Dr. Linda Mintle

Blog

  • Dr. Linda, Monthly Columnist For ParentLife

    ParentLife offers help, information, and advice in all the areas where you seek godly guidance for your children: health, education, discipline, safety, nutrition, and spiritual development. Each issue gives parents practical ideas, wisdom, and insights to help you meet the responsibilities and celebrate the joys of parenting.

    Learn more about ParentLife on their website here: http://www.lifeway.com/article/?id=169746&CID=RDR-ParentLife

    Dr. Linda’s book “Raising Healthy Kids In An Unhealthy World” expands on her monthly column. Check it out in Dr. Linda’s bookstore.

  • Is Your Family SAD?

    Feeling down and blue? Has the gloom of winter gotten you? The sky is cloudy and dark. You feel tired, unable to concentrate, want to eat, crave carbohydrates, and feel like being alone. It’s hard to get out of bed. You feel irritable, anxious and down. It seems like winter will never end. All you can think about is sitting in the sun somewhere in the Caribbean. Actually this is not such a crazy thought. You, like 35 million Americans, may be affected by winter depression. The “winter blues” has a name, “Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)”. It usually begins mid October and ends around April. It’s real and treatable and affects family members. 
     
    Most sufferers of SAD are women in their 30’s (although the disorder affects others including children). SAD is a form of depression that follows a seasonal pattern. The farther north you live, the greater your chance to be one of 10 million diagnosed or 25 million suffering some symptoms of SAD. Why? Because during winter, people in the Northern states get half as much sunshine as those in the South. People with SAD need more light. During late fall and winter, days shorten which means less sunlight. In some cases less daylight can activate depression. So what can you do to stop being an irritable or depressed family member? Move to Florida? You could but there is a cheaper and easier solution. 
     
    Treatment for SAD is surprisingly simple. Get more light. The theory here is that light therapy regulates brain chemistry. When light interacts with the eye through the optic nerve, things happen to affect mood. In very simple terms, light  increases brain chemicals that help depression.                   
     
    Some people are helped more by using intense light in the mornings, while others respond to increased light anytime of the day. There are commercial lighting devices and florescent light boxes. Some insurers will even reimburse you for the light devices. Or you can try 30 minutes of morning light by walking outside, sitting under a fluorescent light while watching TV, reading, etc. However, you shouldn’t  stare into a light source. You’ll only get a headache! Just do a normal activity with the light in your field of vision.
     
    You should be careful not to self-diagnose SAD because you may confuse symptoms with other conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. And if you suffer from severe depression you should consult a mental health professional. Light won’t hurt you but it may not help either.                
     
    Isn’t it amazing that a source of God’s creation–light, can improve mood? Remember the Sunday School song, “This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine?”  Don’t hide it under a bushel like the song exhorts. Let it shine.  Let it shine. Let it shine! 
     
    Do you think there Christians attach a stigma to admitting to depression?

    For more help with depression, check out Dr. Linda’s book, Breaking Free from Depression (Charisma House, 2002)

  • Press Pause Before You Eat

    For all the times you’ve said, “Why did I just eat that?”

    Say good-bye to one of the most overlooked areas of our relationship to food — mindless eating. This groundbreaking book shines new light on why we eat along with practical, proven strategies to control our eating.

    Does your busy schedule translate into eating on the run or skipping meals altogether? Is your life so filled with multitasking and on-the-go consumption that eating becomes a thing to do while doing other things? Dr. Linda knows that all too often such eating becomes a source of guilt and distress.

    The more stressed we feel, the more food becomes a source of gratification and relief — a numbing agent. Dieting treats only symptoms. “Unless people are coached to be intentional about their eating, they will continue to eat mindlessly and be part of the 90 to 95 percent of failed dieters,” writes Dr. Linda. “A new approach is needed — one that addresses the emotional, relational, and spiritual side of our relationship to food.”

    Food is not your enemy; it is something you can once again enjoy! Dr. Linda deals with the root causes of unintentional eating and restores your joy of eating. This is your practical guide to cultivating a healthy awareness of eating that attends to your body, soul, and spirit.

    Purchase your copy on Amazon.com today.

