Handling Embarrassing Body Problems

Sometimes, your body just won’t cooperate however you want it to. You’re in an elevator with the girl of your dream when out of nowhere you let out a gas that could rival the Nagasaki and Hiroshima bombs. Here’s another scenario: You’re presenting your project to a group of clients and then your overactive sweat glands suddenly produced a sea of perspiration, drowning your clients. These body problems can be so embarrassing you would wish to vanish right then and there.

You’re not alone

When you experience an embarrassing body problem in a very awkward situation, the first thought that often comes out of your mind is, "Am I the only one who have these problems?" It may lift your spirit a bit to know that such problems are common to many other people as well. There seems to be a problem, though. Finding out how you can prevent or deal with the problem creates more problems. For example, who are you going to ask for help? Are you going to call your doctor or talk to you close friends? Or, as what you’re doing now, search the Internet for information?

Handling the problem

Hiccups, burps, and growls. These problems are caused by a combination of an irritation to the diaphragm and gas. Anxiety has found to be one of the culprits for these problems. Experts say that swallowing lots of air happens when you’re anxious. You can prevent these problems by moderating your intake of gassy foods few hours before the time when you want to be at your best. Be careful of such cruciferous vegetables as broccoli, cabbage, and beans. Drinking lots of water and limiting alcohol also help.

Bladder leaks. Small leaks when sneezing, laughing, or coughing can be very embarrassing. If you have urinary incontinence or overactive bladder, there are treatments available. First and foremost, you have to regularly visit your doctor, to make sure that your problem won’t get worse. You can also do things on your own to treat your problem. Kegel exercises can tighten your bladder muscles, which are responsible for the urine flow. Also, try emptying your bladder before participating in any activity that may trigger your bladder such as dancing or exercising. You should also avoid cola, coffee, and tea, if you’re going somewhere.

Excessive sweating. Excessive sweating is pretty normal, especially when we’re doing exercises and other physical activities such as walking, running, or dancing. But it’s absolutely not normal to perspire excessively only in some situations that don’t require much activity. According to experts, stress triggers this problem. It can be prevented by conditioning yourself to face stressful situations. You can also avoid this problem by using an antiperspirant deodorant. Additionally, you have to avoid foods that increase heart rate: chocolate, coffee, tea, as well as spicy foods.

Cotton mouth. You have a cotton mouth when your mouth begins to dry, causing you to have difficulty in speaking and eating. It can also cause halitosis and the development of cavities. Cotton mouth usually occurs when you’re very tired or when you’re anxious. When you’re tired and nervous, shallow breathing and stress hormones slow down the production of saliva, causing that "cotton mouth sensation". So relax or drink a glass of cold water every now and then.

Understanding Workaholism

In Japan, there is a health problem that causes 1,000 deaths every year and nearly five percent of that country’s stroke and heart attacks among employees under the age of 60. It is called "karoshi," death by overwork. Workaholism is also a problem in the Netherlands, where three percent of its entire population is affected by "leisure illness" wherein workers get physically sick on weekends and vacations as they stop working.

However in the United States, a person who suffers from workaholism is viewed as someone who has a "respectable addiction," someone who is working doubly hard whether or not he or she has a job. This addiction and obsessive-compulsive disorder is dangerous and could affect millions of Americans.

Difference between "hard work" and "workaholism"

People who are "addicted" to work are often mistaken as someone who "loves" to work, who puts in long hours more often than the rest of the organization. However, that does not necessarily mean that hard work and workaholism are one and the same.

The difference between a hard worker and a workaholic can be seen on how they balance their lives. A hard worker, although can also put in long hours in the workplace, can also look for ways to achieve balance in their lives such as where to relax over the weekend and have fun.

Meanwhile, a workaholic may get a vacation on an exotic island and still think about the deadlines and the briefings in the coming weeks. Another example is a parent who misses his child’s soccer match. While a hard worker misses the game because he "has" to work, a workaholic skips the match because he feels he "needs" to work.

