Doc Meek

Archive for July, 2010

This is the second 1/2 of Dr. Mercola’s guest article, Anger Can Be Deadly.

A healthy way to “get your anger out”: a choir of 30 shouting men. 😮 Photo from: http://www.huutajat.org/

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I’ve written about anger management before in THE LEARNING CLINIC WORLDWIDE blog. If you missed those articles, simply click on the titles: Anger management in schools; Anger Management in Classrooms

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Anger Can Be Deadly, by Dr. Joseph Mercola (this is the second 1/2 of the article posted Saturday, July 3, 2010); if you missed the first 1/2 of this article,  just click on the title here: “Anger Can Be Deadly [the damage].” – Dr. Mercola

Dr. Mercola’s entire article is from: http://www.healthiertalk.com/anger-can-be-deadly-2008

Your Emotional Health is Intricately Linked to Your Physical Health

Negative emotions will invariably impact your physical well-being, and anger is no different. Emotional factors are actually one of the most important contributing factors for all diseases, including cancer.

That is why an effective strategy to manage your emotional stress has long been a part of my top health tools, and this is because there is overwhelming evidence that your mind does matter when it comes to preventing, or triggering, disease.

The idea that your emotions impact your health and the development of disease is not new. Even the conservative Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has stated that 85 percent of all diseases appear to have an emotional element, but the actual percentage is likely to be even higher.

Your emotions can actually trigger your genes to either express health or disease… and if you’re chronically angry or prone to uncontrolled outbursts you could be inadvertently sabotaging your health.

This is why I highly recommend you work on overcoming your emotional barriers, whether they’re based on life’s anxiety-factors or more deep-seated emotional traumas that may have left you “angry at the world.”

There are a host of techniques to instill positive emotions and thoughts and create a sense of inner-peace, and the best rule is to find the one that works for you, whether it is considered conventional or “alternative,” and keep on using it. Prayer and meditation are helpful for many.

In my clinical practice, I have tried a variety of methods, and have been exposed to many more (both conventional and alternative) through my medical background, but none have come close to the success rate I have experienced with the Meridian Tapping Technique/Emotional Freedom Technique (MTT/EFT).

With EFT, while mentally focusing on the psychological/emotional issues in a positive manner through the use of affirmations, pressure is applied to the same energy points used for thousands of years in acupuncture (these energy points are finally even being recognized as legitimate by the pharmacy- and surgery-addicted American medical establishment.)

These energy points are only tapped, though, not punctured as in acupuncture, as it has been shown that pressure on these points is all that is necessary to activate your body’s bioenergy. This combination of positive mental focus on the issue(s) and physical stimulus to your body’s biochemistry is amazingly effective at eliminating the issue — be it anger, stress, anxiety, etc. — quickly.

Life’s Too Short to Live With Anger

Optimal health involves addressing and resolving your anger and other emotional traumas as quickly as possible — without letting old emotional wounds contribute to more negativity, and therefore disease, in your mind and body.

So in addition to using MTT/EFT as your primary anger-resolution tool, you may also want to try:

• Relaxation techniques (slow deep breathing, meditation, prayer, positive imagery)
• Empathizing with the person (or situation) you’re angry with
• Exercising (vigorous activity is an excellent way to release angry energy that has built up, and gentler exercise, like yoga, can help you calm down afterward)
• Asking yourself, “Will this situation matter in 10 minutes? Tomorrow? Next month? Next year?” Most often, situations you’re angry over mean very little in the greater scheme of your life. Keep this question in mind to help you remember that the situation you’re so angry about now will likely be irrelevant in a short time — and is probably not worth getting worked up over.

When combined, these techniques are extremely effective at both releasing negative energy and putting your mind at ease. ………………………………………………………………………………..

Thank you, Dr. Mercola!

Doc Meek, Sunday, July 11, 2010, at Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA

P.S. For more information about healthy heart solutions to anger, see the associate links in my signature block below:

The Fine Art of Transparent Watercolor Paintings, Rose Art, Pressed Flower Pictures and Art Prints by Irene Hannestad; photo from: http://www.rosemagazine.com/ireneh/default.html ……………………………………………………………………………………….

