General | Quality of Life

Prescription Drug Addiction

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If you have an addiction to prescription medication, you may need to find a prescription drug treatment center. It is important to beak this habit, or else it could seriously harm you.

Millions of people take prescription medications for various reasons. The ones you need to worry about, though, are the medications that have a higher risk of addiction. If you know someone that may have an addiction to prescription drugs, you need to seek help immediately.

Someone may have had a bad accident awhile back, requiring the need for pain medication in order to alleviate some of the pain caused by the accident. Pain medications help to mask the problem, not necessarily heal it. However, once the injury heals, many people still want to take these medicines. They may feel like they can’t function without them. When this happens, the person very well may have an addiction to the drug.

Breaking any kind of addiction can be difficult, which is why you need to have someone else help you. You will go through physical and emotional withdrawals and may need to speak to a professional to help you through it. The physical addiction can be hard to get over, but the emotional one may be worse. You will have cravings, which is why you will need a friend or family member there to talk you through recovery.

You will need to figure out the underlying problem. Why do you think you need prescription medications to function? Take a look at your home life. If you are under a high amount of stress, that may be a reason. If you life is overwhelming at home, talking openly about your problems may help you to get things off your chest.

The first step in treating an addiction is acknowledging you have a problem. If you realize this, you will have an easier time treating it.

Filed Under: Addiction, General, Health, News & Events Tagged With: Anna Nicole Smith, Health, Howard K Stern, Pharmaceutical drug, Prescription drug, Reality television, Robert Perry, Vicodin

Celebrate your Life with Rewards

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It is essential that we find ways to reward ourselves for positive experiences in our lives. When we motivate and reward ourselves, it helps to keep us going, achieving, trying new things, experiencing new things and perhaps most importantly, growing as people. If you want to grow as a person, to set goals and to achieve them, then one of the ways that you can get yourself motivated is to promise yourself trinkets, gifts and other rewards as motivators for your success. Do you want to achieve an important goal like buying a new car or going back to school, buying a new home or losing 20 lbs?

Would you feel more motivated if you promised yourself designer jewelry or a spa weekend if you achieve your goal? If you are serious about achieving your goal, then it would be a wise choice to motivate yourself with healthy and motivating gifts, trinkets, rewards and other motivating factors. Even simply promising yourself a weekend without chores, or a night out on the town just for you, it is important that you choose a reward system that is actually going to motivate you to achieve all of the goals that you are setting. If you create achievements and rewards that do not suit you, you will not feel compelled to achieve them.

If you want to celebrate your life and motivate yourself more, giving yourself small gifts and rewards is absolutely essential. What this is going to do is give you motivators to meet your goals and achieve what you want to in life. It is important that you give yourself rewards so you have something to work toward, because rewards are a great way to get yourself feeling positive about what it is that you hope to achieve, and beautiful gifts like spa weekends and designer jewelry can really help with this process.

Filed Under: Addiction, General, News & Events, Research Tagged With: Gift, Goal, Health, Mental health, Motivation, Reward system, Self-Help, University of Rochester

Overload of Fads in Exercise and Diet Hasn’t Slowed Obesity Rates or Sales of True Religion

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Wellness gets debated often during an era when rates of obesity threaten to cause the United State health care system to go bankrupt. While doctors recommend balanced diets and regular exercise, an industry of fad diets and workouts exists in an attempt to provide a silver bullet to slow America’s expanding waistline.

Perhaps the nascent stages of the wellness industry began with the now iconic Charles Atlas ads in comic books. The ads appeared as comic strips and told the story of an out of shape person being bullied at the beach. The bully would “kick sand in the face” of his victim and cause the weakling to look bad in front of his girlfriend. Atlas exercise equipment was the solution to this problem, and an industry was born. Atlas gave way to the still kicking Jack LaLanne, who performed feats of strength on his birthdays as publicity stunts to advertise his exercise systems. While the 96-year-old LaLanne might be too old to perform his feats of strength, he is still trying to sell health-related items. He appears with his wife in infomercials for a juicer, which he says is part of the reason for his continuing vitality.

