Participants: Don Mackintosh, Neil Nedley
Series Code: HFAL
Program Code: HFAL000065
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00:43 Hello and welcome to "Health for a Lifetime"
00:45 I'm your host Don Mackintosh 00:47 We're glad you're with us today, 00:48 and we're glad YOU'RE with us DR. NEDLEY! 00:51 We're going to be talking about some very interesting 00:53 things that hopefully will not be DEPRESSIVE, 00:56 but will be IMPRESSIVE and will lead us to 00:58 not be EXCESSIVE! 01:01 How's that for a beginning? 01:02 Well, we're going to talk about lifestyle and depression. 01:05 I guess the first thing I want to ask is... 01:06 What really is depression? You know that saying... 01:09 "Ask 2 doctors, get 3 answers. " 01:12 Well, you won't as far as depression is concerned 01:15 because it's very well classified. 01:17 If you have 5 out of 9 symptoms, 01:20 those 9 symptoms would be deep sadness, apathy, 01:25 agitation, lack of concentration, 01:28 change in appetite, or a change in sleep habits, 01:32 feelings of worthlessness, morbid thoughts, or fatigue... 01:36 If you have 5 out of those 9, you would fit the definition 01:40 of depression if they've lasted for over 2 weeks, 01:43 and not preceded by an emotional traumatic event. 01:46 So, if someone has died in your family, 01:48 of course, you're going to be depressed in a sense, 01:51 but that's more of a... 01:52 That's what we call "situational depression" 01:54 and that resolves with time. 01:56 Major depression tends not to resolve with time. 01:59 It actually tends to brew and stew and even worsen 02:03 with time to the point where 02:04 complications of depression start setting in. 02:07 You know some of the lists that you just clicked off 02:10 are very important for those viewing and whatnot 02:12 and you've written a new book on this subject that 02:17 either is out, or will be out very soon. 02:19 And if people contact 3 Angels, they can get 02:22 in touch with you, and you can let them know about 02:25 that book, I'm sure. 02:27 Now, looking at that definition, we can know for sure 02:30 whether or not someone really HAS depression... 02:32 You're suggesting, in this chapter of your book 02:36 that we've been discussing, that lifestyle behaviors 02:41 REALLY have an impact on whether or not 02:43 we're going to have depression, or if we do have it, 02:45 whether or not we can reverse it. 02:46 That's right... In fact, lifestyle seems to be even more 02:52 important than nutrition is. 02:55 We have emphasized the importance of nutrition 02:59 and depression in treating it and preventing it, 03:02 and it is important... 03:04 But more people are depressed because of lifestyle issues 03:09 than are even depressed because of a poor diet. 03:13 One thing that we haven't mentioned, 03:15 and of course, I think that nutrition is, in fact, 03:17 the medication we choose to take... in a sense 03:19 God's medication for us, and we talked about that 03:23 a little bit previously, but what ABOUT medication? 03:27 Medication for depression can be very helpful 03:30 in mild to moderate, to even severe cases of depression. 03:34 The problem with medication is its side effects, 03:38 and I actually, as a practicing physician, do prescribe 03:42 many antidepressants; 03:44 I always try to choose the best one with the least 03:47 side effect profile for the patient that's 03:49 sitting in front of me. 03:50 But I also try to find the root cause of the depression, 03:55 so that we can treat that cause, 03:57 and get them off of the medication. 03:59 About 90% of my patients are able to get OFF of their 04:04 medication within a 6-month period of time once we 04:07 put them on the appropriate nutrition and lifestyle 04:10 treatment program. 04:11 Is that right, 90%? 90%! 04:13 And if you take a look at the statistics from the 04:17 psychiatric community, they will tell you 80 to 90% of patients 04:21 will NOT be able to get off of their medication. 04:23 Their depression will actually relapse, 04:26 and reoccur once they get off their medicine... 04:28 And that's simply because we have covered the symptoms 04:31 with the depression, but we haven't cured the disease. 04:34 And, my interest is finding the cause, 04:38 and curing the disease so that the person is no longer 04:41 dependent upon medication, 04:43 and no longer experiencing the side effects. 