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Saturday, 24 January 2015

[www.keralites.net] How Exercise Improves Your Mental Health

How Exercise Improves Your Mental Health

We all know that exercise is good for your health. That is no great secret. But what about our mental health? Can exercising help us with our emotional problems, our intellectual problems or our addictions? The answer to all of these is a resounding YES. Exercising is one of the best things you can do for yourselves, not only for the sake of your physical body, but for your mind as well. Below you'll find 11 ways exercising a few times a week will help your overall mental health.

1. Reducing Stress
Have you had a rough day? Are you stressed? Head right out of the house and take a walk somewhere. You can also go to the gym and run for a bit. One of the best effects of exercising is stress relief. Getting a healthy sweat going can help manage your mental and physical stress responses. So go ahead and work off those anxious feelings.

2. Boosting your body's happy chemicals
Exercising is never easy, but if you can do it, the body will reward you for it. Exercising releases endorphins, which in their turn create feelings of euphoria and happiness. Several studies have shown that exercise has such a powerful effect it can even alleviate symptoms of clinical depression among the afflicted. Many doctors recommend that people who suffer depression or anxiety to start working out. In many cases, exercise can be just as, if not more, effective as antidepressants. Don't worry, you don't need to become a gym junky, just 30 minutes a few times a week can give you this effect.

3. Boosting your self-confidence
Along with anxiety there are usually other unwanted guests - low self esteem and low self confidence. It doesn't matter how old you are, hopping on that treadmill and getting those endorphins will make you feel better about yourself for the whole day. Working out a few times a week will make you feel more secure, less threatened by external factors and more confident in your own abilities and self worth.

4. Fighting depression by exercising outdoors
While the gym is a good place to work out, being outside has been proven by studies to improve our mood and encourage euphoria. Find an outdoor workout that fits you, it can be hiking, climbing, rafting or just taking a jog in a nearby park. An added bonus to the great feeling you'll get and the reduced stress levels is all that vitamin D you'll be soaking from the sun (don't forget your sunscreen!) that can alleviate symptoms of depression. So remember, a little fresh air and sunshine can do wonders for your mental state.

5. Preventing a cognitive decline
It's not fun to talk about, but we all know it's true. As we get older our brains a little hazy from time to time. Aging, as well as degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, kill off brain cells and shrink the brain in the process. While obviously exercise is not a cure for any of that, they CAN help immunize the brain somewhat against cognitive decline, boosting the chemicals in the brain that help prevent degeneration of the hippocampus - the part of the brain in charge of memory and learning new things.

6. Reducing your anxiety
Studies have found that a 20 minute jog is actually better at alleviating anxiety than a warm bubble bath. The happy chemicals that get released during and after a good work out help us calm down in a way that a bubble bath could never do. To reduce your sensitivity to anxiety, go on the treadmill for some moderate-to-high intensity aerobics work outs.

7. Boosting brainpower
Various studies conducted on the effect of cardiovascular exercise on mice and humans have revealed that exercise can actually create new brain cells (also known a neurogenesis) while enhancing brain performance overall. In addition, experts have discovered that a brain-derive protein known as BDNK is increased with a good workout, and helps in better decision making, higher-form thinking and speed of learning. So from now on, you can call your gym pants my "smarty-pants".

8. Fighting addiction
It doesn't matter what you're addicted to, the effect is usually the same. Our brains are wired to release dopamine (the neurotransmitter that makes us feel pleasure) when we surrender to our addictions. It could be drugs, shopping, gambling, sweets, television or a thousand other things. For the brain it is all the same - it releases pleasure.

With drugs, our brain becomes completely dependent on these materials to release dopamine, which makes the addiction that much stronger. However, exercise has been proven to help with recovery from addiction. Short sessions can distract our brain from the pleasure it seeks by making it produce endorphins instead of dopamine. This helps the cravings and 'reboots' the body's clock, thus helping those that cannot fall asleep without their favorite addiction to relax and drift off.

9. Getting more done
Feeling like you have absolutely no incentive to get things done? Go for a run, right now. Studies show that people who take time to exercise on a regular basis have more energy and get more done than their more sedentary counter-parts. An extra tip: Experts believe that a midday exercise is the most effective in this regard, due to the body's circadian rhythms.

10. Tapping into our creativity
Many believe that creativity is best achieved from a relaxed state, sitting comfortably in front of a blank page or pondering a problem. Experts would disagree. In facts, research shows that a good cardio-vascular workout can boost creativity for up to 2 hours afterwards. So if you're challenged by a tough problem, don't sleep on it - run first, take a shower and then go to work on it, you might find that you are thinking more clearly and arrive at better results.

11. Helping others
Whether it's a game of football or a group class at the gym, studies show that exercising with others enhances all the effects we've just discussed, especially self confidence, pleasure and fighting symptoms of depression. Working out is much more fun when done with others. So if you want to supercharge these effects, find a group or a workout buddy to really get the most out of time spent exercising.

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Posted by: Rajesh Chennai <alwayssmileon@gmail.com>

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[www.keralites.net] What's Your Real Wealth and How Are You Going to Earn It?

By Junaid Tahir

I have noticed people thinking/talking about money all the times. The people are so much concerned about money that they count every single penny they have spent or going to spend. When I ask about this, their answer usually is that saving money is associated with the economical richness which is linked with their future happiness. This is fine however there are several catches which should be considered in parallel; for example, if one is saving money by:

1- compromising on health (eating less or eating bad quality food or not eating healthy diet to save money). Is this a good deal in the long run?

2- Not spending on his family's needs so depriving them from their rights. Is this a good idea?

3- Not giving gifts to his family members, consequently straining the family relationships which results in tense environment at home. Is this a good deal?

4- Not visiting friends and other family members so jeopardizing the social life. Is this a good way of living?

5- Not paying taxes to government so committing crime which is punishable in this world and hereafter.

6- Not paying Zakat/charity so depriving the less fortunate to enjoy the life and polluting the whole income and join the gang who are not in good books of Lord.

While analyzing the scenario of association of money with Happiness, I had these questions in my mind. What is the real definition of richness? Is this only money which one should be craving about? Or there are other things which need to ponder as well? Can wealth make me happy? What is real wealth? While thinking about the answers I concluded that there are four things which can make me happy. 1) Good Family Relations 2) Good Official Life 3) Good economical status 4) Good social Life. While thinking about Wealth, I ended up with having these types of wealth:

1- Physical Wealth

This is a great blessing indeed. If my major body parts are functional, nothing like that. I already posses loads of wealth. Imagine a millionaire having a plastic leg or hand. What if Lord offers you to exchange a million dollars at the cost of your eye or Leg? Off course you would never go for that option. So you have to feel happy about being healthy as this is amazing blessing. I would highly recommend not saving money at the cost of my health. And If you do it today, you will do it reverse as well, that means, you will be spending the same money to recover your health but off course with all the side effects of bad health.

2- Family Wealth

Family wealth means having healthy family relationships may it be with mother or spouse or kids. This is something extremely important to which everyone should work considering the fact that a major percentage of our life is spent with the family members. Keeping your family happy does not involve a lot of money expense hence you can keep your family happy by small good deeds even. For example, eating ice cream at the end of the day with all family, taking family to a park on weekend, sharing jokes before going to bed and/or bringing small nice gifts can make big difference for making family bonds stronger and stronger whereby increasing Family Wealth.

3- Inner Wealth

This is something which controls your emotions, your behavior, your character and definitely your destiny. Being optimistic, problem solver and positive thinker will make you a super hero in true colors. These qualities can bring about superb results and would control your peace of mind ultimately. Always remember: No one is in-charge of your happiness, except you. So control your thoughts and have a healthy "Inner Wealth" bank account.

4- Career Wealth

A positive environment, a nice colleague at work, a genuine team leader and a mature department head are real blessings. But sometimes you won't get all these in one package as it is said that you can select your friend but cant select your Team Leader or Director. However you can learn to manage your office environment up to large extent, you can manage your time and work load. You can have a balanced work-home load. You can sharp your skills by reading/trainings etc. Career Wealth is something which cannot be ignored while striving for happiness. There is load of information on internet which you can read to improve your "Career Wealth". Google it.

5- Economical Wealth

I believe I don't need to write any specific thing in this category as everyone already working on it day to day. I must say that economical savings should never be done at the cost of your Physical Wealth or Family Wealth. Further, we should always put aside a small percentage of money (say 5%) for social causes (hospital, helping needy families, spending on less fortunate people and other charity causes). From a religious perspective, every single penny you spend in God's way is being saved in your "Next" Bank Account and you are going to get the benefit up to so many time based on your intensions and offcourse this results in Blessings in your family !!!

6- Impact Wealth

This is something different from other categories. Do you have a wealthy mental approach so that you do something for society. Everyone lives for himself but do you live for others? Are you helping person? Are you taking part in any social causes? Helping others gives real peace of mind and happiness so in my opinion it is a type of wealth. So how much Impact Wealth do you own?

Conclusion: Life is all about love and peace. We have to have simple rules for living. Complications arise when we start taking life too seriously by thinking about our wants too much. We have to live more with our Needs than our Wants J

Article written by Junaid Tahir

Junaid Tahir, a telecom engineer and a blogger, writes articles on wisdom, happiness and stress management at his personal blog. His personal Google Group can be joined here. He is reachable at mjunaidtahir@gmail.com for any kind of suggestions and comments.

Junaid Tahir
www.DailyTenMinutes.com

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Posted by: Junaid Tahir <mjunaidtahir@gmail.com>

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[www.keralites.net] 10 Common Mistakes Parents Today Make

When I became a mom, I got lots of advice on how to love my child. But not until a few years ago did someone actually point out that loving a child means wanting what's best for them long-term.

When my four daughters were young, long-term didn't resonate with me. Back then it was about survival, meeting daily needs and keeping my head above water.

These days, I put more thought into long-term. I think about the kind of adults I hope my children will be and work backward to ask, "What can I do today to foster that?" Being mindful of their future has changed my parenting paradigm, because what makes my children happy at age 10 or 15 is somewhat different from what will make them happy at age 25, 30, 40 and beyond.

A while back I came across some interesting articles and books that dig into what psychologists today are seeing: a rising number of 20-somethings who are depressed and don't know why. These young adults claim they had magical childhoods. Their parents are their best friends. They never experienced tragedy or anything more than normal disappointments. Yet for some reason, they're unhappy.

One reason given is that parents today are too quick to swoop in. We don't want our children to fall, so instead of letting them experience adversity, we clear the path. We remove obstacles to make their life easy. But adversity is a part of life, and only by facing it can our children build life-coping skills they'll need down the road. So while it seems like we're doing them a favor, we're really stunting their growth. We're putting short-term payoffs over long-term well-being.

One article mentions incoming college freshmen known to deans as "teacups" for their fragility in the face of minor problems. The question posed was this: "Could it be that by protecting our kids from unhappiness as children, we're depriving them of happiness as adults?"

Here's psychiatrist Paul Bohn's response, as paraphrased in the piece:

[M]any parents will do anything to avoid having their kids experience even mild discomfort, anxiety, or disappointment -- "anything less than pleasant," as he puts it -- with the result that when, as adults, they experience the normal frustrations of life, they think something must be terribly wrong.

Why am I sharing this information? Because I think it's relevant in this age of helicopter parenting. While I find it great that today's parents are more invested in their children's lives than previous generations, our involvement can go overboard. What we may justify as "good parenting" can hurt our children later. Unless we're mindful of that, it's easy to handicap them by making their lives too easy.

As my favorite parenting philosophy goes: "Prepare your child for the road, not the road for your child."

With this said, I've outlined 10 common mistakes that parents today -- me included -- often make. My intention isn't to point fingers, but to raise awareness. What may be ingrained in our culture is not always in the best interest of our kids.

Mistake #10: Too much caring our children. Many of us live in child-centered communities. We're raising our kids in child-centered homes. Our children love this, of course, because our lives revolve around them. And for the most part we don't mind either, because their happiness is our happiness. It thrills us to do for them, buy for them, and shower them with love and attention.

But I think it's important to keep in mind that our children were made to be loved, not toooo much pampered. So when we treat them like the center of the universe, turning a good into an ultimate. Rather than kid-centered homes, we should strive for God-centered homes. Our children will still be loved, only in a better way, one that promotes selflessness over selfishness.

Mistake #9: Believing our children are perfect. One thing I often hear from professionals who work with children (counselors, teachers, etc.) is that parents today don't want to hear anything negative about their kids. When concerns are raised, even concerns voiced out of love, the knee-jerk reaction is often to attack the messenger.

The truth can hurt, but when we listen with an open heart and mind we stand to benefit. We can intervene early before a situation gets out of hand. It's easier to deal with a troubled child than repair a broken adult.

As a Children's of Alabama psychiatrist recently told me when I interviewed her on teenage depression, early intervention is key because it can change the trajectory for the child's life. She said that's why she enjoys child and adolescent psychiatry -- because kids are resilient, and it's a lot easier to intervene effectively when they're young instead of years later, when the problem has gone on so long it's become incorporated into part of their identity.

Mistake #8: Living vicariously through our children. We parents take great pride in our children. When they succeed, it makes us happier than if we'd done it ourselves.

But if we're overly involved and invested in their lives, it gets hard to see where they end and we begin. When our children become extensions of us, we may see them as our second chance. Suddenly it's not about them, it's about us. This is where their happiness starts getting confused with our happiness.

Mistake #7: Wanting to be our child's Best Friend. When I asked a priest to name the biggest mistake he sees in parenting, he thought for a moment and then said, "Parents not being parents. Not stepping up to the plate to do hard things."

Like everyone, I want my children to love me. I want them to sing my praises and appreciate me. But if I'm doing my job right, they'll get mad and not like me sometimes. They'll roll their eyes, moan and groan, and wish they'd been born into another family.

