Easy Ways to Help Raise Self Esteem

For many people self-esteem is a problem that can be a lifelong issue and one that can seriously impact both personal and professional relationships. While many would seek to raise their self-esteem, they may find that this is easier said than done, as this is a tremendously sensitive and delicate issue. In order to raise one's self-esteem, it is critically important to understand the nature of self-esteem and how it develops as well as the important link between self-esteem and success.

Generally, self-esteem is relate to your view of yourself, how others view you, your abilities and your accomplishments. Low self-esteem develops when an individual feels that they will fail at tasks they attempt or when they think that others do not think highly of them and their accomplishments.

Self esteem touches every aspect of our lives; both public and private. Therefore it can impact how we interact with our families, our co-workers and those we are involved with on a social level. Even hobbies can be affected negatively or positively by self-esteem. Due to the fact that self-esteem is an integral part of developing a happy, successful life and career, the lack of self-esteem can result in very serious situations. Low self-esteem has been linked to depression and suicidal thoughts.

Fortunately, there are a number of ways that an individual can go about raising their self-esteem. In situations in which low self-esteem is resulting in thoughts of self-harm or harm to others, it is critically important to obtain counseling in order to address these issues. In milder situations, low self-esteem can be treated in a variety of manners that involve relative privacy.

One of the most successful ways to treat low self-esteem is by addressing and reviewing those issues in the past that may have resulted in a negative mindset. In many cases, the root issues may have involved either accomplishments that were attempted but not achieved or perhaps an individual from the past who caused hurt with belittling comments. Whatever the root issue may happens to be, the key to overcoming low self-esteem involves taking the time to recognize the impact the issue has had on your current life and then casting it away from you. Imagery techniques can be particularly useful in this context. Imagine tossing the source of your low self-esteem far away from you.

Other techniques that are frequently used to raise self-esteem involve detailed record keeping. You may be quite surprised to find that you are good at a number of things. Toward that end, make a point to keep a record of all your accomplishment; even if they may seem minor or insignificant. Review these regularly and eventually your low self-esteem will be replaced with high self-esteem.

Want To Improve Your Health? Improve Your Circulation With Yoga

Yoga has been shown to improve the health of those who practice it, in many ways. These include mental and physical health as well as, for some, spiritual aspects of their lives. Yoga can have dramatic effects on the lives of many people.

And one area where that can be evident is in general blood circulation. Yoga exercises are very good for improving blood circulation and for anyone suffering from a circulatory problem it is well worth considering taking up Yoga, after a suitable consultation with your doctor. And blood circulation is important to so many aspects of our health.

All the tissues in our bodies need to move regularly to function properly. Witness what happens to those who are bedridden and suffer all sorts of problems related to their inability to move around enough.

The practice of Yoga ensures a good flow of blood to the tissues of our body. This in turn ensures a supply of oxygen because blood carries oxygen. And this helps improve the functioning of our organs and our general health. It will help in many areas of our general physical and mental health.

And those who suffer from some mental problems such as reduced memory may well also find that the regular practice of Yoga and the resultant improvement in oxygen supply to the brain from improved blood circulation results in some improvement to their specific mental problems.

This can be true in so many areas of our lives. Yoga can be beneficial during pregnancy for example, and there are many women who suffer from circulatory problems during pregnancy. The practice of Yoga can help maintain the womans overall health and mental well being and this may well in turn give her better physical ability and confidence to help her with the delivery.

And there are all sorts of other physical conditions which can be improved with improved blood circulation which results from the practice of Yoga. Perhaps you will find that blood pressure problems improve, or back pain may improve or even just that you get a better nights sleep.

There are many benefits to be found from a disciplined practice of Yoga, many stemming from improvements in the overall circulatory function. There are even some particular Yoga exercises called Inversions which are especially developed to improve stamina and the strength of the upper body, and these also help improve blood circulation.

Inversions keep your legs above the level of your heart which in turn affects the flow of blood. They should be done after long periods of standing. There are some who should avoid inversions, such as pregnant women, and anyone suffering from a specific medical problem should of course consult their doctor first.

Yoga is a discipline like any other, and so the benefits you get from it will depend on the degree to which you practice Yoga, however if you do so regularly, dont be surprised to find your overall health increasing.

And there are many Yoga exercised that can improve overall health by improving the circulation. Consult your instructor if youd like to learn more about the effects of Yoga on circulation, and find out more about the specific Yoga exercises to help you improve your circulation.

Foods That Can Improve Mental Health

Mental health can be attributed to many things, and one of those things is diet. This has warranted the most attention from the mental health community than perhaps any other form of therapy. Nutritional awareness and increased popularity of non-pharmaceutical solutions to health problems has led to a great deal of press and some pretty strong claims on both sides of the mental health argument.

1. Eating Patterns

It's no secret that eating habits are related to mood - people tend to eat when they are sad or depressed for example. Things like poor nutrition, a failure to eat on an appropriate schedule and other factors are common to both.

2. Low Carbohydrate Diet

Certain diets have a discernible impact on mood and mental health. The popular low carbohydrate diets that are often vaunted as a great means of promoting weight loss, for instance, may increase the risk of depression. This is because foods rich in carbohydrates tell the body to produce chemicals including tryptophan and serotonin. These substances create a sense of well being in a person and their absence can have a dramatic impact on mood. Many people who cut carbohydrates from their diets may experience depressive symptoms as a result of the shortfall in these substances. The impact of carbohydrate intake on depression remains somewhat unclear. Of course, it does serve as an example of the way our bodies interplay with food can influence our emotional state.

3. You Are What You Eat

We have all heard the old clich? that you are what you eat. As with most oft-repeated phrases, its popularity is largely based on its accuracy. What we take into our body does have a profound impact on how well it functions. Although we often tend to think of mental health problems as being divorced from the physical realm, they do originate in the body. It only makes sense to consider how various nutrients and dietary habits may affect depression and other mental health concerns.

4. Vitamins

Certain vitamins also seem to be linked with depression. The B vitamin group, in particular, is often mentioned alongside depression. This is because B vitamins are key to the functioning of our nervous systems. Vitamin B6 is one example. Research has demonstrated that those suffering from depression often have very low levels of Vitamin B6 in their systems (as well as low levels of the aforementioned seratonin). Although most citizens living in industrialized nations generally to manage sufficient dietary impact of B6, certain medications (including birth control pills and hormone replacement therapy drugs) actually interfere with B6 ingestion.

5.Overhaul Your Diet

Far too many people eat out. It might shock you to actually discover how many calories are in a single hamburger these days. Eating a healthy and well-rounded diet consistent with recognized nutritional recommendations may be a good way of battling depression. A failure to restrict your diet to healthy choices may make you fat, and being fat might make you more depressed - being depressed makes you eat, and the vicious cycle continues. Break the cycle!

Some people believe that our brain becomes inactive when we sleep. If that were so then we should not have any dreams. Dreams are evidence that our mind remains active, even when we are asleep. This simply means that our mind is active 24 hours a day without any rest at all. Just imagine how our bodies would behave if we were to go through 24 hours of physical activity.

Although research may show that 30% of mental illness may occur without a trigger of stress, it also shows that a majority - 70% - of mental illnesses occur with stress. The research may have failed to look at the other 30%, mentally ill who may not be 'acknowledging' stress at a given moment. This gives us a pessimistic view of mental illnesses. We are made to believe that we can do nothing about them.

We are also told that mental illnesses occur because of our genes, our upbringing, our personality, our temperament, our lifestyle and we can do nothing about them. Stress or no stress, we are told, if we have all these factors loaded in our personal history, we are prone to have a mental illness. Some psychiatrists adhere to this belief strongly. This belief is then put across authoritatively as the "gospel truth" of science. Naturally, this brings up a sense of low self-esteem and helplessness in the person who is suffering with the illness. We are then made to believe that medications are man-made answers to mental illness, which is a curse of nature.

Prayer, which was until recently considered unscientific, has now been shown to have beneficial effects on patients.1 Similarly, the current belief in psychiatry is that mental illnesses can be treated by medical professionals only and the person who is mentally ill has no control over their lives. The medical system works in a way in which the doctors themselves have limited choices other than prescribing drugs.

The patient has no choices worth mentioning. From the legal perspective, a person who is mentally ill is considered not capable of taking any responsibility for their actions. This is one of the most unfortunate aspects of mental illnesses. People who are mentally ill also have a sense of responsibility in many areas of their lives.

The role of emotions in mental illnesses has been totally ignored by scientists. Yet researches do show that separation from mother,2 losses3 - including deaths,4 traumatic events, especially when they occur over the previous three months5 can trigger mental illnesses. What has been looked at is the history of such events in a person's life. What is ignored is the emotional upheaval it causes in a person's body and mind.

Emotional expression ameliorates the effects of trauma.

6 Repetitive upheavals in the body are simply not forgotten. Release of emotions by emotional expression explains the role of counselling and confession. We tend to believe, erroneously, that everything will settle with time. Things do settle with time - but not everything. It is these issues and their emotional effects, that cause mental illnesses and psychosomatic illnesses. It is obvious that whenever we undergo any emotional experience, our nervous and hormonal systems are shaken-up. The nervous system and the hormones together control the activities of various parts of the body. If the neurohormonal expression is allowed to go through completion, a physiological calmness occurs in the body. This has a scientific basis.

7 For people who attend church regularly, a common experience is the sense of calmness on entering a church. Coupled with music, incense and sermons spoken in a low, soft tone, a sense of calmness dwells on the person. There is scientific evidence to suggest that going to church helps a person remain healthy.

8 More interesting is the fact that there is little research to state that music or aromatherapy help to bring about mental health. Yet experience shows that they have a calming effect. Only recently have papers started to be published in scientific journals bridging the gap between spirituality and science.

9 It has now been researched that people who are religious in orientation have a lower rate of strokes than those who are not religious.

10 The whole area of mental illness is about losing a sense of freedom. When we find ourselves bound to emotional issues of our life, that we cannot rid ourselves of, we lose our freedom of thinking. This creates stress in our mind and our body bears the brunt of it. This loss of freedom brings up a sense of fear or a sense of helplessness. Both such feelings bring up a sense of insecurity. A person loses confidence in their own worth. Self-esteem becomes low. With lack of confidence and low self-esteem, comes poor decision-making. A person suffers with all these conditions when suffering with a mental illness.

This changes the behaviour of the person. The behaviour is affected by the way the person feels and thinks. If the person feels fear for a long time, the chances of becoming phobic and paranoid increase. Withdrawal from social situations occurs. The family members observe the person to be unwell. Such a person is then asked to see a doctor. With the person's self-esteem low, vulnerability increases.

This does not mean however, that the person becomes totally irresponsible towards their own well-being. Many times the person wants to do 'something' to get better, but the health system has limited resources to offer much in terms of growth of the person, except medication. When a mentally ill person goes to seek help - confidence, self-esteem and sense of freedom are already lost. Instead of helping the person become independent, there is a tendency to make the person dependent on medication.

Medication plays its role in controlling the condition or state of illness. It does nothing to improve the quality of life permanently. To improve their quality of life, the person needs to take responsibility for their own well-being. This is encouraged in some of the organisations, which are being run by the sufferers themselves. GROW is an example of such an organisation. Are there any alternatives to medication in mental conditions? A doctor can only prescribe drugs to "control" the mental condition.

The current trend in some other parts of the world is to encourage people suffering with mental illnesses to take responsibility for their own well-being, along with medication. Psychotherapy11 and self-help is encouraged. The usage of medication in such situations is minimised or eliminated.

In psychiatry, we know that the suicide rate among physicians is higher than in the general population and psychiatrists are at a greater risk among physicians, than other specialists.

12 Research shows that psychotherapy is more economical than medication alone in treating mental illness.

13 Conditions like schizophrenia are also being treated without medication in some parts of the world.

14 It is also a known fact that the more positive the attitude we have, the more balanced are the chemicals in our body.

15 This would be more acceptable for those who see the positive role of religion on mental health. Some authors have suggested that the medicine of the future is going to be "prayer and Prozac."

16 Mental health is a preventative activity. Do we need to suffer first before we take steps to deal with it? If we could only assume responsibility for our own mental health, we may not have to suffer. The best medicine in this case is certainly prevention.

We live in a free society. The freedom to suffer is also one kind of freedom. We also have the freedom to look for answers to minimise our suffering.