Hello, I'm Agatha Thrash, a staff physician at 00:00:01.98\00:00:04.52 Uchee Pines Institute 00:00:04.55\00:00:06.53 Today, we'd like to talk with you about the subject of 00:00:06.56\00:00:10.03 "negative thinking. " 00:00:10.06\00:00:11.17 Negative thinking can not only ruin your day, 00:00:11.20\00:00:14.44 it can also spoil your health... 00:00:14.47\00:00:16.67 and we'd like to present some issues having 00:00:16.70\00:00:18.87 to do with this subject, 00:00:18.90\00:00:20.21 so we invite you to stay with us. 00:00:20.25\00:00:21.88 Welcome to "Help Yourself to Health" 00:00:43.34\00:00:45.60 with Dr. Agatha Thrash of Uchee Pines Institute 00:00:45.63\00:00:49.21 And now, here's your host, Dr. Thrash 00:00:49.24\00:00:55.25 Even prophets of old talk about the influence of 00:00:55.28\00:00:59.96 the way we think... on the physical health. 00:00:59.99\00:01:03.34 And so, it isn't unlikely that you would expect 00:01:03.37\00:01:07.50 that physicians would be interested in this topic... 00:01:07.53\00:01:09.82 In fact, I have a number of reports here in my hand 00:01:09.85\00:01:14.75 about people who have thought about this kind of thing 00:01:14.76\00:01:19.58 through the years, as well as in recent months... 00:01:19.61\00:01:22.99 having to do with negative thinking and its influence 00:01:23.02\00:01:27.16 on the human body. 00:01:27.19\00:01:28.77 My colleague at Uchee Pines, Dr. Winn Horsley, 00:01:28.80\00:01:32.94 is going to assist me in talking with you about these various 00:01:32.97\00:01:37.32 topics and this is... 00:01:37.35\00:01:38.85 Dr. Winn Horsley, a Canadian originally, trained in 00:01:38.88\00:01:43.34 various countries of the world and we are very fortunate 00:01:43.37\00:01:46.51 to have him with us. 00:01:46.54\00:01:47.62 And he is now going to talk with you about... what's your topic? 00:01:47.65\00:01:52.17 And the sky is the limit on this subject... 00:01:52.20\00:01:55.52 there are so many things to talk about. 00:01:55.53\00:01:57.38 There really is... I'm focusing on one aspect of it... 00:01:57.39\00:02:01.60 and that is depression. 00:02:01.63\00:02:03.59 Certainly negative thinking would include depression. 00:02:03.60\00:02:09.27 And, when we talk about depression, 00:02:09.30\00:02:13.03 we're actually talking about a bit more than 00:02:13.06\00:02:17.00 say... so and so is depressed about an upcoming exam 00:02:17.03\00:02:22.00 that he hasn't prepared well enough for. 00:02:22.03\00:02:26.28 Nevertheless, I think that, not only among physicians, 00:02:26.31\00:02:31.28 but all people, we wonder about the causes of depression 00:02:31.31\00:02:37.01 and one of the big factors there would be... 00:02:37.04\00:02:39.41 what has led to depression? 00:02:39.44\00:02:41.63 In other words, some bad circumstance, or some bad event 00:02:41.66\00:02:44.73 in one's life MAKING one sad. 00:02:44.76\00:02:48.69 That's one thing... 00:02:48.72\00:02:50.95 But a second point which is raised very clearly 00:02:50.98\00:02:58.93 in some cases where there really isn't an event, 00:02:58.96\00:03:01.47 or even circumstances that one could say clearly would lead one 00:03:01.50\00:03:06.29 to be depressed. 00:03:06.32\00:03:08.00 ...That in fact, there is a basic outlook, 00:03:08.03\00:03:12.47 some people might say, "A bad attitude" 00:03:12.50\00:03:16.09 that the person has. 00:03:16.12\00:03:17.46 In other words, they don't somehow seem to be able to 00:03:17.49\00:03:20.63 orient themselves to confront problems that occur in life, 00:03:20.66\00:03:25.12 and, therefore, enter into depression. 00:03:25.15\00:03:28.13 So, that is a second way of explaining depression... 00:03:28.16\00:03:33.73 And there's really even a third one that one could say, 00:03:33.76\00:03:36.09 and this is one that has come out a lot 00:03:36.12\00:03:38.56 in medical circles in recent years and that is 00:03:38.59\00:03:42.19 ...It is quite well known now, that there are certain 00:03:42.22\00:03:45.45 neurotransmitters in the brain that have to do with emotions. 00:03:45.48\00:03:49.96 What is a neurotransmitter? 00:03:49.99\00:03:52.69 A neurotransmitter is what one nerve will use 00:03:52.72\00:03:58.48 at the end of its long wire connection to another nerve 00:03:58.49\00:04:03.23 to communicate to that next nerve. 