To be able to slip into sleep is like heaven.

To not be able to slip freely into sleep can be a subtle torture.

There is much written about insomnia and the importance of’getting enough sleep and there are innumerable theories and techniques suggested to help someone who ‘can’t go to sleep’.

Very little attention turns to the very words we use that imply that our consciousness wishes to move from everyday life situations and escape elsewhere. And where do we choose to go when we go to sleep?

Our sleep time that constitutes about one third of our life time is very precious to us and is our own very private world.To some of us it represents a quiet retreat into our secret place or secret garden where our soul is refreshed – a time to look forward to. For others it seems to be a sheer waste of life time and a nothing state that the body may need but that we would rather be doing something else.

Sleep is as necessary to the human soul as food is to the body and we know this for ourselves because of the negative reactions when we miss out on refreshing sleep hours and disallow physiological restoration of the body, emotions and mind.

We know how lack of sleep is now classed as a conditon closely resembling a degree of drunkenness. Someone who drives when suffering sleep deprivation is not only likely to be charged for the offence, but could just as easily be inviting personal escape into the more profound sleep of death.

There are many people who experience severe trauma in early life as their minds are developing. They are influenced by vocal negative criticism, especially any that seem to them unwarranted. Although this cannot compare with severe physical and psychological abuse, it is an indication of how deeply any trauma can affect us, sometimes for the whole of our lives.

If we wish to overcome deep hurt, not only do we rely upon allowing time to heal and getting assistance from counsellors and psychologists trained in this area, but we can also help ourselves.

By our own attitude we can relive the pain a thousand times following any event or we can, by assuming a deliberate attitude, dissolve the experience within our own consciousness.  In this, there are no recipes that apply to all of us but any attitude that others have found helpful is worth considering.

Those who believe in a benign, divine, Greater Justice system than we humans try to apply, find it easier to accept that all experience can result in ultimate good; that life learning is designed for our growth in character towards becoming a kind and intelligent human being. Experiencing the bad in life is seen as example of what pain never to inflict upon others. The good experiences teach us how pleasant it is to feel the positive glow of well being.  The golden rule is that simple.

Many may seek for answers questioning their bad fortune with ‘what have I done to deserve this?’ But as the musical ‘Sound of Music’ reminds us,  our good fortune, that we query less, is that  – “…somewhere in my wicked past, I must have done something good!”  However, to seek the origin of our life events is not productive – it is like trying to find who hit the first tennis ball. Life is a complex pattern of causes and effects. We can only rest in certainty of natural law.

Not all forms of trauma are crippling. There are many degrees that human pain and suffering endures. Those who have lived through extreme trauma emerge to inspire us as do those beautiful survivors of wartime horrors who choose not to be bitter, but wiser.

Others seek to understand the perpetrators and causes to arrive at an understanding enough that they can sincerely forgive the wrongs.

Some who are able to take a higher perspective and see the meanness of the souls or the actions of unworthy choose to feel a spiritual compassion for those capable of wrongdoing.

And a wonderful new approach is being taken in psychiatry today that helps us to overcome

old scars and hurts by using a simple physical technique that helps our internal state by harmonizing our subconscious and our consciousness within our own minds.

The important ingredient in any attitude we choose to adopt, is one of ‘letting go’. We are reminded of this when we lie down to sleep, when we practise relaxation, meditation and generally when we take a receptive attitude as we do when listening.

Instead of our own mental chatter, it is an experience of great freedom to ‘let go’ and surrender for a few minutes or longer, knowing we are surrendering all negative stresses and will become freer of the burden of old memories and traumas to allow universal healing energies to soothe us, recharge us, and refresh our being.

We all wish that ‘everything will be all right’

We wish that everyone will know the peace that they desire

That old hurts will be forgotten, forgiven

That profound rest we feel in our souls

Will add to the peace of the world

And at Christmas time we perceive more clearly our

spiritual goal.

However, there is less anticipation of success should you continue to take drugs of any kind. This includes alcohol, marihuana and even medical drugs unless you are suffering a serious condition that requires professional psychiatric care.