Learn to connect the “4-H’s” of education: Head/Heart/Hands/Hope

Today, Saturday, July 10,  2010, we are fortunate to have a guest article on “HOPE” by Catherine Wilkes. Catherine is both a certified school teacher and a registered psychologist practicing in St. Albert and Edmonton, Alberta, CANADA.

She leads delightful workshops “everywhere,” demonstrating good teaching practices and the importance of good HOPE as an active learning ingredient.

One of the keys to Catherine’s effectiveness as a teacher and as a counselor is her engagement of HOPE as an integral part of what she and her clients do. For Catherine, HOPE is not purely an intellectual concept. She lives it. She walks her talk.

Thank you Catherine! We are grateful for your example in our lives and in the lives of schoolchildren everywhere!

Article and photos from: C. Wilkes Associates Inc., http://catherine-wilkes.com/hope.htm

WHAT IS HOPE?”Hope is looking forward with both confidence and unsureness to something good. When we hope, we anticipate that something we want to happen can indeed happen. Even if it’s unlikely, it’s still possible. Even if others do not see things as we do, we’re still convinced what we hope for, can still come true. Will it happen for sure? No one can say. Yet when it’s unlikely, that is no reason for us to stop hoping. It is no reason to surrender the future we have envisioned.

WHY DO WE HOPE?”We hope because it is essential to the quality of our life – as essential as is breath to our physical existence. When we hope, we are willing to get up one more time when we fall down. We are willing to give ourselves one more chance, again and again. With hope we can deepen as a human being. With hope we can find meaning in how we respond to what has happened to us. With hope, whatever the outcome, we can go on.”

Resource: Jevne, R. F., & E. Miller (1999). Finding hope: Ways to see life in a brighter light. Fort Wayne, Indiana: Willowgreen Publishing.

Thank you, Catherine Wilkes! ………………………………………………………………………………………………..

“[HOPE*] is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark.” ~ Rabindranath Tagore

*FAITH is the word Tagore used. Quotation from: ThinkExist.com: http://thinkexist.com/quotation/faith_is_the_bird_that_feels_the_light_and_sings/14481.html

Here’s to HOPE!

Doc Meek, Saturday, July 10, 2010, at Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA

P.S. A  final insight from Vaclav Havel, via Catherine’s website:

“Hope is not the conviction

that something will turn out well,

but the certainty that something makes sense,

regardless of how it turns out.”

~ Vaclav Havel

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J Collins Meek, PhD
Email: docmeek@gmail.com
THE LEARNING CLINIC WORLDWIDE, INC.
>>> “What if you are smarter than you think?” >>>

THE LEARNING CLINIC WORLDWIDE blog: https://docmeek.com
Associate Links: http://www.amiraclemolecule.com/themeekteam
PROTECT YOUR HEALTHY HEART: http://www.themeekteam.info

THE LEARNING CLINIC WORLDWIDE (Dr J Collins Meek)
CANADA: PO Box 3105, Sherwood Park, AB T8H 2T1
US: 3688 W 9800 S, #138, South Jordan, UT 84095-3260
Phone: (801) 971-1812 (Jeannette); Fax : [801] 282-6026

International callers first enter the country code (+1)
and then enter the Phone and/or Fax number above
=====================================

This may be a big topic for some. It is for me.

“Better be three hours too soon than one minute too late.” ~ William Shakespeare

“You may delay, but time will not.” ~ Benjamin Franklin

“It is no use running; to set out betimes [early] is the main point.” ~ La Fontaine

“I have always been a quarter of an hour before my time, and it has made a man of me.” ~ Lord Nelson.

