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Paddy Health

Achieving Optimum Health

“Optimum health is not just the absence of disease but the presence of wellness in mental, emotional, physical, spiritual and social areas. Some would also include financial health.”
Introduction
Optimum health is essential at all levels, from the individual to the society we live in to the environment around us. We have to start thinking of wealth not just in terms of possession of money and properties but also the possession of mental, emotional, physical, social and spiritual well-being.
Mental Health
The truth is mind is the forerunner of all states.
With a proper mindset, a poor man can still be happy. Conversely, if the mindset is not right, no matter how much material possessions you may have, you may still be a very unhappy person. Thus, Gandhi said, “The world has enough for everyone’s needs, but not enough for even a single person’s greed.”
So a healthy mind is one that possesses a mindset that can lead to happiness and contentment with self and the world around us. It provides clarity of thoughts, good insight and the ability to see things through an unbiased mind.
To be able to see things through an unbiased mind is no small feat. It is extremely difficult to note or observe the unfolding of events and phenomena without judging. We habitually associate emotions or feelings to events, and allow such emotions to direct our actions. Our likes for certain things and dislikes for others are closely associated with our emotions.
Click here for more information on 9 Best Cloud Hosting Providers and Services Dynomoon. Or click here if you’re looking for information on How to Delete Messages on iPhone for both people The Best Way 2022.It is our emotions that lead us to act impulsively at times. Thus a high level of self-awareness in this area is extremely useful. In fact, it is essential to our well-being. After all, things and relationships that may take us years to build can be destroyed in a moment of anger.
There are positive and negative emotions. Positive emotions such as love, compassion and joy should be cultivated, while negative emotions such as fear, anger and hate need to be eradicated.
When asked about this, a wise sage of India once illustrated with a story:
An old man said to his grandson, “Boy, I have two tigers caged within me. One is love and compassion. The other is fear and anger.”
The young boy asked, “Which one will win, grandfather?”
The old man replied, “The one I feed.”
At times, it may seem that we have no control over our emotions. This is not true. The truth is how well we manage our emotions depends on how aware we are of our emotions, particularly on the arising of our emotions. The earlier we are able to note the arising of our emotions, we better we can manage them.
More and more researches are showing that our well-being is closely linked to our emotional and mental health. Our body’s immune system is generally enhanced by positive mental outlook and emotion. Conversely, it is depressed by negative mental and emotional states. Thus, stress, worry, anger and fear are some states that may lead to physical illnesses such as hypertension, cardiac diseases, peptic ulcers, depression and a host of other ailments.
Physical Health
To maintain an optimum physical well-being, therefore, requires us to focus not only on our body but also our mind and emotions.
On a physical level, our body can be kept healthy through adequate sleep and rest, proper nutrition, regular exercises and a healthy environment that is free from pollution.
Spiritual Health
Throughout the ages, wise men have consistently informed and taught us that we are essentially spiritual beings.
Although medical science has not been able to reveal to us our spiritual nature, there are many indirect evidence that we would be foolish to ignore. Stories from people who had gone through a near death experience (NDE), or dying people with heightened nearing death awareness, or simply a cure from an ‘incurable’ disease all suggest that there is more to life than just the physical state.
Major religions of the world all based their teachings on the belief that we are essentially spiritual beings. According to these teachings, our physical existence is secondary.
While it may be true that we should focus our life more on our spiritual nature than our physical nature, it would be difficult for the majority of people to do so, at least not immediately. Things cannot change overnight. Mindset, however, can, and that is perhaps the best place to start.
Financial Health
However, on a more mundane level, most people are still stuck on how to survive from day to day, where to get the next cheque to pay for the house installment, so on and so forth.
Practically, therefore, we need to look into ways to achieve a financial state that would theoretically free us from the constrain of ‘forced’ work. This is where the concept of financial freedom is so attractive. According to this concept, one should strive for a state where we have one or more than one source of income that can be generated passively, that is, even when we don’t work.
This is what Robert Kiyosaki termed as ‘passive income’.
According to him, passive income can only be achieved by becoming an investor or a business owner, not a sole proprietor or an employee. To become an investor or a business owner, you must spend the time and money to acquire financial intelligence. Unlike IQ or EQ, you can acquire financial intelligence through self education.
To get a financial health check-up, consult an accountant, a banker or a financial planner you can trust.
Healthy Relationship
“No man is an island, entire by itself.”
As a medical doctor, I am in a unique position to confront and comfort dying patients. One of the most important thing that I have observed is that dying people do not ask about their money or possessions. Instead, they focus their remaining energy and strength on trying to heal wounded relationships. It is as though there is an inherent need to get a proper closure to a relationship.
Thus, forming and cultivating a healthy relationship is important for our well-being. Unfortunately, this is something we often ignored until it is too late. If there is any forgiving to be done, or the need to be forgiven, leaving things to the last minutes may end up with an unfulfilled desire for a closure.
Knowing this now, shouldn’t we spend more time and effort in improving our relationship with our loved ones, especially with our parents, spouse, children and siblings?

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Paddy Health

A Proven Way That Women Can Quit Drinking Without AA

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) has helped millions of people recover from alcoholism. For many women, however, AA may not be the best choice when it comes to the difficult task of quitting drinking. The main reason it may not be the best choice is this:
AA is based on the philosophy that self-centeredness is the root of alcoholism. In other words, AA’s approach is to instill humility and minimize egotism in its members.
While this method may have been appropriate for white males in the 1940’s when AA was founded, it does not meet the very different needs of women. Here’s why.

Women who have a problem with alcohol oftentimes suffer from feelings of guilt and low self-esteem.
Women already judge and berate themselves mercilessly.
What women need to recover is to develop a sense of competency in themselves and rebuild their feelings of self-worth.
Quitting drinking requires overcoming dependencies, forgetting the past and planning for the future.
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I agree that it is necessary for a woman to have humility in order to accept that she has a drinking problem. But taking humility beyond this first step is actually counter productive for the woman alcoholic.
Jean Kirkpatrick, Ph.D., founder of the Women for Sobriety Program (WFS), writes that “to accept humility is absolutely the worst thing that could happen to a woman alcoholic.” From long experience Jean understood that for women to overcome feelings of helplessness and powerlessness they must have a program that helps them to rebuild their self-image.
DOES GIVING YOURSELF UP TO A HIGHER POWER WORK FOR YOU?
The main component of AA’s program is spirituality. Specifically, they believe that in order to recover, one must surrender one’s will to a higher power.
WFS, on the other hand, does not encourage reliance on a higher power or something outside yourself. Women for Sobriety believes that your power must come from within.
THE WOMEN FOR SOBRIETY PROGRAM WORKS
This new, empowering method for women to quit drinking produces concrete results. An interesting study was published in the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse by L. A. Kaskutas in 1996.
What the study found was that after women became really aware that they had to do something about their drinking, the percentage of women who were sober within 1 year after attending Women for Sobriety meetings was 38%. In contrast, the percentage of women who were sober within 1 year after attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings was 26%.
WHY HAVEN’T I HEARD OF WFS?
One of the reasons why AA meetings are so prevalent is the fact that one aspect of their spiritual philosophy is a strong emphasis on service. Specifically, AA members are encouraged to attend meetings for life, and be part of a sponsorship program where experienced members assist beginners.
In contrast, because WFS encourages self-sufficiency, it does not promote lifelong attendance at meetings. Also, although WFS does not have a formal sponsorship program, it encourages an informal support structure among the women. A result of this WFS philosophy of leading women away from dependencies is that meetings are not as widely found with the Women for Sobriety Program as they are with AA.
The Women for Sobriety web site does, however, provide support in the form of on-line meetings, chat, and a bulletin board. They also have a large collection of popular books on recovery as well as their own literature for sale. This contrasts with AA meetings where only AA approved literature is allowed.
WFS MEETINGS ENCOURAGE CONVERSATION BETWEEN WOMEN
I like that WFS permits a wide range of meeting topics. And one of the best aspects of the WFS meeting format is that conversation is encouraged whereas AA has a strict “no cross-talk” rule during meetings.
Another difference between WFS and AA is that one-third of WFS members also attend AA meetings because they need more frequent meetings to stay sober and they like the fellowship and support. Women for Sobriety is open to this approach and, in fact, states that their Program “can be used with or without AA.”
AA, however, tends to discourage attendance at alternative programs. This can be seen through some of the wording in the introductory portion of the meeting where it is stated, “rarely have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path,” and, later: “many of us thought we could find an easier, softer way. But we could not.”
WOMEN’S REACTIONS AFTER ATTENDING THEIR FIRST WFS MEETING
Power comes from looking forward not back. It is very important for women to have a positive, proactive force supporting them when it comes to quitting drinking. This is different than the AA approach of focusing on negative memories of the past to prevent drinking in the future.
A classic example of this is I have had many women come to my Women for Sobriety group and tell me that after hearing a person’s drinking story at an AA speaker meeting, they felt so badly when leaving the meeting that they just wanted to go out and drink. In contrast, many women share with me that they feel positive and hopeful for the future when they get out of our WFS meeting.
WHERE YOU CAN LEARN MORE
If you are curious about learning more about the Women for Sobriety Program, click on the link I’ve provided below. There you will find some resources that I have put together for you. Some of these resources include:

Statistics on reasons why women like or dislike WFS and AA
Specific details about the entire Women for Sobriety Program
A revealing book describing the AA Program from a woman’s perspective
Why the Women for Sobriety Program may not be for you

http://www.ajpip.com/addictions/site_map.htm
AA has been responsible for helping women get and remain sober for many years and I applaud their efforts. However, I spent 3 years in and out of AA at the beginning of my sobriety and I was never able to get my heart into the program.
During that 3 years I purchased and read all the WFS literature and finally engaged the help of a private therapist. When I finally got empowered enough to start a WFS meeting in my area, my ability to stay sober became permanent.
I DID IT, YOU CAN DO IT TOO!
I have been sober for 8 years now. I attribute my continuous sobriety to several things that the WFS Program revealed to me:

The importance of getting to know myself and the reasons why I drank
How to develop a lasting positive self-image
The power was within me to pursue my true interests
That long-term sobriety is possible with the support of like-minded women in my WFS group

