Mental Health Training

Why Is It Important to Be Supportive? Do you remember a time in your life when you felt unsupported? How did that make you feel? Being supportive of friends, family members, and co-workers isn’t always easy, but it’s a necessary part of being human. And if you’ve ever felt unsupported, you probably agree with this statement completely. Everyone Needs Support No one has a crystal ball in which they can see the future, and you never know what life may have in store for you or the important people in your life. Crises are much easier to face when you have people giving you suggestions or helping you conquer the problem at hand. Besides just needing help during difficult times, according to Ultimate Medical Academy, people who have a good support system are much more likely to achieve their goals in life than those who don’t have a support system. Feeling Alone Is Dangerous When someone faces a serious or difficult situation, if they feel they are all alone, this could lead to dark thoughts and serious conditions such as depression. If the situation is especially trying, it is more likely that someone will feel alone and think that they don’t have anyone to go through it with, even if they do. Thus, you must support your friends, so they know they can confide and rely on you when they are faced with a crisis. Your Friends Will Support You Nobody likes someone who is selfish. If you don’t support your friends and family, chances are they will be less likely to support you when you are faced with a crisis. And as mentioned above, everyone needs support. So, make sure you show ample support to the important people in your life so they will be there to support you when you need it. And again, support isn’t just necessary during a crisis. Ensure you are supporting those close to you as they meet new achievements to help them achieve their goals. Being a supportive friend or family member is important because everyone needs support to conquer challenges and achieve their dreams. If someone feels they aren’t getting enough support, they are more liable to feel alone, leading to mental problems in life. Don’t forget that the more supportive you are of those in your circle, the more likely they will be there to support you when you may need it most.

Read the full article: https://mentalhealthtraining.info/mental-health/therapy Therapy offers you the opportunity to work through challenging issues by promoting self-esteem, relationships, and outlook on life through self-awareness and self-exploration. Choosing to work with a therapist is spirited and will supply you with many options for handling your problems. If issues from the past are not dealt with, they can linger, fester, and adversely impact your day-to-day life. Overcoming past trauma is not always easy, but it’s something that you can do when you work with a therapist. Your mental health is worth seeking professional services, and if you want to make the most of your therapy, employ the following nine tips. 1. Pick a Therapist that Is the Right Fit 2. Take Care of the Business Side of Your Session First 3. Embrace Homework Outside of Sessions 4. Decide How Much You Want to Share with Others 5. Work Together to Establish Goals for Progress 6. Be Honest with Your Therapist 7. Keep Your Appointments 8. Know-How to check in with Your Therapist Between Sessions 9. Be Patient with Your Progress

Confidence Leads to Influence Becoming confident is a big step in being more influential. When you exude confidence, that will show through to others. They will have no choice but to see you as someone that has a handle on situations. The good news is, confidence is not something you are born with. Sure, some people naturally are confident, and it is easier for them to be that way. Confidence is something that can be learned. It may take rethinking some of your beliefs, but it is possible. The first step towards being confident is to learn as much as you can about the situations you are in. Knowledge is power. If you have the necessary knowledge, you will be in a position to answer questions that arise. This makes you authoritative in the minds of those that are not as well versed. Few can argue with you when you have that authority. Next up is to define what you want to accomplish. Know what the desired end result should be and work back from that. Many people try to wing it and go with the flow, thinking that the results will come to them naturally. While that can work once in a while, usually, it’s more effective when you know what you want right from the start. After you determine what you want to accomplish, you can map out a plan in the form of goals and milestones. By breaking down the process into smaller tasks, it becomes more manageable. This will easily add to your confidence levels because those smaller tasks will be easier to complete. It’s also a great feeling each time one of those milestones are met. Nothing is set in stone and there is room for change when you make up your plan. Part of confidence is knowing when something isn’t working and having the courage to adjust. By doing this quickly, you will not lose face. In fact, when you make the decision to change, you will show that you maintain the confidence needed. No one can be right 100% of the time. The key is to try not to be wishy-washy when altering your path. Be firm on why you are changing and make the decision quickly. Taking the steps to become more confident is entirely plausible. Confidence will naturally lead to becoming more influential. It takes commitment and time. But the rewards are simply too great to ignore.

Five Things Extremely Fulfilled People Do That You Don’t Everyone wants to live a happy, fulfilled life, right? It’s a no-brainer! Look around you and notice the happy people who seem to roll with the punches. No matter what life throws at them, they find contentment and meaning wherever they are. So how do they do it? What do extremely fulfilled people do that you’re not doing? Here are some suggestions. 1. They know themselves People who are content and fulfilled have a good idea of their strengths and weaknesses. They don’t berate themselves for not being perfect, but they focus on what they do well and work on the things they could improve. A good team needs people with different strengths and talents. If you’re an extrovert who loves people and organizing, you’ll excel at arranging functions, events, and conferences. If you’re more an analyst or a researcher, your strength is probably preparing reports or explaining data. 2. They stay connected Humans have a natural inclination to connect. Millions of years ago, survival depended on being committed to the group. People who are content and fulfilled in their lives tend to maintain healthy social networks. They stay connected to friends and family. They prioritize spending time with the people they love and have lots of support to rely on when things get tough. 3. They believe in themselves People who grouse about their lives or are dissatisfied tend to have low self-esteem. They don’t expect things to go well for them, and they stay in their unhappy. Fulfilled people, on the other hand, have solid self-esteem and quiet inner confidence that life is pretty good. Confident people tend to have more friends and are more successful generally. Confidence sets up a positive circle that breeds more success, more happiness, and more confidence. 4. They are grateful A big difference in people between who are content and people who are Negative Nancy is that happy people are grateful. Not just for their success but for everything in their lives. No matter what else is going on, fulfilled people can always find something to be grateful for. Gratitude is an excellent habit to cultivate. The more you focus on the good things in your life, the more good things there will be. Gratitude is energizing and positive and generates its own momentum. 5. They have a purpose People who are happy and fulfilled don’t just wait around for good things to happen to them. They have a purpose in life that is aligned with their values, and they just go for it. Extremely fulfilled people focus on doing what they feel they were made to do, what brings them satisfaction at the end of the day, and what makes a positive contribution to the world. <iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Femotionalrelationship%2Fvideos%2F2534527780015603%2F&show_text=false&width=560&t=0" width="560" height="314" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe>

Overcome Obstacles by Removing Self-Doubt People doubt themselves and their abilities. When it becomes a chronic situation, it can hold people back from getting what they want. Confidence will break through the barriers caused by obstacles. You need to recognize when an obstacle is holding you back. Sometimes, people make excuses for their situations and pretend like they don’t exist. For instance, you could be faced with a family member who has a substance abuse problem. It’s difficult to approach the person, and people ignore that a concern exists. They just keep pretending as if the person does not have difficulty, with the hope that the situation will resolve itself. However, the person may be crying out for help and is looking for someone who has the courage to stand up to their addiction. If you are in that position, you may want to find ways to find that strength. The addict may resist you and may do so for some time. But, if they know you care, and you keep at it to confront the situation, they do hear it deep down, especially if they really are looking to get help. You do have to be aware if they don’t want help, your efforts will not amount to much, unfortunately. Self-doubt can also cripple you when others don’t have confidence in you. For instance, if your manager has reasons to doubt your abilities, he is constantly going to be harping on you about your work. This may cause you to doubt yourself and the situation will continue in a nasty loop. In such cases, you need to find out why he feels this way and try to work with him to help figure out what you can do to alleviate the situation. Just having this meeting can show your manager you have confidence, which could be the catalyst to turn around the situation. Confidence is going to be your greatest ally when trying to overcome self-doubt. This isn’t easy for everyone to come to grips with, and it does take courage. But, once you gain the confidence, you will find there is no stopping you. Dealing with most obstacles will become easier for you, which will lead to you succeeding more often. Many people find that after they get past a certain situation, they wondered why it took them as long as it did. It doesn’t matter, though. As long as you eventually gain that confidence, you can make happen whatever you need to.

Protecting and nurturing your emotional health is just as important as safeguarding your physical well-being. Being emotionally healthy means understanding and regulating your own emotions, while also recognising and empathising with the feelings of others. You can engage in many habits regularly, some every day and some now and then, that can help you maintain your mental and emotional health. Here are our favourites. Building Your Emotional Health Be More Mindful Becoming more mindful benefits your emotional health in many ways. First, it helps you become more aware of your feelings, which means you can better identify them and their possible source or trigger. Being more mindful also keeps you focused more on the present, eliminating dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. Engaging in mindful meditation or mindfulness practices can help you control your emotions and improve your emotional well-being. Rethink failure When you experience failure, it can distort how you think about yourself and your future goals. But, when you learn to think of failure differently, as a learning opportunity instead of a setback, you can learn a great deal and stop allowing it to control your emotions. Failure is feedback. It tells you where you need to improve to succeed next time. Changing your thinking about this critical learning experience can improve your emotional health during times of struggle. 3. Keep a Journal Journaling is an excellent way to record your thoughts, focus on your gratitude, and release emotions rather than keep them bottled up. When you write about your feelings, it improves your mental health and allows you to reflect later on things to help you see your progress or identify unhealthy patterns that are holding you back. Journaling can help reduce anxiety, too. Get into a daily habit of journaling to enjoy better emotional health. 4. Eat a Healthy Diet Most people do not think how they eat influences how they feel, but there is a strong connection. When you eat healthy foods, you are more likely to feel energetic and alert. Eating healthy foods improves your overall health, too, which adds to your mental and emotional health. Those who eat a diet high in sugar, fats, and processed foods are more likely to be overweight, suffer from depression, or experience other problems with their wellness. 5. Get the Sleep You Need Your body needs sleep, and so does your mind. When you get consistent, quality rest, your health will improve, your mind will be more precise, and you will be better able to deal with stress and process your emotions. Start by establishing a bedtime routine that ensures you go to bed at the same time every night. Ban screens from your hands for at least one hour before you go to sleep, and focus on relaxing thoughts as soon as you lay down to rest. Restful sleep improves your outlook and ability to handle whatever life throws your way. 6. Look for Ways to Learn from Loss When you experience emotionally stressful events, such as a death, the end of a relationship, or some trauma, it can be helpful to look for meaning or purpose to these experiences. This will take time, but it can be beneficial in the long term for moving on from emotionally traumatising circumstances. Suggesting many come in the form of a new appreciation for certain things or people, finding strength or talents you did not know you had before or connecting you with people you have come to love. 7. Get Feedback from Others When it comes to your emotional health, you are not always the most impartial judge of how well you are at the moment. Asking for feedback from those whom you trust can help identify areas where you could improve or grow. Learn more........

Your Body Language and Your Anger Did you know that your body language can often display your anger before you do so verbally? While you may know this, it is a fact that is regularly overlooked by many, which is why it is essential to understand what non-verbal communication is and how it can affect your relationships. How many times have you stopped speaking to someone because they ticked you off? Lots probably, this is a classic sign of non-verbal communication. Other types of non-verbal communication include: The amount of eye contact you make with someoneYour gesturesHow you sit or standHow close you position yourself to someoneHow loud you speak Have you ever been accused of sending mixed signals to someone? This is when what you say and your actions do not match. So the person on the other end is perplexed and are unsure of how you feel. This can also lead to people not trusting you, as you never mean what you say. If you tend to be angrier, you may often make sharp gestures, talk loudly, and prefer to sit alone. If you are in a relationship, this will only send negative vibes to the other person. It would be best if you learned how to reduce your non-verbal communication by improving your actions first. This can be done by learning to speak in a softer tone of voice, sitting closer to your partner, and making eye contact. Learn to control your gestures by not flinging your arms around or talking with your hands. Many people are guilty of this without even realising it. You may want to practise in front of a mirror. Then you can see if you tend to shift from leg to leg. Or if you move your arms around like crazy. Maybe you always look down at the ground when speaking. These are all items that can be improved on with a bit of practice. Once you have this under control, you will not come across as an angry person all the time. You may find that you even feel less angry yourself. Amazingly, you can feel angry just because you know people perceive you in this way! Keep in mind that showing your anger is not always done with words but by your body language. Improving your body language will ultimately help you feel less likely to speak out in wrath unnecessarily. Learn more..........