Above quotes from: http://www.specialty-calendars.com/punctuality.html …………………………………………………………………………………………

I loved Polychronic Time in the South Pacific Islands

When I was serving in the South Pacific Islands, helping school teachers and administrators with helping students obtain greater academic achievement, I loved their approach to time. Being “on time” was not an issue, generally speaking. I was “in pig heaven,” as they say, in more ways than one. [ Almost every Islander owned pigs, of great importance in a culture where food is important, especially for feasts. 😮 ]

Since I have generally not been able to be on time for anything–my whole life through (so far)–it was a great relief to find this to be a cultural OK in the indigenous cultures of the islands. I experienced almost one continual great sigh of relief.

However, in most mainland cultures, “time is of the essence,” as they say in legal contracts.

Learning to be on time

Here is a guest article for THE LEARNING CLINIC WORLDWIDE blog today, Friday, July 9, 2010.

“Avoid Being Late,” from Self-Help Growing: http://www.selfhelpgrowing.com/avoid-being-late.htm

By: David Korn

Being on time is one of the most important punctual aspects of life. It is important to avoid being late in order to not cause any problems. Learning how to be on time does take dedication and attention. There are several effective ways in adopting better time management techniques. Learning to be on time is definitely one of them.

A good way to avoid being late is to prepare ahead of time. For instance, you can prepare your items before you go to sleep the night before. Also, you can prepare batch amounts over the weekend or at times when things aren’t so busy. By preparing ahead of time, you can save a lot of time and from being potentially late to an event. That way you can grab what you need as soon as you walk out of the door.

Setting reminders is a good way to be on time. Many of us use alarm clocks, wake up calls, portable device sounds, and so on as our reminders. The idea is to set these reminders ahead of time such that you don’t forget. Having these reminders go off in a routine basis can be useful as well. Having a routinized reminder system can help you to easily remember the schedule. That way you can avoid being late on a daily basis.

Avoiding or eliminating distractions is important for being on time. Sometimes we get caught up in something prior to departure. It is a good idea to minimize these interruptions such that we can arrive at our destination on time. Good communication with others as well as learning to turn off or divert distracting items will be useful. That way you have a clear road ahead in order to arrive at your destination without being late.

Of course, one of the best ways to avoid being late is to leave early. After a while, you will be able to estimate how long it will take you to get to a destination. It is important to take into account any interruptions that normally occur on the way. That way you can leave early enough before any of this occurs. Unfortunately, things come up in life which can prevent us from being on time. It can be understandable depending on the circumstance. Just as long as being late isn’t a habit, many one time circumstances can be excused.

Being late to an event can cause all sorts of problems. This can get one to be fired from a job, bad marks in school, cause upset in others, be seen as unreliable, and much more. Therefore, it is important to be on time to events. Being on time will make you seem as dependable, punctual, and diligent. These qualities are important for our personalities. When we arrive on time, we can feel at ease that we done our job.

Copyright © 2008 SelfHelpGrowing.com; All Rights Reserved.  …………………………………………………………………………………….

Thank you, David Korn!

To learning to be on time!

Doc Meek, Friday, July 9, 2010, at Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA

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—
J Collins Meek, PhD
Email: docmeek@gmail.com
THE LEARNING CLINIC WORLDWIDE, INC.
>>> “What if you are smarter than you think?” >>>

THE LEARNING CLINIC WORLDWIDE blog: https://docmeek.com
Associate Links: http://www.amiraclemolecule.com/themeekteam
PROTECT YOUR HEALTHY HEART: http://www.themeekteam.info

THE LEARNING CLINIC WORLDWIDE (Dr J Collins Meek)
CANADA: PO Box 3105, Sherwood Park, AB T8H 2T1
US: 3688 W 9800 S, #138, South Jordan, UT 84095-3260
Phone: (801) 971-1812 (Jeannette); Fax : [801] 282-6026

International callers first enter the country code (+1)
and then enter the Phone and/or Fax number above
=====================================

“If nothing ever changed, there’d be no butterflies.” ~ Unknown Author

Blue Morpho Butterfly

Photo from: http://www.butterflypictures.net/1-butterfly-pictures.html …………………………………………………………………………………….

