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How To Know If Your Depression Is Serious  

Friday, January 28, 2011

Depression is much more than mere sadness. It is defined as emotional dejection and withdrawal. We often say that we are depressed because something unfortunate happened during our day or we couldn't get our way. However, real depression is a clinically diagnosed condition that often needs therapy plus for some medication to relieve. There is a way to find out if you have a tendency toward this condition. It is called a depression quiz. This test helps you determine whether you are showing signs of being depressed by the symptoms you express. In mental health, there are also test available to determine if someone has attention deficit disorder.

This test won't show results of how deeply this condition is felt, but it is very helpful toward getting a diagnosis and determining your state of mind. Showing your doctor this test will help him or her to ascertain the level of your condition and what steps will need to be taken. This test is will help you learn more about your inner states of mind.

The test contains a set of questions that will determine if your condition is mild or more pronounced. It will also help you see if there is a chronic pattern. Similar to the attention deficit test, by seeing the number of yes responses to certain questions, you'll learn if your symptoms warrant further help. Three or more "yes" answers can be evidence of an acute form of depression. Sometimes one can also have a temporary depression as the result of certain circumstances in their lives they respond to with a state of hopelessness. However, symptoms that remain over a period of a three or more weeks can be evidence of a more serious condition. In this case, you should contact a medical professional. These symptoms can include fatigue, insomnia, irritability, and suicidal ideation. Please be aware, that if there is a plan that accompanies suicidal ideation, it is important to seek help immediately and if it is a family member, take them to a local hospital.

If you feel a sense that things aren't going well and you are not responding in a healthy manner to your daily situations then you should take a depression quiz. Please be aware that his test is not an exact science and that regardless of your score on the test, seeking counseling is an excellent way to help to clarify the causes of low moods or feelings of helplessness.

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3 Top Oily Skin Care Tips  

Are you tired of the greasy appearance of your face caused by the overproduction of oil? Hyperactivity in the sebaceous glands leads to this type of skin condition, but it is nothing that you cannot overcome with a little consistent work. The following tips are designed to help you develop an oily skin care routine that will keep the oil and grime under control.

Avoid Drying Out

There is a cycle that most people who use oily skincare products go through on a regular basis. They have greasy skin with regular acne outbreaks and need some sort of product to deliver that smooth, glowing appearance they really crave.

So, they use oily skincare products which contain harsh chemical based ingredients. The result is itchy dried out skin that has been stripped not only of the excess oil, but of the much needed moisture as well.

In turn, the dryness of the skin stimulates the sebaceous glands to produce even more oil in attempt to fix the problem. It's a vicious circle that is best remedied by using oily skin care products that include natural products that are gentler.

Look for oily skincare products which have natural ingredients and that limit chemical based active ingredients.

Watch the Oil

The last thing your skin needs is more oil, right? This is basic common sense, but many people use skin care products that do include some type of oil. In many popular products today, mineral oil is used even though it is known to stick in the pores and clog them up. That in turn leads to acne and even more oily skin problems.

When picking oily skin care products look for something that says "noncomedogenic" which means that they are oil free. Some may just state "oil free" but it's better to know the more complicated terminology as well.

Some people can use products that use lighter oils such as almond oil, but for severely oily skin it is best to steer clear of any unnatural oils. You have enough of your own!

It is a delicate balance trying to find oily skin care products which do not include oils yet also do not overly dry out the skin. This is why it is so important to go for natural products that include ingredients with a lot of nutrients, vitamins, and antioxidants to better protect the skin against excessive oil.

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Medicinal Herbs For Skin Care - The Pitfalls of Creating Your Own  

While more people are looking for natural products that will lessen the signs of aging on the face and combat blemishes, there is also some focus these days on medicinal herbs for skin care products. Some of the most commonly used herbs can in fact make a big difference in the results achieved, but they have to be used with some caution.

There are two ways to get the advantages of medicinal herbs.. You can join the growing movement of people who are making their own concoctions of medicinal herbs at home, or you can simply purchase high quality herbal skin care products.

Making your own mixes using medicinal herbs can be dangerous. While herbs may be natural sources that grow freely on the Earth, they are also what real medication is made from. Many of the most commonly used medicinal herbs are not very harmful when applied to the skin, but you have to use caution with others.

For instance, sandalwood is commonly used in herbal products, but when used at home it cannot be applied directly on your skin. You have to mix it with other oils which allow it to safely benefit the skin.

The easiest and safest way to use medicinal herbs for skin care purposes is to buy products which are manufactured by companies who know which herbs are best for which skin conditions and what other ingredients need to be combined in order to make the product safe and effective.

