Category: Stress

7 Strengths for 7 Stressors of Today

The modern world today has been the worst all across human history for the stress effects on our daily life. There are many people who are feeling the psychological burden. Lot of us are feeling very tired and withdrawn from everyday routine and daily activities. The constant exposure to media is aggravating the situation towards the downward spiral because of the environmental and social events happening all around us and in the world we live.

Here are some of the top stressors in the current times and how we can overcome them to live a simple yet fulfilling life. Following the tips will mobilize your strengths towards achieving greater resilience and buoyancy in daily life.

1. The world is going through tough times and going to a shallow bottom – there are many horrific events like fires, earthquakes, hurricanes, and flooding. The political environment all around is also not giving any sense of stability either.

To cope up, remember that in all the times of despair and calamity, we see many resources being mobilized by people to care for others whom they do not know or never met. This is the human nature which has made us coexist since so long. The feeling of altruism, sympathy, and empathy are still in all of us fundamentally. Be helpful and provide hope for yourself and others.

2. Are we destroying our planet and making it inhabitable – The population of the world has been growing ad currently it is over populated, due to which we are consuming more and more resources. This causes Earth to suffer due to waste, deterioration of resources, oil reserves, etc.

Well, think that the basic step starts from you. We must do all that we can individually and collectively to make our planet better.

3. Feeling Lonely – We are living in a mobile world where people are moving constantly for school, work, leisure, etc. Therefore, we are often lonely with extended family living at distance, whether hundred miles or thousands of miles. Disintegration of community and relatives is making us get lesser and lesser emotional support.

To cope up with feeling of loneliness, we do need to be with others and feel part of a group. Invite friends over for dinner or extended an invitation to someone for coffee. Be inspired and extend yourself to an activity or an invitation and savor some connection.

4. There is so much anger around us with people upset naturally always. – The frustrations of life comes out in any form at any time with minimal or no provocation at all. Well, you might have heard it million times before, but the coping mechanisms remain same – exercise, meditation, friends and family, vacation time, etc are all the ways to reduce the daily life frustration. Do what you enjoyed once and stopped doing it due to time and its relevance.

5. How can I help or how can I get help – Healthy stepping back from your own world can take you to the longer road of good and destressed life. Keep in mind that grief and loss are part of life. What does loss or grief mean to you? How have you managed your own loss or grief in life? What helped, what didn’t? How can you cultivate them? Time to introspect and help others introspect.

6. Accept that stress is part of life – When stressful situations arise, remind yourself that they are part of life and will come and go. Nothing in this life is permanant – neither does your stress. So take a relaxed approch towards stress in life.

7. Have a realistic outlook about everything in your life. Do not see the world through rose-coloured glasses rather have your own outlook which is realistic. You also need to check the silver lining in the tough circumstances. Stressful circumstances are there to make you become stronger and better.

The Art of Nostalgia

“The Art Of Nostalgia” is a elaborate collection of nine personal essays of Lauren. These essays aim to capture nostalgia’s essence on how does it effects the person and the thought process. The essays bring the reader on a journey as Lauren crafts a timeline of memories that reflect a deep-rooted nostalgia for places, people, and transient phases of life. She, inadvertently, strings together pieces of herself, pieces that shape who she is at her core, daring us to ponder our own stories, our own past that vitally remains within us.

Here is some insight on how to tame the phenomenon that is nostalgia.

The cycle of Nostalgia

Keep in mind that you’ve missed things a thousand times before, and it always becomes easier. It may take weeks, or months, but it always does. Whether it’s a place, a person, or your favorite food that you can no longer eat because you just found out you’re gluten free, it always gets easier.

Be Realistic: The most dangerous part of nostalgia is the tendency to romanticize. When you look back, look back on the past as it actually was. Doing so will prevent you from ranking the past as better than the present.

Look Forward: Avoid excessive planning, but when that new movie tells you how enlightening your twenty-something years are, or how incredible your forties are, listen. Your grandmother is right when she says you have a lot to look forward to. Be excited for, and do not fear, what lies ahead.

Always Live In The Moment – Try to embrace how exciting life can be when you truly live in the moment. Respect the epitomic Cards and try new things everyday.

