Dietary Guidelines For Working Women

Dietary Guidelines For Working Women

Dietary Guidelines For Working Women

Women are now placed in high positions at work, which means longer working hours. However, responsibility towards one’s family still remains the same, which possibly leads to neglect of oneself. Nevertheless, a woman can lead a healthy and happy lite, cope with her busy schedule and balance both, her family and work lite effectively, if only she follows these guidelines.

Drink Plenty Of Water

Drinking good amounts of water helps to stay hydrated. Dehydration leads to lethargy and tiredness, so carry a bottle of water along with you to your workplace and keep refilling it regularly.

Carry Healthy Snacks

In between snacks is very important to keep the body energetic and nourish the cells. But make sure you indulge in healthy snacks, such as dry fruits, vegetable sticks, whole fruits, cheese, dark chocolate, etc.

Avoid Processed Foods

Processed and packaged foods like chips, packed juices, and canned fruits have lots of sugars, salt and fat in them, which overburden your body hormonal levels and cause sudden spikes of blood sugar levels, which in the long-run may cause insulin resistance, I which is also responsible for PCOD, Type Il diabetes, obesity, etc.

EatA Healthy Breakfast

Firstly, never skip breakfast As you require tons of energy to kick-start your day, a healthy breakfast plays an important role in maintenance of your energy levels throughout the day. Ensure your breakfast menu covers all the five nutrients – carbohydrates, protein, fat, vitamins and minerals.

Eat Fresh Fruits And Veggies

Including at least two portions of whole fruits and three portions of vegetables (one portion should be raw) in your daily diet, will enrich your body with the required antioxidants that will fight with infective and inflammatory conditions, thus improving your immunity level and health.

Health Tip – Exercise Often

Working out for at least five days a week for about half an hour, will keep you fit and confident to run a successful career and family. So take out time for yourself and exercise. Just walking in the fresh air for about 30 minutes will do wonders for your body.

The Importance of Gender Sensitization

The Importance of Gender Sensitization

The Importance of Gender Sensitization

A boy, specifically during his teenage years, may perceive an individual or the act of an individual, as an inspiration and implement it in his adulthood, which if negative (toxic mentality) is bound to hurt women and men, equally.

As a parent, are you aware of the prevalent patriarchy that exists in our society? Are you proud of your boy for being a boy or for being a good human being? Also, are you aware of how your son perceives society on the basis of gender and related issues? This is the first interpersonal skill that needs to be taught with affection to boys, to prevent the practice of gender bias when they become adults.

As stressed above, gender sensitization is a very crucial requisite for the normal development of an Individual, as without the ability to be sensitive to the needs of a particular gender, an individual may fail to develop a better understanding of the opposite gender and in some cases, even himself.

Instilling Gender Sensitization (10-16 Years)

Here are five steps that can be easily remembered as ‘S.N.E.H.A’ meaning affection, which will make boys realise the importance of being a good human first and to curtail thoughts of becoming a dominant male; respecting the presence of other individuals in the same way they would like to be respected in the future. Further, they might also share this tool one day as a parent In the future.

  1. ‘Sharpener’ Within Let them open up first. So be honest to the questions received. The child needs to sharpen his thought processes first and then his personality.
  2. ‘Notepad’ Of The Future Encourage your child to write down his experiences in a notepad. This is important, as some children may be unwilling to share their encounters orally.
  3. 3. ‘Eraser’ In The Mind Reward your child for breaking a myth regarding day-to-day events. In this way, you will erase the occurrence of further negativity.
  4. ‘hand kerchief’ For The Soul Any human being can cry, regardless of gender. This is an important prerequisite to be taught to boys, as some teenagers may face bullies any day. Stress on the fact that it is okay to show emotions.
  5. ‘Alarm Clock’ For The Body Self-discipline cannot be forced on children, but the importance of it can be shared. Thus, it is important to share gender-specific biological differences (example menstruation) so that they respect individuals, even on a biological level.

The change for betterment has to begin at home. Hence, we need to ensure that whatever is imparted to the younger generation, wilt ¡nstit ¡n them, the quality of fairness’ that can be passed on to the future generation.

The Blue Whale Challenge And Manipulation of The Teenage Brain

The Blue Whale Challenge And Manipulation of The Teenage Brain

The Blue Whale Challenge And Manipulation of The Teenage Brain

The Blue Whale Challenge is an app in which the user Is assigned 50 tasks. The 50th task is to commit suicide. It may sound crazy, but teenagers are up for this challenge because everything happens under the false label of a ‘game.’

As soon as the word ‘game’ enters the picture, teenagers perceive the challenge as fun and adventurous, instead of seeing it as the danger it really is1 The tasks on the app are very strategically targeted towards the teenage population, as the developers of the app (known as whales) are well aware of the fact that teenage minds are easy to manipulate.

Inclination Of Teenagers Towards The Game

Teenagers have the physical energy of a child and the brains of a soon- to-be-adult and therefore, they are willing to experience things which challenge their thrill-seeking abilities and the will to deal with danger.

A majority of teenagers are up for the tasks mentioned on the app, because the locus of control is purely internal and they feel they can pull themselves out of anything, any moment and this confidence itself takes them deeper into games like the Blue Whale Challenge. Such teenagers can be classified as the adventurous, thrill-seeking ones and also the depressed ones.

The adventurous ones do It for the thrill, while the depressed ones use these tasks as an escape from the bitter reality of their life.

There is a very thin line between adventure and danger, as the game has been systematically planned to gradually fade that line and put the teen playing it, into danger.

While the motive of the creator of the app remains unknown, it is pretty clear that the Blue Whale Challenge Is an attempt to sway teenagers of the world, into doing undesirable things.

Lending A Helping Hand

  • In order to curb the menace caused by the app, mental health practitioners need to always be on the lookout for signs of depression and signs that one might be attempting the Blue Whale Challenge.
  • It ¡s important for psychologists to create awareness amongst parents about this game, so that they can detect signs in the habits and the whereabouts of their child.
  • Seminars and workshops stating the importance of life and how to tackle depression could also help to a great extent.
  • Additionally, online portals are of great help in giving patients access to specialists from any place in the world, to share their dilemmas and thereby seek help for their concerns and mental worries.

Comprehending The Origin of Disease

Comprehending The Origin of Disease

Comprehending The Origin of Disease

When we say disease, we have to classify them into two basic categories. One set of diseases are infectious – you contract them from outside. Maybe you were negligent and ate or drank something which was not good and caught an infection, Or you went close to somebody who had the flu and got it. For these diseases, there are medicines.

In addition, the diseases that we usually speak about, are something that the body creates. Though, the fundamental longing of the physical body is to survive, preserve itself and keep itself well. But despite this fact, if the body is creating diseases within itself, what could be wrong? Have you ever thought of the fact that your mind may be to blame? But surely you’ve heard of psychosomatic diseases.

Energy Malfunctions And Ailments

If the mind is functioning in a certain way, it hampers the functioning of energy. Whatever is happening and whatever has happened in this body in terms of creating, maintaining and nurturing, fundamentally depends on how your energy functions in this body. It for some reason your energy malfunctions, then a disease can manifest itself.

lf the energy malfunctions, what kind of disease it may turn into, depends upon what Is inherently weak in a particular person. It may be a hereditary aspect like some organ or part of the body could be inherently weak because of a person’s parents. So, it the same imbalance happens in two people, one person may get asthma and the other may get diabetes, depending upon what each has inherited.

The Software Within You

What type of imbalance you go through also has a very deep karmic implication. What we call as karma Is a huge amount of impressions that we have taken into us, which have become their own kind of software.’ This software has developed certain tendencies – it tends to move in a particular way.

Traditionally in India, we call these tendencies vasanas which literally means smell. So what kind of smell emanates from you, depends on what kind of ‘garbage’ you have gathered. Depending upon what type of vasanas you have, accordingly you tend to move in certain ways and also certain aspects in the world tend to move towards you in a particular way. Is this absolute? No.

Your Smell And External Influences

If you become conscious, even if your smell in one way, you can choose to go another way. But if you are not conscious, you naturally gravitate according to your tendencies. In the body, a certain manifestation of these tendencies can become disease. Because of certain tendencies, the energy does not function properly ¡n certain areas of the body and disease can appear. Another way disease can occur is when you are under the influence of something.

Your karmic structure is fine, your tendencies are good, they are taking you in the right direction, you have kept your body well and are taking care of it, but still, you may get a bad disease, because you are under the influence of something else. It is because this aspect also plays an important role – this is why in ancient India, they decided that every town and village must have a temple.

Temples As Energy Centres

But what you need to understand is, temples are not places of worship and prayer. Nobody ever led people in prayer in a temple, you are just left alone. You are supposed to just turn up and sit there, that’s all. These were energy centres which were established to handle that dimension of your tendencies or that dimension of Impact on your life, which comes from outside. This is like an infection, but with no virus or bacteria.

Certain other tendencies of people, it could be a person, it could be situations, certain spaces or certain evil Intentions of people, affect the process of your life. So every day you go to a temple, where you do a little bit of ‘cleansing’ for yourself. If you become conscious, then you create your own inner ways to cleanse. But if you do not have your own inner ways, a temple was a public ‘wash place’ for you. Each day you go there and ‘take oft’ that element, It does not solve all your problems, but it ‘takes off’ that element which comes into your life from external influences.

Footnote

Mentioned above are the different ways in which you can impair your energy system. Either by your own karmic system, by your own karmic accumulation or because of improper eating and other kinds of habits, or the way in which your mind functions – your stress or your anxiety. So these are the kind of things or influences from outside, which can impair the flow of energy in your system and in turn manifest in the form of an ailment.

Understanding Psychological Insecurities

Understanding Psychological Insecurities

Understanding Psychological Insecurities

We humans, lace our existence with various individual and environmental influences. Some of these influencing factors are intentional, while many may be present in our social surrounding by default.

An individual’s capacity to think and to think beyond, is what leads himiher towards survival and the reinforcement of such thought processes, either makes life easier or difficult, depending on what kind of cognitive cue an individual is perceiving and interpreting, based on his/her understanding.

An individuals’ interaction with the environment is presented with several challenges on a regular basis and survival is reinforced by meeting up to these challenges. Also, people go through several physical and psychological struggles to identify and move ahead with their behavioural orientations.

Insecurities in an individual are a product of anticipation and conclusions within one’s mind, along with the collaboration of society, family and other environmental factors. And it’s amazing to know that psychological insecurities can emerge in any form and in any situation.

What Insecure People Experience

Psychological insecurities as presented below are very commonly seen in all people around us.

  • Restricted or closed mindedness
  • Pretending to know all and trying to find solutions
  • Faking thoughts, emotions, and interactions
  • Being judgmental
  • Negative conversations and communication
  • Nil growth mindset
  • Poor decision making skills
  • Avoidant behaviour
  • Not moving out of the comfort zone
  • Felling guilty, stupid and bad for almost everything

Downside Of Psychological Insecurities

  • Psychological insecurities not only results in lowered confidence levels but also gives rise to anxieties of various kinds and interaction at the societal level becomes meaningless.
  • Extreme levels of perfectionism can also lead to confusion and dissatisfaction, as most of the time living up to one’s own expectations is dependent on the bar raised by the individuals themselves.
  • Self-esteem either very low or high also gives rise to unrealistic goals and demands. Both men and women go through self-doubt in areas of sexuality, body image, age, career. relationship, creative versus intellectual life, etc.

Causes Of Insecurities

The reasons for psychological insecurities as discussed earlier, can be several, but it’s been observed that maladaptive parenting procedures give rise to dysfunctional interactions in adult life. Some individuals also have personality types more prone to struggles.

The Way Out

Reaching out with proper strategies such as timely engagement of the individual through therapeutic intervention and reinforcing feedback mechanism is a must, to tackle such issues. Proper goals and devoting time to oneself to recuperate and heal also leads to the better functioning of an individual.

Awareness About Medical Childhood Emergencies

Awareness About Medical Childhood Emergencies

Awareness About Medical Childhood Emergencies

The health and safety of their children are of optimal importance to parents, but if one thinks of it precisely, health management not that easy a task, especially in the case of infants. Also, children’s bodies have not completely evolved and are in a constant state of growing.

Similarly, as children’s immune system is not so developed, they are susceptible to numerous health issues. Moreover, recognizing the symptoms and hilling the nail on the head, is quite hard, as kids exhibit different symptoms and signs from that of adults. Additionally, a child’s way of communicating about what’s wrong might not instantly provide parents with a clear picture.

Our primary job ¡s to recognize the symptoms and timely consult a doctor for professional help, do not forget to stock first-aid kits at home, your car and at your workplace

Be Prepared With The Facts And Tools

As parents, take measures to prevent, recognize and address medical emergencies in children. Your first step should be getting your facts right – take first-aid and CPR classes and keep your child’s vaccination sheets, as well as your family’s medical information handy and organized. Although, your primary job is to recognize the symptoms and timely consult a doctor for professional help, do not forget to stock first-aid kits at home, your car and at your workplace.

Please note that this advice cannot serve as a substitute for a medical opinion under any circumstance. So always consult your healthcare provider for more information.

Warning Signs

Although there are myriads of disorders prevalent with varied symptoms, the following are some common warning signs for you to interpret and recognize as a medical emergency.

Sudden Changes In Behaviour
If the child embodies significant changes in comparison to normal behaviour, including unhealthy sleep patterns, confusion, irritability, inattentiveness and decreased responsiveness, there may be some serious medical issues plaguing your child and you need to visit a doctor.

Abnormal Breathing
Difficulty in breathing and shortness of breath are surely alarming signs of a medical emergency Abnormal breathing can be subjected to disorders like asthma, choking, pneumonia or allergic reactions.

Aftermath of Injuries
Injuries and children are synonymous. Although the mild ones are normal and are a part of growing up, some injuries can lead to severe complications. If a child experiences uncontrolled bleeding, persistent pain, severe headache or vomiting (especially after a head injury), you need to rush to the hospital.

Other Complications
Issues like bluish/grey skin, inability to stand properly, seizures, stiffness in the neck are generally warning signs of complications and should not be taken lightly.

Causes of Excessive Sleeping

Causes of Excessive Sleeping

Causes of Excessive Sleeping

Sleeping in, after a long day at work or even the weekends may seem like a natural, gratifying thing to do, but sleeping in on all the days can be really stressful, tiring and the result of an undeilying problem. Not to burst your bubble, sleeping for a long time can make you feel better, but il you’re doing it all the time, it can do quite the opposite.

A goodnight’s sleep of seven-nine hours is normal and necessary for the mind and body to heal itself. However, it you’re waking up exhausted and just want to go back to bed for no apparent reason, it’s time to figure out why.

Why We Sleep Excessively

Depression
Excessive sleeping can be caused by a depression episode where getting out of bed seems like the cruellest thing you can do to yourself. The world appears too big to take on and yet It’s all In your head. But remember, just because it is in your head, doesn’t mean it can be ignored. Head to your therapist and get yourself looked at, or take it out on a pen and paper, which is a proven method to feel a lot better.

Napping
Your afternoon naps are a tempting luxury which needs to be kept in check, If you want to go to bed early. Sleeping late at night can threaten your morning routine because of incomplete sleep cycles. You could wake up in between a sleep cycle and wander the entire day looking to complete it.

Sleep Apnea
It’s a common cause of agitated snoring and one of the main causes of waking up tired, no matter how long you sleep. The reason being that you constantly wake up over the course of the night but since it is for a short span, you barely remember it. This results in less oxygen in your body, making you feel like you haven’t slept at all!

Insomnia
Unable to sleep until much later in the night or sometimes not getting any sleep at all are indications that you suffer from insomnia. Insomnia is a result of other mental problems like anxiety and or depression. These can be treated by counselling and therapy and must be done sooner than later.

Sleeping late at night can threaten your morning routine because of incomplete sleep cycles

Health Tip

A healthy lifestyle is always outlined by discipline. Listening to your alarm’s wake-up calls is one way to beat this. The primary action would, of course, be getting yourself checked by a doctor for the disorders. It is important for you to get the sleep you deserve and enjoy the benefits of a good night’s sleep.

Turn To Homeopathy To Lift Your Spirits!

Turn To Homeopathy To Lift Your Spirits!

Turn To Homeopathy To Lift Your Spirits!

Unfortunately in today’s world, it’s very common for a person to suffer from underlying anxiety and depression for long periods of time, as even the calmest person can experience stress and unease. However, nothing can be achieved or done right when you are anxious and you have to be composed to execute certain tasks, as anxiety can affect the quality of your life. It also causes unconsciousness of your mind and body which results in deprivation from everything, leaving you ‘lost’ in your own thoughts!

Homeopathic medicine is an incredibly interesting field and it has had a major impact on the lives of millions of those who have tried these medications.

There is a belief that homeopathy can rectify illnesses using components in high doses which creates the disease. These elements are weakened to the extent that they cannot cause those illnesses and the body is believed to take in the components in such a way, that it helps fight oft the diseases.

Homeopathy Medicines That Combat Anxiety And Depression

  • Aconitum napellus relieves panic attacks
  • Argentum nitricum relieves dizziness
  • Arsenicum album provides relief for tear of losing oneself and death
  • Gelsemium relieves chills and hot flushes
  • Natrum muriaticum provides relief from chest pains
  • Natrum muriaticum is good for those who are shy or avoid social situations

The Role of Counselling

A counselor can help to identify the disease and derive a solution for this problem. A counsellor can study the way in which a patient thinks as he/ she interacts daily with the patients and approaches them with positivity and curiosity. The counselor can then assist with adequate medicines and proper guidance for healing.

Family members and peers should report about the persons performance, how they behave and speak to others, as it will be more useful for the doctor when considering treatment. It will also depend on how fast the patient recovers from the condition. Also, choose to lead a healthy lifestyle and turn to homeopathy to tree yourself from this ailment and to get cured.

Menstrual Abnormalities In Adolescent Girls

Menstrual Abnormalities In Adolescent Girls

Menstrual Abnormalities In Adolescent Girls

Abnormal bleeding due to hormones and sexually transmitted diseases are quite common in this age group

Adolescent girls achieve puberty and they start having menstruation as a part of their pubertal development. But almost 75 per cent of adolescent girls have painful periods or dysmenorrhea. Other abnormalities of menstruation are classified as Abnormal Uterine Bleeding (AUB).

On an average 80m1 of menstrual blood is lost and bleeding usually lasts for five-seven days. If bleeding is more than 80 ml or associated with the passage of clots or duration of bleeding is more than seven days, it ¡s an indication of abnormal menstrual flow.

Dysmenorrhea or painful periods are of two types, primary or secondary. In primary dysmenorrhea, there is no gynaeco$ogical cause for painful periods and it’s idiopathic. It also subsides with simple analgesics. But in secondary dysmenorrhea, there is a cause for painful periods and it has to be treated. The most common cause for secondary dysmenorrhea in teens is endometriosis and among the other causes are adenomyosis, fiborids and ovarian cysts.

Abnormal Uterine Bleeding (AUB) Can Present As:

  • Absence of periods or amenorrhea
  • Excessive bleeding or menorrhagia
  • Bleeding in between periods
  • Irregular bleeding

Amenorrhea or absence of periods can be primary or secondary. Primary amenorrhea is defined as absence of periods till 15 years of age in a girl who has developed secondary sexual characters or non-development of secondary sexual characters till the age of 13 years. Secondary amenorrhea is defined as absence of menstruation for six months once the girl has started menstwating.

Menstrual abnormalities such as abnormal bleeding due to bleeding disorders such as coagulation disorders like protein C, protein S deficiency, Von Willebrand disease, hemophilia, sickle cell disease are more common in adolescent age group as these disorders start manifesting when they start menstruation. Abnormal bleeding due to hormones and sexually transmitted diseases are also more common in this age group.

Discerning What Is Abnormal

It is also very important to distinguish menstrual abnormality from normal physiological changes. When girls start menstruating, their periods may be irregular for first two years as the hypothalamo-pituitary axis maturation may take two years for the cycles to be regular. In the initial years, ovulation is irregular, so it’s pretty common for young girls to have irregular cycles.

Thus these aspects must be kept in mind, when a young girl presents with irregular periods and before diagnosing her as suffering from hormonal imbalance, such as polycystic ovarian disease (PCQD), ovarian tumours or some other abnormality.

Causes Of Menstrual Disorders In Adolescents

Primary Amenorrhea

  • Anatomic defects such as MRKH (Mayer- Rokítansky-Kuster-Hauser) syndrome, Impertorate hymen, transverse vaginal septum
  • Hypogonadism such as gonadal dysgenesis (Turner syndrome, Swyer Syndrome) and gonadal agenesis
  • Hypothalamic causes such as diet, stress and psychological eating disorders
  • Pituitary causes such as prolactinomas and other hormone-producing tumours
  • Endocrine disorders
  • Other causes such as constitutional delay, PCOS

Abnormal Uterine Bleeding (AUB)

  • Immaturity of HPO (Hypothalamic Pituitary-Ovarian Axis)
  • Pregnancy , PCOS
  • Hypothyroidism
  • Hyperprolactinemia
  • Functional hypothalamic dysfunction

Abnormal Uterine Bleeding – Heavy Menstrual Bleeding (HMB)

  • Structural abnormalities such as fibroids, adenomyosis
  • Systemic bleeding disorders such as Von Willebrand disease, platelet deficiency, factor deficiencies, amongst the most common causes. intermenstrual Bleeding
  • Pregnancy
  • Sexually transmitted diseases
  • Hormonal causes such as use of oral contraceptives

Diagnosis

These problems in teens can be identified by a thorough history and physical examination. Painful periods or primary dysmenorrhea is identified when teens complain of painful periods and on physical examination, there is no significant abnormality detected.

Thus, an ultrasound should be conducted to rule out secondary causes of dysmenorrheal such as endometriosis, pelvic inflammatory disease, fibroids, and other pelvic pathologies. Also, to rule out abnormal uterine bleeding, some additional tests may have to be undergone, apart from a routine physical examination and ultrasound, such as thyroid function test, hormonal evaluation such as FSH and LH, prolactin, androgens, STI laboratory testing, pregnancy test, CBC (Complete Blood Count) and specific coagulation factors, if systemic coagulation defect is suspected.

Treatment

After excluding medical disorders, painful periods are treated with analgesics. Abnormal uterine bleeding or heavy menstrual bleeding can be treated with oral contraceptive pills or progesterone. For irregular bleeding such as in cases of PCOS too, oral contraceptives can be used. But for specific causes such as f ibroids, endometriosis and STI’s, specific treatment is required.

Homeopathy Can Ease Pregnancy Related Ailments

Homeopathy Can Ease Pregnancy Related Ailments

Homeopathy Can Ease Pregnancy Related Ailments

Lile is a roller coaster ride of ups and downs. And the best way to deal with these ups and downs is to face them with good planning, because hf e has many delicate stages. So, to prevent a downfall from at any one of these stages, one requires preparation. One of these ‘delicate stages’ in the life of a woman is when she conceives, as pregnancy is a phase of life where a new life has to be born from an existing one.

For a woman, it a very tough task to deal with all the changes that occur during this time of her life as these changes are not only physical, but emotional as well. Hence, it’s the most sensitive phase of her life, both mentally and physically. So, it’s obvious that such a sensitive time requires prior organization with respect to each and everything happening around. And the most important part of this period is the health of the mother and baby.

Protection For The Baby And Mother

During pregnancy some physiological changes take place (especially in the genital organs) along with other metabolic and systemic changes. During this weak state, when the internal environment of the mother is developing in a new way, along with the development of the baby, any minute stress or infection can severely harm the mother which can also have a harmful effect on the baby.

Thus, during pregnancy, medicines like antibiotics or painkillers which have side effects should never be ingested, as the harsh treatment can lead to abnormalities and illnesses. So the only way to protect both the mother and the baby is with homeopathic medicines. These medicines are very gentle and help in the early planning phase, before and also during the pregnancy. It also lends support after the delivery of the baby.

Homeopathy medicines should be taken as preventive and supporting medicines during early pregnancy, as it strengthens the patient mentally and physically

Treatment With Homeopathy

It is a mode of treatment which has proved to be sate, especially at such sensitive times. Homeopathy medicines should be taken as preventive and supporting medicines during early pregnancy, as it strengthens the patient mentally and physically. The constitutional medicine should be given as early as possible, so that it can prevent the mother and baby from severe illnesses and it can assure the birth of a healthy baby. It also tights congenital abnormalities (in the developing baby) and can turnaround an abnormality to a normal state.

During pregnancy, homoeopathy can treat any condition; for instance, morning sickness. This is the most common condition which can be easily cured with homoeopathy. Similarly, other major conditions like hypertension, diabetes, severe vomiting, haemorrhage in early pregnancy, antepartum haemorrhage and other complications can all be very well managed with homoeopathy.