Archive for January, 2012

Improve Your Health by Fighting Stress

January 3rd, 2012

By Brent Cullen

One thing that we all know is that we live in an ever-changing world that is filled with stress. There is no way that we can escape it no matter what we do or where we go, there are pressures in life that we all must learn to deal with. These things can raise your blood pressure, increase your heart rate and cause you to lose your cool. Stress will affect you in one way or another, but it doesn’t have to conquer you and take a toll on your health.

Recent studies that have been conducted by scientists have shown that stress is the root cause of most of the deadly diseases that are killing men and women. The good news is that even though stress is unavoidable, there are steps that you can take to put it at a level that will not affect your health in a negative way. There are some unusual ways that you can use to control stress so you can carry on with your everyday life.

One of the main causes of stress is lack of sleep. When you do not get a good night’s sleep, you wake up cranky and grumpy and that is because while you are sleeping, your body is repairing itself. If you cheat yourself on sleep there is a good chance that your bodily organs will not function properly and your head will become clouded and you will lose your focus and you will easily get stressed. You can easily avoid this by getting to bed early. It is a proven fact that the best times for your body to repair damaged tissues and cells is between the hours of 10pm and 6am. Make a habit of being in bed by 10pm so your body will get enough sleep and rest.

Diet is another factor that affects how you deal with stress. There are certain foods that can help ease stress. Having an omelet for breakfast can help clear your brain so you can focus and concentrate better. The reason for this being that these foods are high in tyrosine which is an amino acid that helps to improve focus and alertness along with helping you with the ability to do multiple tasks at the same time. Sesame seeds are another food that helps to fight stress because they contain a form of amino acid called L-arginine. This type of acid works to help the blood vessels to relax, so if you are not having a good day, try some sesame seeds or some other type of nuts such as cashews, soybeans or peanuts as all of these also contain L-arginine.

Apples are another way to fight stress and keep it away. They are not only a healthy food that will boost your body’s health, they will also combat stress and fatigue. They are very rich in antioxidants and they can help to jump-start your system when you are feeling tired and stressed and best of all, they taste good!

Along with getting the proper amount of sleep and eating a nutritious diet, perhaps the most important way of fighting stress is through exercise. Even though exercising is not a pleasing thing to do, it has many benefits besides burning fat and building muscles. Most important of all, it is the quickest way to improve your mood and to eliminate your stress. When you exercise, your brain releases a form of chemical called endorphins. They have the ability to give your mood a boost so you will remain positive throughout the day.

The best thing that you can do is to not let stress rule your life and by applying these methods, you can achieve the upper hand and live a healthier life.

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The Mental Health Benefits Of Being Happy

January 2nd, 2012

By Michelle Buckles

Have you ever noticed how depression and anger are physically draining? Maybe you’ve never suffered from clinical depression, but you certainly know what it feels like to carry the burden of anger, fear, anxiety, and sadness on a smaller scale. These are all human emotions and they are completely natural, but indulging these feelings for longer than necessary is physically harmful to both mental and physical well-being. Now take a moment and remember the feeling of pure happiness. When happiness is pure, it takes little effort and energy to promote it. Being happy might seem like a cliché thing to promote, but there are many mental health benefits of this necessary emotion.

Let’s take a closer look at the many positive emotional payoffs of happiness:

1- Successful relationships:

Studies have shown that happier and more stable individuals often possess relationships that are healthy. Relationships can include anyone from parents, friends, coworkers, and intimate partners. Regardless of the individuals we communicate with, our balanced mental state promotes a more rational state of mind. This state of mind allows for greater thresholds of anger and sadness, which in turn, provides more insightful, rational, and healthy communication. Studies have also shown that individuals with rich social lives exude healthier mental well-being and are regarded by their friends as more enjoyable individuals.

2- Longer Life:

A study conducted by the Mayo Clinic articulated that individuals who were primarily optimistic in life were shown to live longer. In contrast, those who identified as pessimistic, or were regarded as such by friends, were shown to live increasingly shorter lives.

3- Success in work:

The happier the individual, the better the production and quality of work completed in the workforce. It is said that happiness allows an individual to not only create his or her own motivation to work hard, but also possess the potential to deal with work stressors. Further, these individuals are shown to possess higher gross income, receive better job evaluations, maintain a job for a longer duration of time, and receive positive praise from coworkers and bosses alike.

4- Great self control and coping methods:

Coping is something that proves particularly challenging for those lacking happiness in their lives. Studies have shown that rational, happy individuals will possess a greater likelihood to deal with the everyday stressors of relationships, work, and life in general. Their positive rationalization allows for a more clear and realistic indication of particular scenarios, giving way to a healthier and more sound view on the situation at large.

Dual Diagnosis and Maintaining Mental Stability

January 1st, 2012

By Shane E Burke

Dual diagnosis is reference for those individuals that have drug or alcohol dependency along with mental or psychological disorders co-existing at the same time. It is challenging to treat patients with co-occurring disorders because the drug addiction can worsen the psychological problem and vice versa, which makes it difficult to ascertain and treat the individual. With over 12 million people diagnosed with psychological illness and have issues with drugs or alcohol, the statistics are alarming.

The most common 8 psychological disorders that have been evaluated in individuals are Borderline Personality Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, Panic Anxiety Disorder, Eating Disorders, Bipolar Disorder, Depression and Schizophrenia. The sad fact remains that it is difficult to diagnose whether the mental illness caused substance abuse or the substance abuse led to a mental disorder. Thus, in most cases, one of the two reasons masks the real issues leading to dual diagnosis.

Facts and statistics about dual diagnosis

The need for integrated treatment for dual diagnosis is more than ever especially after the startling statistics:

  • 33.3% individuals suffering from metal or psychological illnesses suffer with alcohol or drug addiction.
  • Nearly 50% people with substance issues problem have a mental disorder to compound the problem of addiction.
  • Over 40% individuals addicted to alcohol for over 4-5 years have a coexisting psychological illness.
  • People with dual diagnosis are at a higher risk of suicides as compared to those just struggling with an addiction or psychological illness.

To be on the path of recovery and living a drug-free life, people with dual diagnosis need to enter rehab facility where both addiction and the mental illness can be evaluated and assessed by medical professionals and treatment accordingly. The deadly nexus of coexistence of the mental illness and dependency on drugs needs to be broken and understood before the individual can be skillfully treated for both the issues. Thus, treatment of the addiction without considering the accompanying mental disorder will not work. Both the addiction and mental disorder need to be treated together.

Aggressive and Behavioral Issues

Aggressive and Behavioral Issues Individuals with dual diagnosis have higher chances becoming aggressive and have violent outbursts. Thus, many of the people have criminal backgrounds and are in prison. This limits the scope of improvement and treatment. Most of the people with mental disorders tend to medicate themselves with drugs or alcohol as an escape mechanism as they are unable to cope with the psychological limitations.