Archive for the ‘Anxiety’ Category

“Let me buy a good pair of running shoes and I’ll join you in your morning jog”

“I need to get some smart track pants before I go jogging”

And finally you have purchased all jogging gear including a headband and an iPod. Lets quit with the excuses that sound lame to our own ears and start this very morning or evening. Most old-hand joggers seem to foster a love-hate relationship with running. They love the health benefits and the feel-great factor that come with running. They hate the tedious task of getting up early and start running. Yet the benefits effortlessly cancel out the hatred.

Your reasons to go for daily jogging can range from goal for toned legs, weight loss, good health, enjoying with friends and so on. But as a beginner you need to keep certain things in mind.

• If you’re new in the joggers’ area, it is most likely that you’re out of shape and have been inactive for a while. Don’t get caught up in the beginners’ enthu and try to run 3-4 kilometers on your first day. A 5-minutes warm ups and stretches can get your body ready for the ‘shock’.
• It depends on the amount of time you’re willing to dedicate for jogging. Start with 10 minutes. Follow the pattern of 2-minutes brisk walk, 2-minutes running and then again 2-minutes brisk walk. Use a watch as your ability to judge time can be affected by your tiredness.
• Since even the best shoes’ shock absorbers can get weaker over time, it is recommended that you replace your jogging shoes atleast once a year. Let’s hope that your resolve to run daily last that long.

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Do you carry around the embarrassment and inconvenience of heavy bleeding during periods? Are you forced to take off from work or studies because of excessive bleeding? Do you stick to dark-colored clothes during the dreaded days? You’re not alone.

Generally, heavy bleeding (Menorrhagia) needn’t imply any serious complication. But it can impact your physical, emotional and social well-being and disrupt routine life. Since blood-loss while menstruating varies largely from person to person, heavy bleeding is largely subjective. Hence even without diagnosis you can almost always tell if you have Menorrhagia.

Ask yourself the following questions to know that your bleeding is too much.

• Are you using more number of sanitary napkins than what is usual for you?
• Do you experience heavy bleeding that stain your clothes or bedding often?
• Does your period last for more than a week?

If you answer YES to all, then you do have heavy periods.

Lifestyle changes that can make a difference:

• Heavy Periods can be linked to your iron deficiency. Including plenty of iron-rich foods like green leafy vegetables, apple, chick peas, honey and jaggery is one thing you can do. Starting your day by having a couple of date-fruits can also boost your iron-reserve.
• Feast on vitamin C rich fruits like orange. This will help your body to absorb iron better & perhaps make your blood vessels stronger.

If you feel the need to remedy your nutritional deficiencies by taking vitamin C or iron supplements, please consult your doctor first. Similarly, it is always better to check with a Gynecologist to make sure there are no other underlying conditions that cause you to bleed excessively during periods.

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It is estimated that 1 in 5 people experience some kind of hearing problems, not counting the selective deafness you may adopt when someone says something you don’t like. Hearing problems often start as mild and thus not easily noticeable in the initial stage.

Certain steps can be taken to protect hearing in such cases like using earphones rather than speakers, wearing earmuffs when going to noisy places like discos or factories. But these steps will only work if hearing problem is due to environmental factors such as regular exposure to loud traffic snarls, loud music in a discotheque or noise in a factory. If hearing problem is due to some underlying reason, it may require expert help.

Signs of hearing problems in people:

1. Inattentiveness: If you notice one going all ‘spaced out’ while talking to him/her, it can be a sign of hearing problem unless his/her attention span is too small.
2. Talking loudly: “He speaks as if we’re all hard of hearing”. Do you jokingly say this about your friend or colleague? Chances are that he has hearing problems.
3. Listening to music or TV at high volume: Do you get annoyed at that inconsiderate neighbor who leaves his TV or music on blaringly high volume? Do you often have to remind your kids to lower the volume? This is a disturbing indicator of mild hearing problem.
4. Misinterpretation of your words or mispronunciation in kids: People with hearing problem either out of embarrassment or because they don’t know it yet, try to compensate by reading your body language and lip movement. But since all this is done without any training, they end up misinterpreting your words.
5. Being distracted at school: If your child’s teacher informs you that his/her concentration is lacking and the child is kind of upset and worried at school, check with an ENT to make sure these are not due to any hearing problem.

If you notice any of the above signs in someone you know or if one has informed you that you manifest these symptoms, consult an ENT.

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Hello Readers,

March 1 is observed as Self Injury Awareness Day worldwide. The day recognizes self-injuring tendencies of people as a serious health concern and urges you to identify the symptoms in yourself and others (if any) to nip this habit in the bud.

What makes a person resort to such crude measures? Self-harming is essentially a coping mechanism. Unable to deal with emotional turmoil and problems in life, some people injure themselves so that they are forced to focus on the physical pain rather than face the issues in life. They invite this bodily pain to numb the real pain. Does this sound familiar anyone?

Self-injury is like drug addiction. Like drug-intake starts with smaller doses, self-harm too starts with smaller cuts and scratches. Soon minor cuts stop having the same effect and you escalate to bigger and frequent injuries till you become extremely dependent on self-harming. There have been reported cases of people using this mechanism to help them sleep as their problems keep them awake at nights.

What one forgets is that self-injury only calms you or gives momentary relief (if you can call it a relief). It doesn’t kill your real problem, be it some trauma in the past, abuse, or self esteem issues. People can suffer for years without confiding in anyone or knowing that they even have a problem.

What you can do-

• The first thing to do is to identify and admit that you have a problem and self-injury is NOT a normal way of coping.
• When you feel that bout of depression, stop whatever you’re doing at once. Taking some time off to mull over your emotions can help you a lot.
• Ask a trusted family member or friend to be a point of contact when you feel like you are going to self-harm.
• Low energy levels are due to hunger, thirst or fatigue, which you may not recognize at the time, can also trigger depression and consequentially Self-injury. Avoiding long gaps in between meals is the best way to deal with this.
• Like any craving, your urge to self-injure too has a peak-point, which will not last more than 5 minutes (though you may feel like its forever). After that peak-time, it will go away on its own. Distracting yourself with loud music, meditation, calling up a friend or going for a walk may work.

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Just as the body gets sick, things can get too much for your mind as well. And its normal. But like body, mind too needs ‘treatment’ and rest.

Self-help Tips

1. May be you need a cup of tea first thing in the morning. Try having a banana after brushing and postpone tea for atleast 30 minutes. If possible switch to green tea. You’ll feel really great.
2. Time-mismanagement can also be a main reason for your stress and anxiety. Taking 5 minutes to make a to-do list may help you prioritize and get organized.
3. May be you are feeling down because it has been days or months since you had your favourite food. Promise yourself that this Saturday you are going to either prepare it yourself or place an order.

Get help

1. Talking helps. Keeping things bottled inside will only multiply issues. Confiding in your trusted friend or family member really helps you to put things in perspective and unravel the problem.
2. If it is something you cannot confide in friends or family, enquire about reputed counseling centres.
3. In rare cases, you might be diagnosed with depression. In that case, your doctor will present a number of options such as therapies, prescriptions etc.

Acknowledge that some things cannot be changed

Sometimes there is no point in stressing over a situation. For instance, if you are living in a metro, traffic hassles are something you cannot change no matter how much you curse or get angry. The least you can do is to a longer but less busy road. Same can be said of certain irritating habits of someone close to you or your colleagues.

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Let us beckon 2013 with a fresh pledge to living healthy. The following healthy resolutions, if you adopt, are sure to keep you happily fit and gorgeous, both inside and out.

Rein your portions

Wish to right size your shape? Mindless binge eating is often the villain. Start right sizing your food portions by using smaller dishes. Yes, the smaller your platters are, the more you lose that extra weight. And instead of serving directly from the main bowl, take some into a small dish and put away the main bowl.

Staying Active

Instead of sighing jealously at those naturally thin people, observe their lifestyle. They are most likely to share a great liking for being physically active. Aim for moderate intense activity like brisk walking for atleast 30 minutes per day. This, you can squeeze in your busy schedule easily- like 10 minutes in the morning, 10 minutes after lunch and and another 10 minutes after office.

Cutting down on salt

Now the recommended limit of salt consumption per day is 1 teaspoon. And you know that’s way less than your daily intake. Besides making your stomach feel all bloated, this habit can shoot up your BP. Processed foods are the most dangerous as they use salt as preservative. Remember to check labels carefully before you give it for billing.

Piling on the antioxidants

Do you know why we need antioxidants? When foods are digested, body releases harmful free radicals that can eventually lead to heart burn, cancer etc. Antioxidant-rich foods like orange, tea, pomegranates etc are important to defend your body from these free radicals.

Flossing Daily

Oral Hygiene is horribly underrated. But bacteria in mouth can cause serious health risks. Flossing daily can ward off bacteria; it is a simple enough practice to ingrain with long term benefits to your dental health.

But all these resolutions will go down the drain if your expectations from yourself are far from healthy. For example, don’t expect a drastic change in your figure soon after you started portion-controlling and exercising. Just as it took your body to build-up fats, it will take time to lose it too. So if your inner-spirit tends to be a bit mean to you, just bash it with healthy acceptance. Let that be your founding stone to all your healthy New Year Resolutions.

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Are the hectic schedules of back-to-back meetings and tough work commitments making you press towards stress? Is the monotonous life swaying between home and office taking away the fun element from your life? It is high time you try something new! Not just for stress-busting, but also to enjoy a different spice of life…

• Do you enjoy talking to plants? Gardening can be a stress reliever hobby if you like the company of these green-delights! Spare a few minutes from your daily hectic chores to remain surrounded with plants. And how does it help? You get sunshine, fresh air and lovely environment for rejuvenation!
  