Photo from: http://www.quotedb.com/quotes/2050

Many teachers want their students to change, to want to learn for instance. In that case, the teacher must want to change, must want to be a learner. First. Or at least along with them. If you yourself don’t want to change, if you don’t want to be a learner, others (be they students or children at home) may simply follow your example.

As one unknown author (a teacher? a parent?) put it:

“After you’ve done a thing the same way for two years, look it over carefully. After five years, look at it with suspicion. And after ten years, throw it away and start all over.” 😮

Principles of change for teachers/students and parents/children

These 9 principles are from The First 30 Days: Your Guide for Making any Change Easier, by Ariane de Bonvoisin. Her URL is:
http://www.first30days.com/ariane/principles

• Principle 1:

  People who successfully navigate change have positive beliefs.

  Your biggest need right now is to develop new beliefs: about yourself, about this change, and about life in general. Nothing will have a bigger impact on the way you move through change.

• Principle 2:

  People who successfully navigate change know that change always brings something positive into their lives.

  Every change has a gift associated with it. While it’s natural to find change hard it’s important to remember that there are two sides to every coin and that something positive will always come. This is by far the most important belief to have during the first thirty days of change.

• Principle 3:

  People who successfully navigate change know they are resilient, strong, and capable of getting through anything.

  You are much stronger, much smarter, and much more intuitive than you have ever been told. You are more resilient and more powerful. Once you truly know and believe this, you will be able to get through any change- even the hardest one you can imagine.

• Principle 4:

  People who successfully navigate change know that every challenging emotion they feel is not going to stop them and will guide them to positive emotions that help them feel better.

  Negative emotions can stall us, making change harder, while the positive ones can help us move through a change in a simpler, quicker, and more conscious way.

• Principle 5:

  People who successfully navigate change know that the quicker they accept the change, the less pain and hardship they will feel.

  Let go of the idea of how life should be.

• Principle 6:

  People who successfully navigate change use empowering questions and words, think better thoughts, and express their feelings.

  At your most stuck point, if you can speak with different words, think a slightly better thought, and get in touch with how you are feeling, you can become unstuck in a matter of minutes.

• Principle 7:

  People who successfully navigate change know they are connected to something bigger than themselves.

  When everything around you is changing, look for the part of you that doesn’t change. The part that is calm, centered and always there.

• Principle 8:

  People who successfully navigate change are not alone; they surround themselves with people who can help, who have the right beliefs and skills. And they create an environment that supports their change.

  One of our biggest flaws as human beings is that we keep thinking we are alone. Whatever the situation, there is always, always someone who can help.

• Principle 9:

  People who successfully navigate change take action. They have a plan and know how to take care of themselves.

  Actions come in many forms. Some are big and obvious; some are so small you may think they are irrelevant. But any good action you take is a choice to move forward.

“I Love Flying!” – Doc Meek

“Heads up with the next generation, eh?” – Lars Oyno, from Norway, a member of the EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) Chapter 1410 in High River, Alberta, CANADA, built this aircraft. Photos from: http://www.eaahighriver.org/Home_Building/MemberProjects/L_Oyno.htm

The joy of flight!

This article points to the joys of building your own aircraft and the joys of flying. However, the lesson for learning is that there is joy and brain health–and medical health to boot–in using our brain/heart/hands/hope combination in building anything our heart desires.

What simple things can you think of that you could build?

It doesn’t have to be expensive or hugely time consuming like building an aircraft.

It can be a simple joyful hobby that touches you in some special way, that has meaning for you no matter what others think.

The joy of service to others

Or it could be something as simple as spending time helping your neighbor, especially if they are getting older. They will love you forever! And you them!

Or spending time at a nearby nursing home, hospital, library or school, volunteering and helping out. They really need you, eh?

Reading to a child, or a classroom of children, is always valuable

Children in English-speaking countries learn many rhyming songs during their early years.

Here are some of the more well-known. Many are several hundred years old.

If you’re a teacher at school these rhymes work well in classes of younger children.