00:04:03.26\00:04:06.08 It's the substance that is poured out and then 00:04:06.11\00:04:08.50 stimulates the next nerve. 00:04:08.53\00:04:10.03 And one of these neurotransmitters is serotonin 00:04:10.06\00:04:13.71 which very directly relates to people's state of mind. 00:04:13.74\00:04:18.21 Poured out between these 2 nerves... That's right. 00:04:18.22\00:04:21.15 That's right... the connection there is called a "synapse" 00:04:21.18\00:04:24.13 Well, one could question then... 00:04:24.16\00:04:30.52 Is it just one of these viewpoints that would 00:04:30.55\00:04:34.71 explain the whole issue? 00:04:34.74\00:04:36.19 Some people... one easy way would be to say 00:04:36.22\00:04:39.17 it's the bad circumstance that a person encounters... 00:04:39.18\00:04:41.71 But enough, I think has been said, that shows that there 00:04:41.74\00:04:45.18 are people where there isn't a good explanation there 00:04:45.19\00:04:48.65 And some people, I think this can happen among physicians too 00:04:48.68\00:04:53.20 Well, depression is just a matter of the chemicals 00:04:53.23\00:04:55.92 that you happen to have predominating in your brain. 00:04:55.95\00:04:58.51 And so then it would sound like... 00:04:58.54\00:04:59.90 Well, what can I do about it other than take a drug 00:04:59.93\00:05:02.09 that controls the chemical release. 00:05:02.12\00:05:05.84 I think that instead, we need to be conscious of all 00:05:05.87\00:05:10.25 3 of these factors. 00:05:10.28\00:05:13.77 In any normal person, if some terrible event happens 00:05:13.80\00:05:16.52 in their life, I would think it would be very strange 00:05:16.55\00:05:19.01 if they weren't set back for a while. 00:05:19.04\00:05:23.23 But, the Lord has built in mechanisms of handling 00:05:23.26\00:05:28.96 these problems that occur. 00:05:28.99\00:05:31.62 And, I don't know if one should already jump 00:05:31.65\00:05:35.11 to what things can we do. 00:05:35.14\00:05:36.49 Yes, that would be good. 00:05:36.50\00:05:38.52 Yes, what things can make it so that we don't slip into 00:05:38.55\00:05:43.18 negative thinking and being in already and being 00:05:43.21\00:05:47.44 depressed... what can we do to bring ourselves out? 00:05:47.47\00:05:50.20 Okay... well what you're saying actually I think is a very 00:05:50.23\00:05:56.85 important point and it's one that I hadn't even written down 00:05:56.88\00:06:00.40 And that is that we need to direct our thoughts... 00:06:00.43\00:06:03.40 How can you do that? 00:06:03.43\00:06:05.44 I remember one time, mentioning this is a physiology class and 00:06:05.45\00:06:10.07 one of my little teenage coed students said... 00:06:10.10\00:06:14.25 "Dr. Thrash, how can you do that? 00:06:14.28\00:06:16.56 How can you control your thinking?" 00:06:16.59\00:06:17.90 So how do you do that? 00:06:17.94\00:06:18.93 That's a very good question and I think I stumbled and went 00:06:18.97\00:06:23.00 in circles for quite a time on that issue. 00:06:23.03\00:06:26.50 I've since come to the conclusion... 00:06:26.53\00:06:30.72 In fact, I'm backed up by some very good presentations 00:06:30.73\00:06:35.58 by a psychiatrist that we know well. 00:06:35.59\00:06:37.89 One thing that one CANNOT do is... 00:06:37.90\00:06:41.62 you can't just say, "I want to be happy" 00:06:41.65\00:06:46.14 and automatically change it directly by the will. 00:06:46.17\00:06:51.32 You cannot, by the will, in fact he shows this 00:06:51.35\00:06:55.08 by neurologic diagrams... 00:06:55.11\00:06:59.23 diagrams of the nerve connections. 00:06:59.26\00:07:00.89 We do not have a direct connection from the will 00:07:00.92\00:07:05.57 and from the judgementary of the brain to the area 00:07:05.60\00:07:09.13 where the emotions are... the limbic system. 00:07:09.16\00:07:11.33 But what we CAN do... we can do what you said 00:07:11.34\00:07:14.06 We can, in fact, direct our thoughts. 00:07:14.09\00:07:17.44 That doesn't means that we say... 00:07:17.47\00:07:19.24 "I have to be happy... I have to be happy"... No 00:07:19.27\00:07:21.15 We can start THINKING about the right things 00:07:21.18\00:07:24.27 And, maybe I'll leave it at that. 00:07:24.30\00:07:27.26 There are a number of things, issues... 