Take Control of Your Health: July 2013

Monday, July 29, 2013

How to De-Stress and Achieve True Health with Meditation

“Meditation is the Medication”

Have a hectic lifestyle, ignoring health, became conscious, and joining a gym. If this sequence of events sounds familiar, give a pat on your back. Good job on taking the right step towards better health. But, wait a second, ever thought about your mind?

Without a glitch, you may be managing innumerable number of tasks to balance the frantic lifestyle today. Whilst managing everything one rarely pays any attention to the chaos that builds up inside. On the outside, things may be looking good, but then what is the reason for that lurking stress and anxiety?

Let’s look at the following few situations:

Does being trapped in a traffic jam bother you to the extent that it spoils your mood for rest of the day?
Are you troubled by the way anger controls you, rather than you controlling your anger?
Do you feel tensed and sometimes depressed, due to no major reason at all?

If you answered yes, you are not alone. Today, many of us feel stressed and anxious by the constant pressures of this hectic lifestyle, without realizing how deeply it is affecting us. These daily, seemingly small, events have a dual impact - on your body as well as on your mind. Yes, agreed that life combats us with some situations we have no control over, but we should learn how to respond in these situations. We should learn the art of controlling what’s going on inside - in our mind. It is a well-known fact that the root of many chronic illnesses is in the mind. So by learning to manage your mind, you can reduce the chances of some of the serious chronic diseases, such as high blood pressure, heart problems, stress, anxiety, depression, etc.

The art of attending to your mind is “Meditation.” Although it has been practiced for thousands of years as a part of spiritual and cultural traditions, it now finds way to treat many neurological disorders, stress related conditions, and other diseases. It’s now a Complementary and Alternate Medicine (CAM) therapy suggested by Healthcare Providers (HCPs) all over the world. The 2007 National Health Interview Survey revealed that some 20 million US adults use meditation for health purposes.

The benefits of meditation are manifold. It is an essential practice for mental hygiene. A calm mind, good concentration, clear thinking, improved communication, blossoming of skills and talents, an unshakeable inner strength, healing, the ability to connect with inner source of energy, relaxation, and rejuvenation are all natural results of meditating regularly. The role of meditation in enhancing individual performance, leadership, and productivity is also well documented. In summary, meditation helps you have better emotional, mental, and physical well being. A National Center for Complementary and Alterative Medicine (NCCAM) study suggests that eight weeks of meditation may have an effect on brain function that persists even after someone has stopped meditating.

A will to have a quiet mind, a silent place where you can be at ease, a correct posture with mindfulness are the only essentials for a meditation practice. You can choose any of the different techniques of meditation that you believe will give you maximum results. With the loads of benefits meditation offers, you should resolve today to manifest it as a practice in your daily habits. Just 15 to 30 minutes of this practice would be sufficient if you want to reap the benefits. In today's world, where stress catches on faster than an eye can see or the mind can perceive, meditation is no more a luxury, but a necessity.

Happy meditating!

IControlMyHealth Editorial Team

References

Exploring the Power of Meditation. http://nccam.nih.gov/about/offices/od/2010-06.htm. Accessed July 27, 2013.
Meditation: An Introduction. http://nccam.nih.gov/sites/nccam.nih.gov/files/meditation.pdf. Accessed July 27, 2013.
Meditation Training Program Shows Brain Effects Even Outside a Meditative State. http://nccam.nih.gov/research/results/spotlight/110112. Accessed July 27, 2013.
Meditation. http://www.artofliving.org/in-en/meditation. Accessed July 28, 2013.

- See more at: https://www.icontrolmyhealth.org/health-blog/secrets-to-true-health#sthash.3LJPzTPf.dpuf

Friday, July 19, 2013

Mental Disorder – a Clinical Illness, Not a Personal Flaw

What is difficult about the mental disorders? Is it the symptom, diagnosis, treatment, coping, caring, or adjusting with normal life? The response would be ‘all of these’. Even at the beginning of the 21st century, the scientists are struggling with the development of a reliable scientific system, such as a blood test or an imaging study that will detect the mental disorder. For years the experts have been confirming the presence of mental disorders by primarily looking at the symptoms. Unfortunately this will continue in the future as well. Thus, mental disorders were and still remain a mystery. This leaves many of those suffering with or caring for those with mental disorder in a state of dilemma. Accepting the fact that someone suffers mental disorder becomes difficult and is then considered as a ‘taboo’ in some societies. What could be the reason for this prejudice? lack of confirmatory tests, education, or the stigma that the society or the culture places on mental illnesses?

The “Helping Professionals” including the psychiatrists, nurses, counselors, prevention specialists, and many others,play their role in helping people with mental illnesses with education, support, diagnosis and treatment. However, it is the ‘social stigma’ attached to mental disorders that makes their difficulties worse and harder to live with it.Many people suffering with mental disorders struggle to cope up with the symptoms and disabilities and at the same time are challenged by the discrimination that results from misconceptions about mental illness.

Even in the developed countries and modern societies, “mental disorder” is considered as a personality flaw rather than a serious mental illness. The book,‘Healing the Stigma of Depression --A Guide for Helping Professionals’ features the story of Reggie Marder, a strong and dedicated “helping professional” who having helped many with mental disorders, was unable to fight her own depression. Her husband recalls her as a very vibrant, fun-loving person, who tried to fight her depression in silence without even making anyone near her realize how deep rooted it was. “If we had not suffered the stigma that our culture places on depression, I am convinced that Reggie could have fought this illness successfully” writes Reggie’s husband.

Mental illness can be cured fully; the treatment is even more effective if started at the early stage, just like cancer. However, many people fear and shy away from seeking medical help, just being the victims to the stigma and discrimination they experience not only from society, but also from families, friends, and employers.

With advancing modern brain imaging techniques, scientists are working and hoping to come up with some robust diagnostic tools for mental disorders. The early diagnosis assures a full recovery. With changing scenario in medical field, should the “stigma” that judges someone based on a personal trait, hold people from getting the right treatment at the right time? Should we not try to find some ways to combat this stigma?

Over the last decade organizations such as the World Health Organization and the World Association for Social Psychiatry have recognized stigma as a major public health challenge. The strategies for management of stigma have been grouped into three approaches:Protest, education, and contact

• Protest: Protest inaccurate and hostile representations of mental illness

• Education: Education provides information so that the public understand and make informed decisions about mental illness

• Contact: Contacting and interacting with people suffering mental illnesses

Your Partner in Health,

IControlMyHealth Editorial Team

Learn more about Depression

References:

Corrigan PW, WatsonAC. Understanding the impact of stigma on people with mental illness.World Psychiatry. 2002; 1(1): 16–20.

Byrne P. Stigma of mental illness and ways of diminishing it. APT 2000, 6:65-72.

- See more at: https://www.icontrolmyhealth.org/health-blog/mental-disorder#sthash.Hfo91fAo.dpuf

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

SMOKING kills your HEART

Last summer a new employee joined our organization. He was young, passionate, focused and one of the most delightful people in our office. One day, he suddenly fainted after having severe pain in his chest. We all were in a state of shock and immediately rushed him to the nearest hospital. After the diagnosis, doctor told us that his LDL cholesterol hovered around 185 mg/dL, and he is at a higher risk of having heart attack. I was dazed to see that at such a young age of 25 years, how a person can have high cholesterol levels and a risk of heart attack!

Later on, I got to know that he was also a regular smoker that put him at a higher risk of having high cholesterol levels and heart attack. Cigarette contains a harmful chemical known as “nicotine” that not only harms your lungs, but also gets absorbed in the bloodstream and is carried throughout your body. It damages the thin lining of blood vessels making them more prone to accumulation of fatty deposits such as LDL cholesterol. This results in buildup of fatty plaque that can harden and narrow the arteries. Further smoking can spark off these plaques to burst, which blocks the artery and finally results in heart attack.

Apart from raising your cholesterol levels, nicotine also stimulates the release of certain chemicals, which can raise your blood pressure. It also reduces the insulin production that further increases your risk of type 2 diabetes. Regular smoking may even cause impotency in men, as it causes blood vessel to constrict, which can result in erectile dysfunction.

Unfortunately, even after high level of awareness about the harmful effects of smoking, people continue to smoke. Not only my friend, but if we look around whether it’s our family, our friends, in office, or in public, it seems like someone or other is lighting up a cigarette.

There are several reasons due to which people start smoking at a young age. For some, it’s a fashion statement, while for others it creates a kind of “looks cool” perception. Besides, peer pressure can be one of the major reasons that can lead a child into this bad habit. Once the child starts experimenting with tobacco, it is very opportune for him or her to wave other peers into smoking as well.

Not only children and teens, but also adults are ambushed in this vicious circle of smoking. In many work places, people try to bond well with their bosses and thus smoke together. They believe that it increases acceptance by adopting such a habit in the office culture.

Stress is part of life and for many smokers cigarettes are their best friends when they are stressed out. A single puff of nicotine reaches the brain within about 10 seconds and elevates the mood. Hence, smokers become addicted to it and lighten up the cigarette to reduce their stress levels.

The health hazards that come along with smoking are definitely not worth it. Why not take a stand, and resolve to quit it. Although it’s a lot easier said than done, to quit smoking one requires lot of willpower and support. Here are the kick-starts, which can help you channelize your efforts: