Addiction can change the course of an individual's life in unimaginable ways. Many experts call addiction a progressive disease, meaning it worsens when untreated or it progressively does more damage. One key factor to addiction is tolerance which is medically defined as "the capacity of the body to endure or become less responsive to a substance with repeated use or exposure." Simply put, as an addict progresses with their drug use, they need to consume more of the substance more frequently to feel high.

Many runners experience a runner's high which is defined as "a feeling of euphoria that is experienced by some individuals engaged in strenuous running and that is held to be associated with a release of endorphins by the brain." It is that moment where pain becomes pleasure, confidence is soaring, and the runner feels like a powerful machine in the midst of suffering. It seems to me the runner's high has a type of tolerance opposite to that of drugs or "reverse tolerance." Previously mentioned, addicts need more of the drug to get high. Let's say it takes someone one pill to feel high as a recreational drug user. As the addiction progresses this individual now needs four times as many pills to experience the same feeling. As a runner, I've noticed that I need less of the running in order feel that powerful euphoria. For example, let's say I've returned to consistent running after an absence of a few months or I'm a "new runner." For the first two weeks, I might feel that runner's high late in the run, maybe around mile seven. It takes a lot of running for me to feel good, however, over time, I experience that same feeling at mile six, then five, then four, and so on. I'm experiencing a reverse tolerance in which I need less of the drug (running) on order to experience the high. This might be one of the reasons why people who do not run sometimes think runners are crazy. They've never run for long enough to feel great in the moment or feel the runner's high. They've only experienced the pain of miles one through six before giving up. 

Go out and run, it makes you feel alive.    

Think about your favorite villain in a horror movie and the setting in which they were most evil and frightening. I’m sure many of you have an image of the woods at night, a camp ground during a storm, a boiler room, or a poorly lit and dilapidated mansion. The darkness permits these frightening characters to remain hidden and operate with relative ease. The darkness gives the villain the power to carry out evil actions. Now imagine that your iconic villain going after the main character in a wide open, flower covered meadow on the brightest day of the year. Not nearly as scary and the villain is less formidable

Now consider a real-life villain. Jerry Sandusky was able to do terrible things because he remained hidden, out of sight, and others did not speak up or if they did, they weren’t believed. The point is that evil and fear remain powerful when hidden or silent.

Therapy can help people pull their own fears out of the darkness. It is opportunity to reduce the power of our personal inner villains, such as anxiety, fear, depression, insecurities… There are many reasons these demons remain unspoken: worry of judgement and worry of increased negative emotions tend to be some of the most common. However, when clients begin to speak about those forms of inner turmoil, a shift begins. The villain begins to lose power/control and the client begins to regain that life-changing control. Therapy can bring the villain out of the shadows and into the light, which begins the process of regaining control of the fear and life. As long as that fear remains hidden and unspoken, it can continue to cause damage. You'd be surprised of what happens when you simply talk.

An article on Eagle running back, Darren Sproles, to which I can personally relate. Sproles didn't listen to those who said he was too small to play high school, college, and then professional football. Self-belief, a tremendous work ethic, and growth mindset cleared the way fro him to go down the path of success.

​https://spark.adobe.com/page/KjRIhwEt5BRyn/

http://www.theplayerstribune.com/corey-hirsch-dark-dark-dark/

Great article by former NHL goalie and his experience with a serious mental health issue. People often comment that professional athletes are immune to depression, panic, suicidal thoughts or any other mental health problems because of their fame and fortune. Mental health issues do not discriminate.   

There is a lot of research that connects mental health with physical exercise. Many anxious or depressed clients report significant improvement of their mood when they begin to exercise regularly. From an evolutionary standpoint we have advanced to be active, to move our bodies. Unfortunately modern living and a desire to feel comfortable often prevents this (as I sit in a warm office and behind a computer screen.) We are more sedentary than ever and it is killing us, physically and psychologically. All of the articles copied below explain some of the neuroscience of the runners’ brain. Neurogenesis refers to the process of growth of brain cells. Studies on mice and rats show that long distance running results in robust neurogenesis in the hippocampus which plays a big role in memory and learning. Studies with humans show increased blood flow in the frontal lobe following a long run. The frontal lobe is vital to clear thinking, planning ahead, focus, concentration, goal setting, time management, and emotional regulation. So let me attempt to explain why I feel long distance running helps lower stress and increases confidence.

Many runners will admit to experiencing lowered stress following a long run. Someone might be at a 9.5 on a 1-10 stress scale because overwhelming deadlines are unavoidably approaching, a difficult failure in life just took place, and an important relationship seems fractured beyond repair. After the long run that initial 9.5 drops to a 5 or 6. Those deadlines appear manageable, the failure is less painful, and a remedy for the strained relationship presents itself. Why? The first paragraph of this blog and the accompanying articles explain the newest research on what is happening biologically/neurologically between our ears. But these biological and chemical processes cause emotional reactions or feelings to take place. Imagine a runner is crossing the boundary between miles 6 and 7. Depending on the season, the initial heat or cold which was uncomfortable in mile 1 is long gone. The overall suffering in mile 2 has been replaced with a feeling of power and strength that comes with a challenging pace. Attention has shifted its lens from focusing on pain in one's in knees, feet, or a side cramp to focusing on a steady breath, a pounding heart, or flexing muscles. Simply put, the runner moves his/her attention away from pain to pride. With pride comes a slight surge of confidence. The runner now feels the rapidly approaching hill is no longer a source of impending agony, it is now a surmountable challenge. And when atop the hill, there is another surge of confidence. The neurochemical processes that take place in the long distance runner’s brain creates a perfect opportunity for confidence building. However, on a strictly emotional level, I feel that running makes one feel strength and power in the present moment. This is why, following a long run, overwhelming deadlines feel manageable, a recent failure feels less painful, and a solution/approach for that fractured relationship presents itself. All of life’s problems are magically transformed within the runner’s head. Well, maybe not magic, rather, in psychology we call this “reframing.” The perspective from which those anxieties are now viewed is different and those anxieties are subsequently less stressful, they have less power over the runner.

I’d like to take this concept one step further. I remember feeling similar experiences in grad school on those days in which I taught from 8:00-3:30, sat through two classes from 4:30-10:15, and then stayed in the library until midnight. It could have been easy to focus my attention on how awful and grueling those days were. Instead I consciously made an effort to find the pride in the suffering. As a result 6 years of grad school, a full-time, and a part-time job was far less agonizing, and more often it provided the setting for confidence building. I used the experience of the long distance runner and graduate student as a platform to describe this concept, but it can easily be applied to any pursuit of a personal passion. I’ve heard the same concept described by musicians, parents, coaches, business people, athletes… There are parts of all those passionate pursuits that are hard and cause suffering. Aspiring musicians become frustrated with struggling through a difficult chord progression, parents feel annoyed with their children’s stubbornness, coaches become worried about recruits who are on the fence, business people get frustrated with tedious details of a huge deal, and athletes feel the pain of off-season training. The way one chooses how to perceive these agonizing parts of the journey will greatly impact the overall experience, thus having a direct impact of the potential success or lack thereof. Simply put, how we decide to perceive the journey impacts the experience of the journey, it impacts life.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/07/13/can-running-make-you-smarter/
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/02/17/which-type-of-exercise-is-best-for-the-brain/
http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2016/04/why-does-running-help-clear-your-mind.html

This was part of a recent EPYSA (Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer Association) publication.
​We live in a culture that takes pride in being sleep deprived. People, soccer players included, brag about getting only four, five, or six hours of sleep a night. College and high school students will talk about pulling an all-nighters as if it’s a badge of honor. We take pride in our ability to tolerate suffering and yes, being sleep deprived is a form of suffering. But when we brag about it, are others really impressed? Are the negative side effects of sleep deprivation worth it? (Please refer to the list below.) Another factor that prevents soccer players from changing their sleep habits is poor judgment. When sleep deprived our judgement deteriorates. We fail to recognize how poor sleep significantly negatively impacts performance and emotional regulation. In addition, exhaustion causes the body to crave unhealthy food which is something all athletes need to avoid. Teenagers seem to be the most sleep deprived population. Eight to nine hours of sleep is recommended for the average adolescent in order to function properly. Unfortunately 70% of teens fail to get this much sleep, while half of them are getting less than seven hours of sleep a night. Some experts report that sufficient, restful sleep can increase one’s ability to store memories between 20-30%, increase learning capacity 40%, and increase creativity up to 60%.
The aforementioned information describes the average adolescent. Soccer players are likely to be more sleep deprived because of the time demands of the sport. As a result they start and finish homework and studying later. On the bright side of things, improvements have been made to help soccer players better take care of themselves. US Soccer’s player development initiatives suggests 7v7 and 9v9 for U12 and younger, as well as no more than one game per day. There have also been discussions in the college ranks to move soccer to a full year sport with one game a week instead of the grueling 2 games/four training sessions/one day off a week schedule.
Parents also might want to concern themselves with the potential long term effects of ongoing sleep deprivation, not only for their children, but also for themselves. New research is beginning to connect chronic sleep deprivation with Alzheimer ’s Disease. Scientists are learning that toxic proteins (Amyloid Beta) naturally build up in our brains throughout the day. Sufficient, restful sleep allows our brains to be flushed or cleared of this protein. Insufficient sleep prevents this “flushing” process. Experts believe that these proteins might contribute to that foggy feeling and when sleep deprivation is chronic it can eventually to Alzheimer’s disease.

• Studies show that poor sleep can contribute to a 15-20% decrease in the following competencies, all of which are vital to athletic performance:
  • Reaction time
  • Decision making
  • Situational awareness
  • Communication
  • Judgment
  • Memory
• Increased general health/academic concerns with sleep deprivation
  • Diabetes
  • Poor diet choices, your body craves unhealthy food
  • Mental health triggers
    • Poor emotion regulation
    • Increased susceptibility to stress
    • Crankiness, increased irritability and anger
    • Poor sleep is associated with most forms of mental illness: anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder
  • Cognitive impairment
    • Decreased memory capacity/poor memory storage
    • Poor focus/concentration/judgment
    • Difficulty with or slow decision making
    • Slower foggy thinking
    • Poor visual attention
    • Poor situational awareness
    • Poor creativity
• When mice were injected with cancer, regular sleep led to a slow growing cancer. Ongoing disrupted sleep led to fast growing, invasive cancer.

Most of the information reported in this blog entry can be found in the National Geographic documentary, “Sleepless in America.”
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/sleepless-in-america/episodes/sleepless-in-america/

https://blogs.psychcentral.com/stress-better/2014/11/forget-positive-thinking-try-this-to-curb-teen-anxiety/

This article explains how we often turn common stress into overwhelming anxiety.
-My boss critiqued me therefore I'm going to get fired.
-I failed a test and now I'm never going to get into college.
-My friends made plans without me so I must be I'm a loser.
-I missed that open goal/easy jump shot/save/split/pass/catch... so now I suck at soccer/basketball/hockey/sprinting/lacrosse/football...

Our brain regularly creates unrealistic conclusions based on minimal evidence. I always ask clients, "What evidence do you have to support that thought or belief?" Failure and the subsequent stress are an inevitable part of school, work, sports, and life. It is a lot easier to manage stress and bounce back when we do not add fuel (exaggerated thoughts) to the fire (stress.)

Inspiration can come from unlikely sources. This post was inspired by Henry Marsh's book "Do No Harm" and the 30 Seconds To Mars song "Alibi." My summer reading started with Marsh's book. He is a leading neurosurgeon and has operated on countless brains. His book gives an honest and unfiltered account of the psychological highs and lows experienced by a doctor who, every day, holds another person's life in his hands. He speaks of the tremendous ego and God-like complex needed to take the risks involved with brain surgery, along with the fear, depression, and inner pain that occurs when his decisions or mistakes cause paralysis or death. In order to become a successful brain surgeon, one must be able to emotionally recover from the most horrific failures over and over again.

I interpret the 30 Seconds To Mars song "Alibi" as an exploration of what happens when things don't go according as planned. "Crashing and burning, the inevitable end, and trial by fire" are all expressions for facing adversity and failing. But Jared Leto's chorus is "I fell apart, but got back up again."

The question that stirred in my head while reading this book and listening to this song is "Do you get weaker or stronger when you repeatedly fall down?" Most peple would be unfit to be a brain surgeon. Living with the pain of knowing that your mistake or accident caused someone's death is a psychological burden too great for most people. When describing the psychological make up of a neurosurgeon, Marsh says, "I suspect that you've got to be a bit of a psychopath to carry on, or at least have a pretty thick skin." His failures cause catastrophy at the highest level. However, we've all failed in our respective areas of life: school, friendships, marriages, work, finances, job interviews, personal health, sports... As I question how we respond to failure on a general psychological level, I encourage you to question how you respond to failure on a personal level. Have your failures made you weaker and caused you to become depressed, fearful, and ultimately reluctant to work harder and try again? Or have you your failures made you stronger and caused you to become smarter, a better problem solver, more resilient, and ultimately work harder to try again?

Alibi
No warning sign, no alibi.
Were fading faster than the speed of light.
Took our chance, crashed and burned.
No, we'll never ever learn.

I fell apart, but got back up again,
And then I fell apart, but got back up again, yeah.

We both could see crystal clear
That the inevitable end was near.
Made our choice, a trial by fire,
To battle is the only way we feel alive.

I fell apart, but got back up again,
And then I fell apart, but got back up again,
And then I fell apart, but got back up again.

So here we are, the witching hour,
The quickest t tongue to divide and devour.
Divide and devour.

If I could end the quest for fire,
For truth, for love, and my desire.
My soul.

And I fell apart, but got back up again.

Technology and over-planning have deterred kids from developing the ability to tolerate boredom. Many children struggle with not being faced with constant high stimulation. Smart phones and I-Pads offer children readily available and unceasing games, websites, and video clips. Problems arise when there aren't limits placed on usage. Technology deprives kids from developing the coping skills necessary to tolerate boredom. Kids who spend all free time in front of a screen do not have to problem solve when forced to create some form of entertainment.

The attached article also discusses the pitfalls of parental over-planning every summer activity for their children.

http://qz.com/704723/to-be-more-self-reliant-children-need-boring-summers/