00:07:27.29\00:07:29.06 Perhaps the best thing would be certain TREMENDOUS 00:07:29.09\00:07:32.29 promises in the Bible. 00:07:32.32\00:07:33.93 Really tremendous promises... Absolutely. 00:07:33.96\00:07:37.19 What I'd like to go to is a little more mundane a point... 00:07:37.22\00:07:42.52 And that is, the point of lighting. 00:07:42.55\00:07:47.18 It's an interesting thing that we humans 00:07:47.19\00:07:52.34 are like the larks and not like the owls. 00:07:52.37\00:07:55.84 We do much better in the daylight. 00:07:55.87\00:07:58.22 Years ago... one never likes to think oneself an old man, 00:07:58.25\00:08:02.57 but, oh, it would be more than 30 years ago... 00:08:02.60\00:08:06.05 I taught school up in Northern British Columbia 00:08:06.08\00:08:09.86 and, great folks up there... and way up in the north country 00:08:09.87\00:08:15.87 a town called Chetwynd which I think is over 00:08:15.90\00:08:21.10 half the way to the Yukon and Alaska from the American border. 00:08:21.11\00:08:27.46 Through that first winter... 00:08:27.47\00:08:29.43 actually, I was there 2 years, both winters... 00:08:29.46\00:08:32.81 When you're far north, the daylight is very short 00:08:32.84\00:08:37.28 around Christmastime and for a number of weeks around it. 00:08:37.31\00:08:42.63 I was at that time teaching school when we'd go to the 00:08:42.66\00:08:46.57 schoolroom, it was dark. 00:08:46.60\00:08:48.49 You would then get some light during the middle of the day. 00:08:48.52\00:08:51.48 But then, by the time I would finish preparing some lessons, 00:08:51.51\00:08:54.74 for the next day, it was dark when I went home. 00:08:54.77\00:08:57.34 And I wouldn't say I was depressed, 00:08:57.37\00:09:01.77 certainly not in a clinical sense... 00:09:01.80\00:09:04.01 But one sensed the suppressive effect. Yes... 00:09:04.04\00:09:10.46 And to me, the most amazing thing was when spring came... 00:09:10.49\00:09:13.54 as those days gradually got longer. 00:09:13.57\00:09:15.53 Walking to school and hearing some birds singing... 00:09:15.56\00:09:18.85 it was much more than I had sensed in the south... 00:09:18.88\00:09:22.45 and I enjoy the birds singing at Uchee Pines... 00:09:22.48\00:09:24.97 But it was like a whole bird and the whole world changed 00:09:25.00\00:09:28.34 into just the sparkling sunlight... Yes. 00:09:28.37\00:09:31.13 This has been well-noted by doctors through the years 00:09:31.14\00:09:35.83 in a very, one could say almost a quantitative way, 00:09:35.86\00:09:40.36 or a scientifically-demonstrated way... 00:09:40.39\00:09:42.93 that the amount of sunlight affects one's state of mind 00:09:42.96\00:09:47.06 and they call it, "seasonal affective disorder" 00:09:47.09\00:09:49.40 when it, in some cases, especially the depression is 00:09:49.43\00:09:52.50 directly related to this... 00:09:52.53\00:09:53.73 And so, being UP in sunlight, getting OUT in the sunlight 00:09:53.74\00:10:00.17 really makes a positive effect on the emotions. 00:10:00.20\00:10:05.98 The second point that one could say, is that exercise 00:10:06.01\00:10:12.99 definitely affects the emotions in a positive way. 00:10:13.02\00:10:17.56 Many of the listeners may have heard of a runner's high. 00:10:17.59\00:10:23.80 It's quite a real thing. 00:10:23.83\00:10:25.73 Once a person... I'm not talking about maybe 00:10:25.74\00:10:27.82 the FIRST time of doing unaccustomed exercise 00:10:27.85\00:10:30.10 where it's hard grit and sweat. 00:10:30.13\00:10:31.87 But as one gets more accustomed to it, 00:10:31.90\00:10:34.30 a prolonged exercise is actually quite an enjoyable thing. 00:10:34.33\00:10:38.24 And, you begin to have a sense of wellbeing and I think 00:10:38.25\00:10:44.03 that what's going on is that the heavy physical stress 00:10:44.06\00:10:48.82 actually somehow... our mind is completely occupied with 00:10:48.85\00:10:52.97 confronting this physical stress and all the mental stresses 00:10:53.00\00:10:56.47 tend to drift into insignificance by comparison. 00:10:56.50\00:10:59.97 I have a couple of other points jotted down... 00:11:00.00\00:11:04.60 All right, very good... please take the time. 00:11:04.61\00:11:08.26 A third point that I have, I don't know if it would be 00:11:08.29\00:11:13.68 controversial... it's one that I've talked about 00:11:13.71\00:11:17.13 in this group of things about depression... and it's prayer. 