We all know that nothing stays the same. And we know that life is constantly changing. However, I think that we all under-estimate this fact in many ways. What I mean is…When things are going great in our lives, we don’t think about the times that they weren’t so great. And, when things are going badly and we are feeling sad, it’s sometimes hard to remember that we were ever happy. In both these cases, it is important for us to not only remember, but to also reflect.
I think this is important because if we take some time to reflect on the bad days, on days that are going well for us, we can get a better perspective on our lives. Seeing a bad day from the perspective of a good day, allows us to become “aware” of the notion that time heals. Something that on our bad days, we may not be able to fully appreciate.
The swine flu vaccine will be available very soon, but there is still skepticism surrounding its safety. Generally, I have a strong opinion about these types of things, but my feelings about this vaccine are still uncertain.
One thing I am sure about though…This vaccine should not be made mandatory for anyone (including health care workers). I do believe health care workers should be among the first to have access this vaccine, since they will be the ones treating the sick. However, making it mandatory and threatening peoples jobs (especially in this economy) is totally unacceptable. But that is exactly what is happening in some states.
It is Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month. But why do we need to have more awareness of gynecologic cancers? Well, there are many reasons, here are three.
1. We need to be reminded of the early warning signs of these types of cancers. Not just for ourselves, but for all the women in our lives.
You could someday be the one who tells a friend she needs to see a doctor for a particular symptom she is having. You could be the one who contributes to saving her life because she caught her cancer early.
2. We need to understand that even as we go about our days untouched by cancer, there are many other women who are not as fortunate…And we need to have compassion and empathy for those women.
3. Knowledge is power…And we do not have to be powerless in the face of gynecologic cancers.
I hope that this post will address each of these aspects of awareness.
Do you want to lose weight, feel healthier, or just start eating better? Jumping off the junk food band-wagon isn’t easy. Making the decision to give it a try is a great first step. But quitting cold-turkey is generally a bad idea. Sometimes making small changes, and working up to more, is a better way to do it.
Make one change in your diet today, and keep it up for a week. Then in a week, make another change. Keep adding to your healthy eating changes week after week, until eating healthy is just what you do.
Here are a few places you can start.
1. Eliminate or limit your intake of refined sugars, (ie: cookies, cakes, candy, soda, etc.), nature sugar from fruits are o.k.
Is stress wearing you down? Are you worried about the bad economy? Your job? The mortgage? Your health? Your family? If so, you are not alone.
Life is always changing, and that can feel very stressful. But often, seemingly bad things will happen in our lives, that will actually turn out to be the catalysts to something positive. It’s very true that when one door closes another will open. Although it never feels so great when that one door closes. Recently I’ve had several doors close on me. But as hard as it’s been, I can already see that these things needed to happen to bring me closer to where I am meant to be.
There are three things we can do to help relieve the stress in our lives…
Today is my birthday. Should I be stressed because I’m getting (and looking) older? Or should I be grateful for the opportunity to have another year of life?
I know the politically correct answer is – be grateful. But truthfully, it’s more of a mixed bag for me. I admit that I like it when people tell me that I don’t look my age (even when I know they are probably lying). But at the same time, I really am thankful for every day of my life. And overall, I’m more grateful for turning 233343 than stressed about getting older.
To most people, birthdays are just a reminder that they’re getting older. But at the American Cancer Society, “Happy Birthday” is a victory song, because a world with less cancer is a world with more birthdays. And that’s definitely something to celebrate.
More than 11 million Americans who have survived cancer—and countless others who have avoided it—will celebrate a birthday this year, thanks to the progress we’re making together to help people stay well and get well, to find cures, and fight back.
Here are three easy tips that can help anyone become a healthier version of themselves.
1.You are what you eat, and it is never too late to start eating healthy. Every day, try your very best to put healthy foods and plenty of water into your body. When you have a choice between something healthy and something not healthy, go with the healthy choice. But, don’t be too hard on yourself on the days you fall back into old habits. There is no rule that says, to be healthy you have to be perfect. Even if you are eating healthy 50% of the time, that is still better than none of the time.
If you are one to never go for the healthy choice, then start today with a commitment to eat one thing that is good for you (just one thing that you would normally not eat), and do that for a week. After a week, start eating two things that are good for you, and so on, and so on. Before you know it, you’ll be eating healthy half the time…And that’s a great start.
You can start today, loving yourself and your family enough to stop poisoning your body with unhealthy foods. Heart disease is the number one killer in our country. And 80% of heart disease is due to eating an unhealthy diet that leads to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes. Start today, and take a bite in the right direction…Your heart will thank you.
Joint pain in my hands and wrists has been making typing on this laptop (and a lot of other things) somewhat problematic over the last few weeks. Usually when this kind of thing happens to me it only lasts a couple of days, and I generally try to ignore it. I’m not at all excited about the prospect of having any additional medical problems.
Although my doctor believes I may have Rheumatoid Arthritis and would like me to get the blood-work to confirm it…I’m resisting. Instead, I’ve agreed to at least use Tylenol and take other (non-medical) measures to reduce the pain and swelling. Obviously, if things get worse, I will follow my doctors advice and see a Rheumatologist.
