AVOIDING STRESS

Stress is a feeling that's created when we react to particular events. It's the body's way of rising to a challenge and preparing to meet a tough situation with focus, strength, stamina, and heightened alertness.
The events that provoke stress are called stressors, and they cover a whole range of situations — everything from outright physical danger to making a class presentation or taking a semester's worth of your toughest subject.
Thus, Stress is a measure of the internal forces acting within a deformable body. Quantitatively, it is a measure of the average force per unit area of a surface within the body on which internal forces act.Considering the today’s world we can see that the stress is increasing a lot in normal life this is due to the many reason like increase in prices of many things like petrol, gas and many more things.

Stress not only leads to physical illness it also leads to the mental and emotional like depression, anxiety. The world consists of money and power. But if we are not free from stress than we will not have money and power so it is important to relief from stress to live healthy.

Unhealthy ways of coping with stress

These coping strategies may temporarily reduce stress, but they cause more damage in the long run:

Smoking Drinking too much Overeating or undereating Zoning out for hours in front of the TV or computer Withdrawing from friends, family, and activities

Using pills or drugs to relax       Sleeping too much Procrastinating Filling up every minute of the day to avoid facing problems Taking out your stress on others (lashing out, angry outbursts, physical violence)

Healthy ways to relax and recharge

Go for a walk. Spend time in nature. Call a good friend. Sweat out tension with a good workout. Write in your journal. Take a long bath. Light scented candles

Savor a warm cup of coffee or tea. Play with a pet. Work in your garden. Get a massage. Curl up with a good book. Listen to music. Watch a comedy

There are some tips which I going to tell you to get free from stress -

•  Firstly that eat healthy things only. These healthy things include fruits, vegetables and juices. The perfect food will help you relief your stress. You should always take your food at perfect time.
•   Another thing I will suggest you that whenever you feel stress just go for a walk or a ride if you cannot do this then do some sort of exercise which suits your situation.
•   Laughing is the strong key to get relief from the stress. Watching comedy movies will free you from stress. Always be happy.
• Next I suggest to avoid harmful things like alcohol or drugs. This will give you only harm not relief you from the stress.
• Take proper relaxation and sleep.
• Have Self-confidence and manage your self-esteem
• Keep Your Anger In control and avoid any sort of fights.
• Last thing I will suggest you is that taking some sort of break in your life will get you relief from the stress. Break means taking holidays from your work to get some sort of relax.

These are some thing i want to tell you regarding the relief from the stress.

Dealing with Stressful Situations: The Four A’s

Change the situation: Avoid the stressor. Alter the stressor.

Change your reaction: Adapt to the stressor. Accept the stressor.

Important Tips: 