They can be sung or spoken. Click here to read some ideas on how to use

rhymes with children. Image and text from: http://www.anglik.net/rhymes.htm …………………………………………………………

Education is serious business!” some say

Some teachers have told me that learning is a serious business–serious business of the mind–and should not be commingled with manual labor and mundane matters, and certainly not with foolishness.

My view is that, yes, learning can be considered as a “serious” business, and that it can still include  joyfulness, meaningfulness, and even foolishness.

Troubled brains that are not learning well can be calmed and encouraged by including cheerfulness and especially a little silliness and even goofiness in the “rules” for learning. It lightens their heavy load and gives them hope for their learning self!

Many a young student who has learned to hate learning–because of consistent failure with this “serious” business–can reconnect with the joy of learning by using my favorite definition of education, to wit, learning to connect the “4-H’s” of education: head/heart/hands/hope.

Head/Heart/Hands/Hope

If we use all of these four of these important and powerful aspects of our mind, of our being if you like, we can learn more easily, remember longer, and keep on enjoying learning for the rest of our lives!

To the joys of building and lifelong love of learning!

Doc Meek, Wednesday, July 7, 2010, at Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA

P.S. In the “Head/Heart/Hands/Hope” equation for education, the “Hands” is a representation of our physical self, and includes the arms, feet, legs, and the entire body of course. Put your whole body into learning and you learn better, faster, longer, stronger! :o)

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J Collins Meek, PhD
Email: docmeek@gmail.com
THE LEARNING CLINIC WORLDWIDE, INC.
>>> “What if you are smarter than you think?” >>>

THE LEARNING CLINIC WORLDWIDE blog: https://docmeek.com
Associate Links: http://www.amiraclemolecule.com/themeekteam
PROTECT YOUR HEALTHY HEART: http://www.themeekteam.info

THE LEARNING CLINIC WORLDWIDE (Dr J Collins Meek)
CANADA: PO Box 3105, Sherwood Park, AB T8H 2T1
US: 3688 W 9800 S, #138, South Jordan, UT 84095-3260
Phone: (801) 971-1812 (Jeannette); Fax : [801] 282-6026

International callers first enter the country code (+1)
and then enter the Phone and/or Fax number above
=====================================

Tuesday, July 6, 2010, at Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA: “Today I am grateful for mothers and grandmothers!” – Doc Meek

Cheerful Grandmother with cheerful child 

Image from: http://www.sunriseseniorliving.com/blog/September-2012/Stereotype-Of-Cheerful-Grandmother-Has-Basis-In-Science.aspx

This is the seventh (7th) article in a series of seven (7) articles designed to help us run our own brain, and to help our children and students do the same, more easily and have more fun doing it. If you missed the Introduction or any of the previous six (6) articles, just click on the titles below:

(Intro) Learning to run our brain: 10 minutes daily

(1) Learning to run our own brain: Fear of failure

(2) Learning to run our brain: Vital need for HOPE . . . always

(3) Learning to run our brain: What are qualifications for the daily “brain coach?”

(4a) Learning to run our brain: Simple easy examples of how to proceed

(4b) Learning to run our brain: Remembering names

(5) Learning to run our brain: The eyes don’t see–the brain sees

(6) Learning to run our brain: Tasks of the “back 90″

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Separate the Mother role from the Teacher role

When I worked with families in helping children to overcome learning difficulties, often there would be a battle going on at home which one mother described as “the homework wars.”

I would ask what was being taught. The mother would give me the school subjects being “taught.” I would then say:

Those subjects are not actually what is being taught. What is being taught is to hate learning and maybe even to hate your role in that. Is that what you want?

An emphatic “No” from the mother.

Then maybe we should take a larger perspective here. School is not life. Life is life. And school–though important–is only part of life. Like Dr. Levine often says, “These kids are in general OK. We just need to get them safely into adulthood.” 😮

When school was taking the child’s whole day–all of it unpleasant or painful–I felt that a better balance should come into play.  The child would go to school all day and then do homework all evening until bedtime. Not good.

No more homework until further notice!

