MId-life Blues
Obesity And Depression in mid-life
Mid life comes in with mid-riff expansion for most of us. Why?
Is there a psychological connect between weight gain and mid-life blues?
Possibly yes.
To "let go" is a chareteristic of most middle aged people. At this age we are confronted with reality of our puny existence, overwhelmed by our past ridiculous assumption that we are invincible and brought down to earth by an opening of the third eye vision with which we see just how pathetic our lives are. So we just 'let go'.
When we let go , our posture changes to a slump, our outlook grows numb, our mood changes to a grump and our metabolic work-out is considerably reduced but proportionately our calorie intake is increased. A depressed outlook causes inactivity or addictions to mindless activities like watching TV or facebooking or habitual working on a stationary job. On the other hand, we draw comfort from food in order to excite our brain cells--ie we hog to clear the fog of mindlessness. The carbohydrate and fat laden food will give a temporary twist and twang to our depressed minds and therefopre we seek it out more often.
Therfore, we can safely say that a bored mind is a mind that easily succumbs to temptation and food happens to be the no-worries, hands-on and sin-free indulgence we can make a habit out of.
We can prevent and correct this. How?
When mid-life blues strike we should be aware that our mind is bored and disillusioned with whatever we are doing in our lives or the way we are leading our lives. It urgently calls for a Mental Make-over!
Instead of letting ourselves be victims of mindless activities amd culinary temptations we should revive the hormones of our youth again. Two very healthy habits we indulge in as teenagers are 'sporting' and 'dating'. Both of these activities provide feel-good hormones and positively affect our enthusiasm for life helping to make us keep fit and look good. So, we can , in our middle years take up a sporting activity or any physical activity like dancing or gardening to keep our calories from getting stored in as fat too easily. Also, we can spice up our life by getting back into the dating scene by flirting with the idea that we are desirable. We may fail in our attempts to revive the romance with our spouses but that shouldn't prevent us from believing that our days of romance are over. If not your hubby or wife, there are other men and women watching you, so be an eye candy for them! Dont let your sexual hormones dip and drop because one person in the world who you married doesnt pay attention to your physical attributes anymore. After all, how do you expect him or her to sustain admiration for ten odd years? Let him or her be. Go, flirt with other people. Feeling desirable is the pre-requisite for wanting us to take care of our appearance and looks. Flirting is not an act of infidelity and one should know where to stop. The boundaries are decided by one's own comfort levels and one's spouse's tolerance levels. It should not harm your relationships. If it does then go on a second honey-moon instead if that can restore your hormones of youth.
A sporting or physical activity is essential to keep those joints moving, muscles supple and fat at bay. On the other hand, a romantic mindset is essential to keep your skin glowing, eyes twinkling and depression at bay.
Enough said! Mid-life blues and mid-life obesity need not make a person feel worthless at all. Instead it could be a cue to re-invent yourself. Find a new hobby. Do not let that brilliant mind of yours be bored by mundane stuff you have been doing since years and years. If you have time on hand, create something. Everyone is as much an artist as a scientist. Invent and create for future, don't repent and berate for lost years!
Mid life comes in with mid-riff expansion for most of us. Why?
Is there a psychological connect between weight gain and mid-life blues?
Possibly yes.
To "let go" is a chareteristic of most middle aged people. At this age we are confronted with reality of our puny existence, overwhelmed by our past ridiculous assumption that we are invincible and brought down to earth by an opening of the third eye vision with which we see just how pathetic our lives are. So we just 'let go'.
When we let go , our posture changes to a slump, our outlook grows numb, our mood changes to a grump and our metabolic work-out is considerably reduced but proportionately our calorie intake is increased. A depressed outlook causes inactivity or addictions to mindless activities like watching TV or facebooking or habitual working on a stationary job. On the other hand, we draw comfort from food in order to excite our brain cells--ie we hog to clear the fog of mindlessness. The carbohydrate and fat laden food will give a temporary twist and twang to our depressed minds and therefopre we seek it out more often.
Therfore, we can safely say that a bored mind is a mind that easily succumbs to temptation and food happens to be the no-worries, hands-on and sin-free indulgence we can make a habit out of.
We can prevent and correct this. How?
When mid-life blues strike we should be aware that our mind is bored and disillusioned with whatever we are doing in our lives or the way we are leading our lives. It urgently calls for a Mental Make-over!
Instead of letting ourselves be victims of mindless activities amd culinary temptations we should revive the hormones of our youth again. Two very healthy habits we indulge in as teenagers are 'sporting' and 'dating'. Both of these activities provide feel-good hormones and positively affect our enthusiasm for life helping to make us keep fit and look good. So, we can , in our middle years take up a sporting activity or any physical activity like dancing or gardening to keep our calories from getting stored in as fat too easily. Also, we can spice up our life by getting back into the dating scene by flirting with the idea that we are desirable. We may fail in our attempts to revive the romance with our spouses but that shouldn't prevent us from believing that our days of romance are over. If not your hubby or wife, there are other men and women watching you, so be an eye candy for them! Dont let your sexual hormones dip and drop because one person in the world who you married doesnt pay attention to your physical attributes anymore. After all, how do you expect him or her to sustain admiration for ten odd years? Let him or her be. Go, flirt with other people. Feeling desirable is the pre-requisite for wanting us to take care of our appearance and looks. Flirting is not an act of infidelity and one should know where to stop. The boundaries are decided by one's own comfort levels and one's spouse's tolerance levels. It should not harm your relationships. If it does then go on a second honey-moon instead if that can restore your hormones of youth.
A sporting or physical activity is essential to keep those joints moving, muscles supple and fat at bay. On the other hand, a romantic mindset is essential to keep your skin glowing, eyes twinkling and depression at bay.
Enough said! Mid-life blues and mid-life obesity need not make a person feel worthless at all. Instead it could be a cue to re-invent yourself. Find a new hobby. Do not let that brilliant mind of yours be bored by mundane stuff you have been doing since years and years. If you have time on hand, create something. Everyone is as much an artist as a scientist. Invent and create for future, don't repent and berate for lost years!
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