Positive Attitude – Ten Tips

The following tips will assist you in developing a positive attitude.

” Listen to your inner dialogue. Keep a log for a few days, write in the left side of a note pad all the negative thoughts that you hear yourself say. Rewrite each thought in a positive way on the right side. Practice doing this in your mind until positive thinking becomes a habit. (Example, “I’ll never get this finished day!” Change to: “I will finish most of this today, and I can finish it tomorrow.”)

” Connect to your spirituality. Research has shown that those who connect to their spirituality live longer, more satisfying lives. The secret is to practice your spiritual beliefs, either through organized spiritual associations, meditation or connecting with like minded people.

” Allow yourself to love and be loved. The ability to love and be loved is the most basic human need. We have become disconnected from this basic need – fear-based emotions (depression, loneliness, anxiety, guilt and anger) are the symptoms. Find ways to reconnect with others is extremely helpful in developing a positive attitude.

” Laugh and find humor in the simple things. Laughter is a powerful mood elevator. If you are feeling down, read some jokes, watch a funny movie or just act “silly.” See the world through a child’s eyes.

” Let go of your “emotional baggage” that holds you back from true enlightenment. All that you require is already within you, so avoid giving your power away by blindly following others. Trust in the goodness that resides within your heart. If you have difficulty letting go of your ‘emotional baggage,’ or feel ‘blocked’ engage with a hypnotherapist/holistic practitioner.

” Learn to communicate effectively. Not saying the things you feel leads to a sense of frustration, hurt, anger or anxiety. If you find communicating difficult, take an assertive communications course.

” Plan leisure and socializing. Reconnect with friends or make new friends, take the dog for a walk, visit an art gallery or listen to your favorite music. Enjoy a long, relaxing bath, read a book, tell your child a story, or ask an older relative to tell you about their life. It is the simple things in life that give us the most pleasure.

” Offer your assistance. A simple act of helping others compels us to feel good. Help a neighbor, volunteer for a cause or organization. Contact non-profit organizations and volunteer your time and expertise.

” Engage in new physical and mental activities to improve confidence and learn new skills. Learn new words or new topics to build confidence. Learn and follow the principles of holistic health – better nutrition and exercise helps improve mood and attitude.

” Stop listening to the news. Mainstream media focuses on drama–fear, negative thoughts and emotion. If you think your life will be in jeopardy if you do not know the latest breaking news, test your theory by not listening to the news for two weeks. Notice if your life is negatively impacted by not hearing the news. Think about it, has the news prevented anything? No! They dramatize the event after the fact.

Does the weather man really compel you to carry an umbrella or wear a warm coat? Carry an umbrella in your car and brief case, then you are equipped for any weather. After not watching the news, my hunch is that you will notice that you are feeling calmer, less frustrated and more at peace. When you feel calm, less frustration and more at peace you can manifest a positive attitude more easily.

common causes of low back pain

The lower back, or lumbar spine serves as the “keel”, if you will, of the human frame. It is comprised of five (5) lumbar vertebrae– the largest of the 25 bones that make up the spinal column. It is surrounded by several layers of muscles that work synergistically to allow proper spinal movement and responsiveness to dynamic loads. When everything is functioning as designed, the lumbar spine is a work of art. But, when something goes wrong– it can quickly put you out of commission for days or weeks.

Some of the most common causes of low back pain are:

1) Disc degeneration
2) Facet syndrome
3) Spondylosis; spinal stenosis
4) Arthritis– osteoarthritis and rheumatoid
5) Sprains/ strains

A smaller percentage of low back pain cases are caused by diseases such as cancer or rheumatism.

Treatment for low back pain varies, depending on the source of pain. Most primary care physicians will prescribe muscle relaxants and pain medications for non-specific low back pain. If an inflamed disc or facet joint is suspected, a cortisone injection or epidural injection may be attempted. Cortisone is a powerful anti-inflammatory and can reduce pain quite quickly, if inflammation is involved. In some cases, the patient is referred to a physical therapist or chiropractor for spinal manipulation and exercise therapy.

A lesser known treatment for lumbar pain due to disc herniations is non-surgical spinal decompression, a procedure that literally pumps the injured disc so that healing is accelerated.

But the absolute best way to deal with low back pain is to not get it in the first place! This is the preventive approach, and is highly recommended. The keys to low back pain prevention include:

1. Lose the weight! If you are heavy in the abdomen, it will put a huge strain on your low back over time. The result is disc degeneration and facet syndrome, and possibly arthritis.
2. Practice proper posture. Head up, shoulders back, chest out, slight extension of the lower back (hips rotated forward).
3. Use your legs when lifting things, not your back muscles. Your leg muscles are twice as strong as your back muscles, so use them! Keep the object you are lifting as close as possible to your center of gravity; brace your back, and transfer the weight to your legs. Move the object (raise or lower) by bending your knees. This includes lifting small children.
4. Practice proper ergonomics. If your job involves a lot of hours sitting, place a lumbar wedge on your seat. Stand up every couple of minutes to take the pressure off your back. Don’t slouch in your chair; keep your head over your spine.
5. Engage in exercises and stretching. There are many books and other references on this subject.

