Kate Middleton recorded an introduction to a great animation about mental health created just for kids.

Related on EcoSalon
Pollution and Environmental Health: Are There Any Pristine Places Left on Earth?
Can Instagram Actually Improve Mental Health? #NowWhat
Making Mental Health Fashionable

The post Mental Health Education for Kids via… Kate Middleton? [Video] appeared first on EcoSalon.

We all know terrible stories about how social media can diminish a sense of identity and well-being, especially among young people or those already suffering from self-esteem issues, depression, etc.

Well, there’s a silver lining. It looks like social media can also help those impressionable teens and young adults feel better, too.

More than selfies

While there’s nothing wrong with taking and posting selfies—we love doing it ourselves—people, specifically teens, can get caught up in trying to look perfect. In addition to striving for the perfect look, teens also can become obsessed with living the perfect life. All this “competition” can increase depression and anxiety teens may already have.

So, when Instagram launched its May campaign, #HereForYou, people—specifically teens—took note.

It’s safe to assume that Instagram executives knew that its now-active campaign would work. After all, Instagram users have been talking about their mental health for a while.

“Through Instagram I was able to connect with other girls who were going through similar things,” Elyse Fox, famous Instagrammer, says.

Fox started @sadgirlsclubpbg, “an in-person group to show girls with mental illness that they aren’t alone,” Teen Vogue reports.

Although Fox feels free to share her feelings now, she didn’t always have that confidence. But because of her bravery, she’s helping other girls on Instagram become more vocal, too.

Why hashtags work

There is an inherent vulnerability with mental health.

Opening up about mental health issues means talking about something that culture typically deems “wrong and bad”, Nancy M. Mae, psychology expert, energy medicine expert, and author, says

Keeping conversations about mental health open and honest is the only way people can face their illnesses.

“It can often be very helpful to talk with others who are further along the path than where you are,” Mae says.

“They can give you the courage and inspiration to move forward on your own path. This is an element of social proof whereby we see someone else taking action, which in turn can propel us to take action as well.”

Mae explains that Instagram’s visual aspect can help build trust. So, hashtag campaigns are more than just a trend—they actually help users fell like they are part of a community.

“This gives you the opportunity to find your tribe, the people who you feel understand you, who can ‘see’ you and hear you,” Mae says.

A person’s life gets easier when she is heard and seen…That’s how she knows she isn’t alone.

Related on EcoSalon
Study Reveals 5 Minutes of ‘Green Exercise’ Boosts Mental Health
Making Mental Health Fashionable
What Binge-Watching Says About Your Mental Health

The post Can Instagram Actually Improve Mental Health? #NowWhat appeared first on EcoSalon.

Just when you thought the tormenting and psychological trauma was over, you experience a new kind of hell: workplace bullying.

Maybe you were one of the lucky ones who made it through elementary, middle, high school, and possibly even college, relatively unscathed from bullying. School is over and you’re settling into your career. You decorate your cubicle, greet your coworkers each morning, and abide by the company’s rules. But rather than feel at ease everyday, you’re beginning to have a sense of dread, nausea even, that feels like a knot in the pit of your stomach. You start to dislike going into the office, obsessing over what’s happening at work, and are taking more and more time off for mental health breaks. There may be a sense of shame or disbelief about the opposition you’re experiencing from a certain someone. And you may be wondering why you’re being singled out.

You may be a victim of workplace bullying.

A University of Phoenix research study conducted in 2008 by Dr. Judy Blando revealed that 47 percent of participants admitted to being bullied during their career and 75 percent reported witnessing mistreatment of others. The study indicates that in recent years the government has discouraged bullying and violence in schools, but has done little to address workplace bullying by passing legislation to prevent bosses and coworkers from harming others in the workplace.

According to the Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI), workplace bullying is defined as repeated, health-harming mistreatment of one or more persons (the targets) by one or more perpetrators. It is abusive conduct that is: threatening, humiliating, or intimidating, and involves work interference, like sabotage, which prevents work from getting done, or verbal abuse. The study also includes in its definition the inclusion of both intentional and unintentional behaviors that a coworker perceives as an intentional effort to be harmed, controlled, or driven from the workplace.

Workplace bullying has many motives and is believed to be driven by the perpetrator’s need to control the targeted individual. It’s thought to be initiated by bullies who choose their targets, timing, location, and methods, escalates to get others to side with the bully, either voluntarily or through coercion, and is even likened to domestic violence at work.

In addition to the definition, it’s important to be able to identify the signs of workplace bullying in order to protect yourself and others. Here are just a few of the experiences you may face at work. These have been compiled from the Workplace Bullying Institute.

Signs of Workplace Bullying

1. You are given a seemingly impossible task for which you execute the work, yet it is never good enough for the boss.
2. Others at work have been told to stop working, talking, or socializing with you.
3. No matter what you do, you are never left alone to do your job without interference.
4. People feel justified screaming and yelling at you in front of others, but you are punished if you scream back.
5. HR tells you that your harassment isn’t illegal and that you have to “work it out between yourselves.”
6. Everyone–co-workers, senior bosses, HR–agrees (in person and orally) that your tormentor is a jerk, but there is nothing they will do about it (and later, when you ask for their support, they deny having agreed with you).
7. Your request to transfer to an open position under another boss is mysteriously denied.

Workplace bullying doesn’t end at the office, either. It’s often something you take home with you everyday. From feeling so ill before work that you think you may vomit, to skyrocketing blood pressure and being urged to find a new job by your doctor, bullying can manifest physically. It also creates mental anguish that may negatively affect your relationships with others and yourself. From days spent feeling exhausted and lifeless, to no longer enjoying your favorite activities, depression and anxiety are not far-fetched.

Fortunately, there is hope. Even if it means looking for new employment, removing yourself from an abusive workplace is the best decision. Here are some suggestions on how to deal with a bully from the Workplace Bullying Institute.

• Naming the problem is the first step. Whether you identify it as bullying, psychological harassment, psychological violence, emotional abuse, it’s important to give it a name, especially when bullying is downplayed because it’s not the textbook definition of illegal.
• It’s also crucial that you don’t blame yourself, and recognize that you did not do anything to invite the unwanted abuse.
• WBI recommends taking sick leave or short-term disability, which can be granted by your doctor. While out, it’s suggested that you do five things: (1) check your mental health with a professional and discuss your plan of action (stay and fight, or leave); (2) check your physical health for stress-related diseases: (3) research state and federal legal options and talk to an attorney; (4) Make the bottom-line business case for stopping the bully, found here; and (5) start your job search for the next position.
• Finally, it’s recommended that you expose the bully. Because targets lose their jobs–involuntarily or by choice for their health’s sake–in more than 77 percent of cases, it’s paramount that you present evidence against the perpetrator.

This is just a brief look into workplace bullying and what it entails. The Workplace Bullying Institute is an invaluable resource to those who are experiencing related problems at work. Most importantly, you are not alone and shouldn’t be ashamed to confide in someone you trust.

How did you deal with a bully at work? Share your thoughts on the EcoSalon Facebook page.

Related on EcoSalon

Bully: A New Documentary To Empower the Underdog
Kind Club Campaign On a Mission to Stop Girl Bullying
Acceptable Cyber Bullying: Why Are Anonymous Commenters So Vicious?

The post 7 Signs of Workplace Bullying: Yes, It Happens and Here’s How to Stop It appeared first on EcoSalon.

Fashion can be beautiful, inspiring, moving. But now, thanks to Erykah Badu and Kerby Jean-Raymond, it’s also empowering and educational.

Badu, singer and all-around creative, and Jean-Raymond, the brains behind high-end fashion label Pyer Moss, partnered to create a clothing line dedicated to spreading mental health awareness.

