Tag: stress

MENTAL HEATLH

The concept of Time

Quirkalicous

“Time is the most undefinable yet paradoxical of things; the past is gone, the future is not come, and the present becomes the past, even while we attempt to define it.“ Charles Caleb Colton (1824).

Our lives consist of an infinite number of variables. In fact, it might even be safe to say that our lives are one big variable. Time is a variable, health another, even our moods are variables. There comes a point where we begin to wonder if there actually is anything we control in our lives… the people we fall in love with, our emotions, our reactions are yet more examples of things we can’t control.

So what is the definition of a variable? A variable is something that is not consistent or has a fixed pattern; it’s liable to change and adapt.

We walk around believing and claiming that we have all the time in the world to do this, and that, and everything under the sun, but is that really true? Time is an uncertainty. Are we able to control it? No we aren’t. Time is limited and can change at the drop of a hat. So what I say is; live your life and make every second count. Tell those you love how you feel, what they mean to you, and try to spend as much time as you can with them. Don’t take it for granted that they will be around forever for you to lose that valuable minute not telling them you love them, admire them, or even what traits it is that you admire and look up to. Because if you were to lose that crucial minute and have the opportunity to tell them taken away from you, what would you do? How would you feel?

Would you say you feel depressed? When people feel great sadness, grief or bereavement, they instantly associate it with depression but in truth, they are not one of the same. The loss of a job, the death of a loved one, or the ending of a relationship are all difficult experiences for a person to endure, and therefore normal to develop feelings of sadness or grief in response to such situations. But being sad is not the same as being depressed. You see, the grieving process is natural and unique to each individual. Although it does share a few features of depression, it also differs in other very significant ways. For example, 1) when experiencing grief, the painful feelings tend to come in waves, often intermixed with more positive memories. With depression, mood, interest and/or pleasure are decreased for the majority of two weeks. *Note that for a diagnosis of depression to occur, the symptoms must last a period of at least two weeks consecutively. 2) in grief, self-esteem is usually maintained whereas in depression, feelings of worthlessness and self-loathing are commonly present. And 3) in grief, thoughts of death may arise when thinking about “joining” their deceased loved one, whereas with depression, their thoughts are focused on ending their lives due to feeling worthless, undeserving of living, or being unable to cope with the pain of depression.

Having said that, grief and depression are able to co-exist. For some, the grief caused by the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, or being the victim of a physical assault/domestic violence or a major disaster can lead to depression. When grief and depression co-occur, the grief experienced is more severe and lasts longer.

Several factors that play a role in depression are; biochemistry, genetics, personality, and environmental factors. In reference to environmental factors, we are referring to situations such as continuous exposure to violence, neglect, abuse or poverty.

There are a number of medical conditions that can mimic symptoms of depression as well, such as thyroid problems, vitamin deficiencies or even a brain tumour. It is therefore of upmost importance that these are ruled out first.

So, to sum things up, don’t let a minute go by without telling those you love how you feel about them and what they mean to you, telling your friends what you like and admire about them, giving your family members that long heart-warming embrace and generally spending time with those that mean something to you.

Depression can affect anyone, even those who appear (externally) happy and in ideal living circumstances….you see, those that smile the most hide the greatest pain.

So make sure to take time to smile, talk, lend an ear, and always be nice, because you don’t know what might be happening in someone’s life, or what is going on behind the scenes. You may be just the person they need to help them get out of a terrible situation.

Life is all about making moments and memories. So let’s go do just that!

MENTAL HEATLH, SUPERFOODS

Let’s Chat About Stress Busting Foods

Quirkalicous

Stress is everywhere, affects us all, and means different things to different people. Where one thing may cause stress in one person, it may be of little concern to another. There are some people better able to handle stress than others and not all stress is bad.

It is a natural physical and mental reaction to life experiences, and is the body’s reaction to harmful situations, whether real or perceived.

When you feel threatened, your nervous system, primarily your hypothalamus sends a signal to your adrenal glands instructing them to release the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol, which stimulate the body for emergency action, allowing you to act in a way to prevent injury… your heart beats faster, muscles tighten, blood pressure rises, your breathing quickens, and your senses heighten. This reaction is known as “fight-or-flight,”.

While a little stress may actually be beneficial, too much stress can have adverse effects, wearing you down making you sick, both mentally and physically, and is known to affect all systems of the body including muscles, respiratory, cardiovascular, endocrine, gastrointestinal, nervous and reproductive systems.

Stress can affect all aspects of your life such as your body, your thinking ability, emotions, and your behaviour. There is no part of you that is immune to the effects of stress, but due to the fact that each one of us handles stress differently, our symptoms may vary.

With acute, momentary stress, your muscles tighten all at once and then release when the stress passes. In chronic conditions whereby the stress has not passed, the muscles are left in a more or less constant state of tension which leads to a number of triggered reactions else where in the body, such as tension-type headaches and migraine headaches which are known to be associated with chronic muscle tension in the shoulder, neck and head region. Musculoskeletal pain in the low back and upper extremities have also been linked to stress.

With regard to the gastrointestinal aspect, environmental causes have been seen to be the determining factor in a large percentage of cases. This could be due to the fact that once the stress hormones are released, they direct more oxygen and blood to the brain and muscles thus depleting the gut of them and affecting both the systemic and gastrointestinal immune and inflammatory responses allowing for disorders such as diverticulitis, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and other functional gastrointestinal diseases, food antigen-related adverse responses, peptic ulcer and gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GERD) to occur.

The physiological effects of stress on the gut include alterations in gastrointestinal motility, an increase in visceral perception, changes in gastrointestinal secretion, an increase in intestinal permeability, negative effects on regenerative capacity of gastrointestinal mucosa and mucosal blood flow, and negative effects on intestinal microbiota.

Foods can help subdue stress in a number of ways….

All carbohydrates increase levels of serotonin, a mood-enhancing chemical that decreases anxiety and stress, whilst increasing happiness, and mood. Therefore, comforting foods, such as a warm bowl of porridge (oats) is perfect, but for a steadier release of this hormone, whole grains are better as they digest slower. Other foods that also increase serotonin levels naturally are pineapple, salmon, eggs, nuts & seeds, turkey & poultry, tofu, soy, milk and cheese.

Certain foods can reduce the levels of cortisol and adrenaline stress hormones, thus consequently reducing the effect of stress, such as asparagus, low-fat milk, cottage cheese and fruit, almonds and walnuts, tuna, blueberries, green tea, whole grains, salmon, bananas, pears, and at least 70 percent dark chocolate (as one to two ounces per day can significantly improve mood and mood chemicals)

Other foods and supplements that can help combat stress are as follows;
– Vitamin C, found in kiwis and oranges, reduce the levels of stress hormones while strengthening the immune system.
– Magnesium, found in spinach, soybeans and salmon. Too little magnesium may exacerbate headaches and fatigue already caused by stress.
– Omega-3 fatty acids, found in fish such as salmon and tuna
– Potassium, found in avocados and bananas

A healthy diet can help counter the impact of stress by boosting the immune system and lowering blood pressure.