When looking for herbal skin care products you are looking for high quality active ingredients that have been proven to benefit the skin in particular ways. You do not want something that has a lot of fillers that do not help the skin in any way.

The only way to ensure that your products are truly natural is to do your research. Read consumer reviews from others who have already tried particular brands to see what results they have gotten. Look the companies up online and read about their manufacturing processes and the particular ingredients.

There are many medicinal herbs for skin care that can be quite effective, but you have to understand how each of them should be used in order to use them safely. Using packaged products that contain the herbs you are interested in is always better than trying to make your own.

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Cheapest Way to Purchase Natural Skincare Products  

If you have looked into purchasing natural skincare products in the recent past, you know that they are not always the cheapest options on the market. While there are very good reasons that these type of products should cost more than others of lower quality, it doesn't mean you have to purchase products that cost a hundred dollars a bottle.

The reason natural skincare products tend to run higher than the products you see at the supermarket or discount stores comes down to the quality and amounts of the ingredients used inside the product.

High quality skincare products that use natural ingredients have to pay more for the basic active ingredients that go into the bottle. Since the raw materials cost more than the chemical additives that are used in cheaper brands, they obviously have to charge a little more in order to make their profit.

The best way to get a lower price is to reconsider the specific natural skincare products you decide to use in the first place. There are manufacturers that advertise as natural and spend millions of dollars a year on advertising gimmicks, but the products are in fact not very natural at all. Then, there are manufacturers who focus less on advertising and more on research and development.

The best way to pay lower prices and still get high quality natural skincare products is to seek out this latter category of manufacturers. When you find a good company that does their own research and development and cuts advertising in order to save the expenses that must be passed on to the consumer (you!), you will find the lowest possible prices on top quality natural skincare products.

Now, here is the secret to finding brand names that put more thought into the actual ingredients of their products than racking up the price with heavy advertising campaigns: you have to go online.

You are not going to find most of these brands on the shelf at the supermarket or behind the glass counter at the department store. Some of them may not even be made directly in your own country. Yet, they are all widely available at reasonable prices online.

The best way to discover which natural skincare options really work is to read reviews from consumers who have already tried them out firsthand. These reviews are becoming widely available as more people realize that they can help others make smart, educated decisions when it comes to their skin.

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Yoga Balancing The Koshas (Sheaths) Of The Physical And Metaphysical Body  

Yoga has been useful to restore and maintain a practitioner's well-being, improve the body's flexibility and vitality, and promote the ability to remain in seated meditation for extended periods. In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali suggests that the only requirement for practicing asanas is that it be "steady and comfortable".

The body is held poised, and relaxed, with the practitioner experiencing no discomfort. When control of the body is mastered, practitioners are believed to free themselves from the duality of heat/cold, hunger/satiety, joy/grief, which is the first step toward the unattachment that relieves suffering. This non-dualistic perspective comes from the Sankya school of the Himalayan Masters.

The physical aspect of yoga, the asanas, has been much popularized in the West, and devoted celebrity practitioners like Madonna and Sting have contributed to the increased visibility of the practice.

Physically, the practice of asanas is considered to:

improve flexibility

improve strength

improve balance

reduce stress and anxiety

reduce symptoms of lower back pain

be beneficial for asthma and Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

increase energy and decrease fatigue

shorten labor and improve birth outcomes

improve physical health and quality of life measures in the elderly

improve diabetes management

reduce sleep disturbances

reduce hypertension

The emphasis on the physical benefits of yoga, attributed to practice of the asanas, has de-emphasized the other traditional purposes of yoga which are to facilitate the flow of prana (vital energy) and to aid in balancing the koshas (sheaths) of the physical and metaphysical body. Also check some great yoga related product from online shop.

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Dangers of Depressants and Tranquilizers For Teenagers  

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Teenagers who use depressants abusively are in danger of being addicted to it not only physically but also psychologically. Inappropriate use of depressants may cause slurred speech, confusion, detached from reality, lack of coordination and slowed breathing. If not monitored properly, depressants can cause serious health problems and complications.

Tranquilizers, another kind of depressant, help people become calm and eventually make them fall asleep. The most common tranquilizers today are benzodiazepines, which include the diazepam and alprazolam.

Tranquilizers such as benzodiazepine provide a calming effect by facilitating transmission at synapses that make use of the GABA neurotransmitter. Similarly, alcohol facilitates transmission at the same synapses but through a different mechanism. If depressants and alcohol are taken together in excessive doses, it can be fatal because they increase the GABA transmission that in turn have a suppressing effect on the areas of the brain which are responsible for controlling heartbeat and breathing.

Another dangerous benzodiazepine drug is flunitrazepam. This is popularly known as the "date rape drug" because guys can easily drug their date by just dropping a tablet of flunitrazepam in their date's beverage. It dissolves quickly in water and has absolutely no color, distinct odor and taste. Flunitrazepam makes people feel drowsy, lose control over their muscles and makes people barely recall the events that happened when they were under the influence of the drug.

A lot of teenagers resort to using depressants and alcohol to take their mind off things because they feel that they have no other place to go to, no other person to talk to. Students who are under the abuse of alcohol and depressants may be observed to be drowsy and sleepy in class, unresponsive to class participation and lacking a sense of balance.

Teachers or parents should be sensitive enough to detect if a teenager is under the influence of depressants. Early detection is helpful because it would mean that early intervention may also take place. Parents and teachers should not shrug off sudden changes in the mood and attitude of a teenager. The deterioration of academic performance may also be taken as a warning.

Although it is not suggested that parents and teachers quickly jump to conclusions, it is always much better to be on the safe side and make sure that teenagers are not heading down the wrong path. by ;Adam ryse

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HCG Diet-Helpful Information You Should Know  

Are you considering trying the HCG diet? The question is would this be a good dieet for you? There certainly are many people who have lost weight on it.

This article will give you useful information so you can make the right choice for your body. The HCG diet was researched and developed in 1950 by Dr. Simeon. It has become very popular because it is an effective way to help anyone lose weight.

What makes it so attractive is it helps you lose weight quickly, which isn't something every diet can do. The majority of people who use this diet lose 20 pounds or more in the first thirty days. This is true if you use the diet the way it was meant to be used.

HGC stands for human chorionic gonadotropin, which is made by the placenta during pregnancy. The purpose of HCG is to make sure the fetus is fed by mothers excess fat deposits, just in case there is not enough food being delivered to your baby to help it grow.

Dr Simeon has spent many years studying the relationship between HCG & weight loss. The 1 thing that he decided is the HCG will trigger the hypothalamus to produce this transition to nutritional fat during pregnancy.

Next he focused on translating this into a dietary protocol that works well for losing weight. He discovered when you paired a very low calorie diet for specific foods with HCG, it helped use up and eliminate 3000-4000 calories per day of excess body fat.

The HCG provides your body with calories it needs each day using the stored fat. That's what stops the hunger when you eat only five hundred calories each day while on the diet.

It is necessary to understand that HCG uses the excess fat deposits in the body to give you energy, but it'll never touch healthy fat or muscle tissue your body needs.

Now that you are aware of this important information you will want to know the benefits you get from being on the HCG diet if you stick with it over a 23-60 day period.

Here are a few benefits:

- Re-sculpt & reshape your body

- Less than eating

- Don't feel the need to eat comfort food

- A reduction in inches

Because it uses your own body's resources to provide nutrients in a natural & healthy process it is safe to use.

These are just some of the key benefits you can get from the diet, but there are more reasons people are on this diet. You can discover them by checking the diet for yourself to use.

I have listed some helpful information in this article on the HCG diet. People who have had problems losing weight before have found this really works. This could be exactly what you If you are serious about shedding pounds
by:jeff schuman

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Three Tips To Never Get Sick  

Are you pro-active and self-accountable about your daily health, or do you play the victim when you come down with a cough, congestion, sneezing and runny nose? Forget the overly dramatic complaints of your typical hypochondriac; I'm talking about legitimate sicknesses that people can easily avoid with the daily choices that they make. Yes. I'm saying it. You are in charge of your body's ability to stay well and avoid illnesses.

Well, I've done the research, and I'm eager to share with you some information from an esteemed expert, Gene Stone, author of The Secrets of People Who Never Get Sick. Boost your health with a pro-active approach by taking advantage of food-related treatments (vitamins, garlic, vegan diet), activities of wellness (working out, lifting weights, sleeping), and environmental conditions (exposure to germs) and emotional supports (community of friends, spiritual connection). Learn about all of those healthy elements by reading Gene Stone's book! In the meantime, I'm pleased to share with you, three critical factors that will boost your health and prevent sicknesses from getting the better of you!