I would ask the mothers to stop trying to be the school teacher, since the child had had enough of school teachers at school, without finding one at home every day until bedtime.

I asked the mothers to do what mothers generally do singularly well: just love them! Learn to have fun with them. So at least a part of the child’s day is pleasant and enjoyable and, in particular, human. 😮

Sometimes I would write an official letter to the school, requesting: “No more homework until further notice.”

Then the mother and the child could get on with life, while I and the external “brain coach” could help the child overcome his or her learning difficulties.

Grandmothers are great too

Sometimes the mothers were too busy to simply enjoy recreational time with the child and so we would bring grandma into play. If the child had no grandma near, we would borrow one from the neighborhood or even from a nearby “old folks home.”

The Grandmas loved it!

Here’s to Moms and Grandmas!

Doc Meek, Tuesday, July 6, 2010, at Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA

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“What if you are smarter than you think?”

https://docmeek.com

THE LEARNING CLINIC WORLDWIDE, INC.

CANADA: Dr. Meek (587) 400-4707, Edmonton, AB

TONGA: Mele Taumoepeau, P.O. Box 81, Nuku’alofa

USA: Dr. Meek (801) 738-3763, South Jordan, Utah

For optimum brain health, ensure your heart health:

Monday, July 5, 2010, Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA

This is the sixth (6th) in the series of seven (7) articles about having fun learning to run our very own brain, and helping our children and students learn to have more fun learning how to run their very own brains. – Doc Meek

See full size image Image at: www.solarnavigator.net/human_brain.htm

The conscious and the subconscious mind/brain

We have tended to focus heretofore more on the conscious mind. The additional roles of the subconscious mind/brain are immense, and will be dealt with here and in future articles.

When I was teaching parent, teacher and student classes on learning, I would sometimes present a model of the learning brain that I thought was helpful for all of us. I would talk about the brain using less than 10% of its capacity, and for those who argued this, I said that I was referring generally to what we had conscious awareness of, ongoing, day to day.

“Front 10” and “back 90”

Then, I would put the palm of my hand on my forehead (and ask my class to do the same) and I would say something like this:

OK, this is the 10% of the brain we are using to do our everyday tasks. This is the “front 10.” Of course, it isn’t in front necessarily. I am just using this to help us get a grip on this concept.

Then I would place the palm of my hand on the back of my head (and ask my class to do the same) and say something like this:

And this is the 90% of our brain that supports the “front 10.” No charge. 😮 Of course, it isn’t n the back necessarily. I am just using this model to make some points which are powerful for learning. We’ll call it the “back 90.”

The “back 90” looks after things for us without our asking. It controls the incredible chemical and electrical complexity that runs our immune system, our digestion, our body chemistry, our heartbeat, our automated movements such as walking and running, and so on. It has immense capacity.

How does the “back 90” help us with learning?

When we are learning something new, when we are changing in some way, physically or mentally or emotionally, our “front 10” is hard at work doing whatever it is that we do when we are learning something new. This is the part we are “paying attention to” if you like.

However, the “back 90” is backing up our “front 10” learning effort by supplying all that we need to do the task.

For example, when we speak, we “head out in the general direction” of what we want to say. However, we don’t have to stop before each new word in the sentence we are about to speak to figure out what comes next, generally speaking. We just “speak on” and the “back 90” assembles the word sequences in the sentences for us, without our knowledge as it were. :o)

Nice friend to have, eh?

Example of a student who was struggling with learning

One of my clients, a student in grade seven, was having a terrible time in science. I showed him the “front 10” and “back 90” concept and asked him to put his hands on his head as I was doing.

Then I said:

Just think, you are using only the “front 10” to get those low marks, right?

Yes.

What would happen if you learned how to harness up the “back 90” to help you?

What do you mean?

You’d have 90% more horsepower to bring to bear on the learning task!

Cars and horsepower he understood. This helped him immensely.

We learned together how to harness up the “back 90” to help him do better in his science class.

Would it surprise you to learn that he went from 34% in his grade seven science course to 74%?

To harnessing more brain horsepower!

Doc Meek, Mon, July 5, 2010, Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA

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“What if you are smarter than you think?”

https://docmeek.com

THE LEARNING CLINIC WORLDWIDE, INC.

CANADA: Dr. Meek (587) 400-4707, Edmonton, AB

TONGA: Mele Taumoepeau, P.O. Box 81, Nuku’alofa

USA: Dr. Meek (801) 738-3763, South Jordan, Utah

For optimum brain health, get optimum heart health:

INDEPENDENCE DAY: Happy Celebrations, United States of America!

In addition to all the things we need to learn in school and in life, one important topic may need priority attention: our ANGER!

Image from: http://fromyourdoctor.com/ext/heart_damage.gif

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Today, July 3, 2010, we are publishing the first 1/2 of a guest article by Dr. Joseph Mercola, one of the internet’s most popular sources for solid knowledge about healthy lifestyles. Entire article from: http://www.healthiertalk.com/anger-can-be-deadly-2008

First 1/2 of Our Guest Article: Anger Can Be Deadly, by Dr. Joseph Mercola

The feeling of anger, like all emotions, is not isolated in your mind. The mental reaction triggers a cascade of physical reactions that extend throughout your body, including:

• Increases in heart rate, arterial tension and testosterone
• Decreases in cortisol (the stress hormone)
• Stimulation of your left brain hemisphere, which is involved in experiencing emotions related to closeness

Interestingly, the last finding, uncovered by researchers from the University of Valencia, suggests that although anger is perceived as a negative emotion, it actually prompts you to become closer to the object of your anger, likely as a means to stop the conflict. And when it comes to anger, resolving the upset is a very wise decision.

Why Unresolved Anger Can be Deadly

Anger is a normal emotion, one that all of us experience from time to time. It’s a feeling that evokes that well-known “fight-or-flight” response, preparing us to defend ourselves physically and psychologically in a conflict. Back when anger corresponded to real threats, this response could be lifesaving, but today it pushes your body into an overdrive mode that is almost always unnecessary.

As soon as you start to get “hot under the collar,” your body starts preparing for a “fight.” Your muscles get tense, your digestive processes stop and certain brain centers are triggered, which alters your brain chemistry.

The feeling of anger may actually help you make better choices — even if you are normally not great at making rational decisions — because anger can make you focus on that which is important, and ignore things that are irrelevant to the task of making a decision.

In the long run, and sometimes even the short term, however, this automatic response to anger can weaken your immune system and lead to a variety of health problems such as:

• Headaches
• Problems with digestion
• Insomnia
• Increased anxiety
• Depression
• High blood pressure
• Skin problems, such as eczema
• Heart attack
• Stroke

Not only that, but anger can lead to other negative emotions like bitterness, hopelessness, futility and overall sadness. Let’s face it — it’s hard to have a good time if you’re holding on to anger.

Feelings of Anger Damage Your Heart

It does not feel good to be angry, and this is a clue that this emotion is also likely damaging your body on a physical level.

This is especially true of your heart, and one study from Washington State University found that people over the age of 50 who express their anger by lashing out are more likely to have calcium deposits in their coronary arteries — an indication that you’re at a high risk for a heart attack — than their mellower peers.

Letting your anger out explosively may be harmful because it triggers surges in stress hormones and injures blood vessel linings.

However, simply holding in your anger isn’t the answer either; this has been linked to increases in blood pressure and heart rate. A new study even found that suppressing your anger may triple your risk of having a heart attack.

Since it’s a given that you’re going to experience anger from time to time, it’s very important for your health to have a healthy form of release. You don’t want to lash out violently but you don’t want to hold it in either … turns out the best solution is actually somewhere in the middle.

– Dr. Joseph Mercola (“Anger can be deadly” article to be continued)

I commented on Dr. Mercola’s article: “Dr. Mercola, I am very grateful for your article, “Anger can be Deadly.” As a learning specialist with THE LEARNING CLINIC WORLDWIDE, I’ve been writing about and teaching anger management for many years, and I’m glad to see that you are documenting the medical damage anger can cause. Thank you! – Doc Meek.”

