The pursuit of happiness is a lifelong process and it is continually changing depending on the definition of the individual. Some find it in the most random places while doing something trivialities, but amazingly, they have attained happiness.…

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Most of us, including me, are suffering from anxiety and stress from common factors like parenting, fatigue from work, or financial issues. When we are anxious and stressed, other symptoms such as irritation, nervousness, and chest pain also manifest. Generally, anxiety is known to be one of the most common mental health conditions observed in adults.

“There’s a societal pressure to keep going, put your best foot forward, and never show vulnerability or weakness,” said clinical psychologist Jaclyn Lopez Witmer, PsyD.

In fact, in America, more than 15% of adults suffer from anxiety yearly. On the other hand, conditions like hyperthyroidism may also lead to anxiety disorder. Thus, it is wise to be properly diagnosed before you seek treatment.

This article will focus on the different healthy remedies of anxiety and stress. These natural ways are safe even if they are used in conjunction with prescription medications.

• There are never enough reasons for you to exercise. Physical activity and regularly active routines help on a lot of things, one of which is releasing bad toxins in the body that are caused by stressful situations.

• If you are trying to control your tantrums and violent reactions due to anxiety, you can always express it by writing. Often, I have learned to write down the anger and frustration that I feel whenever I have too many chores to do and no time for myself. I used to vent them out to my children and most especially to my husband, which is not good at all for our relationship and the family as a whole. Writing about my problems as well as the solutions that I could try has helped me manage my anxiety.

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• Relaxation Techniques. A common one that is taught in some meditation classes is the isometric muscle contractions. When we are so stressed, we don’t notice how tense our muscles are, and that adds to the negativity that we feel inside. You can use this technique when you are lying on the bed. Slowly tense your muscles consciously, maybe starting from the closing your hands into fists so that you are contracting your upper extremities. Then add the belly muscles and eventually down to your toes. Reverse the procedure when you release the tension, starting from the toes up to the fingers and jaw muscles. This is a very effective technique that puts some people to sleep after.

• Cannabinoid Oil. Unlike marijuana, the cannabinoid oil or CBD doesn’t have the THC component, the substance in marijuana that produces a ‘high.’ It is available in the market without any prescription from a doctor. There have been numerous reports from individuals who have felt a significant reduction in their stress and anxiety. In areas where marijuana has been legalized, some doctors also prescribe it. According to Peter Grinspoon, MD of Harvard Medical School, “CBD is commonly used to address anxiety, and for patients who suffer through the misery of insomnia, studies suggest that CBD may help with both falling asleep and staying asleep.”

• Herbal Tea. A lot of teas promise to aid in relaxation, ease of sleep, and decrease in anxiety levels – and most of them hold to their promise. Chamomile, lavender, eucalyptus, peppermint, and green tea are only some of the several effective herbal teas available all over the world.

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• Animal Therapy. Adopting a pet for love and companionship is very effective in inducing calmness and relaxation. As explained by Sally Nazari, PsyD, our pets “do not need to be trained to provide natural healing. By simply playing with or cuddling our pets, we can benefit from the calming, soothing effect of their company” and can help us “cope with symptoms of anxiety and depression, fear, and the handful of other tough emotions likely to follow a traumatic experience.” Pets, particularly dogs, cats, and horses, may be useful to those who have a range of mental health problems like anxiety disorder. Walking dogs and grooming horses have had significant positive results.

• When you are officially diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, it means that you have a chronic mental illness that could restrict you to function normally. When there is no concrete medical cause of the anxiety, then therapy might very much help. Therapy allows an individual to understand his condition, the triggers, and how to manage his anxiety positively.

Conclusion

The anxiety that is left unattended can easily worsen and lead to more stress than you’ve ever experienced. But it is good to know that anxiety can be treated and managed. And if you are not fond of taking regular doses of medications, then you can certainly turn to the natural ways mentioned above. Try these remedies before seeking medical treatment. Perhaps all you need is the smell of lavender or chamomile to get that badly needed sleep.

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The saying ‘the body is a wonderland and a temple’ only holds true if you are treating it as it is. Are you? How are you taking care of your body? You might have heard that sleep and exercise are among the many ways you can maintain your physical and mental health. Eating fruits and vegetables is also another winner.