Seeking to be our child's Best Friend can only lead to permissiveness and choices made out of desperation because we fear losing their approval. That's not love on our end; that's need.

Mistake #6: Engaging in competitive parenting. Every parent has a competitive streak. All it takes to stir this monster in us is another parent giving his or her child a leg up at our child's expense.

I hear these stories a lot at the junior high and high school levels, stories of broken friendships and betrayals due to one family blindsiding another family. In my opinion, the root is fear. We fear our children will get left behind. We fear that if we don't jump into the craziness, and pull out every stop to help them excel early, they'll be stuck in mediocrity the rest of their life.

I believe children need to work hard and understand that dreams don't come on a silver platter; they have to sweat and fight for them. But when we instill a "win at all costs" attitude, permitting them to throw anyone under the bus to get ahead, we lose sight of character.

Character may not seem important in adolescence, but in adulthood it's everything.

Mistake #5: Missing the wonder of childhood. The other day I found a Strawberry Shortcake sticker on my kitchen sink. It reminded me how blessed I am to share my home with little people.

One day there won't be stickers on my sink. There won't be Barbies in my bathtub, baby dolls on my bed or Mary Poppins in the DVD player. My windows will be clear of sticky handprints, and my home will be quiet because my daughters will be hanging out with friends instead of nesting at home with me.

Raising small children can be hard, monotonous work. At times it's so physically and emotionally exhausting we wish they were older to make our life easier. We're also kind of curious who they'll grow up to be. What will be their passion? Will their God-given gifts be clear? As parents we hope so, for knowing which strengths to nurture enables us to point them in the right direction.

But as we project into the future, wondering if our child's knack for art will make them a Picasso, or if their melodic voice will create a Taylor Swift, we may forget to soak up the splendor in front of us: toddlers in footed pajamas, bedtime stories, tummy tickles and elated squeals. We may forget to let our children be little and enjoy the one childhood they're given.

The pressures on kids start way too early. If we really want our kids to have a leg up, we need to protect them from these pressures. We need to let them have fun and grow at their own pace so 1) they can explore their interests without fear of failure and 2) they don't get burned out.

Childhood is a time for free play and discovery. When we rush children through it, we rob them of an innocent age they'll never pass through again.

Mistake #4: Raising the child we want, not the child we have. As parents we harbor dreams for our children. They start when we get pregnant, before the gender's even known. Secretly we hope they'll be like us, only smarter and more talented. We want to be their mentors, putting our life experiences to good use.

But the irony of parenting is that children turn our molds upside down. They come out wired in ways we never anticipated. Our job is to figure out their inherent, God-ordained bent and train them in that direction. Forcing our dreams on them won't work. Only when we see them for who they are can we impact their life powerfully.

Mistake #3: Forgetting our actions speak louder than words. Sometimes when my kids ask a question, they'll say, "Please answer in one sentence." They know me well, for I'm always trying to squeeze life lessons into teachable moments. I want to fill them with wisdom, but what I forget is how my example overshadows my words.

How I handle rejection and adversity... how I treat friends and strangers... whether I nag or build up their father... they notice these things. And the way I respond gives them permission to act the same.

If I want my children to be wonderful, I need to aim for wonderful, too. I need to be the person I hope they'll be.

Mistake #2: Judging other parents -- and their kids. No matter how much we disagree with someone's parenting style, it's not our place to judge. Nobody in this world is "all good" or "all bad"; we're all a mix of both, a community of sinners struggling with different demons.

Personally, I tend to cut other parents more slack when I'm going through hard spells. When my child is testing me, I'm compassionate to parents in the same boat. When my life is overwhelming, I'm forgiving of others who slip up and let things fall through the cracks.

We never know what someone's going through or when we'll need mercy ourselves. And while we can't control judgmental thoughts, we can cut them short by seeking to understand the person instead of jumping to conclusions.

Mistake #1: Underestimating CHARACTER. If there's one thing I hope to get right in my children, it's their CORE. Character, moral fiber, an inner compass... these things lay the foundation for a happy, healthy future. They matter more than any report card or trophy ever will.

None of us can force character on our kids, and at age 10 or 15 character won't mean much. Children care about short-term gratification, but we, as parents, know better. We know that what will matter at 25, 30 and 40 is not how far they once threw the football, or whether they made cheerleader, but how they treat others and what they think of themselves. If we want them to build character, confidence, strength and resilience, we need to let them face adversity and experience the pride that follows when they come out stronger on the other side.

It's hard to see our children fall, but sometimes we have to. Sometimes we have to ask ourselves whether intervening is in their best interest. There are a million ways to love a child, but in our quest to make them happy, let us stay mindful that sometimes it takes short-term pain to earn long-term gain.