Maybe you’ve heard the saying: What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.  At first flush it seems like nonsense, while sounding sort of cool.  If someone almost stabs you to death, surely that makes you weaker?

The phrase is from the German philosopher Fredrich Nietzsche.  Now psychologists have discovered he was right, if you make it a matter of resilience.

Resilience is the emotional skill that equips you to persevere in the face of setbacks, to bounce back after initial defeats, and to overcome obstacles in achieving your goals.  Resilience is very much related to the skill of optimism and is thus an aspect of positive psychology.  It is also related to emotional intelligence through motivation.

It was the tabloid headline that grabbed my attention.  WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU DOES MAKES YOU STRONGER.

We seem to fare better after facing a few knocks compared to those who sail through life with no problems.

A study has demonstrated how adverse experiences foster adaptability and resilience, with resulting advantages for mental health and well-being.

Suffering from life’s ups and downs also means that we are better equipped to deal with adverse events in the future compared to those who have not experienced any difficulties.

For a more in-depth account of this research, look up the following:

• Study Confirms: Whatever Doesn’t Kill Us Can Make Us Stronger
• Whatever does not kill us: Cumulative lifetime adversity, vulnerability, and resilience. (original article)
• Mark Seery (information about the main researcher)

It seems those ol’ philosophers knew a thing or two after all…

Image credit: krossbow.

The title for this blog comes from the mouth of one of my favourite stand-up comedians, Rich Hall.  (See him say those words live at the Apollo on YouTube from 6:31 to 7:40).  They came to my mind as I read an article about how creative minds ‘mimic schizophrenia’.  Apparently, high levels of creativity can be associated with mental illness and lead to it.

I’ve blogged before how I admire comedians as a creative type, and on the link between depression and humour.  This is not a vague association.  According to creativity expert Edward de Bono, there is a definite relationship between creative insight and humour.

“There is often an alternative way to arrange information. This means there can be a switchover to another arrangement. Usually the switch is sudden. If the switch is temporary it gives rise to humour. If the switch is permanent it gives rise to insight.”

But as we know, a disproportionately high percentage of comedians seem to suffer from depression.  Add to this the stereotypes of the mad scientist and the tortured artist, and we’ve got a pattern.

In the 1990′s, Apple Computers encouraged us to Think Different.  Many large groups within humanity already do.  Among those groups who see the world differently from each other are:

• Westerners and Easterners
• Left-handers and Right-handers
• Introverts and Extroverts
• Religious and Secular
• Men and Women

I think a creative person is someone who narrows down this range of shared perspective on the world even further until they find themselves in a group of one.  They see past the limits imposed by their upbringing, their environment, their education, and even their genes.  They don’t just take up an opposing view, but shift their perspective to a different place entirely.  Such a change requires herculean effort and leads to isolation.  The structure of their brain is literally changed by it.

So see the world differently if you will.  See the world differently if you can pay the price!

As Nietzsche said, “How much truth can a spirit bear, how much truth can a spirit dare?”

And he should know.

Image credit: pasukaru76.

Politicians are taking notice of the impact on depression in the workplace and society.  And for once, their thinking seems smart to me.  Which is?  To start to tackle mental health issues at school age so there is a better chance of preventing depression from striking in the first place.

Teach people self-esteem and resilience while young and the chances of them suffering from depression in later life are measurably reduced.

As some of you know, Dawn and I are Sessional Trainers for Aware Defeat Depression, the only educational charity in Northern Ireland to deal exclusively with depression.  Going into schools to teach kids about mental health is exactly what we do.  It feels great to be part of this worthwhile cause.

I’ve chalked up a few blogs on preventing depression and improving mental health over the years.  I’ve mentioned innovative mental illness treatments like the use of humour and music as well as running, boxing, football and gardening.  Dawn has also designed and delivered training on depression for a specifically older audience.  I’ve also blogged on positive psychology and other scientific trends in with serious implications for the field of mental wellness.

IMHO politics is at its best when it follows and facilitates what’s going on at the grass roots level.  We the citizens are our country’s leaders and paymasters; politicians are public servants, no more.  Still, credit where credit’s due, I suppose.  A little good news about smart politics is useful to keep the blues – and reds – away.