DOUBLE BIND

Badu was drawn to Jean-Raymond’s creative direction because of the message DOUBLE BIND, the line, is conveying.

“DOUBLE BIND is a term that describes two conflicting ideas,” Badu says. “Bi-polar disorder or depression is a subject that is discussed very little in our community [the black community] and is over shadowed by what people would rather call crazy. As racism and sexism and genderism and prejudice take the main stage on our screens, perhaps, recognize that depression may be at the very root of it all. Hurt people…HURT people.”

Although Jean-Raymond’s new line has raised quite a few eyebrows, the designer is used to his work ruffling feathers.

To drive home just how much the black community needs to embrace mental illness awareness, Jean-Raymond dedicated part of his collection to MarShawn McCarrel, a Black Lives Matter activist who killed himself on the steps of the Ohio State House. To remember the activist’s life, Jean-Raymond had a model carry a sign printed with McCarrel’s last social media posting: “My demons won today. I’m sorry.”

The rest of Jean-Raymond’s new collection contained “sweatshirts that advised people to seek professional help should they experience a list of emotions and neutral colored tops with a statement the designer probably heard once before: ‘You don’t have any friends in L.A,’”  Teen Vogue reports.

Black Lives Matter

Jean-Raymond’s collections are personal. The Fall 2o16 collection was a direct response to the depression he felt following his spring 2016 show, which featured clothing inspired by Black Lives Matter.

While Jean-Raymond was inspired to creatively reflect on the movement because of many personal experiences, there was one instance that really influenced his spring 2016 line.

In early February, the designer told Vice a terrifying story.  Jean-Raymond was walking through his neighborhood one evening. He had recently had his arm set in a cast. As he was walking, the designer lifted his casted arm to scratch his face and immediately heard someone yell, “Put it down!”

“He turned to his left and saw three police officers pointing their firearms at his body. They thought his cast was a gun,” Vice reports.

“I felt like I wanted to piss on myself,” Jean-Raymond says. “I just yelled, ‘It’s a cast! It’s a cast! It’s a cast!'”

Mental Health Fashion

While all of the clothing and accessories in Jean-Raymond and Badu’s Fall 2016 line were related to mental health awareness, the designers also wanted to convey that these hidden diseases hurt everyone, Huffington Post reports.

“Kerby [Jean-Raymond] wanted to communicate that working-class people deal with depression every day,” Badu says. “The deeper conversation needed to be had and I think through this performance art and fashion show it was discussed. And hopefully creates a little dialogue about it — a little more than usual.”

Obviously, Jean-Raymond is making waves in the fashion world for good reason. We can’t wait to see what he will creatively interpret next year.

Related on EcoSalon

Erykah Badu Loves Bees as Much as You

Dealing With Depression as a Celebrity: #NowWhat

Are Psychedelics a Gateway to a Thriving Meditation Practice?

Image via Pyer Moss’ Facebook page

The post Making Mental Health Fashionable appeared first on EcoSalon.

If you see faces in things where no one else does, congratulations! You’re neurotic. Welcome to the club. Here, have a t-shirt.

Yep, seeing faces in inanimate objects is a thing. It’s called pareidolia, and recent research from the NNT Communication Science Laboratory in Tokyo suggests people who think their electrical socket looks alarmed, their car looks happy, and their house looks suspicious, are more likely to be neurotic. Excuse me while I add this to my scroll of emotional baggage.

For the study, 166 Japanese undergrads completed questionnaires assessing their personalities and emotional tendencies. They were then asked to look at a pattern of random dots, describe the shapes they saw in the dots and draw in those shapes with a pen.

Some participants were more likely to perceive faces and other inanimate objects in the dots than others, and researchers found the greatest likelihood of experiencing pareidolia was linked to neuroticism and positive moods. And as luck would have it, women were more likely than men to see faces in the dots.

The researchers aren’t yet sure the play-by-play behind why neurotic people are more likely to see faces in things. One possibility is that since they’re more prone to negative thoughts and feelings and are less emotionally stable (gee, thanks), it puts them on higher alert for threats in their environment, so they may see faces where there aren’t any.

That said, pareidolia is also linked to good moods, which past research has linked to enhanced creativity and creative problem-solving. So it’s also possible that positive feelings expand our awareness and attention to detail, allowing us to see every object from multiple angles and possibilities. (Or so I’m telling myself.)

Though after reading this, I’m sure your going to see faces in things no matter how hard you try not to…

1. Onion or Angry Bird?

https://twitter.com/FacesPics/status/611974368420306944/photo/1

2. Fountain or Cookie Monster?

https://twitter.com/FacesPics/status/597449807515516928/photo/1

3. Tape Measure or Mr. T?

https://twitter.com/FacesPics/status/609417818984026112/photo/1

4. Yip Yip Yip Yip Yip Yip or Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope?

Yip Yip! pic.twitter.com/wZxYZNdhiM

— Faces in Things (@FacesPics) November 24, 2014

5. Piece of Wood or ET?

ET in the cross section of a tree pic.twitter.com/4QZyxNNRpa

— Faces in Things (@FacesPics) January 19, 2015

Don’t blame me for sprinkling your day with a little neuroticism. Blame science.

Fess up: Do you see faces in things?

Related on EcoSalon

42 Introvert Problems that Aren’t Problems at All (to Introverts)

Climate Change is Making You Depressed (But Not for Obvious Reasons

What Binge-Watching Says About Your Mental Health

Looks like a face image via Shutterstock

The post The Real Reason You See Faces in Things appeared first on EcoSalon.

Climate change is a major bummer. Already, the warming planet is wreaking havoc around the world in the form of natural disasters, environmental contamination, ocean acidification and, oh yeah, almost zero fresh water for us to drink or bathe in. Plus, the thought of a planet without polar bears, as terrifying as they are, is enough to make anyone with a heart (not you, Donald Trump!) rather melancholy, if not downright weepy.

Even leading climate scientists and experts are struggling with depression over this looming doom, as Grist recently reported. The data alone are staggering enough to make anyone feel hopeless about all the human-inflicted damage to the planet; and the fact that, despite the mounting scientific evidence, there’s still so much resistance and denial about climate change around the world, also takes a pretty hefty toll on researchers and those among us who understand the gravity of the situation.

But the fun doesn’t stop there.

Scientists say our moods are more tied to the environment than we may realize. “We’ve totally misunderstood our connection to the natural world,” Ashlee Cunsolo Willox, a Canada Research Chair at Cape Breton University told The Tyee. Cunsolo is looking at how rising global temperatures affect the mental well-being of Canada’s Inuit: “Very few people are going to be untouched,” she says. Other studies point to the benefits nature has in boosting our moods, and with climate change threatening to wipe out many of our favorite nature spots, it’s no surprise this will have lasting effects on our psyche.

“Our psyches may in fact remain deeply vulnerable to environmental change,” Geoff Dembicki wrote in The Tyee. “After Hurricane Katrina, for instance, Harvard researchers found the rate of ‘serious mental illness’ among survivors to be double that of the general population.”

If a warming planet makes us depressed, and climate scientists become too depressed to do anything about it, this doesn’t bode well for the future of humanity. “Look to Australia, where 25 percent of kids ‘honestly believe [the world] will come to an end before they get older,'” reports Dembicki.

While the world is not likely to come to an end anytime soon, those of us who call it home (including Donald Trump and fierce polar bears), might soon find ourselves reconciling with a stark new set of nature-compromised circumstances. It ain’t gonna be pretty, the experts warn, and the slow build-up means increasing cases of depression along the way to what could be the total collapse of humankind. Pass the Prozac. The good news, however—if there really is any—is that we may be so busy dealing with climate change-inflicted natural disasters that we may not have enough time to lay around on the couch feeling blue. But let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.

Find Jill on Twitter and Instagram

Related on EcoSalon

How to Deal with Grief

Going Beyond Big Pharma: Anxiety and Depression Treatment with Psychedelic Mushrooms

Climate Change Might Make Earth Beer Heaven: 24 Breweries Take Action on the Climate Declaration

Polar bear image via Shutterstock

The post Climate Change is Making You Depressed (But Not for Obvious Reasons) appeared first on EcoSalon.

When you get an email from Michael Pollan, you open it.

Ok, well it’s not like I’m receiving personal emails from Pollan (although one can always dream), but when we recently sent out an email with a link to some of his latest work, I was intrigued.

Pollan was sending out a link to his latest article in The New Yorker, The Trip Treatment, in which he takes a look at the new research into psychedelics, specifically the use of psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms.

NYU has been performing research on cancer patients, in its Psilocybin Cancer Anxiety Study, and with very positive results, which Pollan uses to kick off his article. Pollan wrote in his email, “This might at first seem like a departure from writing about food. But those who have followed my work for some time know I’ve also had a longstanding interest in altered states of consciousness. I wrote about cannabis in “The Botany of Desire” and opium in Harper’s Magazine. For me, these remarkable molecules are part of the same co-evolutionary story, products of nature with the power to change us.”

But while nature may have the power to change us, in terms of being able to research it, in the past few decades, the doors remained closed. “Between 1953 and 1973, the federal government spent four million dollars to fund a hundred and sixteen studies of LSD, involving more than seventeen hundred subjects,” writes Pollan. “Through the mid-nineteen-sixties, psilocybin and LSD were legal and remarkably easy to obtain.” Later in 1970, Richard Nixon signed the Controlled Substances Act, prohibiting the use of most psychedelics for any purpose.

Now, those doors are slowly starting to open again, and researchers are looking back into the use of psilocybin for mental health treatment, and there are clinical trials taking place across the country, from NYU to Johns Hopkins to UCLA. The hope is that researchers can use psilocybin to treat not only anxiety, but addiction and depression.

There is certainly a fear that advocating for such research is that the public will assume that psilocybin is a drug that’s safe for use. “The recreational use of psychedelics is famously associated with instances of psychosis, flashback, and suicide,” Pollan explains. “But these adverse effects have not surfaced in the trials of drugs at N.Y.U. and Johns Hopkins. After nearly five hundred administrations of psilocybin, the researchers have reported no serious negative effects.”

But Pollan is quick to point out why this is: “This is perhaps less surprising than it sounds, since volunteers are self-selected, carefully screened and prepared for the experience, and are then guided through it by therapists well trained to manage the episodes of fear and anxiety that many volunteers do report. Apart from the molecules involved, a psychedelic therapy session and a recreational psychedelic experience have very little in common.”

Psilocybin isn’t the only hallucinogen that has been researched lately for its link to mental health benefits. In 2014 a study was published in the Journal of Pharmacology that looked at the benefits of LSD-assisted psychotherapy, in regards to anxiety associated with life-threatening diseases. The researchers concluded, “LSD administered in a medically supervised psychotherapeutic setting can be safe and generate lasting benefits in patients with a life-threatening disease. Explanatory models for the therapeutic effects of LSD warrant further study.”

While mostly associated counterculture, psychedelics have played a role in some of the more mainstream of our cultural role models. Apple CEO Steve Jobs once told a New York Times reporter that “doing LSD was one of the two or three most important things I have done in my life,” prompting LSD inventor Albert Hofmann to write a personal letter to Jobs in 2007 asking for funding for research into psychedelics and mental health treatment.

In a study at Johns Hopkins a few years ago, researchers looked at the effects of psilocybin and long-lasting psychological growth. According to Time, “Fourteen months after participating in the study, 94% of those who received the drug said the experiment was one of the top five most meaningful experiences of their lives; 39% said it was the single most meaningful experience.” Friends and family of the participants also reported that participants were calmer, happier and kinder.

The goal for all of these researchers, whether their research is on addicts or terminally ill patients, is to try to remove the bad reputation that psychedelics have gotten over the past few decades and to build on the promising research that exists.

How will the rest of society respond? That’s a question that remains unanswered.

Related on EcoSalon

Going Beyond Big Pharma: Anxiety and Depression Treatment with Psychedelic Mushrooms

The Healing Paradox: Ayahuasca and Misconceptions of the Jungle

Crazy? Don’t Blame the Acid: Hallucinogens Don’t Damage Mental Health, Study Finds

Image: János Csongor Kerekes

The post Are Magic Mushrooms and Other Psychedelics the Trick to Better Health? appeared first on EcoSalon.

Does binge-watching make you lonely and depressed, or do you binge watch because you are already feeling lonely and depressed?

In roughly two weeks time, oodles of people around the world (me included) will be glued to their televisions, binge-watching the new season of “House of Cards”. And while this whole binge-watching phenomenon might seem like a harmless habit – since, you know, everybody’s doing it – new research suggests it could be a sign of something more serious.

A recent study by researchers at the University of Texas at Austin found that the more lonely and depressed you are, the more likely you are to binge-watch.

Researchers asked 316 18- to 29-year-olds about their binge-watching habits: How often they watched TV, how often they had feelings of loneliness, depression and struggled with self-control (i.e. the ability to step away from the TV), and finally how often they have binge-watching sessions. They found the more lonely and depressed participants were, the more likely they were to use binge-watching as a way of avoiding negative feelings.

Seventy-five percent of participants admitted to binge-watching, with most watching an average of one to three hours of TV and 13.5 percent watching up to five hours. (Five people reported watching seven hours or more!) Researchers found participants who watched the most episodes at once were lonelier, sadder and had less self-control over clicking to the next episode than people who didn’t binge watch at all.

This doesn’t mean that binge-watching causes loneliness and depression, it just means there’s an association between the habit and the emotions that might trigger it. I totally understand this rut – you know, because I’ve experienced it myself – and it’s such a slippery slope. I struggled the most with it when I first learned I had severe adrenal fatigue, and was much more interested in what was going on with the characters on “Grey’s Anatomy” than in my own life. Mainly, because the characters were capable of functioning in a compelling, high-octane environment, and at the time it took me two hours to pep talk myself just to check the mail.

But the more you avoid the things that are bothering you in your life, the more likely you are to create an even bigger mess – and the more likely you are to avoid it by hanging out in Shondaland. Slippery. Slope.

Here are a few things that helped me get out of my binge-watching rut:

1. Take breaks between episodes

Instead of watching one episode right after the other, I’d take a break between episodes and tackle something in my life I was using binge-watching to avoid. I’d head into the next episode feeling as motivated as I was relieved, until before I knew it I wanted to tackle life more than I wanted to watch TV.

2. Don’t binge on workdays

I never binge watch during the week now – only on weekends (and not every weekend, obvi). For me, binge-watching after a busy week is a refreshing way to relax because I feel like I’ve “earned” the time to decompress. And I always take breaks between episodes to get things done around the apartment and catch up with the people in my life. It’s become more of a casual pastime than a borderline addiction.

3. Exercise while binge-watching

I bought a FitDesk specifically for the shows I still don’t trust myself with – mainly, anything from Shondaland. No matter how hard I try, there are certain shows I just can’t peel myself away from after one episode. My mind is still thinking about the show while my physical being is bumping into walls and tripping over things. So now, I exercise in a pathetic attempt to make up for it.

Do you have any quirky binge-watching habits?

Related on EcoSalon

8 Emotional Stages That Strike When Your Favorite TV Shows Are Cancelled

The 7 Best TV Shows to Binge Watch

The Ultimate Binge-Watching Survival Guide

Image: Binge-watching photo via Shutterstock

The post What Binge-Watching Says About Your Mental Health appeared first on EcoSalon.