• Express your feelings instead of bottling them up. If something or someone is bothering you, communicate your concerns in an open and respectful way. If you don’t voice your feelings, resentment will build and the situation will likely remain the same.
• Be willing to compromise. When you ask someone to change their behavior, be willing to do the same. If you both are willing to bend at least a little, you’ll have a good chance of finding a happy middle ground.
• Be more assertive. Don’t take a backseat in your own life. Deal with problems head on, doing your best to anticipate and prevent them. If you’ve got an exam to study for and your chatty roommate just got home, say up front that you only have five minutes to talk.
• Manage your time better. Poor time management can cause a lot of stress. When you’re stretched too thin and running behind, it’s hard to stay calm and focused. But if you plan ahead and make sure you don’t overextend yourself, you can alter the amount of stress you’re under. 
• Reframe problems. Try to view stressful situations from a more positive perspective. Rather than fuming about a traffic jam, look at it as an opportunity to pause and regroup, listen to your favorite radio station, or enjoy some alone time.
• Look at the big picture. Take perspective of the stressful situation. Ask yourself how important it will be in the long run. Will it matter in a month? A year? Is it really worth getting upset over? If the answer is no, focus your time and energy elsewhere.
• Adjust your standards. Perfectionism is a major source of avoidable stress. Stop setting yourself up for failure by demanding perfection. Set reasonable standards for yourself and others, and learn to be okay with “good enough.”
• Focus on the positive. When stress is getting you down, take a moment to reflect on all the things you appreciate in your life, including your own positive qualities and gifts. This simple strategy can help you keep things in perspective.
• Look for the upside. As the saying goes, “What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.” When facing major challenges, try to look at them as opportunities for personal growth. If your own poor choices contributed to a stressful situation, reflect on them and learn from your mistakes.
• Share your feelings. Talk to a trusted friend or make an appointment with a therapist. Expressing what you’re going through can be very cathartic, even if there’s nothing you can do to alter the stressful situation.
• Learn to forgive. Accept the fact that we live in an imperfect world and that people make mistakes. Let go of anger and resentments. Free yourself from negative energy by forgiving and moving on. 
• Exercise regularly. Physical activity plays a key role in reducing and preventing the effects of stress. Make time for at least 30 minutes of exercise, three times per week. Nothing beats aerobic exercise for releasing pent-up stress and tension.
• Eat a healthy diet. Well-nourished bodies are better prepared to cope with stress, so be mindful of what you eat. Start your day right with breakfast, and keep your energy up and your mind clear with balanced, nutritious meals throughout the day.
• Reduce caffeine and sugar. The temporary "highs" caffeine and sugar provide often end in with a crash in mood and energy. By reducing the amount of coffee, soft drinks, chocolate, and sugar snacks in your diet, you’ll feel more relaxed and you’ll sleep better.
• Avoid alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs. Self-medicating with alcohol or drugs may provide an easy escape from stress, but the relief is only temporary. Don’t avoid or mask the issue at hand; deal with problems head on and with a clear mind.
• Get enough sleep. Adequate sleep fuels your mind, as well as your body. Feeling tired will increase your stress because it may cause you to think irrationally. 
• Learn how to say “no” – Know your limits and stick to them. Whether in your personal or professional life, refuse to accept added responsibilities when you’re close to reaching them. Taking on more than you can handle is a surefire recipe for stress.
• Avoid people who stress you out – If someone consistently causes stress in your life and you can’t turn the relationship around, limit the amount of time you spend with that person or end the relationship entirely. 
• Take control of your environment – If the evening news makes you anxious, turn the TV off. If traffic’s got you tense, take a longer but less-traveled route. If going to the market is an unpleasant chore, do your grocery shopping online.
• Avoid hot-button topics – If you get upset over religion or politics, cross them off your conversation list. If you repeatedly argue about the same subject with the same people, stop bringing it up or excuse yourself when it’s the topic of discussion.
• Pare down your to-do list – Analyze your schedule, responsibilities, and daily tasks. If you’ve got too much on your plate, distinguish between the “shoulds” and the “musts.” Drop tasks that aren’t truly necessary to the bottom of the list or eliminate them entirely.

DEPRESSION

Depression is much more than mere sadness. It is defined as emotional dejection and withdrawal. We often say that we are depressed because something unfortunate happened during our day or we couldn't get our way. However, real depression is a clinically diagnosed condition that often needs therapy plus for some medication to relieve. 

Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behaviour, feelings and physical well-being. It may include feelings of sadness, anxiety, emptiness, hopelessness, worthlessness, guilt, irritability, or restlessness.

A number of factors can play a role in depression:

• Alcohol or drug abuse
• Life events or situations, such as:
  
  • Breaking up with a boyfriend or girlfriend, failing a class, illness or death in the family, or parents divorcing (for adolescents)
  • Childhood events, such as abuse or neglect
  • Divorce, death of a friend or relative, or loss of a job (for adults)
  • Social isolation (common in the elderly)
• Medical conditions such as hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid), medications (such as sedatives and high blood pressure medications), cancer, major illness, or prolonged pain
• Sleeping problems

Symptoms

Depression can change or distort the way adolescents see themselves and their lives, as well as other people around them. People who have depression usually see everything with a more negative attitude, unable to imagine that any problem or situation can be solved in a positive way.
Symptoms include:

• Agitation, restlessness, and irritability
• Dramatic change in appetite, often with weight gain or loss
• Extreme difficulty concentrating
• Fatigue and lack of energy
• Feelings of hopelessness and helplessness
• Feelings of worthlessness, self-hate, and inappropriate guilt
• Inactivity and withdrawal from usual activities, a loss of interest or pleasure in activities that were once enjoyed (such as sex)
• Thoughts of death or suicide
• Trouble sleeping or excessive sleeping

Depression can appear as anger and discouragement, rather than as feelings of hopelessness and helplessness. Use of alcohol or illegal substances may be more likely to occur.If depression is very severe, there may also be psychotic symptoms, such as hallucinations and delusions. These symptoms may focus on themes of guilt, inadequacy, or disease.

