Control Your Destiny - Know the Key Differences Between Being Stressed or Depressed

Stressed or Depressed

Juggling multiple medications, always watching what you eat, ensuring you get enough exercise, and your daily routines can cause stress and, in some cases, depression. 

So how do you know if you're depressed or just stressed? There are some key differences.

Stressed
Stress is your body's physical response to high-demand situations that you have little or no control over, such as dealing with a chronic disease. Stress isn't all bad - on the upside, it can make you feel energetic and focused. 

On the downside, if you're constantly stressed, you may experience health problems overtime: high blood pressure, increased risk of heart attack and stroke, and premature aging.

Depressed
Depression is more than just feeling blue - it's a serious medical condition. If you have diabetes or high blood pressure, you're twice as likely to suffer from depression as someone without the disease. 

Only your doctor can tell you for sure, but if you have several of these symptoms for more than two weeks, you may be depressed:

• Feeling nervous or emotionally empty
• Feelings of excessive guilt or worthlessness
• Tiredness or a "slowed down" feeling
• Restlessness and/or irritability

You may need help from a mental health professional if you suffer from depression. However, stress is manageable. So, are you ready to lower your stress level?  Try these tips:

Slow down. 
Make time each day to sit quietly, preferably for at least 15 minutes. Focus on breathing deeply. Think pleasant thoughts.

Just relax. 
Have you ever been surprised to notice your jaw was clenched or your shoulders were tight? We tend to be tense without even realizing it. Try this: Lie down and, starting at your feet, clench each muscle group for a count of 10, then relax - all the way up your body.

Move your body. The best stress buster around is exercise. Take a walk, work in the yard, go to the YMCA ... you'll feel the benefits instantly.


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How You Can Control Your Destiny with Lifestyle Changes

Healthy Diet Change

What scientists are beginning to recognize is that much of the illness in these years is due to lifestyle – a factor that can be changed through individual initiative and taking control.

In fact, researchers believe that 80% of deaths in mid-adulthood are related to the relatively small number of lifestyle habits, especially your diet and healthy eating

Heart disease, including heart attacks and strokes – which together are the leading cause of death and disability for men 40 to 45 – can largely be prevented by dealing with stress, changing your diet and eating for good health, stopping smoking, getting reasonable exercise, and treating hypertension.

Cancer, the second leading cause of death, can be prevented in the long run by stopping smoking, making diet and health changes, and avoiding exposure to occupational or environmental chemicals. 

Finally, cirrhosis, alcoholism and a majority of accidents can be avoided by controlling the use of alcohol.

From the standpoint of both individual health and national health, it is amazing to consider that in perhaps three out of four cases, death and disability in middle age can be avoided through limited number of behavioral changes that admittedly take effort and willpower, but are not impossible to achieve.

None of these changes is dependent on new advances in medical technology, development of new drugs, surgical techniques, or the building of expensive medical facilities. 

Improvement is basically a matter of lifestyle changes and/or environmental changes. To make the changes we have to change our attitude and the way we look at the world. 

Belief in our power to change is essential. We, not doctors, are largely responsible for creating our own state of health and well-being.

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Sick of Worrying? Control Your Destiny with these 3 Steps Now

To a degree, everyone worries, some people worry in nearly every situation. Whether things are good or bad, they worry that this situation would surely get worse.

Understand that worrying is a drain on your energy and enthusiasm and if uncontrolled, it can be a terrible burden to your existence.

How you handle worry can determine whether you are going to live a happy, normal life or one filled with neurosis, depression and negativism. 

The good news is that any situation which can be used to generate worry can also be used to generate hope.

Psychologists have found that worrying is simply a matter of choice unrelated to the event in our lives. In fact, some people experience worry more than 10 times as often as others, and, not surprisingly, they reduce their likelihood of happiness by 64%.

Here are the three steps to stop worrying:
1. Concentrate your energy on today. Effort that can be used to solve today's problems is wasted when you worry about tomorrow; and to make matters worse, most things that people worry about never materialize.

James A. Garfield, the 20th President of the United States, once said," I have had many troubles in my life, but the worse of them never came." Chances are that if today's problems are handled in an efficient manner, they will not only make you more confident to handle tomorrow's problems, but also may have a minimizing effect on those problems.

Determine if you have immediate cause for worrying. Ask yourself, "Can the things I am worried about materialize?" What will happen if they do? Do they represent real dangers? Can something be done about it today? If nothing, then force yourself to attend to matters at hand.

2. Assuming that you have cause for worrying: what is the worst that can happen? Lose your health? Your job? Is your family, prestige, or self-esteem in danger? It is of particular importance to the final step that you identify the worst that can happen. If this identification process indicates no real dangers facing you, then concentrate on the real problems of today, rather than the imaginary ones of tomorrow.

3. After considering the worst that can happen, then now is the time to do something about your worries by contemplating methods of handling them. When real danger faces you, more good can be accomplished by outlining alternative courses of action rather than worrying about the dangers, and when no alternative exists then face the problem squarely.

When you get caught up in your worries and anxieties, take these three steps: live for today; consider the worst that can happen; and then do something about it. You will find yourself living a happier life.


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