Magic Potions We All Need This Time of Year

As winter descends we begin to feel the chill of shorter days and less sunlight. For many of us, less hours of light combined with colder temperatures results in us feel less light emotionally. For some of us, who actually have SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) gloom really sets in. This gloom often has to be offset by either full spectrum lighting and/or various psychotropic medications.

For people with mild versions of feeling down or sad at this time of year, I'd like to suggest a way to lighten ourselves and bring more light back into our lives. My suggestion is the use of magic potions. Did I say "magic potions?" You thought I was a positive psychologist, not a magician or a medieval enchantress of some type! Yes, I said "magic potions" and yes, indeed, I am a positive psychologist. So what do I mean? Let me explain.

When I talk about magic potions--an expression I use to add drama and fire to our cold winter days--I am really talking about individual mental health formulas designed for each person. These are available in various sizes, shapes and compositions. Just like the old fashioned pharmacy where the pharmacist got out his mortar and pestle and mixed a compound for you when you didn't feel well, our mental health magic potions are that unique, requiring individual mixing. In fact, a compound that agrees with me may not agree with you. So it is very important to take the time to mix exactly what each of us need. This is necessary for the full affect of joy and rejuvenation that each of us so deserve this holiday season.

Now let's look at what makes a mental health potion real magic. The best way I can initially teach you about these magic potions is by example. For me, a magic potion this time of year is simply to walk outside of the house, as I did this morning to listen to a crow up in a tree calling its song. This ordinary bird, not usually sought after for its song, has always quickened my heart and unleashed a momentary but real sense of well-being.

For many, many years I've wondered why. The best I can determine is that I have memories, partially forgotten, which I call in my book, THE ENCHANTED SELF: A Positive Therapy, "shadow prints of the mind."

These vague memories are without a clear storyline but do seem to take me back to my grandmother Rose Silverman that I loved so much. The crow's call starts a memory trace that includes Rosen Road where my grandparents lived. I do not remember any crows calling, but I do remember lying in my bed and experiencing the wider world through an open window. I felt content lying there, enjoying the aromas of flowers and cooking, the street noises, including children's voices laughing and shouting, cars and, of course, nature's voice: the birds chirping, and the trees rustling. All of this made me feel so safe, drowsily content and anticipating what our adventures that day would be.

Perhaps I'd get to ride on the swan boats downtown at Boston Common, feed the pigeons and grandpa would buy me a balloon. Or maybe we would be going to visit a relative and I would be offered a wonderful box of chocolates from which to pick one or two special selections. Then I would get to dance and show off and receive some well appreciated praise.

How lovely to bring all that back in a flash! I want to thank the crow that was up in the tree today for being there and so exquisitely offering me the exact mental health potion that I needed to start my day.

Here's another example of a simple, magical potion that compounds beautifully for me. This past Sunday was a lovely day but by 4:00 pm, shadows were already appearing suggesting the inevitable gloom I feel as sunlight disappears and dusk arrives by 4:30 or 4:45 pm. Rather than stay at home, perhaps even doing some necessary paperwork or even a more household-like chore such as tidying my front hall closet, I abandoned my house and took myself down to the boardwalk near where we live.

For an hour I went back and forth on this short boardwalk savoring the smells that still lingered from autumn, as well as the visionary experience of watching the sky slowly get darker. I enjoyed the extra light in the sky near the ocean, hearing the waves as I walked and occasionally sharing a friendly "hello" with another passerby.

Then, of course, I returned home to all the mundane chores--the first one being preparing dinner. However, I did have my magical potion still running through my body giving me an infusion that carried me through the rest of that night. Thus you see how magic can happen when we design mental health formulas designed for each person!

We're going to continue to talk about mental health magical potions again in the next issue. Let's stop for the time being so you can begin to prepare your individual mental health magical potion!

Mental Health Magical Potions: Suggestions to Consider in Creating Your Individual Compound

1. Stay alert to moments during the day that seem to please you or refresh you. I had to become alert to my responses to the call of a crow before I was able to realize that his call filled me with a sense of well being. There are probably sounds, aromas, visual scenery, or even certain people you see during the day that also arouse positive reactions in you. You may know exactly why, such as when I see Sally her smile is just like my Aunt Rose's.