04:46 Prozac, for instance, is a wonderful medicine 04:50 as far as enhancing mood. 04:51 It decreases crying spells. 04:53 It increases social affiliations, 04:55 but it also increases impulsiveness. 04:57 In addition to that, it will increase teeth problems, 05:01 actually, teeth gnashing tends to occur more 05:05 frequently under the influence of Prozac. 05:08 In addition, it can cause even sexual dysfunction, 05:12 and other types of side effects, as well as about a 05:15 10 to 15 pound weight gain in individuals who take it. 05:19 And so, this is not a medicine that really should be used 05:23 long-term in the vast majority of cases if we could find 05:27 the root cause and treat the actual cause of depression. 05:30 So nobody watching today should just go ahead 05:32 and stop all their medications, and say, "I heard it on 3ABN." 05:36 They should get with a qualified clinician; 05:40 maybe get a copy of your book, get in touch with you, 05:44 and get some of the research that's in there, 05:45 and show to their physician, 05:47 and then maybe get in touch with somebody 05:49 who is aware of some of these things, 05:50 and can address the underlying causes... 05:52 but not stay on medication 05:54 necessarily the rest of their life. 05:56 They're not doomed to that, if you want to say "doomed" 05:58 or they're not really just put in that narrow box. 06:02 Right... In fact, once you're on 06:03 a good nutrition and lifestyle treatment program, 06:05 I still keep my patients on their antidepressants for 06:08 usually about 4-6 months, 06:10 and then at that point, we're able to discontinue it 06:13 in a rather abrupt fashion, 06:15 and they can live a normal life, 06:17 and actually feel much better 06:18 without their medication than they did with. 06:20 Unless they go off the nutritional lifestyle... Correct 06:23 And so we want to talk about those lifestyle issues today. 06:28 What are some of those lifestyle factors that are connected 06:32 with whether or not we're depressed? 06:34 Aerobic exercise is one that we have to talk about. 06:39 Aerobic exercise not only can prevent depression, 06:42 but it can actually treat it. 06:43 In fact, a recent study, Don, showed that 06:46 aerobic exercise was equivalent to a standard 06:49 antidepressant medication after they were on the 06:52 exercise program for 4 months. 06:54 Now it doesn't work as well for the short-term... 06:57 In fact, that's why a lot of people, once they try exercise, 07:00 will say, "Well, it didn't work for me," 07:02 but it doesn't work after a session or two. 07:04 We start noticing effect a week 07:06 after the exercise program begins, and this is a daily 07:09 physical exercise program. 07:11 How long a day? 30 minutes a day. 07:14 And then, at 4 months, we have the peak effect... 07:19 And at that 4-month-point, they will have just as much 07:22 benefit as if they had taken Prozac, 07:25 or one of the standard antidepressant medications. 07:27 So, action is a law of life, 07:29 and it's certainly one that can reverse depression. 07:32 That's right! It not only helps the heart, 07:35 and helps prevent cancer, but actually physical exercise 07:38 helps prevent, as well as treat depression... 07:42 and this is the aerobic type of exercise, 07:44 which would be like brisk walking, or swimming, 07:46 or jogging, or bicycling, or digging in the garden 07:51 if you're digging vigorously enough for 30 minutes a day 07:55 ...that type of exercise is very helpful. 07:58 Now you know, I haven't heard you, and we've talked about this 08:01 and I've looked through your book, but I haven't heard you 08:02 talk a lot about COUNSELING. 08:04 Let's say you had a decision to make... 08:07 You could either TALK to somebody about your problems, 08:09 and try and peel away the skins of the onion to get 08:13 to the middle or the core of the problem, 08:15 or you can go walking. 08:16 If you had to choose between 08:17 those 2, which would you choose and why? 08:19 I would actually choose walking. 08:22 Although counseling, if done by the right counselor, 08:25 and done with the right type of what we call 08:29 psychotherapy, or the right type of counseling, 08:31 can also have beneficial effects... 