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You Can Choose How to Feel: 7 Ways to Create Positive Emotions
“The way to overcome negative thoughts and destructive emotions is to develop opposing, positive emotions that are stronger and more powerful.”—Dalai Lama Someone has triggered you—hit your “hot buttons,” and now you feel all riled up that your heart rate speeds up, and your skin perspires. You experience anger, resentment, frustration, or other negative emotions. Before you know it, you find yourself off on an emotional rollercoaster. Ugh! Why can’t you be happy!? Is that so hard?? Good news! You can choose how to feel. Meet Lillian: “I have been taking care of Mom and Dad for nearly twelve years now. Six years have been 24/7 living with Mom and…
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Seven Ways to Love Your Body
“I don’t have perfect teeth. I’m not stick thin. I want to be the person who feels great in her body and can say that she loves it and doesn’t want to change anything.”—Emma Watson Are you obsessed with how you look? Take this brief quiz to find out: Which statement best describes how you feel about yourself: I’m never satisfied with the way I look. I’m sometimes happy with the way I look. I’m always pleased with the way I look. What would you like to change most about your body? Weight Muscle tone Body shape Skin changes Hair texture Complexion Posture and balance Other Complete the following sentence:…
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How to Improve Your Mental Health Quickly
“Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.”—Albus Dumbledore When mental illness strikes, it is a cause of great sadness to those affected. Yet there is no need for a family to feel shame when this happens. Nevertheless, you want to know how your health can best restore your health. The good news is that there are several tips you can use to improve your mental health quickly, including: Practice deep breathing Engage in physical activity Connect with others Limit exposure to stress Get enough sleep Practice self-compassion This article will discuss each of these six ideas in detail.…
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7 Harms to You of an Unforgiving Spirit
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”—Martin Luther King, Jr. Did you know that forgiveness is much like the money? You can choose to spend forgiveness freely and mercifully on others, or stow away forgiveness and only use it for yourself. We should work to foster generous spending habits when it comes to forgiveness. Why? A vengeful or unforgiving spirit may only worsen matters and can harm your health. Take the example of Betty. Betty refused to talk to her sister-in-law for over eight years because, as Betty says, “she did me an unbelievable and unforgivable hurt…
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The Golden Mean: How Irrational Are You? How to Manage Difficult Emotions
“The best years of your life are the ones in which you decide your problems are your own. You do not blame them on your mother, the ecology, or the president. You realize that you control your own destiny.”—Albert Ellis Cathy, a full-time caregiver to her husband of 44 years, felt like a victim. Cathy’s husband, a sixty-seven-year-old brittle diabetic, had suffered a mild stroke but had recovered and doing well. Lately, however, Cathy experienced stubborn resistance from her husband to everything she tried to do to manage his health regimen, the household chores, and money. Cathy felt frustrated and resentful and said: “I am waiting for things to get…
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How to Find Pure Joy in Your Family Caregiving Duties
“I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.”—Rabindranath Tagore The above quote summarizes how I felt when caring for my dear loved one during his illness. Joy. So, imagine how I felt when reading the following comments posted to my Caregivers Hub Support Group: “Will we EVER get to spend time with anyone besides this old man? I’m thinking I will die before my 94-year-old father does. I need out of this! I have nothing left.” Priscilla “I’m in the same situation. I’m 74 and mother if 98. That generation is tough, and was not…
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22 Ways You Can Use Mindfulness to Have Better Health Today, Tomorrow, and Into Your Future
Not long ago, I met a woman named Bea. Bea felt so negatively about her home situation and caring for her ill husband of 44 years that she admitted to despising her husband and being tempted to leave him to fend for himself. Thankfully, she never went through with it and decided to stay. But what was happening to Bea’s health and well-being in the meantime? Bea felt shattered and hopeless. Because Bea had prolonged feelings of helplessness, she was losing her self-confidence and feeling stressed. Bea also experienced headaches, stomachaches, and anxiousness. Bea felt sure she was approaching burnout as she had little energy and difficulty completing simple, everyday…
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Change Your Mindset to Improve Your Relationships
“Becoming is better than being.”—Carol Dweck Mindset is a way of thinking. I watched Lisa Nichol’s show recently, and she had as her guest Shawn Stevenson, nutritionist, and bestselling author. I was so impressed with Shawn’s presentation that I was moved to write this article based on what he claims are our two most valuable assets: our mind (not our brain) and our health. The brain and the mind are not the same things. As discussed on researchgate.net, “The brain is an organ, but the mind isn’t. The brain is the physical place where the mind resides. “The mind is the manifestation of thought, perception, emotion, determination, memory, and imagination…
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How Passion Leads to Success: You Are Never Too Old to Learn
“Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you.”—Oprah Winfrey “Success is the accomplishment of an aim or purpose.”—Oxford English Dictionary Are you aged 50? What about 60? Perhaps, you’re older than 70? No matter your age or career, passion is vital—it is the key to your success in work and life. I am a retired university instructor and an experienced family caregiver, caring for my husband 24/7, for three years, including three months in hospice at home. Caregiving is a challenging and very stressful job. But I felt nothing but gratitude for my ability to care for my husband myself during his long illness.…
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A Story of Hope and Optimism: What It Means for You
“A rainbow is a prism that sends shards of multicolored light in various directions. It lifts our spirit and makes us think of what is possible. Hope is the same—a personal rainbow of the mind.”—Charles Richard Snyder What Is Hope? Hope is not merely an emotion. Hope does not mean having a pollyannish approach to situations in life. Oxford English Dictionary defines hope: as “a feeling of expectation and desire for something to happen.” But hope is also more than mere desire and better than mere expectation. Hope is directly related to our sense of possibilities. Hope is indispensable if you want to endure difficult circumstances without giving up or…