00:11:17.16\00:11:20.69 It wouldn't be controversial with me... Okay. 00:11:20.72\00:11:24.25 The way I look at this... is that in prayer, 00:11:24.28\00:11:30.18 I'm not saying to be talking to the Lord and saying... 00:11:30.21\00:11:36.44 "I'm feeling just fine. " 00:11:36.47\00:11:38.36 I think that, in fact, we can be like the Psalms do... 00:11:38.37\00:11:42.88 Be quite open with the Lord... how one is feeling. 00:11:42.91\00:11:45.80 But with the Lord, rather than other people... Yes. 00:11:45.83\00:11:49.69 Instead of talking to other people about all the burdens 00:11:49.70\00:11:52.15 and how hard it is... Open up before God 00:11:52.18\00:11:55.17 what one sees as what one is really going through 00:11:55.20\00:11:58.33 and express it clearly and then lay hold of what God has 00:11:58.34\00:12:04.06 promised and leave it with Him which is what 00:12:04.09\00:12:06.39 He invites us to do... and that can make quite a difference. 00:12:06.42\00:12:10.97 Yes, it's this point that's our biggest problem... 00:12:11.00\00:12:13.96 and that leaving it with Him... It's true. 00:12:13.99\00:12:16.35 Because we have such a great propensity as human beings 00:12:16.38\00:12:21.30 to want to do it ourselves... 00:12:21.33\00:12:22.79 We want to do our whole salvation ourselves. 00:12:22.82\00:12:25.64 And, of course, this we cannot do. 00:12:25.67\00:12:28.55 We are dependent on the Savior that has been 00:12:28.56\00:12:34.13 provided for us. 00:12:34.16\00:12:35.93 There's such a tendency in us humans to feel we HAVE to 00:12:35.96\00:12:40.66 do something about it... 00:12:40.69\00:12:42.94 ...even when the Lord has said "Cast all your burdens on Him" 00:12:42.95\00:12:46.43 we need to help the Lord with it... 00:12:46.46\00:12:47.43 Well, no... He doesn't want us to be trying to help Him 00:12:47.46\00:12:50.38 with those burdens... leave them with Him 00:12:50.41\00:12:52.67 Another point that I think... 00:12:52.70\00:12:58.75 Now I'm not a psychiatrist, but I've just seen... 00:12:58.78\00:13:02.31 You're doing pretty well so far. 00:13:02.34\00:13:04.87 I can just talk from my experience of having seen 00:13:04.90\00:13:07.99 so many patients at Uchee Pines... 00:13:08.02\00:13:09.60 Not from what I've done, but from what many of the staff 00:13:09.63\00:13:13.14 are doing all the time... 00:13:13.17\00:13:14.38 What we call "LC's" the Lifestyle counselors 00:13:14.41\00:13:17.15 who actually do a lot more than counseling. 00:13:17.18\00:13:19.33 And the one point I want to make here is... 00:13:19.36\00:13:22.54 the massage that's done... 00:13:22.57\00:13:25.10 What a relief those people get from that. 00:13:25.13\00:13:28.43 And it doesn't have to be a BIG whole body massage. 00:13:28.46\00:13:32.61 I think that one can get a lot of relief with a simple massage 00:13:32.62\00:13:36.59 that we call a "chair massage" ... 10 minutes of just 00:13:36.62\00:13:40.15 In fact the muscles that often tighten up when a person 00:13:40.18\00:13:43.56 is anxious or depressed are these neck and shoulder muscles 00:13:43.59\00:13:48.14 perhaps more than anywhere else in the body... 00:13:48.15\00:13:50.63 And a little massage like that will just do SO much 00:13:50.66\00:13:54.47 And for those of you that can't think of any particular 00:13:54.50\00:13:57.94 techniques, or don't have any training or techniques, 00:13:57.97\00:14:00.85 really, it's so simple. 00:14:00.88\00:14:02.93 If you just put your hands on the person's neck, 00:14:02.96\00:14:05.53 and start doing some pushing. 00:14:05.56\00:14:06.92 In fact, that's the beginning of this chair massage. Yes. 00:14:06.93\00:14:09.65 It can make a real difference. 00:14:09.68\00:14:11.03 Yes, it's just rubbing, rubbing the skin... 00:14:11.04\00:14:14.25 Well, it's going to be deeper into the muscles. 00:14:14.28\00:14:16.75 And the soft tissues... They ALL respond. That's right. 00:14:16.78\00:14:19.71 Even the fat responds to the touch... 