Category Archives: Going Healthy

Going Healthy, Health, Life

Getting Over An Addiction

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Addiction is a terrible thing. Many of us during our lifetimes end up with an addiction of some sort and it can become something which potentially has a huge negative impact on our lives. For the new year you might want to make a new start, and whether you are addicted to social media, alcohol or something else, we have some handy tips for you.

1.Use friends

When we suffer from any kind of addiction the hardest thing we can do is go it alone and try to cope with it ourselves. The best option is to have a group of friends or even just one dedicated friend to help you through and make sure that you are on track. They will be the one who will help you back up again when you fall and this can be totally invaluable to you if you suffer from an addiction.


2. Read

If you don’t like to impose on your friends and you feel as if you are going to take up too much of their time with your issues you do have another option which you can do to make you feel better. Reading might seem like something which will be useless to you but actually it can be a great way for you to escape from the real world for a while and get lost in another one. Reading is always a good thing to do for yourself and it can be relaxing as well as making you feel more positive about things.

3. Be Accountable

The most important thing you can do to help yourself if you want to get over an addiction effectively is to be accountable to someone. If you try and go the whole thing alone it can be incredibly easy for you to fall off the wagon and make bad choices all over again. When you use Resolutions Behavioral Health or a network of people in your recovery this can be the best option for you and it will make all the difference to your progress. Being able to talk to people every day and tell them how you feel and what you have achieved is a great way to feel motivated to carry on and do this for yourself.

4. Predict triggers

When you try to manage an addiction one of the best things you can do for yourself is predict when you are going to be triggered by the world around you. It could be that when you see someone healthy and lean you want to immediately check Instagram and compare yourself, or perhaps at 3 pm you want to head out for a smoke break. Whatever the trigger is, learn to spot it before it manifests and make sure that you don’t let it break you.

5. Distract Yourself

Distractions can be the best medicine for you in any situation and when you are trying to get over an addiction, having a distraction for your mind is a powerful weapon. It will allow you not only to avoid your triggers but eventually it might even help you to not need your addictive habits any more and let them go completely. Great ways to keep yourself busy could be cleaning the house, going for a run or playing a game with your family.

6. Sweat

If one of the main triggers for your addiction is a history of depression, then this next thing should be the ideal help for you. Working out or exercising the body in any way can be amazing for your state of mind and it will make you happier. When it comes to thinking about working out this can be a good way to release happy hormones into the body and fight any depressive feelings you may have. This is effective for those of you who might have issues with your self esteem and it can be something which acts as both a distraction and a medicine too.


7. Start a Project

One of the really great things you can do for your mental state if you are struggling with depression is actually to sit down and start a little project. It could be baking and decorating a cake for someone’s birthday, making a photo album for your family or something else. The act of having something to work on and to achieve can be exactly what we need and when we do manage to finish the project and present it to others it will give us a sense of pride and achievement which is great for the soul.


8. Write it down

The value of having a diary or a journal to write down your thoughts is something which a lot of people don’t realize. When you have a journal to use for yourself and your issues you can write down your habits every day and the way you feel and it can lift a weight off your shoulders. You’ll also be able to read back and see your good and bad days, and this can help you to see what patterns of behavior are good and bad for you to practice each and every day.


9. Have a happy item

It might sound like something which is more aimed at children who are homesick, but it is true that even in adulthood certain smells and feelings help us feel relaxed and happy. For example if you have a partner and you love to wear their clothes, this is likely because the clothes smell like them and this can make you feel more relaxed when you are around them. This is why it can be a great option for you to bring along a security item with you wherever you go and use this to help you stay focused on your recovery and to make you feel more confident and happy. There is a huge value to having items like this for yourself and it can make all the difference to your mental health.

Going Healthy, Health, Life, Parenting

Taking Care of Your Health as a Dad

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In this article, we’re going to look at a number of factors that are relevant to taking care of your health as a dad, particularly as you get older.  

Men’s health is different to that of women’s health, and men suffer from a variety of issues women don’t – for instance, male pattern baldness is something some men are genetically predisposed to, and whilst it is relatively common in society it is something that can still cause much trauma to the ego of many men.

Similarly, there are issues such as hearing loss and eyesight issues that affect both genders, and of course diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and stroke are also common in both genders.  There are specific formulations of vitamin supplements that are known to be good for men, though in the majority of cases, common sense and stable health practices such as ensuring plenty of hydration and reducing fat in your diet.

In this article, we’re going to look at some of the core prophylactic measures you can take to ensure you have optimum health as you grow older.  Of course, there are remedial devices such as how a pair of glasses can help correct eyesight deterioration and a hearing enhancer can amplify sound to make it easier to hear… but, prevention is often better than cure, and so in that spirit let’s take a look at some of the aspects of your health you might want to consider taking better care of.

1. DIET

What you eat you become.  We’ve all heard this phrase, time and time again, yet we still manage to stuff our faces with food that isn’t good for us.  The reason for this is that many people are emotional eaters, meaning they eat to derive pleasure and celebrate or derive comfort and commiserate.

The challenge with this approach to food, however, is that it’s being used as a “drug” rather than a fuel, and in that sense, we aren’t always making the wisest choices for our health – as we are placacting our emotional urges rather than physiological needs.

Consider the food you eat to be like a bank account, in that there are certain things that are “deposits” (e.g. a healthy meal) and there are also withdrawals (e.g. a greasy doughnut that clogs your arteries).  This way, you can simply keep track of whether you’re starting to get overdrawn.

2. HYDRATION

Again, we all know that the body (and particularly the brain) is made up mostly of water, yet we often live in a perpetual state of chronic dehydration.  This causes headaches, low mood, stress and aches and pains throughout all our muscles.  

The simplest solution to improving your health is found in the process of drinking more water.  The more water you drink, within reason, the healthier you will become. There are many scientific reasons for this, but in a nutshell, you just need to make sure you are drinking a LOT of water in order to stay in optimum health.

3. CARDIOVASCULAR FITNESS

In addition to diet, fitness that raises your heartbeat is a good preventative factor when it comes to fending off heart disease.  Now, if you are in a state of poor health the last thing you want to do is start going to the gym and engaging in extremely intense sport, as this is likely to do more harm than good.  

The trick is to start off slow, and build up gradually, to ensure you are maintaining a healthy heart.  Using a heart rate monitor can be helpful to assess where your heart rate is within a class, and ensure it remains within a safe zone.

4. FLEXIBILITY

Something a lot of guys focus on, when it comes to being fit is building their muscles so that they “look good”, yet this can sometimes be at the detriment to health in longevity.  For instance, if you overwork your chest muscles without focusing on your upper back, you are likely to become hunched over which can cause postural problems down the line.

Flexibility is more important than strength when it comes to functional fitness, so getting yourself to a yoga class, or simply following along on YouTube makes a lot of sense to ease common complaints such as back pain.

5. STRESS

Stress is known as one of the biggest killers, in the sense that it’s often the underlying cause for physiological changes in the body that lead to disease.  There’s an idea that the mind controls the body and in that sense, you want to remember that your physical health is directly linked to your mental health. Always take note of your mental health and ensure to seek help if necessary. There are plenty of products out there that can help with stress, from chamomile teas to a list of full spectrum oils. You can also reach out to a doctor, therapist, support groups, helplines, friends and family if you are struggling. Remember, you are never alone!

Going Green, Going Healthy, Life, Parenting

Making Your Family Home Environmentally Friendly

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Nowadays, kids are being educated on all sorts of matters that may affect them directly during their lives. Environmental damage and pollution may be one of the subjects that they are taught at school. Why? Well, human activity is the number one cause of environmental problems right now, and things that we do on a day to day basis are making the world an increasingly problematic place for our species to survive. It’s therefore up to us to change this and kids are likely to be the leading generation to implement real change! So, if your little one comes home all hyped up about becoming an eco warrior and saving the planet, encourage them! Work hand in hand with them to make real change in your family home and create a greener living space for everyone. Here are just a few steps that you can take to make your family home as environmentally friendly as possible.

Say Goodbye to Plastic

Sure, it’s highly unlikely that you’re going to be able to completely eliminate plastic from your family home. There are certain items and products that you will have to use that come wrapped in plastic whether you like it or not. Examples include bottle caps and pill trays for medication. However, you can significantly reduce the amount of purposefully disposable and non-necessary plastic from your family’s lifestyle. Buy fruit whole rather than pre-cut and wrapped in plastic containers. Use bamboo toothbrushes rather than plastic ones. When it comes down to it, all plastic is bad for the planet and its use should be seriously minimized.

Insulate Your Home

If your home automatically lets heat and energy escape, you’re going to have to burn fossil fuels constantly to keep it warm and functional. So, make sure your property is as well insulated as possible. Make sure that windows are double glazed and coated in Residential Solar Films. Make sure that your roof and loft have insulating materials in the cavities. Use draft excluders between rooms. Small steps can make a massive difference!

Compost

Families tend to use more ingredients in their meals, as there are more mouths to feed. But the more food there is in a home, the more waste there is likely to be too. Try composting natural waste. You can invest in a compost bin where you can dispose of potato peels, vegetable cuttings, tea bags, and other forms of food waste. This can then be used as a great natural fertilizer.

These are just three different steps that you might want to implement into your family’s home and routine. Sure, they may seem like small changes. But they would make a massive difference if every kid’s family tried them out. So, get the ball rolling in the right direction and give them a go!