• Click! Click! Click! Photography is a cool hobby and it leaves behind material imprints that never make you forget your effort. Whether it is the dew on a flower that you are trying to capture or a rare expression on your newborn’s face, photography gives you a room for exploration to let flow your creativity. If you take up this hobby, the beauty of life becomes a part of your daily routine, resulting in giving you a relaxed mind.

• Drawing! Drawing is something you can always take up as a hobby if you love to flow the pencil on paper. Also, when you draw something, you tend to draw something that is on your mind. So, overall, you end up being stress-free as you have found yourself a vent out for it.

• Make Pen Friends with Paper: If speaking is fun, writing is more fun! Ask those who write! Yes, writing is an art, but more of a cultivated art rather than in-born. Sometimes, you either don’t find anyone to discuss your thoughts or are not comfortable in doing so. But if you jot them down, your stress gets an easy way out & paper becomes your friend.

Is your hobby still waiting outside the lobby?

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Psoriasis can be a drop from your gene pool. It is commonly characterized by grey scaly skin rashes and profuse itching. It can be avoided from flaring up, if not completely eliminated, by taking some precautionary measures.

Arrival of winter exposes your skin to chilly winds blowing even on bright sunny days. When you are up on your feet and ready to leave for work, always make sure to apply a mild skin moisturizer to keep your skin well hydrated when your are at work. An SPF lotion to match your skin tone is a big plus to avoid any sunburns or rashes that cause skin redness and irritation, resulting in skin scales and plaques.

Wash away any impurities, pollutants, or skin irritants that you might have gathered on the skin on your way while returning home with a gentle herbal face wash. Remember not to rub your face too forcibly.

Any cuts, bumps, scrapes or infections on your skin can be awful, but it can be more awful if they flare-up psoriasis. Always try and wear full clothing to prevent any unwanted abrasions by rubbing against sharp surfaces while in the office. And if you unfortunately have any, then avoid scratching on it. By the way, make it a habit not to leave any open wounds that can let your skin on lease to any skin infection and/or possibly psoriasis.

Sorry, long nails are a complete ‘No-No’ for you if you have skin rashes and prickly itching. Remember to always keep your nails clipped which not only help you keep away from any psoriasis flare-ups but also help you use your keyboard with lightning speed.

Did you know that built-up stress too can also be a major player in flaring acne, eczema and / or lead to psoriasis?

Don’t let your work responsibilities consume away all your precious time. Make room for doing a little exercise regularly in your schedule not only to keep fit but also boost blood flow, can keep your skin healthy and vibrant. It will also maintain distance chronic skin problem like from psoriasis.

Is life keeping you too busy to take necessary skin care precautions?

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Did you know! Cardiovascular diseases are the world’s largest killers, claiming 17.3 million lives a year. Risk factors for heart disease and stroke include raised blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels, smoking, inadequate intake of fruits and vegetables, overweight, obesity and physical inactivity. In partnership with WHO, the World Heart Federation focus on “One World, One Home, One Heart” (source courtesy: WHO – World Health Organisation)

Just as a healthy mind is an indication of a healthy body, in the same way, a healthy heart is an indication of a healthy lifestyle and routine. When you eat healthy, exercise daily, stay away from health enemies like smoking and alcohol drinking, etc., then this is the route to a happy living with a healthy heart.

Is Your Heart Healthy?

You will be amazed to know that women are at equal risk to heart problems as men. But, you can avoid the risk of developing the heart disease by following inculcating a few daily habits. For this you first need to know the risk factors that cause the disease. Now, there are two types of these risk factors; one type consists of those factors that can be changed and other type includes the ones that you cannot change. But, the good news is that, most of the heart problem risk factors can be changed.

The chief factors causing heart problem are as follows:

What can you possibly do to avoid heart problem completely?

The earlier you start to improve your heart-health; the better will be your chances to have a healthy heart. You can immediately inculcate the following habits in your daily life:

• Have a healthy diet plan including mostly vegetables, fruits, whole grains or cereals, fish, and pulses.
• Avoid having a large quantity of saturated fats, instead switch to vegetable oils.
• Quit smoking.
• Incorporate some physical activity in your daily routine like using stairs instead of lift or brisk walking.
• Prevent diabetes by limiting your sugar intake.

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In any emergency situation, you can be the first one to provide the necessary first aid to your dear one as it requires no real technical skills. A little courage and a bit of common sense can do the trick for you in saving your loved one’s life. You can also minimize the damage due to casualties caused by day-to-day road accidents with simple first aid skills.

Break-Free from All Misconceptions on World’s First-Aid Day

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