00:14:20.39\00:14:24.97 Because the nerves are full... are throughout all this area. 00:14:25.00\00:14:30.70 And they sense the touch and they respond to it. 00:14:30.73\00:14:35.29 Those, Dr. Agatha, were the 4 things I put together. 00:14:35.32\00:14:39.66 Very good... But I went over this what I have just said with 00:14:39.69\00:14:46.54 this same psychiatrist that I value so much... 00:14:46.57\00:14:51.17 And he added a couple of points. 00:14:51.20\00:14:53.25 Very good... Should I mention those? Yes, would you please. 00:14:53.28\00:14:56.18 He made, what I think is REALLY a crucial addition... 00:14:56.21\00:14:59.71 He said, "Depressed people need to become regular 00:14:59.74\00:15:03.77 in their schedules. " Yes... 00:15:03.80\00:15:06.02 They shouldn't be burning the midnight oil. 00:15:06.05\00:15:08.22 They need to have a set time for going to bed. 00:15:08.25\00:15:10.52 A set time for getting up. 00:15:10.55\00:15:12.31 And even a set time for a number of activities during the day. 00:15:12.34\00:15:16.97 And so, my little armchair psychiatry thing needs 00:15:17.00\00:15:21.14 to be added with this from a professional psychiatrist... 00:15:21.17\00:15:23.55 I think a crucial point... That's one. 00:15:23.58\00:15:27.31 One other point that is actually in inspired writing... 00:15:27.34\00:15:35.18 has to do with... There is nothing to get over 00:15:35.21\00:15:41.42 depression that quite equals when my focus, 00:15:41.45\00:15:44.77 instead of being turned on myself, 00:15:44.80\00:15:46.61 is turned out to someone else that's in need. 00:15:46.64\00:15:49.18 So, if you can help the depressed person 00:15:49.21\00:15:53.39 to find someone that's in either a worse situation, 00:15:53.42\00:15:56.79 or a bad situation, and have him get involved in doing 00:15:56.82\00:16:02.87 something for this other individual... 00:16:02.90\00:16:05.60 ...it's a tremendous relief to this over-focusing on oneself. 00:16:05.63\00:16:10.80 Yes indeed, it is... 00:16:10.83\00:16:12.68 And I appreciate these remarks very much. 00:16:12.71\00:16:15.98 And, as you can see, there is much that we can do... 00:16:16.01\00:16:19.20 Number 1, to avoid getting into a pattern of 00:16:19.23\00:16:23.12 negative thinking. 00:16:23.15\00:16:24.28 And then, if we're already in the pattern of negative thinking 00:16:24.31\00:16:27.23 ...there is much that we can do to bring ourselves out of that. 00:16:27.24\00:16:30.66 Now, we have talked about some of the things involved in the 00:16:30.67\00:16:34.90 emotional and mental things having to do with 00:16:34.93\00:16:38.00 negative thinking 00:16:38.03\00:16:39.60 And I have now, Don Miller. 00:16:39.63\00:16:41.64 Don Miller is a Lifestyle Counselor at Uchee Pines 00:16:41.67\00:16:44.47 And Don Miller, you have something important to tell us. 00:16:44.50\00:16:48.62 I always hope that I have something important 00:16:48.65\00:16:51.92 to tell people and important to say 00:16:51.95\00:16:53.74 But, I guess one of the most important things I can do 00:16:53.77\00:16:56.35 right now to sort of progress this discussion on depression 00:16:56.38\00:17:01.50 is to do one of the most important treatments 00:17:01.51\00:17:03.54 that you can do... It costs no money. 00:17:03.57\00:17:05.76 And it's been shown in recent studies to be effective. 00:17:05.79\00:17:09.76 "Do this... Or you can do this... 00:17:09.79\00:17:15.35 Any type of a smile, even a forced smile has been shown 00:17:15.38\00:17:19.89 to release the brain chemical called "endorphins" 00:17:19.92\00:17:22.71 which is another term for or we have another term 00:17:22.74\00:17:25.26 for it called "the happy hormones" 00:17:25.29\00:17:27.55 We find that if we just would smile more, 00:17:27.58\00:17:30.33 we would have a tendency to lift our spirits. 00:17:30.36\00:17:33.10 There's a law of our being called... 00:17:33.13\00:17:34.63 "The law of reciprocal influence" 00:17:34.66\00:17:37.23 It's a biblical law. 00:17:37.26\00:17:38.67 The Bible says, "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he" 00:17:38.70\00:17:42.65 You know, if I were a research biologist, or neurobiologist, 00:17:42.68\00:17:47.06 I would like to go to the Bible and take some of these 00:17:47.09\00:17:49.24 statements like... "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he" 00:17:49.27\00:17:52.32 and set about to prove it 00:17:52.35\00:17:54.20 because one think I would know for sure... 00:17:54.23\00:17:56.22 the premise would be true. 00:17:56.25\00:17:57.92 I would know that if a person expresses happy things, 00:17:57.95\00:18:01.96 it will raise his spirits. 