The Health Benefits of Waking Up Earlier You've likely been told that getting up earlier is good for you, and it is! Getting up earlier doesn't only help you be more productive, but it can also be healthier. If this sounds a little crazy to you, don't worry, as you aren't alone, keep reading to learn more about all the awesome health benefits of getting up earlier. Healthier Eating Habits It's time to face the facts. When you are rushing out the door in the morning, you don't have time to start your day right by eating a healthy breakfast. According to Sleep Advisor, what you eat first thing in the morning can affect your food choices all day. By getting up earlier and starting the morning with a healthy breakfast, you can improve your eating habits all day long! Better Mental Health Getting up early is a tall order when struggling with stress, anxiety, and other mental health issues. But the truth is, getting up early helps you develop a routine, and having a routine is much better for mental health than rolling out of bed right before your alarm clock. Although it will be difficult for you to start getting out of bed early, you will soon notice your mental health benefits. Not to mention that you can add things like meditation to your schedule—and this can help lower your stress and improve your relationship with your mind! Time to Exercise Many people want to exercise…if only they had the time! Well, news flash, when you start getting up early in the morning, you will have plenty of time to exercise before you start work. When you exercise first thing in the morning, this will boost energy and adrenaline that can keep you going all day long! So don't be afraid to plan a morning run, weight lifting session, or even join an early morning yoga class. Better Sleep Quality Do you feel like you never sleep well? Waking up early, at the same time every day, can help with this. Your body regulates your sleep better when you have a specific sleep routine. So even though you are getting up earlier, you will find that when you sleep, you are sleeping more deeply and feeling more rested than when you were sleeping in before. Getting up early every day is no easy task, but it is a great benefit to your health. It helps in all of the above ways, improving both your physical and mental health. So if you haven't decided yet, it is time to consider setting yourself a schedule that includes getting up early every day.

For most, gratitude is a pure outright, thank you. For others, a half-hearted thank you text or card may seal the deal. But in psychology, it is not just an offhand action. Gratitude is a positive emotion that goes a long way in contributing to happiness. The credit entails more than feeling thankful for an act of kindness or condition because it consists of a deeper appreciation for someone or something. It affirms the graciousness of the giver. When we focus more on the many blessings in our lives, we are more satisfied, cheerful and generous. In contrast, the feeling goes both ways. The giver derives immense joy from the act, and the receiver appreciates the kindness. We may not realise that gratitude is a choice and that it doesn’t come easily to many of us in this fast-paced world. It is not unusual for daily blessings to go unnoticed. We often overlook the little acts of goodness we experience every day. Small acts of kindness shown daily culminate into long joyful life. Whether receiving or giving gratitude, scientific studies prove that the result is enormous happiness. Better Health Gratitude increases optimism, and enthusiasm has been proven to boost the immune system. According to a study by Harvard Medical school, optimistic people live happier, healthier, longer lives. A Grateful Heart A grateful heart begins by reflecting and contemplating on all the beautiful things around you. It has to do with a state of being and has to be cultivated by self-reflection. It comes by considering how life has supported you. Things as simple as listening to the birds sing or enjoying the taste of a homegrown tomato soup on a cold Winters night can be cause for celebration when you focus on having a grateful heart. New Relationships Saying thank you may constitute good manners, but showing appreciation may help you create new friendships, as well as live a happier life. A 2014 study found that awareness for kindness more often than not makes them seek a deeper relationship with you. It doesn’t matter how small the kindness. Simply acknowledging little deeds leads to new relationship moments, and of course, more joy. Less Depression Counting your blessings goes a long way in loving yourself without undue judgment. According to a study, a one-time act of thoughtful appreciation produced a 10% increase in happiness and 35% reduction in depression. Business Health As an entrepreneur or a team player, gratefulness is non-negotiable. Everyone loves to be appreciated. So think of the world of virtue it would do your business if you showed more gratitude in your life. Send a thank you email or card. Say thanks when someone goes out of their way to make your life and patronage easier. Showing gratitude to workers, clients and investors makes you happier and will give your business the needed lift because everyone you deal with will feel valued. Cultivating and nurturing an attitude of gratitude goes a long way in helping you achieve happiness, since there is virtually no downside to this simple act. Though it may seem tasking at first, it becomes easy with persistence. But there’s no need to stop there! There are many ways to add the practice of gratitude into your life so that you stay focused on appreciating all the amazing things you have already done in your life. Here are three simple ways to add more feelings of gratitude to your world, starting now. Compliment a stranger—how many times have you admired someone’s haircut or blouse but not complimented them on it. Start today!

Relationships come in many ways. One thing remains the same – there will be times of doubt and worry over their situation. Sometimes this concern is at the very beginning as you get to know one another. Other times, couples who have been together for several years may reach seasons where one or both may question the solidarity of their union. The result is called relationship anxiety. It affects multiple couples, but it doesn’t control or ruin your relationship when you utilise these nine tips. Identify What Causes Your Anxiety Do you suffer from low self-esteem? Were your parents distant and aloof with you as you were growing up? Do you have a history of abusive relationships? Understanding what drives your anxiety gives you the upper hand in overcoming it. Communicate Your Feelings Honestly Sharing your fears and anxieties enables you and your partner to work together in your relationship. It also helps them see things from your perspective. For example, they may better understand why you get upset when they do not respond to a text for numerous hours. Maintain Control Over Your Emotions Reacting impulsively when your anxiety and insecurity levels increase places additional strain on your partner. It is better to resist the urge to make sure everything is okay, and instead, practise deep breathing, take a walk or call a friend for a brief chat. Enjoy Today and Leave Tomorrow Alone Many worries come from focusing on worst-case scenarios that have a low probability of happening—concentrating on being in the moment and enjoying your partner or family member now. Consider building fond memories and strengthening your relationship. Remain Independent It is easy to lose yourself as you build a relationship. Each party may want to compromise to show love. Your uniqueness brought you together. While there will always be some compromise for successful relationships, you should also encourage each other to maintain some independence and autonomy. Avoid Letting Anxious Thoughts Write Your Story Anxious thoughts may give rise to other emotions, such as anger, sadness, or despair. Emotions have a way of tainting reality, while facts share a different story. Try to avoid giving in to negative self-talk. Instead, work on replacing the narrative with positive self-talk. For instance, reframe “I am lousy at relationships” with “I am good at building strong relationships because I don’t give up.” Focus on Gratitude One way to combat worry and anxiousness is to be grateful. You are refocusing your mind on the people in your life that support you, increase positivity in your life. Telling them how thankful you are for their love and support can also increase your emotional connection. Do Not Seek Validation Anxious thoughts lead to questions of worth and the need to feel validated all the time. Most of the time, your partner will not be available to give you the validation you seek at a moment’s notice. Also, requiring this constant validation can do more harm by creating a co-dependency. It is better to focus on other ways of handling your anxieties. Utilise Your Therapy Sessions Therapy sessions offer you the opportunity to work through your anxious thoughts. Your therapist will provide options for addressing your concerns, gaining clarity, and helping you develop strategies to manage your anxiety. Consider using the following three fast activities steps. Learn more about your anxiety and how it affects your life. Education empowers you to handle the rough patches and come out stronger on the other end. Find ways to maintain your independence. You might schedule lunch with a friend every couple of weeks or keep up on a hobby you love. Schedule a counselling session with your therapist. You will keep perspective on your anxiety issues while alleviating the pressure on your partner.

Can You Fix a Toxic Friendship? Have you discovered that one of your relationships with a friend is toxic? Are you worried now that you will have to leave them behind or risk suffering the harm that comes with a toxic relationship? Well, the good news is, there are some things you might be able to try to fix a toxic friendship. Start By Using Silence In a toxic friendship, it is common that your friend probably puts you down or says things that make you feel bad about yourself. When a friend is toxic, it can be difficult to argue or debate because this fuels their fire. Instead, when they say something that upsets you, respond with silence. This silence will make a bigger impact than anything you can say. If you have tried responding with silence, and your friend hasn't changed their ways, then there is a possibility that they are just a toxic person, and nothing may fix the friendship. Try Setting Boundaries Another thing you can do is try setting boundaries with your toxic friend. Let them know how you feel when they do certain things that are causing your relationship to be toxic. They should agree to your boundaries if they want to fix the friendship. If they don't agree to your boundaries or continue to violate them anyway, this is a sign that you can't fix this toxic friendship. For example, if your friend is always late, let them know that this upsets you and is no longer acceptable. If they continue to be late after that, then you know that your friendship isn't very valuable to them. You Can Take a Break Sometimes, all a toxic friendship needs is a break. Maybe you are spending too much time together, or you both require time to work on yourselves. Remember, you could also be contributing to the toxic relationship without even realizing it. Set a time frame where you won't talk to or spend time with the toxic friend. If they ask, just let them know that you require a break. Take as long as you need. If even after the break, your friendship still has toxic attributes, then it may be time to throw in the towel and agree to leave the toxic relationship behind. It can be difficult, but not all toxic relationships are repairable. Overall, it is possible to fix a toxic friendship as long as both of you are willing to resolve the issues that make the relationship toxic. However, if you try to silence, set boundaries, and take a break, but your friend still seems toxic, it may be time to accept the fact and resolve to make some new friends.

5 Signs of a Toxic Relationship Sometimes it can be hard to know if you are involved in a toxic relationship or not. If that is the case, then it's time to look for the following five signs because if you see them in your relationship, then it might be toxic. 1. Social Isolation A partner or a friend that criticizes your other friends or family might be doing so to isolate you from them. They do this because they want more attention from you or don't want to share you with other people in your life that might be important. It also helps them to be able to control you better because it will be more difficult for you to leave when they are your only support system. 2. They Try to Change You Whether it's a friend or a partner, they should be with you because they like being with you. They shouldn't try to change you or talk down to the things that make you unique. A healthy relationship will always be one of support and encouragement, while an unhealthy one will tell you everything you are doing wrong. 3. There is Jealousy Whenever a relationship has a lot of jealousy, it is never a healthy thing. If you or your partner are jealous of the time you spend with other people or jealous of things the other gets to do, then this is not a good sign. The relationship is likely toxic because neither of you feels confident just being yourself. 4. The Relationship is all About What Makes Them, Happy The thing about toxic relationships is, they are usually one-sided. One person in the relationship gets everything they want, while the other feels ignored or unimportant. The problem is that the person's ego is so big that they won't see that they are ignoring the things that make you happy. 5. The Relationship Means Everything to You When you are in a healthy relationship, you will maintain outside friendships and have time with family. In a toxic relationship, the partner will be your everything. This is by design because it makes it easier for them to control you and harder for you to leave. It also makes it easier to get their way. This is the number one sign that a relationship is toxic. Overall, if you see one or more of these signs in your current relationship, then it could be toxic. Since toxic relationships rarely get better on their own, it is probably better for you to begin to look for help to leave the relationship.

People have difficulty accepting change. However, it’s the one aspect of life we know will happen. Change is going to happen whether we like it or not. If you don’t do well with change, you should reverse your aversion to it. Think of it this way. Perhaps you haven’t yet found your purpose because you have resisted change. That is a common affliction with many people. They simply refuse to accept that something different is happening in their lives. The good news is people adapt with relative ease. After a while, you’ll have no choice but to accept most of the changes that happen in your life. People close to you will move on (one way or another). You will go through stages of life. In the end, you will cherish the memories that you have. There are unintended consequences in most changes that occur for you. For instance, your current boss may leave the company, and a new one is going to replace them. You enjoyed working for the old boss and are dreading the new one. He or she could be someone you don't like. Then again, the situation could now be beneficial to you. Perhaps you and the new boss think along similar lines, more so than your old boss. You will need to deal with changes in your personal life, too. Your kids are going to move out of your house eventually. You may have to one day take care of your parents, and so on. When you are young and first starting out on your own, you don’t think of these situations. The most significant benefit of any change is that it may be just what is needed to find your purpose. If you are used to the same routine, and it doesn’t seem right for you, changes may give you the boost and desire to find something that is right for you. You should try to expose yourself to change more often. Some changes you cannot plan. However, there are many that you can. For instance, you can try to take an opposing point of view that you would never dare to in the past. If you favour a political party, speak with people from the opposite party. Try to keep an open mind when doing this. Ask them how they chose that point of view. By exposing yourself to change, you will become better at accepting it. When this happens, you may be closer to discovering who you are and what is your purpose.