Suzanne Somers might have priced herself out of her signature role on the sitcom Three’s Company, but she was a willing spokeswoman for the Thigh Master. In the years that followed, celebrity workouts, diets or exercise equipment seemed to be an essential part of celebrity cash flow. Companies launched no-carb meal replacement bars, the South Beach Diet and workout programs such as the P90X. As the number of special diets or workout programs grew the level of obesity continues to rise. Perhaps the branding is part of the problem. Health is not like True Religion clothes. It is about making proper choices and taking a realistic approach. Avoiding processed foods, regular exercise and rest seems to almost always work.

Filed Under: Addiction, General, Health, News & Events Tagged With: Charles Atlas, Food faddism, Health, Jack LaLanne, Physical exercise, South Beach Diet, Suzanne Somers, United States

10 Handy Travel Gadgets No One Should Be Without

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In-flight magazines are chock full of handy items guaranteed to make your business trip or vacation more comfortable, more connected, and safer. Which of these gadgets are really worth their weight and space in your travel bag? Here is a list of our favorite 10 travel gadgets; the ones we love and can’t do without.

Travel sheets are lightweight, bedroll-type sleeping bags that protect users from bedbugs, dust and other allergens, and, as much as we hate to think about it, dirty bedding.
Noise cancelling headphones are a must for frequent fliers. By blocking out the sounds around them, travelers can make good use of their in-flight time by napping or working.
A handheld translator makes it possible for the world traveler to communicate even though he or she does not speak the local language.
A laptop allows you to work or play, making productive use of travel time.
A smart phone keeps you in contact with everyone and is fast becoming a travel and business essential. The GPS loaded on most smart phones will assist greatly with local travel once you arrive at your destination.
E-books are easy to carry. You can bring your whole library in a piece of hardware the size of a small book.
Chargers are not to be forgotten. Make sure you have the necessary power for essential gadgets by packing their respective chargers.
An MP3 player may be considered more of a utility than a gadget. MP3 players are not only music players, they are media players. A great playlist makes for a very pleasant trip.
An eye mask is low tech, but can save travelers from jet lag and allow them to sleep during a flight or in a new time zone.
Supplies from an electronic cigarette company will keep your cigarette cravings at bay and keep you from disturbing others with second-hand smoke.

Filed Under: General Tagged With: Digital audio player, Global Positioning System, Smartphone

Controlling Food Intake

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Many people are struggling with weight problems. They may not understand that what they eat is effecting the size of their bodies. Controlling their food intake can make a world of difference in controlling a person’s size. Many people who need to reduce their food intake, just need to change the habits that they have formed. Instead of eating when they’re stressed, they can do other things such as exercising or turning to a hobby that they really enjoy. Just changing these few habits, may make if huge difference in how they control their food intake and how their body may appear.

Another thing that can help with reducing food intake, is to replace any unhealthy food with goods that are better for their bodies. They may decide that they don’t want to snack because the foods that they used to snack on are no longer available. When this happens very juicing how much they eat, and helping themselves to stay at a good and healthy weight.

Adding healthy foods can also make the snacking that they may be doing better for them so that they’re not gaining as much weight. Also, they may choose to eat foods that are more filling and better for them. This can help them to not be quite as much as they may have before and it can also help their bodies to feel full which will make them feel happier. They may also enjoyed cooking more because they know that they’re eating better and feeling better.

Another idea to help control food intake, we is to it exercise more often. This will help them to feel more energy and become a little more active. They may not want to eat as much because they are not thinking about food as much and being more active. This also may help them to feel happier and better about themselves which in turn would help them to not eat as much.

