Mind Your Body TV Episode 4 with Dr. Roger Walsh.
The numbers are nothing to laugh at: 15 million Americans suffer from depression and 40 million from anxiety. The power to change is within us, right in front of us, and maybe we don’t need medications or counseling, says a recent paper from the American Psychological Association. The author is Roger Walsh, M.D., Ph.D. of the University of California, Irvine, College of Medicine, who suggests we simply stop and consider “therapeutic lifestyle changes” or TLCs. Use them, and you can easily find health and happiness in life.
You already know you shouldn’t spend too much time in front of the TV or computer screen, you should get outdoors more and avoid social isolation. Turns out, TLCs may work as well, and with fewer side effects and complications than medications, says Dr. Walsh.
Stop and smell the flowers
Find health and happiness NOW
Is the answer right under your nose? Maybe, if you consider these TLCs and their benefits:
- Exercise or physical activity
- Diets: vegetables, fruits and fish
- Spending time in nature
- Good relationships
- Recreation and fun. Yes, fun!
- Relaxation and stress management
- Meditation
- Religious and spiritual involvement
- Contribution and service, or altruism
Don’t put this off
So why, oh why, don’t you “just do it”? Because usually, making a change is easier said than done. Using TLCs does require sustained effort, but lots of things do that matter. Ditch “the passive expectation that healing comes from an outside authority or a pill,” says Dr. Walsh. And don’t fall prey to “a daily barrage of psychologically sophisticated advertisements promoting unhealthy lifestyle behaviors such as smoking, drinking alcohol, and eating fast food.”
TLCs may just what you need to give your deserving self a little TLC. Go get ’em–and find health and happiness today.