Jeannie Long

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Paddy Health

A New Look at Natural Acne Treatments

There’s a confusing array of product claims and treatment methods for acne that make it difficult for acne sufferers to determine their best course of action. The fact that there are several forms of acne, including cystic acne and the common acne vulgaris, complicates the picture. While the medical community does not have a cure for severe acne, there are a variety of products that will subdue moderate cases of acne and provide the sufferer with clear skin once again. Among these effective products are natural acne treatments that provide viable alternatives to the use of antibiotic medicines and ointments.
Natural remedies are derived from plants that have been used for generations because of their medicinal properties. The prestigious National Institutes of Health recently formed the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Health to evaluate the efficacy of herbal remedies by funding controlled scientific studies. Herbal remedies can be effective natural acne treatments.
Antibiotics are frequently prescribed for acne because there is a known bacterial component to cases of acne but certain herbs like Echinacea (Echinacea angustifolio) have known antibacterial properties as well. A soap made from Echinacea and other herbal ingredients is a viable antibiotic facial cleanser that helps fight and clear acne. This type of soap is also used for eczema, psoriasis, and acne rosacea. Scientific studies show that Echinacea helps the body provide the proper enzymes at the cellular level to protect cells against invasion by bacteria. Echinacea’s ability to aid in wound healing is beneficial not only for acne but also for insect bites and burns.
Echinacea is the hardy purple coneflower that is a staple of roadside plantings and home gardens. A more exotic and expensive herbal acne treatment is tea tree oil. There are over 300 species of tea tree but only one species (Melaleuca Alteronifolia) found in New South Wales, Australia is known to have antibacterial properties. Tea tree oil is derived from the leaves of the tree and is four to five times stronger than household disinfectants in killing bacteria. At the same time, tea tree oil is gentle to the skin. Tea tree oil is effective in killing the bacteria even in pus and will cause the body to eliminate pus from inside a pimple. Tea tree oil also acts as a mild local anesthetic which reduces discomfort and also helps to eliminate the red irritation from the skin, improving appearance and reducing acne social problems. Tea tree oil is readily available from herbal suppliers and is simply applied to the affected area with a Q-tip. Tea tree oil is used sparingly.
Witch hazel is not just a brand name but an actual herb (Hamamelis virginiana) that is still recommended as a topical astringent and natural acne remedy. When using these topical acne treatments it is important to be gentle. While it seems to make sense to attempt to vigorously scrub away the offending acne, both medical doctors and herbalists recommend a gentle face washing with even just the fingers as the best approach. Scrubbing merely dries the skin and causes it to produce more oils that are implicated as one of the causes of acne. Don’t over-wash either; specialists recommend washing the face just twice a day.
Along with topical products, herbal dietary supplements can be beneficial as a natural acne treatment as well. Burdock root (Arctium lappa) has long been used to treat boils and abscesses and is an acne treatment. One of the reported properties of burdock root is that it will bring problem-causing agents out of the bloodstream, thus potentially making a condition seem to worsen rather than improve. However, the theory behind its use states that it is simply eliminating toxic elements from the body and providing healing properties. When used as an acne treatment, herbalists recommend that topical burdock root be applied as well as taking a supplement that contains burdock. Burdock is typically combined with dandelion root (Taraxacum officinale) and golden seal root (Hydrastis Canadensis). Golden seal root was once used to prevent pitting of the skin caused by smallpox. Herbalists also recommend red clover (Trifolium pratense). All of these ingredients are implicated in improving skin conditions. Be sure to take these supplements only in the dosage indicated by the manufacturer or your herbalist.
Diet plays an important role in overall health and maintenance of healthy skin. A balanced diet that is rich in vegetables and fruits provides the necessary vitamins and minerals to support clear skin. A diet containing lots of vitamin A may lower sebum production and excessive sebum is one of the contributing causes of acne. The various B vitamins, especially vitamin B-6, can be beneficial as it is needed for proper metabolism of steroid hormones and sexual hormones are implicated in acne. Zinc is promoted as a cure for acne but there seem to be as many studies against zinc supplements as there are ones that promote zinc as an acne treatment. These vitamins are available as supplements but again, more isn’t always better; follow label dosing instructions.
There are plenty of old wives tales surrounding diet and acne outbreaks. Chocolate and fried foods have long been blamed for acne but there is no evidence to support this. However, the link between acne and dairy products is being subjected to scientific studies. A study published in the medical journal Dermatology in early 2005 found a link between teen acne and consumption of dairy products. For those whose acne is aggravated by dairy consumption, eliminating dairy products promotes clear skin. Another misconception is that acne is caused by dirt because the pores are clogged. Thinking that dirt is a cause of acne prompts sufferers to possibly over-wash the face and further aggravate the acne condition. Wearing make-up doesn’t cause acne either; look for modern cosmetics that are non-comedogenic (won’t clog pores), oil-free (water-based) and hypoallergenic (no added fragrance).
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Paddy Health

A Commonsense Guide to Exorcism

Enlightenment shines its spotlight in all the dark nooks and crannies of religious dogma gone wrong. As long as there have been humans and religious authorities to frighten the masses into obedience, there have been exorcisms. From trepanning in prehistoric times to the deliverance ministries and catholic rites of today, well meaning shamans and clerics have sought to exorcise the “demons” of mental illness and addiction to no avail. It’s time to stop the nonsense.
A Commonsense Guide to Exorcism
Bloodshot eyes stared at the crucifix six inches from his nose. Leather restraints lined with lamb’s wool fastened his arms and legs to the chair. The demon-possessed man lunged at the hand holding the holy symbol. Gnashing teeth struggled to bite the outstretched wrist.
Crimson scratches and cryptic markings appeared across his belly. Blood and sweat spattered the floor around the brute, while a puddle of urine under his chair slowly spread out until the priest could no longer avoid standing in it. The satanic beast chewed his tongue and the tender flesh inside his cheek. His tortured mouth spit blood and tissue and obscenities at those attending the exorcism.
What we have here is a Hollywood-embellished, grotesque superstition at work.
What happened to cause rational people to accept this archaic remnant of religious authority’s attempt to control the masses with fear? Frightened followers submit under scare tactics of hellfire and damnation. This is doubly effective because the authorities believe in what they are teaching people. They too fear the evil entities brought to life by their imagination.
Why are we so vulnerable to this indoctrination? Because all souls are encoded to seek God. We begin our life on earth with a “god-shaped hole” in our soul. God puts it there so we will want to find our way back to Him.
We spend our lives trying to fill the “empty spot.” We pack it with lovers, religion, money, drugs, work, excitement, gambling, etc. None of these fits, so we’re soon on the search again looking for love, for attachment, for distraction, and for fulfillment.
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Family traditions, religious teachings, television, movies, and books instill the belief in demons, devils, and possession. When someone in authority tells a person that they are possessed by a demon, most believe it. Traditions, television, movies, and books show people how a demon-possessed person is supposed to act. Psychogenic purpuras is the medical term for stress related bruising and bleeding from the skin and mucosa. It’s common in cases of great emotional stress. It’s “super hives.” Exorcisms are created for these man-made demons.
As cultures progress, they recognize the absurdity surrounding religious superstition and dogma. Today we understand that the Greek and Roman mythological gods were a phenomenon of that age, and our enlightenment invests less and less fear in imaginary devils and demons. Education shines its light in the dark corners of the mind. A culture’s fear of demons is in direct ratio to the education of its people.
Fear of an overwhelming power of evil is a learned fear. It is taught in order to control the behavior of people. Religious belief and spiritual authority without the influence of science is superstition. In the same way that Galileo was excommunicated from the church for saying that the earth was not the center of the universe, people are controlled by a belief in demons and demonic possession.
Some religions have become the stronghold of superstition. I have attended both a voodoo service and a holy roller church service. The physical actions appeared the same. The guttural gibberish sounded the same. They both had people rolling on the floor in a state of spiritual “ecstasy,” and they both teach demonic possession.
We live in a world of great scientific discovery, a world of brain science and neurotransmitters. Why to you think the chemical lithium can exorcise a demon? Why can PCP unleash a demon? If you look at demon possession clinically, you will find schizophrenia, psychoses, Tourettes Syndrome, alcoholism, drug addiction, etc.
Where a belief in demons is strongest, incidents of possession are strongest. This is commonsense, folks. People, who fear demons, find demons to fear. People, who worry about demon possession, find demons to possess them. People, who imagine demons are lurking and waiting for a chance to pounce upon them, get pounced upon.
People, who understand the psychological impact of superstition and fear, know that they are fully in charge of themselves, and they are never possessed by mythical demons. People, who know that old houses creak, squirrels make nests in the attic, and underground caverns cause infrasound vibrations are not haunted by demons. Why is that? I think you know the answer.
An evil spirit is nothing more than a bad attitude … a spirit of hate, a spirit of greed, a spirit of cruelty, etc. And you can choose to replace these with a spirit of joy, a spirit of love, a spirit of giving. These are conscious choices made by a human’s free will. We choose how we think, what we do, and what we say. “The devil made me do it” is a powerful alternative to accepting responsibility for our free will choices and behaviors.
So, how do you exorcise demons? By seeing them for what they are, unhealthy childhood experiences of mental, emotional, or physical abuse. Sick families raise sick children. Sick children raise more sick children. Loving, nurturing environments exorcise demons. Knowledge exorcises demons.
1. Know that demons are imaginary creations of fears common to man’s lower nature.
2. Understand that there are no demons with the power to possess you.
3. In cases of mental illness, seek professional help.
4. In cases of addiction, seek professional help.
Copyright 2005 Robbin Renee Bridges

