simple ways to stay on track:

eat healthy or healthier
laugh more
stress less
let go of anger, learn ways to handle it better
move on from past endeavors that did not work out
exercise, preferably in fresh air. A long walk or gardening does wonders for me.

Easier said than done, I know. It may take a conscious effort to get started but you have to start somewhere, and no one else can motivate you like you can!

Improve Your Mood when the Weather is Down

April 2, 2023April 2, 2023 ~ Loreeebee ~ Leave a comment

This article was originally posted on Higher Dose, and modified for a guest post here on Loreeebee.

It’s officially #PSL season, which means it’s time to put on our cozy knits, binge-watch Netflix, light a million candles, and excitedly cancel plans with friends. Even though we all look to fall and winter as a time to get hygge, the novelty of the season can wear off quickly as the days get shorter and the weather gets colder, lowering our moods and affecting our health.

People often joke about “winter blues” and Seasonal Affective Disorder, but it’s actually a diagnosable type of depression that is prompted by cold weather and less sunlight, affecting 5% of Americans.

How Does this Happen?

It’s not all in your head!

The sun naturally releases a broad spectrum of light throughout the day to help signal our body’s many functions. In the morning and afternoons, we take in more blue light to release cortisol, so we have the energy to be more productive. In the evenings, we’re meant to start winding down with red light and infrared as a way to prompt our melatonin production to facilitate better sleep.

When the days are shorter and colder, we’re taking in less energy-giving light, nutrient-dense vitamin D (which is necessary for immune function), and fewer healing vibrations from nature’s fresh air, resulting in lower energy, chronic fatigue, increased hunger, and interrupted sleep. Plain and simple: Good, nourishing recovery is a lot harder to achieve.

Don’t let this info get you down. Here are some quick and easy ways to hack your mood as the seasons change.

Get a DOSE of Happy Vibes to Improve Your Mood

Happiness comes from the feel-good chemicals in our brains:

Dopamine: A hormone and neurotransmitter that stimulates the nervous system functions like pleasure and attention.

Oxytocin: Aka the “love hormone” that decreases stress and anxiety levels.

Serotonin: A neurotransmitter that is often released by the sun and infrared light therapy. It’s essential for balancing mood, memory, sleep, and sexual desire

Endorphins: A group of hormones that reduce pain and increase pleasure and overall well-being. They are often released during exercise, hence the term, “a runner’s high.”

Hot Tip: If you’re in NYC, zen out in one of our warm, soothing saunas for a serotonin-releasing mood lifter. At home instead? No problem! Cocooning yourself in our Infrared Sauna Blanket will release your endorphins without ever having to move a muscle. Burning ~600 calories during one single sweat session, your body will feel like it worked out while staying relaxed AND detoxified. Better circulation, mood, and glowing skin are a plus.

Use a lightbox to Improve your Mood

Lightboxes, along with infrared therapy, are a popular treatment option for seasonal affective disorder.

There is a broad spectrum of light therapies:

Sunlamps

Improve Vitamin D absorption and increase overall energy levels

Red Light Therapy

Focuses more on deeply-penetrating muscles and tissues to calm the skin, manage hormone production, and boost the immune system

If you can’t spend 30 minutes or more in the sun per day and are faced with a dark sky when you wake up in the morning, consider a light therapy box first thing when you wake up to help get your body on a normal schedule.

Get Good Vibrations from Nature

The Japanese practice something called shinrin-yoku, which translates to forest bathing. “But how do I bathe in a forest?!” Don’t take it literally.

It’s just the act of being in nature and connecting to yourself through your senses. It helps to reduce stress levels, and lower blood pressure to relax the body and focus the mind.

The reason being in nature is considered such a healing, mood-boosting activity is because plants release the chemical, phytoncide, which has antibacterial and antifungal qualities that can increase our white blood cells and help strengthen our immune response to foreign invaders.

Nature also gives off literal good vibrations. The Earth has a natural frequency of 7.8hz, which sends low-level frequency through our bodies to help recharge our cells and heal us from the inside out.

