Category: Depression & Anxiety

Depression & Anxiety, Happy Heart, Healthy Aging, Pets, Your Amazing Life

Pets Boost Happiness

Maggie Holbik, Offering Inspiration for Living Freely and in JOY!

It’s no surprise that pets help to boost happiness. Not only can they be cute, cuddly, and affectionate, but they love us unconditionally!

As of late, I am delighted to hear from friends and colleagues who have recently opened their mind up to the gift of having a pet. It’s a gift for both the animal and the pet owner. Truly a win-win for all when a pet is welcomed into a loving, caring, and healthy home.

A new trend is emerging where pets are even allowed in some workplaces. I work mostly from home and just this morning, while writing, I was so grateful to have my cat Bella cuddled up in my lap while I tapped away at the keyboard. In between petting her of course. 🙂 So I think the workplace idea, when it is able to be both conducive to the work environment and adaptable, is a great idea!

My Bella trying to nap with that “Don’t bug me look….” lol

Animals can help reduce stress, lower blood pressure, and increase social interaction and physical activity. They are also really good companions for the elderly. They provide a loving and interactive presence for those who can no longer get out and interact with others due to age and mobility. They also don’t worry about tomorrow, which can be a very scary concept for an older person.

Pets can also have an astounding effect on symptoms of depression and feelings of loneliness.  When one has someone else to care for and to love, a person’s entire world and viewpoint can shift from that of lack and loneliness to one of compassion and purpose.

Finding ways to have more compassion for people and animals is a huge catalyst to having more peace and love in life. I have recently written a blog post on Compassion over at my main blog. Here is the link if you would like to read it:

https://maggieholbik.blog/2019/04/09/3-ways-to-be-more-compassionate-how-it-can-free-you/

For those that already have a pet or pets, it’s no surprise that 98% of pet owners consider their pet to be a member of the family. Both pets and therapy animals can help alleviate stress, anxiety, depression, lack of purpose, and feelings of loneliness and social isolation. Interactions with animals can help people manage long-term mental health conditions, as well as boost happiness and JOY through day to day interactions with these adorable creatures.

What about you? Have you always wanted a pet? Or are you en-JOYing the ones you have? Please drop a comment in the comment area and let’s share our JOY of pets and support the idea of providing loving homes to these gifts of pure unconditional and unbridled love! If you have ever come home to a dog so happy to see you, you will know what the term ‘unbridled love’ really means. 🙂

Unbridled: uncontrolled; unconstrained.”a moment of unbridled ambition”

synonyms:unrestrained, unconstrained, uncontrolled, uninhibited, unrestricted, unchecked, uncurbed, rampant, runaway, irrepressible, unstoppable, uncontainable, unquenchable

While writing this blog post I reached out to my friends on FB for some of their best pet pics and below are a few of these adorable pics for us to En-JOY! 🙂

keep your pooch healthy click here:

Maggie Holbik.com is a Certified Life Coach, Board Certified Nutritionist and lover of life and anything living like plants and animals. She believes in love and love between all creatures and living things.

  • Wanda’s Nephews

  • Hugs!

  • Meet Ethel

  • Mother & Daughter Smooch!

  • The are all Adorbs!

Link to Maggie’s main blog for inspiration
Link to maggie’s business coaching blog
Depression & Anxiety, Drugs

I Was So Saddened today!

Maggie Holbik, Offering Inspiration for Living Freely and in JOY!

meds

Today I went to the Shoppers Drug Mart website to look for something and I saw this picture. I was astounded at this number! Two Hundred and Forty Three tons of medication that was brought back, as in unused, expired or discarded for whatever reason. Why I was so shocked is that this is just the number that was brought back! Imagine then how much is consumed by people?

I am not against medication by any means, it has a purpose and a place and is an important part of health and wellness care, but I was instantly jolted into how big this industry really is and saddened that there are so many people on all of these medications. Something is wrong with this picture. I am sure you would agree, that life should not be this way!

I googled  and 243 tonnes is 486,000 pounds of meds! OMG! And this is just in Canada I am assuming.

I will continue to do my part to help people learn natural ways to add more nutrition, more JOY, more nature, more laughter, and more healthy additions into their lives so they can improve their health and peace of mind in a way more so the way nature intended it to be.

The link mentioned above also stated that 375,000 Canadian teens have abused
prescription drugs and 55% got them from a home!   If we can get people healthier with less emphasis on prescription drugs, can you see the impact it would have on our children also?

Let’s all do our part by continuing to work on improving our personal health and leading the way for our children and the future children of the world.

Maggie Holbik.com is a Board Certified Nutritionist and Life Coach who believes in the power of nature and in laughter as medicine.  She encourages her clients to make small and manageable life changes to enhance their physical health, emotional health and spiritual well-being.

 

Depression & Anxiety, inflammation, Vitamins for the Mind

Inflammation & Depression

Maggie Holbik, Offering Inspiration for Living Freely and in JOY!

depression inflammation

Depression is a hot topic in the world today and so is inflammation. If you suffer from either of these or both, you are not alone.

Although there are many contributing underlying factors that contribute to depression, science now confirms that inflammation can be correlated to depression.

A study published in The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry supports the premise that increased inflammation may play a role in depression. The large study examined data from 14,275 people who were interviewed between 2007 and 2012 using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) to screen for depression and had blood samples drawn. They found that people who had depression had 46% higher levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of inflammatory disease, in their blood samples. The study was only able to establish an association between depression and inflammation but not causation, though it confirms the association of depression with high levels of inflammation as measured through CRP.

Finding ways to reduce inflammation in the body is helpful in a myriad of ways and in this case beneficial specifically for depression.

Here are some simple ways to become pro-active in reducing inflammation in general.

  1. Choose anti-inflammatory foods and avoid foods that trigger inflammation. Here is a good resource by Dr. Axe https://draxe.com/anti-inflammatory-foods/
  2. Exercise is a an excellent way to help with inflammation. Exercise keeps muscles active, moves the lymphatic system and improves circulation as well. It’s an overall win-win when it comes to maintaining your health. A study found that just 20 minutes of exercise a day reduced inflammation. Exercise increases your your serotonin level (that’s the “feel good” neurotransmitter), which helps decrease negative emotions and increase positive ones also. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/315255.php
  3. Try taking up yoga and/or meditation. Both of these practices have numerous benefits and help with inflammation and are especially beneficial to help with anxiety and depression. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/yoga-could-slow-the-harmful-effects-of-stress-and-inflammation-2017101912588

There are numerous things one can do to combat inflammatory responses in the body including supplementation which I will discuss in specifics in a future blog post.

Finding out the underlying cause or pathogen that is contributing to the inflammation is most beneficial also, but in the theme of keeping things simple for this blog post, a recap is to work on your diet, incorporate exercise into your daily life, and take up a new practice of yoga, meditation or even walking in nature. All of these things will help with inflammation that may contribute to depression and a host of other conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and more.

MaggieHolbik.com is a Certified Life Coach and a Board Certified Holistic Nutritionist who resides in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. Maggie offers complimentary 15 minute discovery chats via phone, Skype, or Zoom to see if Life or Holistic Nutrition coaching might be a fit for you.