One overlooked exercise for preventing low back pain is proprioceptive exercises. Proprioception is a technical term that describes the feedback loop that muscles use to know when to contract and relax. It is a highly complex neurological event that involves the spinal cord and brain. Some researches believe that a breakdown in this system leads to poor joint movement and accelerated spinal degeneration. So, its best to exercise this feedback system; very much like doing brain exercises to improve memory.

In proprioceptive exercises, you create an unstable foundation and let the various muscle groups of the spine coordinate and contract to keep you balanced. This involves using an inflatable disc, bonsu ball, or a wobble board. You basically stand on top of the disc and do various movements like knee bends. You can also add handweights and do curls, flys while balancing yourself on the disc. Exercising in this fashion will help improve muscle responsiveness, reducing the chance of injury. Muscle responsiveness refers to how the quickly the back muscles respond when subjected to changing loads, such as picking up a piece of heavy luggage.

So, make sure you incorporate all of the above techniques in your exercise regimen and daily life. It will pay huge dividends, in the form of a healthy, pain-free back!

Personality Disorders

For the average person, their traits are usually fixed by the time you become an adult. These traits are fundamental from your past and from your genetic makeup. Often, they are a combination of positive and negative traits that make you the person you are.

The same cannot always be said of people with personality disorders as their traits tend to be mainly negative. They may act in socially inappropriate ways and are often unable to function normally in relationships whether personal or work related.

There are three groups of personality disorders, each having similar characteristics. These are:

1. Personality disorders that are characterised by eccentric behaviours such as paranoia, and schizoid behaviours.

Symptoms of paranoid personality disorders include:

• Emotional detachment;
• Feelings of anger toward others;
• Believing that people are trying to harm you in some way;
• Believing that what people say is in some way being malicious toward you personally; and
• Being unable to work collaboratively with other people.

Symptoms of a schizoid personality disorder include:

• Being emotionally distant;
• Emotional detachment;
• Being very introverted:
• Fantasising; and
• Being fixated on your own thoughts and feelings.

Symptoms of schizotypal personality disorder include;

• Eccentricities in the way you dress, speak, and interact;
• Believing that public speeches etc contain hidden messages for you;
• Suspicion and paranoia;
• Believing others can be influenced by your thoughts; and
• Indifference to other people

2. Disorders that display dramatic emotional behaviour. These include hysterics, narcissism, and antisocial behaviours and are often quite dramatic.

Symptoms of histrionic personality disorder include;

• Attention seeking behaviours, particularly of a sexual nature;
• Intense desire for approval from others;
• False sense of intimacy;
• Excessive concern with physical appearance; and

• Emotional swings.

Symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder include;

• Excessive response to criticism;
• Constant attention seeking behaviours;
• Inability to empathise;
• Inflated sense of importance; and
• Being manipulative.

Symptoms of antisocial personality disorder include;

• Aggressive and violent behaviours;
• Lying and stealing;
• No signs of remorse when hurting others;
• No consideration for the law and other people’s rights;
• Irresponsible and unreliable; and
• No concern for safety.

Symptoms of borderline personality disorder include;

• Inability to control emotions;
• Dramatic mood swings;
• Stormy relationships including physical aggression;
• Feeling empty inside;
• Fear of being alone; and
• Suicidal attempts or ideations and self harming.

3. Those personality disorders marked by obsessive-compulsive behaviours, anxiety, fearful behaviours and avoidance and dependence.

Symptoms of avoidant personality disorder include;

• Socially isolated;
• Extremely shy; and
• Hypersensitive to criticism

Symptoms of dependent personality disorder include;

• Excessively dependent on others;
• Intensely afraid of being alone;
• Not willing to make decisions or to give opinion:
• Tolerates abusive treatment rather than lose relationship; and
• Jumps straight into new relationship after one ends.

Symptoms of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder include;

• Excessively concerned about rules, order. schedules and so forth;
• Perfectionism;
• Hoarding of broken and worthless objects;
• Inability to share responsibilities;
• Inflexibility in opinions; and
• Compulsive devotion to work.

Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder is not the same as obsessive-compulsive disorder, an anxiety disorder that shares some symptoms but is more extreme and disabling.

Most people with personality disorders believe that other people are to blame for the conflict and instability that they experience in their lives.

Although these conditions are incurable, the sufferer can live a relatively normal life with therapy and medication.