Praise for The 5-Minute Recharge
Five minutes to spare? Pick up this book and read a chapter. It could well change your life!
Mark Bowden coauthor of the Globe and Mail bestseller Truth and Lies
The bad news? We only have control over 40% of the factors that make us happy; the rest is beyond our influence. The good news? Weyou, me and everyonehave control over 40% of the factors that make us happy. And that can make you happier. Im not sure which combination of tactics here that will work best for you. For me its Work Like da Vinci, Breathe Like a SEAL and definitely What Would George Clooney Do?. But take my advice: read this short, practical book, pick your tactic combo and go to work shaping a happier life.
Michael Bungay Stanier author of The Wall Street Journal bestseller The Coaching Habit
Thorough, thoughtful, practical and wise. I love The 5-Minute Recharge, and plan to incorporate as many of these empowering, refreshing tactics into my own routine as I can!
David L. Katz MD , MPH , FACPM , FACP , FACLM , founding director of Yale Universitys Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center, immediate past-president of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine and founder/president of the True Health Initiative
If youre serious about getting your wellness house in order, this easy-to-read guide is a great way to get you started. Entertaining, informative and inspiring.
David Posen MD , best-selling author of Is Work Killing You? and Authenticity
This evidence-based, thought-provoking and action-focused book drives healthier behaviors and a recharge for personal wellness. Using a creative format that inspires short reflections and actions, the reader learns simple things they can do daily that will enable a healthier, happier life. [This book] is for anyone who wishes to gain a better understanding of themselves and what they can do to change current behaviors to improve their whole life in simple and often fun ways.
Karen Jackson senior advisor, Healthy Workplace Strategies, Excellence Canada
Reading this book felt like a supportive conversation with my wisest friends.
Mary Ann Baynton program director, Great-West Life Centre for Mental Health in the Workplace
There is great wisdom not just in the whole book but on each and every page. There is so much to think about and so many actions one could take, even a few of which could make profound changes.
Dr. B. Kirsh MD , FRCPC , Department of Psychiatry, University Health Network
Copyright 2019 by Lynne Everatt and Addie Greco-Sanchez
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written consent of the publisher or a licence from The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright). For a copyright licence, visit www.accesscopyright.ca or call toll free to 1-800-893-5777.
Cataloguing in publication information is available from Library and Archives Canada.
ISBN 978-1-989025-50-5 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-989025-51-2 (ebook)
This book is not intended as a substitute for the medical advice of physicians or other professional healthcare provider. The reader should regularly consult their healthcare provider in matters relating to his/her health and particularly with respect to any symptoms that may require diagnosis or immediate medical attention.
Page Two Books
www.pagetwobooks.com
Cover design by Setareh Ashrafologhalai
Interior design by Peter Cocking
Editing by Kendra Ward
Proofreading by Alison Strobel
Printed and bound in Canada by Friesens
Ebook by Bright Wing Books (brightwing.ca)
Distributed in Canada by Raincoast Books
Distributed in the US and internationally by Publishers Group West, a division of Ingram
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www.5minrecharge.com
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Dedicated to those who have experienced a mental health issue, and to those in denial that they have experienced a mental health issue
An Introductory Charge of Wellbeing
It all begins with you. If you do not care for yourself, you will not be strong enough to take care of anything in life.
Leon Brown
Imagine that suddenly and for no apparent reason your body becomes a crackling fuse of agitation. As you struggle to catch your breath, your heart explodes, filling your mind with dread and making you feel like youre being dragged, kicking and screaming, into the afterlife.
Thats a panic attack. Weve both had panic attacks and we dont want you to experience anything like it. Thats why we wrote this book.
The statistics are alarming: mental health issues, especially anxiety and depression, afflict one out of five people annually; by age 40, roughly half of the population will have or have had a mental illness; the World Health Organization estimates that at any given time more than 300 million people are depressedabout 4% of the worlds populationmaking depression the leading global disability. The cost is measured in tens of billions of dollars worth of lost productivity, but these numbers obscure the real story: countless contributions to humanity have been lost because minds that could have soared have been laid low by fear, sadness or burnout.
Overconsumption of mental health statistics may lead to depression, so well let it suffice to say that theres an epidemic of mental illness in our midst and its getting worse. Its as if our minds and bodies were not designed for the stresses of 21st-century life: theyre still expecting us to be hunting and gathering and huddling in groups for comfort and safety. To withstand the pressures of modern living we need to acknowledge our ancient programming that demands that we move our bodies (preferably outdoors), connect face-to-face with each other and get adequate sleep. Because our sedentary, technology-driven and sleep-deprived lives have strayed so far from what our minds and bodies crave, we need to take an active role in caring for our mental and physical wellbeing. Bill Howatt, an expert in employee mental health, asserts that we dont have a mental health crisis: he says we have a coping crisis. More and more, were interacting with the world in ways that dont serve us, and those harmful thought patterns and behaviors are becoming etched in our brains.
What do you think will maximize your wellbeing and make you happy? Go ahead, take a moment and write down three things that you think you need for a perfect life:
Was more money one of the above? Consider this: Michael I. Norton and his colleagues at Harvard Business School did a survey of millionaires asking, How much more money would you need to be a perfect 10 in happiness? People who have $1 million said, Three times as much. People who have $3 million also said, Three times as much. If you think that more money, a different home or job, a long vacation, a better body or a new partner with whom youre madly in love will make you happier, research tells us that youre on the wrong track. They even have a word for it. Miswanting.
North Americans hungrily miswant, spending over $70 billion each year on lotteries, more than they spend on sports tickets, books, video games, movie tickets, and recorded music