The moment a baby is introduced to a new family, chaos ensues.  Sleeping, eating, pooping machines – babies throw what familial rhythms existed off kilter.  I do not specialize in child psychology and available material on parenting and child rearing is ubiquitous.  However, I will make an observation – all of the available modalities and theories share a common thread.  Each of them attempt to offer a system, a schedule, a routine – an attempt to bring order to chaos.

Indeed, most attempts to treat psychopathology in children and adolescence with talk therapy seek to replace chaotic patterns of attachment and behavior with something more consistent and dependable.  But here I am discussing children again when I’ve already disclosed they’re not a specialty.  What gives?

In 12+ years of adolescent and adult therapy there is a frequent lifestyle feature present irrespective of the stated reason an individual has entered therapy – their eating and sleeping schedule is irregular – sometimes more chaotic than a newborn baby!  Question?  How could a mind ever find ease if the body its attached to can’t depend on a regular and predictable sleep and eating schedule? 

Want an example from adulthood?  Let’s take grief.  One of the first moves in recovering from the grief (depression) of a significant loss is getting back into a regular rhythm of eating and sleeping. 

This might be the moment where someone begins pimping a lifestyle system where for the low, low, price of just $179.88 a month you can snort specially formulated lemon grass, use essential oil enemas, and eat designed meals to ease all manner of mental maladies.  Wouldn’t it be awesome if something like that actually worked?

No, all problems and disease don’t melt away when we eat and sleep on schedule.  And… 10-20% improvement can feel pretty darn neat.  Neat enough that tailspins maybe aren’t so deep.  Neat enough the medication you’re on becomes more effective.  Neat enough you don’t need a therapist for this moment… or at the very least – the first session isn’t spent discussing this 🙂

Wishing you well,

Ira