Read more at: http://www.social-consciousness.com/2013/10/ten-simple-things-you-can-do-today-that-will-make-you-happier-backed-by-science.html
Tag Archives: mentalillness
Does Social Media have an Effect on our wellbeing?
The internet is a wonderful thing. It was designed for the free exchange of information, across borders and without boundaries. It has irrefutably changed life for the better by spreading knowledge, fostering creativity and encouraging connectivity. Social media is the driver behind that connection, helping put us back in touch with old friends and maintain relationships with loved ones on the other side of the world or just down the road. It’s about sharing and broadcasting your life online, conversing with friends and strangers, but crucially in an always on and always connected manner. Mark Zuckerberg’s vision for Facebook centres around making the world more open and connected and whilst the ambition to get everyone in the world online is admirable, it is also suffused with problems. Twitter users tweet 400 million times a day, whilst Facebook processes over 500 terabytes of new data every single day. It’s an unfiltered, cacophonous world full of tastefully instagrammed photos of food and babies, trite status updates and spoilers to your favourite TV shows. In short, it’s a veritable minefield of the banal.
The internet has made connection so easy that it’s taken for granted.
And yet we’re addicted to these platforms, a problem that the proliferation of smartphones has exacerbated. On average, we check our smartphones 150 times a day, with around 50 per cent of us updating our statuses or posting content via them whilst we’re on the move. And herein lies the crux of the issue. We’re used to constant connectivity so being deprived of it is causing what is referred to as disconnect anxiety, with people experiencing negative emotional feelings when they are unable to get online. The internet has in effect become such an ingrained and important part of our everyday lives that it’s having a very tangible detrimental effect on our well being. And yet recent psychological research, published in the Public Library of Science ONE, revealed that connection via social media, in this case Facebook, can also have a adverse effect on our levels of happiness. What we’re seeing here is a consequence of the performative nature of social networks. Profiles often portray an idealised, highly considered version of ones true self, which can engender feelings of inadequacy amongst those looking on. A friends life highlights and milestones might seem a long way off to many which can make them feel as if they’re missing out or being left behind. In this respect, social networks can act as an uncomfortable mirror against which we unconsciously measure ourselves and determine our own sense of worth. They are also a reminder of the benefits of true social interaction, aka meeting up with someone and talking to them. The internet has made connection so easy that it’s taken for granted. Whereas Zuckerberg et al might idealise the strength of the virtual ties that bind us all together, the reality is that technology is gradually eroding away at the real value of what it means to actually connect with someone else. With that, the age of the digital detox might well be upon us, and I for one welcome the prospect of a week or so away from endless photographs of yet another delicious burger. source metro
Lessons to learn from your past relationships
The only way you learn to be better in your future relationships is by learning from the past. Here are some of the things that you need to learn from…
Communication is important
The most crucial part about any relationship is communication. If you’ve had fallout with your ex or friend over communication issue, then for your future relationship know that it is the most important factor in a relationship. After all, you wouldn’t want to repeat the same mistakes.
Respect is needed
Another thing that you need to learn from your past is that due respect should be given to your partner. This is a two-way process. You respect your partner and in turn your partner respects you.
Learn to let things go
It is very important to let some things go. The moment you try and hang onto issues that bother your relationship, you eventually end up falling apart. Not only does letting things go strengthen you as a person but it also keeps your relationship healthy and going.
Do not force
In any relationship, you cannot force the either person on anything. For example, if your boyfriend/friend does not want to go shopping with you, you cannot force him into it. This may create unnecessary tension between the two of you and end up breaking the relationship. If this has happened in the past, stay clear.
Relationships are a shared effort
Relationship is not something that should be shouldered alone. It is like a joint venture between two individuals. This is one of the most important lessons of life. Remember that you cannot make your relationship work out alone, you need to contribute to it equally. It is not that you have to chase, but you must show some sort of effort.
source Times of India*
The Write way to help
Can Foods Affect Your Mental Health?
Some foods are your friends as they help in perking up your memory and cognitive functions. On the other hand, there are some foods which impact you mental health adversely.
Nutritionists recommend limited consumption of various edible items in order to restrict their ill-effects.
Excess consumption of sugary food causes neurological problems and is capable of hindering memory. Eating sugary products in excess also adds extra weight as it is calorie-dense. Too much of sugar can also interfere with our ability to learn. Avoiding food items high in fructose is advised to prevent the above side-effects.
Artificial sweeteners should be avoided too as they are very harmful and can interfere with your cognitive capacity and cause brain damage.
Eating whole grain is recommended by the nutritionists as it avoids arterial aging but consuming regular grains can have an ill-effect on us as they trigger quicker aging and also lead to memory loss and brain fog. Eating more of whole-grain is recommended.
People digging on junk food need to step down a bit as a recent research done at University of Montreal claims that chemicals in the brain get affected. Who would have thought happy meals could trigger anxiety and depression. The level of dopamine, a neurotransmitter, too gets affected by excessive intake of fast food which aids cognitive functions to take place in our body. Our memory, alertness and learning capacity gets affected by extremely fat-rich diet, hence such foods must be avoided. Reduction in production of dopamine causes Parkinson’s disease (PD) which decreases our speech and motor activities.
Some oils are extremely hazardous and sunflower oil tops the list. Food containing too much of chemicals, dyes, preservatives must be refrained. Fried foods lead to hyperactivity by affecting our cognitive functions and behaviour. This variety of food affects people of all age groups and leads to destruction of nerve cells in our brain.
Similarly, Pre-cooked and processed food items affect our central nervous system and also lead to regenerative brain disorder like Alzheimer’s disease over the long term.
Trans fats leads to many health problems, they impact our brain reflexes and also make us prone to heart related issues like rise in cholesterol, risk of heart stroke and increase obesity. Consumption of trans fats over a period of time leads to brain shrinkage hence it should be consumed in limits.
Nicotine-rich food must be restricted as it limits the flow of blood, glucose and oxygen to the brain. It also leads to early aging, increases the risks of lung cancer, causes bad breath, disrupts the excretion of neurotransmitters and affects the brain function. Hence it should be reduced from the menu.
Consuming excessive salty food damages our thinking ability, cognitive function and intelligence. It also impacts our heart and raises our blood pressure.
Proteins are crucial for us, they are the basic building blocks of our body. Eating over-processed protein rich diet like salami, sausages and hot dogs should be avoided as they insulate the nervous system. Your diet should include more of nuts and fishes like tuna and salmon as they are rich source of high quality protein.
Alcohol is popular in harming your liver over the long run and high consumption of it causes lack of consciousness, it influences our memory and our ability to think and is also known as “brain fog”. Binge drinking can disturb the balance of the brain. Nutritionists say these effects are changeable if we stop consuming alcohol or limit our drinking to one or two drinks weekly.