It All Relates to Mental Health!

By Sarah Hilton

You are all pumped up to join the gym, you book your membership, you set a time for a personal fitness assessment and then you start going faithfully every week. Great, terrific, fantastic right? Three weeks pass, you just stop. Why? It really doesn't matter how many times you join a gym or exercise program, if you haven't worked on the mind your body will not follow. What do I mean? Let's take any goal you have set your mind to, whether it is losing weight, spending more time with family, find a job to name a few; you must have the mind set to build the success plan to achieve. Have you attempted these goals before, what went wrong, what is going to be different this time and who is your support for your mind in order for you to reach success. There is no personal trainer of the body that can prepare your mind in order for you to stay faithful to your goal. If you were depressed before going to the gym, you will be depressed after you go to the gym; you must work on the inside in order to work on the outside.
This is also a common misconception when it comes to injuries at work. Think of a WSIB claim, I believe that over 50% of these claims are based on what was on the mind of the person when the accident happened rather then the accident itself. Interestingly enough rehab works on the physical rather then the mental health. The person goes back to work, and provisions are put in place so that the employee can sit and not hurt their sore back, whether the person is sitting or standing the person is still depressed or anxious. Now, if the rehab and therapy worked on the inside and discovered the cause of the depression or anxiety the individual would be ready to return to work and in many cases the back pain would also subside.
To work out life, life needs to pay attention to the mental health of individuals. Let's teach our children to say "I feel anxious about my test today", instead of "I have a stomach ache." Let's call it what it is.
Next time you head out to begin a new journey, take a check into your mental health. How are you heading into this new experience. If you are anxious, build in techniques to cope with anxiety; this is what will help you be successful in your journey. If you are depressed about your weight, find a coach that can work on your emotions that come with food addictions before and during the journey of a weight loss group. You can obtain any goal, or dream; start by checking in with your mental health, your mindset. Success is just around the corner.

Sarah Hilton has built a company by combining her past work history of mental health with her love of speaking to supporting others in finding the life they want to live. You can see more by checking out http://www.spokenadvantage.com or [http://www.mentalhealthsolutions.ca]

Effects of Persistent Marijuana Usage on Daily Life

By Michael Rey

Marijuana is one of the most commonly abused illicit drugs in the United States. Though the possession and consumption of marijuana is banned and is considered illegal, its usage is still prevalent among teenagers as well as younger adults. Chronic marijuana use not only shows negative impact on the person's health, but also leads to significant negative effects on his/her daily life. Following are the effects of marijuana abuse on the user's life.
In general, marijuana is smoked using a cigarette or pipe. Once the smoke is inhaled, the active chemical present in marijuana, THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol), passes from the lungs into the bloodstream. The blood carries this chemical to different parts of the body including the brain. This chemical acts on some areas in the brain called as Cannabinoid receptors. These receptors are found in large numbers in areas that influence memory, thinking, concentrating, sensory and time perception, and coordinated movement.
Hence, regular use of marijuana results in distorted perceptions, impaired coordination and difficulty in thinking, problem solving, learning and memory - all faculties essential in day to day life.
Other negative effects

• For teenagers who are pursuing their education, marijuana abuse creates serious obstacles to learning. Marijuana usage severely impairs their learning capabilities, critical thinking ability, and other related functions. These students are more likely to suffer from memory problems and difficulty in concentrating. There will be a decline in comprehension and cognitive skills. The effects are more drastic in case of regular users and those who take the drug in higher quantities. Due to these problems, they become irregular to school. It affects their academics and grades as well.


• Marijuana use also causes various problems at workplace. Employees who abuse marijuana look normal, but mentally, they experience lot of disturbance. They lose interest in their work. It affects their performance and hence productivity. They lose their temper quite easily, thus creating issues at the workplace. It also affects their driving capabilities and hence there is increased risk of workplace accidents and injuries.


• Chronic use of marijuana leads to psychological effects like increased mental illness, paranoia and schizophrenia. Users show less interest towards their job, relations and other social activities. Lack of attendance and poor performance at workplace leads to poor income, no appraisals or promotions.


• Drug addiction and dependence makes the user stay away from social groups and hence affects their social relations. We can also notice a significant change in the user's social behavior due to the adverse effects of marijuana on his/her brain.

Thus, marijuana has serious effects on the daily life of the user. Long-term usage leads to chronic disorders that may ruin the person's life. It is better to stay away from this unhealthy habit in order to lead a happy and problem free life.

Expert-corner.com is a blog contributed by eight authors dedicated to provide useful tips that are helpful to perform day-to-day tasks easier and better. It also provides opinions and how to articles related to various categories including business, health, living, recreation, science, and society.

Is Depression Built in Stages?

By Hari Nath

Depression, in simplistic terms, is the situation of being in a state of sadness over a lengthy period of time. Of course, it is already mentioned that this is a simplistic definition, because if it were that simple; the world would have been a happier place to live in for many people with depression! Depression is not something similar to a cold or a headache. It is not something that appears quickly and goes away as quickly.
Symptoms are not exclusive
Depression is a deeply rooted psychological malady that is difficult to understand in simple terms. Of course, people who have depression do exhibit a few common symptoms like sadness, listlessness, anxiety, moroseness, disinterest in matters of daily living and the like; but so do normal people. We all experience what may be called a bad day in office (not literally speaking though, because we should include home too here).
Difficult parameters
So, how is a person who has depression different from the rest if these symptoms and behaviors exist in all kinds of people? It is said that depressed people are in this state of mind over a long period of time. But how long? That should be the defining parameter. The medical profession is not clear if a person who has been through a low for a couple of weeks should be called a depressed person and be bracketed with someone who has been though it for a couple of years. And how does it feel to 'graduate' from the two-week period to the two-year period? Is the behavior the same over this period of time, or it is graded? These are the real challenges psychiatrists encounter while treating people with depression.
Some stages
Based on the pace at which depression builds up in a person's mind; medical science usually classifies depression according to the following stages:
o Major;
o Manic or bipolar;
o Dysthymic;
o Cyclothymic;
o Postpartum;
o Seasonal.
What are these stages for?
These are what may be called the various phases, but we have to be clear about what these stages really mean: These are more of a frame of reference for doctors than something that is irrefutable. This is certainly not a watertight compartmentalization of the condition. There is no reason to believe that one could be less treatable or more severe than another.
For whose benefit?
These gradations are made to give doctors a kind of benchmark with which to approach the problem. To the patient himself, absolutely no difference is made. A person with chronic depression has more things to worry about and feel down than to estimate the stage he is in. For the patient, his family and the lay public alike; there is no serious sense out of these stages. They do serve a limited, academic purpose, which is to help doctors slot the patient and use as an assessment tool, nothing more; nothing less.