Five Symptoms of Poor Mental Health from Overthinking Overthinking things can be very hard on a person, keeping you from taking action. This can lead to poor work performance. You probably already know how much overthinking can stall you out and keep you from a happier and more productive life. What you might not realize is just how damaging overthinking is to your mental health. Don’t believe it? Check out these symptoms of overthinking gone wrong: You’re Believing the Lies When you overthink, it’s relatively typical to put a particular ‘spin’ on every conversation or interaction pertaining to what you’re obsessing about. For example, if you’ve been thinking your significant other is mad at you because of how they sounded on the phone when you talked to them last, you start seeing so-called anger in every interaction you track back in your mind. Eventually, you start convincing yourself the lies are true, and nothing can tell you otherwise. You’re Worrying More Nothing shoves you hard into the world of anxiety and even panic attacks like overthinking something you feel is threatening somehow, either to your peace of mind or even physical safety. These kinds of stresses become damaging when you become convinced the world really is a dangerous and scary place, without allowing room for opposing thoughts. You have Trouble Concentrating Overthinking doesn’t leave a lot of room in your brain for anything else. In fact, studies have shown that people who spend time overthinking perform poorly on other tasks requiring thought. This can even be seen on MRIs, indicating actual brain slow-down in all areas except the one you’re obsessing in. The solution? Deal with the problem you’re thinking about and move on quickly to the next thing. You Lack Mental Energy When overthinking has run rampant for a while, it uses up your energy resources. You find you can’t make another decision or have the energy to think about another thing. Everything Seems Like It’s Moving Too Fast Have you ever felt jittery, like you can’t keep up with your thoughts? This feeling can create physical symptoms such as increased brain waves, palpitations, and rapid breathing. Overthinking gets you so spun up you feel like you’re coming out of your skin. Remember: If you’re wondering if you’re on a dangerous path with your thoughts, you might want to ask someone you trust if you’re exhibiting any of these symptoms. We don’t always see ourselves clearly, especially when our thoughts are already running in circles. It’s not easy to deal with overthinking. You’re going to have to take time to learn how to redirect your thoughts. The key is to embrace the positive things in your life and not get caught in the negative. Only when you do, will you be able to break the trap of overthinking.

Reducing Anger in Your Life Sometimes the cause of your anger can be staring you right in the face. As much as you hate to admit it, you are not happy with your current state of affairs, and it is time to make changes. Living with huge amounts of anger is not healthy and can lead to a variety of mental and physical issues. This can include stress, heart attacks, anxiety and depression. Which, of course, can affect all members of your family too. Are you and your spouse having issues? This is often a root cause of anger in couples. If you find that you tend to fight or argue at night when discussing almost any issue, then try moving your discussion times to the morning. If problems are just not getting resolved, then it may be time to face the fact that your relationship just isn’t working anymore. Maybe you need a change of environment or it could be time to put an end to the relationship. Living in a bad relationship is not healthy for any of the parties involved. Your anger may stem from having a huge mortgage. It may be better to think about moving and downsizing to a smaller home. Or moving to a different location where housing prices are cheaper. You may hate the fact that some things your children are doing are making you boil! For example, their messy rooms may drive you mad every time you walk by them. Instead of letting it get to you, try closing the door, so you don’t see the mess. You don’t really want to explode on your kids, do you? Another lifestyle issue that can increase your anger level is that of job-related stress. You work all day and then know you have to come home to a busy house at night. The minute you walk through the front door, your kids bombard you with requests and then there is a dinner waiting to be cooked. Try this solution, tell your kids that the first 10 minutes when you come home is yours. You are not to be bothered unless it is for a total emergency. This 10 minute allows you to get your thoughts in order, make a tea and just regroup after the stresses of work. Take a look at your lifestyle and see if you can identify what is triggering your anger. Then look for ways to simplify it, can you get help with making dinner or is it time to sell your home and move to a new location?

Having compassion can be difficult in a world where we’re bombarded with bad news and suffering. It feels like we are currently living in a dog-eat-dog world. We are all so worried about ourselves that we fail to look at the bigger picture. It’s almost like we no longer embrace a sense of community and are desensitised by those in more need. The interpretation of compassion is literally “a suffering with another.” Maybe we lack compassion? The problem is, compassion is a powerful emotion, and it has many benefits. For example, you, Will, Be Happier: Showing compassion to others isn’t purely altruistic. When you help someone else, it boosts your pleasure. A study from Harvard in 2008 showed that donating money can make you happier than using it on yourself. Makes You More Attractive: Positive personality traits like kindness and compassion have been shown to increase people’s perceptions of attractiveness. People rated headshots more attractive when they were attached to qualities like compassion. Improves Your Relationships: Being compassionate is a key to reliable relationships. Whether romantic or not, people will be more comfortable and receptive to you if you show compassion towards them and others. Uplifts Your Community: Compassion isn’t just powerful in your direct relationships. It can help uplift the world around you. Compassionate acts have a way of spreading like wildfire. James Fowler examined this phenomenon in a study that showed acts of kindness spread just as quickly as bad. Improves Your Mental Well-Being: Compassion isn’t just about other people. We must practice self-compassion as well. Often, we find it easier to be compassionate towards others than towards ourselves. Studies have shown that self-compassion is indisputably linked to an individual’s well-being. Boosts Your Self-Esteem: Compassionate behaviour such as donating, volunteering, and helping people in other ways has increased academic aspirations and self-esteem among teenagers. Increases Health and Longevity: Compassion doesn’t just boost teenagers’ self-esteem. It has also been linked to improved fatality rates among older volunteers—desirable Personal behaviours like volunteering address more senior peoples individual and societal needs. Helps You Resolve Conflicts: Life is full of struggles. No matter how much you try to avoid conflict, it is bound to pop up in your life. Compassion can help you address this conflict more effectively. Take some time to listen to the podcast on empathy because you will find it much easier to put yourself in someone else’s shoes when you can show mercy. You Become Calmer: When you strive to be more compassionate, you will usually find them more tolerant and get less annoyed. You will find it easier to forgive minor transgressions, and more concerns will roll off your back. FURTHER READINGS https://mentalhealthtraining.info/mental-health/empathy 2. Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself: https://www.amazon.com/Self-Compassion-Proven-Power-Being-Yourself/dp/0061733520/ 3. Radical Compassion: https://www.amazon.com/Radical-Compassion-Learning-Yourself-Practice/dp/0525522832/ 4. Training in Compassion: https://www.amazon.com/Training-Compassion-Teachings-Practice-Lojong/dp/1611800404/ 5. Awakening Compassion at Work: https://www.amazon.com/Awakening-Compassion-Work-Elevates-Organizations/dp/1626564450/ 6. Mindful Compassion: https://www.amazon.com/Mindful-Compassion-Science-Understand-Emotions/dp/1626250618/

One inevitable truth about life is that there will be tough times. No matter how blessed your life is, you will have to deal with some hardship. There will be times when you feel like everything is crashing down around you, and your only choice is to keep moving forward. What if the times are so tough, you are struggling to trudge on, though? In that case, keep these nine tips in mind. 1. Pain Is a Part of Life The first step is to accept that pain is part of life. It might not be easy to hear, but it is the truth. The silver lining is that pain helps us grow and evolve. It's our response to pain that builds our character. 2. Acknowledge Your Feelings and Emotions Go ahead and "feel your feels." There is nothing wrong with acknowledging that you are upset. Cry if you need to. Get angry if you want. Scream at the world. It would be best if you didn't cast your feelings and emotions away. 3. Self-Care Isn't a Luxury When dealing with a tough situation in life, it can be easy to give up self-care. This is one of the worst things you can do. If you can bring yourself to do anything, then taking care of your physical and mental needs is the priority. 4. Try Not to Disappear When you struggle to deal with everything life throws at you, it's easy to withdraw into your bubble. There is nothing wrong with seeking a bit of solitude, but don't disappear into it. Take the time you need for yourself, but don't forget you have people in your life who love and support you. 5. Keep Your Passions Close If you are struggling through something serious, the last things you are thinking about are your hobbies or passions. However, focusing on your passions is one of the best ways to weather tough times. 6. Take Action to Take Back Control When life hits you full-on in the face with obstacles, it can feel like you have no control. You are simply along for the turbulent ride. To combat this feeling, try to take action. Instead of just letting life happen, take back control. A small, simple step is all you need to get started. 7. Look For the Lesson Sometimes the only thing we take from tough times is the bruises. It's important to look for a lesson, though. What have your struggles taught you about the world, yourself, or the people you love? 8. Remember What You Have No matter how bad things seem to be, you likely have some positives in your life. Use these positives as your life preserver. Keep the things or people that you love too close to your heart. 9. Ask For Support If you feel overwhelmed by life, reach out and ask for help. You can start with a trusted loved one, but reach out to a professional if you don't feel comfortable with that. They are there to help.

Seven Easy Ways to Think Positive and Change Your Life Positive thinking can add so much to your life – and now we know that positive thinking can add years to your life. When you think positively, you get rid of stress and tend to live a healthier life and make better choices. If you’re naturally a negative thinker, there are ways you can change that thinking and get on the path to a life-changing way of thinking. If you really want to begin to think positively and change your life for the better, look at the following ways you can incorporate into your own lifestyle: 1. Be responsible for your thoughts. No one can tell you what to think or control how you react to your thinking. When you begin to take responsibility for your thoughts, you’ll face the reality of what they’re doing to or for you and be more able to change those negative thoughts. 2. Plan to think positively. So many of our thoughts come from the subconscious mind. When you plan to think positively, you won’t be as apt to take what you’re thinking as reality. Instead, you have the time and opportunity to think it over and come to a conclusion that reflects the reality of the situation. 3. Avoid negative people. Negative people can ruin your best-laid plans to think positively. They can feed the fire of self-doubt and anxiety. It can sometimes be classified as a crowd-mentality, so don’t fall prey to it. Think for yourself. 4. Write down your thoughts. It’s helpful if you can see at the end of the day what your thoughts have been. For a while, take the time to write them down. You’ll see what went wrong with your thoughts and be able to improve them. 5. Consider the repercussions. For example, if you have a deadline for an assignment, and it becomes clear that you’re not going to meet it, consider what might happen. If you finish it on time, it won’t be as good as you wanted. If you take more time, it may cause other problems. Also, consider solutions. For example, you could ask for an extension to the deadline. 6. Minimize catastrophic thinking. Rather than thinking the worst about a situation, try to minimize it and lower your anxiety level by being practical about it. If you’re susceptible to those thoughts, avoid situations (such as television news) that might cause you anxious thinking. 7. Live for the moment. When you spend too much time trying to guess or analyse the future, you’ll convince yourself of failure – especially if you’ve failed in the past. If you think you’ll fail, you probably will. Accept the reality that you can control your thoughts. You’ll become more empowered to face stressful situations in your life and to change the way you think. It will become easier to maintain a positive attitude the more you practice thinking positively.

Overcoming Negative Thoughts Everyone falls prey to negative thoughts sometimes. It’s like watching a film that begins with clear skies and happiness and seeing it turn into dark clouds and horror. The bad thing is that there’s no eerie music to alert us when that turn takes place in our minds from positive to negative. We can only tune into our thoughts once in a while to see how we’re doing. When you catch yourself thinking negatively there are a few things you can do – actually practice – that can help you overcome the negativity and get yourself into that “happy ending.” 1. Adjust the tone of your voice, both inner and outer. When you find that you're speaking or thinking tone is harsh and negative, change it to a lighter and more positive tone. 2. Meditation. Finding some time for yourself to meditate or just relax and restore your energy levels can do wonders for your outlook. When you combine some yoga stretches or deep breathing, you can make bigger leaps. 3. Smile. The best way to diffuse a negative situation is to smile – really smile, with your eyes and your entire face and demeanour. It can lift a mood almost instantaneously and help to relieve stress, too (and it takes fewer facial muscles to smile than to frown). 4. Help someone else. Becoming a benefactor to someone can fill your heart and mind with happiness. And, how can you think and project negative thoughts when you’re so happy? 5. Keep a gratitude journal. Those who have had to overcome great obstacles in their lives say they kept and still do keep a gratitude journal and wrote a few things in it every day that they were grateful for. It helped to get them through bad times. 6. Choose positive people to be around. You may have to work with negative people, and you may have some in your own family, but your friends that you choose can be positive ones who help you put things into perspective when you’re thinking negatively. Do whatever works for you to lift your spirits and get you out of negative self-talk. Some people exercise. That gets the endorphins flowing and keeps you from becoming depressed. Dancing and singing are also proven mood lifters. You don’t have to be good enough for “American Idol” or “Dancing with the Stars.” Just dance or sing unfiltered and see how the stress can melt away. You are in charge of the choices you make in life, and you can either choose to be a negative or a positive person to go through life.

Why Does Rejection Hurt So Much? Rejection hurts. That's a fact that's been proven scientifically as well as by our individual experiences. It negatively impacts our well-being and inflicts emotional pain. However, why does rejection hurt so much? Researchers have pondered these same questions, and we have our answers. Rejection played an essential purpose in our evolution. In our past, when we were all hunters and gatherers, being rejected by our village was truly a death sentence. This is because no one could survive alone for long. Psychologists believe that our brains developed a warning system to alert us when we risk being ostracized. Getting our attention was so important that this warning system had to be as painful as possible so we could correct our behaviors and be allowed to remain in the tribe. We relive and experience social rejection just as we experience physical pain. Researchers at UCLA noticed that physical pain and social pain (the pain of being rejected) are felt in the same parts of our brains. This means that our brains cannot differentiate between physical pains ( say, a broken arm) and the pain of being rejected. This is the reason why a break-up can leave you feeling broken, just like with most physical injuries. Our brains prioritize the pain of rejection because being ostracized from the "tribe" was akin to a death sentence. Being rejected destabilizes our "desire to belong." Humans are social animals, and we fundamentally need to belong to a tribe. Rejection destabilizes that need, and this adds to the pain we feel. Research has proven that being in a group or reconnecting with people that love and value us soothes physical pains and makes us feel happy. It unleashes our insecurities. Most times, the pains' rejection leads to are much more than that of being rejected. We often take rejection to mean we're unlovable, unworthy, or undeserving. Rejection awakens all our doubts and insecurities about how we assume we are viewed by others, especially the person who rejected us. So, while being rejected alone can be especially painful, these self-doubts and uncertainty about the reason we were rejected in the first place can put these insecurities in our minds. These might lead to self-loathing, low self-esteem, and other really serious psychological concerns. This is especially true with emotional rejections, where most people might consider having a certain body shape or attribute as the reason for being rejected. This leaves people feeling as if they aren't worthy of being accepted rather than accepting that the person might have rejected them for an entirely different reason. While the rejection itself would hurt, these self-doubts and suspicions will leave you feeling even more pain.

Introduction. Have you ever had unwavering self-belief in your decisions or actions Probably when our children become by this kind of confidence naturally, it's what makes us brave enough to think we can do absolutely anything? Unfortunately, as we grow older, we tend to lose self-belief by adulthood. We might not even realize our actions are driving our self-belief down. The sad thing is we need it. Confidence is what makes us try new things and grow as individuals. It's also what motivates teaches and helps us enjoy life. But more than this unwavering self-belief is what we need. Whenever we make decisions or jump to the next action. If we're looking for success to be inevitable. So why do we lose our self-belief and how can we get it back You're listening to voices from the past parents, teachers and other people of authority who are meant to be trusted at the same time. They're human and sometimes say, or do the wrong thing. If we were given negative messages, when we were young, it could be very hard to get past those damaging labels. As an adult, it will bar you from having a self-belief. You can trust the fix, start recognizing errors in what was said and working through the trauma of what happened before. Realize people don't always know everything and remind yourself, these messages were wrong. Write affirmations or change your negative. Self talk to a competing statement that builds up and doesn't tear down. You're listening to the wrong voices today. Unfortunately not every negative individual is safely relegated to the past. Sometimes were shot down by the friendly fire. Our well-meaning friends can sometimes be discouraging or worse, quick to point out our flaws or other perceived shortcomings, the fix, sorry, but you're going to have to realize people like this. Aren't your friends. And they're certainly not helping try losing the toxic people in your life or at least limiting your exposure to them. Or if you do want to salvage the friendship, grab some courage and try confronting them about how you feel when they

Many people believe that positive thinking alone is not enough without adjusting your thoughts, feelings, and beliefs to propel us towards success, but consider the opposite? Limited thinking can be a burden for rapid success, whereas positive thinking is a blessing. But, here are several ways that we self-sabotage our success. If you aren’t sure what limited thinking is all about? Here are nine classic examples, and if you continue to engage in these reasoning patterns, you must first address them or suffer the consequences. All or Nothing This limited thinking pattern hinders your ability to see any distinction. Your focus is either a massive success or a humble failure. Routinely thinking like this holds us back by not allowing us to see progress or growth. It doesn’t let us find a “middle ground.” Focus on The Negative Negative thinking is one of the most discussed topics in the self-help world. We all know the negative impact this kind of thinking can have on our life. If you are the type of person whose mind filters all information through a negative lens, you won’t be as happy or prosperous as you deserve. Overgeneralization This thinking pattern is best described as taking a single incident and only drawing broad conclusions about it. For example, you fail at something so then decide it is unimportant, you are lousy, and you’ll never figure it out. Besides being overly cynical, this thought process isn’t logical. Try to stop thinking in absolutes. Mind Reading It is impossible to read someone’s mind. Even if you are highly intuitive, you can’t know for sure what someone is thinking. If you are the type of character that makes quick assumptions about others or presumes you know the “real reason” they acted in a certain way, then you might be suffering from this thinking pattern. Fixed Mindset A fixed mindset is an idea that things are black or white, and there is no reason to switch. You trust your abilities (which is great), but you never see a reason to expand or evolve. If you aren’t growing and progressing as a person, you are standing still, letting the world pass you by. Stuck on How This type of limited thinking is when you get too wrapped up in the idea of “how.” For example, how will you ever reach your goals? While having a plan is necessary, sometimes we can’t possibly know all the details of accomplishing something. You can’t allow this to prevent you from taking action, though. Catastrophizing Are you the type of person to assume the absolute worst of any situation? Does a minute obstacle in your path make you think the sky is falling? If so, you are likely suffering from catastrophizing. This limited thinking pattern makes us always expect the worst. If you don’t deal with it, you will be too paralyzed by fear and hesitation to grow truly. A Case of The “Shoulds” If you ever get caught up worrying about the way things “should” be instead of how they are, you might be dealing with this confined thinking pattern. You expect the universe and other people to act according to your preconceived standards and cannot adapt when they don’t. Personalization Not everything is about you. Did you need to hear that? If so, you might be suffering from personalization. This limited thinking pattern means you take everything personally. Not everything that happens to you is a personal slight or shortcoming. Sometimes things simply don’t work out, and it doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with you.

If you are one of those who commonly avoid tasks or specific situations, it could be for many reasons. But before you can work on solving or completing a job you’ve been putting off, it’s essential to narrow down what type of avoidance you are using to evade something in your life, so you can know how best to combat it. If you’ve ever heard the phrase, “What you resist persists,” you have been introduced to the fundamental reason why your avoidance and how you cope can increase anxiety. Emotional Or Cognitive Avoidance This type of avoidance usually happens internally and can’t be seen by anyone other than the person experiencing the avoidance. When you, emotionally or cognitively, avoid something, it means that you avoid ruminating about it. Cognitive avoidance is about avoiding internal events such as unpleasant or distressing thoughts or memories. With this type of avoidance, people usually suppress or reject the experience of certain kinds of thoughts that feel unpleasant or overwhelming. This can mean either blocking out the thoughts when they come to mind or repressed memories that can be incredibly stressful. Emotional avoidance is especially prominent after someone has experienced a trauma, and is very common in people living with PTSD. Sometimes this type of avoidance requires medical intervention to resolve. Situational Avoidance Situational avoidance is when you specifically avoid a particular person, place, or thing which may remind you of something which makes you unhappy. This frequently happens in friend groups when certain group members have had an altercation and don’t want to go to events where they may see the person they have disagreed with to avoid causing problems. You may also notice this type of avoidance in a friend who constantly changes the subject when a particular topic comes up in conversation. This type of avoidance is much easier to see among your family and friends. Conflict avoidance This is a type of people-pleasing behaviour that typically arises from a deep-rooted fear of upsetting others. Many of these tendencies can be traced back to growing up in a dismissive or hypercritical environment. People who respond to conflict this way often expect unfavourable outcomes and find it difficult to trust the other person’s reaction. Here are more examples of how this may manifest: 1. Stonewalling or denying an issue exists by ignoring it 2. Fear of disappointing others 3. Deliberately sidestepping conversations 4. Silently resenting unresolved issues Protective Avoidance This type of avoidance is where you may go out of your way to protect yourself from feeling a particular emotion or experiencing something once again. For example, someone who was the victim of a robbery may obsessively check the locks on all the doors in the house to ensure they are locked. This type of avoidance can be one of the most dangerous as it can quickly escalate to a more severe condition such as obsessive-compulsive disorder or even an eating disorder. Substitution avoidance Substitution avoidance is essentially trying to replace one feeling with another. A person might replace grief with anger or another emotion that feels more tolerable for her at the time. For instance, patients who are unable to cope with difficult emotions might binge on food, substances, sex, pornography, shopping, or gambling as a way to distract. Numbing out is also a form of substitution avoidance. “Emotional numbing is the mental and emotional process of shutting out feelings and may be experienced as deficits of emotional responses or reactivity,” Avoidance is so natural and familiar that it can take complex forms and look completely different from one situation to the next. Avoidance isn’t always maladaptive, but in many cases involving internal events, it is not sustainable in the long run and can make things worse. Read the full article.

The Importance of Integrity When someone has integrity, they demonstrate ethical principles and sound morals. They strive to do what is right, no matter the situation, who's watching, or even how they feel. It is the foundation on which good relationships are built. Integrity encourages trust and is a fundamental and value people look for when beginning any sort of relationship – professional or personal. Research puts it amongst the top 5 values that employers look for when hiring. · People searching for a romantic partner also hold integrity in high regard and look for it in their potential partners. Integrity is a core quality required for a happy and successful life. It is the single most valuable character a person can develop to remarkably enhance all parts of their lives. When you decide to be a person of integrity and then commit to it, you will have taken the first step to a much more successful life. A few other reasons' integrity is so important: It Gives You Peace Compromising your morals to succeed or feel like you belong can be incredibly exhausting. When you live a life of integrity, you're truthful and clear about who you are or your stance on a matter. Your day-to-day life becomes easier, and you are at peace because you do not have to worry about hiding anything. It Builds Self-Trust While research has shown that integrity is a leading factor that makes people gain the trust of others, living in integrity also builds self-trust. This is because we do not question ourselves when we have integrity; we listen to our hearts and follow through on what we think is right. This makes us trust ourselves more, which boosts confidence in general. We Gain the Trust and Respect of Others When we live in integrity, we gain the respect and trust of everybody, especially people with whom we have a close relationship. People see you as dependable, reliable, and responsible for your actions when you live with integrity. People will feel safer when you give your word. You gain influence, which generates trust. Integrity is especially important if you occupy a leadership position as it is a sign of efficient leadership that the community, clients, workers, and stakeholders look out for. Excellent relationships We often attract who we are. When you live with integrity, your relationships will reflect these good morals. Living in integrity shows commendable character, and you will naturally draw people to you. When you do not have to be dishonest or compromise on your values to have friends, you'll find out that you'll have better and high-quality relationships.