Filed Under: General, Health Tagged With: Eating, Food, Snack food, Weight loss

Diet and Lifestyle Changes While Planning a Pregnancy

Planning a pregnancy can be one of the happiest times in the lives of a husband and wife but it can also bring some stress and a lot of other lifestyle changes as well. Those lifestyle changes include a new diet, a new sleeping pattern, new medicine pattern and much more. When a woman becomes pregnant they need to change their diet almost immediately because they will be eating for more than one for the next nine months and the food they put into their body should be as healthy as possible so that the baby grows nice and strong while in the womb.

Visiting a doctor prior to getting pregnant is vitally important because the doctor we be able to tell you whether or not you can carry a baby to a healthy full term. The doctor will also help you understand what types of diet and lifestyle changes you will need to make before and during the pregnancy. Whatever your height is, the doctor will recommend an ideal weight for you to target while living with the pregnancy. If you reach this ideal weight your pregnancy should be much safer and easier to deal with. Women that are underweight and women that are obese can experience fertility problems if they are not at their ideal weight.

Fertility is also influenced negatively by the use of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco products. Any woman wishing to get pregnant needs to quit smoking immediately if they wish to have a child. Women that are pregnant should also not drink one sip of alcohol during their pregnancy and should reduce the amount of prescription drugs, over the counter drugs, and illegal drugs they are using during the pregnancy. A new diet should take effect prior to conceiving the child because it will make the fertility process a whole lot easier.

Filed Under: General, Health Tagged With: Obesity, Pregnancy, Pregnancy and Birth, Reproductive Health

Can Headaches Mean a Brain Tumor?

Having bad headaches can be very scary. In addition to the pain they cause you, there’s always the possibility that they could be a symptom of something serious. For most people, headaches are caused by things like sinus pressure and stress. There are other common causes, as well, and most of them are simple. They aren’t dangerous, even though they may be uncomfortable. Over-the-counter medications usually treat them quite effectively, although some types of headaches may need prescription medications to control pain. A lot of people who have migraines use prescription treatments given to them by their doctors so they can get through the worst of their headaches.

If you have headaches that don’t respond to treatment, it may be wise to have them checked out. While it’s unlikely that a brain tumor is causing them, it’s also not impossible. Before you panic and assume the worst, go and get a formal diagnosis. Find out what is causing the pain you’re experiencing. That’s especially important if you’re also dealing with blurry vision, dizziness, fainting, odd smells that are unrelated to your surroundings, or other anomalies. Usually there are other explanations for these things, but making sure is a good idea.

If you are found to have a brain tumor, ask questions. Find out what the next step is. Some tumors require surgery, and some do not. Many of them are benign and not malignant, or cancerous. Even cancerous brain tumors can be treated effectively in many cases. While it’s certainly a scary and trying diagnosis, it’s not a death sentence and shouldn’t be thought of as such. There are many options for people who have brain tumors. Some of these ‘cure’ them, and others only buy more time – but new developments are being discovered and worked on all the time. Giving up hope is not the right choice. Whether you’ve been diagnosed with a brain tumor or only with headaches, there are treatment options that you can explore and that can give you a better quality of life. Be sure to ask your doctor about all your options.

Filed Under: General, Health, News & Events, Tumor Tagged With: Blurred vision, Brain tumor, Conditions and Diseases

Unprotected Sex Leaves Men Wishing They’d Spent the Time Shopping for Car Insurance

A person might expect a singer from a band named No Angels to behave less than responsibly, and that’s exactly what a court will have to decide. Frankfurt authorities arrested Nadja Benaissa, a 28-year-old German pop star in April 2009 for charges of grievous bodily harm. The charge is the result of Benaissa having unprotected sex with three men and infecting at least one of the men with HIV.