Signs and tests

Major depression is diagnosed if a person reports having five or more depressive symptoms for at least 2 weeks. Beck's Depression Scale Inventory or other screening tests for depression can be helpful in making the diagnosis.
Before diagnosing depression, the health care provider should rule out medical conditions that can cause symptoms of depression.

Depressed people may lose interest in activities that once were pleasurable, or suffer cognitive impairments (difficulty concentrating, remembering details, or making decisions). They may contemplate or attempt suicide. Their weight may change dramatically. Insomnia, excessive sleeping, fatigue, loss of energy, or aches, pains or digestive problems that are resistant to treatment may be present. Depression can cause pervasive problems in an individual's life through its (often unconscious) changes to behaviour (e.g. a pygmalion effect of expecting poor social performance, and ultimately pushing people away).


There is a way to find out if you have a tendency toward this condition. It is called a depression quiz. This test helps you determine whether you are showing signs of being depressed by the symptoms you express. In mental health, there are also test available to determine if someone has attention deficit disorder.

This test won't show results of how deeply this condition is felt, but it is very helpful toward getting a diagnosis and determining your state of mind. Showing your doctor this test will help him or her to ascertain the level of your condition and what steps will need to be taken. This test is will help you learn more about your inner states of mind.

The test contains a set of questions that will determine if your condition is mild or more pronounced. It will also help you see if there is a chronic pattern. Similar to the attention deficit test, by seeing the number of yes responses to certain questions, you'll learn if your symptoms warrant further help. Three or more "yes" answers can be evidence of an acute form of depression. Sometimes one can also have a temporary depression as the result of certain circumstances in their lives they respond to with a state of hopelessness. However, symptoms that remain over a period of a three or more weeks can be evidence of a more serious condition. In this case, you should contact a medical professional. These symptoms can include fatigue, insomnia, irritability, and suicidal ideation. Please be aware, that if there is a plan that accompanies suicidal ideation, it is important to seek help immediately and if it is a family member, take them to a local hospital.

If you feel a sense that things aren't going well and you are not responding in a healthy manner to your daily situations then you should take a depression quiz. Please be aware that his test is not an exact science and that regardless of your score on the test, seeking counseling is an excellent way to help to clarify the causes of low moods or feelings of helplessness. 

Treatment

Talk therapy and Cognitive behavioural therapy are often used to help treat depression. In a similar vein, the science of happiness makes various recommendations of habits that help increase a person's well-being. Antidepressants are sometimes quite necessary. Electroconvulsive therapy has been known to have positive results. Doctors may also be open to natural ingredients in the end 

Diet Charts

A diet chart is a very useful method of determining and meeting one's nutritional requirements. There are various types of diet charts and while many of them are used for weight loss, several of them can also be used to treat and prevent illnesses. A diet chart can also be used to track faulty eating habits so that they can be corrected. When drawing up a diet chart, it is essential to consider various factors such as your height, weight, age, gender, level of daily exercise, and your short term and long term goals. Once you have determined your daily nutritional requirement you can plan your meals accordingly. The details of some of these diet charts are listed below.

Diet Chart For Weight Loss

It is quite simple to come up with a diet chart to lose weight as long as you have realistic goals. Include plenty of low calorie and high nutrition foods in your diet as they will help you to meet your nutritional requirement without causing excessive weight gain. A weight loss diet chart should contain all the essential nutrients you require but will contain fewer calories than what you require. This calorific deficit forces your body to utilize fat reserves to provide you with the energy you require. Foods like broccoli cabbage, carrots, zucchini, tomatoes, and cucumbers should form a large part of your diet. Make sure that you also include plenty of fruits and low fat desserts in your diet chart.Several weight loss diet plans such as the juice fast and the general motors diet plan that you can use to kick start a weight loss diet plan.