What does mindfulness mean to you? Like many of us, we have heard about mindfulness. I knew that it implied paying attention, opening our awareness to what is happening now, in the present moment, and accepting it without judging or trying to control it. Mindfulness is unquestionably linked to breathing, yet we all know how to breathe because it is a natural phenomenon and doesn't need the practice anyway? Practising mindfulness by using your breath as the starting point and the focus not only opens your awareness to the present moment, which is what mindfulness is all about. Instead of worrying about the future or dwelling on past actions, you are focused solely on remaining in the present moment. Whereby, reduce rumination (say goodbye to overthinking everything!) Mindfulness originates from ""sati,"" a word in the ancient Indian language of Pali, which roughly translates to present-moment awareness. Mindfulness is commonly integrated into yoga and tai chi practices, as well as meditations. There's mindful walking and even mindful showers. However, the most popular way to practice mindfulness is through meditation. You probably already know that meditation is a practice in quieting your mind. Breathing meditation So what is mindful breathing? Being aware of your breathing means observing and opening your consciousness to your breath: to your breathing in, and you're breathing out, without controlling or judging it in any way. How to break a bad habit Many of us have forgotten how to breathe well. By adulthood, we've picked up some unhelpful breathing habits. A baby breathes deep into its belly in a slow and steady rhythm. Stress can cause the body to go into a "fight or flight state, making us feel wired and ready for action. One of the physiological changes we see happen in this state is that our breathing rate increases. Holding your stomach in, something lots of us do subconsciously can also make your breathing shallow, rapid or irregular. Press rest Breathing is an autonomic bodily function that we can also control. All breathing techniques involve a variation of three elements: inhaling, holding the breath, and exhaling. Depending on the desired effect, the pattern changes. The 4-7-8 Method, used for deep relaxation, involves inhaling for a count of four, holding the breath for seven, and exhaling for eight. Read the full article... https://mentalhealthtraining.info/mental-health/mindfulness/mindfulness-2

Five Barriers to Critical Thinking Critical thinking is essential to using your overall experience, background, common sense and other attributes to become more aware of how your efforts for success are being spent. When you have barriers to the critical thinking process, it can seriously harm your ability to move forward. When you’re aware of these barriers, you can better overcome them and focus your thinking on what’s going to move you forward, rather than getting stuck behind a barrier – unable to move forward. Here are five barriers that can impede the critical thinking process: 1. Thinking in Black or White – Some people ignore a situation’s complexities by thinking that there’s only one way to solve a problem. The problem is placed in a category, given a label, and that’s the only way that matters. Thinking in black and white comes from our need to have certainty in our lives, but it’s false logic to assume that everything is totally one way. 2. Thinking with the Ego – Ego-centrical thinking is thinking with a lack of understanding others wants and needs. It limits your thinking to only your point of view and doesn’t have room for others’ ideas. This thinking process is deeply embedded in our psyches, and it sometimes takes deliberate effort to overcome it. 3. Social Thinking – The drone mentality of social thinking only lets us see things in the way of the popular point of view – or the way that our spouse, companions, parents and friends think. Thinking outside the box is almost impossible when you have a barrier of social thinking, and it can greatly impede the critical thinking process. 4. Authoritative Thinking – Just because someone in authority says it’s true doesn’t mean it is. You’ve likely been swayed at one time or another by political leaders who say one thing is true, only to find out later that it was a lie or a misleading way of thinking. The authority could be a person, peer group, institution or anything that makes you think that they’re right because they’re in an authoritative position. 5. Judgmental thinking – When you judge something or someone based on moral evaluation it’s usually done in haste and based on our past in some way – such as the way we were raised, educated or other values and mores. Judgmental thinking is usually non-rational thinking and can block understanding and insight about a person or an issue. It’s important that we recognize our own barriers to the critical thinking process and replace those barriers with rational and reasoned thinking, and then make a concentrated effort to avoid them.

Empathy in Mental Health Empathy is a natural human emotion, and it served our ancestors’ to thrive on being socially acceptable within society and sensitive to the needs of our offspring. Now, anyone devoid of it strikes us as threatening or mentally ill. For example, the absence of empathy is often considered one of the distinctive features of narcissism and violent behaviour is also known for its lack of compassion. Empathy defined: We cringe with imagined pain as we watch someone fall or cry at a stranger’s loss as we witness their sorrow; these are common humanistic responses. It is often described as “the ability to see the world through someone else’s eyes”. (LeCompte A (2000). To be empathetic, we have to visualise what it would be like to be a mentality in the head of others or to walk a mile in their shoes. Initially, empathy makes us reach out to others emotionally and then understand their situation and treat them with kindness. Some of you may recognise this as good old morals or bedside manner within the medical profession, but there is indeed a link between empathy and quality of care (Huggard, 2003). Martin Clunes adequately displayed this as Doc Martin tribulations with his absence of altruism and fear of blood (hemophobia) contributed to some amusing encounters and sympathetic groans from the viewers in the British TV series that beggars belief. Alternatively, as our stress hormone kicks into survival mode, our empathic nature then shuts down in the heat of the moment, focusing only on our particular pain and the innate need for self-preservation. However, this simplistic approach is questionable if you look at personality traits. Some people, known as empaths, have such high empathy that they seem to take on the feelings of others, and their cortisol response is undoubtedly different in this case. They often respond more strongly to the pain and emotional distress others experience. The mental load of feeling what everyone around you feels can also become too much and cause an increase of cortisol within the person. Empaths share all the traits of Dr Elaine Aron’s “Highly Sensitive People” or HSPs. Empaths are like sponges that absorb all the stress surrounding them, making them vulnerable to adrenal fatigue. Learn more: https://mentalhealthtraining.info/mental-health/empathy

As a child, the world is a magical place full of all sorts of possibilities. One minute you are a five-year-old in the playground, the next, you are a queen in her tower reigning over all the other children on the playground. These days were so great, so why do we lose our imagination as they age? You Figure Out What Will Never Happen The main reason you will become less imaginative as you age is that as you learn more about the world around you and what is or isn't possible, this affects your creativity. For example, when you are a child and think you can become a ballerina one day, well, that will have you spinning all over the living room! As you age, take dance lessons, and learn you are indeed not talented at dancing, well suddenly that dream goes away, as do you creatively imagining that you will one day become a ballerina. You Adapt Social Norms Besides just discovering several things in life that will never happen, you also begin to adapt to social norms as you age. Unfortunately, running around your house pretending you are a wizard or warlock isn't part of the social norms of life. Sometimes, this realization can be embarrassing, like finding out you are the only one who still plays with toys during break time. Events like this can lead you to leave imaginative play and your imagination behind to fit into the world around you. You Forget How To Be Imaginative To top it all off, as you are learning the truth and adopting social norms, you spend less time being creative and imaginative. Like any other skill in this world, the less you practice it, the more you begin to lose it. Becoming less imaginative is a self-perpetuating cycle as you age. It is easy to see imagination in children. It makes up most of their playtime. Once they begin to grow older, they'll play less using imagination and more with toys or in front of electronic devices. Sadly, humans lose their imagination as they age, but it is the unfortunate truth. It happens because of a combination of learning how the world works, adapting to their environment, and forgetting how it feels to be imaginative. At some point, if you don't change now, you likely won't be very imaginative at all.

Self-discipline is an important skill every person who wants to achieve more in life should possess. Self-discipline is essential in every aspect of life. Even though most people recognize the benefits of self-discipline, very few do something to reinforce and grow this beneficial skill. Contrary to some beliefs, self-discipline is not being harsh to yourself or living a restrictive lifestyle. Self-discipline also means self-control. It is a sign of inner strength and control of your actions, and your reactions. Self-discipline provides the power to stick to hard decisions, and follow them without changing your mind. This means self-discipline is an important requirement for achieving vital goals. One of the main characteristics of self-discipline is the capability to reject pleasure and immediate enjoyment in favour of greater success, which is gained by spending time and effort. Why self-discipline is important The possession of self-discipline helps you to continue with your plans and decisions until you achieve them. It also displays as an inner strength that helps you to overcome addictions, laziness, and procrastination. Self-discipline is an important ingredient for success. It is the ability not to give up, regardless of setbacks and failures. In fact, it is an important pillar of stable, long-term success. It is a skill that will help you understand the importance of life. Life presents problems and challenges on the path to success. In order to act above those challenges, you must act with determination and perseverance. Lack of self-discipline may lead to problems such as failure, relationship problems, and health issues. Just as some people have weak muscles, they can become strong with training. It’s the same with self-discipline. You can develop and strengthen self-discipline, like any other skill, through training. You can develop self-discipline at any time. Development of self-discipline will help you: • Avoid carelessness. • Fulfil promises you make. • Overcome bad behaviours such as laziness and procrastination. • Engage in good behaviours like going to the gym, swimming or taking a walk even when your mind tells you to stay at home. • Stay focused on your diet and resisting the temptation of eating unhealthy food. • Waking early in the morning. • Overcome the bad habit of watching too much television. • Start reading motivational books, and implementing what you’ve learned. • Meditating regularly. If you keep working and developing the skill, you will become stronger. On the other hand, if you do not challenge yourself in life, you will not gain self-discipline.

The current understanding of the development of self involves an interaction between nature and nurture. We are born with certain characteristic elements that have been predetermined and embodied within our genes. Still, probably the more meaningful contribution to our adult character comes from life experiences, especially social experiences. Amongst theorists, this could then trigger their genetic pool associated with their learning capacity and cognitive function. And a large body of evidence supports the conclusion that individual differences in most, if not all, are influenced by genetic factors. One theory of personality development is the learning approach based on the classical and operant conditioning principles. Operant conditioning suggests that any behaviour that results in a reward is more likely to be repeated, whereas punishments decrease the likelihood of the behaviour; this explains how any behaviour is acquired and how we get our temperament characteristics. For example, individuals might develop the personality trait of kindness towards others because they are rewarded when displaying such behaviour. Learn more: Development of personality Mentalhealthtraining.info

https://mentalhealthtraining.info/course/narcissism Contents of the training programme IntroductionSigns of a Narcissistic Personality DisorderBelieve They Are Better Than Anyone ElseNeed Constant Praise, Attention, and AdmirationSense of EntitlementThe Tendency to Demean and Belittle OthersAssociating Themselves to People with StatusTake Advantage of Other PeopleLack of EmpathyReactive to CriticismThe Different Types of NarcissistsThe Exhibitionist NarcissistThe Closet NarcissistThe Malignant (Toxic) NarcissistThe bullying narcissistThe seducer narcissistWhat Is, a Covert NarcissistOvert and CovertThe Signs of a Covert NarcissistQuiet SuperiorityNonchalant DisregardWhat is the difference between empathy and sympathy?Extreme SensitivityEmotionally UnavailablePassive-AggressivenessAre Narcissists and Sociopaths The Same?Do you believe most Ponzi schemers are sociopaths?Another Selfie? You Might Be a NarcissistCan You Stop Being a Narcissist?Develop the Right Mindset and Desire to ChangeDeveloping Self-AwarenessNarcissistic personality disorder (NPD) and relationshipsThe Velveteen RabbitSteps to Get Your Life Back After Narcissistic Abuse Break Away from the Abuser and Implement a No-Contact RuleAllow Yourself to Feel Your EmotionsIf You’re in Too Deep, Seek Professional GuidanceMindfulness MeditationRebuild Your Self-EsteemNarcissists and JealousyA Narcissist in RelationshipsNarcissists are very convincing liars, schemers, and con artists.They Violate Boundaries A Narcissist’s Jealousy Issue in A RelationshipCan You Help a Narcissist Change?Changing A Narcissist is Only Possible with Their PermissionWhat Caused Their Narcissistic Behaviours?For the Narcissist Who Wants to Change, Seek Professional HelpAre Narcissists Pathological Liars?They Lie Because It Has Become Their Default BehaviourThey Lie Because They View People as ObjectsThey Lie to Gain SympathyFinding The Truth in a NarcissistProjection or MirroringGaslighting MethodAngry ConfessionsNarcissist TriangulationWhen Guards Are DownAsking Strange QuestionsFinding Truth in Their ActionsHow Do You Work with A Narcissist?Pick The Narcissist’s BrainBuild a WallBe Assertive Without Being AggressiveBuild A Strong Support NetworkDon’t Take It All Too Personally.Limit Your ExposureConclusion

Laughter Is the Best Medicine You have probably heard the term laughter is the best medicine. It may even be a bit cliché at this point. However, it still holds quite true. If you are feeling down, forcing yourself to smile or laugh can turn your mood around. If you are in need of a pick-me-up, make sure you hang out with people who are upbeat. If you are with others who are down as well, it’s going to be difficult for each of you to get out of your funk. No one can truly be happy 100% of the time. If you are unhappy more than you are happy, it could be time to seek some help. But, part of your therapy could very well be to use laughter. There are clinics that promote laughing as part of the group. It entails gathering in a circle and forcibly laughing while the group participates. Depending on who is running the event, each person may take a turn laughing and then the group joins after the last person completes the exercise. It seems strange to outsiders, but participants are proponents of the methods. They get a good feeling after the sessions, and many say they make great friends in the process. Laughter can help lower stress as well. It releases endorphins in your brain, which are responsible for you feeling good. It is even believed to help in producing antibodies that can fight disease. This could be how the phrase, laughter makes the best medicine, came about. You may feel strange yourself early on when incorporating laughter into your routine. But, even if it is forced, as you do more you'll get more used to it, and it will stop feeling strange over time. You will have the tools you need to change your mood. After a while, you will find yourself laughing for real rather than forcing it. It will improve your general outlook on life. People you associate with will also take notice and want to hang out with you more. Give it a try for a consistent period. Notice the changes that you experience in your feelings. It is likely you will never go back to the way it was. While no one can guarantee using laughter will make you live longer, it won’t hurt you in any manner. The question is, why wouldn’t you use it if you’ve got nothing to lose?

The death of a family pet can trigger a sense of grief in children that is profound and prolonged, and can potentially lead to subsequent mental health issues, according to a new study by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). The team found that the strong emotional attachment of youngsters to pets might result in measurable psychological distress that can serve as an indicator of depression in children and adolescents for as long as three years or more after the loss of a beloved pet. "One of the first major losses a child will encounter is likely to be the death of a pet, and the impact can be traumatic, especially when that pet feels like a member of the family," the experience of pet death is often associated with elevated mental health symptoms in children, and that parents and physicians need to recognize and take those symptoms seriously, not simply brush them off." Roughly half of the households in developed countries own at least one pet. And the bonds that children form with pets can resemble secure human relationships in terms of providing affection, protection and reassurance. What's more, previous studies have shown that children often turn to pets for comfort and to voice their fears and emotional experiences. While the increased empathy, self-esteem and social competence that often flow from this interaction are beneficial, the downside is children's exposure to the death of a pet which, is, 63 per cent of children with pets during their first seven years of life. Prior research has focused on the attachment of adults to pets and the consequences of an animal's death. The Massachusetts team is the first to examine mental health responses in children. Their analysis is based on 6,260 children from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), in Bristol, England. This population-based sample is replete with data collected from mothers and children that enabled researchers to track the experience of pet ownership and pet loss from a child's early age up to eight years. "Thanks to this cohort, we were able to analyse the mental and emotional health of children after examining their experiences with pet death over an extended period," notes Erin Dunn, ScD, MPH, with the MGH Center for Genomic Medicine and Department of Psychiatry, and senior author of the study. "And we observed that the association between exposure to a pet's death and psychopathology symptoms in childhood occurred regardless of the child's socioeconomic status or hardships they had already endured in their young lives." Researchers also learned that the relationship between pet death and increased psychopathology was more pronounced in male than female children -- a finding that surprised them in light of prior research -- and that the strength of the association was independent of when the pet's death occurred during childhood, and how many times or how recently it occurred. According to Dunn, this latter finding speaks to "the durability of the bond with pets that is formed at a very early age, and how it can affect children across their development." The MGH study stressed the importance of parents, caregivers, and paediatricians recognizing and taking seriously children's short- and long-term psychological reactions to the death of a pet – reactions that can mimic a child's response to the loss of other significant family members. "Adults need to pay attention to whether those feelings are deeper and more profound and if they're lasting longer than might have been expected," says Crawford. "They could be signs of complicated grief, and having someone to talk to sympathetically or therapeutically may be extremely helpful for a child who is grieving." Reference:

Should You Suppress Your Feelings? People are wired with emotions. Therefore, when you suppress your emotions, you are going against your design. That can cause harm to you physically and emotionally. There is a time and place for everything, including expressing emotions. It’s probably not the best idea to shout in the middle of a busy location. In this day and age, people could mistake your actions when doing this. Keeping your emotions bottled up will eventually lead to stress and other adverse mental conditions. If this continues for too long, it can cause you to become depressed and can lead to problems with alcohol or drug abuse. For instance, many people turn to sleep aids or worse, like Oxycontin and other opioid-type drugs. These are highly addictive and only mask the symptoms. They are seldom used to cure conditions. Many people are taught to suppress emotions by their parents and grandparents. These generations were taught to do the same and felt it was a true sign of character to be able to keep your emotions in check. During their time as kids, there was less information about the effects of emotions than there are currently. Some people still adhere to the old ways of not expressing emotions. Expressing emotions is similar to complaining, and no one wants to hear it. However, modern studies are pointing to suppressing emotions as damaging. There are classes that allow you to let off some steam. People have different ways to accomplish this. Some will play sports like basketball, while others will work out at the gym. Meditation is another, more tranquil way to reduce your stress. Sometimes all you need is to talk to someone about what you are feeling. You are letting your guard down when you do this, so make sure you find someone you can trust. If you choose a co-worker, make sure you don’t disclose so much to leave you vulnerable should that person tell what you said to others in the workplace. If it gets back to your boss or another person who you may be talking about, it could have negative consequences. Keeping your emotions inside is never healthy. However, you need to try and find the right time to express those emotions. But finding that time is crucial to your mental and physical wellbeing. It is not worth getting sick because you aren’t willing to express yourself. The benefits of letting it out will lead you to a better life.

Do Men and Women Handle Emotions Differently? Intuitively, many believe that men and women handle their emotions in different ways. But, there are certainly men who are more emotional and women who are not. It could be a societal aspect where men are taught to “man up” and keep their emotions in check, while women are told they are the nurturers in a relationship and should express emotions more readily. The book, “Men Are from Mars and Women Are from Venus,” lays out why we are different from each other. It could be that these differences complement each other and help to round out a family. Of course, men and women will continue to complain to their friends about the opposite sex. It makes you wonder if this is simple posturing. There are plenty of stories that play off these differences. While women may believe men are callous and cold, the truth is men do experience emotions. They just do it differently than women. Many men do get choked up when they see an emotional film. They just try to keep it from coming to the forefront. Some men have no problems with expressing those emotions. There are women who don’t want their men to be too emotional. They view them as being weak and, even when overdone, as being effeminate. It’s a delicate balance, as they don’t want their men completely emotionless. Hollywood's movies often reinforce the stereotypes between men and women. People who grew up watching John Wayne movies saw the Duke as being a tough guy. Men would model themselves based on their characters. It’s not much different from the movies shown today. Another factor that may explain the differences between how men and women express emotions is biology. Women have different hormones than men. These hormones can affect how people feel those emotions. It’s important to note that many studies on the differences between men and women are centred around the study of the brain. While science has come a long way in the past 50 years or so with these studies, the brain is still a highly complex organ. In the grand scheme of things, we know very little about it. Therefore, how much do we know about emotions in either sex? What will we know 50 years from now about the brain? No one can say for sure, but it is likely to be very different from what is known now.

5 Sure-fire Ways to Release Regret Regret happens. What doesn’t have to happen is you holding on to it forever? Releasing regret is a process, one that is different for every person and every situation. However, you can give various forms of releasing regret a try and learn about yourself in the process. 1. Practice Daily Gratitude Practising daily gratitude is a great way to consistently remind yourself of all that you have. Family, friends, a home, food to eat, maybe even a cute puppy to come home to. Whatever your gratitude is toward, reminding yourself of it is a great way to reflect on the good in your life and make the regrets seem less important in the grand scheme of life. 2. Trust the Journey Reminding yourself that even the adverse events in life are part of a bigger journey allows you to look at the larger picture. Yes, you regret this one mistake. But, did that one mistake lead you down a different path that had good outcomes? Everything happens for a reason, trust that in time you will find out why that mistake or loss occurred. 3. Learn to Release Emotions Emotions in the grand scheme of life (once again; are you seeing the bigger picture yet?) are fleeting. Learning to release your feelings when they are not serving you will aid you now and in the future. Stop beating yourself up for something that happened in the past and learn to move on with a clear mind and focus. 4. Accept the Lesson Learned Situations or actions we regret typically offer us a lesson—if we are open to learning it. Accept that you learned a lesson and move on with it. Living through a challenging event means nothing if you don’t continue living and implement what you learned into your future life. 5. “What If the Past Doesn’t Change the Future Living in the land of “what ifs” is tempting. However, “what if’s” literally means nothing in the practice of daily life. You can spend hours or even days guessing at a different outcome, but it doesn’t matter. Those what-ifs will never directly impact your future other than to steal from it. Stop reliving it and move on. If you are living your life being swallowed alive by your regret, start exploring ways to release it and move on. You deserve a life that is fulfilled and happy, not a life that leaves you stuck in the past and wallowing in disappointment.

5 Ways to Experience Personal Growth even in an Upheaval When you’re in upheaval, you tend to hit survival mode pretty quickly. Your life becomes focused on just getting through the day. Beyond that? You don’t have the time or energy to care. Now more than ever, you need to take advantage of what time you have for personal growth. When we are challenged is where we rise to the occasion the best. During the upheaval, our minds become busy, and we start thinking more. It’s a great time to take advantage of a mind made flexible by circumstances and learn something new. In short, this is an excellent time for personal growth. Furthermore, the act of bettering yourself gives you a focus, something you can control right now, at this moment, helping your mental state. It’s all about attitude and the idea you can keep growing, even now. How? You Learn to Embrace Adversity There’s no doubt upheaval can make a mess of your life. But as you dig in and start looking for solutions, you’re going to discover something about yourself. Adversity brings out your best, forcing you out from complacency to find new solutions. With an open-minded attitude, you can even come to embrace adversity. You Become More Adept at Challenges A crisis demands creative solutions. After all, if the status quo had been working, you wouldn’t be where you are now. In the long run, what this means if you’re going to get better at brainstorming and seeing solutions where you hadn’t previously. You Become Better at Seeing the Opportunity Once you look past the disaster itself, you’re going to start seeing a chance to shine. There’s a great deal of opportunity in upheaval if you can maintain an openness to trying new things and adaptability when it comes to rolling with the punches. Developing this skill now means you’re never going to miss an opportunity again. You Cultivate Positivity How can you possibly make it through a crisis if all you’re doing is focusing on the negative? If you can now discover the ability to find the positive and to keep an upbeat attitude even when things are going wrong, you’ll be able to stay positive no matter what life throws at you. You Develop More Empathy You can’t go through these kinds of tough times without learning something about how hard life can be. By leveraging this into empathy, you’ll gain more compassion for those around you. Wow, this is a lot! Imagine the newer, stronger version of yourself developing even now. How exciting to think you’ll be coming out of this crisis more robust and better than ever before!

How Can I Be Happy with Where I Am In Life? People are often told that they need to do more, be more, and can't be truly happy until they do. This can often be an exhausting list of unattainable goals to chase. Instead of focusing on what you don't have, you should use the tips below to help you be happy with wherever you currently are in life. Don't Compare Yourself to Others Where do you hear about all these more things that you need to do and achieve? Probably from friends and family, right? You are unique, and this is why you should stop comparing yourself to others immediately. If a friend or family member compares you to others in front of you, ask them to please stop doing this. There is only one of you on this earth, and there is no way that anyone else will have the same journey. If they truly care about you, they will recognize this too. Try to Feel Grateful, For One Thing, Each Day Another way you can be happy with where you are in life is by finding at least one thing to be thankful for every day. Again, it's best if you write this thing down in a journal so that you can look back later and see all the things you are thankful for. Remember, you don't just have to be thankful for physical possessions; you can also be thankful for those in your life and characteristics of yourself that you enjoy. Learn to Let Go So, why aren't you happy with your life? Are you not where you thought you would be? Do you regret something? No matter what it is that may be holding you back from happiness, it's time to let it go. No one cares that you didn't quite make as much money as you thought you would, and it doesn't matter if you didn't end up with the job you dreamed of having. Your happiness is whatever makes you happy in the here and now. So start embracing your life as is and let go of any what-might-have-been thinking. If you want to be happy with where you are in life, the choice is all yours. All you must do is stop comparing yourself to others, resolve to feel grateful for one thing a day, and learn to let go of any misconceptions you may be having. After you've accomplished all this, you may find that you are quite happy with your life just as it is.

The Power of Self-Belief If you believe in yourself, there is little to stop you in whatever you want to accomplish. It gives you the power to push forward and to defy the odds. You will be able to handle any roadblocks that come your way. You will also brush off the naysayers. It gives you peace of mind when you stick to your self-belief. To keep that self-belief strong, you need to define your goals. You wouldn’t expect a general to fight a war without a map. You, too, need a map to guide you on how to proceed. Too many people skip this step and wonder why they aren’t getting anywhere. Goals are your guidance, but carrying through with them is only done when you believe that it’s possible. The belief is the energy you need to take action. It helps you to focus on getting your tasks complete. You will also build confidence when you have self-belief. It’s a powerful tool, as others will be attracted to that confidence. They will follow your lead, and you will help show them what is possible. When you run into any stumbling blocks (and you will), that confidence will help you see them through. You will know how to take alternative action when necessary. The people following you will respect that as well. Several forces will try to beat you down. You may even find yourself letting it happen. You need to get centred on why you started your journey in the first place. Use affirmations to reinforce your message. Be consistent with your affirmations. Unfortunately, many of the negative forces are going to be from your family and friends. They will see it as helping you avoid mistakes. Many people will succumb to this negative pressure and give up. One way to prevent this is to join groups of like-minded individuals. It can be related to your business, or it can be groups that focus on self-help. These organizations exist to try and push the negative forces out. It’s great to go to meetings and get encouragement from the group. Attending these groups can sometimes lead to friendships with people where you can extend the encouragement of each other. You may even form business partnerships from these friendships. It’s good to know that you have the support of these people when these relationships form. They understand when everyone else around you doesn’t. Your self-belief will strengthen considerably from this arrangement.

Sexual deviation is any sexual activity outside the scope of what is currently conventional. It is known medically as paraphilia. Views of what is conventional can change pretty quickly. For this reason, any list of deviant practices will, to some extent, be a reflection of the prevailing view of what is expected. Paraphilias are emotional disorders with sexual behaviours or impulses, distinguished by intense sexual fantasies with an urge that keeps coming back. The desires and behaviours may involve unusual objects, activities, or situations that are not usually considered sexually arousing by others. The word paraphilia derives from Greek; para means around or beside, and philia implies love. It is probably most helpful to look at deviant behaviour as practices that lack the mutuality, affection and tenderness which lie at the heart of conventional sexual rela­tionships. On this basis, the vast majority of people would regard the follow­ing as deviant, and a total of eight Paraphilias are listed in the DSM V : 1. Paedophilia: Sex with children. 2. Sadism: Inflicting cruelty for sexual arousal. 3. Masochism: Experienc­ing cruelty for purposes of arousal. Masochism is 20 times more common in women than men; paraphilias are almost exclusively diagnosed in men. 4. Exhibitionism: Undesired exposure of the genitals (usually male). 5. Fetishism: Recurrent sexual arousal interest in an inanimate object. 6. Transvestism: Obtaining pleasure by wearing clothes of the opposite sex. 7. Voyeurism: Watching the sexual activity of others. 8. Telephone scatology: Making obscene telephone calls. 9. Frotteurism: Rubbing your manhood, against women, in crowded places. 10. Coprophilia: Sexual plea­sure in being defecated on. 11. Urophilia: Sexual plea­sure in being urinated on. 12. Bestiality: Sex with animals. The research found that the most common paraphilia interest amongst men is often voyeurism and fetishism. However, many people who suffer from one paraphilia have more than one deviant. Read the full article, Sexual Deviation

Top 3 Secrets of Ageing Gracefully Every human on this earth - at least the ones lucky enough to make it - has to face ageing. It can be difficult to do so with grace, but when you age gracefully, you will ultimately be happier. You will enjoy your time more than when you waste it fighting to age. Below are the top three secrets to ageing gracefully. 1. Reduce Your Stress Levels People may have told you that stress ages you unnecessarily, and they aren't wrong! Stress can affect everything from your sleeping habits to your digestive system and even your heart! And as you age, these effects multiply. Therefore, it is time to lower the stressors in your life. This will help you avoid damage to your body, and you will also be healthier and happier. You will be more ready to meet ageing with grace. You can reduce your stress levels by meditating, journaling, and exercising properly every day. It would be best to get 8-9 hours of sleep a night and ensure you are feeding your body nutritious food. 2. Try Something New One of the big mistakes people make as they age is they stop trying new things! When you try something you've always wanted to do but never had the chance, this can help you feel rejuvenated and younger. As you age, moments like this will help you accept the changes happening to your body because they will keep you feeling young on the inside. So if you’ve ever wanted to skydive, go for it. Want to learn a new form of art? Sign up for that pottery class. There is no time like the present! 3. Don’t Dwell On The Small Stuff As you age, there will be many small things that pop up that may annoy you. Can't run as fast as you used to? That's okay. At least you are staying active. See grey hairs? Well, now you can have that silver look you've always wanted! The point is, life is too short to worry about the small stuff! If you can't focus on anything else, these little thoughts will become obsessive, and you won't age with grace. Ageing is never easy, but if you follow the above three steps in your life, you may find that ageing with a sense of grace isn't as hard as you thought after all. Just remember to reduce your stress, try new things, and let the small stuff go.

Depression Explained Do you know someone who has depression? Have you or someone in your family been diagnosed with depression? Even if we are dealing with depression in ourselves or our families, we may not know what it truly is. Is it just feeling sad all the time? Why can't people merely snap out of it? Depression is said to be the most widespread mental disorder. It affects women far more than men and is particularly prevalent in teens. What Causes Depression? There are various opinions on what causes depression, and even the role of brain chemicals is disputed. Generally, though, depression can be segregated into two categories: circumstantial and clinical. Circumstantial depression refers to feelings surrounding an event, such as a death in the family or having to sell one's house and move. The circumstances that can cause depression are incredibly numerous, from kids having trouble with friends at school to the elderly in a nursing home. Circumstantial depression is also highly individualized. Clinical depression opposes circumstances, and the sad person may feel more depressed because they can't find a reason for such dreadful feelings. Clinical depression may also baffle those around the patient because they can't understand how a person could be depressed when their life seems to be going fine. This lack of understanding may make the patient's depression worse. Treatment approaches differ according to the type of depression the patient is experiencing and the individual's personality and lifestyle. Myths covering depression There are many myths surrounding depression that, when explained, help people better understand the illness. For example: * Isn't depression just self-pity? - Depressed people may seem to be "wallowing" in their sadness, but it's not wilful self-pity. It's a genuine medical illness; sources point out that it should be treated as such. * Medication for depression is overkill and just treats the symptoms - For those on the outside, so to speak, medication can seem like putting a Band-Aid on a massive wound. But often, medication is what the patient needs to feel good enough to seek help for the underlying dilemma. * Depression is not a "real" illness - Actually, it is; brain imaging studies have revealed how the actual chemical imbalances occur in the brain of a depressed person. Even if the cause is circumstantial, it is considered physiological - the chemical imbalance may still be present regardless of the depression's origin. Other Factors Depression can be affected not only by circumstances because genetics, personality, psychology, and biology may also play a role. Women are far more likely to be diagnosed with depression, indicating possible hormonal factors. On the other hand, men are more likely to succeed in suicide as a result of depression than women, although more women than men attempt suicide, sources report.

What is exhibitionism? Exhibitionism occurs when a man gives way to an urge to expose his genitals to a female stranger or a person with whom he is not in a close relationship. It is an almost solely male disorder and is one of the most familiar forms of sexual deviation. In a sexual context, exhibitionism is a sexual kink in which the person feels sexual arousal at the idea or reality of being seen naked or engaged in sexual activities by others,” says clinical sexologist Sarah Melancon, in the Cosmopolitan Merriam-Webster: definition of exhibitionism 1: A perversion in which sexual gratification is obtained from the indecent exposure of one’s genitals (as to a stranger) 2: The act or practice of behaving to attract attention to oneself What is exhibitionism? The mental health condition is known as an exhibitionist disorder, which involves deriving, "recurrent and intense sexual arousal" from the exposure of one's genitals to an unsuspecting person. Anticipation of the exposure usually causes sexual excitement, followed by masturbation, performed during or after the event. Usually, a reac­tion of shock, fright or disgust is needed for the attempt to succeed, and exposure is likely to fail in its objective if the woman shows indifference, amuse­ment or contempt. About 30% of male sex offenders who are arrested are exhibitionists. They tend to persist in their behaviour. About 20 to 50% are re-arrested. Female exhibitionism is relatively rare and is allowed outlets in society. It rarely takes a deviant form. What causes exhibitionism? Men who practice exhibi­tionism tend not to have a normal sex life and feel the need to assert their masculinity by displaying their manhood, preferably erect, and then eliciting an emotional reaction from the victim. Some men turn to exhibitionism due to severe psychological trauma or grief, but this is rare. Persistent exhibitionists nearly always have a personality disorder arising from some form of inadequacy. It is said that most exhibitionists are married, but their marriage is often troubled. They looked on their wives as mother substitutes and remained abnormally attached to their mothers in child­hood. Exhibitionism usually starts during adolescence. The exhibitionist, although sexually infan­tile, may in other respects be a remarkably normal, capable, well-educated and presentable person, often with ostensibly high moral standards. Such men usually severely lacking in sexual self-confidence and find difficulty achieving sexual satisfaction in the usual acceptable ways. In some cases, the disor­der arises from brain damage, substance abuse and older men with senile or alcoholic dementia. Some have severe epilepsy; or abnormal patterns of electrical activity in the brain as measured on an EEG (electroencephalogram), but without seizures. Some have abnormal hormone levels, and a few are mentally retarded. The great majority, however, do not suffer from any organic disorder. Most exhibitionists adopt a set pattern of exposure, occurring at a particular type of place and often at a specific time of day or night. Cine­mas and theatre seats are popular, as are parked cars or secluded areas that provide them with cover before the act of exposure. Exhibitionists will frequently choose a particular site, such as one close to a girls’ school. Exhibitionism is closely related to the other sexual deviations of voyeurism (peeping) and of making obscene phone calls. The same person may practice all three, and all share the features of anticipatory tension and arousal, and all are accompanied by masturbation. In the case of obscene telephone call­ing, masturbation is often completed after the victim has ended the call. Read the full article at Mental Health Training dot Info https://mentalhealthtraining.info/mental-health/exhibitionism

All of us feel inferior sometimes, especially when we start comparing ourselves to others. We may even feel down and melancholy for a few days as a result. However, some individuals feel inferior and inadequate almost all the time. These individuals can be suffering from a severe inferiority complex. What is an Inferiority Complex? An inferiority complex is the feeling of inadequacy brought about by various factors, including real and imagined ones. Human emotions can significantly influence a person’s actions and behaviours, often not in their best interest. Our subconscious thoughts and feelings can often cause our responsive behaviours to circumstances to be disproportionate, either downplaying or overcompensating them. An individual suffering from an excess of unrealistic inadequacies can develop a dangerous mental and emotional state if left unaddressed. An inferiority complex negatively impacts the sufferer and those they come in contact with, especially those close to them. Here are the common signs of an inferiority complex. 1. Continually Finding Fault in Others It is straightforward for a person with an inferiority complex to find fault in what others do. Instead of focusing on positive results, these individuals can quickly spot, point out, and amplify others’ mistakes. 2. Treating Feedback as Criticism There is a lack of broad-mindedness, and openness to well-meant, constructive feedback. Any pointed-out differences may be perceived as an attack and responded to with spite. 3. Overly Sensitive About What Others Think Image matters a lot to those with an inferiority complex. It may not be their fault, but inferior people are susceptible to what others think. They want everything to be perfect, and as this is all but impossible, they are often given to displays of anger. 4. See Compliments Differently They can struggle with accepting compliments in the spirit they are given. Even if praised, a person suffering from an inferiority complex feels that they are being condescended to, or that the other person is not sincere. 5. Sees Others as Threats Due to a lack of open-mindedness and trust in others’ intentions, victims of an inferiority complex are easily intimidated by new team members, internal organizational changes, or developments. 6. Displays False Sense of Superiority This is a common trait for those with an inferiority complex with a lack of experience and knowledge, and their behaviour can be boastful, wilful, and insensitive. 7. Withdraws From Social Events These suffering show ‘avoidance’ behaviour. They feel more comfortable if they are absent from social gatherings and situations. 8. Always Comparing themselves to Others There is always someone out there who is better than they are to an inferior person. Self-esteem is very low. 9. Does not Accept failure They cannot accept failure as a feedback mechanism for self-improvement. They are perfectionists and believe they will be judged for all they do and say. There is always a need to prove themselves. Here are a few ways to help overcome an inferiority complex. Do not compare yourself to other people around you. Understand the cause of your depression Replace negative thoughts with positive ones.Let go of your baggage.Love yourself. Accept failure. An inferiority complex can be challenging to overcome. The roots of this condition lie deep into the subconscious and have a tremendous effect on behaviour and outlook.

Did you know that successful people deal with adversity? It’s true. If you read the stories or profiles of most successful people, you will be surprised at just how adverse their situations were. They often tell stories for others to learn and used to overcome adversity. You should read the profiles of successful people. They contain gems of information and can act as a resource for everyone else. The story is one aspect of reading about them. However, how they dealt with the situations is often a source of inspiration. When you become inspired, you increase your chances of dealing with your problems. Inspiration doesn’t last forever, unfortunately. You need to reinforce the message. If you can, try to set aside time to read one story of a successful person every month. It will help you with your inspiration, and it will feed ideas on how to use their stories to make your life easier or better. The stories of some people are dated. However, their techniques may be timeless. A perfect example of this is Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People. The stories themselves describe people and occupations of days long gone. But, his techniques are as valid today as they were back then. You can read all about the stories of successful people and get inspired. But, if you don’t take action, it will be of little help to you. At that point, you become nothing more than a dreamer. Having dreams is good, but you need to make sure you take action on those dreams. Reading the stories of successful people shows that they are just like the rest of us. There isn’t anything superhuman about them that led them to their successes. You will find a common theme among those facing adversity. They had persistent and kept a positive attitude. Those two attributes will take you far when facing any situation. You can choose to read stories online or find material in your local library. You can also choose to find stories on the internet. Be careful of the resources you find online. Anyone can publish whatever they like and sound convincing on their authority. Make sure you check the resources and keep a critical eye out for people who don’t present qualified information. When you get in the habit of reading material about successful people, you will shift to a successful mindset yourself. You will have a memory bank of stories to draw inspiration.

Did you know that successful people deal with adversity? It’s true. If you read the stories or profiles of most successful people, you will be surprised at just how adverse their situations were. They often tell stories for others to learn and used to overcome adversity. You should read the profiles of successful people. They contain gems of information and can act as a resource for everyone else. The story is one aspect of reading about them. However, how they dealt with the situations is often a source of inspiration. When you become inspired, you increase your chances of dealing with your problems. Inspiration doesn’t last forever, unfortunately. You need to reinforce the message. If you can, try to set aside time to read one story of a successful person every month. It will help you with your inspiration, and it will feed ideas on how to use their stories to make your life easier or better. The stories of some people are dated. However, their techniques may be timeless. A perfect example of this is Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People. The stories themselves describe people and occupations of days long gone. But, his techniques are as valid today as they were back then. You can read all about the stories of successful people and get inspired. But, if you don’t take action, it will be of little help to you. At that point, you become nothing more than a dreamer. Having dreams is good, but you need to make sure you take action on those dreams. Reading the stories of successful people shows that they are just like the rest of us. There isn’t anything superhuman about them that led them to their successes. You will find a common theme among those facing adversity. They had persistent and kept a positive attitude. Those two attributes will take you far when facing any situation. You can choose to read stories online or find material in your local library. You can also choose to find stories on the internet. Be careful of the resources you find online. Anyone can publish whatever they like and sound convincing on their authority. Make sure you check the resources and keep a critical eye out for people who don’t present qualified information. When you get in the habit of reading material about successful people, you will shift to a successful mindset yourself. You will have a memory bank of stories to draw inspiration.

Life isn’t always the way we want it to be. All we have to do is to glance at the headlines to see that we live in very uncertain times. The job we thought was safe might not be there tomorrow. There’s always some natural disaster somewhere. And people seem to be more cruel than kind. It’s easy to get caught up in a negative spiral of self-doubt and anxiety. How do you stay hopeful and positive when around you all you see are negative messages and fear? Be here now By focusing on the present, you will find it easier to take a step back and act as an observer. By practising mindfulness, you’ll see you can enjoy the simple things in life, no matter how bad things may seem. All worries and fears of the unknown can melt away if you focus on the present. Look for things in your life for which you're grateful. Look for ways to exhibit compassion and empathy Spreading hope needs to start somewhere. Begin with the one person you can control, yourself. By looking for opportunities to pay it forward through random acts of kindness, you then become the impetus for others to do the same. Your compassionate heart and ability to walk in another’s shoes will be the guide to those around you. And even if it’s not? You’ll have at least changed one heart - your own. Do something The person without hope becomes stagnant, preferring to hide from the world. If you find that’s the case with yourself, then it’s time to force yourself into action, even if you don’t feel like it. Get out of the house. Call a friend and suggest an outing, or go by yourself. Find a green space somewhere because these places have been found to create calm and contentment in those who spend even a few minutes there. The goal is to find a positive action and embrace it, whatever that might be. Pick up litter, hug a child, do something that makes you feel good inside, and there you will find hope blossoming. It’s so easy to get caught up in the negativity of the world around you. Only by actively seeking hope will you find it. By practising these three steps regularly, you’ll find yourself able to look forward to each day, no matter what’s going on around you.

One in four adults will struggle with a mental health issue during their lifetime. At work, those suffering — from clinical conditions or more minor ones — often hide it for fear that they may face discrimination from rivals or even bosses. Managers are likely to see employees struggle with anxiety, depression, burnout, trauma, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Those mental health experiences will differ according to race, economic opportunity, work type/physical environment and many other variables. These stigmas can be and should be defeated. When managers understand mental health issues and respond to them, it can make all the difference for an employee professionally and personally. This involves taking notice, offering a helping hand, and saying, “I’m here, I have your back, you are not alone.” When your people are struggling, you want them to open up and ask for help. For some people who are struggling with mental health, not talking about it is one of the worst parts. So by getting people talking about mental health, we can start to break down stereotypes. We can then improve relationships, increase access to support and remove mental health stigma. The following five strategies can help any manager or organization create a culture that ceases to stigmatize mental illness. Here are five ways managers can help drive a more empathetic culture: Pay attention to language.Rethink “sick days.Encourage open and honest conversations.Be proactive. Learn more, visit the Website article

If you don’t get to know the people you are trying to motivate, you won’t motivate them. It is that simple. You can’t apply motivational techniques as if they are a recipe for cooking stew. Besides, even when you cook stew, you often deviate from the recipe. You need to get at the heart of whom each person is when motivating them. People are different, and you need to consider those differences. Some people are driven using high energy techniques, whereas others like a laid-back and subtle approach. To learn about others, you need to learn more about what they are like on a personal level. If you have been avoiding participation in after-work activities, you may want to start. This doesn’t mean you need to do it every time. Your employees need to have time away from the boss on occasion. However, you do want to get to know your workers in a more relaxed and social environment. It’s not likely that your workers will open up completely when you are attending a social event with them. They will still have their guards up. You are the boss, after all, and this makes trying to learn about them more challenging. However, as you continue to interact with them outside the work setting, they will naturally open up more. If you negatively use information about your employees, it is going to backfire on you. If your workers confide in you, and then you turn it against them, you can forget about getting them to open up to you. News will quickly spread that you are not to be trusted. Therefore, you need to be careful what you do with this information. Sometimes, you will have no choice but to use the information against them. However, don’t take that decision lightly. Motivating others is about formulating a plan that aligns their needs with yours. When you learn what others are about, you can customize each plan accordingly. Discussing these plans with your co-workers is okay. In fact, it’s great to get their feedback as part of the process. It affects them, so they should know. You can change plans when you find out about new information or circumstances. Be willing to make those changes, especially if they are in the best interests of your workers. Listen to what they say and offer to adjust the plans if it makes sense to do so. They will appreciate you, and you'll find motivating them will take care of itself.

If you have had a difficult time trusting yourself, it may be a sign that you lack confidence. You cannot develop any trust without confidence. Feel secure in your abilities and be strong in your convictions. But, know when you are wrong as well. The above requires you to develop confidence. That may seem scary to you. However, it’s not as difficult as you think. No one is born with confidence. It is something people learn and develop during their lives. It’s the same for you. Take steps to develop your confidence, and trusting yourself will become easy. Fear is the biggest detractor from confidence. When you give in to your fears, you will diminish the chances of building up your confidence. That is something that deepens if you don’t handle it quickly. You need to face your fears head-on. That doesn’t mean you should throw caution to the wind and be reckless. You should take chances, but only if they won’t put your life or others’ lives in danger. You would not jump out of a plane without a parachute. Don’t make frivolous decisions, either. Confidence is about knowing the difference. Start out with small tasks that you have been afraid to try in the past. Most outcomes will turn out better than you imagine. If you try to project what will happen, and it is always a negative outcome, you will never make any decisions. Take on those small tasks without thinking too much about what’s going to happen. That will build up your confidence as you’ve never seen before. You should ask questions when you aren’t sure about the situations you face. Confidence is not about having all the answers. It’s about knowing where to find them and who to rely on with the knowledge that you need. It’s also about pulling the trigger when you have gathered enough information. Confidence is about taking responsibility for your decisions and your actions. If you believe in what you are doing, you can portray that belief to others affected by your decisions. You will come across as being weak if you start blaming others when your situation doesn’t go as planned. Once this happens, others will lose faith in you. That will cause your confidence to erode, and self-doubt will take over. When you make your decisions, you own them, even if they don’t work out. When you increase your confidence, you will automatically increase trusting yourself. Then, you can accomplish more than you ever imagined.