  • When Tiger Woods Became Like the Rest of Us

    Last Friday, you couldn’t turn on a television without seeing major coverage of Tiger Woods’ now famous apology. (I had my opportunity to chime in on CBN’s Newswatch that day as well.) I was fascinated by how this story captivated not only media, but everyday people going about their business. Everyone had an opinion. You didn’t have to be a golf enthusiast to follow the story.

    Tiger Woods represents the American dream, a hard working guy who made it big. Imaged as a wholesome family man, surrounded by adorable children and a beautiful wife, you just couldn’t help liking him. He didn’t make obnoxious statements of how great he was, endearing himself to many as a talented, cool guy who was a role model for kids. And Tiger got those of us who didn’t care about golf to actually watch the game! When it all came crashing down, and Tiger became one of us, we were so disappointed.

    Once again we learned the lesson: Tiger is just a man, broken, human, and struggling like the rest of humanity. Like all of us, Tiger was born into sin; and without the redemption of Christ, he will continue to struggle with temptation. That is a lesson media will not report because they don’t want to step on toes. I get that. From a secular point of view, any spirituality is viewed as helpful.

    In Buddhism, there is no transcendent creator who created the world. There is no Garden of Eden or fall of humanity in need of a personal Savior who can save and atone for sin. The world simply exists with no beginning and no ending. Life as we know it is full of an endless cycle of suffering, which is caused by attachments to and cravings for worldly pleasure. The self is nothing more than a delusion and is the cause of unhappiness. Suffering ends when cravings cease and all delusions are eliminated. When this is experienced, enlightenment is reached. Buddha, the enlightened one, shows the path to this awakening.

    Buddhism provides a way for people to engage in spirituality without having to contend with a personal God. Fate is believed to be in one’s control and growth comes through self-effort. At its core, Buddhism commits the original sin: to go one’s own way apart from God.

    So my continued prayer for Tiger Woods is that he will be transformed by the One who can truly change his life, mend his relationships, and heal his broken heart. We are all sinners in need of redemption whether we recognize this or not. What I saw in Tiger’s statement was a man who lost control of his life and is desperately trying to bring it back on course through self-effort. Like Brit Hume, I pray that he will one day encounter Christ and know what true surrender can bring to his life.

    Are you praying for Tiger? How did you respond to his apology?

    ~ Dr. Linda

  • Cherish the Gift You Already Have

    My children don’t know there is an American Girl Place shopping bag overstuffed with presents secretly stashed away in my bedroom closet. By the time December hits, I have a mountain of bargain finds, admired goodies and toys to die for tucked away on a shelf. My pre-planned efforts spread the financial burden throughout the year and help avoid the last minute holiday shopping rush.

    Sounds like a plan, right? Well something happened years ago that made me rethink my supposedly genius strategy.

    It was the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, but I felt like a louse! As I gazed at the brilliantly wrapped packages, I was aghast! The tree looked bulimic due to my past. I slumped to the floor and grabbed hold of my man, “We have only two children. There’s enough here for ten!”

    One by one we started dismantling the swollen pile. This present can wait for a birthday, this one for next Christmas, this one for a special reward …finally the stack looked sensible.

    We made a decision. Christmas gifts were limited to three types: 1) A gift desired 2) Something needed 3) Something educational. Of course, our children hated the idea and hoped that we would eventually come to our senses. We haven’t but we’ve seen a change. No longer is Christmas an endless list of “wants.” As I listen to children move through the hallways of our home, I hear the chatter of “more”. Not only is the meaning of Christmas grossly distorted but materialism creates ungrateful kids. So instead of a new gaming system, take your kids to a soup kitchen and let them serve. Visit a homeless shelter or a hospital children’s ward and put things in perspective.

    I realize what I am saying isn’t new but we need a reminder and must examine our motives for this overindulgence. Is it related to guilt from being absent or unavailable, an attempt to communicate love, a competitive attitude with others, a way to garnish an identity and look successful, the worship of idols, a lack of self-restraint, and/or misguided thinking?

    As I watch kids quickly open disposable presents and throw them off to the side without even a thank you, I know something is very wrong. When little Suzie tells me Christmas was no fun because she didn’t get what she wanted, I think, the Grinch hasn’t stolen Christmas, our ungratefulness has. Christmas is about God giving His Son as a glorious gift to mankind. Don’t clutter that gift with so many others that the important gift becomes lost in the fray.