News bytes and Research

New Zealand Leads The World In Zero Emission Renewable Grid Electricity
New Zealand leads the world in zero emission renewable grid electricity now at 85%. With a nice balance between geothermal, hydroelectric, unusually continuous wind power and some solar, the country has less intermittency of green power than most.

Mental Health Issues The Main Reason Australians See Their GP
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) says Australians are now presenting to their GP with mental health issues more than any other health concern.

It’s OK To Be Jealous, Angry and Insecure
“Yes, others have flaws, too.” I used to think. “But mine are different. Mine are heavier. My flaws are the kind of flaws one actually needs to hide, because they’ll disturb people.”

6 Tips To Get Motivated If You Are Feeling Depressed
A common response to identifying lifestyle changes that might make a depressed person feel better is, “Easier said than done.” Someone coping with depression may get what she’s supposed to do, but the question is how? After all, depression kills motivation, energy, interest and focus. Once you give the engine a jump, it often becomes easier, but until then, how do you connect the jumper cables you need to make a spark?

A Taoist Master Explains the source of Problems in the World Today
Searching for the roots of today’s problems, and for realistic solutions, can be a wild goose chase. It seems almost everyone is pressing an opinion or pushing an agenda, always outwardly, always blaming some group or other for the chaos and suffering in our world, which never lets up. The division and frustration breeds more division and frustration, as we drift ever further from harmonious, peaceful living.

Why We Honour The Ancestors?
I think many people look at earth-based spirituality as worshiping the outside world; something outside of yourself. Spirit has shown me it’s about honouring, remembering, celebrating an aspect of myself, wisdom that is being passed on to me and that I feel called to reclaim.

mental healing

Navigating the Maze: Reconsidering Approaches to Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is one of the most common diseases in Australia. One in nine men will be diagnosed in their lifetime. Because of increased screening and a simple blood test, these days, most cases are found early. It is difficult to say though, which cancers will turn out to be aggressive and which ones are so slow in progressing that a person will live a normal life-span and die with - not of - the disease. There is also little evidence to show that the radical treatments most often recommended for prostate cancer (removal of the prostate, radiation, hormone therapy) significantly increase overall longevity. This leaves many men facing a confusing maze of options for treatment, some of which have debilitating effects on quality of life. Shelley Davidow explains.

Yoga: Supporting Youth Doing It Tough
In this article, which is the second in a series about how yoga can positively impact different population groups, Jill Danks from The Yoga Foundation reports on the outcomes of a new yoga class available for challenged and disadvantaged adolescents from Youth Off The Streets.

Narratives of Healing: The Importance of Agency and the Role of Suffering
“WHEN PEOPLE start talking in solemn voices about the value of the journey of healing, I become instantly resistant and suspicious. I think to myself, what attractively packaged and trite platitudes that diminish the harsh realities of pain will be served up now! Sometimes I walk away, irritated and defiant – what can they tell me! Occasionally I may stop, listen and sometimes find something that helps, a little bit, with the whole complicated business of health and healing that is part of the business of being human.” In this article, Airdre Grant discusses the notion of narratives, agency and suffering, and what she has distilled from reading and listening to others, along with her own experiences of suffering.

My Life As A Carer
“Just over three years ago I was literally thrown into the role of carer for my husband who has severe depression and anxiety. We have been together for 22 years, and had no knowledge of mental illness being present. He had always been outgoing, organising social events, articulate, intelligent and very practical. It appeared to have come totally out of the blue. In June 2014 his job contract had come to an end, plus we had just been to a music camp where he was placed under pressure to perform (playing his violin) in public. He suddenly became quite anxious and dropped out of the music camp, and soon afterward our world seemed to spiral downhill.

interview

INTERVIEW: ROB VERKERK
Changing Our Belief system and Working Globally for Natural Healthcare
Robert Verkerk, BSc, MSc, DIC, PhD, FACN, is an internationally acclaimed scientist with over 30 years experience in sustainability, specifically in the fields of agriculture, food production and healthcare. He has Masters and Doctorate degrees from the Imperial College London where he continued his research for a further 7 years as a postdoctoral research fellow. In 2002 Robert founded the Alliance for Natural Health International (ANH-Intl), an independent non-profit organisation that promotes natural, sustainable and bio-compatible approaches to healthcare – using ‘good science’ and ‘good law.’ The Art of Healing caught up with Robert while he was in Sydney for the 2017 annual conference of the Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine.

book extracts

Beyond ADHD: Overcoming The Label And Thriving
Law enforcement investigators abide by a simple rule-of-thumb: follow the evidence where it leads. The same is true for the vast majority of medical cases and conditions. Doctors carefully test, and assess symptoms, traits, behaviour, and circumstances before rendering diagnoses that, in many cases, change the life of the patient - for better or worse. There is another principle that law enforcement and medicine rely on - ruling out all other possibilities before forming a final diagnosis or conclusion. Because of this, the number of falsely accused or misdiagnosed people stands at a very low percentage overall. Then we have ADHD.
Extract from Beyond ADHD: Overcoming The Label And Thriving by Jeff Emmerson and Robert Yehling.

Pete’s Story About Overcoming Heart Disease and Diabetes
Seven years ago, my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent surgery, so I had a lot of stress during that time. My sugar levels continued to rise, they got up to over 900. The doctor wanted to put me into hospital, but I told her, “I can’t do that at this time.” I had to be able to take care of her and I couldn’t do that in hospital. So the doctor gave me another prescription for metformin. She told me to monitor my sugar levels every day and gave me a prescription for glycoside as well. I was monitoring my sugar, but I didn’t change any of my eating habits especially. They said to use these artificial sweeteners and just kind of: “Watch your sugar intake,” and that was basically it.
Extract from Good News for People with Bad News (2nd Ed.) by Nyema Hermiston.