{"id":2395,"date":"2011-01-20T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-01-20T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/beyondblue\/2011\/01\/therapy-thursday-read-the-sign.html"},"modified":"2011-01-20T09:00:00","modified_gmt":"2011-01-20T09:00:00","slug":"therapy-thursday-read-the-sign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/2011\/01\/therapy-thursday-read-the-sign.html","title":{"rendered":"Therapy Thursday: Read the Signs"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"pocket<\/span>I have decided to dedicate a post on Thursday to therapy, and offer you the many tips I have learned on the couch. They will be a good reminder for me, as well, of something small I can concentrate on. Many of them are published in my book, “The Pocket Therapist: An Emotional Survival Kit.<\/a>” <\/em>
\nI interpret bad reports from my endocrinologist, cardiologist, and psychiatrist as signs.
\nThat I’m not doing something right, or taking enough breaks for myself.
\nHere are a few signs I see regularly: Stop; Slow Down<\/em>; Proceed Cautiously or Not at All<\/em>; Look for Children, Especially Yours<\/em>; Caution: Judgmental Relative Ahead<\/em>; Danger: Trust Me on This One, You Don’t Want to Go There<\/em>; I Said Stay Out! Are you Deaf?<\/em>; Annoying Mother Onboard<\/em>; Enter If You Want More Stress In Your Life<\/em>.
\nThe Wall Street Journal<\/em> just ran an astute piece by Health Journal columnist Melinda Beck about why it’s so important that we listen to what our bodies are telling us. Melinda writes: “The body speaks volumes about what ails it – from obvious warnings like a fever that accompanies an infection to subtle clues like losing hair on the toes, which can be an early sign of vascular disease.”
\nIt’s taken me a l-o-n-g time, approximately 15,000 days, to learn this important lesson. Now I no longer ignore the heart palpitations. It means I need to chill the hell out. If my fingers and toes and lips turn purple as they often do with Raynaud’s phenomenon, I consider my stress level. And if my sleep is interrupted for too many nights, I start making changes to my daily routine so that I don’t have to drink five large cups of espresso to stay awake.
\nMoreover, I imagine my living organs as good buddies of mine taking a road trip with me. Every half hour or so, I’ll ask them (my brain, heart, liver): “You guys okay? Anyone need to stop for awhile and get some rest? Or am I free to crank out a few books, an iPhone application, a few different blogs, and possibly a radio show?
\nIf they start throwing tantrums like my kids, I know it’s time to slow down or hit a rest station. Or to start paying better attention to the signs in my life.<\/p>\n

* Click here to subscribe to Beyond Blue<\/b><\/a> and click here to follow Therese on Twitter<\/b><\/a> and click here to join Group Beyond Blue<\/b><\/a>, a depression support group. Now stop clicking.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have decided to dedicate a post on Thursday to therapy, and offer you the many tips I have learned on the couch. They will be a good reminder for me, as well, of something small I can concentrate on. Many of them are published in my book, “The Pocket Therapist: An Emotional Survival Kit.”…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-food-and-health","category-mental-health"],"yoast_head":"\nTherapy Thursday: Read the Signs - Beyond Blue<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/2011\/01\/therapy-thursday-read-the-sign.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Therapy Thursday: Read the Signs - Beyond Blue\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I have decided to dedicate a post on Thursday to therapy, and offer you the many tips I have learned on the couch. 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