00:18:01.99\00:18:03.91 And so, as we express happy things by our voice, 00:18:03.94\00:18:07.66 we are going to raise our spirits... 00:18:07.69\00:18:09.66 But, on the other side of the coin, 00:18:09.69\00:18:12.06 we get up in the morning... "I don't feel good" 00:18:12.09\00:18:15.37 And you walk downstairs and you tell your spouse 00:18:15.40\00:18:17.80 or someone in your family, "I don't feel good" 00:18:17.83\00:18:20.09 and you snap at the dog and you do all these terrible things 00:18:20.12\00:18:23.80 All it will do for you is lower your state of depression 00:18:23.83\00:18:28.06 that you're getting into until you are going to really 00:18:28.09\00:18:29.85 hit rock bottom. 00:18:29.88\00:18:31.38 So the body wants to lift you up and you can do that by 00:18:31.41\00:18:34.39 just expressing positive things. 00:18:34.42\00:18:36.83 Dr. Horsley was talking about something as simple 00:18:36.86\00:18:39.32 as a chair massage. 00:18:39.35\00:18:40.42 And in a recent study that I read, 00:18:40.45\00:18:42.68 ...is the way you can get an old person who is agitated 00:18:42.69\00:18:47.97 or irritated, or upset... to calm down is to 00:18:48.00\00:18:51.77 give them a simple hand massage... 00:18:51.80\00:18:54.10 Just grabbing hold of their hand and giving them 00:18:54.13\00:18:56.90 a hand massage has been shown to calm the spirits 00:18:56.93\00:19:00.34 and make them feel better. 00:19:00.37\00:19:01.38 Another thing you can use is music. 00:19:01.41\00:19:03.85 And that's been shown biblically when old King Saul would 00:19:03.88\00:19:07.03 get upset... they'd call in David 00:19:07.06\00:19:08.51 and he would play some nice music on his harp. 00:19:08.54\00:19:11.79 You know, we're not talking about the music you'd hear today 00:19:11.82\00:19:14.57 It was a calming music which would calm the spirits. 00:19:14.58\00:19:17.68 Now in the brain, we've got lots of chemicals going on and 00:19:17.71\00:19:20.82 lots of electricity popping and going on, 00:19:20.85\00:19:23.63 but we have some things called, sort of like opiate receptors 00:19:23.66\00:19:29.07 ...some little receptors on our nerve cells that receive 00:19:29.10\00:19:33.58 opiates and for a long time, they wondered why in the world 00:19:33.61\00:19:36.41 does the body have a receptor for the juice of a poppy flower 00:19:36.44\00:19:40.85 Until they started discovering in the brain, some encephalins 00:19:40.88\00:19:45.21 which basically means "in the head" 00:19:45.24\00:19:47.21 and what they found was on the spinal column, 00:19:47.24\00:19:52.47 there would be a band that had a whole lot of these 00:19:52.50\00:19:55.49 receptors for these opiates. 00:19:55.52\00:19:57.38 There was also a part of the brain that had a whole lot of 00:19:57.41\00:20:00.35 receptors for these opiates. 00:20:00.38\00:20:02.07 And they wondered why in the world were these there... 00:20:02.10\00:20:04.51 Well then they found out about these encephalins which are 00:20:04.54\00:20:07.05 helping... as we have a pain sensation, they go to that area 00:20:07.08\00:20:11.68 and slow down the transmission; therefore, lessening the pain. 00:20:11.71\00:20:14.94 and these things are produced by deep breathing, by exercising, 00:20:14.97\00:20:19.52 And by the very exercise of a happy experience in our minds. 00:20:19.55\00:20:22.99 And so, I guess if I had anything important to say, 00:20:23.02\00:20:26.89 Dr. Thrash, it would be the fact that... 00:20:26.90\00:20:28.87 As we express happy things, we will have a brain chemistry 00:20:28.90\00:20:33.15 reaction in our bodies that are going to make us 00:20:33.16\00:20:35.23 happy in the long run. 00:20:35.26\00:20:36.50 Yes... I especially like that thing of your saying that a 00:20:36.54\00:20:40.96 smile will raise the level of the mood... 00:20:40.99\00:20:45.12 And, of course, we probably all know that that is true. 00:20:45.15\00:20:48.24 If we put a smile on the face, we are very likely to let 00:20:48.27\00:20:52.39 the mood come along behind that. 00:20:52.42\00:20:54.97 Of course, sometimes that smile is quite empty... 