Article by Two Wise Chicks
Post Design by Christy Zigweid Photo by Unsplash via Pixabay CC (Photo made using @WordSwagApp) "We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea — whether it is to sail or to watch it — we are going back from whence we came.”
There's something about the ocean isn't there?
Even when the weather is inclement I love to go watch and listen to the waves crashing about, the stones being thrown around, the sand being churned, the constant ebbing and flowing - sometimes the noisier the better! 
Sunsetting at Claycastle, Youghal.
What I particularly love about this time of year though is the light. The colours dance and change more often as the Summer eases its way back into our lives.
It's therapy. Most of us think of the sea, rivers or lakes when we imagine holidays. We associate water with fun, refreshment, exploration, self soothing. We retreat to showers and baths when we're stressed. Youtube is awash with mindfulness and relaxation clips with water sounds in the background. Our breathing changes when we hear normal waves, we slow down unconsciously and match the pace. And the physical and emotional effects of that are profoundly positive. We tend to turn to water for serenity, for clarity, for all that is life affirming. 
Splash at Ballinwillig, East Cork
Science agrees. Environmental scientist Mat White has done several interesting studies and found that "proximity to the coast was positively associated with good health, with a small, but significant increase in the percentage of people reporting good health among populations residing closer to the sea".
Near Wexford
Another academic called Depledge presented people with landscape images that had increasing amounts of water in them. He found that "going from a pond right through to a coastline, with increasing amounts of water in the images, people showed a strong preference for more and more water in the images.
We have evidence that natural environments promote physical activity, reduces stress, restores cognitive ability and increases social interaction. Just think of the average day 'out the strand' - isn't that what happens? We run, throw stones, play with dogs and children. We salute strangers, chat to them about each others' pets, the weather.... Then we get back into the car and feel.. tingly, 'glowy' - better! All good. Another thing that happens near water is exposure to negative ions - and these tiny things have enormously positive effects on our brains. The more movement in the water, the more negative ions are present. And we think this explains why we find crashing waves and water-sports so utterly exhilarating! In fact, this idea taken so seriously as a theory that negative ion generators are being tested as treatment for depression in Columbia University. And how happy do children look when splashing around in puddles, real or plastic?! Even in urban settings, "from fountains in squares to canals running through the city... again people hugely preferred the urban environments that had more water." (Depledge again). Future research at the ECEHH (European Centre for Environment and Human Health - bit of a mouthful) includes studies looking at the effect of video screens showing aquatic environments in elderly care homes, and the benefits of views over sea or water from home or hospital windows. It sounds nice doesn't it? Here's a clip I took in Killarney - and even though it's a lake, not the ocean, I still found it mesmerising to be there, watching. 
Evening stroller at Garryvoe
And what's your favourite colour? Our affinity for water is even reflected in the near-universal attraction to the colour blue. We're naturally drawn to aquatic hues and blue is overwhelmingly chosen as the favourite colour of people around the world. Also, marketing research consistently finds that we associate blues with qualities like calm, openness, depth and wisdom.
"Let (sea)food be thy medicine" - Hippocrates It seems to make evolutionary sense too - we need water to live obviously, but also we benefit hugely from the creatures that live in the water. Neuroscientist Michael Crawford of the University of North London has proposed that our ancestors were devotees of the sea, and that "this devotion has paid off by allowing us to develop larger and more complex brains". Moving towards the sea gave us a marine diet that was packed with omega-3 fatty acids, essential fatty acids that promote brain cell growth. He theorises that this is why human brain growth began to increase exponentially once we left the woods and headed for the beach. We have also learned that people who eat fish regularly, are less like to suffer from depression than those who don't. Indeed fish is a symbol of happiness and good health across a broad spectrum of religions and cultures. So I don't know how you feel about eating fish - I'm not a huge fan myself actually. But I am a huge fan of the sea, and am cognisant of its healing effect on me, and on many of the clients I work with. I am utterly grateful to live and work a mere five minutes from waves and fresh air and I find myself trotting down to the quay or the beach every week to fill my lungs with the delicious saltiness of it all. For those of use living near the coast (and that's all of us in Ireland really!) it's a resource worth using. Get out there, go for a walk. Breath in that air, feel the wind in your hair, the seaspray on your skin! And for those few moments or hours, immerse yourself in the experience (or even in the water!! #brrr) - go with the rhythm of it - there is plenty of evidence to suggest you'll feel better afterwards. The sea is resilience at its beautiful best. Just as we are.
That's a little clip of some sanderlings I had fun watching on Youghal beach last week - cuteness!
About the Authors
Sally O’Reilly
Sally wants to help create a world of compassion for ourselves and others. A world where mistakes are allowed, gender roles don’t exist, sex ed in schools is a real thing and everyone dances – lovely! As a psychologist and psychotherapist in Ireland, she’s worked for nearly twenty years in private practice, with adults and trainee adults of all ages. She blogs on her own website, is a feature writer for super duper parenting website Voiceboks.com, does print and radio media work and has been known to Tweet. She’s the one running our Twitter page! When she’s not working, you will find her engrossed in Science Fiction or some dark and Danish TV show, listening to music, watching the sea (while really, really wishing it were warmer), or figuring out how to work Lightroom on her Mac. All while munching on Bombay mix. #multitasker! She’s happiest when dancing and erm…. her cat has his own Facebook page. We won’t link to that, it’s too embarrassing..
