May: mental health awareness month

We should take care of our mental health as we take care of our bodies. Thanks for the reminder!

Mamas Open Heart

Did you know that 1 in 5 Americans experience a Mental Health Condition. Every American is affected and or impacted through their friends & family. YOU can do something to help!

First things first…STOP THE STIGMA! Mental Illnesses come in many different forms. Allow the person to be seen for who they really are & NOT the illness.

This topic in particular hits very close to home. I am passionate about being an advocate for those who feel they don’t have a voice by bringing awareness & tearing down the walls that stigma creates.

I hope you’ll join me in becoming an advocate for Mental Health. Let’s replace the Stigma with Hope. 💚 #gogreenformentalhealth #mayismentalhealthawarenessmonth

XoXo 💋

Mamas Open Heart ♥️

View original post

Advertisement

The best exercises for your mental health by Clarissa Carlton

This write-up is a great reminder to stay mentally fit, not just in May but also through the years to come. Good job!

Kindness Blog

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, where not only does the populace look at how severe mental illness impacts the population, but also how they can improve their own mental health.

As one knows, exercise can help improve your mental health. Mental and physical health are connected, with you feeling great after a good workout. There are many exercises you can do to improve your physical health, but there are some exercises that focus on your mental health as well. These come in the form of actual physical exercises, and sometimes they’re more mental ones.

Let’s look at a few of them…

Jogging or Running

If you are physically unfit, it can take a bit for you to build up your ability to go on a nice jog, but the more you do it, the better you become, and eventually, you can run for hours. Running is therapeutic for…

View original post 464 more words

8 ways to escape the mental abyss

These are great tips! Although I try to avoid coffee ☕️ for the meantime. I understand its health benefits. It sure is great to get out in the sun and then reconnect with someone. 🍻

How sugar may harm your mental health

It’s almost May – mental health month. Time to read more about this as it is as important as body health. Thanks for the reminder! 😊

The Bipolar Parent

Sugar, especially refined white sugar which has been processed, inflates waistlines and contributes to obesity. But, while some studies have shown that sugar may have a detrimental effect on the mood, not a whole lot of research has been done on sugar’s effects on mental health.

In a past post, Good, Good, Good Nutrition, part II: Foods to Avoid When Managing Bipolar Disorder, we covered how sugar can cause wild mood swings in bipolar patients. And how obesity can make some bipolar medications ineffective, especially if the weight is gained around the middle. But there are other ways sugar harms mental health.

Let’s dig in.

Addictive Properties

The addictive properties of sugar have been studied in recent years, though the research is still controversial. But anyone who’s craving a chocolate fix can understand how additive sugar is. Sugar and actual drugs both flood the brain with dopamine, a feel-good…

View original post 504 more words

The health benefits of garlic

April 19th is National Garlic Day. This is a perfect re-blog!
This is great info… Garlic, I like. 😀

Exercise and Health

Garlic is one of my top three healthiest things that you should use daily, along with green tea and lemon juice.

Adding garlic to your diet can keep you alive for longer

If your parents were as health-conscious as mine, you’ve probably been told how garlic is a basically cure for everything. Is garlic really that good for you? Let’s find out.

Garlic Facts

Garlic is actually a part of the onion family, along with leeks and shallots. There are usually 10-20 cloves per head of garlic.

Hippocrates used to prescribe garlic for a variety of ailments

The father of medicine was a big fan of the medicinal properties of this bulb, and he wasn’t on his own. In fact, many ancient civilizations recorded the health benefits of garlic. These include Egypt, Babylon, Greece, Rome and China. Was it garlic that gave them the power to conquer the world?

View original post 800 more words

Hope within our poetry

April is both Poetry and Hope Awareness month. This is awesome and just perfect to re-blog!

Rivers Renewed

Scars won’t keep our hope in the darkness,

instead our words will live

within our poetry,

encouraging us,

strengthening us

each and every day.

    

Poetry and Image © Copyright 2019, ancient skies

View original post

Review: 365 ways to beat stress by Adam Gordon

Oh, this is a must-read book 🤓📘 and a must-reblog write-up 😊💻

Sleeping Suburb

Title: 365 Ways to Beat Stress
Author: Adam Gordon
Type: Personal Development
Genre: Nonfiction
Publisher: Watkins Publishing
Date published: February 19th 2019
Format: digital
Page Count: 224

Rating: 5/5

With a different technique or tip for each day of the year, no other book offers such a wide range of ways to release stress and anxiety, all set in an attractive illustrated design that will make dipping in for inspiration a joy. All the practices are effective yet also easy to follow, even if you have never tried them before, and range from energy techniques such as simple shiatsu, to quick stress fixes such as visualizing a blue bubble, to methods of life simplification such as avoiding a news overload and rationing your evenings out, to inspiring visualizations such as imagining yourself as the sky or as a lotus floating on water. There is…

View original post 439 more words

Stress buster: avoiding negative energy

This is so true. Avoiding people who are negative releases you from tension and stress. You have to be around those with positive vibes.

Nice write-up! 😊

Creative Comma Positive Turns

There are only two ways to live your Life :

1. One is as though Nothing is a Miracle;
2. the Other is as though Everything is a Miracle !!!

Next time you are stressed…. Take a step back, sit down, take a deep breath – inhale, relax yourself and Smile.

Remember who you are and why you are here. You are never given anything in the world that you can’t handle. Be strong. Be flexible. Love yourself and love others. Always remember to just keep moving forward.

Don’t cry over the past, it is gone. Don’t stress about the future, it hasn’t arrived. Live in the present and make it as much beautiful as you can.. Don’t let the sadness of your past and the fear of your future ruin the happiness of your present…

Life is too short to stress yourself with people who don’t even deserve to be an…

View original post 113 more words

Dear Stress [poem]

Love this letter! 😃
If there is anything I want removed from my life, it is (too much) stress and all things negatively affecting our health.

Boundless Blessings by Kamal

Dear Stress….

Come Let’s break up

Our showy illusionary barriers

Let’s go fly a mystical kite

Spreading love in magical embraces

To skies that pour healing light

Dear Stress….

Let go of imaginary fears

Speak sweetly from your Soul

Every beautiful struggling Heart

Will dance with nectar’s of Joy

Welcoming ecstasy with open arms

Dear Stress….

Give up so called jealousies

Dive deeper in oceanic waves

Throw away worries as ripples’

Clothe yourself in pearls of peace

Propel the boat as my Guide

Dear Stress….

Let’s go for a reckless drive

Dancing to the beauty of who you are

Where the wind becomes music

Movement becomes an ethereal ballet

And smiles that turn to laughter and joy…………….

View original post

June PTSD Awareness Month: What PTSD is

This is very informative and worth reblogging, especially for the month of June – PTSD Awareness Month.

The Psych Talk

Symptoms:

Some of the most common symptoms of PTSD include the following:

• Intense feelings of distress when reminded of a tragic event
• Extreme physical reactions to reminders of trauma such as a nausea, sweating or a pounding heart
• Invasive, upsetting memories of a tragedy
• Flashbacks (feeling like the trauma is happening again)
• Nightmares of either frightening things or of the event
• Loss of interest in life and daily activities
• Feeling emotionally numb and detached from other people
• Sense of a not leading a normal life (not having a positive outlook of your future)
• Avoiding certain activities, feelings, thoughts or places that remind you of the tragedy
• Difficulty remembering important aspects of a tragic event

Causes:

PTSD can develop immediately after someone experiences a disturbing event or it can occur weeks, months or even years later. PTSD is estimated to affect about 1 in every 3 people who have a traumatic experience, but it’s not…

View original post 168 more words

Memorial Day on May 27th

Reblogged for the upcoming Memorial Day… 😊

TUTORING YOU

For most Americans, Memorial Day marks the beginning of summer and the start of barbeque and camping season, but the meaning of this holiday runs much deeper than a casual barbeque. In fact, the true meaning of this holiday is to honor and remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving in the armed forces.

Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971. Many Americans observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries or memorials, holding family gatherings and participating in parades. Unofficially, it marks the beginning of the summer season.

Memorial Day is a holiday observed on the last Monday in May that is meant to honor and remember those who died in the military while serving their country.

View original post

April: national month of hope

April is the month of hope and your cool poem is just perfect to reblog, Nirant. Thanks for writing and sharing this! 😀

The poem zone

You were like…

The sun that shines on

Cold winter morning.

Like a rainbow drawn on

rainy skies,

That were grey & unpromising.

…

You were the…

The full moon painted on a

Pitch black night,

Like the stars that danced among

Each other across the sky,

Like the sun that sets after a tiring day,

And the sun that rises to mark a fresh start.

…

You were the promise of better,

You were a promise of Hope.

_Niran†.

.

.

©The poem zone

All rights reserved !!

---

🎀 Happy Blogging 🎀

View original post

April: stress awareness month

I agree. Work is one of the causes of stress. And yes to effective communication… For now, it’s time to destress! We’re going nature-tripping and unwind before coming back to work… 😉

Thanks for sharing, Penelope!

Pen Your Comms

Stress Awareness Month has been held every April since 1992. According to the Mental Health Foundation 74% of UK adults have felt so stressed at some point over the last year they felt overwhelmed or unable to cope. So the chances are that you are one of these people.

Work is a common cause of our modern stress epidemic. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found demands, control, support, relationships, role and change as the six main causes. By the time you’ve spotted the signs of stress in individuals or teams in your organisation it may already be too late and your business could already be suffering from:

• High staff turnover
• Increased absenteeism and sickness levels
• Long-hours work culture
• Employees not taking their full holiday
  entitlement
• Low productivity and efficiency

How can you help to reduce
stress in your organisation?

Health and wellbeing should be included in your internal communication…

View original post 251 more words

Childhood memory: crayon art

I know the one that thinks differently, and sometimes criticized by others, is the one who is very imaginative and artistic. Way to go! 😊

Ryan Hughes

I have a distinct and distant memory of doing an elementary school assignment that involved using crayons to color code some sort of chart.

I got in a hurry so I misunderstood the instructions and put the colors in the wrong place. I remember my classmates chiding me and I felt embarrassed. The teacher told me to do it over, but I thought the colors looked good where I put them. I tried to color over what I had made, but crayon on crayon doesn’t work well at all so I had a messy color chart that didn’t make any sense to anyone except me.

Many years passed and I “forgot” about the incident. It came back to me when I was making these crayon drawings last week. (I found some crayons in a closet while staying at my parents house.) Part of me felt mad about the memory and…

View original post 93 more words

Drew Daywalt: The day the crayons quit and The day the crayons came home

I love crayons! They make like colorful. Reblogged. 🖍

25 Brain Exercises for Memory That Actually Help You Remember More

Let’s do this! 😃 🧠 ⚡️

Cognizance

The brain is often thought of as similar to a computer. When the brain is powerful and working properly, it will enable you to perform all your cognitive and bodily functions smoothly and efficiently, and the reverse is also true.

Unfortunately, our brainpower tends to decline as we grow older. And as you might have seen in media reports, loss of memory and dementia is a growing concern for people today. Brain wellness is now right up there with heart health.

If you are finding yourself forgetting things more than usual, it can be a little alarming. But you need to know you are not helpless when it comes to keeping your brain healthy and powerful. There are simple brain exercises for memory improvement you can do to boost your brainpower so you remember more.

Benefits of improving your brainpower

According to a 2015 study published in the journal Neurology…

View original post 1,502 more words

Mild traumatic brain injury links to mental health

Worth reading and sharing… 😊 🧠

Exploring science world

A mild traumatic brain injury such from a fall, car accident, the violent assault may result in mental health problem if not well treated and follow up by practitioners a new study suggests.

In the study published in JAMA Psychiatry, the researchers compared the effect of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in patients who had experienced mild traumatic brain injury and those who had experienced another type of traumatic injuries such as broken legs but not head injury.

The recent study examined 1,155 patients with mild traumatic brain injuries between three, six and 12months after their injuries and 230 patients with non-head injuries from 11 hospitals with trauma centres across the United States, between 2014 and 2016.

The result shows that patients with mild traumatic brain injury were more likely to experience PTSD and depressive disorder compared to non-head injuries patients.

At three months after brain injury, 20 percent of…

View original post 203 more words

Brain Injury Awareness Month: looking at TBI from different angles

It’s good to be brain-aware… 🧠

Collection Spotlight from the National Rehabilitation Information Center

March is Brain Injury Awareness Month, and the Brain Injury Association of American encourages everyone to #ChangeYourMind about brain injury. Sometimes, all we need to change our understanding of a disability like traumatic brain injury (TBI) is to learn about it from a different angle. If facts and figures don’t click for you, maybe a video interview with a TBI survivor will connect the dots. If you’re a visual learner, perhaps a comic or infographic will help get the message through. Maybe data tables and charts are your key to understanding the impact of TBI. Here are some examples from the NIDILRR community and elsewhere which may give you a fresh perspective on TBI:

• Break it down to the basics! The NIDILRR-funded
  Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center (MSKTC) offers a collection of TBI factsheets,
  developed with researchers, on everything from big picture of Understanding TBI
  to individual topics…

View original post 281 more words

March: brain injury awareness month

We just ought to know… 😊 🧠

Vivjoywriter

Check out these few facts that can help make us all more aware of just how prevalent brain injury is in the U.S.

Here are a few statistics I find very interesting regarding brain injury:

1) A TBI is a blow or jolt to the head or a penetrating head injury that disrupts the function of the brain.

2) Falls are the leading causes of TBI in America.

3) Men are twice as likely to sustain a TBI than women.

4) 90 % percent of concussions do not involve loss of consciousness.

5) Each year, about 2.8 million people are treated for TBI in a United States ER.

6) A concussion is a mild brain injury. The consequences of multiple concussions can be far more dangerous than those of a first time TBI.

7) The area most often injured are the frontal lobes that control thinking and emotional regulation.

View original post 113 more words

Memories (micro poetry)

So sweet a memory! 😘

That forehead kiss –

A sweet release of that eternal love,

Memory etched forever

~Megha Sood

Megha's World

View original post

Memories #poetry

Very nice poem 😊

Poems for Warriors

The picture of you
On her nightstand
Brings back memories
Good and bad
What could have been
What never was

© 2019 Jason A. Muckley

View original post

Friday funnies for St. Patrick’s Day

I enjoyed this!  I hope you will, too… ☺️

Leonard's Lines

Happy Friday!  You know spring is on the way when you see St. Patrick’s Day on the calendar!  So, I dug deep into the internet to find a few St. Paddy jokes just for you.

Enjoy!

Would you call a leprechaun’s vacation home a lepre-condo?

Would you call a vanishing leprechaun a lepre-gone?

Would you call an Irish criminal with a serious skin disease a leper con?

Do you know that an Irishman is having a good time when he is Dublin over with laughter?

Do leprechauns make good secretaries because they are good at shorthand?

Did the leprechaun beat the Irishman to the pot of gold by taking a shortcut?

Did St. Patrick drive all the snakes out of Ireland because he could not afford air fare?

Is a leprechaun’s favorite food to barbecue short ribs?

Are leprechaun’s hard to get along with because they are short-tempered?

In Ireland…

View original post 41 more words

Are you getting enough sleep?

I have to share this one, too, as I’m not getting enough sleep . . . including last night… 😴

feelaliveuk

According to the Sleep Council one third of us in the UK sleep for just five to six hours per night. It’s generally accepted, and has been well-researched over many years, that the body needs more sleep than this, ideally around seven or eight hours each night. 

So, what’s going wrong and why are we generally so sleep deprived?

Clinical nutritionist Suzie Sawyer takes a closer look at why our shut-eye is so important and shares some tips on how to get more.

Why is sleep so essential?

It’s no secret that the body repairs and re-generates during sleep. It’s also a time of growth as specific growth hormones are released during the night. However, when sleep is problematic, the body and brain are fatigued and it becomes increasingly difficult to function effectively.

The body’s sleep hormone, melatonin, is naturally released during the hours of darkness. This is likely to…

View original post 683 more words

We want better sleep but struggle to get it – 5 tips to help

Gotta reblog this! Worth re-reading…

Happy World Sleep Day!

Zenergy Active

Today is World Sleep Day: according to the World Sleep Society’s global survey 35% of people feel they don’t get enough sleep, impacting both their physical and mental health. ‘There is a growing understanding that lack of sleep is linked to high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes and we’re more prone to infections after a period of reduced sleep’ according to Public Health England.

Breathing, relaxing, stretching, calming the mind and the body are all great ways to improve your chances of a great night’s sleep.  Sounds so simple yet finding time to do it is far more challenging.

That’s why I created my Zen Pilates concept – to enable busy people who are struggling to make time for themselves to be able to outsource their self-care. The Zen class also transforms gentle relaxation from a task into a mini spa style treat.

In Zen Pilates we first unfurl…

View original post 350 more words

14 sleep tips from Dr. Weil

I’ll take these tips to my heart! Thanks!

Health Hot Spot

1. 1-2 hours before bed, turn off all blue light-emitting devices.  Melatonin regulates your sleep, and blue light from your electronic devices suppresses melatonin production.
2. Charge your phone in another room to avoid the temptation to check it at night.
3. Stop eating a few hours before bedtime.  Digestion can interrupt sleep.
4. Take an after-dinner walk.
5. Use lavender oil (relaxes you for sleep) or lemon balm oil (reduces restlessness and anxiety) in a warm bath or diffuser.
6. Buy a supportive mattress and a comfortable pillow/sheets.
7. Keep your bedroom temperature cool.
8. Buy blackout curtains for your windows.
9. Keep your room environment quiet.  A white noise or pink noise generator can help.
10. Do a breathing exercise/meditation to help calm your thoughts.
11. Reduce your caffeine intake, especially after 12:00 p.m.
12. Get outside in the morning to expose yourself to the morning light.  Morning light increases quality sleep and lowers feelings of stress.
13. Exercise. Exercising could…

View original post 39 more words

Sound sleep: a gift of God by Anamika’s Blog

Baby on a crib, sleeping with mouth open

Originally posted on Gift of God: SOUND SLEEP—A GIFT OF GOD William Shakespeare wrote in his play ‘ Macbeth ‘ , “………the innocent sleep, Sleep that knits the ravell’d sleave of care, the death of each day’s life, so labor ‘s bath, Balm of hurt minds, great nature’s second course, Chief nourisher in life’s feast…

SOUND SLEEP……. A GIFT OF GOD — Anamika’s Blog

12 incredible facts about sleep you need to know

Love this article! Thanks for sharing!

Good laugh and long sleep

A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor’s book.

Irish Proverb

Oh, absolutely! Gotta share this! 😀

3 ways to sleep better with insomnia

How about if I start this myself… 😊 🛌

Amazingfacts

1. Arrange the perfect sleep environment

. Your bedroom got to be quiet, dark and cool believe it or not but after i bought a new mattress and pillow that were way more comfortable than my old ones and set the perfect temperature for myself relaxing became so much easier think of all those noises coming from the street if you live in a city a sound machine or earplugs can help you with those and blackout curtains and an eye mask will save you from all the annoying lights.

2. Pick a sleep schedule, and stick to it

. Easier said than done bot worth the effort make things easier for your biological clock by going to bed and waking up at the same time every day.

3. Workout

. The national sleep foundation recommends exercising to float off to dreamland with ease walking works just fine for…

View original post 33 more words

Haiku: sleep

Very nice poem. Love it!

Written Words Never Die

***

View original post

Put my fears to sleep

“…and put my fears to sleep” Lovely poem!

Poems in a Coffer

The stars are mute tonight

The sky is in a silent phase

The wind has lost its music

And the moon has no story to tell

This taciturn aphonic night

Is what my heart abhors

So sing me a lullaby, will you?

And put my fears to sleep.

~ Chhaya

View original post