Archive for month: May, 2016

During my time in recovery and working at i360, I’ve come to realize the importance of giving attention to the  different facets of health. One area of my life that anyone could see was deficient was my physical health. My potential seemed poor at best after several fractures in my back at the age of eighteen and my prior lack of physical activity. Yet here I was with a newfound interest and motivation to experience new things in life. So I set out on a course to explore the world of fitness.

After a few years of being the lone wolf at a local corporate gym, trying my best to emulate what other people were doing around me, I started to really enjoy myself. Exercise offered me a mental oasis. It was a time for me to just “do” and not “think.” It was an opportunity for me to continue to push myself and grow in a new and exciting way. Yes, I was sore; and yes, doing the same old thing gets boring after a while. But I was sleeping better than I had in years. I was gaining confidence both inside and outside of the gym. And most of all I felt good! I know it sounds backwards, but experiencing these brief periods of discomfort, which most people refer to as “workouts,” seemed to give me a little more joy in my life; and then life took a turn as it often does.

One September night after leaving work, the front wheel of my motorcycle got wedged in a trolley track while I was traveling 30 miles an hour and I went face first over the handlebars, effectively totaling my bike and leaving me with injuries which would keep me from returning to weightlifting for well over a year. I truly believe that these types of events hold such purpose in our lives. My “therapy” had been taken from me, and yet again I learned to live without something that I loved, and found joy in other places in my life. This was, as painful as it may have been, a Godsend.

As I regained mobility and enough strength to return to my hobby of picking up heavy things, I met a guy named Kevin. Now this was no normal introduction as I walked up to my bearded, tattooed, across-the-street neighbor while he was throwing around large cement stones, and running down his driveway with what looked like a thousand pounds on his back. Needless to say I was intrigued… Kevin and I became fast friends and he shared his passion for the sport of Strongman with me, offering me instruction, a training program and free use of his equipment, day or night. After training for the last 10 months, I recently took second place in North Texas Strongest Man, and I plan on continuing to train and compete in the years to come as I have much to learn about the sport and myself.

I know that this will likely never become more than a hobby for me. When I look at this sport, it would be easy for me to get discouraged by comparing myself to the many out there who are bigger, stronger, or faster than I. But then that’s not what this is all about. For me, competing Strongman is about pushing myself to new limits. It is a tangible way for me to enjoy making progress and sharing my passion for fitness and fun with others around me. It is a place to enjoy community. It has taught me discipline, and respect. And it has given me the opportunity to dream… More than all of that is has taught me that with hard work one can do what they never thought possible. This is hope. And this hard work can be applied to my marriage, my recovery, my work, my friendships, my spiritual life; the list goes on.

I want to challenge all of you to get out there and try something new. Get out of your comfort zone and enjoy some being active in a new way. Do it alone or do it with someone you care about. You just might find open a new and exciting chapter in your life that you never would have imagined.

– David Mullins, Life Development

“Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”
– Francis of Assisi

It’s one of those unique qualities of being human — regardless of what it looks like to the outside world — the majority of people have a deeply rooted desire to improve, to get better at something, to transform an area of their lives. Whether that’s related to work, relationships,or our health — some things we need to stop doing and some things we want to start doing. Change is one of the key ingredients that allow us to grow and mature.

It’s only taken me about 20 years to get that idea settled into my life. It’s rather embarrassing to say what I originally thought about change when I started working with people. I actually thought that if someone took the time out of their schedule and paid me to talk about things that are very difficult in their lives,then they must be ready to change. I began to realize over time that it actually told me very little about their desire to change, their motivation to change, or even their belief about the possibility of change.

I’ve learned a few things about the process of change from therapy and research, and I’ll share some of them in the blogs to come. But first, we need to be more honest with ourselves. We need to start the process of change with where we “are”, not where we think we “should” be.

Take, for instance, New Year’s resolutions. A lot of people think they need to get healthy in the New Year, probably because of the excessive eating and lack of exercise during the holidays, so every health club in the month of January is packed to the brim. But most of the newcomers at the gym don’t really want to change; they just feel bad about the choices made over the past couple of weeks. Rather than over-committing, it would be better if they would start walking or jogging a couple of times a week.

Second, there is a difference between compliance and change. Usually, compliance is somebody trying to change us. I often say “I’m not sure where in the city my wife is right now, but if she’s talking to a friend about something that she thinks I need to change, I can feel that conversation 20 miles away and I’ll start my resistance.” People hate being forced to change, and compliance is just a strategy to get them to quit talking to me about what they think I should do. But if I’m actually open to change, if I’m the one doing the work, then I just might end up starting a change process that lasts. Compliance and change are two very different things. For lasting change, at some point, there has to be something that happens internally as well as externally.

Even though we are well versed on the subject, it’s still both fascinating and mysterious to not only observe the process in others, but to experience it first hand. If you’re willing to risk, then you will never be, as Teddy Roosevelt once said “A cold and timid soul that knows neither victory nor defeat. ”

We often think too narrowly about what success in treatment looks like. Whether you are struggling with mental health or substance abuse, it’s a common mistake to think that the only goal is treating the primary problem – and getting that to disappear. At Innovation360, we don’t just focus solely on the presenting issue. i360 intervenes in all areas of life to rebuild a healthy foundation. One of those areas is physical wellness, which includes taking a deeper look at our diet. Today we are bringing in an expert in this area, someone we have collaborated with frequently to help our clients uncover some of the issues they might be experiencing in the realm of diet, so that we can address wellness from a bigger picture. Alicia Galvin Smith, MEd, RD, LD, CLT was generous enough to share her expert insights, talking about why gut health matters:

“All disease begins in the gut” was a statement spoken by Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, over 2000 years ago, but recent research is confirming that this is very true. Your gut houses 70-80% of your immune system and you have over 10 trillion bacteria that call your intestines  home. In fact, there are 10 times more bacterial cells in your body than there are human cells. It therefore makes sense, and research is emerging to show, that when there is an imbalance in the gut it can directly impact and throw off the rest of the body. Research showed significantly altered behavior when one mouse’s gut bacteria was swapped with that of another. Researchers transplanted microbes from one group of mice, which were characterized by timidity, into the guts of mice who tended to take more risks. What they observed was a complete personality shift: timid mice became outgoing, while outgoing mice became timid.  What’s happening in our gut can truly determine how we move through life.

Often times the role of nutrition and gut health is overlooked when working with depression, anxiety, OCD, ADD/ADHD, bipolar disorder, and various other mental health conditions. Yet it can make all the difference in the world. For instance, about 90% of serotonin (yes, the same neurotransmitter found in the brain) is actually made in the digestive tract by specialized cells.  And a deficit in that same chemical can lead to depression. So yes, there is a link between our gut health and our mood, memory, sleep, etc.

Additionally, specific vitamins and minerals are required to produce neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine and epinephrine. For instance, vitamin D, iron, vitamin B6, and omega fatty acids should be at optimal levels for the body to efficiently make serotonin. A deficiency in any of these can inhibit the pathway and production.  In addition, deficiencies in zinc, magnesium, vitamin B12, and folate have been linked with conditions such as depression and anxiety.  Evaluating for vitamin and mineral deficiencies is important, as is the consideration of a nutrient dense diet. What we eat influences the balance of gut bacteria – the proper foods and a nutrient dense diet will shift the balance toward good bacteria. As we examine our overall physical and mental health, these are critical factors to consider.

There is a lot to consider beyond therapy and medication when it comes to helping people overcome mental health issues. If you are struggling with mental health or addiction, it’s important to address the essential areas of life which often impact the primary issues. And diet, vitamin/mineral deficiencies, and gut health should not be overlooked. There is a two-way street between what’s going on in the gut and what’s happening in the brain.  So reflect on what you are putting into your body, and maybe what you aren’t.  And see if a change in that area leads to change elsewhere. Because “my gut” says it will.

To learn more about Alicia Galvin Smith, visit her website here. She can be reached at [email protected] or 469.340.8449. She can help you experiment with some changes in diet and nutrition that could lead to positive changes in mental health.

Resources:

1. Yano, Jessica M. et al(2015) Indigenous Bacteria from the Gut Microbiota Regulate Host Serotonin Biosynthesis. Cell, 161 (2). pp. 264-276.

2. Bercik, Premysl et al. The Intestinal Microbiota Affect Central Levels of Brain-Derived Neurotropic Factor and Behavior in Mice. Gastroenterology , Volume 141 , Issue 2 , 599 – 609.e3

3. Patrick, R.P., & Ames, B. N. (2015). Vitamin D and the omega 3 fatty acid control serotonin synthesis and action, part 2: relevance for ADHD, bipolar, schizophrenia, and impulsive behavior. The FASEB Journal, 29, 1-16

4. Swardfager. Depression Linked to low Zinc Levels in the blood. Biol Psychiatry. 2013;74:872-878

5. Hector M, Burton JR. What are the psychiatric manifestations of vitamin B12 deficiency? J Am Geriatr Soc 1988;36:1105–1112.

6. Coppen A, Bailey J. Enhancement of the antidepressant action of fluoxetine by folic acid: a randomised, placebo controlled trial. J Affect Disord 2000;60:121–130.

7. Skarupski, K. A., Tangney, C., Li, H., Ouyang, B., Evans, D. A., & Morris, M. C. (2010). Longitudinal association of vitamin B-6, folate, and vitamin B-12 with depressive symptoms among older adults over time. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 92(2), 330–335.

8. Sartori, S. B., Whittle, N., Hetzenauer, A., & Singewald, N. (2012). Magnesium deficiency induces anxiety and HPA axis dysregulation: Modulation by therapeutic drug treatment. Neuropharmacology, 62(1), 304–312.