Balance – Try to find a balance between the past and the present. Keep in touch with old friends, and remember the events that made you the person you are today. Most importantly, always participate in Instagram’s “throwback Thursday.”

The first and probably the most important consideration is the attitude with which we approach our material. Since nostalgia serves no immediate purpose besides providing pleasure it is a fundamentally aesthetic memory experience, which means we should approach our material with the mindset of an artist.

Stress Makes It Harder to Recognize Danger

Have you ever felt stress in your daily life or on any special occasion? I am sure the answer is Yes for all of us and we all go through it in our daily lives. It can be at some instances positive feeling which can help us perform better and take action at the right time. When this stress becomes chronic, things can get out of control and it can impact the daily life. When you experience the sweaty hands when there is an important event or speech, this is stress. When your heart pounds while going for a first date is what stress is. You can feel it in both mind as well as body.

This automatic response developed in our ancient ancestors as a way to protect them from predators and other threats. Faced with danger, the body kicks into gear, flooding the body with hormones that elevate your heart rate, increase your blood pressure, boost your energy and prepare you to deal with the problem.

Emotional signs of stress

There are many different ways in which stress is manifested in a healthy individual. There are some reactions which a body performs to handle some stressful or unfamiliar situation. These reactions are nothing but the stress effects on the body and while undergoing such things, our body becomes more and more prone to ddangerous situations. With constant pressure, the ability of the brain to respond to dangerous situations become weaker and can also effect the ability to identify a prevailing dangerous or imminent situation. Some of the vital symptoms of stress due to which the situation becomes out of control are as follows:

Irritation
No sense of humor
Frustration
Feeling overworked
Feeling overwhelmed
Sense of helplessness
Apathy

Some of the Behavioral signs of stress causing Danger are as follows:

– decreased contact with family and friends
– poor work relations
– sense of loneliness
– decreased sex drive

Tips to overcome affects of stress in Dangerous setup

Stress is your daily life ingredient. It cannot be skipped and only can be handled – with care. If you or a loved one is feeling overwhelmed by stress, talk to your doctor. Many symptoms of stress can also be signs of other health problems. Your doctor can evaluate your symptoms and rule out other conditions. If stress is to blame, your doctor can recommend a therapist or counselor to help you better handle your stress.

It is important to recognize when the stress in your life is causing negative consequences. Stress and anxiety can cause mental or emotional symptoms in addition to physical ones. Some of the them are as follows:

– feelings of impending doom
– panic or nervousness, especially in social settings
– difficulty concentrating
– irrational anger
– restlessness

Judging Trustworthiness From a Face?

There has been a research conducted by scientists wherein they have found that our brains are able to judge the trustworthiness of a face even when we cannot consciously see it. This has shown some light on the fact that we make snap judgement about people by just looking at them.

Trust as well see is the fundamental ingredient of the human beings mutual interdependence. As an example on how trust is embedded in our daily life, just look at the following examples:

1. The server brings us a meal in a restaurant, trusting we’ll pay after we’ve eaten it.
2. We put in long hours at work, trusting that our employer will give us our wages at the end of the month.
3. We zip through green lights, trusting that cross traffic will stop at their red lights.

Changes in Trustworthiness perspective

As we grow adult, there is a big change in the way people judge trustworthiness from appearances. These judgements are not known in children. All age groups from 5-7 or 10 years old or adults have rated the trustworthiness of trustworthy and untrustworthy faces with neutral expressions. Ability to evaluate the trustworthiness of faces emerges in childhood, but may not be adult like until 10 years of age.

According to research we have two modes of thinking — a quick, intuitive mode and a slow, rational mode. Each has strengths and weaknesses. When making snap judgments in the social atosphere, the intuition will usually yield better decisions than reason. In all other cases, reason tends to triumph over intuition.

The bottom line for making social judgements – If you do not have any information to rely on, trust your intuition or guts; it will be right more often than not. But keep in mind that your gut is far from foolproof, so don’t ignore contextual cues of untrustworthiness.

Top 10 tips to Destress

The Best in Class tips to Cut Down Stress

It’s not stress that kills you it is our reaction to it which makes it so worse.