The case is under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court system in Germany because the incident occurred when the singer was 17 years old. What prosecutors will have to show is that Benaissa knew she was HIV positive and failed to warn her partners about her HIV-positive status. The lawyers for the claimant believe the pop star has known she was HIV positive since 1999. Benaissa has issued public statements in which she admits she had unprotected sex; however, she denies knowing about the condition until a pregnancy test in 2000. The man who pressed charges filed a claim with authorities in 2008. If the District Court of Darmstadt finds her guilty of the charges, Benaissa could serve six months to 10 years in prison.

While Benaissa calls her behavior careless, she claims she did not want to infect her partner. A co-claimant in the case has said Benaissa infected him with the aids virus in 2004. Whether or not the court finds the pop star guilty, both men may be wishing they’d spent their time looking for car insurance, placing wagers on sports, or hanging out with a different woman.

The tale also comes with a warning: Don’t have unprotected sex unless you know 1) your relationship is monogamous, 2) you and your partner don’t have HIV or any other sexually transmitted disease, and 3) you’re ready to have and support children in the event of a pregnancy.

Filed Under: General, Health Tagged With: HIV positive people, Safe sex, Sexually transmitted disease

A Healthy Lifestyle Means Paying Attention to Your Body

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When you want to be healthy, you generally visit your doctor regularly, eat right and exercise. There’s more that you can be doing, though. One of the most important things to deal with is stress. It can creep into your life and really cause a problem for you, both mentally and physically. To avoid that, make sure that you try to reduce or eliminate stress as much as possible. Your body will tell you whether it’s unhappy or not but you have to listen to what it’s trying to say to you, so you can respond and take care of the problem.

Another thing you can do is monitor your body for signs of ill health. You don’t need to be obsessive about this, of course. Worrying and obsessing lead to stress, which isn’t good. Being aware, though, is important. You can monitor your body, especially during exercise or when you have an illness, with things like a finger pulse oximeter, a blood pressure cuff, a blood sugar monitor, and a thermometer. You might also want to consider getting a pedometer so you can see how many steps you take in a day. These can work well if you’re trying to lose weight, too.

You don’t have to go around hooked up to gadgets all of the time. That’s really not necessary. If you have a medical condition or if you’re exercising and want to see what kind of benefits you’re getting you can use a lot of different at-home monitoring devices to help you see what you’re doing right and wrong. Don’t give up on your goals of feeling better and being healthier even if you don’t see much happening right away. These things take a while, and when you monitor your health, you’ll be able to detect the changes that tell you that you’re on the right track.

Filed Under: General, Health Tagged With: Health, Physical exercise, Stress

Mental Health is a Vital Part of Life

When it comes to staying healthy, most people focus on the physical. They work out, they eat right, and they do all sorts of things that they feel are valuable to staying in shape. Unfortunately, they ignore their mental health. Not only do they not work on their mental abilities so they can continue to learn and grow, but they lose a lot of what they already know because they don’t use it. Some knowledge really doesn’t have much point. Some of the things a person learned in grade school, for example, aren’t really needed in later life. However, there are a lot of things that are learned and are very important and valuable. Letting them go and not being concerned about your mental health can leave you feeling lost, unintelligent, or like you’re losing your mind.

You can avoid those kinds of feelings and the problems that inevitably come with them by paying attention to your mental health. Keep learning and exploring your world. Don’t stop growing and creating, because it’s hard to get your momentum back once you lose it. That doesn’t mean you can’t get it back, but it does take more work than it would if you’d have kept up with your momentum the entire time, and never let it lapse. The way you improve upon your mental health and stay active can really vary based on the kinds of things you like to do.

Don’t be afraid to think outside of the box a little bit, and try something you’ve never done before. Maybe you could learn a new language, take a class in something unique and different, or study something that’s interested you for years but you’ve just not had time for. All of those are good ways for you to enjoy your learning time and keep your mind active. When you work toward both mental and physical health you’ll have a better chance of staying active on all fronts throughout your life. You’ll generally feel better, and staying mentally alert can help to prepare you to grow older more gracefully.

Filed Under: General, Health, Rehab Tagged With: Disorders, Mental health, Mind