Here I am again, discussing mental health care in the US. The Wall Street Journal just dropped an article reporting that “U.S. Suicides Reached a Record High Last Year.” It doesn’t need to be this way.
I find this so frustrating that we know our nation’s people are in distress, due to many manageable root issues of poor diet, lack of physical activity (sedentary lifestyle), addiction to electronics, lack of patriotism and maybe most important. loss of meaning and purpose in our lives. Most of us know these are major issues, but do we really care enough to make changes that will actually have a lasting effect? Having vast resources in the way of dollars, and throwing more money to healthcare facilities that often prescribe strong pharmaceuticals cannot be the only answer to this problem that has been on the rise for the last decades. As we can see today, these methods are not making much of a dent.
If we continue to only treat the symptoms of mental health issues, such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, etc. we will never truly address the root causes of these ailments.
Here is the link for the Wall Street Journal article:
There are many options that we can implement, we just need to pierce the veil of delusion and fix the root causes of most of our problems. Most start with our youth and never end as they grow into adults. Education and self-discipline are key.
- Improve the diet in schools. No more crap junk foods at school or at home.
- Get recess and PE back in the daily school schedule. What good are cramming advanced courses in the schedule when a kid can’t even self-regulate their emotions with some recess and physical activity?
- Better manage this smartphone, TV, PC internet/gaming addiction. Basic physiology classes explain this is all about our inner chemistry that is way out of balance with all of the dopamine and cortisol rollercoastering up and down, all day long.
- Give our people a place to be proud of. If people don’t have a home. a community, a city, a nation, what’s the desire to live in these places?
- Let’s better educate people to have purpose, something that makes us want to get up and out of bed because the world needs each of us in order to become a better place for everyone.
- Show those that you love and care about, and even those that you don’t, that the world is a better place for them not only for being in it, but being part of it. This gives meaning to someone and their life.
In addition to these root issues being addressed, there are other options for people to try just in order to manage and self-regulate their own stress. Some are absolutely free or available for minimal costs such as:
(1) Education – books, documentaries, libraries, online
(2) Support – from family, friends, local support groups, online, on the phone (dumps oxytocin into the blood flow)
(3) Mindfulness – pursue becoming aware about what you think, how you react, your actions
(4) Meditation – take a break, a walk, listen to calming music, garden, exercise – these are all types of activities that can elicit a meditative state of mind (adjusts serotonin levels in the bloodstream)
(5) Exercise – the conduit to the mind is through the physical body. Physical movement either gets endorphins and dopamine flowing or epinephrine, adrenaline and cortisol if you are running from a tiger. Walk, run, swim, stretch, hike, etc. These are mostly free.
Other methods may have a cost, but are stiller cheaper in the long run than pills, therapy, a trip to the hospital or ultimately to the morgue.
Be well, become healthier, become wiser.
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I teach and offer lectures about holistic health, stress management, qigong, tai chi, baguazhang, meditation, phytotherapy (herbs), music for healing, self-massage, and Daoyin (yoga). I also have hundreds of FREE education video classes, lectures and seminars available on my YouTube channel at:
https://www.youtube.com/c/MindandBodyExercises
www.Amazon.com/author/jimmoltzan
Mind and Body Exercises on Google: https://posts.gle/aD47Qo
Jim Moltzan
407-234-0119
United Martial Arts Association 