  1. Identify Your Stress Triggers

The very basic step as with other diseases in the case of stress is to recognize its presence. You have to find the triggers to your stressful reactions and that acts as the first step towards finding ways to recover. You cannot remove your stress since it is inseparable part of life, but you can still find ways to solve the underlying problems.

  1. Meditation and yoga

Meditation can be stated as the best tools which can help you counter stress. It works by releasing the stress right from its origin. Meditation can help you fight the Flight or Fight phenomenon and hence the stress generated due to this. The stress which is created while the Flight or Fight response is generated can be harmful; hence meditation can be really helpful.

  1. Sleep to Combat Stress

Restful sleep for enough hours is very important for keeping and staying healthy. If you are well slept during nights, you would be better equipped to handle any kind of work and hence stress. You need to check the quality and quantity of sleep you are getting every night. It has to be just right and the stress will become light.

  1. Imbibe Gratitude as a Practice

Gratitude is a powerful tool. If you consciously focus on gratitude, you will be experiencing greater emotional wellbeing and physical health. This can create wonders to improve your health and help cope with stress.

  1. Breathe Deeply

Make it a habit to take 5 mins break to perform the breathing exercise. It involves focusing on your breathing and hearing it in both inhale and exhale stages. Deep breathing also counters the effects of stress by slowing the heart rate and lowers blood pressure.

  1. Decompress using Hot bag and relax

Place a warm heat pad around your neck and shoulders for minutes and close your eyes. This will relax your face, neck, upper chest, and back muscles. After removing the warm pad, use a roller to massage away tensions.

  1. Laugh Out Loud

Laughing from the belly also known as belly laugh can lighten the mood mentally, since while laughing, there are many brain chemicals like endorphins which are increased, cortisol is lowered along with stress hormones.

  1. Relaxation to the core

Simply make yourself comfortable whether you are at your desk or any other place. Just think of any peaceful scene, vacation, beach or anything and visualize yourself achieving your future goal. Just think of what makes you happy, whether being stuck up in a elevator with a hot sexy model, or hitting a jackpot.

  1. Eat A Snack (Carefully)

Eating is not always bad for mind and health. In reality, the gut and the brain have a strong connection which is known as ‘gut-brain axis’. There are many research conducted showing the impact of gut and body’s stress response.

  1. Buy Yourself A Plant

In house plants not only cleanses the air within your home, but they can also help you calm down. There is a relaxation response which is released in the presence of a plant around us. So take the help of these green wonders to reduce stress and calm down.

Infertility treatments ‘not linked’ to developmental delays

A new study says that “There is no heightened danger of developmental delays … in children conceived through IVF or other infertility treatments. The study included more than 5,000 mothers, around 1,500 of which had received some form of infertility treatment, and assessed their child’s development at three years of age. They looked at whether there was a dissimilar effect, depending on whether it was a single or twin birth, and the type of infertility treatment given – either assisted reproductive techniques such as IVF, infertility drugs or artificial insemination.

The researchers examined the link between child development and infertility treatment, separately looking at the effect of single or twin birth, and the type of infertility treatment given. They adjusted their analyses for various confounding factors that could influence results, such as parental age, ethnicity and education, mother’s body mass index (BMI), baby’s weight and gestational age at birth.

What were the basic results?

The researchers included 1,422 mothers (of 1,830 children) exposed to infertility treatment, and a comparison group of 3,402 mothers (of 4,011 children) who hadn’t received treatment.

The vast majority of mothers (97%) completed one or more developmental screening instruments. There were some differences between parents who had received the different types of infertility technique – for example, those who had ART were older, had higher educational attainment and lower BMI than those who had just received infertility drugs.

Between 6 and 10% of children failed at least one of the ASQ developmental domains at each screen. Infertility treatment was not associated with risk of a child’s failure confidence interval.

How did the researchers interpret the results?

The research panel concluded that: “After considering [singletons and twins], children’s development through age three years was similar irrespective of infertility treatment or specific type. To our knowledge, these findings are among the first to focus on non-ART treatments in the United States.”

