Archive for the 'General Health' Category

Relaxation Techniques for the Calm Mind

Relaxation techniques are a big concern right now in our fast paced world. With daily tensions and stresses on the rise, learning to relax has become increasingly difficult. Today, using natural techniques is a preferred approach by many, as many people are leery of turning to medical assistance. There are many natural approaches to relaxation; there is no “one way”. You need to find the one that works for you, and stick with it.

Guided Imagery

Guided Imagery is exactly what it says it is. You need to envision yourself somewhere peaceful. Many people joking refer to this as the “happy place”, but that is essentially what it is. First you need to lie down and close your eyes and think of the “happy place”. Pick a place that you would enjoy being in or fantasize about. It could be a white sand beach with beautiful sea breezes whipping around you, or a grassy picnic in the mountains, it can be anything and any place you want it to be. It does not have to be someplace you’ve been, it could even be someplace you want to be. Your imagination is your limitation. While you are imagining yourself there, pay attention to every sound, smell, warmth, feeling, sensation. Put yourself exactly there and relax. Use this place as often as you need to and whenever you want to. “Pretending” that you are somewhere that you want to be when you can’t be, can be very soothing.

Quiet Ears

In this technique, you are going to tell your body to quiet down by physically forcing quiet into your body. Lie on your back or whatever position is comfortable and close your eyes. Put your hands behind your head and place your thumbs inside your ears closing the ear canal. A high-pitched rushing sound will occur, this is expected. Simply tune everything else out. Your arms will relax by themselves and you will eventually fall asleep.

White Noise

White noise is commonly known as white sound. Since it utilizes many frequencies of sounds from high to low and back it has what is known as a “masking” effect. The noise itself will appear like a whooshing noise and many have likened it to the sound of rain or wind in the trees. Studies have shown it to be incredibly peaceful to listen to and unconsciously soothing as it is a sound derived from nature. You can purchase White Noise CD’s or noisemakers through your local bookstore or retailers online.

These are just a few relaxation techniques you can try on your own, there are so many out there. The key is that they work on the same principles as exercise does. You need time and practice with them to become successful with them.

Do You Have Candida?

Most people aren’t aware that many of the chronic physical and mental health conditions we see in the human body today are the result of Candida yeast overgrowth. This cunning yeast can be responsible for problems like vaginal or genital infections, headaches, migraines , irritable bowel syndrome, gas, stomach bloating, depression, anxiety, sore throat, eczema, chronic fatigue, myalgias, inability to concentrate, attention deficit disorder, hyperactivity and many many more health issues.

In fact uncontrolled Candida yeast overgrowth can cause just about any mental or physical symptom you can think of. It can even be a factor in serious conditions like Crohns, Autism and Prostatitis.

Candida yeast is the yeast that’s responsible for the common “yeast infection” that many women endure from time to time, and is the term that most people are familiar with. However, “yeast infections” are not limited to just women. It inflicts men and children as well and it can effect almost any part of the body.

One of the other most common areas to be infected with Candida is the gastrointestinal tract. When left unchecked it can then travel out of the intestinal tract, through the bloodstream and into any organ or system in the body. The brain, lungs and nervous system are frequently vulnerable as well.

We all have millions of microorganisms present in our body. Some are considered healthy flora while others, like Candida are considered bad or unhealthy. Normally, a healthy body will keep the bad flora from flourishing, but when something occurs to upset the balance of bacteria, then the bad ones are able to thrive and grow out of control, which can result in a wide variety of health problems.

This balance of bad bacteria versus good bacteria can become unbalanced for a variety of reasons. Some common contributing factors to Candida overgrowth are birth control pills, synthetic estrogen, steroids, nutritional deficiencies and immune suppressing drugs. However, the two most common culprits for what has grown into an epidemic in our society, are the overuse of prescription antibiotics and the standard American diet that is high in sugar and simple carbohydrates.

When prescription antibiotics enter the body not only do they wipe out your infection but they also wipe out all your friendly or healthy bacteria too. This allows Candida yeast to take over and grow out of control.

Antibiotics are used too frequently for too many conditions when they aren’t necessary. We are also exposed to antibiotics in our meat and dairy supply, because farm animals are routinely fed antibiotics in large doses. When we eat these animals or their byproducts the antibiotics are absorbed into our bodies. This overuse of antibiotics has now led to many bacteria becoming completely resistant to them.

Sugar is Candida’s main food source. So any food that is high in sugar, starch or simple carbohydrates will give the yeast a feast that will allow it to proliferate out of control. Most people eat a lot these kinds of foods everyday, because sugar is found in everything from your breakfast cereal to your ketchup. All this excess sugar is largely responsible for not only Candida yeast, but obesity, malnutrition and type II diabetes as well

Basically it is the combination of our medical treatments and lifestyle choices that are leading to this overgrowth of Candida, that has grown into an epidemic in our society and wrecking havoc on our health.

Once Candida gets a grip on ones body it is extremely difficult to eradicate, so prevention is always the first course of action if possible.

The best ways to keep Candida yeast from growing out of control in your body is to eliminate the use of antibiotics unless absolutely necessary, eat organic meat and dairy products that are not loaded with antibiotics and follow a Candida diet.

Thousands of people can testify to overcoming or dramatically improving a variety of chronic health conditions by switching to a diet that does not encourage Candida overgrowth.

How to Take Benefits of Sick or Medical Leave?

In business world people are used to take sick or medical leave. Some times it is necessary to take due to health problem or illness. But few people are taking sick leave without any solid reason. In this article we will discuss how to utilize your sick time? When to take sick leave? What to do in sick time? This article will provide you the opportunity to practice going through the process of deciding whether to call in sick for office.

Identify how sick are you? If you feel not well and think that you need to see a doctor in order to get better, it is the right time to call in sick. If you are suffering from an illness (flu, conjunctive eyeties, etc.) that is contagious, take rest at home. If you go to work in this situation there is a chance that you may get even sicker to the point that you may have to miss more than one day of job. If you go to office, you would not be able give productive results due to the illness.

If you make a decision that it would probably be a good idea to take leave, consider how much sick leave do you have? If you have some days, it might be a good idea to stay home this day to try to get well again. If you only have a few days or a single day, you may have to make a decision whether you may need those/that day(s) at a later date. If you do not have sick leave, can you afford to miss a days pay?

A person would have to make this decision based on his health condition. For example, a person may have very bad allergies at the same time every year. That time is coming up and the allergies are worse than how he feels presently.

After making the choice to stay at home from work, then you have to do the following things –

Request your colleagues who will have to do your important work. Follow your office procedure for calling in sick. When you speak to your manager or the person to whom you call in sick, tell him that you are not feeling well and need to take the day off.

Though sick time is a benefit, it should be used only when essential. Employers look favorably on employees who do not take any leave due to illness. In fact, some companies give awards or rewards to employees who do not use any sick time during a specified financial year.

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