08:32 But counseling opens up a whole other discussion 08:36 that is worth talking about. 08:38 And maybe now is a good time to do that, 08:40 but the traditional type of counseling that is done 08:44 for depression actually is no 08:46 better than taking a placebo pill, 08:48 as far as what it does for depression. 08:50 Let's come back to that... but you were saying really 08:52 that maybe the best thing is to walk... 08:55 And if you can talk while you're walking, that's fine. 08:57 That's right! There you go. Okay 09:01 And is walking one of the best aerobic exercises, swimming, 09:04 bicycling? Yes, walking is a very good one. 09:07 It has to be brisk walks so you are breathing more 09:10 rapidly; your heart rate goes up and not just a leisurely stroll 09:14 down the street, but a nice brisk walk. 09:16 I don't know if I struggle... I don't have 5 of the 9 symptoms 09:20 that you say depression is, or major depression; 09:21 I haven't struggled with that but I can certainly tell you 09:23 that when I walk, or when I exercise in the morning, 09:26 I feel a lot better ALL the way through the day... 09:28 mentally, spiritually, physically! 09:31 Well, you know, this is true of a lot of these 09:34 lifestyle factors for depression and even the nutritional factors 09:37 that we mentioned before. 09:39 We've talked about it in the setting of depression, 09:41 but even nondepressed normal individuals will 09:44 feel better when they do this program, 09:47 and when they eat the right foods. 09:49 And so, if a person is NOT depressed, 09:52 that doesn't mean this program is not for them. 09:55 Actually, they'll end up feeling 09:57 better if they get on this program. 09:58 So this is an antidepression program for those that are 10:01 not even depressed. That's right! 10:03 It can even enhance the mood in those that 10:07 have "normal moods. " 10:09 Now I notice you have, in your book, something about 10:11 deep BREATHING and depression. Explain that! 10:14 Deep breathing actually is a mood enhancer as well. 10:18 ...And you have to breathe deep enough so that 10:22 your oxygen saturation stays up around 99% 10:26 and in order to do that, studies show 10:29 that it's best to breathe as little as 6 times a minute. 10:32 Now the average person will breathe about 12 or 16 times 10:36 a minute, shallow breaths, and when they're sitting 10:38 like we are here today, Don, or in a classroom, 10:40 or if they're sitting in front of their television set, 10:43 their oxygen saturation actually will start to go down. 10:47 And once it goes down less than 94%, 10:50 it detracts from the frontal lobe, and it can actually 10:54 chronically bring about, or help bring about depression. 10:58 Okay, so we should just take some deep breaths 11:01 right now, I think. That's right! 11:04 Oh man, it feels good! 11:05 So you have deep breathing, but you're saying that 11:08 deep breathing is not necessarily fast shallow breaths 11:10 REAL deep breaths that get the oxygen way down 11:14 to the bottom of your lungs. 11:15 Yeah, get the watch out in front of you. 11:16 You want to take a breath about every 10 seconds; 11:19 in-and-out very slowly. 11:23 And actually those that take exercises, 11:26 there are exercise sessions we give for deep breathing... 11:28 If they exercise just in their deep breathing, 11:32 sitting in their chair, or standing, 11:34 they will have an elevation of their mood throughout 11:37 the entire day, particularly if they try to 11:41 institute that deep breathing method through rest of the day. 11:43 Who would have thought... treatment for depression 11:44 or preventing depression... Hey, just BREATHE! 11:46 That's right. Really breathe! 11:49 Okay, you have another one down here... 11:50 Classical music therapy. 11:52 Now all these, I assume in your book you've documented them 11:55 scientifically you have all the studies for that, 11:58 but what about classical music therapy? 