Following a simple mind training course of your choice and a concurrent physical health programme of vital nutrition, fruit and vegetable juices, herbal supplements, and so on will boost your interest and energy levels. In fact you will have to consider mind and body health before experiencing an improvement. Subtle elements such as listening to relaxation music, classical adagios, inhaling natural perfumes from your garden or from essential oils in addition will act as stimulants and tonics for the brain itself.

Symptoms of mental illness can cover an extensive range of varying intensities.  Do not exaggerate your symptoms but deal with them, one at a time if you are on a self-care programme.  Seek further guidance if you do not have signs of improvement within a period of time such as a month or two.

There are many ideas available to help us learn about the mind and about brain care including all the material offered in this present site. Study and learn all you can as knowledge is the tool that brings confidence.

Your best tonic thought will be that your mind is your own. No one else has control of it as long as you slip back into the driver’s seat.

Can a psychologist help to relieve the patient through the gentle art of education in self analysis or is it a matter offering a greater challenge to any therapist. At what point does a despondent or unhappy person require diagnosis and medical drug doses?

The question that a psychiatrist must face is the consideration whether a patient is suffering from an acute temporary state of upset of mind and emotions that could be considered a ‘normal’ life experience or whether it is a more serious issue.

We would all hope that professionals to whom we turn will first offer a natural and simple solution rather than treatment that diminishes our independence, as occurs under chemical drugs. The common-sense alternative to psychiatric drug therapy we would anticipate as the application of the normal self disciplines, positive exchanges between friends or professional counsellors and a happy involvement in a creative life enterprise.

What psychiatrist has the vision to foretell just how long a patient’s depression will last – or how severe a state it is – and if the sufferer has family and friends to give real psychological support?

Without sensitive probing and enquiry, the real causes of anyone’s unhappiness or hopelessness, are not likely to be easily revealed at first. A psychiatrist fulfils his duty by first recommending such a patient suffering ‘depression’ for instance, attends counseling with a professional psychologist well trained to seek insight into causes and they will work in collaboration.

When considering the overall picture, we acknowledge that most of us would know that any disturbed or extreme state of our mind or emotions requires adjustment.

We would then be inclined to seek help through a psychologist who can assist us in making the corrections we need to restore a balanced state of our psyche. Only then if all simple efforts fail, it may be necessary to considered wise to seek further help from a psychiatrist.

Drugs are becoming a serious issue with much controversy about the risks in administering mind changing psychiatric chemicals. Regrettably, many psychiatrists rely upon them for quick results.

However, we must always remember that our mind and consciousness is our very own. We are free to choose . But our first positive step begins with us as we decide to build our physical health and fitness knowing that exercise is a wonderful tonic for creating a positive mood change and also for ensuring long term health and peace of mind.

Where it has been considered that eight hours sleep is the requirement for an adult to undergo physical and mental refreshment, it is common to find that many are in the habit of perhaps sleeping only six hours. Individuals do seem to vary in their need for sleep, but the ‘average’ number eight is the result of considerable research.  It does not allow for those who sit up playing computer games or TV viewing beyond ten o’clock.

If sleep deprivation is as serious as being now presented, it should certainly be classed as one of the most important factors that must be immediately corrected if we wish to avoid heart disease, cancer, depression, dementia and all other serious diseases.

In Australia the symptoms of mental disease such as depression are continuing to increase at an alarming rate in the community. Some reports indicate about fifty new cases being diagnosed each day. Others claim the ratio is now one in five people suffer mental disorders such as mild, moderate or clinical states of depression or early signs of Alzheimer’s disease, poor memory or reduction of mental faculties.

The existence of so much mental stress and disease indicates an urgent need for us to take stock of our own health regime in order to avoid adding to the existent statistics. We must return to basics and the health rules that we may know but do not follow.

Children cannot function healthily without their regular hours of sleep – quiet sleep without electronic sounds, iPods and loud music. Parents should be strong in disciplining young ones and this is serious as many children who have frayed nerves and suffer fatigue will be tempted to turn to drugs.

Adults who suffer insomnia and who drive a vehicle in that state of fatigue are proven hazards on the road and cause many otherwise avoidable accidents.

Are you getting enough sleep time?

