Do you know why some people accomplish more and generally are much happier in their lives?
 
The field of Positive Psychology explains this. Research says, one of the signature strengths that such people have is "Gratitude. Gratitude makes them take better care of themselves physically and mentally. It also makes people engage in more proactive and healthy way. It promotes the motivation for exercise, healthy diet and willingness to wriggle out of any negative situations in life. It helps boost your immune system.  Since it makes you more optimistic and alert, you cope better with stress and feel healthier.

How to Have An Attitude of Gratitude?

1) Be Mindful of What You Have - Being thankful for very small things actually bring a great amount of joy. Have gratitude for small things like sunlight, rain, flowers, a cup of tea, a caring spouse, a child's laughter. It gives us the resilience to cope with tougher situations.

2) Keep a Gratitude Journal - Every night before going to bed, write down "What was the best thing that happened to you that day.  It fosters better sleep and a sense of well being and satisfaction.

3) Reframe Challenging Situations - It's not the situation but our perception of the situation that makes it challenging. You can reframe your reactions and respond by saying that "I may have a very demanding boss, but I have become more organized, patient. It will help you to attend to your work and be cheerful.

4) Practice saying Thank You - It's very simple. When you buy a bus ticket, just smile and say 'Thank You. Feel the first raindrops on your face and smile in gratitude for all the life it brings.

5) Focus your attention outwards - According to Emmons, a US psychology professor, people who are more aware of the positives in their lives tend to focus their attention outside of themselves. They feel complete, satisfied and fulfilled in their lives and are capable of helping the less fortunate ones.

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5 Reasons Why Some People Accomplish More And Are Much Happier

If you are being treated for Parkinson's disease. How can you maximize the effect of Levodopa? The effect of levodopa can be maximized by increasing its absorption from the digestive system. In particular, taking levodopa on an empty stomach is very important. 

Take on an empty stomach: Do not eat anything 1 hour before taking levodopa. Do not eat anything for at least 30 minutes and if possible 1 hour after taking it. Take the pill with 2 glasses of water so that it can dissolve. If taking the levodopa on an empty stomach makes you nauseous, confirm that your medication has the right amount of carbidopa in relation to the levodopa (25%). If you continue to feel nauseous, you can eat a piece of white bread around the time that you take levodopa. Do not apply any butter, yogurt, cheese or similar high protein spreads. Protein can drastically decrease the absorption of levodopa. 
Get your constipation treated: This is critically important too. Being constipated can slow down the passage of levodopa through the digestive system. In most patients, drinking adequate water and taking stool softeners is helpful. 
Get your ulcer treated: It can be difficult to recognize that you have a gastric ulcer. However, if you have a burning sensation in your stomach at any time, or belch frequently, you may have a gastric ulcer. If you think you have an ulcer you should get tested (there is a simple breath test now) and treated with antibiotics (not antacids!) 
Do not take levodopa with iron tablets: The iron binds to levodopa and prevents its absorption. Keep a gap of at least two hours between these two medications. 
Try taking levodopa with orange juice and carbonated water (soda): Mix equal quantities of orange juice and carbonated water (soda). Take your regular levodopa with a glass of this preparation instead of water. The carbonated water hastens disintegration of the tablet, and the acidity of both things helps in levodopa absorption. There are special tablets of levodopa (dispersible levodopa, Madopar) which can be dissolved in this preparation. Talk to your doctor about it.

Suffering From Parkinson's Disease - How You Can Maximise The Effect Of Levodopa? 

Lower abdomen pain can originate from a range of medical issues. In some cases, the pain disappears just like the way it came, in some cases, it takes longer medical treatment to cure the pain. Once the origin and the root cause of the pain are diagnosed, there are plenty of medical options to cure the pain. In this piece, we will briefly touch upon the causes of lower abdomen pain:

Appendicitis: This is one of the most common causes of lower abdomen pain. It typically originates from the right side of the stomach and soon diverges into the other side as well. The pain can become unbearable in a matter of hours.
Pelvic inflammatory disease: This is an infection that is caused in the reproductive system of a woman. This is often characterized by vaginal discharge, fever, weakness, intercourse related pain and pain in the lower abdomen.
Miscarriage: In case there is a loss of fetus on or before the twentieth week, the mishap is termed as miscarriage. It results in acute pain in the lower abdomen pain, vaginal bleeding, back pain, fluid expulsion from the vagina etc.
Fibroids: This is a growth in the uterus that is often non-cancerous and is commonly characterized by symptoms such as heavy periods, constipation, pain in the legs and back area, pain in the lower abdomen area, frequent urination etc.
Cancer: A cancerous growth in the lower abdomen area can lead to very sharp pain in the back and surrounding area. The pain is dull in nature and slowly spreads to other areas in a short interval of time.
Cholecystitis: This is a disorder that results in swelling of the gallbladder area. It results in a sharp pain in the lower abdomen area. A doctor needs to be immediately consulted if a person is suffering from this disease.
Intestinal obstruction: When the lower bowl gets blocked due to the contents of the lower intestine, a person can feel a sharp pain in the lower abdomen area.
Salpingitis: When a woman faces stiff pain in the lower abdomen area due to an inflammation of the fallopian tube, Salpingitis is the culprit behind it. This is a sexual disease and needs a doctor s consultation to get rid of it.
PMS: A woman can face throbbing pain in the lower abdomen area during her monthly periods. Other symptoms include cramps, weakness, fatigue etc.
Endometriosis: When there is an extension of the uterus tissue just outside the wall of the uterus, it leads to symptoms such as lower abdomen pain, cramps etc.
Polycystic ovarian syndrome: This is a disorder of the hormone and can lead to symptoms such as heavy periods, a growth of facial hair accompanied with sharp pain the lower abdomen area.

Pain In Lower Abdomen - What Could Be The Causes?

When it comes to the brain and the iq, is bigger the better? does size really matter? is there really a connection between the size of your brain and intelligence? with the help of findings by neurologists 
And scientists, we seek to find out!

1. Ailments and the brain: scientists have found that children with autism have a brain that has grown in a disproportionate manner in the very first year of their life. This prevents the child from making connections with normal behaviour. On the other hand, children and adolescents who suffer from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or adhd have shown signs of having a much smaller brain size. Many scientists have shown that the size of the brain shrinks as we age, and this does not have any visible effect on our cognitive abilities.

2. It's all relative: the size of the brain does not really have a bearing on the way a person's cognition gets shaped. Even large mammals like elephants and whales are finally hunted and tamed by humans who have smaller brains in comparison. The brain is made up of billions of neurons which need to function properly. It may be seen that scientists consider the brain mass in relation with the rest of the body so as to speculate about the cognitive abilities of the person. Why is this required? large animals need a well functioning and proportionate brain size to control and run their organs with proper cognition for satisfactory results, which is what we humans seem to have done.

3. Neanderthal brains: historically, the earliest man or the neanderthals are said to have had larger brains than we do. These people are believed to have brains that are at least 10% larger than the brains that we have in our modern times. The shape of their brain was different too. They were also heavily muscled people which had a bearing on the size and shape of the brain and bodies as well as the lean tissue within the brain. They also survived very successfully for a period of over 200, 000 years, which obviously points to some form of elevated cognition, as per many scientists.

4. Animals: while animals with small brains like lizards and reptiles do not perform too well on iq tests, the animals with bigger brains like elephants and dolphins perform much better. But the medium sized brains of monkeys, lemurs and other animals are said to perform in the best manner. The correlation between the body size and the brain does not seem to hold good here, as per various researches.

So the verdict as per medical science and research stands divided!

Is There an Association Between Brain Size and Intelligence?

Personality refers to the enduring and habitual patterns of behaviour, cognition, emotion, motivation and ways of relating to others. In simpler terms, it's the persona we have for the world to see and interact with. If these patterns or ways of relating with others become nonadaptive or pathological, a personality disorder develops.

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is such a disorder of personality that causes mood swings, self-esteem issues, impulsive behavior and recurrent self-harm behaviour. It is very difficult to lead a normal life with these varied psychological issues.

The symptoms begin to appear from early childhood but they take a serious form only when one reaches adulthood. Issues with behavior and emotion are difficult to treat, people suffering from this illness should be willing to spend a lot of time and be dedicated towards his/her recovery. Through treatments and therapies, they do make significant improvements over time.

Causes

The exact cause of borderline personality disorder is not known but various reasons have been hypothesised as possible aetiology. Neuro-chemical disturbance in the brain, genetic vulnerability, some kind of childhood trauma like abandonment, death, neglect and/ or sexual abuse are probable causes of the disease. Prolonged and chronic stress/ anxiety may also lead to triggering of BPD symptomatology in vulnerable individuals later in life.

Symptoms

Prolonged dysthymia/ sadness
Feeling lonely/ misfit
Emotional dysregulation or Frequent mood swings
Significant interpersonal issues
Self-Injurious behaviour like making cuts in skin, burning, pricking etc

These symptoms are warning signs of borderline personality disorder and should be paid attention to:

Abandonment issue - People suffering from BPD have serious abandonment issues. They have an intense fear that they would be left alone and often act out to restrict their love ones from leaving. Sometimes their strategy is to not get too close to protect themselves from being left alone, so they appear aloof.
Disturbed self-image - People have self-esteem issues, they sometimes love or hate themselves or see themselves as evil. They have unclear goals, views, beliefs and often end up changing their friends, lovers, jobs, sexual identity frequently.
Dysfunctional relationships - It is very difficult to maintain a normal relationship for people with personality disorder. They tend to have quick short-lived relationships and get put off very easily which leads to a lot of heartbreak.
Suicidal tendencies and frequent self-harm behaviour like cutting skin using blades/ sharp objects are common.

Drugs and alcohol abuse, eating disorders and sexual promiscuity are other forms of self-destructive behaviour commonly encountered in this population. Extreme aggression, delusions, transitional Psychotic states are other possible symptoms of BPD.

Love and support from family and friends are crucial for patients suffering from this disease. Prolonged counseling sessions, therapies and the effort to break away from the chronic gloomy thoughts will definitely lead one to a better life.

All about Borderline Personality Disorder

With age, just like other body functions, the mind too begins to slow down. This could lead to problems in communication, focus, recall, reasoning, and thinking. So with dementia, the person faces problems which are a combination of above-mentioned activities. Dementia is a symptom associated with many diseases and is not a disease on its own.

Alzheimer s is the main cause of dementia, followed by stroke or brain injury, Huntington s disease, and Lewy body disease. However, there are some symptoms that can be indicative that a person is gradually progressing into dementia. Watching out for these symptoms can help one seek help at an early stage, thereby helping the affected person, and slowing down its progress.

Short term memory loss: With age, people tend to forget what happened recently, and this can even be something as recent as the previous day. However, they can very clearly recollect events from the past. They might forget things like where they have placed their glasses, where the television remote control is, etc. They may also ask for the same information repeatedly, even after it is answered.
Mood changes: Rapid mood swings is observed in a person suffering from dementia. Their emotions keep changing within a matter of seconds, and they may show also less emotion than what they used to show previously.
Personality changes: Since dementia affects reasoning and judgment, someone who was earlier shy could suddenly become outgoing. Their inhibitions which led to a shy personality are lost, making them more outgoing.
Difficulty in performing regular tasks: Be it forgetting things like laying out tables, keeping things back in their places, or organising medical kits, with dementia setting in, these tasks slowly become more difficult to do. Also, learning new tasks, even simple ones, seem tough and are often not accomplished.
Losing storylines: The elderly would usually be good with telling and appreciating stories like telling tales to their grandchildren or following television soaps and stories. However, as dementia begins to set in, they tend to lose storylines, both when observing and telling.
Repeating actions: As they are not able to register things, they tend to repeat things, both in words and in actions.
Feeling lost: Things like heading out to a store to buy something and then wondering why they came there are common. Short-term memory loss can cause such situations. This confusion, especially with regard to time and things, is very common.
Spatial and time orientation: There could be problems relating to space and time, seasons, and they may often ask questions like what time it is, etc. Routine tasks like paying bills, cooking using recipe books, which were easily managed, suddenly begin to look difficult.
Apathy: Losing interest in people, hobbies, or other things like puzzles, which they once enjoyed, become boring and unenjoyable.

9 Early Symptoms of Dementia!

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