Doc Meek, Saturday, July 3, 2010, at Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA

P.S. The second 1/2 of this guest article from Dr. Joseph Mercola is now available on THE LEARNING CLINIC WORLDWIDE blog, posted Sunday, July 11, 2010. If you wish to read that second 1/2  now, just click on the this URL:  “Anger Can Be Deadly [the solutions].” – Dr. Mercola

P.S.S. For more information on how to have a healthy heart, click on the associate links in my signature block below:

Associate Links: http://www.amiraclemolecule.com/themeekteam; PROTECT YOUR HEALTHY HEART: http://www.themeekteam.info

—
J Collins Meek, PhD
Email: docmeek@gmail.com
THE LEARNING CLINIC WORLDWIDE, INC.
>>> “What if you are smarter than you think?” >>>

THE LEARNING CLINIC WORLDWIDE blog: https://docmeek.com
Associate Links: http://www.amiraclemolecule.com/themeekteam
PROTECT YOUR HEALTHY HEART: http://www.themeekteam.info

THE LEARNING CLINIC WORLDWIDE (Dr J Collins Meek)
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This is the fifth (5th) in a series of seven (7) articles showing all of us how to have more fun learning to run our very own brains more easily.

Illustration from Gray’s Anatomy; no higher resolution available. Image from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gray722.png

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They eyes don’t see–the brain sees

The classic case is that of eyewitnesses to any event. The same event can produce radically dissimilar accounts from different witnesses, even if these witnesses were all in near proximity to each other.

An example is the university professor who arranged for an intruder to enter his lecture classroom suddenly and demand the professor’s wallet and then flee. The moment the brief “heist” was over, the professor explained that it was a prearranged dramatic event to test their ability to describe events when they were under pressure.

The students heaved a great sigh of relief, laughed, and immediately wrote a short account of what they had witnessed. Accounts varied, except for one common description of the weapon that the “thief” had used. All the students described it as a gun, or pistol, or revolver, or handgun.

The “weapon” was a banana. 😮

It is the brain that learns to read

When I was working with client (helping children overcome learning difficulties), I would always tell the parents to get the student’s eyes checked before I started my work. “We want to make sure the ‘equipment” works,” I would tell them, “before we start with my investigation of what the brain is doing.”

The parents would often tell me that their child’s vision had been checked by a specialist and that the child was wearing the prescribed corrective lens, or had been told s/he had perfect vision. And then the parents would often add, “If s/he sees well, why can’t s/he read well?”

Sometimes, to emphasize the situation, I would say, “The eyes don’t see–the brain sees.”

This helped all of us emphasize the understanding that while vision is important–of course–it is the brain that learns how to read. The eyes may have perfect 20/20 vision, and the student may still not have an easy time mastering reading.

The brain directs the eye focusing and movement patterns

The eyes have to focus at a point, and then they have to move in coordinated saccades (or “jumps”) in order to take in words or phrases as they move along the line of print.

It is the brain that runs these eye movement patterns, and it is the brain that has the complex task of making meaning out of a bunch of little sequential black markings in a piece of paper.

How, and in what ways, does the brain do this?

One way is discussed in a previous article posted here on THE LEARNING CLINIC WORLDWIDE blog, April 22, 2010. To read that article, simply click on the title below:

“My son reads, closes the book, and looks blank.”

Here’s to reading comprehension!

Doc Meek, Fri, July 2, 2010, at Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA

(Updated Sat, Oct 20, 2012)

—

“What if you are smarter than you think?”

https://docmeek.com

THE LEARNING CLINIC WORLDWIDE, INC.

CANADA: Dr. Meek (587) 400-4707, Edmonton, AB

TONGA: Mele Taumoepeau, P.O. Box 81, Nuku’alofa

USA: Dr. Meek (801) 738-3763, South Jordan, Utah

For optimum brain health, get optimum heart health: