All posts tagged: health and wellness

Psychology Reveals 8 Odd Behaviors Often Linked To Hidden Depression

Psychology Reveals 8 Odd Behaviors Often Linked To Hidden Depression

Published by skeptic

When you have a cold or flu, the symptoms are obvious: Coughing, sneezing, congestion, and a general hatred of the universe. Symptoms and signs of hidden depression, on the other hand, aren’t as clear as rom-coms and made-for-TV movies make them out to be. Intense sadness and hopelessness are only some of the behaviors — not only can depressive symptoms range from mild to severe, but they can also disguise themselves as everyday habits and emotions you wouldn’t necessarily equate with being depressed. Here are odd behaviors often linked to hidden depression: 1. You keep yourself excessively busy Yuri A / Shutterstock Sure, we all have hectic schedules, but someone with depression might use being perma-busy as a way to steer clear of their feelings. One study found that workaholism frequently co-occurs with psychiatric disorders like depression and anxiety. “Keeping busy might be a way for them to ignore or avoid the painful issues that may be contributing to or triggering their depression,” says SooMi Lee-Samuel, M.D., medical director at Timberline Knolls, a residential treatment center …

If You’re Missing This In Your Diet, Kicking Addiction Will Be Much Harder | Christina Veselak

If You’re Missing This In Your Diet, Kicking Addiction Will Be Much Harder | Christina Veselak

Published by skeptic

So, you just got out of rehab. Congratulations! What a huge step towards reclaiming a positive future for you and your family. How is it going? Oh, this is your fourth rehab? You’re determined to overcome your addiction this time, but right now, you’re white-knuckling your way through. You know you don’t ever want to use it again, but you feel anxious every time you leave the house, you’re irritable and yelling at the kids, and you toss and turn all night. At rehab, they told you to expect this. This is just post-acute withdrawal, and will go away … in a year (maybe). The doctor wrote out prescriptions for a sleeping pill, anxiety medication, and an anti-depressant, but you don’t want to take them. You’re trying to live life without chemicals, but it’s getting really hard. You liked this last rehab. The staff and other clients were supportive and encouraging. They taught you good skills and helped you heal from the past. They explained that addiction is a “bio-psycho-social” disorder and explained the psycho-social …

20 Tiny Things To Do When You’re Fed Up And A Little Depressed

20 Tiny Things To Do When You’re Fed Up And A Little Depressed

Published by skeptic

Welcome to the experience of being human. I know what it’s like to feel stuck and fed up. Maybe you got dumped or rejected. Maybe you feel disrespected. Maybe you’re frustrated and fed up with work. Yup, it sucks.  When I’m in this state, I have frequently thought that the best solution is to do something drastic, fueled by emotion — maybe to buy a van and travel the world. Or quit all my social media. Or start a whole new career. But more often than not, all we need at this moment is to do the next small thing. This little step reinforces your action-taking identity, fueling a return to joy. You’re not a moper. You’re a doer. This is always the solution to the malaise. Show yourself who you are through the small actions, and your mindset will shift. You will feel a new lease on life.  Here are 20 tiny things to do when you’re fed up and a little depressed: 1. Read ten pages of a book with no distractions 2. …

6 Tiny Signs You’re Not Taking Good Care Of Your Soul, According To Experts

6 Tiny Signs You’re Not Taking Good Care Of Your Soul, According To Experts

Published by skeptic

Physical health, check! Mental health, check! You are holistically healthy, wait a minute, not so fast. The health of a human usually has three parts. Here are 6 tiny signs you’re not taking good care of your soul, according to YourTango experts: 1. You dread your work If you’re constantly battling the Sunday Scaries or hitting the snooze button on your alarm more often, it might mean you’re not looking after your soul. Dreading your job is a big clue your well-being is being neglected and something’s off spiritually. When you live authentically and do what you love, your soul is happy. Soul-nurturing work brings out your best self. It’s energizing and rewarding, not draining or anxiety-inducing. — Lisa Petsinis, Career & Life Coach RELATED: How To Find A Job That Actually Makes Your Life Better 2. You have poor spiritual hygiene There are many signs of bad spiritual hygiene that you may overlook. It could come from absorbing the negativity of others, holding onto the past, or self-neglect. Some of the signs you might have poor spiritual hygiene are: Inability to stop your mind from running wild Insomnia Restlessness Excessive drama and conflict …

The 4 Biological Hacks To Live Longer

The 4 Biological Hacks To Live Longer

Published by skeptic

I am sure there was a time in your life when you at least thought about living forever, or at least long enough so you could experience as much of life as possible. We all did! We wish to take on as much as we can, live life to the fullest and are scared of aging and being limited. But if you ask your parents, they felt the same at some point, and if you are lucky enough to be able to ask your grandparents, they’ll tell you the same. I can bet the generations before had the same thoughts during their lives. It’s a normal human trait and it means that you love and appreciate life so much that you are willing to stick around for a little longer. It was normal during these generations, while these questions were flowing around the brains of many scientists, that research and medical advancements were going to be made in this direction. Well, there have been and I got into details in one of my past articles …

12 Tiny Habits That Will Quadruple Your Anxiety

12 Tiny Habits That Will Quadruple Your Anxiety

Published by skeptic

I suffered from anxiety (hard) and still have my moments. That’s fine. Managing anxiety isn’t about never having anxiety; it’s about making peace with reality. Ultimately, anxiety is a label we’ve made up to describe the physical experience of stressful thoughts. It needn’t be a big deal, but we make it so. Here are ways you may be inadvertently making your anxiety worse. Here are 13 subtle habits that quadruple your anxiety: 1. Making ‘anxiety’ your identity You’re not an “anxious person.” You just have occasional anxious feelings. Your identity as an anxious person is cementing your suffering for life. Most people use anxiety as an excuse for their failures. You’re stronger than that. 2. Taking every single one of your thoughts seriously Here’s the reality of being human: we will continually have all kinds of thoughts, negative and positive, arising in us from now until the day we die. We can’t do anything about this. We can, however, let go of the need to latch onto every thought that floats up. We hook in …

10 Tiny Tricks That Will Give You A Healthier Mindset Than 99% Of People

10 Tiny Tricks That Will Give You A Healthier Mindset Than 99% Of People

Published by skeptic

I’m sure you’ve seen and heard hundreds of videos from strength gurus that shout at you to push harder, to cross your limits, and then some. There is a fine line between a toxic masculinity movement that gained traction lately, and the concept of self-improvement and striving for greatness and resilience. Everyone should push themselves to be better! The work that never ends is the work you do on yourself! If you want to be better than 99% of people, you need to do this work! However, that doesn’t mean breaking your body or your mind! So let me set the ground here, and guide you through how you can have a better mindset than 99% of people while taking care of yourself! Let’s join the self-improvement and self-care concepts into ten easy steps to achieve mental fortitude and improve your life! Here are 10 tiny tricks that will give you a healthier mindset than most people: 1. Practice gratitude There is a conflicting theory here that if you are grateful for the current state of your life, you can’t also …

5 Tiny Signs Your Gut Is Really Unhealthy

5 Tiny Signs Your Gut Is Really Unhealthy

Published by skeptic

Gut health is paramount to living a healthy life. If your body is not digesting the food properly, you cannot perform at your best. Sometimes, there are minor changes to fix the gut; sometimes, it’s too late; only your physician can fix it. I highly suggest seeing your physician if you have any of the following signs. You can improve your gut health by following 10000 steps a day or drinking 3 liters of water each day. Here is the perfect quote to sum up the importance of the gut: “If there’s one thing to know about the human body; it’s this: the human body has a ringmaster. This ringmaster controls your digestion, your immunity, your brain, your weight, your health, and even your happiness. This ringmaster is the gut.” — Nancy Mure Processed and high-sugar foods are harmful to your gut health. It has long-term effects on our immune system, weight, hormone imbalance, mental health, and even cancer. We are highly focused on making more money for a better life and as a result, we …

My Heart Attack Was The Best Thing To Ever Happen To Me

My Heart Attack Was The Best Thing To Ever Happen To Me

Published by skeptic

It was the fall of 2006, a few months before I was to marry my wife Rishika. She was visiting Canada for a week, taking some time off from shuttling between Germany and India for her flight attendant job with Lufthansa. On a Saturday afternoon in October, we went to see a horrible Indian movie, Umrao Jaan, headlined by Aishwarya Rai. My left arm started tingling a little, and since the movie was boring anyway, I decided to take a quick walk in the empty halls of the cinema. The pain steadily got worse, and by the time I returned to the movie, I leaned in to Rishika and said, “This movie is terrible. We have to go.” She must have seen something in my face because she didn’t object and we rapidly headed to the parking lot. I started the car, and we headed downtown to my condo. My arm was hurting less now, and I just wanted to get home. A few minutes into the drive, though, I began to feel nauseated, and Rishika …

Young Mom Reveals Bizarre First Sign That Led To Her Terminal ALS Diagnosis

Young Mom Reveals Bizarre First Sign That Led To Her Terminal ALS Diagnosis

Published by skeptic

It was a beautiful spring day in 2022 and I was at the park with my two younger children. While walking with my daughter to the slide my left knee buckled slightly, and I lost my balance. I thought this was odd but kept moving throughout my day. Little did I know that moment at the park would be the beginning of several “well, that was odd” moments, which eventually led to the horrifying realization that I was facing an all-too-familiar disease I had been dreading for much of my life. I come from a family that has been plagued with familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), specifically with the superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) gene mutation. A child born from a carrier of the SOD1 gene has a fifty percent chance of getting the ALS-causing gene from their affected parent. Nearly 22 members of my extended family have passed away from the disease, including my father. Currently, six members are fighting the disease. ALS is a terminal disease that impacts the nervous system, breaking down nerve …