00:20:55.00\00:20:57.46 But we want to communicate with our Heavenly Father who 00:20:57.49\00:21:02.93 GIVES US the peace, the joy, the pleasure that we can get 00:21:02.96\00:21:08.15 from those things which He has made. 00:21:08.18\00:21:10.39 Now I have a paper here about adolescents who 00:21:10.42\00:21:14.88 are diabetic and what their having diabetes does 00:21:14.91\00:21:19.53 to their moods. 00:21:19.56\00:21:21.83 And we know that the blood sugars go up and down 00:21:21.86\00:21:25.76 in diabetes and because of these wide swings in the 00:21:25.79\00:21:31.67 blood sugars, we have also swings in the mood of 00:21:31.70\00:21:36.05 people who have diabetes. 00:21:36.08\00:21:38.37 Now the way that we eat can influence the way 00:21:38.38\00:21:41.67 that we think quite a lot. 00:21:41.70\00:21:43.08 There are some foods that have, naturally, a sort of calming 00:21:43.11\00:21:47.73 effect on the mind. 00:21:47.76\00:21:50.29 There are also some foods that have a sort of a stimulatory 00:21:50.32\00:21:54.14 effect on the mind. 00:21:54.17\00:21:56.40 There are some foods that give us such a jolt 00:21:56.43\00:22:00.18 of stimulation that we may actually increase 00:22:00.21\00:22:02.66 the finger tremor and we may have other difficulties 00:22:02.69\00:22:07.16 that are brought on simply by those foods, 00:22:07.19\00:22:09.14 or by those drinks. 00:22:09.18\00:22:10.77 Now I have asked one of my colleagues at Uchee Pines 00:22:10.80\00:22:14.77 to show you some of the foods that can be useful 00:22:14.80\00:22:19.35 in helping people to have calmness and peaceful thoughts. 00:22:19.38\00:22:24.31 This is Lidia Seda, who is one of our Lifestyle Counselors 00:22:24.34\00:22:29.92 at Uchee Pines and she and I travel together at times 00:22:29.95\00:22:34.98 And I know that you have something that's going to 00:22:34.99\00:22:38.40 taste good and now I see that it looks good. 00:22:38.43\00:22:42.04 Tell us about that. 00:22:42.07\00:22:43.39 Well what I have here is what's called baked oatmeal... 00:22:43.42\00:22:46.63 And the wonderful thing about oats is that, well first of all, 00:22:46.64\00:22:50.07 they're easily digested. 00:22:50.10\00:22:51.90 Number 2, they can act as a mild laxative for those that may be 00:22:51.91\00:22:56.08 suffering from constipation... 00:22:56.11\00:22:57.54 But also that they're high in melatonin. 00:22:57.57\00:22:59.79 And they have found that individuals who are depressed 00:22:59.80\00:23:04.18 will suffer sleep deprivation. 00:23:04.21\00:23:06.85 What happens is there's a hormone that's produced when 00:23:06.88\00:23:09.65 individuals are depressed called CRH. 00:23:09.66\00:23:12.72 And that hormone would actually decrease melatonin production. 00:23:12.75\00:23:16.74 And we know, Dr. Thrash, that when someone's depressed, 00:23:16.77\00:23:21.09 they probably won't sleep as well, 00:23:21.12\00:23:23.76 and when someone doesn't sleep as well, 00:23:23.79\00:23:25.44 they can easily get depressed. 00:23:25.47\00:23:27.47 Yes, that's true. 00:23:27.50\00:23:28.56 So you have an interesting back and forth combination 00:23:28.59\00:23:32.74 with the two. 00:23:32.77\00:23:33.86 Something else that happens or that we need to keep in mind 00:23:33.89\00:23:37.58 is that another hormone that is needed for melatonin production 00:23:37.59\00:23:42.27 is tryptophan. 00:23:42.30\00:23:43.58 Tryptophan though, can have some competitors... 00:23:43.61\00:23:48.55 And those competitors are found in whole milk, 00:23:48.58\00:23:51.96 steak and chicken breasts. 00:23:51.99\00:23:55.34 There are certain types of amino acids, 5 to be exact, 00:23:55.37\00:24:00.26 that will compete with tryptophan and, as I mentioned, 00:24:00.29\00:24:03.60 tryptophan is necessary for melatonin production. 00:24:03.63\00:24:06.32 So when we have high amounts of these amino acids, 00:24:06.35\00:24:09.65 and less tryptophan. 