It is our main faculty we use when learning or reading and when we are in a receptive or listening mode. We use this faculty to help us focus upon important personal interests in everyday life. We also use it to deliberately programme our own mind and so develop  grooves of comfortable opinions and attitudes.

Concentration is mind power. It is the element we require to accomplish anything.

The principle is simple. If we keep our thoughts upon success, we will most likely succeed.  If we concentrate upon failure we will do doubt succeed in failing.

If we concentrate upon  power, we will become powerful.

If we concentrate upon love, we will become loving and so on.

Each of us develops our nature to attract circumstances by the power of our mind’s concentration.

Poor concentration is a symptom of diminishing mental fitness. We must practise and improve this faculty that becomes even more important as we grow older.

A definite aim will ensure that any concentrated thought will bear fruit. So we must take care that the direction of our mind’s power is truly in accordance with our own welfare and  interests as well of that of others.

Conscious effort of thought is required to build mental ‘muscle-power’ or strong mindedness,  just as effort is needed to build physical fitness. The power of the concentrated mind can also be compared to the rocket fuel that gives the power for our thoughts to ‘lift off’ into space.

Concentration can also be used as a tuning-in device similar to tuning the radio. This analogy holds true in meditation when we wish to expand our consciousness in order to receive  inspiration or intuitive guidance.

Concentration is the tool to help programme our mind. When concentrating, the emotions must be passive and co-operative to allow all our available mental energy to be used without  emotional distraction.

Emotional anger when out of control can do harm to ourselves and motivate us to harm or hurt other people or even material things.

Pent up frustration and stress could be readily excused as we try to cope with life and react to our difficulties and problems. However, we all have to find a way to channel this energy in an appropriate and constructive manner – until we find a positive way to act in life.  Then, increasingly, as we find the strength to focus constructively, our reactions are less of a problem.

Most angry people are reacting, often without conscious thought.  The cause is more often than not from emotional rather than rational issues. Someone who is mentally well does not habitually display anger. As we do we like to feel repressed anger in our own  personality, we do not appreciate it in the mood of any companion.

Anger is a recognized symptom of mental illness when it is firmly established as a habit Anger is a condition when emotional energy can well up from the subconscious and is capable of erupting like a volcano with equal potential to harm or hurt.

That hurt begins with the physical and psychic hurt to the one who is feeling anger. It starts with their increased blood pressure, nervous and muscular tension, interference with normal physiological function and by contributing to their totally negative self image. No one reflects with joy upon their past displays of anger or is proud of their demonstrated loss of self control.

So many people who have, in anger, just inflicted pain upon another will say “I didn’t mean to do it!”  But this is not good enough. The act was committed by them, no one else, and it is they who are responsible whether it is a physical action or related to subtler behaviour.

All anger, whether held inside us or expressed towards others is harmful. Anger can lead to broken relationships, poor health, violent behaviour and ‘crimes of passion’ including road rage or murder. And those whose anger has been allowed to grow unchecked are often inclined to suicide.

Unfortunately anger is infectious. When someone displays anger towards us, it is easy to react in defence and respond angrily, even though we were relaxed to begin with. We have to practise resisting such reaction.

The first ever dyslexia diagnosis was given out within just the last ten years. This was the time when the condition was even given a name. Screenings and tests are now used to diagnose the condition. What actually happens here is that the patients are assisted in identifying the symptoms that they are suffering, the severity of the symptoms, and ultimately, the treatment that they need. Dyslexics no longer have to suffer the symptoms on their own because the proper diagnosis is at hand, and readily available treatment is here as well.

If you suspect that you have a family member who just might be suffering from the condition, then do not wait too long to obtain the appropriate dyslexia diagnosis. As soon as you notice symptoms of the condition, such as difficulties in spelling, writing, reading, counting numbers, sequencing items, transferring information, getting and following instructions, as well as confusion in terms of direction when it comes to letters that can be reversed. Examples of these letters would be “b” and “d”. The manifestation of any of these symptoms should warrant a dyslexic test be done right away.

Sally Janssen’s wonderful book “Mental Fitness: A Simple Self-Help Guide”, offers simple and timely solutions.