INTEGRATIVE + ONLINE PSYCHIATRY + HOLISTIC HEALTH

Category: Depression

A collage of pictures representing the theme of Wise choosing & collaborating to ensure health & longevity and all being in balance.

An “Ensurance Plan” for healthy aging, productivity, and vitality.

How can a practical and sensible plan be structured to maintain or enhance physical and mental health, longevity, and well-being?

There are reasonable choices for promoting health and longevity and preventing future disease and disability.

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Collage of six picture of peoples journey from midlife crisis to vitality and thriving.

Finding the way from a midlife crisis

Navigating from a life-challenging period of depression and suicidal thoughts to purpose and vitality—strategies to help.

My father’s surprising revelations.

When I was a teenager, my father shared with me, as we were walking one day, that he was amazed at an encounter earlier that day with a friend of his who had come to him for support and guidance. The friend told him he had been having suicidal thoughts and was very upset with what he thought were significant losses and challenges in his life. I don’t know what my father told him, but his friend felt relieved and left in an improved mental state, feeling that he had been listened to, supported, and unburdened by his deepest worries and fears.

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collage of nine pictures with scenes of traumatic events and realization of the way to happiness and thriving.

Unlocking Happiness: A Journey of Recovery and Transformation

Exploring Mental Health, Trauma, and Self-Belief for Personal Growth and Happiness

09/07/2023 Video Podcast, Podcast interview with Rob Hosking

The following are excerpts from my 09-07/2023 Video Podcast, Podcast interview with Rob Hosking, where we delve into the inspiring story of Rob, a former frontline police officer who underwent a profound transformation after his traumatic experiences. Rob’s journey led him to become a motivational speaker, specializing in happiness and mental health. Through sharing his own struggles with depression and mental health, Rob aims to empower individuals to overcome challenges and discover their true potential for happiness and resilience.

Rob’s two main areas of expertise are happiness and mental health. He is a motivational TEDx Speaker on happiness, mental health, and workplace well-being.

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Collage of 6 pictures: the concentration camp and the captured, searching for meaning, peace, a solder with PTSD, and spiritual awakening.

Unraveling the Unfathomable: Capturing the Essence of Profound Experiences*

Impactful experiences critically affect a person’s choices, life direction, meaning, and perspective.

Finding the right words to describe the indescribable

Difficulty describing profound and highly impactful events is a challenge for most, as words cannot capture the essence and totality of the happening. There are talented writers, poets, spiritual masters, and philosophers who have come close to conveying the mystery and otherworldliness of personal and profound, unique experiences. Experiences can be momentary, powerful, ecstatic, liberating, and enlightening, or painful, life-threatening, tragic, traumatic, and damaging. The event can occur over time with duress until circumstances change.

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Collage of impactful experience with pictures of ecstatic peak experience in natural setting, or with assistance, and traumatic life threatening events.

Impactful moments that critically affect life and well-being

Enlightening expansive experience can be an accelerator for change and growth

A dynamic, momentary, or more prolonged experience can alter and mold your life and its expression.

Any of us can recall certain impactful events that may have significantly impacted our life experiences and choices. Today, for instance, was boiling and muggy with overhead threatening storm clouds and a distant rumble of an approaching thunderstorm. It took my mind back to a past eventful summer’s day. I was seventeen and had worked hard that summer, earning enough to have my first car, and began dating my childhood sweetheart, my future wife. My older brother, who was working with a seasoned builder and involved with a construction project, hired me for the summer to assist the job superintendent with whatever help he needed. I felt both lucky and proud to be relied on for everything that came up. I remember one of the heavy equipment drivers who was always bragging about his smooth ways and dating life. He would tease me about being green behind the ears and maybe a little spoiled.

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Collage of pictures representing choosing and decision making, karma and result, and a building imploding, and woman of wisdom.

The Art of Decision-making for Successful Outcomes

My mother’s wise advice, the tragic vacation to see the Titanic wreckage, decision-making, and my close calls

A mother’s advice on travel and finding answers, meaning, and perspective

Once in my youth, not too long after beginning the stress and challenging times of medical training, I told my wife one evening in our small cozy apartment, “I need to take some vacation time off to wrap my head around all these current demands and changes. I need a break to gain perspective on the meaning and purpose of my newly chosen medical career path.” My wife and I agreed, so we planned and then set off on a long drive to a yoga retreat center in the mountains to meet, learn, and do practices with a popular and well-known yoga teacher.1

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Collage of 13 pictures with theme of writer's block, and return to creative production and flow; one picture reminds to listen to your inner voice.

Surmounting Writer’s Block

The critical steps to reignite inspired creativity, growth, and productivity.

Writer’s Block Strikes

I was returning from a vacation and felt guilty about not working on or beginning a new newsletter article. Every time I would sit down to start, I would find myself distracted and doing other things or just feeling tired or overwhelmed by the immensity of the task with all its components. Some basics of the task even felt too difficult, such as coming up with new material, doing the research, working through the succession of drafts, multiple edits, and the final publishing process.

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Collage of pictures of recreational and assault guns and people with mental illness and anger

Mass Shootings—Too Many Guns or Mental Health Problems

Resolving the political divide on the causes and solutions of active or mass shooter incidences may be in the link between mental health, depression, lethal weapons, and media influence.

There has been a lack of progress in passing new legislation and regulations to help curb the increase in mass shootings of innocent people. Tragic loss of life from mass shootings or active shooter incidences is now an almost daily occurrence and increasing. People feel helpless and angered that our elected officials, for-profit businesses, and organizations can’t have fruitful discussions or surmount their partisan stuck talking points and biases.1

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Colleague of pictures around the theme of loss, forgiveness, broken heart, insight, perspective, & enlightenment

What I learned from my father’s death or should have

The hidden truth about Forgiveness

by Ron Parks, MD

It was early morning when I got a call from the chief of medicine and cardiologist at the community hospital where I was on staff. In a more worried voice, than was usual for him, he said, “Ron, could you stop by my office on your way to make rounds? It’s about your father. With everything I have tried, I can’t stabilize him. We need to make some decisions!” With that, I grabbed my coat and headed out the door. Our chief of medicine was the top cardiologist in the immediate area. When my father, during a visit to our home, had another one of his heart attacks, I had him admitted to our local hospital under the care of an experienced cardiologist.

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