12:00 Well classical music therapy is really the only type of therapy 12:04 that has been shown to both subjectively, 12:06 as well as objectively enhance mood. 12:09 What do you mean by that? 12:10 Well, you know, some people will listen to their 12:13 favorite types of music, and say, 12:15 "I feel better when I'm listening to this music," 12:17 and they think it makes them 12:18 feel better the rest of the day as well... 12:20 But when we study objectively, like taking a look at 12:23 their blood levels of cortisol, for instance, 12:25 the cortisol levels don't drop. 12:27 They actually might go up, and it might actually 12:30 worsen their depression, even though 12:32 they think it's covering the symptoms for the time being. 12:36 So, like heavy metal music, or these things that cause 12:39 high stress... like they are getting hit by 12:41 rockets or something... 12:43 That really increases the 12:45 possibility of depression. Correct. 12:48 Okay, so classical music does it both 12:51 subjectively... they think it's helping them, 12:53 and objectively... that's the facts. 12:54 That's right. It helps them on both. 12:57 And this type of music is Bach, Respighi, Handel, Brahms. 13:01 This type of music has been studied where you are 13:03 listening to it intently for 45 minutes every 2 weeks, 13:08 and it will enhance the mood significantly. 13:10 It will drop the cortisol level significantly, 13:13 and it will help people that didn't even think 13:15 they liked classical music. 13:17 In fact, in the age group that was used, 13:19 it was not the favorite type of music at all. 13:22 What age group was it? 13:23 It was the 23-45 year-old age group. 13:26 An age group that, in this country, has not really 13:28 seriously been exposed to classical music 13:30 except for a jingle on a commercial here or there. 13:33 But they were actually to seriously be in front of 13:37 their stereo set contemplating this music, 13:40 and it did wonders as far as their mind was concerned. 13:44 So that's what you meant by just really focusing on... 13:47 You can't just have it on in the background. 13:49 It's not just background music. 13:50 It needs to be the primary source coming in both ears. 13:54 Coming in both ears and where you're not really 13:56 doing anything else, except thinking about your own life, 13:59 and then also listening to the music. 14:02 Wow, well that's saying, "It's time to face the music" 14:06 really has meaning here, doesn't it? Yes it does. 14:08 And it can cause us to be less depressed. 14:10 We've been talking with Dr. Neil Nedley. 14:12 We've been talking about depression. 14:13 We've been talking about WHY it is that people are 14:16 depressed; how they can know that they're depressed; 14:18 what they can start to do about that in terms of 14:21 LIFESTYLE issues, not just nutritional issues, 14:24 but lifestyle issues. 14:25 And in the first half of the program 14:27 we've talked about how it is if you BREATHE deeply 14:31 DEEP breaths that can help you. 14:32 We've talked about how to set a regular aerobic 14:36 exercise program... 14:37 And then just listening to classical music. 14:39 whether or not you like it... can really help you. 14:42 We hope that you join us when we come back. 14:44 We'll have more fascinating information on 14:46 how you can avoid depression... 14:48 And if you need more information about how to 14:50 get Dr. Nedley's book, please contact 3ABN 14:52 Join us when we come back. 14:56 Have you found yourself wishing that you could shed a few pounds 14:59 Have you been on a diet for most of your life, 15:01 but not found anything that will really keep the weight off? 15:04 If you've answered "yes" to any of these questions, 15:07 then we have a solution for you that works! 15:10 Dr. Hans Diehl and Dr. Aileen Ludington 15:13 have written a marvelous booklet called 15:15 "Reversing Obesity Naturally" 15:17 and we'd like to send it you FREE of charge. 15:20 Here's a medically sound approach successfully used by 15:23 thousands who are able to eat more and lose weight permanently 15:27 without feeling guilty or hungry through lifestyle medicine. 15:30 Dr. Diehl and Dr. Ludington have been featured on 3ABN... 15:34 And in this booklet, they present a sensible approach 15:37 to eating, nutrition and lifestyle changes 15:40 that can help you prevent heart disease, 15:41 diabetes and EVEN cancer. 15:44 Call or write today for your free copy of 15:46 "Reversing Obesity Naturally" 15:47 and you could be on your way to a healthier, happier YOU! 15:51 It's absolutely FREE of charge, so call or write today. 