These all-occupying attitudes have prevented workaholics from maintaining healthy relationships, outside interests, or even take measures to protect their health.

Causes of workaholism

There are various roots to workaholism. For one, workaholics tend to have an insatiable addiction to adrenaline, a hormone released during times of short-term stress. We may have heard the term "adrenaline rush," but unlike the extreme sports enthusiasts or people who like to ride roller coasters, workaholics get their rush from working in a really stressful environment.

Adrenaline gets their heart beat faster, pupils of the eyes dilate, boosts the supply of oxygen in muscles and brain, elevates blood sugar, but this also suppresses the digestion system as well as the immune system. And because work is done more often than extreme sports and other high-risk activities, workaholics are exposed to the hormone on a daily basis and its effects on the body are felt on a long-term basis.

Another cause of workaholism is psychological in nature, particularly when a person had low self-esteem during childhood and carried it into adulthood. Many workaholics are children of alcoholics or a dysfunctional family, and their addiction to work is seen as an attempt to control a situation that is not controllable.

They can also come from seemingly perfect families with parents who put pressure on their children to achieve unreasonable success, but they end up thinking that nothing is good enough thus pushing themselves harder until they find approval, which they will never find. After all, perfection is unattainable.

Seeking help for workaholics

It cannot be denied that workaholics need help to relieve themselves from such heavy stress of overworking. They have to recognize that there is a need to balance their lives and savor other aspects of life such as friends, family, hobbies, and themselves. Counseling is often recommended for workaholics, as well as support groups such as Workaholics Anonymous.

Get Motivated and Stay Motivated

People are born achievers. We set goals and reach them. Without our goals, we probably won’t even be around.

People are also ‘just human’. When we encounter a roadblock on our way to success, we get distracted and our drive buckles. Figuring out how to overcome this roadblock can be very frustrating.

Getting motivated

Getting motivated requires planning, setting realistic goals and expectations, and the right attitude.

Know your goal

Write down what you really, really want to achieve. Your ultimate goal can be something like "I want to get into Harvard," or "I want to lose 10 pounds in two months." It can be any major thing that you want to accomplish. It’s okay to have lofty goals, as long as you understand the work that you will put into achieving them.

As for writing down your goals, research shows that writing them down again and again is part of a mental process of committing to them.

Be specific

Being specific about your goal makes it easier to plan for it. So instead of writing down "I want to lose weight," write down something like "I’m 10 pounds overweight. I want to lose those extra pounds by the end of three months." Having a timeline also makes it easier to plan your moves.

Be realistic

One of the reasons why people get frustrated and give up altogether is because they set unrealistic goals. For example, you want to get straight A’s after a week of serious studying – but then, you have been slacking off for most of the term. How do you think that’s going to turn out?

Breakdown your goal

Breaking down your major goal into small steps makes it easier for you to stay on track. For example, your major goal is to have $1,000 in savings by Christmas. It’s February, which gives you 10 months to save. If you have a job by this time, your small steps could just be saving $200 every month, from now until December. Another small step could be finding another part-time job, if one job is not enough to cover everything.

Setting specific details also helps. You can jot down your work schedules, pay days, and computations to keep you focused. Check your mini steps regularly and mark each step that you’ve accomplished. This is to see if you are right on track, and know how far you still got to go. It is also good for you to see your accomplishments, even if they are just mini goals.

Clearing each small step is a reason for you to celebrate. It keeps you motivated and boosts your confidence level. After all, each one brings you closer to your ultimate goal. Go ahead and give yourself a reward.

Get back on track

Slip ups happen – usually when you make changes. Don’t beat yourself up over them. Don’t give up because of them either. If you slip up, forgive yourself, refocus, and get right back on track.

Write down your regular tasks and mini-goals and re-read your previous entries. Through this, you will be able to analyze how and when you slipped up. When you find out where you went wrong, you can avoid doing it, and refocus and recommit to your major goal.

