America’s Happiest States

May 20th, 2010 By: Brittany

A new study comparing self-described pleasant feelings with objective measures of good living found that people in such states generally have reason to be happy.

The places where people are most likely to report happiness also tend to rate high on studies comparing factors such as climate, crime rates, air quality and schools.

The happiness ratings were based on a survey of 1.3 million people across the country by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It used data collected over four years that included a question asking people how satisfied they are with their lives.

HAPPIEST RANKINGS

The state-by-state list (including Washington, D.C.), from happiest to least cheery:

1. Louisiana
2. Hawaii
3. Florida
4. Tennessee
5. Arizona
6. South Carolina
7. Mississippi
8. Montana
9. Alabama
10. Maine
11. Wyoming
12. Alaska
13. North Carolina
14. South Dakota
15. Texas
16. Idaho
17. Vermont
18. Arkansas
19. Georgia
20. Utah
21. Oklahoma
22. Delaware
23. Colorado
24. New Mexico
25. North Dakota
26. Minnesota
27. Virginia
28. New Hampshire
29. Wisconsin
30. Oregon
31. Iowa
32. Kansas
33. Nebraska
34. West Virginia
35. Kentucky
36. Washington
37. District of Columbia
38. Missouri
39. Nevada
40. Maryland
41. Pennsylvania
42. Rhode Island
43. Ohio
44. Massachusetts
45. Illinois
46. California
47. New Jersey
48. Indiana
49. Michigan
50. Connecticut
51. New York

Source: USA Today

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How To Become Happy When You’re Depressed

May 5th, 2010 By: Brittany

There are times through out life that we feel depressed. Many of us may encounter depression more regularly then others. Either way, it is important that we continue to not stay in a state of consistent depression. The hardest part about moving through depression, is lack of motivation. Let’s run through a few ideas to get you feeling better, and motivate you to become happy.

1. Take a walk. Walking is a very good start towards feeling happy. Not only does walking make you feel more motivated, but research has shown that it helps with the effects of depression.

Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin measured the moods of two groups suffering from depression after a 30 minute period. One group spent the 30 minutes walking on a treadmill while the other group sat quietly. They were surveyed five minutes before the session and five, 30 and 60 minutes afterward. Although both groups reported a reduction in negative feelings only the group that exercised acknowledged they felt good after the session.

2. Read or listen to something positive. It important to take into consideration that feeling depressed is very taxing on both our minds and body. Listening or reading to something is inspirational can quickly change our present outlook. Think of how you feel when you hear a touching story on the news, or read heart felts quotes. These all provoke a sense of positive thinking. Find quotes, read stories, or listen to a cd that inspires happiness.

3. Learn forgiveness. Forgiving yourself and forgiving others is important for happiness. We tend to be happier and live happier lives when he let go of our anger, hatred, and dislike for ourselves and others. Negativity can way you down and make you collapse into a deeper state of depression. Learn to forgive your self first. The best way to do this is to stand in front of a mirror as often as you need to, and tell youself, ” I forgive myself, I deserve love and I deserve happiness.” Once you’ve forgiven yourself; forgive others.

Although holding on to anger and hostile feelings can increase the risk of heart disease, forgiveness can diminish that risk. Not only does forgiveness reduce chronic stress, it also increases your sense of self control, which lessens the chance that you’ll overreact in stressful situations. Bottom Line Secrets

4. Help others. When we help others we help heal ourselves. Helping people for the sake of helping will not only help motivate you to go out and participate, but it will also make you feel needed. You could help a elderly neighbor wake her dog, read stories at your local children’s hospital, or you could volunteer at a soup kitchen. These are just a few things that make you difference for others, but can make a difference for you too.

5. Stand up for yourself. Letting others walk all over you can make you feel less of a person. Certainly, we don’t like to feel that we do or say doesn’t matter. Stand up to others when you feel others aren’t listening or giving you any credit. Many people who feel depressed at work feel so because they let their co-workers and manager walk over them. Standing up is important for self-esteem, self confidence, and motivation.

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Healthy Breakfast Ideas For Diabetes

April 28th, 2010 By: Brittany

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Massage As Regular Exercise?

April 26th, 2010 By: Brittany

Many people do no think that massage should be counted as regular exercise. When you think of exercise you think of lots of exertion, movement, and pulsing heart rate. Massage on the other hand makes you think of relaxation, peace, and reduced heart rate.

However, research has shown that massage should be done on a regular basis just like exercising. Massage allows the body to heal in the same way exercise helps your body heal. Both help our bodies release tension, stress, stimulate endorphine production, and enhance the immune system.

Reg use of bodywork contribute immensely to health and quality of life for everyone, but especially for people dealing with difficult life changes, depression, grief, and physiological and emotional challenges we all during our lives.

Experts estimate that upwards of ninety percent of disease is stress related. Working out and getting a massage regularly can help you alleviate stress. Taking part in this form of regularly scheduled self-care can play a huge part in how healthy you’ll be and how youthful you’ll remain with each passing year. Budgeting time and money for exercise and massage therapy at consistent intervals is truly an investment in your health. StressMedics.com

The best way to start adding massage as apart of your exercise routine is researching massage, techniques, and places in your area that offer massage. If you find a very cost effective way to keep a regular massage schedule is taking a partner class at a local community college where you and your partner can learn how to give affective massages together. You can also visit local colleges of massage and bodywork. Most of these places are significantly cheaper, and just as effective as making a session with a spa.

Enjoy your massage!

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Changing Your Environment

April 25th, 2010 By: Brittany

I often tell people that feel a sense of depression, procrastination, frustration, or lack of motivation to make a change to their environment. Your personal surroundings make up a large part of your life. Most people don’t take into consideration that how their room looks, how their kitchen smells, or how light or dark your office is affects them.

For example, a friend of mine had moved into a new apartment. She loved the surrounding location her apartment was in. She found however, over the course of time she spent their the more tired she felt. She would often tell me she doesn’t feel as good as she use to, or that she just doesn’t feel like doing the hobbies and activities she did before. I ask had anything changed in her life such as relationships, diet, job changes, etc. She said no to the above. The only thing that changed was her move.

Upon inspection I noticed about her apartment was its dark. Her old place had windows that never had any drapes or blinds over them. The windows at her new apartment had blinds that she never bothered to open completely. The walls where painted gray, her furniture was dark in color, and she had not bothered to  hang any of her pictures on the wall. Clearly, I could see why she felt depressed and unmotivated. So, I asked her to try working on her apartment in the next few weeks. I told her to clean the boxes out with her old pictures, and hang the ones that make her feel happy. I told her to open the blinds up completely. The next step was to ask the landlord if she could paint one wall of her apartment. He agreed to let her, so we painted one of her walls a light peachy color. She also picked up a few throw pillows and blankets that where light and cheerful. These things made a huge difference to her motivation; her personality bounced back.

I wanted to add a part of an article that inspired this post. You can read further on AOL Health, Effects of Environment and Geography on Mood and Personality.

A slew of recent studies that delve into mental health suggest that there’s more of an association between your setting and how you feel than you might expect. Plus, if you live in or visit Las Vegas, these stark statistics may startle you.

Las Vegas: Home of legalized gambling and perhaps something even darker than that. According to a study conducted by Temple University published in the December 2008 issue of “Social Science and Medicine,” residents of Las Vegas face a suicide risk that is significantly higher than other parts of the country, based on analysis of data from the National Center for Health Statistics. Even more startling: People who die while visiting Las Vegas are twice as likely to die by suicide versus those who die traveling someplace else.

The theory is that the environment that Las Vegas purveys may psychological effect the way we act and think.

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New Research Between Stress and Cancer

April 16th, 2010 By: Brittany

Scientists have discovered that everyday emotional stress is a trigger for the growth of tumours

They discovered that any sort of trauma, emotional or physical, can act as a “pathway” between cancerous mutations bringing them together in a potentially deadly mix.

The findings, published in Nature, seemed to show for the first time that the conditions for developing the disease can be affected by your emotional environment including every day work and family stress.

Until now, scientists believed more than one cancer-causing mutation needed to take place in a single cell in order for tumours to grow.

But Prof Xu and colleagues at Yale University, working with fruit flies, showed mutations can promote cancer even when they are located in different cells. This is because stress opens up “pathways” between them.

Source: Telegraph Jan. 2010

Comment: There has been much research between how stress effects cancer, and even how it contributes to cancer. I believe that is why you hear so much on stress management. It is a big industry that has emerged because the amount of stress the average person carries. It’s important to talk about your stress, exercise, eat food that contribute to stress management, and find an actively that can actually release stress from the body.

Good articles

10 Stress Busters

Let’s Destress

5 Great Ways To Help Your Health

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Food Inc. How Much Do We Know

March 22nd, 2010 By: Brittany

I have been reading reviews on the new documentary, Food Inc. In Food, Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation’s food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government’s regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA.

I have added some clips from the film to give a little insight on what is happening to the quality of food we have been eating from the past ten years. I think this movie is important to see if you are wanting to be conscious about your food and health. How food as changed today, will continue to change how the next generations treats food, as well as how healthy we continue to be or not be.

The Truth About Food, Inc.

Challenges in the Industry

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