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Paddy Health

A Brief Overview of the Criteria For Diagnosing Adults with Autism

Currently, there is no one single medical test that will definitively diagnose audlts with autism. Instead, the diagnosis is made on the basis of observable characteristics of the individual.
Here is an overview of some of the different diagnostic standards:
I. Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R)
The Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) is a clinical diagnostic instrument for assessing autism in children and adults. The ADI-R is a semi-structured instrument for diagnosing autism in children and adults with mental ages of 18 months and above. The instrument has been shown to be reliable and to successfully differentiate young children with autism from those with mental retardation and language impairments. The ADI-R focuses on behavior in three main areas and contains 111 items which specifically focuses on behaviors in three content areas – they are:
Quality of social interaction, (e.g., emotional sharing, offering and seeking comfort, social smiling and responding to others);
Communication and language (e.g., stereotyped utterances, pronoun reversal, social usage of language); and…
Behavior (e.g., unusual preoccupations, hand and finger mannerisms, unusual sensory interests).
(ADI-R) Scoring
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Diagnosis requires that single words should have developed by two years of age or earlier and that communicative phrases be used by three years of age or earlier. Self-help skills, adaptive behaviour and curiosity about the environment during the first three years should be at a level consistent with normal intellectual development. However, motor milestones may be somewhat delayed and motor clumsiness is usual (although not a necessary diagnostic feature). Isolated special skills, often related to abnormal preoccupations, are common, but are not required for diagnosis.
Diagnosis requires demonstrable abnormalities in at least 3 out of the following 5 areas:
1. Failure adequately to use eye-to-eye gaze, facial expression, body posture and gesture to regulate social interaction;
2. Failure to develop (in a manner appropriate to mental age, and despite ample opportunities) peer relationships that involve a mutual sharing of interests, activities and emotions;
3. Rarely seeking and using other people for comfort and affection at times of stress or distress and/or offering comfort and affection to others when they are showing distress or unhappiness;
4. Lack of shared enjoyment in terms of vicarious pleasure in other people’s happiness and/or a spontaneous seeking to share their own enjoyment through joint involvement with others;
5. A lack of socio-emotional reciprocity as shown by an impaired or deviant response to other people’s emotions; and/or lack of modulation of behavior according to social context, and/or a weak integration of social, emotional and communicative behaviours.
Diagnosis also requires demonstrable abnormalities in at least 2 out of the following 6 areas:
1. An encompassing preoccupation with stereotyped and restricted patterns of interest;
2. Specific attachments to unusual objects;
3. Apparently compulsive adherence to specific, non-functional, routines or rituals;
4. Stereotyped and repetitive motor mannerisms that involve either hand/finger flapping or twisting, or complex whole body movement;
5. Preoccupations with part-objects or non-functional elements of play materials (such as their odor, the feel of their surface/ or the noise/vibration that they generate);
6. Distress over changes in small, non-functional, details of the environment.
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) Diagnostic Criteria
A. Qualitative impairment in social interaction, as manifested by at least two of the following:
1. Marked impairment in the use of multiple nonverbal behaviors such as eye-to-eye gaze, facial expression, body postures, and gestures to regulate social interaction;
2. Failure to develop peer relationships appropriate to developmental level;
3. A lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment, interests or achievements with other people (eg: by a lack of showing, bringing, or pointing out objects of interest to other people);
4. Lack of social or emotional reciprocity.
B. Restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests, and activities, as manifested by at least one of the following:
1. Encompassing preoccupation with one or more stereotyped and restricted patterns of interest that is abnormal either in intensity or focus;
2. Apparently inflexible adherence to specific, non-functional routines or rituals;
3. Stereotyped and repetitive motor mannerisms (eg: hand or finger flapping or twisting, or complex whole-body movements);
4. Persistent preoccupation with parts of objects
C. The disturbance causes clinically significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.
D. There is no clinically significant general delay in language (eg: single words used by age 2 years, communicative phrases used by age 3 years).
E. There is no clinically significant delay in cognitive development or in the development of age-appropriate self-help skills, adaptive behavior (other than social interaction), and curiosity about the environment in childhood.
F. Criteria are not met for another specific Pervasive Developmental Disorder, or Schizophrenia.
International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) issued by the World Health Organization
DIAGNOSTIC CRITERIA FOR AUTISM DISORDER (ICD-10) (WHO 1992)
At least 8 of the 16 specified items must be fulfilled.
a. Qualitative impairments in reciprocal social interaction, as manifested by at least three of the following five:
1. failure adequately to use eye-to-eye gaze, facial expression, body posture and gesture to regulate social interaction.
2. failure to develop peer relationships.
3. rarely seeking and using other people for comfort and affection at times of stress or distress and/or offering comfort and affection to others when they are showing distress or unhappiness.
4. lack of shared enjoyment in terms of vicarious pleasure in other peoples’ happiness and/or spontaneous seeking to share their own enjoyment through joint involvement with others.
5. lack of socio-emotional reciprocity.
b. Qualitative impairments in communication:
1. lack of social usage of whatever language skills are present.
2. impairment in make-believe and social imitative play.
3. poor synchrony and lack of reciprocity in conversational interchange.
4. poor flexibility in language expression and a relative lack of creativity and fantasy in thought processes.
5. lack of emotional response to other peoples’ verbal and non-verbal overtures.
6. impaired use of variations in cadence or emphasis to reflect communicative modulation.
7. lack of accompanying gesture to provide emphasis or aid meaning in spoken communication.
c. Restricted, repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests and activities, as manifested by ate least two of the following six:
1. encompassing preoccupation with stereotyped and restricted patterns of interest.
2. specific attachments to unusual objects.
3. apparently compulsive adherence to specific, non-functional routines or rituals.
4. stereotyped and repetitive motor mannerisms.
5. preoccupations with part-objects or non-functional elements of play material.
6. distress over changes in small, non-functional details of the environment.
d. Developmental abnormalities must have been present in the first three years for the diagnosis to be made
To see more on this topic see http://www.autismtoday.com/.