If you slip up often, ask yourself if you are really committed to achieving your goal. Your writing can also help you realize how committed you are.

Stick to your goal

Visualize yourself achieving your ultimate goal. Seeing it in your head helps you believe that it can be done. When feeling low, summon your mental pictures to spike up your will and desire to succeed. Positive self-talk is also a good willpower and motivation booster.

Enlist the help of a friend

Supportive friends are great confidence boosters. If you have a friend with a similar goal, be each other’s buddy and cheer each other on. You can also check on each other, if the other is falling behind. However, if your buddy is distracting you rather than helping you, then look for another buddy.

Home Office: Take Comfort in Your Home Office

Computers can be a real pain. No, it’s not about the overwhelming flow of spam or buggy software. You know all the headache, backache, wrist pain, and red eyes you get after long hours of work in your office? Blame the poorly designed PC equipment. Fortunately, there’s a bunch of superb utilities and gizmos that will make you more comfortable and productive in your home office.

Wireless headsets

Many people rank phones as one of the top pain-inducers in their office. Cradling your handset between your ear and shoulder as you type may lead to neck, back, and shoulder pain. Save a trip to a chiropractor with a phone headset, which allows you to switch between your phone and PC’s audio at the click of a button?

Refresh rate

Many people just don’t realize it, but a properly adjusted PC monitor helps reduce eye fatigue. Staring at your display all day can also lead to headaches. To avoid this discomfort, try to raise the refresh rate. You may want to use RefreshForce, a free tool allowing you to set your the refresh rate of your monitor in a blink.

Multiple monitors

Even if your monitor has a good refresh rate, staring at it can still strain your eyes. That’s why experts recommend users to look away from the monitor at least once in 15 minutes.

A more intriguing solution is to have multiple monitors, which can save you keystrokes and mouse clicks. This saves you from jumping between screens on a single monitor. You’ll be surprised that this slight change of focus can keep your peeper muscles from cramping up.

Display’s font resolution

Switch on ClearType and you’ll see a significant improvement in the font resolution of your display. You can turn off ClearType by default. If you’re switching it on, just right-click the desktop, and then click properties, appearance, and effects.

Check "Use the following method to smooth edges of screen fonts," then from the drop-down list, select ClearType. Click OK twice.

Keyboard drawers

Try to visit an office and you’ll see people desperately needing help – they use keyboards with their hands and elbows not properly positioned.

If you’re like them, then you need keyboard drawers. Kensington’s Adjustable Underdesk Shelf allows you to adjust the shelf so that the keyboard is at the correct height, with your arms bending at 90 degrees. It comes with an adjustable mouse tray attached on the right or left side of the shelf.

Mouse

Finding a mouse that perfectly fits your hand comfortably can be tough. You may want to replace your old mouse with Perfit Mouse Optical by Contour Design. This model looks like a steam iron, which comes in different sizes.

Overcoming Bad Habits

Bad habits can be easy to start and hard to stop. If you have been doing them for a long time, you might find it hard to break them. But if you are really motivated enough to break such bad routines in your life, there is always a way that you can eventually succeed in overcoming them. Here are some tips that might be able to help you out.

Know what to change

Before you can be successful in breaking your bad habits, you should know what it is that you need to change. You need to know where you are going and what it takes to get there. Being clear on what you want change is the first step toward being able to break away from the bad habits.

Evaluate your approach

If you are already on your way to break that bad habit, try to evaluate what you are doing. See if what you are doing currently is effective in trying to get you where you want to go. If not, be strong enough to look for better ways if your current approach may not be effective.

Be practical and specific.

In order to break your bad habits, you need to be more specific in making your plans. Find practical solutions and be clear on what needs to be done. Deal with the things that you need to change and not wallow in your faults and weaknesses.

Look for support

Most of the time, you can’t break your bad habits all by yourself. You might need other people to help you out and give you the support you need. That is why the help of friends can help you become more effective in breaking your bad habits eventually. You can also try knowing other like-minded people who are also trying to break their own bad habits. You can support each other and work your way together to succeed in your goals.

