Health Matters - HALT! - By: Thomas Mayhew

While I don't know who came up with this extremely handy acronym, I wanted to pass it along as I have personally found it very helpful. As a short-tempered person by virtue of Chronic Mercury Poisoning, this acronym has kept me out of trouble many times.

If you are hungry, angry, lonely or tired, you are 'on the edge'. Some have a high tolerance, others have a very low threshold after which they are likely to behave badly. Please note that I am not excusing any bad behavior at all. In fact, the reason for offering this fairly well known acronym is based on the idea that, if you are any of those adjectives (hungry, lonely, angry or tired), you need to "HALT" and take care of your condition so as to avert a bad choice.

H - Hungry I would go even further with respect to the adjective 'hungry'. If you are hungry and you pound some unhealthy food, do you really think you can make good choices, when your body and mind are deprived of good wholesome food? Seriously, garbage in, garbage out. You get out what you put in and perhaps more so. However, some food is possibly better than no food at all.

A - Angry If you are angry, go for a walk, get away from the situation that is making you feel like a ticking time bomb. Breath deeply. Do something that will de-stress you. Perhaps talk to a friend. Talk to God.He knows your thoughts, your anxieties and what is making you angry. If ever someone has had a right to be angry, it is God. Thus, He understands the emotion completely and He knows how to do something constructive with it. Read a Psalm. Read a Proverb. Read what was done to Jesus on the Cross two thousand years ago and the things of earth will grow strangely dim...

L - Lonely If you are lonely, by all means, call a sympathetic friend. Plan an outing. Call a kind-hearted relative. Visit an old folks home. Sit in the lounge with them and listen to someone share their stories or spin their yarns. You'll make him/her happy too. I had a friend who suffered from a couple of diseases. I spent some time with him one afternoon. He spun the most amazing tales and then as if to punctuate it all, he told me to come closer so he could "lie to me better". What a character! That caused an eruption of laughter. He had a moment of honesty that truly filled the air.

Please don't spend your precious time having a pity party. Do something kind and thoughtful for someone else and your problem will often times be put into a completely different perspective. Especially if you are helping someone less fortunate than you. Feeding the homeless can certainly have this effect.

T - Tired If you are tired, sleep. If you have trouble sleeping, see a Doctor that can help you. There are a lot of natural remedies available to you so don't give up easily if at first you don't find a solution.

So remember if you are hungry, angry, lonely or tired, HALT! Take care of your genuine need and you are much more likely to avoid bad choices made at the precise time your capability to make a good decision is at your personal nadir (that is, your worst). Turn things around. You'll make better choices and feel better for it.

Copyright 2007 Thomas Mayhew

About the Author

Thomas Mayhew is the Webmaster for Crimson Books. Since going through a death-defying health experience (in 2005), he has taken a keen interest in sharing his health knowledge with others, personally and in a larger forum. You can contact Thomas directly at info@crimsonbooks.com.

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