Category Archives: Mental Health

Does the movie ‘Marriage Story’ get family law right?

Family law is a department filled with heartache and many families that walk in through the lawyer’s door seldom depart with a happy ending or a fair settlement. While law firms work hard to fight for their client’s best interests. However, in the midst of negotiating the winning terms for both parties, it often generates a clash of interest and creates both drama and tension, as illustrated in the film “Marriage Story” starring Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver.

Healthy divorces can be done without the help of a lawyer

The film lays the groundwork for a couple whose marriage is crumbling due to neglect, but there is still much love between the two protagonists. As they come to terms with filing a divorce, they decide not to use any lawyers as they didn’t want to make it messier than it already is. However, as a child is involved, they both struggle over custody and end up hiring divorce attorneys to help them get the best deal out of the situation which is not what the divorcing couple intended. At the very end of the film, we see Scarlett’s character question the actions of her lawyer, asking why she had imposed more stringent rules on the father when it comes to child visitation, and the lawyer simply stated that they had “won”, but Scarlett makes it clear that winning was not in her agenda and she did not feel the need to restrict her ex-husband from visiting their son. She expresses her regret at proceeding with lawyers when they had wanted to split amicably.

Therapy should be the first choice

When the film begins, we see both husband and wife at the therapist’s office, trying to work things out between them and Scarlett’s characters blatantly refusing to read the letter her husband had written as per the therapist’s instructions. At the end of the film, we find out what a heartfelt love letter the husband had written but it was too late, the battle for their son had been waged and their marriage was in tatters. If there is an overarching message that the film wanted to send to audiences, it was this: work hard for your relationship, put in the effort, even when you no longer see the light at the end of the tunnel. Don’t shut your significant other out, even when you feel like you hate them, because how you feel about them is transient, and you will be able to work through it if the both of you are willing to.

At the end of the day, we need to recognize that when parents split up, the family becomes collateral damage. But also, there are no right or wrong parties, regardless of what has happened between them unless domestic abuse is involved. However, most divorces happen because a relationship has naturally run its course and the pair that should be tending to it has averted their attention elsewhere: on their children, career, etcetera. 

Ample discoveries in managing your anxiety

For years, physical health has been at the forefront of healthcare and medical research, and while of course this is an important aspect of overall health, and thus more than worthy of the dedication to its cause, it is important to also remember mental health. And at the end of the day, one of the most shockingly common mental health struggles out there is anxiety. This mental health disease does not discriminate, meaning that it can and does affect anyone, anywhere, anytime, anyplace. That is the power and the horror of anxiety, and it remains one of the most terrifyingly common mental health struggles there is, the world over.

The internal nature of anxiety often means that it is not as easily recognised, or diagnosed, as most physical health problems are. This can make it difficult to even recognise in the first place, but also challenging to control and treat. And while not all those who actually suffer from anxiety may even realise that is indeed what they are suffering with, the point always remains the same: anxiety can be debilitating, but it does not have to be that way. Outside of professional treatment solutions, what are some of the recent and ongoing discoveries to help you manage your anxiety?

Break big projects into small tasks

This is so important. Sometimes, even the smallest thing can feel like the biggest deal when you are battling anxiety. So, when faced with big projects and tasks, it is easy to understand how they could easily become more and more challenging to deal with. When you have big projects on your plate, try to break them down into smaller tasks, prioritising the most important fundamental sections of the project to be taken care of first. This way, you are not necessarily dealing with one giant, heavy task, but instead multiple smaller, more easily managed tasks. Make a list of these small tasks, and tick them off one by one. This will make you feel more productive and more in control, thus quelling your anxiety from bubbling over.

Take control in a natural way

Sometimes, going back to nature is the best medicine you can get. It does not necessarily matter if you do this by using essential oil blends to help calm and relax your body and mind, or if you buy CBD oil online to assist in managing your anxiety. What matters is how you approach dealing with it, and what you plan to do to figure it all out. There is an undeniable sense of calm that comes hand in hand with knowing that you are approaching dealing with the issue head on, in as organic a way as possible. It is also important to note that if you plan to make use of CBD oil, you should consult with a healthcare or medical professional you trust beforehand.

While the original plant of marijuana could enhance an existing anxiety problem, the cannabinoid compound of CBD has the opposite effect. CBD oil has been proven to help in calming nerves as it is a popular relaxant. In one study, brain scans showed that patients treated with CBD oil had changed blood flow to regions of the brain which is linked to anxious feelings. This is extremely promising and scientists are looking into ways of how CBD is able to react with patients of depression, OCD, PTSD and even autism, amongst other mental disorders.

Work with your body to calm yourself down

Anxiety often manifests in fits of panic and even sometimes rage. When you feel your anxiety start to take over, it pays to literally sit yourself down and actively and consistently work with your body to calm yourself down in the face of your anxiety. This often seems difficult, if not impossible, but counting to three, focusing on your happy place or something definitively good, and taking slow, deliberate breaths will give you an edge up on your anxiety and help to neutralise your head space.

Sleep found to be crucial contributor to mental health

When it comes to understanding how diet and exercise each impact our overall health, to say that there is an overwhelmingly body of research and understanding, would be putting it mildly. However, there is not nearly as much information out there in regards to the impact that quality of sleep has on an individual’s mental health. Over recent years, it has become more and more obvious that mental health is just as important as physical health or emotional health, but even still, the reasons behind mental health risk are still heavily debated and not entirely agreed upon across the board.

Mental health linked to sleep quality

Essentially, the consensus most widely accepted these days is that mental health issues can be caused by an array of contributing factors. For some individuals, it is being around negative people, or existing in negative spaces. For others, it is a specific place, or a trauma they are struggling to overcome. And for some people, it is (at least partially) their sleeping pattern that has the most significant effect on their mental health. It sounds surprising to some people, but sleep has been proven, in multiple recent research studies, to have a genuine and sometimes profound impact on an individual’s mental state. Essentially, when we do not get enough sleep, our bodies are fatigued, and as a result our brains do not function to their usual standard. This results in a type of mental fog that leaves us unfocused and unlike ourselves.

Understanding when the warning signs are glaring

Sometimes, no matter how much we would like to think we are in control of our health, we simply are not. And sometimes, it is more difficult than one might initially think to even realise that there is a problem in the first place. These days, people are busier than ever. Because of the busy lifestyles many of us lead today, not everyone has the time in their average day to slow down enough and consider how their sleeping pattern may actually be affecting their mental health. It is important to take a step back when you feel unbalanced, and do the work to understand why and what you need to do to get back on track – even if that takes more time than expected.

How to combat the problem of wavering sleep

The unfortunate truth is that sometimes, getting a good night’s sleep is easier said than done.

Natural remedies like essential oils or music are a great way to help ease yourself to sleep at night. However, if the problem persists and proves to be more severe, it is time to consider other methods of treatment. Sometimes it takes more than some pleasant oils or a new mattress to right this ship. It is not at all uncommon for people to seek out professional healthcare assistance to remedy their sleeping issues, and it has proven to be incredibly beneficial to many people over time.