Tag Archives: concern

Anorexia & Bulimia

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Anorexia and bulimia are among some of the most common type of eating disorder. Factors are often associated with or can cause eating disorders are low-self esteem, bullying, distorted body images, food phobias, social or/and peer pressure, and more. Eating disorders are treated in combinations of doctors, therapists, consultants, and nutritionists. Also, the support of family and friends are crucial to helping someone overcome their eating disorder.

What is anorexia? It is a eating disorder where the individual does not want to eat food or not enough to keep their body weight. They often think of themselves as overweight and see themselves to not be thin enough. This can be accompanied by excessive exercising or starvation. People with anorexia are usually very underweight.

What is bulimia? It is a eating disorder where people binge eat and then either throw up the food or do extreme amount of exercises to burn the large amount of calories. People will binge eat and purge on a regular basis, which can cause serious health issues. Bulimia can cause people to develop compulsive behaviors and damage their teeth and esophagus along the way due to stomach acid. People with bulimia are usually at their body weight or overweight.

So what can you to help yourself if you are experiencing a eating disorder or someone with it?

  • Always seek out professional help who can help diagnosed the eating disorder, prescribed medications, provide consultations, and if needed, get more help from other professionals.
  • Get support from family and friends. They can help provide comfort and additional advices.
  • The road to recovery is changing your perspective towards a more positive outlook. Learn to accept yourself for who and what you are. It is not as easily done as said, but time will heal any insecurities that you may have.

Ways to Help Cope With Social Anxiety

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Being in a social environment can be daunting and very uncomfortable to many people. It is a problem that many of us face when being put an socially awkward position. Or even the thoughts of having to socialize or being in a social place can make people anxious. Some people may have social anxiety worse than others or experience it in different ways, locations, and situations.

According to http://www.webmd.com/, social anxiety or social phobia is an “anxiety disorder in which a person has an excessive and unreasonable fear of social situations. Anxiety (intense nervousness) and self-consciousness arise from a fear of being closely watched, judged, and criticized by others.” Some symptoms include:

  • Experiencing intense anxiety
  • Sweating
  • Increase in heart rate
  • Avoidance of social situations
  • More at -> http://www.webmd.com/

Here are some ways to help people cope with social anxiety:

  • Make sure to go to your doctor or local clinic to help you if you think you are experiencing social anxiety in unusual or extreme ways. If it is heavily impacting you, it would be very helpful for you to receive help and be aware of your medical condition. Ask your doctor if there is a possibility that it could be linked to another illness or a result of medications that you may be currently on.
  • Practice your social skills with close family, friends, and relative members. The more comfortable you are with yourself, you can start to relax and worry less. They will help you slowly communicate and adjust to social situations. Try different conversation starters, questions, and follow-up responses. Put yourself in social settings so that you can become more used to social settings.
  • Try to avoid thinking about what other people think about you. Whether they may or may not be judging you, you are in charge of how you feel about yourself. Concerning yourself over how you appear to others is not worth your time. Other’s judgements does not evaluate you as an individual.
  • Understand that you are not the only one who experience or goes through this. As part of growing up and developing, expect to be placed in weird situations, expect to be given endless criticisms, expect to have unwanted judgements, and above the all. You can’t stop it or avoid it, but you can learn and grow from it. You will eventually develop your own resilience, have thicker skin, and understand that not everyone wants to be your friend or perceive you in positive ways.
  • Your mental health is very important because it determines how you perceive and respond to stressful situations. Invest in some time for yourself to reorganize your thoughts, worries, goals, and such. Do little things that help make your life easier, simpler, or healthier.

What Causes Cancer? A shocking truth..

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What Causes Cancer? A shocking truth..

written by Beatrice
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I was shocked the first time I heard how and WHY cancer happened. I was also surprised that the medical doctors I have met throughout this journey never explained to me WHY cancer happens at the first place, because we need to know the WHY to get to the prevention/improvement.

This 8 minute video by Shafin de Zane explains well the cancer happens at the first place because our cells are trying to protect itself by mutating, otherwise it would die because it is swimming in a sea of toxins. And also, it shares how cancer can be prevented quite easily. Please do watch this and share with others!

National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness

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On April 10th, it was the National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day. Social media, news, and all sorts of media posted about how it is “an opportunity to learn about HIV & AIDS and how young people are affected” (https://www.aids.gov). But it is still great to pass on knowledge about these issues and to learn more about current updates and research. Here are some links to more information about HIV & AIDS.

Blog posts:
Additional resources include:

Push for No More Tobacco

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From http://www.hhs.gov./

Source: Johnston, L. D., O’Malley, P. M., Bachman, J. G., & Schulenberg, J. E. (2014). Monitoring the Future national survey results on adolescent drug use, 1975-2013: Volume I, Secondary school students. Ann Arbor: Institute for Social Research, The University of Michigan.

Over the last 40 years, the use of tobacco has steadily decreased due to many enforcement of laws, regulations, government and local support, and established health awareness programs. But the concern is now focused on teens and adults who are still buying and using tobacco in different forms. Once someone has used tobacco, they could eventually or become immediately addicted to nicotine.

So what are the trends of using tobacco besides smoking tobacco:

  • Oral tobacco products that dissolves in the user’s mouth; they still contain tobacco properties that puts the user’s health at risk and they can come in different forms and flavors.
  • Hookah is a mouth piece smoking pipe that is commonly popular among teens and is used among groups where they pass it on to each other. Not only is it not sanitary of bodily fluids, it is technically like smoking a cigarette where the toxins are released and inhaled into the body.
  • Smokeless tobacco is in the form where tobacco can be sniffed and chewed. “For smokeless tobacco use, the highest rates of initiation are in the seventh through 11th grades. Although approximately equal proportions of male and female adolescents smoke cigarettes, users of smokeless tobacco products are nearly all males.” – http://www.hhs.gov/
  • E-cigarette is a cigarette that can be used electronically to vaporized a liquid that gives off the feeling that one is smoking tobacco. Although e-cigarettes has no tobacco, they still contain nicotine.

Sometimes, people don’t understand the consequences of using tobacco. The fact that tobacco was scientifically proven to lead to other cancer diseases and cause the user to have other health related problems is already a concern. We can’t stop the production of tobacco, but at least try to educate the public what tobacco can do to the body.

  • Increases the risk of almost every organ disease such as the mouth, bladder, stomach, lung, heart, kidney, and more.
  • Worsen asthma symptoms
  • Nicotine is scientifically proven to be a addictive stimulant and can cause people to rely on it for temporarily relaxation
  • Affects the body’s sexual, thyroid, pituitary, and adrenal hormones
  • Affects the production and sensitivity of insulin that could lead to type 2 diabetes and other potential health issues
  • Trying to quit smoking tobacco can cause physical reactions such as strong cravings for the substance, an increased appetite, insomnia and sleep disturbances, gastrointestinal problems and mood-related complaints including anxiety, anger and frustration, depression, irritability and restlessness. –  [source: MayoClinic]” – http://science.howstuffworks.com

So before using tobacco in any way of any form, think about how it could affect you, your body, and your health in the long term.