Greetings Rocker,
I hope all is well with you. I’d like to share some info on the effects of excess alcohol on our brain and body. I am not saying booze is a bad thing at all. In moderate amounts it’s great, but for some of us, it can be a dangerous drug, especially if we are consuming a bit too much for our body to handle safely.
Here is a short video with some facts you might find useful.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXjANz9r5F0
Take care out there,
Greg \M/H.
Hi reader,
Hope all’s well with you. Here are a few more quotes that i find inspirational, and want to share with you.
“Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start”.
Greetings reader,
I found this video interesting. It is a short piece on Afghanistan and the opium poppy, or heroin. I have found that numbing out our pain, and reality, which might feel helpful in the short term, is not a sustainable way to live, and is damaging to our physical, emotional, and mental health.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0znui82ONSE#t=49
Stay well, strong, and happy.
Greg. \M/H
Hello reader,
Some music related quotes below. I love Ozzys! It’s so true that music is such a lifeline and huge part of many people’s lives. I know it’s great for my mental health!
“… I don’t want you to play me a riff that’s going to impress Joe Satriani; give me a riff that makes a kid want to go out and buy a guitar and learn to play …” – Ozzy Osbourne
“Use the talents you possess, for the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except the best.” – Henry Van Dyke
“… everyone was using tiny brushes and doing watercolors, while Jimi Hendrix was painting galactic scenes in Cinemascope. We are working in a field of mystical resonance, sound and vibration… that’s what makes people cry, laugh and feel their hair stand up … ” – Carlos Santana
Take care everyone, Greg \M/H
Hello again reader, I hope all’s well with you.
A few quotes about personal growth, butterflies, and freedom.
‘The winter solstice has always been special to me as a barren darkness that gives birth to a verdant future beyond imagination, a time of pain and withdrawal that produces something joyfully inconceivable, like a monarch butterfly masterfully extracting itself from the confines of its cocoon, bursting forth into unexpected glory.’ ~ Gary Zukav
‘There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it’s going to be a butterfly’. ~Richard Buckminster Fuller ‘Just like the butterfly, I too will awaken in my own time’. ~Deborah Chaskin
‘The caterpillar does all the work but the butterfly gets all the publicity’. ~Attributed to George Carlin
I love the butterfly analogy. I relate to the struggle from the ‘prison’ of the cocoon, to growing into something with wings that fly’s free. For me, this describes a recovery journey to better mental health. A journey of personal growth, acceptance, and a reclaiming of our lives.
Greg \M/H
Hi reader,
Super foods. We hear about them a lot. But some seem a little overhyped as the following video points out. Good nutrition is important for good mental health, and what we eat and drink can affect our mood.
This is a recent clip shared on you tube, taken from Australian ABC television show ‘The checkout’.
An amusing and interesting look at ‘super foods’ and the marketing claims and hype. Whilst these foods are said to be generally good for us, ‘super foods’ are often overpriced and overhyped.
Greg. \M/H
I was talking to a friend on this subject the other day, and thought i’d share some thoughts with you.
You are worthy.
You are worthy. Yes you. It doesn’t matter how low you think you have sunk. It doesn’t matter what you are hearing from others, or indeed yourself, you are worthy.
Many of us often tell ourselves that we are worthless, hopeless, not good enough, and mean nothing. Wrong. Nope. This is not so friend. Regardless of your past.
Just remember this.
You are worthy, and you mean something. You are unique and special, individual and full of potential and possibilities for your next adventure. Just like the rest of us.
Don’t waste your time on Earth getting numb. Don’t wait for a bolt of lightning to signal your path either. Some of us have to get out there and find it, dig deep within ourselves. And you will.
Never, ever forget that you mean something here on this planet, in your town, street, house, and to the people in your life, whoever they are.
No-one in your life? Well friend, you mean something to me, an anonymous,
reasonably sharp, and some say handsome, trending man about town,
and i am someone who knows a bit of you, just like you know a bit of me. But don’t listen to me. Become your best friend, and listen to your own intuition, path and cue’s.
Wherever we might be in our recovery, it doesn’t matter, you are worthy and you mean something no matter what you may think of yourself right now.
Here are some words from Brene Brown *.
“When we can let go of what other people think and own our story, we gain access to our worthiness—the feeling that we are enough just as we are and that we are worthy of love and belonging. When we spend a lifetime trying to distance ourselves from the parts of our lives that don’t fit with who we think we’re supposed to be, we stand outside of our story and hustle for our worthiness by constantly performing, perfecting, pleasing, and proving. Our sense of worthiness—that critically important piece that gives us access to love and belonging—lives inside of our story.”
“If you own this story you get to write the ending.”
― Brené Brown
You are worthy, you are enough, and you are a big STAR. No matter what, and no matter who.
Now, get out there, go for your dreams and bring them to life.
Greg \M/H
* (Brene has some great TED talks that you can find on you tube).
Hi reader,
I thought the below article may be of interest.
Here is an extract from a piece by Barbara Hocking, who retired last year as CEO of SANE Australia. It was published in the Medical journal of Australia, Vol 178, 5 May, 2003. The article is over 10 years old, but i see attitudes among many health professionals, our community, and the media are slow to change to date.
‘PEOPLE WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA put up with a lot more than their illness. Stigma, from both the community and from health professionals, contributes yet another major stress they can well do without. Many people with schizophrenia say that the stigma and prejudice associated with their illness is as distressing as the symptoms themselves. In a recent Australian survey, people with mental illness and their families said “less stigma” was the number one thing that would make their lives better. 1
They wanted healthcare workers who “treated them with more respect”, who “would appreciate just how far a little kindness goes”, and a community that “would understand that we are not lazy or weak” and that recovery is not simply a matter of “pulling yourself together”. Stigma contributes to loneliness, distress and discrimination against people with a mental illness and their families. Indeed, more than 40 negative consequences of stigma have been identified, 2
including discrimination in housing, education and employment and increased feelings of hopelessness. The end result is that many people are reluctant to seek help, less likely to cooperate with treatment, and slower to recover self-esteem and confidence. Tragically, this leads many to suicidal behaviour. It is important, therefore, for clinicians and other healthcare workers to appreciate that stigma and its associated prejudice form a very real barrier to recovery and may even be fatal’.
I see that this discrimination is very alive and real today. I have seen health professionals not take a person seriously if that person is seeking support/treatment for a physical health issue, because the person has been diagnosed with a mental health issue, and is brushed off as being delusional. Some people have been denied prescribed painkillers in a hospital setting because there has been a perception/assumption the person wants to ‘get high’. For me, our recovery is about connection. It is about communication and connection with other people, with community.
As a community, we need to be open and welcoming to folks on their recovery journey. In my case, that recovery journey is one from depression and substance addiction. I know that isolation is not always healthy. We must keep yapping, and keep the conversation open, and ongoing.
SANE Australia have a great project called ‘Stigma Watch’ which works with Australian news media to educate and support responsible reporting around mental health. Do we have anything like this Internationally i wonder? Here’s some info from the SANE website.
‘In 2013 SANE StigmaWatch worked with national news groups, metropolitan media outlets, regional newsrooms, businesses and celebrities to reduce stigma and encourage responsible reporting of suicide-related issues. There were 268 Stigma Reports submitted during 2013, with 49 per cent trivialising mental illness, 19 per cent irresponsibly reporting on suicide and 10 per cent linking violence and mental illness. The number of Stigma Reports increased by 34 per cent, up from 200 submitted during 2012.
Media outlets contacted during 2013 included Channel 9, Channel 7, the ABC, The Australian, The Age, The Courier Mail, 6PR, and Fox FM. Quarterly Stigma Bulletins were sent to over 2,000 members, updating members on activity undertaken throughout the year. If you have seen a positive or stigmatising report in the media you can nominate stories for consideration online, or if you want to subscribe to the mailing list, visit the Join StigmaWatch page. It is important to remember that SANE StigmaWatch does not aim to stop media reports on issues such as mental illness and suicide, rather, StigmaWatch encourages more accurate and responsible reporting of these complex and sensitive issues’. 3.
Love it.
Hope you’re having a positive start to the year wherever you are. If you’re struggling, just keep doing your best each day, and reach out for support if you feel you need it. I’d love to hear from you, so please say hi in the comments section below.
Speak soon, G bloke. \M/H
References : Above/top extract from MJA Vol 178, May 2003.
1. Sane Australia. What’s your view? Sane phone in 2000.
2. Byrne P. Psychiatric stigma. JR Soc med 1997 .
3. SANE Australia Stigma Watch page, January, 2014.