Balanced Diet & Nutrition

Balanced Diet & Nutrition

A balanced diet comprising of diverse and healthy foods is key to promoting good health. After all, we are what we eat - Research continues to prove that eating healthy food promotes good health and unhealthy food habits lead to a diseased body. Foods contain vital nutrients that aid our body’s metabolic function. However, a lack of consumption of these nutrients or feeding upon the wrong kinds of food leads to an accumulation of toxins within the body, resulting in chronic diseases in the long run.
A nutritious diet while ensuring overall well being, helps to maintain a healthy Body Mass Index (BMI), reduces the risk of several debilitating diseases like cancer, cardiovascular ailments, diabetes, osteoporosis and stroke. Thus a nutritious & healthy diet is important in the prevention and cure of various diseases.

Diet for diseases
There are several health conditions that can be caused or aggravated by the food we eat. However, there are also several foods that you can include in your diet to help prevent or treat diseases. It is simplest to draw up a balanced diet chart as this will ensure that you get all the nutrients you require on a regular basis. A nutrition diet chart is a diet chart that helps you to keep a track of your nutritional diet requirements and is a very useful tool when drawing up a personalized diet plan.

TIPS FOR DIABETES PATIENTS

Healthy diets for Diabetes

Healthy routine helps to minimize the risk of developing complications of diabetes. One can keep blood glucose levels normal by a healthy diet and maintaining physical fitness.

Eating right, controlling your weight and exercising regularly will help you to control sugar level.
Excess consumption of alcohol is harmful as it may lower blood glucose levels and cause weight gain. Smoking is very harmful to diabetes patients, because it increases the risk of long-term complications.

Foot care is important because diabetes can increase the risk of skin infections and ulcers on the feet. You must clean your feet daily and if a sore develop on your feet, consult the doctor promptly. Diabetes patients have an increased risk of high blood pressure, so regular monitoring is important.

Low-fat, vegetarian diets are ideal for diabetics. In most cases, diabetics can manage their disease much better with a food plan that gets most of its calories from complex carbohydrates while minimizing fats.

Diet for Diabetes :

With a near-vegetarian diet and exercise program, one can maintain their sugar levels with out taking any medications. Ideal diet program for a diabetic is a low fat vegetarian diet, reducing meats, high-fat dairy products, and oils. At the same time increasing grains, legumes, and vegetables.

HEALTH TIPS

Health is the general condition of a person in all aspects such as body and mind. It is also a level of functional and/or metabolic efficiency of an organism, often implicitly human. According to World Health Organization (WHO), health is defined as "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity".

Health is "a resource for everyday life, not the objective of living. Health is a positive concept emphasizing social and personal resources, as well as physical capacities. Overall health is achieved through a combination of physical, mental, and social well-being, which, together is commonly referred to as the Health Triangle.

There are four general determinants of health including human biology, environment, lifestyle,  healthcare services. Thus, health is maintained and improved not only through the advancement and application of health science, but also through the efforts and intelligent lifestyle choices of the individual and society.

Maintaining health

Achieving and maintaining health is an ongoing process. Effective strategies for staying healthy and improving one's health include the following elements:

Observations of Daily Living

Personal health depends partially on one's active, passive, and assisted observations about their health in their everyday life. The information gleaned from such observations may be used to inform personal decisions and actions (e.g., "I feel tired in the morning so I am going to try sleeping on a different pillow"), as well as clinical decisions and treatment plans (e.g., a patient who notices his or her shoes are tighter than usual may be having exacerbation of left-sided heart failure, and may require diuretic medication to reduce fluid overload) for patients who share their observations with their health care providers.

Personal health depends partially on the social structure of one person`s life. The maintenance of strong social relationships is linked to good health conditions, longevity, productivity, and a positive attitude. This is because positive social interaction as viewed by the participant increases many chemical levels in the brain which are linked to personality and intelligence traits.