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Show Ideas for Better living Given Dr. Ford McBride Timpanogos Community Mental Health Center If you enjoy a year in which your wife recovers from a serious illness, your business does unexpectedly well, you move into your dream house, your youngest son goes away to college and your only daughter marries a successful physician, your chances of getting sick are eight out of ten. Most people know that disaster and sorrow can lead to illness but the idea that achievement and happiness can also cause illness may surprise you. Dr. Thomas Holmes, Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Washington found that if enough things happen within a two year period that requires you to cope, you can expect to get sick. Sickness can include not only disease and bodily malfunction mal-function but also emotional disorders and accidental injury. in-jury. Dr. Holmes also emphasized em-phasized that it doesn't matter mat-ter whether you are happy or sad about a particular change or whether the change is socially desirable or undesirable. un-desirable. It can make you sick. Obviously, situations arise that we have no control over. For example, death, loss of job, accidents, etc... Dr. Holmes suggested that if a series of major changes occur, one should take things slower and stick with an established routine. Taking a vacation or getting away from it all may not be the best thing to do. Whether we like it or not, life involves change. We grow up, marry, have children, shift social roles, undergo operation, face death of parents, and adjust to numeroud other major and minor changes as we go through life. The value of moderate change should not be underestimated. under-estimated. Regular change stimulates challenge and if change is discouraged it stifles interest and interfers with motivation. A life void of change would be boring and non-productive. But there is a limit to the amount of change we can tolerate. Dr. McBride can be seen every Wednesday on Channel 11 's "Newsroom" at 6:00 and 11:00 p.m. If you have a question or topic you would like Dr. McBride Mc-Bride to discuss in his column, write: Dr. M. Ford McBride, 1161 East 300 North, Nor-th, Provo, Utah 84601. |