15:57 Welcome back! We've been talking with Dr. Neil Nedley 16:00 about depression and lifestyle, 16:02 and there is a connection, isn't there, doctor? 16:04 Yes there is... a definite connection. 16:06 We have discovered that, as we've talked with you, 16:09 and the research in your new book, 16:11 that depression actually can be reversed, or avoided, 16:15 if we're exercising, if we're breathing deeply, 16:19 and if we are... What was the other thing 16:21 that we talked about? Classical music therapy! 16:23 Classical... how could I forget it? 16:25 We were just talking about the different classical music 16:27 we would like. 16:29 I need to work a little bit on my memory, 16:30 but classical music would be good. 16:32 What are some other things that we can do in terms of 16:36 avoiding or reversing depression... lifestyle-wise. 16:38 Well lifestyle-wise, getting enough sleep. 16:41 Actually, being on a regular program where you are getting 16:46 7-8 hours of sleep per night, 16:48 and you get that at pretty much the same time every night, 16:51 as well as being on a regular program throughout the day, 16:55 regular breakfast time, regular lunchtime, 16:57 regular suppertime if you choose to eat the evening meal. 17:01 These factors can go a long way in avoiding 17:04 as well as treating depression. 17:06 Didn't you say the compulsive 17:07 disorders are also related to depression? 17:10 Well, obsessive compulsive disorders can be. 17:14 So with this routine and schedule, 17:16 what about if you're the person that has that all 17:18 scheduled up and someone messes it up? 17:20 Well, I mean, you've got to allow some 17:22 flexibility from time to time. 17:24 This isn't something that you have to do like a 17:27 religious nature per se every single minute of the day 17:31 and have it timed out. 17:33 But many people, on weekends, get themselves off of schedule; 17:38 they're going to bed at all sorts of different times 17:41 from 9 o'clock at night, to 2 o'clock in the morning, 17:45 and they're really not on any type of regular schedule... 17:49 And these are people that are 17:50 markedly set up for the risk of depression. 17:54 You have children, right? 17:55 How old are your children? 8, 7 and 3 17:59 Let me ask a couple of questions... 18:00 With children, can they become depressed? 18:03 Yes, there can be depression even in children and adolescents 18:07 And then, the second question is... 18:08 What is a good pattern for children of those ages... 18:12 When should they go to bed? When should they get up? 18:15 What's a very good pattern for them? 18:17 Actually, earlier to bed and earlier to rise 18:22 tends to make a child healthy, and eventually wealthy, 18:27 but certainly wise for the time being as far as 18:32 how wise a child can be. 18:34 But no, the reason why earlier to bed helps out is 18:37 because you increase your melatonin levels. 18:40 Melatonin is increased in the bloodstream only under 18:44 periods of complete darkness. 18:46 And, if you are going to bed late at night, 18:50 the morning sun comes in too early, and you haven't 18:54 actually experienced your melatonin peak yet. 18:57 And so, we recommend going to bed around 9 o'clock or so, 19:02 or for a child, possibly even earlier than that, 19:05 and then getting up early when the sun gets up 19:09 is a very good program to be on. 19:11 Okay so, now it needs to be dark... 19:13 My parents used to put me to bed when it was still... 19:16 it seems like 2 o'clock in the afternoon. 19:20 Doesn't it have to be dark though? 19:21 Well, there isn't anything wrong with going to bed 19:24 an hour before sundown. 19:26 It takes a while for the melatonin to start 19:28 after you go to bed anyways. 19:30 It takes several hours to get the peak there. 19:32 I can tell your kids don't put anything past on you... 19:36 All right, so regular restful sleep... 19:38 And the same thing, wouldn't it hold true for the 19:43 schedule for adults too... they need to go to bed early. 19:46 That's right, it even works better for adults. 19:48 Okay, you have down here, bright light therapy. 19:51 I think I got that last evening driving here from St. Louis. 19:55 I think I had some bright light therapy with these people 19:57 flashing their bright lights; 19:58 is that what you mean by this? 19:59 No that probably wasn't enough. What do you mean? 20:03 Outdoor light is really the best 20:05 type of bright light to experience. 20:08 It takes 2,500 lux, and that means that it's 20:13 outdoors for at least a 1/2 hour during daylight hours, 20:18 and that would be a 1/2 hour after sunrise, 20:21 or a 1/2 hour before sunset during that time period. 20:25 And actually morning bright light therapy is better 20:27 than evening bright light therapy. 20:30 And so, if you are able to do your morning exercise 20:34 while the sun is still up, you have got 2 major 20:38 lifestyle factors dealt with at the same time. 20:40 And you could deep breathe while you're at that, 20:42 and have classical music on right there on your headphones. 20:45 There you go! But you have to focus on that! 20:47 Now daylight savings time 20:48 doesn't throw that off though, right? 20:50 Well no, it's still a 1/2 hour after sunrise, 20:54 or 1/2 hour before sundown. 20:57 Okay, bright light therapy, and the best out in the sun. 21:01 Avoid negative thinking. 21:05 HOW do you do that? 21:08 Yes, well this was a very interesting study at 21:10 Ohio State University. 21:12 It was run on well over 200 people... 21:15 And they took a look at optimism; 21:18 they took a look at pessimism; 21:20 they took a look at stress... 21:21 They took a look at a number of mental factors, 21:25 and the one factor that emerged as being the MOST important 21:29 ...as far as depressed mood was concerned was 21:32 pessimism. 21:34 Actually optimism came out as being neutral in this study. 21:38 In other words, it didn't have any positive effect 21:40 or any negative effect. 21:41 You know, you can have a problem with too much optimism. 21:44 You think so? Some people have accused me of that! 21:47 Does it depress you if you're too optimistic? 21:49 Well, when realism continues to hit you in the face, 21:53 it can set you up for depression. 21:56 Okay, I see what you mean. Right. 21:58 And so, you really want to think more realistically 22:01 but ESPECIALLY to avoid the pessimism. 22:03 You know, a lot of people continue to look at the 22:07 most potential negative consequence, 22:10 and fearful of that, and always thinking about that 22:14 they end up being quite pessimistic individuals... 22:18 And you can, a lot of times, notice these people 22:21 when they go out in nature. 22:22 We were at a nature hike the other day, 22:26 where it was a cloudy day, and the individuals... 22:30 it was near raining, but all you could hear about were the 22:34 problems with the clouds, and the rainy days 22:36 and how they didn't like that... 22:37 when there were beautiful trees to see, 22:39 there was beautiful grass, a beautiful lake there... 22:42 And in this world, there is always going to be 22:46 negative things and positive things that we can focus in on. 22:50 And particularly, dialoging and discussing the negative things 22:53 ...particularly when we don't have any control over them, 22:55 gets those negative thought processes going. 22:59 And, it cleans those negative circuits out pretty well 23:03 and that is really a set up for depression. 23:05 So now, but let's talk practically doctor... 23:08 You're in your office... someone comes in, 23:10 and you KNOW that they are, you know, negative-Nate... 23:15 or whatever, not that someone whose name is Nate 23:17 is that way at ALL... BUT, here they're just VERY 23:20 negative and they're having just a real problem with it. 23:23 What do you do to redirect him? 23:26 And, how can you help someone do that? 23:28 It sounds almost like a spiritual problem. 23:30 Well in a sense, it is a spiritual problem. 23:34 And first of all, we have to have them recognize 23:37 what's going on, and then, secondly, 23:39 they actually have to start exercises where they're 23:42 avoiding the negative thinking. 23:44 We actually, in people that are having particular problems 23:47 with that, they have to go a 2- week period of time 23:52 without saying anything negative about anyone or anything. 23:56 So how do you do that? 23:58 You have like a... you know with a heart patient, 24:00 you have a cardiac monitor... 24:01 What do you do, have a microphone on them? 24:02 Well, it's a self-analysis type type of thing, 24:06 but once they go through... 24:08 Of course, everyone blows it the first couple of times... 24:11 and once they blow it, they start their 2 weeks over again. 24:14 So it doesn't have to start today necessarily. 24:17 We want them to start today, 24:18 but as soon as they say something negative, 24:20 they start their 2-week period over again. 24:22 And by the time 2 months are over with, 24:26 most people actually have gone that 2 weeks of not saying 24:29 anything negative about anyone or anything. 24:31 Now we're not against constructive criticism... 24:35 But, during that 2-week period of time, 24:38 even constructive criticism is banned. 24:41 Oh, so you really tighten it up! 24:43 We tighten it up because many people will try 24:46 to rationalize their negative thinking, 24:48 and their negative stating in regards to saying... 24:51 "Well, in trying to find something constructive 24:53 later on, that it might have helped with. " 24:56 And so, we ban even constructive criticism for 2 weeks, 24:59 and you would be amazed in the mind shift that occurs 25:02 in individuals after they have gone through this. 25:04 So you actually prescribe this as a medical doctor 25:07 in your practice with folks, 25:08 or is this something that you've read about those... 25:11 No, and we've prescribed it with patients. 25:14 In fact, I will be honest with you... 25:17 Many patients who have gotten off of their antidepressants 25:21 ...I'll ask them afterwards, in fact, I've had some patients 25:25 who have been on antidepressants for years that never thought 25:27 they were going to be able to live without them. 25:29 And after we put them on the program that we outlined, 25:34 and they get off their antidepressants, 25:37 and they're feeling good, I'll ask them, 25:39 "What thing do you think was the most important in this program?" 25:42 And, a good share of them will 25:44 point to what we're talking about just now. 25:46 Avoiding the negativism, 25:49 avoiding the pessimistic thoughts 25:50 as being the most important thing that changed their 25:53 mindset around and opened the doors as far as 25:56 allowing them to be free from depression. 25:59 Wow... So, the last thing I see mentioned here in this 26:04 chapter really from your new book is... 26:06 "Daily Spiritual Exercises" 26:09 and what do you mean by that exactly, and how is it related, 26:12 and what's the science behind that... 26:13 in our last couple of minutes. 26:15 The frontal lobe is the seat of 26:17 spirituality, morality and the will. 26:19 And the frontal lobe problems, are at the seat of depression, 26:24 as well as bipolar disorder, and a number of other disorders. 26:27 It stands to reason, if we can enhance the circulation of 26:31 the frontal lobe, we can actually prevent, 26:34 and even treat depression. 26:36 And so, since this is where spirituality and morality 26:40 is centered, it stands to reason by enhancing the 26:42 spiritual focus and the moral focus, 26:45 and the abstract reasoning focus, 26:47 we can enhance the circulation of the frontal lobe. 26:50 And just because we need physical exercises every day, 26:53 we also need spiritual exercises every day, 26:57 in order to enhance that frontal lobe area. 26:59 And so this is why I recommend not just 27:01 the mere reading of a text or the going through 27:06 of the motions... those type of things don't help. 27:08 Doing the rosary, for instance, even though they might be 27:10 spiritual exercises to some, 27:12 that's not the type of spiritual exercise I'm talking about. 27:15 I'm talking about actually contemplating on the great 27:18 themes of Scripture, or the great moral themes 27:21 and spending some time analyzing them, looking at them. 27:25 That really enhances frontal lobe function, 27:27 and can actually be a therapeutic measure 27:30 in preventing, as well as treating depression. 27:34 As a minister, I have to ask you one question... 27:36 Will going to church help with depression or not? 27:40 Church attendance helps with depression as long as you're 27:43 contemplating on the spiritual themes. 27:47 So listen to the sermon. That's right. 27:49 We've been talking to Dr. Neil Nedley. 27:50 We've been talking about depression, 27:52 and how to avoid it, or prevent it, or reverse it. 27:55 Contact us for more information. 27:57 Thanks for watching today. |
Revised 2014-12-17