Cognitive-Behavioral or Rational-Emotive Techniques
socially-prescribed perfectionism in particular has been related to procrastination. The more we can understand about perfectionism and the maladaptive processes involved, the more we might be able to address procrastination.
identifying triggers, adopting persepctive, independent thinking and more
Nutrition and Mental Health
The excellent Emily Deans, MD discusses the benefits of ketone metabolism in regards to brain health.
And now let's really get down to the mitochondrial level. Mitochondria are the power plants of our cells, where all the energy is produced (as ATP). Now, when I was taught about biochemical fuel-burning, I was taught that glucose was "clean" and ketones were "smokey." That glucose was clearly the preferred fuel for our muscles for exercise and definitely the key fuel for the brain. Except here's the dirty little secret about glucose - when you look at the amount of garbage leftover in the mitochondria, it is actually less efficient to make ATP from glucose than it is to make ATP from ketone bodies! A more efficient energy supply makes it easier to restore membranes in the brain to their normal states after a depolarizing electrical energy spike occurs, and means that energy is produced with fewer destructive free radicals leftover.
Even those his final recommendations are far from ideal, it is a good article. Had he suggested intermittent fasting, a low carbohydrate diet, the benefits of ketosis, and meticulous avoidance of Ω6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (ie canola oil, corn oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil), it could have actually been a *great* article.
"Published June 1, Ilardi's book, "The Depression Cure" (Da Capo Lifelong Books), is based on research suggesting that depression can be treated effectively by helping people reclaim healing habits from a more primitive way of life. In fact, Ilardi thinks this may be a superior approach than modern psychotherapy or antidepressant drugs, which typically work for only about half the patients who try them.
The KU researcher heads a large treatment study, dubbed the Therapeutic Lifestyle Change project, which calls for patients to adopt six healing elements from the ancient past:
1)consuming more omega-3 fatty acids;
2)using engaging activity to combat rumination;
3)getting regular sunlight exposure;
4)increasing physical exercise;
5)connecting more with others socially;
6)and getting increased (and healthier) sleep."
from the page: "Learn how to build mental and physical resilience when managing the stress of everyday life."
from the page:"Your ability to do more complex tasks is disrupted just as the amount of information you're receiving through your eyes and ears is enhanced," Shackman says. "You're having trouble focusing on the information coming in, but your brain is taking in more and more potentially irrelevant information. You can have a viscous feedback loop, a sort of double-whammy effect.
"One of the things we would expect is that if we use an antidote like systematic meditation training to learn to control stress it would not just calm the body, but improve our ability to engage in complex analytical activity," he says.
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from the page: "Brain images were taken of each subject before and after the training. Scientists found increases in gray-matter density in the hippocampus-an area responsible for learning and memory. And they saw decreased density in the amygdala-which is responsible for our anxiety and stress responses."
from the page: "1) Most people in Japan receive inadequate sleep. 2) Individuals whose sleep is inadequate are unlikely to be sufficiently physically active to stimulate serotonergic systems to a desirable level. I propose that public health initiatives encouraging a longer duration of sleep may provide a relatively simple way of addressing the disturbing current trend in Japan. The combination of actigraph and brain serotonin level measurement could allow large population-based cohort studies to be designed, to elucidate the causal links between sleep duration, serotonin levels, and suicide rates."