We had a really thought-provoking group today and was nice to welcome back some people who had not been to the group for a while. Some group members were struggling with the dark mornings and getting back into their normal routine after the Christmas break.
We discussed how we can respond to people who put us down and are very negative to us. We asked ourselves “Are people who do this to us real friends anyway?” We discussed how it is better to be around like-minded people who respect us for being who we are.
Our big presentation today was about food and mood. While acknowledging most foods are alright in moderation we looked at how having excessive intake of some foods can be very damaging to our health. Someone who has excessive amounts of sugar can feel almost hyper one minute then to gradually feeeling low. An analogy of the sugar intake in our mood is a bit like a rollercoaster going up and down. Lastly we looked at how alcohol intake can severely change our mood. When we drink we do not release serotonin (our feel good neurotransmitter) which can leave us feeling very low. Doing this exercise was a bit of an eye opener for people, making us more aware of how we live our lives.
A Life Worth Living 
It is great when we realise there are things that we can do to help our mood, it is an empowering place to make choices that help. Regards to all the group members
Jill