If you don’t live near nature, or it’s too cold to go outside, consider:

Keeping plants inside your home for at-home plant benefits
Try our Infrared PEMF Mat, which uses PEMF, infrared heat, and Negative Ion Therapy to send Pulsed Electromagnetic Frequency throughout your body. Go deeper with your DOSE while getting the ultimate recharge.

Skip Comfort Eating

Like bears who eat more as they prepare to hibernate during the winter months, we too get excited to indulge as the weather gets colder.

BUT, managing seasonal depression and keeping your mood HIGH starts with eliminating sugar when you can.

Refined starches and carbs that lack fiber and are high-glycemic can directly impact your hormones, which directly affects your happy chemicals. Your gut manages the majority of the hormone production in your body and sends direct messages to your brain. you consume sugar, you end up feeding bad bacteria in your gut that can throw the chemicals in your brain off-balance.

Sticking with whole foods that are nutrient-dense is ideal, but if you do decide you want to get into the goodies, try one of these detoxes to reset your system and get back on track.

Conclusions

This guest post fits in well with my theme as many of these points have been discussed previously on Loreeebee. For many of us, our mental health is taking a beating during the pandemic. Nature is a huge part of my life, as is nutrition. Research tells us that nature, nutrition, and mental health go hand in hand.

If you decide to try the infrared sauna blanket, please use my referral code to save us both some money. I’m hoping Santa reads this; I would love one!

Stress and Laughter and the Immune System

How Stress and Laughter Affect the Immune System

November 8, 2021September 5, 2022 ~ Loreeebee ~ 5 Comments

One minute of anger, stress, or anxiety weakens the immune system for four to five hours, while one minute of laughter boosts the immune system for over twenty-four hours. I’ve read these profound statements in several different places recently. I believe scientists are on to something. When chatting with a friend recently, I was reminded that anger causes stress. That conversation provided inspiration for this post. Read on to see how stress and laughter affect the immune system.

How the Immune System Works

Better Health Channel explains the immune system as follows:

The immune system is a complex network of cells and proteins that defends the body against infection.
The immune system keeps a record of every germ (microbe) it has ever defeated so it can recognize and destroy the microbe quickly if it enters the body again.
Abnormalities of the immune system can lead to allergic diseases, immunodeficiencies, and autoimmune disorders.

For those reasons, it is important to keep our immune systems at peak performance.

Why Anger and Stress Are Unhealthy

Think about it for a minute. When something or someone angers you, your blood pressure rises, your heart races, and you get a sick feeling in your stomach. I know I do. But did you realize that the sick feeling you get can manifest into something more sinister if it persists?

The sick feeling resulting from anger or stress spreads throughout the body, wreaking havoc on all organs. It has been scientifically proven that stress has been linked to many health conditions and disease states.

Why Laughter is Healthy

Conversely, after a good laugh, you feel great and stress or tension is relieved. This improves your mood, your outlook, and even your physical appearance! Check out a previous article listing the specific scientific benefits of laughter.

Laughter is contagious as well. Difficult or awkward conversations or situations can be diffused with some levity.

Have you ever noticed that some people giggle or laugh awkwardly when stressed? It may appear that their laughter is insensitive or inappropriate, but alternatively, most likely their way of trying to diffuse the stress or awkwardness. I am one of those non-confrontational people that prefer to diffuse rather than fuel a volatile reaction.

Replacing Anger and Stress in Your Life

If you find yourself in any situation that evokes prolonged and unresolvable anger, angst, tension, stress, or sadness, move on and let it go before you cause any permanent damage to your health

Personal relationships are trickier to remove yourself from, especially the long-term ones. The process is much easier said than done, with lots of complications. Professional counseling, however, will most likely encourage extrication from these relationships and offer detailed steps on how to do so.

The Covid pandemic has resulted in a major increase in mental health issues. Fortunately, awareness of these issues and support for those affected have increased as well. Many governments are now willing to spend money on mental health programs, including online options.

Conclusions

Stress and laughter both affect the immune system. Stress impairs it while laughter improves it. In other words, aim for more laughter and less stress in your life for maximum health beneffits.

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