Optimism is Healthy

According to the WHO, about 300 million people are affected by it in the world, and this number is destined to increase significantly by the middle of the century. More specifically, the questions I have in mind here are What if I can questions. What if I can make a living doing what I love? What if I can retire at forty-five? What if I can travel extensively with my kids? Remember, we are the only species on earth that can imagine a better future and make it a reality by forming a plan and acting on it consistently. It's our superpower. So what if you could design your ideal life in the coming years? What if you could have (almost) everything you want? By using What if questions you'll open yourself up to new opportunities. And as you keep taking action repeatedly, you'll be able to create a more empowering model of reality that will lead to better results. When the eyes begin to track together, you follow the marker pen with both eyes, training them to move in unison. This movement initially takes place in the same plane. When the eyes are comfortable tracking in one plane, begin to move the marker in and out so the eyes need to converge at different planes in order to follow it. You are then practicing the second objective of getting both eyes to co-ordinate in a natural way. Do this exercise for just a few minutes at a time but frequently during the day, as is convenient. It is better to do the exercise ten times a day for 1 minute than to do 30 minutes of the exercise once. The objective is to train the mind to co-ordinate the eye muscles so both eyes converge on the object of interest. With children it is best to use different objects in order to catch their attention. It is also very important to make the exercise a game and not insist upon doing it because it has to be done.

Remember, the child's mind must be involved and this is best presented as entertainment. Sadness, anxiety, lack of hope, a sense of void and pointlessness, also in some cases a sense of guilt. These are all symptoms that lead to a withdrawal from social activities and a general loss of interest. This is caused by a combination of genetic, biological, environmental and psychological factors: a tragic event can trigger a domino effect. The US National Institute of Mental Health says it is `clinical depression if it's there almost all day long, and almost every day for at least two weeks'. Two weeks may not be very long but if the phenomenon is prolonged and the depression is moderate or severe, then it's necessary to seek the help of a specialist. In the last 20 years, more and more people are finally coming round to the idea that depression is caused by a chemical or biological imbalance in the brain, after centuries of incomprehension and denigration of those affected. It's no coincidence that this new attitude has been encouraged by marketing on the part of pharmaceutical companies, which advertise SSRI drugs on television (US law allows it) with the same nonchalance as they would with cough mixture. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor drugs can block the reuptake (recycling, in lay terms) of serotonin, thereby prolonging its effect at a synaptic level. They are prescribed in large quantities all over the world, even though nobody is able to explain why serotonin levels increase straight after treatment begins and yet the drug only starts having an effect several weeks later. It is to be hoped that, in the future, pharmaceutical research will be able to do better than this. So keep asking yourself, What if. Write down the answer to the questions below using your action guide: How can I achieve my goal? What can I do to help me reach it? What if I could achieve my goal? What if it was possible? To develop the beliefs necessary to reach your goals, you must receive feedback from reality. And the best way to do this is by taking consistent action. Taking action comes with several benefits.

First, it allows you to identify what works and what doesn't. Perhaps you could give a little reward when certain milestones are achieved. This usually helps to keep the interest level high. This exercise has been used by vision trainers since the turn of the century and has been found particularly useful for strabismus. It is sometimes referred to as the elephant swing since the movement resembles the movement an elephant makes when chewing its food. Swinging slowly from side to side relaxes the eyes and therefore encourages natural eye co-ordination. It works with the mind's natural tendency to converge on a desired object. As you slowly swing from side to side, the mind will naturally try to converge on the object of interest as you swing by. This exercise is best done with children old enough to understand the instructions. Stand with your feet parallel and sufficiently apart for comfortable balance. Shift your weight from one foot to the other in the easy swaying motion you have seen elephants make in the zoo. Actions, thoughts and sometimes even words that get repeated non-stop. Feeling compelled to check five times that the front door is locked. Feeling the need to wash your hands even though you've already done it ten times in the past half-hour. Always thinking about the same thing, even if you don't want to. These are the most famous symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder, which, according to recent studies, affects 2. Behavioural therapies and current medicines on the market can sometimes be effective. If there ever was any doubt about the close connection between biology and behavioural conditions, just remember the story of the young Canadian in the early 90s who shot himself in the head, survived, and woke up without any more compulsions. Evidently this condition doesn't prevent those afflicted with it from changing the world: they include theologian Martin Luther, mathematician Kurt Godel, and inventor Nikola Tesla, who reshaped modern life as we know it. Schizophrenia is a disorder in which thought, language and the perception of oneself and of reality get mixed up.

Even though its causes are unknown, its effect is a general chemical imbalance of dopamine, serotonin and glutamate that interferes with the entire sensory system until it overwhelms it. There may be things you believe could be effective, but don't actually work. In short, taking action is a great way to test your assumptions. Second, taking consistent action allows you to shatter your beliefs regarding what is and isn't possible for you. For instance, you might believe you could never give a speech in front of a large audience, write a article or run a marathon. However, as you begin to take action, you may realize it's actually possible. And the more you accumulate small wins, the more your confidence will grow and the more action you'll be able to take. Third, taking action enables you to refine your model of reality even further. For example, if you take consistent action for months but fail to see positive results, you might start questioning what you're doing. Perhaps you're doing the wrong thing, or not taking enough action. Such questioning will lead you to adjust your actions until you begin to notice tangible results. As you sway gently from side to side let your head and shoulders turn with your swing. Let the arms and hands hang limply from loose shoulders allowing the momentum to lift and swing them as you turn from side to side. Count aloud rhythmically in tempo with the swing. This is important because when you are counting aloud or singing it is impossible to hold your breath. Deep rhythmic breathing is essential for relaxation and good vision. Be sure that neck, shoulder and chest muscles are loose and relaxed. Swing all of your body to one side, then to the other. As you count from 1 to 60 you develop the relaxation you need. From 60 to 100, you fully release nerves and muscles.

Best of all, your eyes begin to shift with their many involuntary vibrations, which brings improved vision. Hallucinations can be visual, olfactory (related to smells), auditory, taste-related and tactile. Delusions, such as believing that your thoughts come from outside you, can dramatically interfere with everyday life. Almost nobody develops schizophrenia as a child. Practically nobody when they're old. This condition typically manifests itself towards the end of adolescence, emerging fully at around the age of 25. Men are affected slightly more commonly than women. The risk factors are, as usual, genetic but also environmental: poverty, abuse and neglect are often connected with the onset of schizophrenia. According to the WHO, about 21 million people worldwide are affected. The effects depend on the severity of the condition, and cases of recovery have been recorded. The good news is that the average life expectancy of brains keeps getting longer, thanks to a healthier lifestyle and significant diagnostic and therapeutic improvements in health systems. Remember, we're living in a world ruled by cause and effect. Certain actions are likely to generate the results you're looking for while others aren't. It doesn't matter how much you say you want to help people, how good a person you are or how hard you work. What matters are the outcomes. The real questions you must answer are: How accurate is my model of reality? How effective is my current blueprint? Am I truly taking all the necessary actions to reach my goal? Maybe you believe you should be a motivational speaker because you care so much about others.