This week has been designated as a week to raise awareness and change perceptions of adult and child Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). And this year there will be a focus on the reasons why early diagnosis is so important.
Because proper diagnosis is so important, I’m starting this post with information about the common symptoms of ADHD, and I’ve ended it with informative links.
Conquering Sugar Addiction: The First Step Towards A Healthy Diet (and the toughest).
Okay, here’s the thing…I have seriously fallen off the healthy eating wagon this summer. Of course this isn’t entirely my fault. And if we’re going to place blame, some of that should go to my son. Because for some reason, he was compelled to make homemade brownies once or twice a week throughout the entire summer…And I was (obviously) compelled to eat them.
Even though I see my son as part of the problem, he would probably say (and has said), that it is my sheer lack of will power and self control that is the real problem (such wisdom he has).
But regardless of who is to blame (meBriansomeone other than methe economymy mothermy daughterme), now that he’s off at college, I can’t really use him as an excuse for my bad behavior.
“Go Confidently In The Direction Of Your Dreams” — Henry David Thoreau
With the pressures of daily life, do any of us really have time to think about our dreams? Do we even know what our dreams are? Kids know what their dreams are, just ask them…What do you want to be when you grow up? It is always such and easy answer for them. But once we do grow up, then what? Is is too late for us?
What if we never realized, that we might have been forgetting to follow our dreams? Worse than that, what if we thought we were following our dreams, but it turned out that we were living a nightmare? Then what? Is it too late? Do we get a second chance at our dreams?
When is it too late to follow your dreams? I would like to believe the answer to that question is never. I think our dreams are ever changing, and ever evolving, just as our lives are. I think that it’s o.k. not to be exactly sure what our dreams are, and it’s also o.k. if our dreams change from time to time. The only thing that is not o.k., is to give-up on our dreams. Because, once you give-up your dreams, you lose hope for your future.
But why then, do so many people give-up or deny their dreams? That is an easy one to answer…They give up because they are afraid, afraid of failure. Fear is what stops us from following our dreams. Fear is the darkness that casts a shadow over our light. And, fear is what we need to overcome if we want to reach for our dreams.
The most important thing to remember…Is to never let go of your hopes and dreams, even when you are not sure what they are. So, take some time to figure out what your greatest dreams are for your life, and then walk confidently towards them, without fear.
One of the best things about being a contributing editor for BlogHer, is being able to showcase other women bloggers. So today, I thought we could take a look at some blogs about nutrition, weight loss, and fitness.
In no particular order, here are eighteen health and fitness blogs that I think you might like. I hope you enjoy checking them out as much as I did.
Move over Swine Flu…There’s a new health scare in town. Did you know you could be in danger of death from heart disease if your thighs are too thin?
It’s true. Or at least new research says it’s true. And we all know new research is never wrong (except in the case of newer new research).
Seriously. I’m so worried about it, that I’m in my car right now on my way to get myself the sinful Angry Whopper to prevent my thighs from becoming too lean. Well, not really. I’ve finally rid myself of that grease filled spicy delight, and I don’t dare risk getting hooked on it again. But there’s always fries, ice-cream, fettuccine alfredo, or my world famous triple chocolate brownie cake (just to name a few).
Frankly, it’s been a pretty long time since I’ve been in danger of the ill effects of thin thighs (the 80’s). But that being said, we should probably address this breaking health story with the seriousness it deserves. Because if you’re one of those ‘thin thigh’ girls, you’re gonna want to figure out how to fatten those babies up before it’s too late. Or maybe not.
Lets take a look at what other women are saying about this latest research.
September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness month. Although ovarian cancer is not one the of most common cancers in women, it is one of the most deadly. That’s why awareness of this disease is so important.
In this post we’ll take a look at the latest information and facts about this deadly disease. I’ve also included a blog roundup of women blogging about ovarian cancer, and a bunch of informative links.
Collected here are the top 10 most frequently provided answers to question number 22, “What is the one thing you’d like your family/friends to really understand about CFS?” Responses were limited to 100 characters, and some were stated using different words, but I’ve tried to capture the “essence” of the most consistent responses with a few direct quotes as well. READ FULL POST ATLIVING WITH CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME
Below is a video PSA for chronic fatigue syndrome…
There was an interesting article this week in TIME magazine – Getting Real About The High Cost of Cheap Food. The article goes into detail about the harmful effects of cheap food on our environment, our finances, and ourselves.
Hope you’re enjoying your start to the week. I just wanted to draw everyone’s attention to Time Magazine’s very excellent cover article this week. It details the true cost–economic, medical, cultural, environmental–of mass-produced and processed food, and it’s worth reading and sending to your loved ones A.S.A.P. The article probably won’t tell you anything you didn’t learn from Food, Inc. or The Omnivore’s Dilemma, but it’s powerful, succinct, and uncompromising. Most importantly, it’s a huge sign of progress that major newsweeklies are spreading word about the true cost of cheaply produced, high-protein diets.
My name is Catherine Morgan, and I'm a writer, nurse, and mother. Above are links to my blogs, that also list many of the posts and articles that I've written for them.
I'm also at BlogHer Health & Wellness.
