SUZANNE'S NEWSLETTER - MARCH 2024

Hello to my wonderful network!

I assume most of you know that I love a good book.? Whether its clinical reading or fiction, there is nothing better than getting drawn into the universe of someone else’s compelling thoughts.

I’m reading such a book right now so instead of simply mentioning it in my recommended “Read of the Month” section of my newsletter, I thought I’d mix things up and make it the focus of this month’s musings.? Yup, it’s that good!

Enough preamble. The book is “10% Happier” by retired American reporter and former anchor of Good Morning America and Nightline, Dan Harris.? He published it in 2014 and I suspect its been sitting on my bookshelf gathering dust and the weight of my intentions to read it since about that time.? As it happens, the only New Year’s resolution I made this year was not to buy myself any more books until I read the ones I already have, which await me in promising stacks. ?It is for this reason that I finally cracked the spine on Mr. Harris’ book.? I’m so glad I did.

The book is about the author’s journey from being a stressed out, cocaine-sniffing journalist (albeit a very successful one) to discovering meditation and the practice of mindfulness and having it transform his life.? What got me is that he is uniformly hilarious throughout the book which was a way more entertaining read than I ever could have imagined given the subject matter!? On that note, I hope no one is groaning when I mention meditation and mindfulness as I believe these topics have reached a level of overexposure comparable to the Kardashians.? Unlike the Kardashians, however, they do represent a way of being that can improve quality of life.

Even though I’m a therapist who has studied these concepts (including taking an 8-week course in mindfulness) and who knows from the research evidence that they are extremely valuable tools to promote mental health, I don’t use them nearly as much as I should.? This is largely because they take practice and like most people, I am big into instant gratification.? Who knew that keeping yourself in good mental health actually takes work?!? I’ve tried meditating before and I’ve always found it difficult because, well… my mind doesn’t really want to shut up or shut down.? For this reason, I’ve mostly given up because it’s felt too hard to keep trying.?

Turns out I’m not alone. In his book, Dan Harris relays that he and many other people have the same frustrating experiences when beginning to meditate.? He talks about how he moved through his internal resistance to get to a place where incorporating meditative and mindful practice made him at least 10% happier, not to mention a kinder and more compassionate human being. ?Hopefully we can all agree that the world would be a better place right now if we were all kinder and more compassionate with each other (take note, Putin and Trump!). The title of the book qualifies, however, that the author did this without “losing his edge”.? I liked this qualifier because who wants to be a pushover? We can still strive and compete, but we don’t have to be jerks in the process.

After reading this book, I have been inspired to resume my attempts at meditation. Pictorial evidence alongside deliberate wardrobe choice shown in photo above. Five minutes of meditation in the morning and periodically throughout the day when I have a few minutes to spare is all I can handle.

I don’t know if what I am doing is truly making a difference but when I do it, I feel clearer and more grounded and this is something.? As such, I am going to start asking my clients and you, dear Reader, to try it out as well to see if it helps.? For what it is worth, the research evidence says that if you are going to do anything to take care of your health (physical or mental), meditation is one of the absolute best things you can do for yourself. ?More specifically, it has beneficial effects on the following:

• Depression and Anxiety
• Drug addiction
• Binge eating
• Smoking cessation
• Loneliness
• ADHD
• Asthma
• Psoriasis
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• Boosting the immune system

OK, I’ll stop now lest I come across with the fanaticism of the newly converted.? Suffice it to say that I wouldn’t preach so hard unless I was firm in my belief that meditation can bring about miraculous results.

RESOURCES

I like to share knowledge and this month; I’m passing on a few gems of information as follows:

• Meditation Apps:? Headspace (headspace.com), InSight Timer (insighttimer.com), Calm (calm.com). All these apps had free downloads last time I checked.
• 2-minute meditation (video) for destressing – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jholcb8Gz0M

I hope this helps.

Suzanne