Or they may be vague ('shadow prints'), such as the way I enjoy driving down this street more than that street but I don't know why. It doesn't matter. Look for your magical potions wherever you can find them during these dark days of winter.

2. Stay alert for magical potions that can help your body as well as your mind stay feeling good this season. Do you like to walk? If yes, it's a really great idea to walk as much as possible this time of year. Are you more of a couch potato? Well, maybe there is still some enlivening things you can do, even moving your arms in various circles and motions as you sit watching television. Even that amount of exercise can help the mind/body connection stay in a more positive state.

About The Author

Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein , originator of THE ENCHANTED SELF®, a method of bringing delight and meaning into everyday living, invites you to view her new line of ENCHANTED WOMAN products, downloadable e-books, and free gifts at http://www.enchantedself.com. Chat with others in Dr. Holstein's e-group, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/encself/join, and sign up for her free e-group at www.enchantedself.com. Order her book, THE ENCHANTED SELF: A Positive Therapy, or the CD-rom or tape version and her book RECIPES FOR ENCHANTMENT: The Secret Ingredient is YOU!, or the ED-rom version, at http://www.enchantedself.com/ordering/ordering.htm.

encself@aol.com

---

Friends?

I met my friend when we were in graduate school,... Read More

What Dost Thou Speaketh? Hey, Affirm This Way!

Articulating repetitive statements with emotion will inevitably connect you to... Read More

Unhook From The Perpetual Progress Grid

I have been a member of a group called the... Read More

Transform Your Office Into A Powerhouse Of Success

Did you know that the area that you call your... Read More

Discover The Coach Within You

One of the three basic roles of leadership is the... Read More

Curse of Competence: How Being Good gets in the way of Becoming Great

Just before the storms hit last winter, my father-in-law and... Read More

Coaches, Do You Make These 7 Deadly Cash Flow Mistakes in Your Practice?

Managing cash flow is every small business owner's most important... Read More

Do You Want to Make More Money as A Life Coach

There's a lot of coaches out there not making any... Read More

Building a Strong Coaching Practice

As a person who has been around the coaching profession... Read More

4 Steps to Successful Goal-Setting

Successful people have always had clear, focused goals that guide... Read More

Why?

I met Sean a year and a half ago in... Read More

Learn to Say No!

How many times have you agreed to do something that... Read More

What I Would Include In A Coaching Book

A coach is an essential figure in providing direction and... Read More

Be A Champion Communicator by Becoming a Chameleon

Recently, I worked with a client who was having a... Read More

Do You Need a Performance Coach?

In today's fast paced world, we are often confronted with... Read More

How to Control Your Anger: Retreat and Think Things Over

How to Control Your Anger: Retreat and Think Things OverJim... Read More

Dealing Effectively with Midlife Issues

In this article we would like to help you explore... Read More

7 Destructive Habits of Incompetent People

WARNING! If you want to have a fantastic life, never... Read More

The Power of Effective Coaching Skills

The most valuable assets of a 20th century company were... Read More

Living In The Now

I hope you are sitting down as you read this!... Read More

The Value of Career Coaching and Its Effect on Productivity

Athletes the world over have coaches. Yet, workers whose very... Read More

How Stella (Laurie) Got Her Groove Back!

Being a Life Strategy Coach doesn't mean I'm always on... Read More

Viewpoints - Communication Destruction Or....

Viewpoints! Everyone has them and they are personal. However, when... Read More

The Power of a Scope

We all know the power of a scope if you... Read More

Avoid the Tendency to Underestimate Your Greatness

As a whole I think there is a sad tendency... Read More

Magic Potions We All Need This Time of Year

As winter descends we begin to feel the chill of... Read More

Creating Supportive Environments

I'm writing this on my laptop in a Cosi café... Read More

The Story ?From the Chicken Coop??

Many years ago my grandfather, had a small farm and... Read More

Using Audio Programs to Increase Your Knowledge and Productivity

If you do any significant amount of driving, a simple... Read More

You Have A Choice

I'm a relationship coach and, unlike most, I deal with... Read More

Ten Ways to Make New Years Resolutions That You Can Actually Keep!

Are you one of the millions of people who make... Read More

Communicating Anger Compassionately

Whether it is irritability or unmitigated rage, anger is an... Read More

What Rules!

There are things that we do automatically internally that we... Read More