The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results. 

--Rita Mae Brown

The December 2005 issue of the Harvard Mental Health Letter reviews several studies that show that regular physical activity is associated with improvement in clinical depression and anxiety, mild to moderate depression symptoms, insomnia, and resilience under stress. Also, people who remain physically fit are less likely to develop clinical depression.

 

One recent study compared five groups of people with mild to moderate depression: two doing a rigorous exercise program, two doing a lighter workout program, and one doing stretching and flexibility exercises. All groups experienced improvement. The rigorous-exercise groups experienced a reduction in symptoms (a 47% drop on average) comparable to the best results of both medication and cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy. Another study showed that positive results do not depend on a type of exercise, only that the exercise program last at least 2 months.

 

The article goes on to discuss that we don't really know why exercise eases these symptoms, or whether exercise is the result of symptoms being reduced or the other way around (people whose symptoms abate are more likely to exercise).

 

In my consulting work, I have found that helping people to get up off the couch, to maintain focus over time, and to work effectively on personal projects decreases depression and anxiety symptoms. People feel better when they are actively taking charge of one or more personal projects. Contact me for information about how life consultation can get you moving, achieving, and loving life again. To read the references for this article, click here, and look for the references of Working Off Depression.

An 8/10/2006 article on the CNN website reported on the results of a study by Dr. James F. Paulson of more than 5,000 U.S. couples that had recently had a baby. The study revealed that 14% of mothers and 15% of fathers were found to have significant levels of depression. (The percentage of women correlates to past research on postpartum depression in mothers.)

 

Depressed fathers played with their babies less, and the wives of depressed fathers read less often to their babies. Singing, reading, and playing with a baby are very important interactions for the development of the baby.

 

In my work with individuals and couples, I emphasize envisioning a way of living that would be pleasant to them, and then working strategically toward that vision. My area of expertise is in helping people to work with their inner approaches to the situation (in this case, to parenting a newborn) that result in feeling stuck or depressed. Contact me for more information about my approach, or see the "My approach" page of my website.

The March 5th edition of The Boston Globe published the article If you can do more, try a few careers until you're sure. The article describes the notion of a "portfolio career," as defined ten years ago by the British management guru Charles Handy.

 

The idea is to do several types of meaningful work that, together, fulfill you and pay the bills; it is not the same as holding down three bad jobs and wishing you could figure out what to do with yourself.

 

An example of someone living with this new type of career is Aaron Karo. He performs stand-up comedy in sold-out, local, Boston shows, and he also bills himself as a public speaker and sit-com actor. Working this way has been the norm for Karo. After college, he went to work for an investment bank. At the same time, he wrote a weekly newsletter on college life, which eventually led to a book deal. Karo's summary of how to do it?  "You've got to do it on the side. Diversify your revenue streams. Do what you're passionate about."

 

This new type of career choice may mix employment with an organization and self-employment, often involving several skilled professional jobs. You can also mix in some volunteer work or learning work with fee-based work.

 

As someone who writes software documentation in between managing his life-consultation practice, I could really relate to this article. It is this type of "out of the box" thinking that I like to do with my many clients who work with me on career decisions and satisfaction. Contact me for more information about my method of career consultation.

The last of human freedoms: The ability to choose one's attitude in a given set of circumstances. 

--Victor Frankl

The January/February issue of the Psychotherapy Networker reviewed some of the leading researchers on both sides of the issue of gay parenting.

 

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), which is the established organization of pediatricians, states that there should be no barriers to gay-parent adoption and custody. Their recommendations are based on the 2002 review of research by Tufts University professor Ellen Perrin, who says, "There is no good evidence that same-sex parents are any less fit than heterosexual parents, and some of them may provide subtle advantages."  She continues, "It isn't the sexual identity of the parents that matters: it's things like how well the parents get along, how integrated the kids are in school—the same social factors that matter to all kids."

 

The article also cites objections raised by the American College of Pediatricians (whose mission statement says that it "recognizes the inherent value of both a father and a mother") and Paul Cameron, Chairman of the Family Research Institute (Cameron has been reprimanded by his professional organization for publishing misleading research, and his articles are published in one journal that is not peer-reviewed and that publishes articles when paid by the author to do so).

 

As in any debate, it is helpful to read the fine-print about any "expert" or organization that attempts to influence public discourse on controversial topics.

• Live longer—In a study of 17,000 Harvard graduates, there was a 25% reduction in the risk of dying prematurely if you exercise regularly.
• Improved memory—In a recent study, mice improved their short-term memory and grew new brain cells in the "memory" section of the brain after only one month of exercise.
• Heal faster—A study by researchers at Ohio State split people into two groups (one that exercised and one that didn't), and inflicted minor wounds on the arms of both groups. Those in the exercise group healed 25% faster (29 days as opposed to 39 days).
• Men have more fun in bed—Men who exercise at the level of three hours of running a week or playing singles tennis for five hours a week were a third less likely to suffer from erectile dysfunction.
• Have fewer hot flashes—As mentioned previously.
• Be pain free—Specifically muscle and joint pain.
• Save money—Healthier people pay less in health-care costs. One study showed that people 50 and older who exercise for at least 30 minutes three or more days a week paid $2,200 less in health-care costs in a year.

These men are forced into their strange fancies by attempting to measure the whole universe by means of their tiny scale.

--Galileo Galilei