In Asia, apart from eating healthily, they are also fond of drinking tea, particularly green tea. Green tea has become the standard drink for most Asian countries as Asians claim that it has helped them keep their skin healthy and young-looking. Western countries are also slowly recognizing its benefits, although green tea continues to be grown in Asia. It is shipped all over the world so that others can also reap the beauty and health benefits of this magnificent tea.

Beauty And Health Benefits Of Green Tea

Weight Loss. Individuals who participated in a study were seen to have lost weight after a month of regularly taking it. This is mainly because of green speeds up your body’s metabolism, so you lose calories while sipping a cup every day, even without exercise.

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Retards Aging. Green tea is loaded with antioxidants known as polyphenols, which are responsible for slowing the aging process. They effectively counteract the ill effects of free radicals that may cause cancer, eye problems, Alzheimer’s, and heart disease. Most Chinese women also report that they have noticed a reduction of wrinkles on their face with long-term drinking of green tea.

Enhances Complexion. Improving skin elasticity and complexion is a popular advantage that people say about green tea. As you drink the boiled tea leaves, your toxins are subsequently flushed out of your body. Regularly drinking a cup a day helps you normalize your complexion.

Prevents Disease. A study done by health experts showed that drinking green tea daily helped slow or prevented the onset of Parkinson’s disease. This is due to the tea’s ability to keep a person’s brain cells intact, subsequently avoiding the depletion of dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is seen as scarce in the brain imaging studies of those with Parkinson’s.

Keeps Teeth Healthy. Some kinds of toothpaste have green tea components added to them, ever since the tea was found to fight bacteria in the mouth from proliferating. Thus, it helps prevent dental plaques, tars, and tooth decay.

Decreases Presence Of Dark Circles And Wrinkles. Green tea consists of tannins, powerful antioxidants that are known to reduce or eliminate the appearance of dark circles under the eyes and wrinkles on the forehead. These antioxidants also able to shrink the small arteries within the skin surrounding the eyes, leading to reduced puffiness and swelling. The lightening effect is due to green tea’s vitamin K component.

Boosts The Immune System. A study on mice revealed that green tea is a potent immune booster that reversed the infection injected on the mice. It may also help manage or reduce infection in other parts of the body.

Heart Disease Prevention. Regularly drinking green tea helps control and prevent the risk of heart conditions. This is one of the most popular health benefits of this tea, and this is why most Asians have it just after breakfast or dinner. It effectively decreases cholesterol levels as well.

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Conclusion

Asia has introduced a variety of teas and distributed these around the world. Among those that are equally popular for health and beauty are lavender, chamomile, and jasmine. Give these a try and experience a relaxing and rejuvenating morning after every drink.

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Many individuals think that optimal health implies perfect health or successfully finding a cure for a specific illness. Perhaps this can be true, but sadly, it is not what it usually means. Truth be told, the meaning of optimal health depends on the particular circumstance and the corresponding health condition that you’re facing, which means that what may be impeccably healthy for me may be entirely different for you.

Being The Best Version Of Yourself

Yes, that is the closest definition of optimal health, being the best version of you. It is to achieve your paramount level of wellness physically, spiritually, and emotionally. It is to live to the fullest amidst any mental or physical health illness, trauma, or undesirable situation that you may be facing.

“The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has identified eight dimensions of wellness to focus on to optimize health. The eight dimensions include: emotional, spiritual, intellectual, physical, environmental, financial, occupational, and social,” writes Marjie L. Roddick, MA, NCC, LMHC.

Remember that, again, your best may not be another person’s best, as it may differ from person to person.

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What Affects Optimal Health?

A person’s level of health that he can attain depends on different factors. Availability of money is one of those factors. Perhaps you need to undergo a procedure to heal fully, but you can’t go through it because of financial restraints. Other factors include the type of impairment, stress level, age, individual compliance, barriers, knowledge of health providers taking care of the individual, genetics, and his commitment to recover.

Optimal health does not always mean that you are cured. Sometimes, it may mean that you can manage your condition and are capable of taking necessary actions that ensure the prevention of further complications. With the appropriate measures and therapies, progress can be achieved and optimized, and the person can once more live a meaningful and happy life.

Journey Towards Acceptance

Being optimally healthy doesn’t precisely mean that you have surpassed all health restrictions. At times, it may also mean that you can live day by day as fully as possible, notwithstanding your existing condition. It is about experiencing joy and inner peace, and ultimately finding the confidence to accept where you are in your journey towards aspiring to be healthier than you are now.

“When we’re self-accepting, we’re able to embrace all facets of ourselves—not just the positive, more ‘esteem-able’ parts,” writes Leon F. Seltzer, Ph.D.

On the other hand, the positive change is not seen on the outside sometimes, but rather internally, where your emotional and spiritual sense has caused you to move up to the next level from within instead of seeing a physical change.

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Achieving Optimal Health

There are different ways to attain that state of optimal health for you, but the first line of defense would be consuming nutritious food and living a clean lifestyle that is, of course, compatible with being healthy.

Drew Ramsey, M.D. explains, “What you feel, how you perceive things, and how focused you are is a reflection of brain chemistry—and you have some control over that chemistry based on what you eat.”

The primary elements that you should have in place that would make up the structure of your healing plan include living green, following a paleo diet, taking deep breaths, and practicing mindfulness.

When you have achieved these elements, you will move to the next level and include other more essential techniques, like exercising, committing to your plans, and identifying your triggers for stress. Other things are equally important to address, such as social support, relaxation, and positive thinking, among others.

Conclusion

The journey towards attaining optimal health is never-ending. It is a life-long process that needs your commitment and effort to focus on your goal. From time to time, get back to your goal and ask yourself what it means to you to achieve it. Remember that health is a vital part of your life. It should matter to you if you achieve it or not.

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Do you evaluate your emotional status and do something about it when you feel that something isn’t right? Do you even care? If we should be honest, no, we don’t usually do. You may assess the status of your mind, but how do you know how to ease emotional pain when you are hurt, or when you are insecure, or when you lose someone? Most of us don’t know how to do that either.

The truth is, our emotional well-being is as crucial to our way of life as our physical well-being. But we usually see how much effort we put into working out and going on a diet so that we are physically healthy, yet we do not mind so much about how we are psychologically. It is clear then that we need to pay more attention to our mental and emotional health. A practical method for us to begin catching up is to practice treating emotional injuries when you experience them, just as how we immediately patch our wounds when we stumble. Here are some simple approaches.

• Protect Your Self-Confidence. Confidence is our weapon against all psychological battles in life. Naturally, when it is low, no one is more hurt than us. When we are down and weak, we are susceptible to anxiety, rejection, stress, and failure. So when you think you are not emotionally stable, protect one of your strongest inner weapons. “Feed your mind, body and soul in ways that make you feel special,” Deborah Serani, Psy.D, said.

• Don’t Entertain Negative Thoughts. When a gloomy day is paired with a gloomy thought, the result is stress and distress. Brooding or worrying too much will only make matters worse. When you are stuck in the hellhole called depression or emotional bog-down, stop the urge to think about it. Do something productive, like working on a project or spending time with family. Don’t let your worries get the best of you.

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• Give The Loss A Purpose. Death may be a natural phenomenon in life, but it something that we can never be prepared for. Despite the pain, grief, and anguish that you may be feeling due to the loss, you can redeem yourself and that loss by finding its purpose. It may be slow, but you will heal once you find it and you start accepting it. Amidst all the tears, find a little happy thought or good news that you received during that time. It will strengthen you rather than break you.

• Don’t Let Failure Defeat You. When we don’t achieve our goals, we think that it’s the end of the world. We become hopeless, depressed, and shattered. Initially, we lose the determination that we once had because we dropped a good fall from the failure. To counteract this emotional breakdown, we can recover by first making a list of the remaining things that you still have full control of, like your struggle, commitment, and preparedness. Give these some thought and slowly ‘brainstorm’ how you can improve on implementing these things. Shift all your negative emotions towards focusing on the recovery. You can certainly reverse that failure into success. Dean Parker, Ph.D., said, “There’s no guarantee that everything you do [will bring] positive feedback. All you need is one indication of success.”

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• Regain Your Worth. The pain from rejection and failure can be physical in that you can feel the exhaustion and helplessness within your body. For you to recover from that pain, you need to remind yourself (or someone needs to remind you) that every person has something to offer, and that doesn’t exclude you. You are here for a reason, and that alone gives you an affirmation that you are worth every person in this world. List the positive qualities that you like in yourself and linger on those. Write about it even. You will soon ease your emotional pain and ultimately improve your mental as well as emotional health. John Grohol, Psy.D, notes, “People with a good and healthy self-esteem are able to feel good about themselves for who they are, appreciate their own worth, and take pride in their abilities and accomplishments. They also acknowledge that while they’re not perfect and have faults, those faults don’t play an overwhelming or irrationally large role in their lives or their own self-image (how you see yourself).”

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Realizing that your marriage has come to an end and has reached a point of no redemption can be stressful on your part. It hurts a lot to discover that the man you dedicated your life with is no longer the same person you loved from the start. You will feel that your life is falling apart, especially if you have no idea how to get going after the divorce. In this article, we are going to share some of the effective tips and tricks to remember if you want to move on from a broken marriage. All the items mentioned in this post came from a therapist.

Here are some of the things that you need to do:

Accept The Reality

The first thing that you need to do is to accept the fact that your marriage has already ended. Stop blaming your partner for the failure of your relationship. Take note that things happen for a reason. The more you start to accept the reality, the easier it would be on your part to move on. Acceptance is not something that you can get overnight. Sometimes, you have to work hard to achieve it. The first step is to remind yourself of the reasons why the relationship has come to an end. It is going to be challenging in the beginning, but it will be worth it.

“Being able to embrace circumstances and experiences of our lives as an opportunity for growth and development as opposed to something that’s either making us unhappy or making us happy,” Rachel Zamore, LMFT, said, is a key to relationship satisfaction. “We can have more agency than maybe we realize.”

Forgive The Other Person

Another thing or tip that you must take into consideration is to forgive the other person for all the wrong things that he has done. Keep in mind that you are also not perfect, which means that you also have shortcomings. The best and ideal thing that you can do is to open yourself to forgiveness even if the other person is not asking for it. The more you become more forgiving, the happier you will become. Stop keeping grudge because it will only make matters worse between the two of you. Instead, be willing to forgive and let go of your terrible past.

Get A Closure

Now that you are already going on separate ways with your partner make sure that you know how to get closure. Talk to the other person if possible so that you can determine what went wrong in the relationship. Sometimes, you have to be brave enough to talk about the issues even if it will bother you. The only way to finally move on from a past relationship is to get closure.

“People may not be shocked that the relationship is in trouble – but can be shocked that their partner wants a divorce. It helps to talk it through and really understand the reasons – otherwise it will take longer to form a different life,” says Janet Reibstein, PhD, professor of psychology at Exeter University.

When both parties to a broken marriage converse, it will be a lot easier for you to assess what went wrong so that you cannot commit the same mistake to your new partners. The closure is important because you can never move forward without it. Failure to get a closure will only make it a lot more challenging on your part to get on with your life.

Have Fun With Friends

Getting a divorce will make you want to stay in bed the entire day. When you do this, you will become more stressed and anxious. Because of this, it is imperative on your part to fight the loneliness. Make sure to call your girlfriends and spend more quality time with them. Go out with your best friends and have fun in everything that you do. Do not mind what they are going to say about the marriage. What is important is that you are strong enough to go for what you love. Stop feeling sorry for being a divorcee. You deserve happiness and love in this world.

Talk To A Therapist

Another thing that you must never forget is to seek professional help. Find time to get the help that you need, especially at this difficult time in your life. Take note that you are at a desperate moment in your life, which is why you need to get the help and assistance that you need. Do not worry about the stigma that seeing a therapy carries. You have to remind yourself that seeking a therapist does not mean that you are insane. Sometimes, you just need to hear the advice of a mental health expert to make you feel better about the divorce.

“Never try to stop your grief – it’s a necessary reaction,” says Linda Blair, a registered practitioner psychologist.