Tanya Tinney
Tanya looks forward to living in a world where people know their worth, respect boundaries, and always have time for tea and chocolate. A magic bubble that protects her from sticky fingers, hormonal girls and dog hair would be awesome as well. Her education and much of her training is in the areas of psychology and human potential. She worked as a licensed psychologist for over 14 years, with 10 of those years spent building her own successful private practice. In total, she has over 20 years of varied experience working, volunteering for non-profit agencies, and consulting to small business. Most recently she has launched her dream online coaching practice where she gets to work with motivated, amazing women who need help overcoming life’s hurdles. Exciting times! She has lived in Ireland, Ethiopia (okay, just 6 months), Canada, and currently lives in central Texas with her husband, three girls (including fraternal twins), two dogs and three cats. When she’s not finding ‘everyday moments’ to write about here or on her own blog, you can find her being walked by her dogs, unearthing unidentifiable food-objects under the couch cushions or baking her famous banana bread. Tanya runs our Facebook page – and not to be outdone by Sally’s cat, her dog has its own Facebook page too.
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 My name is Desiree and I’m a detourist. I am a bit different from my peers. Often times, I feel like I am spiritually couple of years younger than a lot of my friends. Some may call me immature, but I like to see myself as youthful. This is a story that tells about how I became more mature, the battles against myself that I faced during the process, and how I kicked my own butt to become a happier person. Throughout my elementary, middle, and high school years, I was an introverted, conventional good girl who was heavily influenced by her parents to focus only on academics and anything related to school. All my life, I listened to my parent’s advice regarding school and personal matters because I thought they were most wise. I thought that blindly following their words would allow me to fluidly travel through the road of life. This quiet, complacent, meek behavior also described the majority of my interactions with my friends at that time period. Such a persona carried me through my social life, but it was not the real me. It was sometime during the last year of high school when I realized that I needed to introduce to the world, the bold side of myself that I had been hiding for so many years. During my college years, I realized that my naïveté was more than ever, a hindrance. I was caught in the middle of an identity crisis and it affected everything from my academic to social life. The once soft spoken me, now wanted to be outspoken. I, who was once buried nose deep in books, now wanted to live a more balanced life with slightly more time dedicated to leisure and merrymaking. Unfortunately for me, I was enrolled in an academically rigorous school, and the conflict I had with new friends regarding our attitude towards work made me feel even more like an outsider. But, there was something else that bothered me.  I had stumbled across the realization that I did not know how to effectively project the persona I wanted to project in a way that was maintained within boundaries of social norms. Consequently, I received a lot of rejection and reprimand in the form of people I had befriended turning their backs on me after discovering from mutual “friends” that I was a “nutcase.” This constant fear of being ostracized left me sad and fearful in my room most of the time. I cried to myself in grief and anger as I told myself how unfair it was for some people to be better received by others due to their wit, looks, or social charms. I usually attended class in jeans and hoodies, could not express the same amount of enthusiasm for meeting each acquaintance, and made esoteric jokes and references. I loved initiating dorm shenanigans, to which others did not accept fondly. People found me odd and alienating for some reason, but I swear I am just like every other person. I kept telling myself I should be mingling with people, but I dared not venture near others after seeing how they reacted to my initial presentations of my honest self. I was constantly in a “down” mood, and was horrified that socializing with others who did not understand my situation would prove fruitless. They would just distance themselves further away from me. At the same time, the solitude left me in a position with enough time to think critically about my conundrum. I started out thinking to myself about what it was I wanted to do and be, and what I currently embodied. There were certain things missing from my train of thought and I beat myself up when the wonderings became stagnant. However, I was very lucky to have discovered Paralign later on. Paralign is an app that is dedicated to thought journaling and building rapport through anonymous networking, both of which helped me realize what I wanted and needed. I had access to speak to every user with whom I had matched because both of our thoughts shared a similar theme. My chat partners were able to bring up ideas, solutions, and new perspectives toward viewing a situation that I had never before considered. It’s thought pattern tracking system allowed me to detect recurring mistakes I had committed, which prevented me from reaching my ultimate goal of being able to express myself honestly. Communication helped to alleviate problems. It was through Paralign that I realized that support did not venture far from my domain. Paralign empowered me to express myself freely because the opinion and negativity from people physically closest to me was no longer relevant. The app was my tour guide during my trip of self-discovery. It made me more self-reliant in resolving my own inquiries. That is why I love my detour. About the Author Desiree is an independent blogger and one of many who constantly feels that society and or, everybody else around her is against what her values and beliefs. Many of her pieces recount her own experiences and reactions to puzzling situations, as well as things that bring her comfort during those times. She did not hesitate to join Pouria Mojabi, CEO and founder of Paralign, and pour the residue from her struggles into the inspiration that can better the lives of those who are going through the same state of life she had once experienced.
 To Whom It May Concern, In my experience of mental illness and psychosis, I was scared to death and paranoid of violent things happening to me and around me. Even at my worst I may have neglected to take care of myself, but I would never lay a finger on anyone else. Please do not classify me with the other side that needs to see and thrives off of causing violence. There is a huge difference. There needs to be a way of distinguishing this during the diagnoses. Or maybe you need to stop grouping us together in your interviews with “professionals.” About 40 million of us do not even know what you are talking about when you say that people with mental illness are more likely to commit a crime. The correct way of stating this would be to say that, people who commit violent crimes may have a mental illness; because the reality is that, people with mental illness are far more likely to be the victims of a violent crime than the perpetrator. Having mental illness does not equal being a criminal. In fact, for most of us with depression and/or anxiety as symptoms, it is the complete opposite. I cannot even stand playing war video games or watching violent movies. I do not associate with crime, so do not associate it with me. It really hurts every time I hear people say, "…we need to do something about mental health…" and they mean everyone with a mental illness should be contained or something. I agree, we have to do something about mental health and that is to be honest. Most of those who judge would never even admit if their close family member had a mental illness, for fear of being stigmatized. We must stop dancing around the topic and face it head on. Those of us who live with mental illness can't keep being sad for the rest of the world. We must stop using the terms "bipolar, OCD, psycho, or mental," to describe those individuals we do not like. These words are not meant to be used as adjectives. What we need is more funding to go into mental health research, education of primary care doctors, natural and holistic healing, update of all mental hospitals, full insurance coverage, and enough disability money to live on. As a society we need to stop judging and ranking everyone and everything. Regardless of illness, we are all original. We are all beautiful. Until this is realized by everyone, we are just going to keep going back and forth calling each other crazy; and that is pretty immature if you ask me. I will not participate in name calling, shaming, blaming, judging, ranking, or hating. I ask that you please join me. Thank you for your time and understanding. Sincerely, Joseph Fusaro About the Author
 Article by Justin Brewer Edit and Post Design by Christy Zigweid Photo made using @WordSwagApp Photo by Orzalaga via Pixabay CC I am a 42-year-old recovering alcohol and drug addict who has also been diagnosed with bipolar II. This past summer I was in a treatment facility where the focus was on dual diagnosis and the simultaneous treatment of substance abuse and mental disorders. I had the pleasure of sitting through a group administered by one of the counselors who wrote and spoke about twelve points, sharing his experiences as he talked about each one. I have written about what each statement means to me below and encourage you, as you read, to think about what each may mean to you. What you are willing to do to include these positives in your life?  I found this one to be really tricky at first. On a daily basis, I take the time to say "I love you" to myself whether it be in the mirror or on the way to work. I always remind myself that I am loved. To prove this, I fill my day with things that reaffirm my love for myself: reading, meditating, praying in the morning, working out after work, helping someone else by phone, text, or in person, or going to some type of gratitude meeting at night. I always thank God at the end of each day for all things.  I must stay conscious of my thoughts, especially if they go into anger or resentment. I am quick to acknowledge rational or irrational thinking and even quicker to let it go. If I do hold a resentment, I often pray for those whom I am resentful for and it eventually brings peace.  This one has taken a lot of practice too. Be grateful for the good and bad and always say thank you. I make a list of all the perceived good and bad at the end of the day, focusing especially on the perceived bad, for how am I to grow if I don’t face challenges and accept with gratitude always?  Visualize. It often takes practice to meditate and visualize. I have to train my subconscious to believe I can achieve and it happens. Do what you love and the success will come.  Ever hear faith without work is dead? Well it is. You can’t just say "I want this or that" and expect it to come true. You must take action, talk to people, find a mentor, study, and meditate. Trust that in taking these steps it will improve your life.  Accept that this won’t happen overnight but as long as you are moving forward and toward something, you will get where you want to go. It won’t be on your time and remember you can only control and do your part. Remember the circle in which you walk is where you are. Take time enjoy this journey.  You have to have faith, even if its only a little. Do what you can to draw on and learn to believe in yourself and in life.  I really like this one: give yourself permission to fail. If you don’t fail or if you are afraid to fail, then you won’t try. Don’t be afraid, move through it.  Learn to treat yourself right. Let it be simple but let it grow. Gym, a healthy diet, meditation, and prayer are all life affirming. Add them all to your life learn to be at peace with what you do and continue to do it.  Another favorite. Do what is best for you. It’s your life, do what you want for yourself not for anyone else. I often thought this was hard, especially after people pleasing and seeking, but how are you supposed to be happy if you aren’t living for yourself? Live for your expectations.  Stay present realize where you are is where you are. Take 3 deep breaths and realize this moment is all you have. Focus focus focus.  Surround yourself with supportive people. Let go of toxic relationships. Be grateful for your friends, especially the ones who have seen the best and worst of you. I am so lucky with this. I have so many great friends whose lives I’ve been able to touch and have touched me. I am really blessed with this one. About the Author
PDF received during treatment and is provided courtesy of Justin Brewer.
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