Kind of a crappy week…

Last Wednesday, the NY Times ran very comprehensive story about the epidemic of anxiety among American teenagers – definitely worth a read = https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/11/magazine/why-are-more-american-teenagers-than-ever-suffering-from-severe-anxiety.html?_r=0

Unfortunately, the Times article made no mention at all of the very close link between the microbiome or gut-brain-axis and depression/anxiety – a glaring omission, especially given the cutting-edge science in the area and the dramatic improvements in anxiety and depression that are possible with proper microbiome balance and gut-brain-axis communication.

This past Sunday, a 14-year-old Freshman at my son’s high school passed away – having taken his own life.

This coming Saturday, I’ll be helping to dedicate a new rowing shell to my college crew team in memory of our boat-mate who took his own life earlier this year.

Like a lot of people (too many people), this weekend will be a balance of the emotional “highs” of sharing memories with some of my closest friends, with the “lows” of many of those memories involving people who are no longer with us.

Mental Wellness is perhaps THE health challenge of our time – and I’m so privileged to be part of a movement that is DOING something to help others.

If you know anyone who is struggling with any form of mental wellness challenge, please do me 2 favors:

1. Check out what we’re up to at Amare Global
2. Check out the tips about suicide that my son’s school sent out (below) – and share them with others

Teen suicide is one of the most challenging topics for people to discuss, but it can’t be ignored. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that incidences of teen suicide have been increasing in recent years. Teens have a lot of pressure on them, with everyone from parents to teachers and coaches placing higher and higher expectations on their academic and extracurricular pursuits.

Many of you have asked for resources to help your children through this very difficult time. Below are some general guidelines to help you through this process.

Communication is very important:

• be open and honest; use the words ‘dead’ or ‘death’
• be honest and open with children about the suicide. Use language    the child understands and that you are comfortable with
• to avoid stigma use the word ‘suicided’ or took their life rather than committed suicide. This avoids reference to a crime
• answer facts in short simple sentences without unnecessary detail
• respect their views with non-judgemental responses.

Emotions and Actions

• give comfort, hugs, and reassurance as needed by your child
• stick to day to day routine and schedules as much as possible
• reduce change to a minimum
• allow your child to express all emotions in a safe way, e.g. find healthy ways to vent anger, it is okay to cry; emotional storms only last a short time.
• make time for just being together, take time out to just be together.

Some Important Ideas to Share with a Child About Grief Are:

• there are no right or wrong ways to experience grief
• there is no secret method that will take your grief instantly away
• there are no rules about grief; everyone grieves differently in their own way and in their own time
• there is no timetable for grief
• though it might seem hard to believe, it does gradually get easier to handle
• take all the time and space you need to grieve in your own way for as long as it takes
• invite peers over, encourage friends to spend time with them and offer support

You may also find the following document on Teen Suicide a valuable resource:

http://www.sptsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/When_a_Child_Friend_Dies_By_S

uicide.pdf

Hi Runners – here is the plan for week 6 – it’s our “distance” week!

Amare Global – The Mental Wellness Company, will be visiting Utah on October 14.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/amare-global-sandy-utah-tickets-38672600790

Date: Saturday, October 14th

Time: 10 AM – 5 PM

Location: Salt Lake City Community College @ The Miller Campus
9750 South 300 West, Sandy, Utah 84070

Speakers:

CSO, Dr. Shawn Talbott

President of Sales, Rich Higbee

Founding Wellness Partner, Pat Hintze

Come join us for fun, education and inspiration!

Amare, the Mental Wellness Company, is a new Direct Sales company in its pre-launch phase. Our vision is to empower people to live happier and healthier lives through our natural mental wellness products and mindfulness platform.
Mental wellness is misunderstood. For too long, we have been taught that mental wellness is all in your head. New science shows that a key contributor to anxious emotions, inability to focus or feeling depressed is determined by what is going on in our second brain – our gut.

Introduction to Amare

10 AM – 12 PM

Invite guests to come learn about:

• The gut-brain axis and its relaton to mental wellness
• New, revolutonary products scientfically formulated to help with occasional depression, anxiety, inability to focus, poor attention and other issues that impact your overall mental health
• The Amare mission and platorm that will positvely impact the lives of millions of people around the globe

Break for lunch (12 PM – 1:30 PM)

Learn how to share Amare Products

1:30 PM – 5 PM

• Get additional product training from Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Shawn Talbott
• Discover how to share Amare with others
• Learn from Founding Wellness Partner Pat Hintze how to use the Amare Strive for Life Success System
• Find out how you can cover the cost of your own products and generate additional income
• Learn about all of the tools that are available to help you be successful in Amare including our revolutionary social media system for sharing Amare

In honor of World Mental Health Day tomorrow (October 10), please read and share this article about Michael Phelps’ challenges with depression and anxiety.

https://www.menshealth.com/health/michael-phelps-anxiety-and-depression

It’s important for people to realize that we ALL encounter mental wellness challenges – whether for ourselves or for those around us – and we need to understand that we’re not alone and there are a WIDE variety of natural options that can help.

Hi Runners – into WEEK 6 we go! (2 weeks left)

This past week, I introduced you to the concept of Fartleks (speed play). I hope you enjoyed these unstructured intervals because we’re going to use the same concept this week – but for HILLS!

Your goal this week is to do 3 runs made up of “Hill Fartleks” – basically a “tempo” run with a handful of hard hill intervals sprinkled in as the terrain and your motivation allows.

Do a good 10-min warmup and then start with 2-3 “medium hard” hills (7-ish on the RPE scale) – then progress to 2-3 “hard” hills in the middle of your workout (8-ish RPE) – and then finish the workout with 2-3 “very hard” efforts (near sprints at 9-ish RPE, but keeping fast feet and good form). Cool down with another 10min of easy jogging.

• remember “RPE” stands for Rating of Perceived Exertion and equates to your feeling of how difficult the intensity is on a scale of 1 (almost resting) to 10 (all-out).

This will end up giving you about 6-9 hill intervals of varying lengths 9anywhere from 30-90 seconds depending on the terrain and the route you’re running), but the workout “feels” different than a structured session of hill repeats.

As with last week, if you have the time and motivation to workout on additional days, then do something OTHER than running.

We are 3 weeks away from our “race” on October 28 – so please send Shawn and Julie any questions?

Next Tuesday, October 10, is World Mental Health Day.

What will you be doing to improve the mental wellness of yourself and those around you?

Earlier this morning, I did an interview with a journalist who needed some “tips” for her article on “Mental Health Advice” – here is what I suggested:

Hi Amanda,

3. the 2nd brain in your gut may be responsible for how you’re feeling – and modifying your diet can dramatically improve how you feel

Hope some of that helps – and happy to answer any questions?

September was a momentous month for Amare.

We officially launched September 1, 2017 and hosted our two-day Pre-Launch Summit event at the end of the month.

We are so happy that we were able to celebrate our launch with friends, family, wellness partners, and many others. We hope everyone enjoyed themselves!

If you want to see a recap of Amare’s Pre-Launch Summit event or if you couldn’t attend this event, check out this video