Leslie Davenport: 7 Ways to Beat Mental Fatigue Let's get the bad news out of the way first: There's no quick fix for chronic fatigue. It is typically a level of depletion that results from draining your energy reserves over a period of time. It requires a commitment to refuel and restore your vitality. Physical, Mental/Emotional and Spiritual Fatigue Depletion can occur physically, emotionally/mentally and spiritually, so what kind of tired are you? While there are always exceptions, general guidelines are that if you wake with energy in the morning and find yourself dragging in the afternoon, the fatigue may have a physical origin. Whole Person Fatigue Fighters Body Balance Mom was right: Eat a good breakfast, pick up the apple instead of the candy bar, get to bed at a decent hour and when you're stressed remember, "This too shall pass." So what burdens are you are carrying mentally that keep you from being present in the moment to your family, to your friends, to yourself? Exorcism of Emotional Vampires Emotions are contagious.
Men who are narcissistic may be at higher risk for more health problems - latimes.com Unhealthy narcissism was linked with higher cortisol levels in men in a… (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles…) Men who are narcissists may be at risk for some health problems, since they could have inherently higher levels of the stress-related hormone cortisol even when they're not under pressure, a study finds. Cortisol, which is released by the body when it's under duress or going through an intense activity, can have some benefits--lending an energy surge, helping the body burn fat, and boosting memory. But too much cortisol from chronic stress can have deleterious effects, such as higher blood pressure, lower immunity and higher levels of abdominal fat. Researchers tested the saliva of 106 undergraduate students (79 women, 27 men) twice in a lab setting to check their cortisol levels. The authors noted that more research is needed to determine why men who are narcissists have higher cortisol levels compared with women. The study was released Monday in the journal PLoS One.
Margaret Paul, Ph.D.: Do You Have Trouble Making Decisions? Does fear of making a mistake immobilize you in your decision-making process? Do you ever have trouble making decisions? Which carpet to buy for your floor. Which sofa to choose. Making decisions can be difficult, but we make it especially hard when we try to decide from our mind, rather than from our inner experience. I had a session recently with Barbara, who works as a paralegal. I asked her where she made her decisions from -- her mind or her inner experience. "Well," I told her, "when I have a decision to make, like which tile to pick for the floor, I open myself to my deeper experience. "I tune into my body and feel my inner experience. For me, making decisions is a creative process. People often get stuck in not knowing what their life purpose is -- what work would bring them joy.
Nurturing mothers rear physically healthier adults Nurturing mothers have garnered accolades for rescuing skinned knees on the playground and coaxing their children to sleep with lullabies. Now they're gaining merit for their offspring's physical health in middle age. In a recent study published in the journal Psychological Science, Brandeis psychologist Margie Lachman with Gregory Miller and colleagues at the University of British Columbia and the University of California, Los Angeles reveal that while children raised in families with low socioeconomic status (SES) frequently go on to have high rates of chronic illness in adulthood, a sizable minority remain healthy across the life course. The research sought to examine if parental nurturance could mitigate the effects of childhood disadvantage. "The literature is very clear that people who are low in socioeconomic status have worse health than their same age counterparts," says Lachman, a phenomenon called the social gradient in health. The study is innovative in several ways.
Judith Hammerman: Embracing Discomfort -- What it means to Be Fearless Fear less, hope more, eat less, chew more, whine less, breathe more, talk less, say more, love more, and all good things will be yours. ~ Swedish Proverb At some point over the last few years, I started thinking about fear. This isn't the scary movie, dark and rainy knock at the door fear. This is the fear that slowly stirs you out of bed in the middle of the night, the fear that speaks quietly and reminds you of the most essential parts of you. It's the fear that holds you back from being everything you ever dreamed you could be in this lifetime, your best and highest self in work, in love and in life. I started thinking about this kind of fear during a time where I'd had a few personal and professional wins and just as many set backs. So when AOL, my employer, bought Huffington Post this past January and Arianna Huffington gave out her book internally, On Becoming Fearless, I took it as a sign that perhaps I was supposed to start getting a little more vocal on living fearless.
