PsychSense: Sensible Psychological Solutions

The Suicide rate in US soldiers in Iraq is higher then it’s been in years. According to CNN, every day, five U.S. soldiers try to kill themselves. Before the Iraq war began, that figure was less than one suicide attempt a day.

 I was thinking about this and wondering why this was so much worse then in the past. What I thought might be a contributing factor is the new military policy of extending duty time at will. This is very hard on soldiers or anyone for that matter. As we all know, you can live through almost anything when there is an end in site. However, when the end time is unsure, or can get extended or put off at any time for unknown reasons, those affected feel out of control, helpless and hopeless.

 Helplessness, hopelessness (having no belief that things will get better) are major factors in depression and potential suicide. Hope for the future and change for the better is what keeps us holding on through bad times! I believe these factors may also influence suicide bombers who have no expectation for anything better on this earth, thus make their decision to die in hopes of something better on the other side.  

 So the question becomes, how do we keep up hope in a world that makes this difficult?

 Here are some of my ideas about activities and thoughts that may help ward off hopelessness. Please send your ideas to help expand the list.

•  Avoid hopeless situations, books, movies, people etc.
•  Try to surround yourself with upbeat (but realistic) hopeful people and thing.
• Expose yourself to positive TV shows, movies etc. Go see a good comedy or read a hopeful book.
• Avoid newspapers and news for a while. It’s ok not to watch the news daily.
• Stop thinking so much! We tend to try to solve problems in our heads even those with no solutions.
  Rumination is the experience of going over and over situations or thought in our head. This is a useless exercise and does not help anything. Try some meditation or other thought stopping techniques. 
• Eat some comfort foods, putter in the kitchen make a healthy heartwarming soup.
• Spend time with friends who are uplifting, don’t spend a lot of money arrange a weekly potluck, card or game night.
•  Avoid people who are depressing or negative, some people seem to make themselves feel better by bring others down.
•  Do not allow yourself to constantly talk of hopeless things.
•  Expose yourself to the sun, or sunlamps if necessary.
•  Take 3000 mg of fish oil a day.
• Work on some small, sure to be successful, fun projects to donate or give away.
• Sit by a fire.
• Visit a museum.
• Spend time with children, if you don’t have any offer free babysitting to someone who needs it. 
• Help someone else. 
• Do volunteer work. 
• Do not do, read or watch scary things. 
• Take short walks often. 
• Avoid TV 
• Read a fabulous (not deep or sad) book.
•  Read magazines or short stories. 
• Visit a church.
• Go to library.
• Shop at a thrift store.
•  Experience nature. 
• Listen to calm uplifting music; try some relaxation tapes. (Check out my site for a sampler of relaxation techniques) 
• Work with an eye on what needs to be done today, let the future take care of itself. 
• Keep goals short term. 
• Keep self-expectations reasonable.
•  Keep expectations of others reasonable. 
• Sing, hum, dance, skip, ride a bike (do exercise that does not feel like exercise). 
• Get a Massage, if you can afford it trade back rubs with a friend (not at the same time). 
• Stop thinking so much. 
• Do not start new intimate relationships at this time. 
• Cultivate old faithful friends.
• Avoid overly sweet, silly, Pollyanna-ish, insincere people, places and things. 
• Its ok to be avoidant sometimes. 
• Take care of pennies dollars will take care of themselves.
• Remember constant worry does not help and makes you feel worse. 
• Put up pictures of nature, loved ones animals.
• Be social but cultivate solitude also.
• Place some upbeat sayings and posters where you can easily see them. 

Send me your upbeat sayings and I will post mine later.