Celebrate your success

Once you have successfully broken a bad habit, rewarding yourself can give you a sense of accomplishment and value to what you have just done. It can help you feel motivated enough to even work on those other bad habits that you might still have.

Most Stressful Cities In America

Stress seems to be a common problem among many industrialized cities today. In America, there are quite a lot of cities that seem to suffer from this problem. Certain contributing factors like pollution, quality of life indicators, unemployment and others have made such cities quite as stressful as they are. According to an article from Forbes, here are the top most stressful cities in America today.

Most Stressful City: Chicago Illinois

The city of Chicago holds the distinction of being the most stressful city in the US today. It suffers from a 7.3 percent unemployment rate, high gas prices that averages 4 USD per gallon and pollution that is seen as among the worst in the country. It is ranked number 7 in poor air quality and number 2 in terms of population density. All these factors work together to make life in the city as stressful as can be.

New York, New York

People won’t question New York being considered as one of the most stressful cities in the country. For one, it came first in terms of population density. Finding a place to stay in New York and paying the outrageous mortgage can be quite as stressful as finding the right work that can afford it. Renting can also be quite a problem as they are considered one of the highest in the country. Aside from that, New York comes in ninth among 40 major cities in the US when it comes to having the worst air quality.

Detroit, Michigan

Coming up third as the most stressful cities in the US is Detroit. It was once considered as the center of the country’s auto industry. But the recent recession has hit this industry hard and therefore, Detroit suffered. It currently suffers from a 9.4 percent unemployment rate as a result of massive layoffs from Ford and General Motors. And the industry also has contributed to its worsening air pollution, putting it on number nine among cities with the worst air quality. But on the upside, decreasing demand for homes has made home prices cheaper. Detroit is considered second among cities with affordable homes compared to income earned. But with a high unemployment rate, it would surely be hard to afford the mortgage, no matter how affordable the homes may be in the city.

Los Angeles, California

The most popular city in California also holds the distinction as the state’s most stressful one. With 7.5 percent unemployment rate, second in terms of having the least affordable homes relative to the average income earned and a city having the worst air quality in the US, Los Angeles clearly makes it to the least as the fourth most stressful city in America.

Surprising Reasons For Tiredness

Getting tired is quite a common occurrence nowadays. With more people having busy and hectic schedules to follow day in and day out, feeling tired at the end of the day seems normal. But there are times when people seem to feel tired without knowing the exact reason at all. Here are some of the surprising things that can make you feel tired.

Not Getting Any Sun

Sunlight seems to play a big role not only in your mood but also on feeling tired. Studies have shown that not getting enough natural light can get the body to go into sleep mode. Poor light exposure also seems to increase feelings of depression, irritability and anxiety especially during the winter where low light exposure is to be expected. Poor natural light exposure may also explain why you increasingly feel tired and moody during the winter season.

Sitting For Long Periods

Getting into the habit of just sitting all day long can also make you feel tired, even if you are not exerting any physical effort. Being sedentary can make you feel tired as the body equates stillness with that of sleep. Watching television at the same time can make you blink less which can lead to dry eyes and increase eyestrain. This can cause your body to go into sleep mode to put your eyes to rest. This explains why even doing nothing can also cause you to feel tired.

Irregular Sleeping Habits

Not following a regular sleeping schedule can also cause you to feel tired. Your body clock gets disturbed when you do not follow the same sleeping habits day in and day out. Going out partying all night in the weekends and then sleeping during the day can disrupt your body clock which can cause you to feel tired by the time Monday comes.

Mild Breathing

Mild and shallow breathing can also make you feel tired. Shallow breathing can result in your body not getting enough oxygen. If it goes on for too long, the body may not be getting the right amounts of oxygen it needs to function which can make you feel tired in the process.

Mild Dehydration

A lot of people can easily experience mild dehydration. If you feel thirsty at some point during the day, you might already be losing 2 to 3 percent of your body fluid. Not heeding your body’s call to take in fluid can further worsen the situation. Your body may not be able to get as much blood into the brain as it normally needs. This can cause the heart to work harder and your body to feel more lethargic and tired.

Reducing Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Risks

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a condition characterized by pain, numbness and swelling in the wrists and the hands. It is a condition brought about by various causes, which many experts now associate with repetitive motion of the hands for long periods of time.

Carpal tunnel syndrome or CTS has become quite a common condition among people who use the PC for long periods of time at work. Here are some ways on how people may be able to reduce the risk of developing carpal tunnel syndrome.

Ensure that your office equipment is placed at the most ideal levels at work. They should be at an ideal height and distance so as to prevent undue strain to your wrists and hands while working.

Try to avoid making your wrists and hands go through the same repetitive motions for long periods of time.

Make it a habit to take regular brief breaks at least every hour to rest your wrists and hands.

Try to give your hands and wrist a stretch. Try to stretch them into the opposite direction that you usually use them.

Make sure that you keep your hands warm while working. A cold environment can make your hands feel stiff and harder to work with. It would also be more likely to cause weakened or sore muscles that may increase the risk of CTS.

Causes of Workplace Stress

Workplace stress can affect your life negatively. The effects are not just limited to your place at work. It may also affect your overall life if it becomes unbearable. It can come from various changes that happen at work.

Increased Responsibilities

Stress at work can come as a result of being given new added responsibilities. With the workload increasing, one may now have to deal with more things and make work a bit more stressful.

Lack Of Control

Another possible of job stress is having lack on control over some tasks and duties. There are times when ones tasks are dependent on the actions of other co-workers and colleagues before they can be accomplished. Lack of control over such issues can be enough to cause stress at work that may affect different people in a variety of ways.

Poor Working Conditions

Considerable stress can come as a result of not having an ideal place to work in. It can affect you both physically as well as mentally. Lack of proper space as well as equipment may affect one’s performance on the job and cause stress gradually to people who usually have to bear with such conditions on a daily basis.

Lack Of Support

Some employees have to deal with a lot of stress on the job all by themselves which can usually be reduced with proper support from others in the same workplace. Lack of support over stressful tasks can easily affect anyone eventually which can cause job burnout

Tips to Improve Focus and Concentration

People are always victims to forgetfulness and lack of focus. Although most people may consider it as a normal occurrence, it may also affect other people if it happened more and more frequently. Here are some tips that can help you improve focus and concentration in any situation.

Be more organized.

One of the main reasons why people seem to be quite forgetful of things or lack focus is that they fail to organize their tasks or activities. Many people can become quite overwhelmed with what they have to do that they sometimes leave out an important task or be led to inaction just because they do not know where to start. All these just boil down to trying to develop the skill of organizing things.

You need to learn how to prioritize tasks by arranging them according to their importance. The most important tasks usually go first and are arranged down to the least important ones. It is important to have a written list of these tasks to keep track of what has been accomplished and what still needs to be done. This simple task can go a long way on trying to keep one focused on tasks especially if there are several of them that need to be done.

Take A Break

If you feel quite overwhelmed by the tasks before you, maybe you should take some time to get away from them. You may have been working for several hours and you find yourself losing your concentration bit by bit. When such time comes, try to take a brief break from what you are doing and go for a change of scenery. Try to get off your office cubicle and take a brief walk outside. Take a mental breather. This will help your brain recharge and improve your concentration once you get back on your tasks.

Express Yourself

When you have something on your mind that just keeps bothering you, you can easily find yourself losing focus and concentration more often. You may need to get it off your chest in order to get rid of it. For this, you might need to find a means to express yourself and let it all out. If it is a certain problem or concern nagging you, you might need to talk to a friend or colleague about it. You may also want to write it all on paper so that you may be able to clear up your thoughts. You may also need to find ways to address the problem itself in order for it to stop occupying your mind and affect your focus and concentration at work.