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Paddy Health

A Beginner’s Guide To Weight Loss- 5 Steps

“I’ll start my diet today” you say to yourself for what seems the 485th time. But as the day wears on, you fall back into your typical eating patterns. These are the eating patterns which do not contribute to any weight loss either. Instead, you keep the vicious cycle going of either maintaining your current weight, or increasing it even more which may lead to health problems.
My personal journey started at a time when I was young and had trouble breathing. I even had trouble fitting into a pair of size 44 pants, and had trouble socializing with people because I thought of myself as a “fat person”. There came a time however when I took that first step towards positive weight loss, and a positive step towards changing my life.
But where to start? Which diet? Do I need to stick to any one diet, or could I make my own up? I was confused, because there was so much information out there about the newest weight loss diet gimmicks, and nutritional supplements which “GUARANTEED I WILL LOSE WEIGHT!!!!”.
It was all baloney. I found that I could not trust any marketing claim associated with a company trying to make money.
How did I start? By cutting down on the number of meals/snacks I was eating. I grew up in an Italian household where we were encouraged to finish our plate. You can only take so much of that as your waist lines grows. Today, however, I encourage people to eat 4-6 times a day. But to eat in small amounts. If you are a person who likes to pick at food, eat snacks throughout the day, and eat well after 8pm. My advice is to stop doing all of that (I know, easier said than done, right?).
5 Steps to starting your weight loss plan
Step 1: Eat 4-6 times a day, in small amounts. Make each time you eat a small meal. Sounds tough, doesn’t it? It is, but as you start doing it, you will change the way you eat food. The way you prep food, and the way you enjoy food (I still love food!).
The goal here is to force your metabolism to burn up the calories at the proper time. The more you have your metabolism working throughout the day, the more you are forcing your body to expend energy to burn up food! It IS as simple as that.
Click here for more information on 9 Best Cloud Hosting Providers and Services Dynomoon. Or click here if you’re looking for information on How to Delete Messages on iPhone for both people The Best Way 2022.Step 2: Drink a lot of water. Drinking water cleans out your system, that’s been known for a long time. It also has been shown to help in fat loss. How? Well, if you are generally a juice or soda drinker, and are now switching over to just water- you are cutting out those simple carbohydrate calories from your diet. And for some, that is a lot of calories. If you have troubles switching over to plain water- try some crystal light, or flavored water. Personally, I’m up to drinking a gallon a day. For many, this may seem a lot. Try to shoot for 6-8 full glasses of water a day. The key here is to make a habit of it.
Step 3: Exercise. So where do you start? If you have time to join a gym, by all means, do so! Join a step class, and/or lift weights. If you are overweight, do NOT feel like you do not belong in a gym. Many people who are overweight often feel like people are staring at them, thus making them feel self-conscious. My advice to you- Don’t worry about it! The gym is for EVERYONE to get in shape, no matter what size they are. Talk to a personal trainer when you go in there also, they will be your best source of information of reaching your workout goals. That’s what they get paid to do!
If you can’t afford a gym, or spend the time at a gym, there are alternatives. Places like Target, Walmart, and even on Ebay, sell exercise balls which come with videos or instruction sets on doing exercises. I feel as though exercise balls give you a greater range of flexibility and mobility. These are two very necessary things to work on when you are trying to lose weight. These exercises can usually be done in 15-20 minutes worth of time a day. If you are truly dedicated to losing weight, then make time for these exercises.
Other ideas for exercise include power walking, home video step workouts, hiking, riding a bike, or staying active for long periods of time. Even if you need to get a friend or family member to go along with you, this is time well spent. These exercises will give you a greater focus on your goal of losing weight.
Step 4: Talk to people about your diet. From my experience, the more I talked about my diet with people, the more support I was getting for my efforts. Do not underestimate the value of community support. Consequently, I run a website that specializes in online diet support ( http://www.dietdiscussions.com ) and I feel as though when people are given encouragement to stay on track, they feel better about themselves. Why do it alone when others are walking the same steps you are?
Step 5: Change the way you think about food. This is one of the hardest things to do, in my opinion. So often food becomes an object of comfort. We feel bad, we eat. We feel good ,we eat. The problem with this is that when we do eat, we are not consciously thinking about what we are putting into our bodies, and then we gain weight.
This mindset has to change. You can still enjoy food, but just pause before you eat something and ask yourself- Is it time to eat? Does this fall into my portion size for this meal?
These 5 steps are ways that I know that have directly helped people, beside myself. Use these steps to focus on what you are trying to do. There is so much information in the diet community about what works and what does not. What it all boils down to, is that it is not rocket science. There is a means and method to making it work for you. If you need any support for your weight loss diet plan, do not hesitate to contact me and ask a question or give me a comment. I have been through what you are going through, so I understand what you are feeling. Stay focused and stay on track, and you will find that you will start feeling better as the pounds start coming off!

Categories
Paddy Health

11 Top Secrets for Dieting Success

If dieting were easy, I suppose we’d all be thin. As we are not, here are 11 tips that successful people use to lose weight. They can help you succeed too.
SUCCESS TIP NO. 1: DRINK 8-10 GLASSES OF WATER A DAY
Okay, for many people this is a big problem. Water doesn’t taste all that great generally because water doesn’t really “taste” like anything. Drinking water 8 to 10 times each day gets easier the more you actually do it. It is simply a matter of conditioning your taste buds, and yourself, so that it becomes easier to do. Once you get started, you will begin to crave water.
To begin with, you should drink a glass of water in the morning first thing, before you eat. This is probably the easiest glass you will drink all day and it will help you remember to drink water all day long. Better yet, why not drink two glasses?
If you really cannot bear the taste of water, try using a water purifying pitcher or filter. You can also add a few drops of lemon or lime to your water – but no sugar or sweetener! Ice also helps.
Check out flavored waters on the market, too. Just keep an eye out for additives.
SUCCESS TIP NO. 2: EAT BREAKFAST
Do not skip breakfast. If you need to go to bed a little earlier so that you can get up 20 minutes earlier each morning – do it! Breakfast is so important to your good health and to weight control. According to Dr. Barbara Rolls a professor of nutrition at Penn State University, “Your metabolism slows while you sleep, and it doesn’t rev back up until you eat again.”
Click here for more information on 9 Best Cloud Hosting Providers and Services Dynomoon. Or click here if you’re looking for information on How to Delete Messages on iPhone for both people The Best Way 2022.You can always keep a couple of hard-boiled eggs in the fridge or some high-fiber, low starch fruit around. If you plan to eat fruit at all during the day, breakfast is the perfect time to do it.
SUCCESS TIP NO. 3: EAT AT LEAST 3 MEALS AND 2 SNACKS EACH DAY
This can be one of the hardest adjustments to make. After all, you are busy! You already have a “full-plate”. When do you have time to worry about filling your plate with more frequent meals?
Just like eating breakfast will increase your metabolism, so will eating more often. This will also help you curb your bad-carb intake by making sure that your snacks are planned and occur regularly throughout the day.
Really, it will just take a minimal investment of planning time at the grocery store and at home each morning before you head out for the day to make some healthy food choices and prepare a few healthy snacks and meals. For suggestions, just see the handy list of snacks and appetizers listed later.
SUCCESS TIP NO. 4: AVOID WHITE FOODS
This is one easy way to remember what not to eat. If it is made from sugar, flour, potatoes, rice or corn – just say no. Remembering this rule of thumb will make it easier to recognize those rice cakes as an unhealthy high-carb snack.
Always look for colorful fruits and veggies to substitute for the white ones. Buy broccoli, lettuce, bell peppers, green beans and peas, brown rice in moderation, leafy greens like kale and spinach, apples, melons, oranges and grapes.
These foods are not only colorful they are also high in fiber, nutrients and important antioxidants. Eating colorful fruits and vegetables will give your diet variety as well as give you added health benefits.
SUCCESS TIP NO. 5: EAT YOUR VEGETABLES
It is so easy to use a low-carb diet as an excuse for poor nutrition. Resist this temptation. If the only vegetable you have eaten in the last 5 years has been the potato, now is a good time to begin experimenting with other vegetables. This is important for your overall health and to avoid some nasty side effects of not getting enough fiber in your diet.
If you try hard enough, you will find vegetables that you enjoy eating. Experiment with grilling vegetables and cooking with real butter to add flavor.
You can also search for new recipes on the Internet or in cookbooks.
Remember, if you are only eating 40 grams of carb a day or less, two cups of plain salad greens contain only about 5 grams of carbohydrate. You have no excuse not to eat your vegetables.
SUCCESS TIP NO. 6: PREPARE YOUR OWN FOOD AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE
While more and more restaurants are offering low-carb friendly menu items, many of them are still not ideal low-carb fare. There are many recipes for quick and easy meals that you can prepare yourself at home. Try to do this as often as possible.
If you cook your own foods, you know exactly what the contents are and you will be able to better control for hidden sugar and otherwise processed foods.
Another benefit is the cost savings over the long run. Even if you must go to the grocery store more often, you will save a significant amount per meal as opposed to eating at restaurants and fast food establishments.
It will also be easier to maintain your diet with your own favorite fresh food selections on hand.
SUCCESS TIP NO. 7: INVEST IN A GOOD SET OF FOOD STORAGE CONTAINERS
Having food storage containers of various sizes on hand will make it so much easier for you to plan your meals and snacks. When you buy nuts, fruits and vegetables in bulk you can simply prepare, separate and store them for easy use later.
For instance, you can pre-slice your apples and snack on them over several days. Simply cut them, rinse them in pineapple or lemon juice and store. This will make a quick and easy snack for later.
Fix your lunch and take it with you to work. Better yet, fix your lunch and 2 snacks for work.
SUCCESS TIP NO. 8: EAT SOME PROTIEN AT EACH MEAL & AS A SNACK
In addition to everything that’s been discussed before, eating protein helps you burn more calories. Protein is made up mainly of amino acids, which are harder for your body to breakdown, so you burn more calories getting rid of them.
Just think – eating a protein rich snack can help you lose weight. How about a few slices of turkey or ham or some string cheese?
Eating protein will also help you feel full so that you are less likely to crave unhealthy snacks.
SUCCESS TIP NO. 9: DRINK A GLASS OF WATER AFTER EACH SNACK
This will help you get in your 8 to 10 glasses of water each day but it can also have other benefits. Ever feel hungry after eating a handful or standard serving of nuts? Try drinking water afterwards. The water will help you feel full and prevent overindulgence.
Drinking water after a snack will also help remove the aftertaste from your mouth and can help curb your desire for more.
SUCCESS TIP NO. 10: EAT SLOWLY & ENJOY YOUR FOOD
You will feel full and more satisfied if you take the time to savor your food and chew it slower. Don’t get in the habit of eating while standing or eating quickly. Sit down and chew.
Eating slower will help you enjoy your food more, pay attention to what it is you are actually eating and get a better sense of when you are actually full.
SUCCESS TIP NO. 11: EAT YOUR LARGER MEALS EARLY AND SMALLER MEALS LATER
You will feel better and lose weight quicker if you eat a large breakfast and eat a smaller dinner. You may also want to eat the majority of your carbs earlier in the day, saving a salad and lean meat protein for dinner.
Eating larger meals during the part of the day when you are most active will help you to feel satisfied throughout the day and curb cravings for unhealthy snacks.

Categories
Paddy Health

10 Tips: How to Get in Shape without Sweating

Tip #1: The *Brazilian move*.
The good thing about this move is that you don’t need to go a gym to do it, you don’t even need to find time in your day.
Why?
Because you will do this move while you brush your teeth!
How does it work:
Standing straight in your bathroom, bend your knees slightly.
Tilt your hips forward while contracting them, then pull them back.
Remember to make a very strong squeeze when you finish the forward move.
Click here for more information on 9 Best Cloud Hosting Providers and Services Dynomoon. Or click here if you’re looking for information on How to Delete Messages on iPhone for both people The Best Way 2022.Along with a healthy eating, this will guarantee you will get a nice rear for this summer, yeah!
Tip #2: Use your Hands!
There are some chores you would be better off doing by hand!
For instance, washing dishes by hand will burn 78 calories per half hour…..
Knowing that a pound is about 3,500 calories, and assuming you will wash dishes half an hour over 45 days, you will have lost 1 pound without knowing it….(translated on a year, this amounts to about 8 pounds!)
Tip #3: How to get your 60 minutes of accumulated exercise a day….
The General Surgeon’s orders are to get 60 minutes of accumulated exercise per day (this can be sliced up into 6 small walks without any problem).
Beside burning calories, when you walk you will build the big muscles of your lower body.
Muscle tissue uses up more calories to maintain than fat, even at rest.
Again, you don’t have to go for a 60 minute walk if you don’t fee like it.
You can slice it up into 4×15 minute walk:
-1- one at home when you wake up (will also help wake up even more :o)
-2- two at lunch time to go to your lunch place and to come back (just select a place that’s 15 minutes away from your office)
-3- one in the middle of the afternoon to help you remain focus until the end of the day.
Tip #4: Manage your food cravings by being proactive!!!
Your body produces endorphins when you do aerobic exercise — which means getting your heart rate up for at least 20 mn.
Aerobic exercise produces endorphins, body chemicals that induce euphoric and pleasurable feelings. These are the same chemicals produced in response to eating fat/sweet foods.
Tip #5: Improve your posture
This is a great exercise to improve your posture hereby making you look great when you walk, when you are on the beach, when you enter a business meeting room.
On a yoga mat, stand straight.
Breath a few times: inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale slowly.
Tuck your toes under and push back into a low squat, with fingertips lightly touching the floor.
Drop your chin so it’s relaxed toward the chest.
Slowly rise from the squat position by pushing your heels toward the floor until your torso hangs froward and down.
Keep the knees slightly bent and aligned over the center of each foot.
Breathe, relax the upper body, and hang like a rag dool.
Inhale in that position.
Exhale as you engage your powerhouse and slowly roll up to a standing position.
When you are standing, straighten your knees with your arms relaxed at your sides.
Inhale once again, and as you exhale, rise slowly to balance on the balls of your feet.
Breathe, relax the shoulders, and maintain this balance for several seconds.
You can do this exercise 3 times each time you finish a work out.
It may sound complicated by reading this text; I suggest you print this tip, take it with you wherever you do your workouts, do it once with the paper and once you have understood the move, re-do it without reading.
Tip #6: Easy 6-pack abs
I have been doing 100 abs a day since I was a teenager. As a result I have a 6-pack without having to sweat over abs sessions at the gym.
Those who know my approach to body strengthening know I am a *lazy* person when it comes to getting in shape.
How long do 100 abs take to perform? Depending on the move and the speed with which you do them, it will take you anywhere between 90 seconds to 3 mn.
Hardly un-squeezable!
You don’t really need to warm up before such a short session therefore you can decide when to do them without having to re-arrange your day around this very very short session.
Suggestions per day:
20 straight crunches (your hand supporting your head, not lifting it).
20 straight crunches with a stop of one second at mid- raise.
40 bicycle moves alternating right elbow/left knee and left elbow/right knee.
20 seconds in the V-Pilates position: you rest on your bottom in a balanced position with your legs straightened out and your arms reaching out straight and parallel to your legs.
This sequence allows for deep abs (V-Pilates), superficial abs (crunches) and obliques (bicycle) to be worked on every single day.
Tip #7: Short is good!
As part of My Private Coach weight loss approach, mini- workouts (or MetaBoost as I call them) can do wonders for those who don’t feel like sweating for hours in a gym.
“Something is really better than nothing. If I come in and I can work out vigorously for 30 minutes, I would consider giving it a try,” said Dr. William L. Haskell, an exercise researcher and professor of medicine at Stanford University. The express workouts typically require only one set of 8 to 12 repetitions instead of the 2 or 3 sets of 8 to 16 repetitions that physiologists recommend for an optimum workout. ” Copyright the Associate Press – 12/15/2003
Still, these MetaBoost workouts should come in addition to the daily 60 recommended minutes of accumulated exercise.
Write to [email protected] if you wish to receive FREE MetaBoost cards.
Tip #8 : 10,000 steps a day keep the doctor away!
Invest in a pedometer and make sure you are getting these famous 10,000 steps I have been brainwashing you for the past weeks!
10,000 steps start when you wake up. Wear your pedometer on your waist a all times.
10,000 = 3 miles = 300 calories approx (a little bit less than a bagel).
Take advantage of all opportunities to walk: choose your lunch place 10 mn further, get off the bus 1 stop before, take a 5 mn break every hour or so and go a *around the block walk*. Everything counts towards this daily goal.
You will not lose weight (this is not enough really) but you will prevent new pounds from accumulating and you will improve your general health.
No sweating required!
Tip #9: Invisible chair day
Each time you get to be by yourself, sit against a wall without a chair and hold the position for 1 minute.
Try to do this 3 times a day.
This count as a strength exercise and will help shape nice thighs.
Feel free to apply this tip on other days as well!
Tip #10: How to get a really flat stomach with no abs work
Each time you walk, think about sucking in your stomack (lower and upper part).
This will work deep abominal muscles that NO crunch work can reach.
This will help you get a REALLY flat stomach.
No sweating required!

Categories
Paddy Health

Summary:

The only time that your body and your mind repair themselves and rejuvenate is when you’re sleeping. But it’s important to note here that “restful” sleep is the key.

Keywords:
sleep,health,relaxation,stress relief

Article Body:
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I had a great night’s sleep, but when I woke up I thought what a powerful effect a great night’s sleep has on your metabolism, and I wanted to share with you some ideas about how to get a better night’s sleep.

Now my idea of a great night’s sleep is one in which you sleep soundly and wake fully refreshed and full of energy. During a great night’s sleep you rarely, if ever, think about your troubles, your never think about the news, and you usually fall asleep within 10 minutes of your head hitting the pillow (with positive thoughts in your mind).

Also, a key factor in determining if you had a great night’s sleep is if you dream ‘positive’ or ‘fun’ dreams. Because if your night full of ‘bad’ or ‘stressful’ dreams then you’re most certainly tossing and turning throughout the night and NOT getting a “restful” sleep.

Why is it so important to get quality sleep each and every night? Your body and your mind break down and get worn out from stress during the day.

The only time that your body and your mind repair themselves and rejuvenate is when you’re sleeping. But it’s important to note here that “restful” sleep is the key. Tossing and turning all night or waking up every few hours is not considered restful sleep. I recently read an article that made it to my research center that stated the facts about how snoring effects your sleep and your health. People who snore tend to disrupt their sleep, on average, 300 times each night – now that’s not a restful night’s sleep! Now think about it this way for a moment – if you’ve been under stress lately, or if you’re mattress sucks, or if you just plain haven’t been able to sleep well for the past few weeks (or months), then you haven’t given your brain or your body the time it needs to repair itself.

So you actually start each and every day a little bit less focused and less metabolically healthy than the previous day.

Don’t try to catch up on your sleep. People tell me all the time that they know that they don’t get enough sleep during the week – but they “catch up” on the weekends. Let me put an end to that myth right now. That does not work!!! Your body and your mind need a regular sleeping pattern to repair and rejuvenate – without it you’re actually deteriorating yourself rather than re-energizing yourself.

So what’s considered enough sleep?

Generally speaking, everyone should strive to get 8 hours of restful sleep. Now if you eat a very healthy diet and exercise properly, and give yourself a few mental breaks during the day, and if you sleep like a baby and awaken fully refreshed every day, then you might be the type of person who can get away with less sleep – maybe 6 hours each night.

On the other hand, if you experience extraordinary amounts of stress each day (mental or physical), then you’ll need more than 8 hours. A marathon runner for example, tends to put his/her body through a lot of stress each day – that person needs more than just 8 hours because their body needs more repair time than normal. The same holds true for the person going through massive mental stress as well.

So what can you do to help facilitate a better night’s sleep for yourself and those around you?

10 Steps To Help You Get A Great Night’s Sleep:

1. Make a list of what you need to do the next day, write it all down and keep that paper and pen near your bedside in case you think of anything else you need to do. When you write things down you’re giving your brain the signal that it no longer needs to think about those tasks.

2. Don’t watch television or listen to the radio (especially the news) before retiring for the night – and certainly do not fall asleep with the TV or radio on.

3. Read some inspirational or self-growth material for at least 30 minutes prior to bed. Your goal is to fill your mind with inspirational thoughts before falling asleep so that the last thoughts you have before drifting off are uplifting thoughts – as opposed to the stressful thoughts that most people fall asleep thinking about.

4. Make sure the room that you’re sleeping in is as dark a room as possible – the body is made to sleep when it’s dark out – the darker the room the more potential for a deep sleep.

5. Make the room as silent as possible – turn off all electric devices and ask others in the house to be as quiet as they can be.

6. Don’t eat for at least 3 hours before going to bed. When there’s undigested food in the stomach, your body is forced to focus on digesting that food rather than being focused on repairing your body and mind – which is what sleep is all about! The body was designed to digest food best while moving – not while laying down.

7. Try to go to bed at approximately 10:00 pm and awake at approximately 6:00 am. In Ayurvedic medicine it’s believed that there are cycles that are the most conducive for certain activities. Going to bed at 10:00 pm and arising at 6:00 am appears to allow the body to rest the deepest, rejuvenate the most, and give the person the most energy throughout the day.

8. Don’t take drugs or vitamins/herbs that are supposed to help you sleep (unless required by your physician). Most of these artificial sleeping aids do nothing more than deaden your senses – the goal of ‘sleep’ is to give your body the time and means to repair itself and prepare for the coming day. When you drug yourself to sleep, every system in your body is slowed down, including all those systems that are responsible for repairing you.

9. Make sure that there’s a fresh air supply in the room. The air indoors is said to be some of the most toxic air around. When you sleep, you’re only able to breath in the air that surrounds you in your enclosed bedroom. Try opening a window (if it’s cold outside then just open the window a crack). The fresh air that comes in while you sleep will help your body repair itself because you’ll have access to cleaner, more oxygenated air.

10. During the day, do 60 minutes of mild exercise. If you don’t have time to do 60 minutes in a row, then break it up into 2 – 30 minute sessions, or 3 – 20 minute session, or 6 – 10 minute sessions — just get a full 60 minutes in. The best exercise when talking about general health and preparing your body for a great night’s sleep is walking.

I wish you the best night’s sleep tonight and every