VIDEO CONTAINS 23 AND 24

23.

Dr. Raymond Garbuglio - The Fragile Phoenix

Chapter 1

Tranquility and Recovery

Instead of an introduction, I’d like to begin with the most important piece of information I can give you. Your physical health is the foundation for your mental health. There are three things that you can change right now that will absolutely improve your mental health, no matter what your other circumstances are. These three things are:

Eating a healthy diet
Getting enough exercise
Sleeping well

I have never had a patient who did not benefit significantly from focusing on these three things. Generally by the time someone comes to me for help at least one of those areas has been compromised, often it’s all three.

This book is going to initially focus on giving you effective strategies for improving all three goals. It’s not an accident that they’re in that order! If you’re eating well, you will find it easier to get enough exercise. If you’re exercising sufficiently, you will find it easier to get to sleep. Once you are sleeping well I promise you this: everything will get easier.

Our goal is to get you a minimum of six, and ideally eight hours of restful, healing sleep every night. Here are a few strategies you can employ that will immediately help you. Instead of giving you some general tips and urging you to find the combination that works for you, I am going to give you some very specific instructions which will work best if you follow all of them.

CREATING THE IDEAL SLEEPING ENVIRONMENT

Here is the perfect sleeping environment:

Sixty five degrees (18C)
Totally dark
Quiet
Comfortable
Free from any devices that will keep you awake
Free from the expectation of doing anything but sleeping

Begin by making your space as quiet and as dark as you possibly can. Even small sources of light such as LEDs and power adapters should be taped over. Use black-out panels and curtains to eliminate light from windows, and install a door sweep if light is coming in beneath your door. The darker you can get your bedroom, the better.

Try to make the sole purpose of your bedroom sleeping. Remove televisions, computers, and especially phones from the area where you sleep. Do not use your phone as an alarm, you want a small alarm clock that does not tick and does not produce light. The optimal temperature for sleep is 65°F\18°C, try to keep your room as close to this as possible when you sleep.

Your sheets should clean, comfortable, and changed every three days. Your mattress should be comfortable, if it isn’t, get one that is. Your phone should be set to quiet hours during the duration of your sleep and charging in another room. Don’t sleep with music, television or the radio on. If you prefer to have background noise, use a fan or a noise generator. Remove as many sources of external noise as possible. Have a set of soft-silicone type earplugs available for times when there’s noise you can’t control.

Stop drinking water at least one hour before your chosen bedtime, don’t drink water at night or have a glass of water beside your bed. Eliminate caffeine from your diet if possible, if not, don’t drink any for at least 12 hours before your bedtime. Remember there’s caffeine in soda, tea, and chocolate. Try to eat your last meal of the day 2-3 hours before bed.

As you can see, the act of resting can be a lot of work! But there is an enormous payoff, dramatically better sleep which can lead to a much better life.

OK! Now you’ve done all of these things and now your bedroom is a dark, cool den. Your phone is elsewhere, you are ready to sleep. How do you do it?

Begin by lying on your back with your arms at your sides. Slowly relax your body as follows. Begin by wiggling your toes, curling them and then uncurling them. Point your toes and unpoint them. Flex your calves, then relax them. Tense your thighs, then relax them. Move up to your abdominal muscles, then curl your fingers and uncurl them, flex your forearms and relax them, then your biceps, then your shoulder muscles. Finally lean your head back, take deep breaths, and release them.

As you practice this technique, focus on finer and finer muscle control. You’ll be surprised at how much control you can gain after a few weeks of practice. You will start to feel muscles you didn’t even know you had! When you’re totally relaxed, it’s easy to fall asleep. If you’re still awake, do another repetition of the whole cycle. Take as long as you’d like, you have all the time in the world.

The next stage is breathing. Begin to inhale slowly through your nose. Picture yourself filling the lower part of your chest first, then slowly filling up your middle, then the top of your lungs. Take the breath as slowly as you can while still feeling comfortable. Hold your breath for two seconds, and then release it slowly. As you breathe out, picture yourself breathing out some small part of what’s bothering you. When you draw air again, imagine that you are filling the empty space with something peaceful and tranquil. Perhaps you are creating a still pond inside of yourself, reflecting the sky, or a meadow with flowers swaying in a breeze. Continue letting go of the things that you are worried about and filling them with this peaceful place. With each breath you can visualize a new detail about your tranquil space. You never have to tell anyone about this space, it can be something just for you.

When you can finally let go, you will sleep. The sleep will be deep and healing. As you become accustomed to getting a long, uninterrupted and restful sleep each night, you will find it easier and easier to sleep even in non-ideal conditions,. Your health will improve as a result. Don’t be upset if this doesn’t work for you the first try, and that applies to everything in this book. It’s tough to change, but you can do it.