Crazy bitch, nutty girl and insane chick are just a few insults that are hurled at women when someone catches wind that a female may have a mental illness.

If you ask me, I think the whole “crazy girl” insult-launching routine is so tired. It’s time to set the cliches aside and to start talking about mental illness in a factual manner.

Luckily, there are some people who are already having fact-based conversations about mental illness. For example, Demi Lovato, actress and singer, recently did a PSA about bipolar disorder. Lovato has this mental illness. The young pop idol did the PSA to shine a light on the mental illness and to reinforce that with the right treatment plan and diagnosis, people with the same diagnosis could still live happy, healthy lives.

It’s incredibly rad that Lovato is speaking out about her illness in general, but it’s especially great because women need to see other women talk frankly about mental health.

Positive conversations about mental illness ensure that those with depression, OCD, etc., don’t feel stigmatized by that inane “crazy girl” designation. Positive talk also ensures that female peers understand what their friends are going through.

So what else can be done to further a positive conversation about mental illness between women and their peers? XOJane has detailed a few stellar ways people can talk about mental illness. Here are some of the standout suggestions:

Even if you don’t have a mental illness, research it: The more correct information you know about mental illness, the better. If you’ve never experienced depression or felt crippled by anxiety, there’s no way you can really get what people affected by those illnesses are feeling. But if you read reliable articles and research about mental illness, you can develop compassion for your friends.

If you do suffer from a mental illness, it sometimes helps to read about your illness’ general symptoms. Reading about your illness can help you realize that no, you aren’t nuts – you just have an illness, and it can be treated.

Don’t try to diagnose yourself and never diagnosis a friend: The only way an outsider can tell if a person has a mental illness is if they have asked that person, and the person confirms their friend’s suspicion. Talking about how, “Sally doesn’t ever go out to lunch, so she must be anorexic,” isn’t helpful to you, or your friend. Coming to these generalized conclusions is a waste of time and inevitably hurtful to those of us suffering from mental illness.

If you suspect you may have an illness, go to a physician or therapist you trust and have an honest conversation: Don’t just assume you are or aren’t sick. The only way you can figure out what’s going on is to talk to someone and get a diagnosis.

And remember that your experience with mental illness may differ from your peers. No one has the same issues or triggers. And same goes for a friend who knows two family members who have bipolar disorder. Each person’s experience with the illness will be different.

Lastly, it’s important to learn about mental illness because these diseases are just a part of life: Mental illnesses aren’t negative, and aren’t positive – they just are. Never be afraid to get treatment, and never be afraid to have a positive conversation about mental illness with your best girlfriend. Facts and friendly conversations are the only things that can help destigmatize these common diseases.

Related on EcoSalon

Start a Green Gratitude Journal to Improve Your Mental Health

Real Lessons from Arizona

Study Reveals 5 Minutes of ‘Green Exercise’ Boosts Mental Health

Image: Kiran Foster

The post Why Women Need to Speak Out About Mental Illness appeared first on EcoSalon.

A lack of natural light in your life can be disastrous. Here are some reasons to get outside, even when it’s cold.

For the past two days, the winter wind has been howling outside my door. This is not a metaphor. My home is tucked up against the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, and when the wind comes zooming down over the mountains, there’s only a wide open field between it and my front door. It sounds like a hurricane and always brings a chill.

Needless to say, my motivation to get outside in the natural light has been slim to none. But when I spend too many consecutive days holed up inside, I start to feel a very special type of crazy. Although we’re scared of what excessive sun exposure can do to our skin, natural light is pretty important to our health. When we don’t get enough, bad things can happen.

If the howling wind (or snow, ice, and freezing rain) has been keeping you indoors lately, here are nine compelling reasons to get outside in the natural light. Even if it’s only for a minute or two.