Breast cancer survivors benefit from practicing Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction Women recently diagnosed with breast cancer have higher survival rates than those diagnosed in previous decades, according to the American Cancer Society. However, survivors continue to face health challenges after their treatments end. Previous research reports as many as 50 percent of breast cancer survivors are depressed. Now, University of Missouri researchers in the Sinclair School of Nursing say a meditation technique can help breast cancer survivors improve their emotional and physical well-being. Yaowarat Matchim, a former nursing doctoral student; Jane Armer, professor of nursing; and Bob Stewart, professor emeritus of education and adjunct faculty in nursing, found that breast cancer survivors' health improved after they learned Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), a type of mindfulness training that incorporates meditation, yoga and physical awareness. "MBSR is another tool to enhance the lives of breast cancer survivors," Armer said.
How A List Can Change Your Life Susan Cross | The Daily Muse Just after I turned 36, I had a mid-life crisis. I realized that I was closer to 40 than 30, and I still hadn't done many of the things I'd dreamed of doing with my life. I had graduated from college, gotten married, and had three children in five years, and being a mom -- scratch that, an excellent mom -- was (and still is) my main priority. So instead of buying a sports car (too cliche), I made a list of 40 life goals -- things I had always wanted to do, but just hadn't. Some of the things on my list were big, some were small, and some seemed kind of crazy, even to me. And that typed-up piece of paper in 12-point Times New Roman transformed my goals from fantasy to reality. I finally gave myself the green light to follow my dreams. 1. If your house isn't quiet, go somewhere else (or at least invest in some earplugs). Take a piece of paper and write down the following: "I really wish I had _____." 2. Some of the things you write down might seem crazy. 3. 4.
Humans are still evolving: study Even though humans are still evolving, don’t expect any winged mutants. On TV shows like “Heroes” and movies like “X-Men, ordinary people seem to evolve to have extraordinary capabilities. But people in real life don’t have genetic mutations that give rise to extraordinary capabilities such as telepathy or wings. But human evolution is still happing according to scientists. Researchers at the University of Quebec at Montreal examined a very detailed database of church records for residents of Ile aux Coudres, a tiny island northeast of Quebec City, Quebec, between 1799 and 1940. The data allowed scientists to track the ages at which female residents had their first-born children. “The study is the first to demonstrate a genetic response to selection in a very important demographic trait in a human population in such recent times,” said Yale University professor of evolutionary biology Stephen C. The evolutionary change is likely due to falling mortality rates, says Stearns. Via CNN
Mike Robbins: 5 Ways to Tame Your Inner Critic I'm sometimes amazed and embarrassed by how critical I can be -- both of other people and of myself. Even though I both teach and practice the power of appreciation (as well as acceptance, compassion and more) when I find myself feeling scared, threatened or insecure (which happens more often than I'd like it to), I notice that I can be quite judgmental. Sadly, as I've learned throughout my life, being critical and judgmental never works, feels good or leads me to what I truly want in my relationships and in my life. Can you relate to this? I've recently been challenged by a few situations and relationships that have triggered an intense critical response -- both towards myself and some of the people around me. The power of this statement resonated with me deeply when I heard it and continues to have an impact on me to this day. Here are some things you can do and remember in this regard: 1) Give people the benefit of the doubt. 2) Don't take things personally. 3) Look for the good.
Trying to Be ‘Supermom’ Can Raise Risk for Depression But study finds that working moms are less depressed than stay-at-home counterparts. By Jenifer GoodwinHealthDay Reporter SATURDAY, Aug. 20 (HealthDay News) -- Working moms are less likely to show symptoms of depression than stay-at-home moms, a new study finds. However, working moms who don't cut themselves any slack and have unrealistic expectations about how easy it will be to balance work and family have higher levels of depression than their more laid-back counterparts. Researchers analyzed survey results from 1,600 married U.S. women who had children at home and were participating in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. The responses to the outdated statements were actually intended to ferret out women's attitudes toward work-life balance by seeing how seamless they thought it would be to juggle work and family. Then, at age 40, researchers measured their levels of depression. So how can working moms cope? More information Copyright © 2011 HealthDay. Submit your opinion: