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THOUGHTS  FROM  THE COMMUNITY

Depression  Aint  Ready For Ya

2/15/2018

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When the Blues Kick In, Muay Thai Kicks Back

February is a tough one. There is no putting it lightly that depression is a real and hot topic for a lot of Canadians. Sometimes, the blues may feel like the hardest fighter we have ever encountered, but that has never been an issue for Muay Thai fighters. The harder the opponent the more opportunity it presents for improvement and that is the ultimate goal.

---- Cut to, we’re now in the ring deep into our fight, giving it all we’ve got but we are losing, backed up in the corner, too tired to keep our guards up and eating all the shots, And depression is the other opponent with the extensive experience, record breaking winning streak and knows the pressure points of our mind, and keeps attacking us there. This is looking impossible, but not quite. There is still one more round left and a knockout is up for grabs. But we gotta change up our strategy. ----


Depression often attacks us when and where we are most vulnerable. It is a kind of psychological pain that originates from a lack of ease about who we are, our purpose, the state of the world etc. This is often experienced when we feel routine, empty and stuck, going through the motions of life.  This slowly chips away at us until we are left feeling utterly helpless and powerless to the events happening around us and we no longer feel the zest for life. This vulnerability in ourselves is what affords depression it’s strength. Feeding off of our vulnerability, depression knows how to attack to survive.

Our contender (depression), has a signature attack plan, it is seeking our weak spots and looking for us to react. At this point, a great fighter knows that studying the patterns of the opponent and responding accordingly with precision and impact will end the game victoriously. And that is our goal.

We asked the Kru-Munnity for some tips on how they have used Muay Thai to beat the blues...


  1. Welcome your Opponent
    The first step in a good fight is to create the match. Ignoring or suppressing the blues is the same as running away from your opponent in the ring. No matter what, you are in the same three rounds and only one of you is coming out victorious - so who is it going to be? Escaping or resisting is the quickest way to lose. The fastest way to victory however is to invite the feelings, face them bravely with the intention to get to know what they want and where they are coming from. Figure out their game, find the triggers, and respond accordingly. Definitely easier said than done but winning is never easy and often takes a lot of listening and learning. 

  2. Change the Announcer
    An announcer can only see a fight from one angle and sometimes their perspective is prone to error.  Thats why there are always four judges, one on each side of the ring. The same goes for the lense through which we see the world. It is not always clean and sometimes we can only see one side of our ring.  Our interpretation of certain situations is often influenced by socialization, peer influence, personal experiences, trauma, etc.  When our lense is not clear, we can jump to conclusions that can be entirely incorrect building a belief system that hurts us more than helps us. So what do the fighters say? If you’re feeling defeated, explore the belief you hold about yourself and the situation, invite other judges that may see different angles. What’s the story there? Then begin telling a story that is more empowering for you to hear. Then tell it again. And again, until that is all you see and hear.

  3. Eat | Train | Sleep | Repeat
    Ever heard of the “SAD” diet? Yeah, that’s what most North Americans are on.  Choosing convenience over health, the SAD diet is comprised of mostly red meat, dairy products, processed, artificially sweetened foods and salt. The SAD diet, is in fact, very sad and if the saying, you are what you eat, holds true, we shouldn’t be surprised that we often feel like crap.  Food can be a powerful weapon against depression, click here for some amazing recommendations from World Muay Thai Champion and Holistic Nutritionist Janice Lyn.

  4. Get Creative
    Creative practices can be a great way out of distress. It’s the connection to our imagination where we feel free from suffocating realities. Creativity activates our sense of adventure and excitement leaving us uplifted from the current state we’re in. It can be anything from writing and/or sketching to something more intense like Muay Thai (wink wink). Depression has been characterized as a lack of enthusiasm. A great way to claim our power back is to take the journey into any creative realm and restore our sense of excitement.

  5. Fan Club
    This one is a no brainer. Perhaps the fastest antidote to combatting the blues is by surrounding ourselves with those who stand for our greatness. Those people who believe in us no matter what, and do whatever is necessary to show us what we are capable of (even when we can’t see it for ourselves). But also, those same people that allow us to go through our struggles knowing that nothing ever grows in the comfort zone. When you need a cheer squad, pop in the gym, Krudar's got you covered!

  6. Respect for your Opponent
    Depression is just another name for the part of ourselves that is in distress. If this is so, then the knockout move is to listen and respond with compassion and empathy to the aspect of ourselves that is desperately seeking for our attention to get what it needs. The way to see how powerful we are against depression is to give it the love it needs.

But unanimously, the best trick of all is to treat ourselves. Many in our community highly recommend taking a mental day, spend it nurturing your feelings, feed your emotions, cue netflix, kick your feet up, and have a great mental health day. Have a laugh. And if the tears come flowing instead, allow them. What are tears but chemicals being washed out from our bodies? If you're starting to feel better, then this might be a great time to grab a notebook and tell an empowering story about yourself.

If none of this is working - our door at Krudar Muay Thai, is always open for you to come in and smash out whatever happens to be on your mind, no explanation needed.

....................................................

Please Note:

The above suggestions are simply tools that members of our community have used to combat the blues. We are not mental health experts or trained therapists. We share these stories and tips from members of our community who have improved their lives through training Muay Thai.  Training has helped them build the self-esteem and confidence needed to tackle some of the life's toughest challenges. We are blessed to live in a country full of incredible resources. For more on metal health and depression, please visit the experts below:

Kids Help Phone
Connex Ontario
Toronto Distress Center





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EAT, TRAIN, SLEEP and  REPEAT

2/15/2018

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GUEST POST BY JANICE LYN

EAT
A famous quote by Hippocrates, “Let food be thy medicine,” states the very importance of what food can and should be to us. Its purpose is not just to fill our physical hunger. There is a larger value of food in our lives. Food is often the root of our cultural background and the motivation for social gatherings. Yes, food is our medicine. It is our comfort, it is our source of energy and nutrients, it can bring back nostalgic memories of family and friends but, like anything else, it can be abused and can be bad for us without proper education.


Most North Americans consume the Standard American Diet, aka the “SAD” diet. In choosing convenience over health, the SAD diet is comprised of mostly red meat, dairy products, processed, artificially sweetened foods and salt. The SAD diet, is in fact, very sad and if the saying, you are what you eat, holds true, we shouldn’t be surprised that in North America and various parts of the world, depression is on the rise.

While mental health can have psychological and neurological causes, sometimes nutritional factors can have an effect. For example, hypoglycemia causes mood swings, anxiety attacks, fits of anger, agitation, crying spells, constant worrying, nervousness or depression. Food allergies cause inflammation or spasms to occur in various tissues of the body. If the organ affected is the brain, symptoms may include convulsions, learning disorders, mental confusion, anxiety, panic attacks, behavioral problems, uncontrolled anger, emotional outbursts, dyslexia, crying attacks, nightmares, hallucinations, delusions or paranoia. Any food has the potential to produce mental symptoms. Oftentimes, the most problematic foods are foods that you crave and cannot do without. Wheat, sugar and dairy are the most allergenic foods.

Our mood can be compromised by a diet high in adulterated fats, sugar, salt and low nutrient foods. Nutrients are critical for the biochemical processes that produce brain neurotransmitters which affect mood like serotonin and dopamine. Poor fuel negatively affects social behavior and toxins like pesticides, herbicides, food coloring and preservatives can have a disastrous effect on the central nervous system and brain.

Even when faulty nutrition is not the cause, good nutrition can always help. Start with a predominantly plant based diet, whole nutrient dense foods, low glycemic foods and incorporate fermented foods. Eliminate or restrict caffeine and alcohol. Ironically, we usually seek caffeine to get our body moving in the morning and alcohol to calm down at night. The problem is, both increase cortisol levels (stress) and inhibits proper sleep. You can opt for green tea instead of coffee to get you going in the morning. It still has caffeine but is a great source of antioxidants and has theanine which has a calming and balancing effect to caffeine. Additionally, eliminate refined carbohydrates, eat colorful whole foods, increase potassium and decrease sodium containing foods, address food allergies and avoid food additives.

Next, go to your medical doctor and have bloodwork done to see if you are deficient in any vitamins or minerals. You can start with a good multi-vitamin (quality is key) as a foundation to ensure all your bases are covered and may choose to include the following:

Antioxidants – protect brain cells from free radical damage (blueberries, colorful vegetables, dark leafy greens, pomegranate, goji berries)

Vitamin D – known as the happy vitamin. Neuronal tissue has abundant vitamin D receptors. Vitamin D supports positive mood (cod liver oil, fatty fish (tuna, salmon, mackerel), egg yolk, cheese, liver)

Magnesium – good for anxiety and panic attacks. It acts as a natural tranquilizer and is anti-inflammatory in the brain (dark leafy vegetables, beans, nuts, brown rice)

B complex – for energy production, metabolism, methylation, support neurotransmitter production and function (fish, poultry, meat, eggs, nuts, nutritional yeast, leafy greens, beans)

Essential fatty acids – fish oil – as good source of omega 3 fatty acids which helps to combat inflammation and maintains cell membrane integrity. Deficiency is linked to depression  (Cold water fish like salmon, mackerel, sardines, flax seed, chia seeds) 

Zinc – is involved with all hormone production and has important roles on brain physiology and function (oysters, nuts, shellfish, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, garlic, dark chocolate)

Amino acid complex – helps to convert to feel good hormones like serotonin and dopamine (meat, poultry, fish, nuts, seeds, beans)

Probiotics – keeps immune system strong (kimchi, saurkraut, kefir, kombucha, tempeh, miso, nato)
Fibre – to increase elimination of toxins (fruits, vegetable, ground flax seed, psyllium husks)

TRAIN

When I first started muaythai I fell in love with it because 1) I really loved the culture of the gym and how everyone was treated like family. 2) It was the hardest workout I ever had. There is something about tough love that keeps us coming back for more. Maybe it’s the security of knowing that if we continue to train, practice, get back up when we get knocked down, endure the pain, that we will eventually get stronger and overcome the challenges of muscle fatigue, lack of cardio, not being able to skip or kick, or being able to do 1 more push up or pull up than the week before. It’s the challenge but also the trust that you are going to get better if you just keep pushing forward. I remember the little girl inside me that jumped for joy when, after feeling like a truck patrolled through me after pad sessions with Kru, the smallest one word notion of approval like, “good” would make me feel like a million bucks because for the past month it felt like I was doing everything wrong.

When we train, we are training our minds to be strong, to not be afraid of change or constructive criticism and be open to failure because that’s where growth comes from. These are the same things we fear in life outside the gym, the same feelings one can feel when depressed. In essence, muaythai trains us to overcome the feelings of depression by training our mental to think positive in times where we feel stalled and helpless, to know that by moving forward or even changing the angle of our approach, an opening will appear for our money shot. And boy does it feel good to hit something when we have all this pent up frustration, anger and emotion. It’s that magic word, “ISH!” that allows us to let everything go (ISH!) and live in the moment (ISH!).

SLEEP
​

Sleep and rest is highly underrated. I would be the worst advocate of sleep and rest because it’s hard to prioritize when you are blessed with a body that requires little to no rest to function and a mind that is stubborn enough to stick it though and ignore the physical cries of fatigue and pain. How I would have loved to see my performance if I consistently had good rest.
Sleep is where your body recovers. Your body cannot be awake and recover at the same time. Sleep is your body’s time to heal and detoxify itself of the environmental toxins and chemical stresses of the day. With little to no sleep we accumulate toxins and this leads to feeling tired in the morning, slow to react, moody, inflamed and in pain. Chronic sleep deprivation can lead to more serious problems like heart disease, diabetes, increased incidence of injury, mental illness and even cancer. Learn to listen to your body. You’re in it for the long run so take care of your health span and protect the quality of life you will have when you’re over 60.

When you EAT healthy, TRAIN and practice good REST and SLEEP and REPEAT you are building a habit of good mental health. You are taking charge of your body. You are accountable for your presence at the gym and what you eat. If you’re feeling weak, the magic of the Krudar family is that your training partners or your trainer will pull you up when you are feeling down. You build a habit of feeling confident because you can feel it from within and you will believe it because you will see the results in the mirror from your hard work. Everyone craves independence. Choose how you want to feel, how you want to look and the type of people you want to surround yourself with. Remember you have a choice.
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    This blog is a team production with contributions from our amazing members, instructors, and staff. Hope you enjoy.

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