#1 Take Cold Showers - Sounds painful, right? But in this case, pain is gain because turning up the cold water in your morning shower can actually boost your health by and increasing your body's levels of glutathione, a natural antioxidant. According to Stone's book, "The researchers hypothesize that this is a form of 'body hardening,' a process in this the body adapts to certain stimuli (like cold water) by increasing its tolerance to stress" (page 37). Also, the process of the polar bear shower will also decrease your body's inflammation, which is an underlying cause every single disease process and is what causes aging. So stay young and vigorous, people! Turn up the "freeze"!

#2 Probiotics - Accessible in yogurt or health store supplements, these are natural precursors to natural antibiotics, so they are great for stomach ailments, particularly ailments due to overseas travel. According to the Jean Mayer US Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, "yogurt consumption can have a beneficial impact on many gastrointestinal conditions, including constipation, diarrhea, colon cancer, and inflammatory bowel disease" (page 144).

#3 Stretching - Stretching!? Yes! This activity keeps your body balanced, decreases your likelihood to fall down and keeps brain cells firing. Stone's book tells the story of an alternative practitioner, Dr. Fulford, who believed in the power of stretching for muscle health and relief of tension and avoidance of illness (pages 177-179). For daily stretching exercises, yoga or pilates or any home routine will do. Just keep as agile and balanced as possible, and your life will be filled with fewer sick days and more vibrant energy!

By incorporating cold showers, probiotics and stretching into your daily routine, you're bound to get the wellness results that you desire!
by.veronica Anderson

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Tips for snack  

We would like to share with you some delicious and healthy snack recipes. They are easy to make and your whole family will love it.

Vegetarian Baba Ganoush

This is a Middle Eastern spread and dip is similar to hummus, but is made with eggplant instead of chickpeas (garbanzo beans). This recipe is particularly hummus-like, since it uses some chickpeas for a thicker texture.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 60 minutes

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant

1 can chickpeas, drained (garbanzo beans)

3 cloves garlic

1/4 cup lemon juice

3 tbsp tahini

dash sea salt

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley (optional)

Preparation:

Slice eggplant in half, and roast in 400 degree oven for approximately 45 minutes, or until soft. Allow to cool slightly, then scoop out inside of eggplant, leaving skin behind.

In a blender or food processor combine eggplant and remaining ingredients, except oil and parsley, until smooth. Mixture will be somewhat thick. Slowly incorporate olive oil until well mixed. Mix in chopped parsley by hand. Serves eight.

Enjoy with veggies, pita, or as a sandwich spread. I like to spread some baba ghanoush in a flour tortilla and add lettuce, tomatoes and veggies for a sandwich wrap.

Stuffed Celery with Bean Dip

This recipe for stuffed celery with chick pea and white kidney bean dip is a healthy and spicy snack that is great for parties.

Cut several stalks of celery into 3 inch pieces. Set aside.

Chick Pea and White Kidney Bean Dip

15-oz chick peas (aka Garbonzo beans)

15-oz white kidney beans (aka Cannellini beans)

6-oz can tomato paste

6 oz water

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons chili powder

3-4 gloves garlic

1 teaspoon sweet dried Basil

1/2 teaspoon dried Cilantro leaves

1 Jalapeo pepper or hot sauce to taste

This dip can be made in either a blender or food processor.

Open and drain the cans of chick peas and white kidney beans. Empty into the blender container or food processor. Spoon the tomato paste into the blender container. Fill the can with water and swish around or loosen any remaining tomato paste with a spoon and empty into blender container.

Add all the other ingredients into the blender container, cover and run the blender at high speed until smooth. For stuffing into the celery, you will want the dip fairly thick, but it can be easily thinned with water for a more liquid consistency to use as a dip with fresh vegetables or pita slices.

Spread the dip into the cut celery pieces using a flat serving knife and serve on a platter.

Baked Acorn Squash with Brie, Cranberries, Onions, and Pistachios

You'll need:

1 Small or medium acorn squash

2 Tablespoons of butter

1 Handful of dried cranberries

1 Small onion, diced

1 Handful of chopped pistachio nuts

1 Small round of your favorite brie cheese, sliced into thin wedges

Salt to taste

Preheat oven to 450F. Using a large, sharp knife halve the squash lengthwise and halve pieces again. Scrape out seeds with a spoon and discard. Place squash piece skin side up in the oven until tender, about 35 to 40 minutes.

In a fry pan add butter and let melt. Add diced onion and cook until translucent, about 3 minutes. Mix dried cranberries and pistachios and stir for another 4 or 5 minutes. Add salt to taste.

Once tender, take squash out from oven and scrape cooked flesh out with a spoon into a baking dish. Cover the squash with brie slices and cranberry mixture. Bake in the oven until the brie is melted over squash.

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