We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big difference, ignore the small daily difference we can make which, over time, add up to big differences that we often cannot foresee.

-- Marion Wright Edelman

The effect of giving on mental and physical health seems to be in the air these days.  A new book by Cami Walker -- 29 Gifts: How a Month of Giving Can Change Your Life -- was recently brought to my attention.  Diagnosed with a progressive illness, holistic healer gave the author a prescription for feeling better:  giving a gift to someone every day for 29 days.  Walker's book is a description of how that benefited not only those who received, but how she -- the giver -- also reaped rewards.

Giving is a practice that researchers have studied.  The benefit seems to be about two things:  giving meaning and a biological boost that may be hardwired. Hands-on volunteering -- that is, work that involves direct contact with people -- seems to hold the most benefit (Psychology Today, 1988).  It is not clear exactly why this works, but the effect is unmistakable:  those with chronic pain feel better, are more able to cope, and possess improved moods.

This is what the professionals like to call a synergistic effect -- it is less cause and effect, and more a subtle weaving together of all the influences into a more healthful and positive state of being.

It doesn't have to be formal volunteer work.

On her new Web site, 29days.org, Walker invites comments and gives ideas about how to give.  She suggests that giving is a way to strengthen your health, along with exercise and medication.  It may be as simple as a note or a phone call.  In a recent article in Yoga Magazine, one of the authors describes her practice of baking a cake for someone every Saturday.  It may be adding a volunteer hour to your week, and doing a less structured act on other days.

If you decide to take on this opportunity, it seems that what is most beneficial is the daily practice that invites you to turn outward to someone else.  That is what reminds us that no matter what the state of our health, we have something to offer, and that there are those who need us.  The emphasis on thinking of others may relieve stress, and it certainly opens our hearts.

The web of connection and relationships made of kindness and openheartedness is the healing balm that spreads in every direction, even in ways we cannot see or know.

We are gearing up for those New Year resolutions.  Do you think you are ready to try the 29 days challenge?  If you do, let me know how it works for you, what you choose to do, and how you feel.

Have a blessed and lively holiday season, and may your New Year be healthy and full of opportunities to give and grow.

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In surfing around the internet, I came across a very interesting study on the link between the immune system and the brain.

We intuitively know that there must be a link:  we experience that we are whole selves, not parts.  But medicine seems to study disease by disease, not the interrelationships -- until now.

There are more and more studies that address how one thing affects another and, in this study, the scientists looked at how chronic inflammation (like in rheumatoid arthritis or heart disease) creates a depressive response.  The inflammation itself changes the chemistry in the brain.  This debunks the older idea that depression is a reaction to a disease, or even another form of poor coping with a chronic illness.

Instead, here we see that the disease of depression is the biochemical reaction to inflammation -- not a psychological failure or a maladaptive reaction to pain and limitation.

These studies were done on mice, and so there is a way to go before we can make definitive correlations to people, but I think there is something to pay attention to in this research.

Often our impression of depression is that it is a failure of will or a personal weakness -- not a serious illness with its own symptoms that go away when properly treated.

Classic signs of depression are feelings of hopelessness, sadness, and futility, along with sleeping problems, irritable moods and angry outbursts, lack of energy, and gaining or losing weight.  Recent statistics suggest that one in ten people have depression, and among those with RA newer studies put the incidence at twice that of the general population.

Depression is vastly under-treated because people feel embarrassed or ashamed.  In addition, many people don't want to be on yet another medication.  They "don't like taking drugs."

The tragic downside of this is that, when someone is treated for depression, it goes away.  They feel better.  They have more energy and the world seems like a friendlier and easier place to be.

What the inflammation research tells us is that, if you have RA (or another chronic illness with inflammation), the depression is a result of that disease.  It isn't your fault, and it can be treated.  You don't have to live with all those sad, angry, painful thoughts all the time.

To read the article, click here.

If you suspect you might be depressed, talk to your doctor and get an evaluation.  Don't be afraid of a brief course of anti-depressants.

You want to enjoy -- not just endure your life.

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I want to share a fantastic story that, while not related specifically to arthritis, is related to the struggle we all have to be our best human selves.

Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor was a 37-year-old neuroanatomist working for Harvard Medical School doing brain research, when she suffered a massive cerebral hemorrhage (otherwise known as a stroke) and, as she puts it, "became an infant in a woman's body."

It took her nine years to recover.

The story for which she wanted to live -- in order to tell -- was about her amazing experience of having the left side of her brain shut down, while maintaining full processing on the right side.

It was a very different sensation.  The right hemisphere is about connection and dissolving boundaries.  Dr. Taylor describes peace, serenity, unity, bliss.  She felt universally related -- a part of everything and everyone.

If you have a moment, watch this fascinating video below of Dr. Taylor discussing her ordeal and her life's work:

NOTE:  You can download audio, video and iTunes versions of Dr. Taylor's talk at the following link:

http://www.ted.com/talks/jill_bolte_taylor_s_powerful_stroke_of_insight.html

Dr. Taylor's recovery was intense and she reflects in her book, My Stroke of Insight  (Kindle Edition), what a journey it is to motivate one's self to do things that are painful and very, very difficult.  This part of her story is inspiring as she recounts her rehabilitation and slow progress -- and how she stayed motivated to continue.

Most compelling to me is her determination that we should all experience the right side of our consciousness, and find ways to "run that circuitry" on a regular basis, rather than solely relying on our left hemisphere to captain our destiny.

In an upcoming CreakyJoints podcast, Seth describes one way to access that feeling.  He did some stretching that aligned his mind with his body -- and he felt clear and open.

For some people it's their creativity that connects them with universal flow.  For some it's a willingness to give.  And for others this happens with mediation, prayer, music, worship, or nature walks.

Whatever opens those circuits for you, I urge you to do what Dr. Taylor suggests -- spend some time relaxing and allowing your right brain to dominate your consciousness.  You will be more peaceful and, through that, you will share that peace with those around you.

This can change the world.

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