Conclusion

The study found no convincing evidence that infertility treatment had any impact on a child’s development, which will come as a relief to parents who have undertaken treatment. However, while this type of observational study is good for looking at links between an exposure and an outcome over a period of time, it is not able to prove direct cause and effect and say for certain whether there is any link between two factors.

The study has many strengths, including that it used a well-validated tool to assess child development and included a large sample size that should be representative of all births in the target region. Though, only a population from one US state was used, so these findings may not be applicable elsewhere, particularly as the frequency of use and type of infertility treatments given may vary geographically.

Signs of Emotional Abuse

Spotting the Signs of Emotional Abuse

Emotional abuse is all about gaining control over the other person. In this situation, a person exerts control over the life of another person. It can come in many shapes and forms and can range from very subtle version like damaging words uttered from one spouse to another to something as harsh as intimidating shouts paired with physical abuse.

According to Dr. Donnerfeld, psychologist from New York City, in the context of a relationship, the emotionally abusive person makes verbal attacks to one’s character and person. Communications in the case of emotional abusive relationships are often insulting, threatening, mocking, controlling and critical. The abuser also limits ones access to outside help such as friends, relatives, etc.

Classes of Emotional Abuse

According to the experts, there are below mentioned classes of emotional abuse:

–             humiliating or criticizing the person

–             disciplining a person with degrading punishments

–             not recognising a person’s own individuality and limitations

–             exposing a person to distressing events or interactions

–             never expressing positive feelings towards a the  person

–             never showing any emotions in interactions with the person

Emotional Abuse in Children

Small babies and pre-school children being emotionally abused can show the following symptoms:

  1. They become overly affectionate towards strangers
  2. They tend to show lack in confidence or become highly anxious
  3. Do not display close relationship with their parent
  4. They are aggressive or nasty with animals or other children

Older children Signs and Symptoms for Abuse

  1. They tend to use language that you wouldn’t expect them to know at their age
  2. They struggle to control strong emotions
  3. Often they seem isolated from their parents and friends
  4. They display lack of social skills

Watch Out for These Signs

The signs of emotional abuse can be very difficult to spot and determine.  If you see or hear one person in a relationship being openly verbally abusive to the other one, it is one of the classic emotional abuse examples. You need to look for the more subtle signs, too.

Teen Suicide Facts

Real and Shocking Teen Suicide Facts – Youth Suicide Statistics

Teen Suicide has been a nightmare situation in the US. Currently there is thousands of teen’s suicide each year in the United States. Shockingly, it is the third leading cause of death for 15- to 24-year-olds in the US.

Almost 1 teen among 5 thinks of suicide as an option annually. According to the earlier statistics, there are about 1 million teens who attempted suicide out of which 300000 needed/received medical attentions whereas 1700 died. Currently, the most effective suicide prevention programs equip mental health professionals and other community educators and leaders with sufficient resources to recognize who is at risk and who has access to mental health care.

Some Shocking facts about Suicide in Teens

  1. Nearly 30,000 Americans commit suicide every year.
  2. Spring time is the time when there is maximum number of suicides.
  3. On an average, there is a suicide committed every 16.2 minutes.
  4. More teenagers and young adults die from suicide than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia, influenza, and chronic lung disease, COMBINED.
  5. Almost all the kids or teens who have tried to commit suicide have given clear warning signs.
  6. The risk of suicide increases dramatically when kids and teens have access to guns or firearms at home.
  7. 60% of all suicides in the United States are committed with a gun.

Checking on the method of Suicide

The first way of suicide in teens is by the guns or firearms at home. Next method is overdose using over-the-counter, prescription, and non-prescription medicine. Suicide rates and attempt rates differ between boys and girls a lot. While more girls attempt suicide, boys tend to die twice as much as girls due to suicide. The reason is girls think about suicide, but use drug overdose or cutting the wrist as the method, whereas boys think less but take a lethal method like guns, hanging, etc.

Suicide cases in 90% of teens who kill themselves have some type of mental health problem, such as depression, anxiety, drug or alcohol abuse, or a behavior problem. Some of the teens will be victim of physical or sexual abuse causing them to take extreme step.

Possible warning signs

  1. Talking About Dying — any mention of dying, disappearing, jumping, etc.
  2. Recent Loss — divorce, separation, broken relationship, self-confidence, self-esteem, loss of interest in friends, hobbies, etc.
  3. Change in Personality – becoming more sad, withdrawn, irritable, anxious, tired, etc.
  4. Change in Behavior – sudden poor performance on school, work, routine, etc.
  5. Change in Sleep Patterns
  6. Change in Eating Habits — loss of appetite and weight,
  7. Fear of losing control – acting erratically, harming self or others
  8. Low self esteem — feeling worthless and shameful

How to tackle World which is filled with Sadness?

Can you tackle World which is filled with Sadness without getting effected?

Here are many top tips to help you on Sadness coming from the external world around us. The world is a crazy place, where several crazy things happen daily. You need to learn to tackle the world and the upcoming sadness from this. Here are few of the tips to help cut down the stress and take the path ahead.

Avoid the mainstream news

Every day in the morning you will read many racist, fear-mongering headlines which will not do any good to your day and your mood. Promise yourself a full month of media fast every year and you can see the results of it on your mood. The negative energy we have for the world is always better spent on positive thought and action. In addition there are various reasons you cannot trust the honest account of current happening in the world. Remember, news gathering and news creation both has been proven innumerable times earlier.

Channelize your frustration in some Creative thing

Getting mad and hysteric is not going to take you anywhere. It will just add complication. So do not stress yourself, but be poetic and start writing, drawing, painting, vlogging or blogging, playing a musical instrument, etc. Remember, creativity is a wonderful antidote to depression. You do not have to learn to perform, but to spend the good amount of time doing something constructive.

Disconnect All your Devices (to reconnect with life!)

Break from Social media and phone can relax you a lot more than you can think of. According to a study from Denmark, we’d all feel much happier if we had a break from social media. The study also found that people who quit using phones, tablets, laptop, etc., interacted lot more with real-life human beings.

Take control of your mind

Forget about past, Live in Present and Plan for Future is what you should be reminding yourself to live in the present moment is a very effective way to eliminate worrying and get some perspective. Participate in global group meditations which can help you visualize world peace.

Remember: millions of people feel the same as you!

You are not alone in this feeling. You need to realize that you are not the only one facing this issue. Just remember the millions of people around the world who are campaigning for change. Surround yourself with like-minded people, and never underestimate the importance of a hug.

Hearing Inner Voices

Simple tips to Handle Betrayal and Hearing Voices

Betrayal harms us more than anything else in the world.  It can go down till the deepest parts of us. Yet it is possible to reach those inner dark places which hide the darkest fears and desires. It is possible through gentle love and listening.

Whether it is a child suffering from sexual abuse or a partner dealing with domestic violence, the trauma is overwhelming since it involves someone with intimate relationship. Since you are dependent on the other person for food, shelter, emotional wellbeing, support, etc. the suffering received is also severe in the case of abuse.

In the cases of abuse and betrayal, many times people start hearing their names being called out from the back. When they turn around, there is no one. This hearing of voices if happens more than 2-3 times a week, is not normal and comes under the category of issue called hearing voices which has its roots in the betrayal and abuse you had suffered from deep inside.

When our experience of hearing voices goes beyond hearing names, then we tend to feel concerned. These in other words are also called auditory hallucinations which may not necessarily always be abnormal.

Differences in Voices origin

Different people hear voices from different places. Sometimes the voices appear to come through ears and sometimes, it is like coming from inside the head. There could be many voices or single voice coming from these places.  These voices can be both encouraging or intimidating coming either from someone you know in your life or from someone you never heard of.

Betrayal trauma can lead to visual and auditory hallucinations such as victims hearing the voice of their abuser.

Advice for those hearing voices

The following advice can help you recover from the deep hurt from these voices:

Acceptance

Accepting your voices and stop battling with yourself to avoid them, will make you in better position to understand them.

Control

There are different ways you can gain control over your voices. You can distract yourself from the voices by listening to music through headphones. You can also start a dialogue with the voices you hear. If the voices you hear are threatening, tell them that they have no power over you.