Health

Everyone is so stressed these days. The will to live and the pursuit of happiness comes with a lot of ups and downs. Enjoying the good times is easy, but not everyone has the necessary skills to get through the difficult ones. When bombarded with responsibilities, setbacks, and disruptions, stress reaches chronic levels lessening one’s health and quality of life. 

How is it that some people are able to enjoy their lives no matter what? They have essentially learned how to reduce the stress which lightens their emotional load and physical strain allowing them to lead more positive lifestyles. Doing this does take practice, but it isn’t impossible. Just start with some of these suggestions listed below:

Laugh More

Life and the world around us are so serious these days. Everywhere you turn there is stress, drama, traumatic experiences, and chaos. Though you can’t always change what’s going on, learning to laugh can make even the most difficult challenges easier to overcome. As laughter is prescribed as the best medicine, start doing more to put a smile on your face. Watch a funny movie or television show, joke around with relatives and friends, or watch a funny video on the internet. 

Treat Yourself

Finances are a common struggle. When you’re barely making enough money to pay the bills, you often have to sacrifice getting things that bring you joy just to get by. Depriving yourself on a regular basis, however, dampens your mood and builds resentment. Every now and then it’s alright to treat yourself. A full body massage on a comfortable massage table in a tranquil setting will certainly take your stress away. A new t-shirt, pair of pants, or accessory can ease your frustrations. Treating yourself in an affordable and unselfish manner makes you feel better about life and fret less over your finances. 

Think Positively

Reducing your stress could be as simple as changing the way you think. When you’re constantly thinking about all you’ve got going on, particularly in a negative light, it compounds the stress to your mind and body. Altering your train of thought can take practice but those that are happiest and the least stressed in life think happy thoughts. So what your bills are a bit behind and your employer is riding you at work about a deadline. Find joy in the fact that you have a job to provide for yourself and others and these thoughts motivate you to keep pushing for better days. 

Watch the Content

The type of content you’re exposed to on a regular basis can have a lot to do with your mood. Late night news reports are often stressful as they talk of war, politics, natural disasters, and increasing crime. Social media creates an illusion of perfection in the lives of those you know which causes you to compare it to your own. Television shows and movies can be gory in nature or create a fantasy of happily ever after. Though it’s okay to review content, you should be mindful of the types you’re exposed to regularly. Too much of this type of content adds stress and can also leave you feeling anxious and depressed. Learn to intentionally watch and read things that are positive in nature to improve your mood and inspire positive change. 

Love What You Do

The average person spends more awake hours in the office than they do anywhere else. With work taking up such a large portion of your time, it only seems right to work in a career you enjoy. Unfortunately, work-related stress is common as many individuals work to pay the bills with companies they’re not satisfied with. This becomes overwhelming not only in the workplace but spills into their personal lives making everything stressful. If this is you, perhaps it’s time for a change. Create a plan of action to move into a career that you love. This daily passion will exude in your profession and reduce the stress you’re feeling at home. 

Why does it seem like some people are able to enjoy life more than others? It’s not because they have a certain amount of money, a particular house, or are married to the perfect spouse. It’s because they’ve learned how to reduce stress on a regular basis which makes it easier for them to get through the troubled times and lavish in the good ones. If you’d like to enjoy your life daily, start developing practices such as those listed above for positive change. 

The cannabis plant has always divided opinion. Those who partake either recreationally or medicinally tend to sing its praises, while those who don’t often have strong opinions against it – some warranted, others not. Psychoactive cannabis may come with mental health risks, but there is a new form of weed that is much, much different, and totally non-intoxicating: cannabidiol (CBD).

Cannabis is an herb containing more than 400 compounds, and one of those is CBD. Teeming with health benefits, CBD causes hardly any side effects and has been deemed safe and non-addictive by the World Health Organization. What’s more, the cannabinoid has unique and crucial value for our health, as it helps to regulate the body’s endocannabinoid system (ECS). Without getting too technical, the ECS is implicated in our mental and physical wellbeing, influencing immune system function, pain sensitivity, cognition, reproductive health to name just a few.

CBD can be used as a medicine, but hemp-based CBD wholesale products are also marketed as food supplements, and can be effectively used as a recipe ingredient. While available in creams, vape juices and edibles, the most suitable product type for using CBD in this way is a tincture oil.

CBD oil can be added to pretty much any recipe at any time, and goes particularly well with salad dressings. However, do be aware that the powerful earthiness of the hemp extract can be somewhat overwhelming if it is not matched by other strong flavors. Furthermore, as CBD boils at around 160°C (or 320°F), be sure that you aren’t heating your recipe beyond that after mixing in the CBD, or you will miss out on the benefits.

Here is a closer look at the benefits of CBD.

CBD: packed with antioxidants

CBD has lots of beneficial antioxidants, as studies have consistently demonstrated. Believe it or not, the US government has an active patent on CBD being used as an antioxidant medicine. Antioxidants are essential for brain health as they help to decrease oxidative stress, which occurs when the body fails to neutralize the harmful effects of free radicals, uncharged molecules which can cause cell degradation. Antioxidants are, therefore, very important for protecting neurological health.

CBD: a unique anti-inflammatory

There are many foods that can cause inflammation, especially processed foods such as ready meals. Sugar is also known for triggering inflammation, which can lead to breakouts of skin conditions such as acne. This explains why anti-inflammatory diets have become more popular. CBD is a very effective anti-inflammatory, as the ECS has a direct passage to the immune system through CB2 receptors. Taking CBD doesn’t directly reduce inflammation, but the compound stops the breakdown of the endocannabinoid anandamide. This chemical is a CB2 receptor agonist, and can send immunomodulatory signals to the immune system to taper inflammation.

Improve mental wellbeing with CBD

When we eat great food, not only does our physical health improve, but our mental wellbeing does, too. With CBD, this comes once again from the promotion of anandamide, but this time the chemical has an effect on the CB1 receptor, which is found in abundance throughout the central nervous system. The CB1 receptor regulates mood, and anandamide is an endogenous antidepressant, an effect it initiates as a CB1 receptor agonist.

Moreover, when we feel good about ourselves, we often have more energy and motivation, which makes us more likely to want to exercise – a positive knock-on effect.

CBD helps to regrow the brain

The brain tends to deteriorate with old age, or because of inflammation. When areas like the hippocampus are affected, the result can be neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. However, new neurons and brain connections can be formed with compounds capable of neurogenesis. Surprise surprise, studies have found that CBD is capable of just that. If your memory needs a boost or you just want to protect your brain’s health, boost your next meal with some CBD.

CBD is great for bone health

Our bones are in a constant state of flux, as minerals and calcium are pulled in and removed. However, with age, bones get weaker due to bone resorption, where more vital minerals are taken than replaced. This brings about an increased risk of bone fractures and osteoporosis. However, CBD helps to improve bone health as the ECS is implicated in bone growth. Those with broken bones can also enjoy quicker recovery times by adding CBD to their diet.

Final thought

Incorporating CBD oil wholesale into your meals is a clever way of enhancing your all-round health via regulation of your endocannabinoid system.

Everyone ages differently, but our lifestyle choices can make a huge difference in how well we do. And as we age, our bodies begin to lose the ability to produce some important minerals, nutrients, and essential chemicals our bodies desperately need. Thankfully, supplementation and a healthy and active lifestyle can help mitigate some of those changes and slow down the effects of aging. Here are some of the supplements everyone over the age of 50 should consider adding to their diet.

Vitamin D and Calcium

Vitamin D is one of the most important vitamins at any age, but it is especially important for people over the age of 50. We already know what an important role calcium plays in bone health, but vitamin D actually improves the function of calcium and helps the body absorb it properly. In addition to that, vitamin D plays a central role in maintaining immune function, preventing heart disease, diabetes, and various types of cancer.

That’s why it would be wise to look for a supplement that combines both vitamin D and calcium if you want to get their full benefit. Bone Builder Prime, for example, contains calcium, vitamin D, and phosphorus. It also contains MCHC, which is a crystalline compound that is highly absorbable and has been shown to have higher bone building and preserving effects than other forms of calcium. If you want to learn more about this supplement, you can find Bone Builder primer here.

Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12 is also very important and helps in maintaining our DNA structure. It’s also essential in the production of red blood cells and promotes nerve health. While you can get B12 from various sources such as fish, red meat, chicken, and milk products, our bodies slowly start to lose their ability to absorb B12 from food sources as we age. If you want to know if you’re getting enough B12, make sure that you consult your doctor. They might suggest that you take fortified foods or go for a supplement.

Fish Oil

Fish oil high in omega 3s can play an essential role in reducing inflammation, which is one of the main causes of many ailments as we age. Omega 3s can help reduce joint pain and swelling. Omega 3s can also help maintain cognitive functions. In addition to that, Omega 3s have been shown to reduce the total amount of triglycerides in the blood, which reduces the risks of clogged arteries.

Probiotics

Probiotics have been rising in popularity lately, for a variety of reasons. Probiotics are essential for proper bowel function. They have also been shown to help with excretory function issues like Crohn’s disease. There are products available that are fortified with probiotics such as yogurt, but if you are lactose intolerant, then you might consider taking a probiotic supplement. Probiotic supplements are also much stronger and have a higher concentration of the “good” bacteria found in yogurt so they are often more effective than trying to eat large quantities of yogurt or other probiotic rich foods.