Natural Light: 9 Reasons Your Life Needs More Of It

1. Cancer Prevention – Let’s start with the jaw-dropper. That’s right, all of this time we’ve been thinking the sun = cancer when in fact regular exposure to natural light can actually help prevent this disease. In 2012, “a groundbreaking new meta-analysis on the sunlight – vitamin D connection, published in the journal Anticancer Research and based on data from over 100 countries, found ‘a strong inverse correlations with solar UVB for 15 types of cancer,’ with weaker, though still significant evidence for the protective role of sunlight in 9 other cancers,” reports GreenMedInfo. (Note: prolonged, unprotected exposure to sunlight is STILL correlated with skin cancer, however).

2. Healthier Skin – If you suffer from certain skin conditions, more exposure to natural light could be the key to gaining some relief. In one study, an outdoor four-week sunbathing therapy was shown to promote significant clearance of psoriasis symptoms in 84 percent of subjects.

3. Improved Mental Health – Natural light “…tends to elevate people’s mood, and there’s usually more light available outside than in. Physical activity has been shown to help people relax and cheer up, so if being outside replaces inactive pursuits with active ones, it might also mean more smiles,” reports the Harvard Health Letter. “One solid study found that sunlight actually increases levels of a natural antidepressant in the brain. On sunny days, the brain produces more of the mood-lifting chemical serotonin than on darker days,” writes Dr. Michael Murray for Care2.com.

4. Stronger Bones – “In building bone, calcium has an indispensable assistant: vitamin D. This vitamin helps the body absorb calcium, and some researchers think that increasing vitamin D can help prevent osteoporosis,” reports the Harvard Medical School.

5. Better Concentration – A recent study found an association between the amount of natural light exposure and the severity of ADHD symptoms in some children. Researchers found that “sunny” regions with high solar intensity, such as the U.S. states of California, Arizona, and Colorado, and countries like Spain and Mexico have lower prevalence of ADHD. The authors speculate that this may be related to sunlight’s effects on our biological clock and sleep patterns.

6. Sharper Vision – While you should never look directly at the sun, and always wear sunglasses in extremely bright situations (the beach, or a sunny winter day), some research suggests that natural light is a great optometrist. Scientists have found a correlation between lack of sun exposure and nearsightedness–the more time spent outdoors, the less likely children were to develop poor eyesight.

7. Faster Healing – Some research shows that the sun plays a key role in recovery from injury or illness. “People recovering from spinal surgery experienced less pain and stress and took fewer pain medications when they were exposed to natural light. An older study showed that the view out the window (trees vs. a brick wall) helped recovery in the hospital,” reports the Harvard Health Letter.

8. Sounder Sleep – Our bodies take cues from the natural environment. The amount of natural light we’re exposed to during the day helps tell our internal clock when it’s time to rest. If you’re having trouble sleeping, the answer could be to spend more time outdoors on sunny days.

9. Healthier Weight – If the sun is shining, we’re more likely to get up from the couch and move around outdoors. But the connection between natural light and a healthy weight goes even deeper. Sunlight is known to encourage production of vitamin D and serotonin, both of which play a role in weight management.

How To Safely Reap The Benefits Of Natural Light

The key to enjoying the benefits of natural light is to be careful “A small amount of sun exposure can help your body manufacture its own vitamin D — about five to 30 minutes of sunlight between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. twice a week to your face, arms, legs, or back without sunscreen will enable you to make enough of the vitamin. People with fair skin that burns easily should protect themselves from skin cancer by limiting sun exposure to 10 minutes or less,” explains the Harvard Medical School. Food and sun exposure should suffice, but if not, some experts advise getting 1,000 IU of vitamin D daily from a supplement.

Related on Ecosalon

The Truth About Sun Exposure And Your Health

10 Benefits Of Sunshine You May Not Know

How To Capture The Sun In A Jar

Images: geralt, giuliamar, marcygallery

The post 9 Reasons Natural Light is so Important for Your Body (and Spirit) appeared first on EcoSalon.