Just because your marriage ended does not mean that life is no longer worth living. There are still tons of opportunities for you to feel better about life. Get moving and believe that you still have hope to move on.…

It is hard when you are going through something. Going through a mental health disorder is not something that you ignore and sometimes medication and therapy only help a bit. You have to free your mind and not be afraid of people knowing what you’re going through. Blogging, according to psychologists, can be a place where you can share this to the world and be an inspiration for people who are going through the same thing as you are.…

You can find a lot of helpful therapy online tips on how to motivate yourself. There’s exercising, eating a healthy diet, creating positive thoughts, helping other people, and so on. But do you know that some of the particular things you believe are good are somehow damaging your mental health? That instead of creating a significant impact, you’re ruining what’s supposed to be a healthy balance? If you’re interested in knowing what those things you thought are good that turns out to become unhealthy, keep on reading.

When You Think You Can Do Everything

It’s great that you value your capabilities and aspire more. That’s okay because you’re setting up a goal which you will eventually try harder to get. But let’s accept the fact that you are incapable of doing so many things. If you believe that pushing your limit is a good representation of success, then you’re not doing yourself a favor. There is a big misconception about “you can do it” because there are things that you can’t.

Clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst Jennifer Kunst, PhD, wrote, “It’s easy to get drawn into a misguided effort to become a perfectly functioning adult: always knowing the right thing to say, never getting our feathers ruffled, easily finding an ideal work-life balance, and never ever again getting drawn into our old worries, preoccupations, bitterness, or conflicts.” She added, “even if we could be perfect, it wouldn’t get us to where we really want to go.”

The point is, if you solely focus on personal strength and think that there’s nothing that can stop you from doing what you got to do, you might end up not gaining something from that specific goal. Instead of believing too much in your capabilities, try evaluating yourself. Find out how much you are willing to sacrifice, break, and fail to get your desires.

When You Try Having Zero-To-No Bad Trait

Not having a bad trait is somehow bad at all. Mind you; nobody is perfect. Therefore, it’s okay to have a mischievous distinction of who you are. When you think that bad traits are useless and that it will make you doubt and unlike yourself, you are wrong. Yes, there are bad traits that are emotionally, behaviorally, and mentally annoying. But it’s not what I’m mainly talking about. Some bad qualities can turn out good and helpful on most occasions. These include becoming brutally honest, ignoring most of the people’s overall opinions, not minding what others do with their lives, and not allowing yourself to get attached with unworthy individuals. It is genuinely okay not to look nice in front of other people. Besides, there’s no one good reason why a person must please someone without considering their feelings. It’s not healthy, and it will never make them happy either.

When You Try And Avoid Creating Mistakes

Mistakes are the consequences you face when you make bad decisions. At times, the result sucks because it gives pain and suffering. With that, a lot of people tend not to try creating one. However, they didn’t understand that those bad decisions are a significant source of lessons in life. To psychotherapist Jeffrey Sumber, MA, LCPC, mistakes are “life choices that create more opportunities for growth than some other decisions.”

The only way to grow and develop as a better-versioned individual is by going through it. But since most consequences are emotionally and mentally awful, dreading, and devastating, people avoid it. Sometimes, they even limit themselves from doing the right thing because of getting too anxious about what might happen. Mistakes are inevitable, and there’s no way a person can stop doing it purposely. But it’s not like one must continually do it often. That’s a different story.

When You Believe That Things Always Get Fixed

One of the reasons why a lot of people fail in the significant aspects of life is due to their belief that all things get fixed. No, it is not. There are instances where letting go of the grip is the only solution to the problem. There’s no answer for everything. People can try and believe that all the stuff they do happens for a reason, but it’s not. Things happen because they chose for it to happen. Therefore, each one of us is responsible for our current situation. Yes, we can try finding ways to address our life issues, but we have to understand that we can’t control everything. That even if we bleed ourselves to death, we can never create significant changes the way we specifically want to.

Mike Verano, LPC, LMFT, CEAP, CCISM, BC-TMH tells his clients to, “let go of your need to let go, pay attention to what is happening now, and life will move on, you cannot stop it.” Instead of lying to ourselves, we have to decide to step back and reflect on what life has offered negatively.

Staying positive, believing in ourselves, and doing everything in life is genuinely okay. But people need to recognize that reality still holds the winning piece. If you want to understand more about your emotional and mental strength, try visiting BetterHelp. You’ll find a lot of information about mental health and how each one of them affects your positivity.…