So... my favorite holiday is Halloween.  I'm almost positive my love affair with this holiday is solely attributed to the mass amounts of candy I allow myself to ingest.  While I will never boycott sugar, this article put out by The Huffington Post, is a gentle reminder, that its not always the best thing to fill one's body with.  If fact, it seems there are many many many links in between sugar and a dysregulated nervous system.

This Is What Sugar Does To Your Brain: The Huffington Post  |  By Carolyn Gregoire

We know that too much sugar is bad for our waistlines and our heart health, but now there's mounting evidence that high levels of sugar consumption can also have a negative effect on brain health -- from cognitive function to psychological wellbeing.

While sugar is nothing to be too concerned about in small quantities, most of us are simply eating too much of it. The sweet stuff -- which also goes by names like glucose, fructose, honey and corn syrup -- is found in 74 percent of packaged foods in our supermarkets. And while the Word Health Organization recommends that only 5 percent of daily caloric intake come from sugar, the typical American diet is comprised of 13 percent calories from sugar.

“Many Americans eat about five times the amount of sugar they should consume,”Natasa Janicic-Kahric, an associate professor of medicine at Georgetown University Hospital, told The Washington Post.

It's easy to see how we can get hooked on sugar. However, we should be aware of the risks that a high-sugar diet poses for brain function and mental well-being.

Here's what you need to know about how overconsumption of sugar could wreak havoc on your brain.

It creates a vicious cycle of intense cravings.

When a person consumes sugar, just like any food, it activates the tongue's taste receptors. Then, signals are sent to the brain, lighting up reward pathways and causing a surge of feel-good hormones, like dopamine, to be released. Sugar "hijacks the brain’s reward pathway," neuroscientist Jordan Gaines Lewis explained. And while stimulating the brain's reward system with a piece of chocolate now and then is pleasurable and probably harmless, when the reward system is activated too much and too frequently, we start to run into problems.

"Over-activating this reward system kickstarts a series of unfortunate events -- loss of control, craving, and increased tolerance to sugar," neuroscientist Nicole Avena explained in a TED-Ed video.

In fact, research has shown that the brains of obese children actually light up differently when they taste sugar, reflecting an elevated "food reward" response. This suggests that their brain circuitry may predispose these children to a lifetime of intense sugar cravings.

It impairs memory and learning skills.

A 2012 study on rats, conducted by researchers at UCLA, found that a diet high in fructose (that's just another word for sugar) hinders learning and memory by literally slowing down the brain. The researchers found that rats who over-consumed fructose had damaged synaptic activity in the brain, meaning that communication among brain cells was impaired.

Heavy sugar intake caused the rats to develop a resistance to insulin -- a hormone that controls blood sugar levels and also regulates the function of brain cells. Insulin strengthens the synaptic connections between brain cells, helping them to communicate better and thereby form stronger memories. So when insulin levels in the brain are lowered as the result of excess sugar consumption, cognition can be impaired.

"Insulin is important in the body for controlling blood sugar, but it may play a different role in the brain," Dr. Fernando Gomez-Pinilla, the study's lead author, said in a statement. "Our study shows that a high-fructose diet harms the brain as well as the body. This is something new."

It may cause or contribute to depression and anxiety.

If you've ever experienced a sugar crash, then you know that sudden peaks and drops in blood sugar levels can cause you to experience symptoms like irritability, mood swings, brain fog and fatigue. That's because eating a sugar-laden donut or drinking a soda causes blood sugar levels to spike upon consumption and then plummet. When your blood sugar inevitably dips back down (hence the "crash"), you may find yourself feeling anxious, moody or depressed.

Sugar-rich and carb-laden foods can also mess with the neurotransmitters that help keep our moods stable. Consuming sugar stimulates the release of the mood-boosting neurotransmitter serotonin. Constantly over-activating these serotonin pathways can deplete our limited supplies of the neurotransmitter, which can contribute to symptoms of depression, according to Dr. Datis Kharrazian, functional medicine expert and author of Why Isn't My Brain Working?.

Chronically high blood sugar levels have also been linked to inflammation in the brain. And as some research has suggested, neuroinflammation may be one possiblecause of depression.

Teenagers may be particularly vulnerable to the effects of sugar on mood. A recent study on adolescent mice, conducted by researchers at Emory University School of Medicine, found a diet high in sugar to contribute to depression and anxiety-like behavior.

Research has also found that people who eat a standard American diet that's high in processed foods -- which typically contain high amounts of saturated fat, sugar and salt -- are at an increased risk for developing depression, compared to those who eat a whole foods diet that's lower in sugar.

It's a risk factor for age-related cognitive decline and dementia.

A growing body of research suggests that a sugar-heavy diet could increase risk for developing Alzheimer's disease. A 2013 study found that insulin resistance and blood glucose levels -- which are hallmarks of diabetes -- are linked with a greater risk for developing neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer's. The research “offers more evidence that the brain is a target organ for damage by high blood sugar,”endocrinologist Dr. Medha Munshi told the New York Times.

Some researchers, in fact, have even referred to Alzheimer's as "Type 3 Diabetes" -- which suggests that diet may have some role in an individual's risk for developing the disease.

5 Tricks That Will Make Meditation Less Intimidating

Posted: 03/20/2015 8:29 am EDT Updated: 03/20/2015 8:59 am EDT
By Andy Puddicombe for YouBeauty.com

Do you ever get the feeling that life is passing you by, as though you are always playing catch up? Does it feel as though your mind is like a monkey, constantly jumping from tree to tree, without ever stopping to rest? Do you sometimes feel as though your emotions interfere with your relationships? And what about your health: Could you do with feeling more energized and sleeping better?

Who wouldn't want to live a healthier, happier, more enjoyable life? And if there were a pill that offered us all of the above, most of us would take it in a heartbeat. So what if I were to tell you that meditation has been scientifically proven to do all of this? Seriously -- everything from feeling less stressed to being kinder, more empathetic and more altruistic.

Naturally, when we hear the word "meditation," the mind may well cringe at the idea of sitting cross legged on the floor, bells chiming and incense burning. The good news is that none of that is necessary. 

Make the time.
No matter how busy we are, we can all find 10 minutes in the day to unwind the body and mind. We just need to prioritize it. Think 'same time, same place' as much as possible, as this will help to turn it into a healthy habit. Of course, you'll need to be more flexible on some days.  Schedule it in your diary if necessary -- you won't regret it.

Free your mind.
Meditation isn't really about clearing your mind, so the pressure's off. It's more about learning how to be comfortable with the mind, no matter how distracted it is. Funnily enough, as we get more comfortable with meditation, the mind tends to clear quite naturally anyway. As much as possible though, when you begin to meditate, do it with an open mind, free from expectation -- simply stay curious about the process itself. The more you can do this, the more helpful it is.

Enjoy the rest.
Believe it or not, meditation is a treat for both the body and mind -- 10 whole minutes of complete rest. No emails, no social media, no disturbances. This is a rare thing, a beautiful thing. It's tempting to feel a little lost at first without any distractions, but the app will guide you through exactly what you need to do and before long, this will be your favorite, most enjoyable and most relaxing part of the day.

Take your time.
Like learning any new skill, meditation requires regular practice to really experience the benefits. So don't be at all surprised if you find the mind is still very busy after just a few days of meditating. This is perfectly normal and simply means you're human. Give it time, be kind to your mind and make sure you give it at least 10 days or so before drawing any conclusions.

Just do it.
It's a funny thing, even though we know something is good for us and even though we know we will feel better afterwards, the mind can still sometimes play games with us. Thoughts like "I don't have time to meditate"; "I'm too stressed to meditate"; and "I won't be any good at it" are all very common. Allow them to arise, see them clearly, smile at them for what they are -- just thoughts -- and then meditate anyway.

10 Easy Art Therapy Techniques To Help You De-Stress
The Huffington Post | By Priscilla Frank
Posted: 11/07/2014 7:02 pm EST Updated: 11/07/2014 7:59 pm EST

Art therapy is a form of therapy that encourages creativity and self-expression as vehicles to reduce stress, improve self-esteem, increase awareness and help remedy trauma. While many other forms of therapy depend on verbal language to express feelings and overcome personal obstacles, art therapy allows for other, more abstract forms of communication. This tactic makes room for elements of the subconscious that perhaps are not yet ready or able to be verbalized come to the surface.
You do not have to be an artist to enjoy the benefits of art therapy. In fact, most of the exercises rely not on the final product you create but on the therapeutic, meditative ritual of the creative process. If you're intrigued by the process of relaxation through artistic imagination, we've compiled a starter kit to get you on your way.
The following 10 suggestions are simple ways to explore your inner creative voice while turning off the negative influences that so often get in the way. They may not all work for you, but hopefully one or more of the following techniques will serve as the artistic equivalent of a long, hot bath.

1. Design a postcard you don't intend to send
Whether it's a love note to someone you're not ready to confess your feelings to, or an angry rant you know is better left unsaid, sometimes enumerating all the details helps deflate the issue at hand. While writing the text can be therapeutic in its own right, designing the postcard gives even more value to the object. It also allows you to activate different portions of your brain while relaxing in a manner similar to coloring in a coloring book. Once you toss that signed and sealed letter in the trash (or tuck it away in a drawer), you'll find its message has lost some of its power.

2. Cut and paste a painting to create a collage
Create a painting on a material like paper or cardboard. When you're finished, cut or tear it up. Then use the pieces as building blocks for a new artwork -- a collage. See how your original artwork transforms into something new and exciting, something unpredictable. This exercise illuminates the close proximity between creation and destruction, encouraging us to take risks to push ourselves creatively and in other aspects of life.

3. Build an altar to a loved one
Take inspiration from folk art and create an altar honoring a unique relationship between you and another person, living or not. Decorate the shrine with photographs, letters and relics of memorable times spent together, as well as new art objects you've created in their honor. Anything can become artistic material, from gifts you've exchanged to a candy wrapper you know your subject would love. Building a totem to another person awakens memories and creates a physical manifestation of a relationship that can provide comfort in tough times.

4. Draw in total darkness
So much of the stress we experience when making art comes from the judgments and criticism that seem unavoidable every step of the way. Try creating artwork in total darkness to make art free from that inner art critic inside your head. (Think of it as a form of blind contour drawing.) You're suddenly freed up to create lines, shapes and patterns simply because you feel like you should. When you turn back on the lights, we suspect you'll be surprised by what you find.

5. Watercolor your bodily state
Lie down and close your eyes. Visualize your body as you breathe in and out. Try to imagine your breath as a particular color as it enters your body, another color as it exits. What do you see? Draw an outline of a body on a large sheet of paper, and inside, create a watercolor based on your bodily state. Think about what these colors mean to you, where they are densest, where they are most opaque. Think of this as the most relaxing self-portrait you'll ever create.

6. Create a Zentangle-inspired creation
Zentangle is a drawing method invented by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas, designed to make drawing meditative and accessible to all. To learn the official method you must be taught by a Zentangle Teacher, but you can recreate the basic idea on your own. Use a piece of paper, cut into a 3.5" square piece, and draw a freehand border around the edge in light pencil. Then use your pencil to draw a curved line or squiggle within the border, called a "string."
Now switch to a pen and begin drawing a "tangle," a series of patterns and shapes around your "string" and voila! You got yourself a Zentangle. The process is designed to encourage deliberate, ritual creation and allow room for human error -- no erasing, that's against the rules. Traditional Zentangles are always black and white but we fully support experimenting with color. The entire process shouldn't take more than 15 minutes, and can be repeated whenever you feel the urge. Keep some 3.5" squares handy so you can always create when inspiration strikes.

7. Produce a permission slip
Think of the societal and self-imposed pressures you feel on a day-to-day basis, the personal traits you see as faults, the natural slips you see as errors. Choose one of these things and give yourself, in ornamental detail, permission to do just that. Turning one simple defeat into an accomplishment can minimize feelings of self-hatred, allowing you to achieve more of your important goals. Remember, it's an art project, so make it pretty.

8. 'Write' a found poem
Don't consider yourself a poet? Let someone else do the hard part of coming up with the words by grabbing your material from old books, magazines, newspapers or even letters. Cut out words that jump out at or inspire you. Collage your found materials just as you would a visual collage. You can have a topic or story in mind at the beginning, or just get started and see where your word collaging takes you.

9. Craft a mark-making tool unique to you
Instead of spending the majority of your time on an actual painting, why not focus a little of that attention on crafting an alternative paintbrush all your own? You can make a mark-making tool out of nearly anything, whether it's a row of toothpicks (glued to a cardboard base) and dipped in paint, or a DIY paintbrush made from pom-poms and yarn. When you finally get around to actually making a piece with your new tool, you will have relinquished some of your artistic control to your distinct artistic medium, which, of course, is a work of art in itself.

10. Make a forgiveness box
If there is a certain person -- including yourself -- you don't want to harbor negative emotions toward any longer, try making him or her a forgiveness box. Decorate a small box with soothing images and words that can be either specific to an individual or catered to your desired inner state. You can write the person's name on a slip of paper and include it in the box if preferred, and the name can be removed and exchanged if needed. The act of making the box will bring up happy memories of whomever the box is for, as well as help you physically work toward a place of forgiveness.


        

Ever wonder what you brain does when you are feeling anxious?? Time Magazine put out a pretty great picture, for all of you visual learners. Check it Out!

Give your Amygdala a break and chill out with some music and coloring!

Then print your free Mandalas out at: www.printmandala.com And Get Coloring !! 

Check out this article from the Huffington Post : 

Coloring Isn't Just For Kids. It Can Actually Help Adults Combat Stress.The Huffington Post
| By Elena Santos

Posted: 10/13/2014 7:33 am EDT Updated: 10/14/2014 10:51 am EDT

Coloring is an activity that we tend to associate with children. As we grow older, we put aside our crayons and colored pencils in favor of more respectable writing utensils like pens and highlighters. However, it turns out coloring can be beneficial for adults -- namely for its de-stressing power.

The practice generates wellness, quietness and also stimulates brain areas related to motor skills, the senses and creativity. In fact, publishers have lately been launching coloring books specifically for adults. The trend is alive and well in countries in Europe and North America. Most recently, in Spain, the publication Espasa published Coloréitor, with illustrations by well-known cartoonist Forges.

Does Coloring Really De-stress?

One of the first psychologists to apply coloring as a relaxation technique was Carl G. Jüng in the early 20th century. He did this through mandalas: circular designs with concentric shapes similar to the Gothic churches’ rose windows. They have their origin in India.

When coloring, we activate different areas of our two cerebral hemispheres, says psychologist Gloria Martínez Ayala. "The action involves both logic, by which we color forms, and creativity, when mixing and matching colors. This incorporates the areas of the cerebral cortex involved in vision and fine motor skills [coordination necessary to make small, precise movements]. The relaxation that it provides lowers the activity of the amygdala, a basic part of our brain involved in controlling emotion that is affected by stress."

In simplest terms, coloring has a de-stressing effect because when we focus on a particular activity, we focus on it and not on our worries. But it also "brings out our imagination and takes us back to our childhood, a period in which we most certainly had a lot less stress." This leads us immediately and unconsciously to welfare, exposes the specialist.

"I recommend it as a relaxation technique," says psychologist Antoni Martínez. "We can use it to enter into a more creative, freer state," he assures. We can also use it to connect with how we feel, since depending on our mood we choose different colors or intensity. "I myself have practiced that. I recommend it in a quiet environment, even with chill music. Let the color and the lines flow."

Coloring Books for Adults

In countries like France or the UK, coloring books for adults are bestsellers. The French publisher Hachette even has a collection called Art-Thérapie with twenty de-stress volumes including all kinds of drawings from books of butterflies and flowers to cupcakes, graffiti and psychedelic patterns. There's also the book Secret Garden: An Inky Treasure Hunt and Coloring Book (M & E Books) that has snuck into top selling lists.

In the United Kingdom the books of illustrator Mel Simone Elliot are popular. She lets you color celebrities like Ryan Gosling, Lady Gaga, Beyonce and Kate Moss in her series Colour Me Good. And we can't forget the aptly named Coloring for Grown-Ups, released by comedians Ryan Hunter and Taige Jensen in the U.S.

The trend has struck Spain too. The Spanish cartoonist Antonio Fraguas, or Forges, published Coloréitor, "a de-stress book," its publishing house proclaims. The psychologist Luis Rojas Marcos says in the preface that "coloring comforts us, gives us peace, and lets us enjoy ourselves -- it even temporarily frees us from daily pressures... Although coloring a couple of hours does not eliminate all problems and worries, it takes us away and relieves us from the stress that overwhelms us."

If you've yet to try coloring as a relaxation technique, Forges has dedicated the drawing above to readers of The Huffington Post. He gave this tip for beginners: "Despite how highly stressed you may be, the most important thing is to not use pen markers with alcohol that go through the paper. The proper thing is to use crayons."

You heard it here first.

This article originally appeared in HuffPost Spain. Translation by Isaura Camós Gibert.

CORRECTION: Due to a translation error, Mel Elliott was misidentified as male. Elliott is a woman.

I saw this today on Huffington Post's website.  How many times have you asked a kiddo..."So, How was School Today?" And, they reply, "Meh." "Good" "Bad"...and other one word answers?  Its like pulling teeth to find out what happens in your kids' lives during school.  Here are a few ideas to help get more than one word out of your kiddo's mouth

1. What was the best thing that happened at school today? (What was the worst thing that happened at school today?)

2. Tell me something that made you laugh today.

3. If you could choose, who would you like to sit by in class? (Who would you NOT want to sit by in class? Why?)

4. Where is the coolest place at the school?

5. Tell me a weird word that you heard today. (Or something weird that someone said.)

6. If I called your teacher tonight, what would she tell me about you?

7. How did you help somebody today?

8. How did somebody help you today?

9. Tell me one thing that you learned today.

10. When were you the happiest today?

11. When were you bored today?

12. If an alien spaceship came to your class and beamed someone up, who would you want them to take?

13. Who would you like to play with at recess that you've never played with before?

14. Tell me something good that happened today.

15. What word did your teacher say most today?

16. What do you think you should do/learn more of at school?

17. What do you think you should do/learn less of at school?

18. Who in your class do you think you could be nicer to?

19. Where do you play the most at recess?

20. Who is the funniest person in your class? Why is he/she so funny?

21. What was your favorite part of lunch?

22. If you got to be the teacher tomorrow, what would you do?

23. Is there anyone in your class who needs a time-out?

24. If you could switch seats with anyone in the class, who would you trade with? Why?

25. Tell me about three different times you used your pencil today at school.

Find the full story here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/liz-evans/25-ways-to-ask-your-kids-so-how-was-school-today-without-asking-them-so-how-was-school-today_b_5738338.html

 We all cycle from Hypo...Down, Glum, Blahhh, to Hyper...Up, chaotic, ARGHHH! to Regulated...ahhh.  And sometimes we tend to stay in one form of Dys-regulation for longer periods of time.  Check out what you can do about it!  My personal favorites: take a bath, bounce on a yoga ball, dance, and walking quickly (up mountains with my dog).  What are yours?

Tired of summer beach reads? Try these for some informative, therapeutic, and educational support:

Parenting Finds:
The Whole Brain Child- Daniel Siegel--My favorite parenting book.  12 strategies to add to your parenting tool box, plus awesome comic strip-style drawings to read with your kiddos ages 0-12
Brainstorm-Daniel Siegel-- Having difficulty understanding your tween, teen, and adult children? Siegel writes about kids ages 12-25 highlighting brain development and new ways of understanding your child...even if he/she is in college!!
Parenting from the Inside Out- Daniel Siegel--Ever wonder why your kiddo pushes all your buttons? Read This!
The Out of Sync Child-Carol Stock Kranowitz -- Everything you ever needed/wanted to know about Sensory Processing Disorder

Mindfulness Finds:
When Things Fall Apart- Pema Chodron
Wherever you Go, There you Are- Jon Kabat-Zinn
Overcoming Trauma through Yoga-David Emerson, Elizabeth Hopper

Kiddo Finds:
The Giving Tree- Shel Silverstein
The Missing Piece-Shel Silverstein
Peaceful Piggy Meditation- Kerry Lee Maclean
Mindful Monkey, Happy Panda- Lauren Alderfer and Kerry Lee Maclean

Happy Reading!!