How do you know you are mentally healthy?

Last Updated on Wednesday, 26 October 2011 07:21 Written by Natural Health Team Wednesday, 26 October 2011 07:21

Health Information about How do you know you are mentally healthy?

People constantly wonder about their mental health. They want to know whether they make the right decision or not. They worry about making the wrong decision in life. They want to be sure they make the right decision. They sometimes are in doubt and doubt very easily creeps into our mind and make us uneasy about our decisions, thoughts and the way we think. Lack of confidence is often doubt giving and we become to wonder about the healthy decisions we make in life.

Most of us want to make the right decisions and do not want to make a mistake which we shall regret in future. This is where swindlers of fortune tellers, astrologers and numerologists, clairvoyants and other charlatans come in to tell their lies and rip people out of their money. This is exactly where sects, cults and other manipulating enterprises come in to exploit you to the full.

Your mental health tells you somehow you are not well psychologically, physically and mentally. You see the world full of problems. You see black side in everything. You think you are not apt to make decisions and that your decisions are full of doubtful results.

It is when you feel good inside you and your self-confidence is strong that you are mentally healthy.

The test for being mentally healthy is very simple. Everyone can do it. It is by asking yourself whether you feel well and contended with your surroundings and feel well with life. If you ask yourself whether you are well and contended with your life that you exercise mental health. Any other feeling, whether weakness, depression, unease, self-doubtful, does not make any decisions, nihilist, suspicious, skeptic or not well, even though you are very well physically that means your mental health is suffering in one way or the other.

When you feel down and gloomy running away from yourself and others, running away from yourself and taking refuge in others or something else. When you like to watch television a lot or go to cinema a lot or talk about yourself a lot and want others to listen to you that you are not practicing mental health. It is simply feeling well in one’s skin and contended with life as it is and not as you would like it to, that you are mentally healthy. It is when you are always positive and not negative, active and not passive.

Mental health is acquired through searching for it, working for it and dealing with all your problems, a task that is not easy to achieve, but not impossible.

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Yoga is a soul cleaning exercise in many fitness boot camps or health retreat camp

Last Updated on Wednesday, 26 October 2011 04:21 Written by Natural Health Team Wednesday, 26 October 2011 04:21

Health Information about Yoga is a soul cleaning exercise in many fitness boot camps or health retreat camp

Have you ever been in a Fitness Boot camp or have you ever enjoyed fitness holidays with your family ? If not yet try to give your body a refreshing health retreat this weekend as changing lifestyle today demands proper physical and mental care on the other hand life style Is so much busy and occupied that it is quite difficult to find out time for regular work out and exercise. Few of the biggest health problems are obesity, cardiovascular diseases and Diabetes. Poor handling of fats and metabolic systems, increased pollution levels, urbanisation and environment degradation could also lead to heart diseases and other related diseases.

While regular use of junk, fried and oily food increases the chance of obesity however obesity is some times genital disease. Now in many countries including Australia obesity can be considered as epidemic as more then fifty percent of population faces obesity problem. Obesity is not a disease its simply the over storage of fats in adipose tissues of the body but obesity is root to many other fatal diseases like Diabetes (high blood sugar), CVD (cardiac vascular diseases), Hypertension (High blood pressure), fatigue and arthritis. Some of these diseases are fatal in nature and several causalities happen due to them every year.

Many good organisations now keep trace on their employees health by conducting regular health check ups and fitness camps so that proper work environment and sound mental positions of all the employees can be ensured. If they feel that employees suffer from any of the above disease or they observe that physical and mental fitness levels of the employees have gone down as compared previously they also organise health retreat programs like fitness boot camp. Health retreat may have certain objectives and that objectives may differ from person to person. It means that one fitness boot camp can’t solve all the desired health retreat objectives infect fitness boot camps have predefined objectives like weight reduction and muscle strength improvement camp.

Now coming to the other very important part of health retreat i.e. mental health retreat. Todays stressful life and highly demanding working situations sometimes obstruct with our mental capabilities and fitness. Many mental disease and disorders like Acute stress disorder, Anorexia nervosa, Breathing-related sleep disorder, Clinical Depression, Generalized anxiety disorder and Multi-Personality Disorder (better known as Dissociative Identity Disorder) are very common mental problems now a days.

Our working environment and conditions are not changeable and one needs to cope with them but a healthy diet, regular exercise, and avoiding smoking and alcohol are factors that will help in reducing such  problems. Joining a fitness boot camp for health retreat on your holidays is a very good options this way you can convert your lazy holidays into fitness holidays. Few of the fitness boot camps have special arrangements like yoga and detoxification to make your body and your soul in proper equilibrium.

The health retreat programme is very practical – As you will experience the effectiveness of organic and healthy living, nutritional foods and fresh air. So on this fitness holiday rejuvenate your self with the help of various therapies like naturopathy, massage, sauna and spa. Yoga and mediation are really helpful in clearing your soul and vision with practice and experience one can achieve hyperbolic results. So find any health retreat camp or fitness holiday camp near to you and start living today.

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Mental Illness and Income Protection Australia

Last Updated on Wednesday, 26 October 2011 01:21 Written by Natural Health Team Wednesday, 26 October 2011 01:21

Health Information about Mental Illness and Income Protection Australia

Mental Health (depression, anxiety, stress and other related illnesses) is becoming more prevalent in society and also more common as a reason for insurance companies’ claim payments especially in regards to Income Protection. Over the past few years, the percentage of claim payments made due to mental illness is in the range of 20% of all payments made.

The Life Insurance industry has made a strong effort over recent years to educate insurance companies and advisers on how to best deal with policy holders making claims for Income Protection due to mental illness. Since this work commenced, industry-wide guidelines relating to mental health conditions have been developed, and there has been a decline in the rate of refusal of Income Protection for those with mental illness.

Insurance companies can deal with mental illness in a couple of ways. Firstly we see that some, more basic Income Protection policies, exclude all mental health conditions and therefore a history of mental illness does not affect your application.

If mental illnesses are covered under your Income Protection policy, you will be required to disclose all history relating to this condition including how long ago, the medication that you were prescribed, how serious the condition was and if it resulted in you taking time off work. The insurance company will more than likely write to your treating doctor in order to receive their opinion on future risk. Ultimately it is the judgement of your future risk that will dictate whether the insurance company will exclude the condition, charge more due to higher risk, or offer standard rates.

Different insurance companies use different criteria when determining who to insure and what price to charge. It is important to have assistance when completing the application by an adviser who understands how the criteria works. The most important issue to consider is however that you should never not disclose a condition as it is more than likely that the insurance company will find out the truth from your medical records and could simply not pay your claim due to non-disclosure.

No. Insurance law states that once your policy is in force and you disclosed your medical history at the time of application, as long as you continue to pay your Income Protection premiums the insurance company can not cancel the policy. The great thing about quality Income Protection policies and the current system of underwriting at the time of application is that your risk to the insurance company is calculated at the time of application, any change in your health, occupation or other risk ratings does not affect your policy cost or terms ongoing.

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Mental Illness: Disease or Choice?

Last Updated on Tuesday, 25 October 2011 10:21 Written by Natural Health Team Tuesday, 25 October 2011 10:21

Health Information about Mental Illness: Disease or Choice?

Is it true that Dr. William Glasser’s Choice Theory doesn’t believe in mental illness? Of course not! However, that is what many believe and some don’t give his ideas credence because they think he is wrong about that. This article is my humble attempt to explain exactly what Dr. Glasser means when he says he believes in mental health, not mental illness. This article should be particularly helpful to those of you who work in the helping professions or those of you with family members who have been diagnosed with any type of mental disorder.

I’m asking you to take a journey with me into the realm of possibility. What if what we believe about mental illness is wrong in much the same way people in Columbus’ day believed the world was flat? And if it’s possible our conceptualization about mental illness is wrong, then it logically follows that perhaps we need to look at treatment differently.

My goal in this issue is not to change your mind about what you think and believe, but merely to present another possibility. Take a journey with me into an alternative explanation and see where it takes us . . .

Choice theory has two concepts that are central to this discussion. One is the concept of total behavior and the other is our creative system. I’ll start with total behavior. Glasser says all behavior is total, meaning it consists of four inseparable components-your actions, your thinking, your feelings and your body’s physiology. All of these components occur simultaneously, even when you are more aware of one of them.

You only have direct control over two of these components. No matter how hard you try, you will not be able to change your feelings or your body’s physiology without first changing your actions or your thinking. You may not believe you have control over your thinking because sometimes certain thoughts enter our minds unbidden. However, once you learn how, you can direct your thoughts from unwanted topics to healthier ones.

When we want something we don’t have, we are driven to create a behavior designed to get us what we want. Sometimes, we rely on behaviors we’ve used in the past that were effective. Other times we create a new behavior. Whatever our choice, we are choosing the best behavior available to us at the time to get what we want.

When it comes to mental health symptoms, many believe that an imbalance in our body’s chemistry causes the unusual behavior or thinking. But what if the “crazy” behavior and thinking over an extended period of time actually causes the chemical imbalance instead? Isn’t it at least possible? Isn’t it exercising that releases endorphins into our blood? It’s not the endorphins that make us exercise. Isn’t it thoughts of bodily harm that releases the chemical adrenaline into our blood stream when we are scared? It’s not the adrenaline that makes us scared, is it?

And what about those diagnoses that don’t have a known chemical imbalance? What about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or Dissociative Identity Disorder. These are groups of symptoms that develop during a serious crisis that serve us in that moment. In Choice Theory, Glasser would say they become organized behavior. In neurology, it might be said that neurons that fire together wire together. This means that once we produce a behavior and repeat it over time, it basically becomes the path of least resistance and when confronted with similar circumstances, we will default to our typical way of handling it.

So, if someone has developed a behavior that works for them to get something they want, then they are more likely to choose that behavior in the future. It is difficult to think of mental health symptoms as having any positive benefit to them. Why would someone choose such thoughts and behaviors?

Currently, there is a concept I hear more and more in psychology called secondary gain. Mental health professionals are recognizing that there often is some pay off for mental health clients in their symptomotology. It might get the client attention. It may abdicate them of daily responsibility. It might get them SSI benefits. They may be able to avoid unpleasant situations and keep undesirables at arm’s length. The list goes on and on. Couldn’t it at least be possible that these are not actually secondary gains, but rather the reason the symptoms developed in the first place?

Couldn’t it be that a person learned that being sad got them attention so they developed the behavior of depression? Couldn’t it be that a person learns anxiety gets them out of doing certain undesirable things? Once we experience a benefit, the behavior is more likely to become hard wired and therefore repeated, even long after it stops being effective.

Once of the criticisms of Glasser’s theory is that no one would actively choose to be neurotic or psychotic or personality disordered. Glasser never said it was a conscious choice. Most people suffering with mental health disorders are truly suffering, unaware there is any choice in the matter. Our current approach to treatment basically reinforces this image of mental health clients as victims.

I don’t know about you, but I want my clients to know there is a choice. They didn’t know it before. But if they understand now how symptoms can develop out of satisfying some need the had, then treatment becomes a matter of teaching them more responsible ways of getting those needs met.

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Health: Your Priceless Asset

Last Updated on Tuesday, 25 October 2011 07:20 Written by Natural Health Team Tuesday, 25 October 2011 07:20

Health Information about Health: Your Priceless Asset

Health is functionally defined as the absence of illness or sickness. It is your ability to cope with day to day activities by staying fit and restoring well-being. It is a broader concept which is directly connected to the survival of fittest. It is basically a state of equilibrium between energy and matter in the body.

According to World Health Organization, Health is defined as ‘ a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and doesn’t consist only of absence of disease or infirmilty’

There are two phases of health: Physical health and Mental Health. Physical health deals with body condition. There are several things which need to keep in mind for developing a good physical health like regular physical exercise, a good balance diet including all nutritious contents, proper rest and sufficient nourishment. While the emotional part as well as psychological condition is attributed to your mental health. Cognitive capacity of an individual is also taken into account. It is vital for you to keep your body in best shape by paying more attention to the physical and mental state as by doing this you are trying to prolong you life expectancy indirectly.

Human biology, environmental science, lifestyle, self-care are four major determinants of the health. Human biology is also known as primate biology and it deals with studying the in and out of human body. The environmental science is about examining the various components of the environment which comprise of substance, chemical and natural things. Lifestyle is also the determining factor of the individual’s health as it takes into consideration complete personality, principles of life and the way of living. Self care is about taking wise decision with respect to health matters of your body. It can include health restoration as well as health maintenance.

It is found that maintaining health and restoration through medical treatment is a gradual and continuous process. Some of those factors which help in proper maintenance of human health are:

: It is vital to have sufficient nutritious content in your body. Intake of proteins, vitamins, fibre, carbohydrate etc is essential for having a healthy life.
Stress is defines as the mental imbalance caused by the internal or external stimulus. The more of stress, deteriorates your health in a major way.
More of physical exercise helps you to reduce extra pound in the body by burning the fat.
It deals with taking proper care of your body by maintaining it clean in order to avoid sickness or epidemic diseases.
It is the study of correlation of dietary supplements with sports activities. Its main objective to keep check on glycogen levels along with proper optimization of muscle tone and energy.
It refers to study of near by places to have safe and clean environment to the people of the community.

It is really crucial for an individual to be health conscious. The person should be fully aware of activities to take proper care of his priceless body. Health education is aiming at encouraging conscientiousness by helping people to assess their current lifestyle and mental health which are vital for health. In order to maintain a healthy lifestyle, you need to take special care of physical and mental state of the body which helps you in combating diseases. Keeping a check on the determinants of health would surely help in the long run. For instance, self care talks about the disciplined way of living a life which would help in better survival for extended period. You need to keep an eye on the factors which play major role in staying fit and healthy. Some of them are presence of nutrition level in the body, public health, hygiene issues, regular exercise and proper maintenance of stress.

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