Chromium

Our metabolism has a tendency to slow down with age and adding a chromium supplement to your diet might help. One of the benefits of chromium is that it can regulate blood sugar, which can help with the absorption of various nutrients found in our food. Chromium has also been shown to help maintain muscle mass and can also help with fat loss as well.

Glucosamine

The risk of getting arthritis becomes higher by the time we reach 50, and glucosamine can play an important role in preventing it from forming. Our bodies use glucosamine to produce various chemicals that are responsible for maintaining ligaments, cartilage, tendons, and important fluids that surround our joints. Supplementing with glucosamine can not only relieve pain caused by arthritis but could even reverse the damage that has already been done.

Boron

Very few people know about boron, but it can have many benefits, especially for older adults. Boron has been shown to boost immune function and bone health. Boron has also been shown to help prevent dementia and could help prevent Alzheimer’s as well.

Psyllium Fiber

Dietary fiber becomes increasingly important with age and is essential for maintaining proper bowel function. But adding psyllium fiber to your diet could have many other benefits as well. It has been shown to reduce blood sugar and reduce the chance of developing coronary artery disease. Other research has shown that psyllium fiber could help reduce the amount of cholesterol in the body by latching on to bile acid and fat and flushing them out through our digestive tract.

Melatonin

Melatonin is a hormone produced by our pineal gland and it plays an essential role in maintaining our sleep cycles. Levels of the hormones decrease with age, which could affect your ability to get quality sleep. That’s why it would be wise to supplement your diet with melatonin if you suddenly start developing a sleeping disorder. A lack of sleep has been linked to higher rates of heart disease and diabetes, making melatonin that much more important for older adults.

Conclusion

While you can never completely reverse the effects of time, there are some things you can do to minimize them and continue living a healthy and active life. Make sure that you consider adding these supplements to your diet and consult your doctor for recommendations as well.

Depression – and mental health illnesses in general – have a lot of stigma surrounding them still. As the years go on, mental health is slowly being talked about more and more. However, there is still a long way to go because there are many widespread and “accepted” myths that surround depression.

Depression means you’re suicidal

There is a very common misconception that having depression automatically means that the person suffering must be suicidal. However, you should understand that some depressed people can experience suicidal thoughts, but not all do. It is very much possible that a person can be depressed without being actively suicidal. This also doesn’t mean their depression is any less authentic than a depressed and suicidal person’s case.

Antidepressants are a cure for depression

As much as we wish that there was a definitive cure for depression, that sad reality is that there is none. Antidepressants are not a cure. Antidepressants are one of the many treatment tools used to fight depression. Also, different antidepressants work for different people.

Therapists can’t help truly depressed people

This myth is sort of along the same phrase as the one above. It’s a sweeping generalization that is incorrect. It probably developed and stayed around because of a lasting mistrust of “shrinks” back when psychology was a more underdeveloped field. The truth is that therapists can be more effective in treating someone’s depression than medicine alone. In fact, therapy is the most effective treatment for depression! While it is important to realize that a lot of depressed people don’t have reliable access to therapists (mostly due to costs associated with therapy), it is also important to note that there are many avenues where people can get affordable help from a licensed therapist. One of the leaders in making mental health help more affordable and accessible is BetterHelp.

Depression is the same as a “bad day”

Here’s the thing: we all have our bad days. We all don’t have depression. Depression is not just a bad day. Depression is considered a psychological, social, and biological (read: physical!) disorder. People with depression struggle for weeks, months, and years. Dealing with the occasional bad day is not even on the same playing field as dealing with depression.

Talking about depression makes it worse

Having an open dialogue about depression and mental health issues does the opposite of “making it worse.” Talking about depression alleviates the stigma surrounding the disorder. It makes the people suffering from depression feel more open and willing to share their experiences to those who will listen – this in itself can prove quite cathartic. The more the world talks about depression, the more people can learn about the disorder.

Children can’t be depressed

There isn’t a minimum age to be diagnosed with depression. However, even though most of the classic symptoms don’t surface until around age 12, that just shows that children can be diagnosed with depression. In fact, more kids than ever before are being diagnosed with depression; this can prove a good thing because they can start treatments much earlier and recover sooner.

There are many myths and stigma that surround depression. This is not an inclusive list, but it should be enough to show that depression is a very real, legitimate, and serious disorder that disrupts millions of lives. Busting a lot of these myths should lead to an even more open dialogue about depression and mental health in general.