00:24:09.68\00:24:11.23 Dr. Agatha Thrash, we will also have a problem with 00:24:11.26\00:24:14.83 sleep and melatonin production as well... Yes, that's true. 00:24:14.86\00:24:18.15 And, something else we need to keep in mind is that the 00:24:18.18\00:24:20.80 frontal lobe needs to be well-cared for. 00:24:20.83\00:24:23.45 They have found that individuals who have poor frontal lobe 00:24:23.48\00:24:27.05 function, will have a tendency to be more depressed. 00:24:27.08\00:24:30.93 And, what we need to do... 00:24:30.96\00:24:32.72 There are various things we can do, but one important habit 00:24:32.75\00:24:36.59 that we can attain to is good nutrition. 00:24:36.62\00:24:40.20 Eating foods that are complex carbohydrates and not 00:24:40.23\00:24:45.01 refined carbohydrates would be excellent 00:24:45.02\00:24:47.78 in nourishing the frontal lobe. 00:24:47.81\00:24:49.49 Now you may ask... "But why?" 00:24:49.52\00:24:51.16 Well, what happens is when we eat foods that are refined, 00:24:51.19\00:24:55.84 that the body then takes in and sugar is released 00:24:55.87\00:25:01.48 at much quicker and higher levels, 00:25:01.51\00:25:04.25 the pancreas releases insulin to take care of those high levels 00:25:04.33\00:25:08.01 of glucose which has been converted from sugar, 00:25:08.04\00:25:12.43 or from the carbohydrates. 00:25:12.46\00:25:15.17 And, what happens then is that there is a drop 00:25:15.20\00:25:19.88 in sugar in the bloodstream, or glucose in the bloodstream. 00:25:19.91\00:25:23.86 And the frontal lobe needs minute by minute 00:25:23.89\00:25:27.04 sugar to help sustain it to nourish it. 00:25:27.05\00:25:30.55 And again, I said the frontal lobe is one aspect 00:25:30.58\00:25:33.71 that needs to be cared for, for there we can have 00:25:33.74\00:25:37.05 discernment, well-being, knowledge... 00:25:37.08\00:25:40.30 so, if we have a good, healthy frontal lobe, 00:25:40.33\00:25:43.65 we can prevent depression as well. 00:25:43.68\00:25:46.92 And having complex carbohydrates like the oats, 00:25:46.95\00:25:50.43 like the baked oatmeal that we have here can help 00:25:50.46\00:25:54.68 with that as well. 00:25:54.71\00:25:55.85 I'm very eager to hear you talk about it because it 00:25:55.88\00:25:59.26 smells WONDERFUL! 00:25:59.29\00:26:00.26 Well, it's easily made, VERY easily made... 00:26:00.29\00:26:03.40 that's one of the reasons why I like this recipe SO much. 00:26:03.43\00:26:06.82 The basic ingredients are: 00:26:06.85\00:26:07.82 And basically what you do is that you mix it all together. 00:26:30.19\00:26:34.13 You layer the bottom with dates... 00:26:35.17\00:26:36.83 then with whatever fruit you may like... perhaps bananas. 00:26:36.86\00:26:40.34 Then you put your oats in. You add your milk. 00:26:40.37\00:26:43.37 Or, if you like, you can use water. 00:26:43.40\00:26:45.95 And when I say "milk" I mean soymilk of course. 00:26:45.98\00:26:49.70 They have also found that tryptophan is found in soy. 00:26:49.71\00:26:53.73 Oh yes... and we want the tryptophan to help with the 00:26:53.76\00:26:57.75 melatonin production. 00:26:58.14\00:26:59.27 So putting this in the baked oatmeal will also help 00:26:59.28\00:27:03.31 with the tryptophan production. 00:27:03.34\00:27:05.52 But if you don't want to use the soymilk, you can use water 00:27:05.55\00:27:08.63 and that will work just as well. 00:27:08.64\00:27:11.67 So this is what we can do to help keep us from getting 00:27:11.70\00:27:16.15 depressed. 00:27:16.18\00:27:17.51 My... this looks so good. 00:27:17.54\00:27:19.34 I wish it were mealtime, I would ask you if I could have this! 00:27:19.37\00:27:22.46 Well, Dr. Agatha, we might be able to have it some other time. 00:27:22.49\00:27:26.30 Thank you so much... I really appreciate this. 00:27:26.33\00:27:28.98 It's a beautiful display of just what the Lord has 00:27:29.01\00:27:33.23 made for us... that can be used to help us to function better. 00:27:33.26\00:27:37.98 So, as we have looked at these things as we have discussed 00:27:37.99\00:27:42.02 a few of the things that have to do with the whole topic 00:27:42.05\00:27:45.33 of negative thinking, we hope that you will remember 00:27:45.36\00:27:48.49 the Bible's admonition that a merry heart doeth good 00:27:48.52\00:27:52.56 like a medicine. 00:27:52.57\00:27:53.67 So may you have that as your experience. 00:27:53.71\00:27:55.71