…is that it can be treated with humour.

Regular readers of this blog will know my interest in this topic.  In March this year I delivered a 1-day workshop on the power of humour as a personal development tool.  Read about the hilarious antics that ensued in Borat Comes to Queen’s University, Funny Peculiar or Funny Ha Ha?, and All Hail the Comedians!.

Now the scientific egg-heads have finally caught up with me.  Laughter is indeed the best medicine.  A comedian called John Ryan was recruited by Surry NHS Primary Care Trust to create a stand-up show about mental health.  This wasn’t a stand alone cure of course; it was part of a larger production they were developing about suicide, depression and anxiety.  This comes after Canadian comics used humour to break down the prejudices against those with mental ill health.

In case you think this is some sort of wacky, ‘more money than sense’ ploy by health providers to paste over the cracks, I would point out that there is good science behind it.

Humour gets people talking, and talking is possibly the single greatest treatment for depression in particular.

This is doubly the case where men are concerned.  What man willingly signs up for a course of  ‘talk therapy’ for depression or CBT (even though it is very effective)?  Very few.  But how many would enroll to hear a bit of live stand-up?  Yes please!

Now, forget about all that, here’s my favourite depression joke!

Welcome to the Psychiatric Hotline.
If you are obsessive-compulsive, please press 1 repeatedly.
If you are co-dependent, please ask someone to press 2.
If you have multiple personalities, please press 3, 4, 5, and 6.
If you are paranoid-delusional, we know who you are and what you want. Just stay on the line so we can trace the call.
If you are schizophrenic, listen carefully and a little voice will tell you which number to press.
If you are depressed, it doesn’t matter which number you press. No one will answer.
If you are delusional and occasionally hallucinate, please be aware that the thing you are holding on the side of your head is alive and about to bite off your ear.

[PS Don't take any of this to mean that we take depression and mental health lightly.  Dawn and I are both Sessional Trainers for Aware Defeat Depression, and spend some of our working life deliving Mood Matters and Depression Awareness Training.]

Image credit: Texas to Mexico.

I’m into running at the moment.  I would say ‘jogging’ but my brother would kill me.  He’s a fit dude, a triathlete, with sickeningly high levels of will-power.  Apparently jogging is for girly-girls and pensioners.  What we do is run, dammit!

Despite questions recently as to whether running/jogging could be bad for you (or just French presidents), the medical evidence seems overwhelming that the benefits far outweigh the risks.  Yes, its great for increased fitness levels, weight control, and reducing the long-term risk of cardiac problems.  But I would suggest that it is also a powerful tool for heightening self-esteem.

Here’s how it yanks my chain:

(1) It connects me to my body.  I’m not just a brain plugged into a computer.  I am a free man, able to go where I want under my own power.

(2) It connects me to the real world of things.  I don’t listen to music as I run.  I use my senses to tune into the world around me.

(3) It allows me to feel powerful.  There is something positive I can do now, without having to wait on anyone else’s pleasure or plan.  Every run is a success in itself.

(4) It teaches me patience and progress.  Every week I get a little stronger, a little faster.  I can feel the development.  I go forward.  I look to the future.

(5) Surprisingly, exercise increases my energy levels.  The more I give out, the more I get back.  There’s a lesson in there somewhere…

(6) It keeps the depression deamons away.  I don’t need government programs or medication, just a pair of running shoes and a road.

And it’s not just me.

People are using various methods of exercise to increase their well-being.  One man claims that ‘World champ helped my mental health’.  This is a story about former three times world boxing champion Duke McKenzie.  He uses Boxercise in his gym to help people with poor self-esteem and depression.  His program packs a mighty punch.

Then there is Football therapy – for the mentally ill.  Football is particularly good for helping men kick depression into touch.  It gets men out of the house and talking to each other – two vital components for male mental health.

Or if all this sounds a little too macho, try gardening to grow better mental health.  The point is, do something!

The more I think about this, the more it appears clear to me that its the little things that count.  Simplicity.  Theories are not necessary.  Just do it!

Do what?  Here are 10 other ways to beat the blues.  No excuses now.

Image credit: thelastminute.