Treating Depression and Anxiety Without Medication - Part One

Despite the recent advent of Prozac and other designer drugs, depression is on the rise. Since World War II, rates of depression have doubled in the U.S., and depression is now the second most disabling illness in the Western world after heart disease. While antidepressants continue to be the mainstay for the treatment of depression, 55-65% percent of people are not helped nearly enough, or they cannot endure the side effects, according to a recent article in the New York Times.

I am one of those people for whom medications were not a good fit. As a result, I have put together a holistic program for the prevention and treatment of depression and anxiety. This program also can balance the moods of those who suffer from bipolar disorder.

I have organized this treatment plan into five areas-physical self-care, mental/emotional self-care, spiritual self-care, people support, and lifestyle habits.

As you read through the material, think of my recommendations as guidelines, not hard-and-fast prescriptions. Each person's healing journey is unique. Now, let's begin.

Physical Self-Care 

Your physical health is your greatest ally in preventing or overcoming depression. Caring for the body creates a strong foundation upon which to build good emotional health. On the other hand, when the body is out of balance, it can be difficult to maintain emotional serenity. As Thomas Jefferson put it centuries ago, "If the body is feeble, the mind will not be strong." This is why physical self-care is the starting-off place in your recovery program.

Here are ten basic, common-sense, physical self-care habits that will help you to attain a better mood.

1) Avoid putting junk in your body. Start with the obvious toxins like tobacco, alcohol and hard drugs. In addition, eliminate processed foods such as soft drinks, diet sodas, candy, cookies, cakes, prepared entrees made with artificial ingredients, etc. For people who are sugar-sensitive, refined sugar acts like a drug and wreaks havoc on the brain and body.

2) Give the body sufficient exercise, at least 20 minutes a day, 5 days a week, in a way that breaks a sweat. The practice of yoga is particularly helpful in conditioning the body, calming the nervous system, and balancing the emotions.

3) Drink plenty of water, at least 64 ounces a day (one ounce/every two pounds of body weight) and more if you are active. Carry water with you so that you drink it in between meals. Make sure the water is pure, not city water. The best way to insure this is to use a good water filter.

4) Meet your body's need for sufficient sleep with a regular and consistent sleep schedule.

5) Eat a diet that contains of a wide variety of fresh unprocessed foods, buying organic whenever possible. Make sure you eat at regular intervals to keep the blood sugar stable. Also eat sufficient protein, as the brain's neurotransmitters are made from the essential amino acids from protein.

6) Learn how to properly oxygenate your body through deep, diaphragmatic breathing.

7) Get enough exposure to natural light (morning hours are best), especially if you have SAD (seasonal affective disorder). Light boxes are therapeutic for some people.

8) If you wish to explore alternative medicine that directly impacts your brain chemistry, whether it involves herbal remedies such as St. Johns Wort and Kava Kava or amino acids such as 5-HTP or SAMe, find an appropriate prescriber or nutritionally oriented physician to work with.

9) Find a way to fulfill your body's need for touch through hugs or therapeutic massage.

10) Appreciate your body for the wonderful miracle that it is.

Mental/Emotional Self-Care

The new science of psychoneuroimmunology clearly documents the impact of the mind on the nervous system and immune functioning. Thus, developing positive thinking and feeling habits is an essential part of your "brain maintenance" program. Since negative thinking can actually create painful feelings, it is important to become aware of and release your irrational and self-defeating beliefs. Such beliefs include, "It is important for everyone to like me all of the time," "I must be perfect in all that I do," and "It is my fault that I am depressed."

Other painful feelings are often the result of distorted, negative thinking, known as cognitive distortions. Some common distortions are: all-or-nothing thinking (seeing things in black-and-white categories); mental filter (picking out a single negative detail and dwelling on it exclusively); disqualifying the positive; jumping to conclusions (making a negative interpretation, even though there are no definite facts that support the conclusion); mind reading (arbitrarily concluding that someone else is reacting negatively to you without checking it out); emotional reasoning (assuming that negative emotions reflect the way things really are-i.e., "I feel it, therefore it must be true;" should statements; and personalization (seeing yourself as the cause of some negative external event which you are not responsible for)

Identifying and correcting self-defeating beliefs thinking errors will enhance your mood and help to balance out your emotions. Often, it is hard to do this alone, especially if you experienced trauma or abuse in your childhood. This is when finding a good therapist becomes an important aspect of your recovery program. There are many types of guides to choose from-psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, pastoral counselors, licensed professional counselors, drug and alcohol counselors, etc. Locating the right therapist means finding the right fit, just as in a marriage or business partnership. Take the time you need and trust your instincts. The person you work with will be an indispensable part of your healing journey.

The remainder of the Better Mood Recovery Program is described in Treating Depression and Anxiety Without Medication - Part Two.

Douglas Bloch, M.A., is the author of Healing From Depression: 12 Weeks to a Better Mood and Words That Heal the Blues. He also facilitates "healing from depression" support groups in the Portland, Oregon area.

Get A Budget And Manage Your Money

Typically, when we think about college life we think freedom and fun. However, frequently stressing over finances is definitely not "fun" and being chained to an ever-growing heap of debt is not my idea of "freedom". Managing your money is a necessary part of a stress-free college life. You're going to have to start sometime in your life and the sooner the better.

What students should know about managing their money:


In order to manage your money properly you must create a budget. The purpose of a budget is to outline a practical plan for spending the limited money that most college students have. Due to the fact that your income and expenses are constantly fluctuating, whichever budget you choose must allow for flexibility.

First, write down where all your income comes from. This can include income from a job, grants, scholarships, allowance from home, etc. The next step is to outline your expenses. Split them into two categories: fixed and flexible.

Fixed expenses are exact amounts that are due on specific dates. Flexible expenses are ever changing amounts of money that you spend on your wants and needs.

Example Fixed Expenses:

Housing
Car payment (including insurance)
Health insurance
College Tuition
Cell phone
Example Flexible Expenses:
Books
Gasoline and maintenance for your car
Going over on your cell phone minutes or long distance telephone calls
Social expenses (movies, dates, football games, etc)
Personal expenses (clothes, groceries, doctor and/or dentist bills, domestic supplies, haircuts, etc.)
Add up the amount of income and expenses you have. Look at your paper. Do you have more expenses than your income can cover? If this is the case, think about what you can do to increase your income or decrease your expenses. This may seem elementary, but it's essential if you wish to stay out of debt while you are attending school.

Lowering your expenses will probably require some sacrifice. Many college students are used to spending their money impulsively. This sort of poor money management leads to financial bondage. If you are ready to lower your expenses try some of these tips:

- Pay your bills on time

- Watch out for peer pressure

- Purchase used text books

- Avoid impulse buying

- Look for sales

- Don't eat out and stop buying junk food

- Go to matinees instead of evening shows

Everybody is going to need a different type of budget to fit his or her individual needs. However, you can find basic budgets online, in financial books or just ask your parents to give you some ideas. Don't let debt to enslave you. Find a budget, use it, and be willing to sacrifice to stay out of debt.

NOTE: Use of this article requires links to be intact.

When You Must Dine on "Fast Food"

I am one of the fortunate few who get to work from a home-office most days of the year. Because of the nature of my work, my physical location is not important to the task at hand. As such, I also have the opportunity to better control my food choices and eating habits during the work day. If you are in this category, be thankful that you are because -- for most people -- it is much more difficult to eat well during the work day.

Sometimes, however, my work requires my physical presence in the office -- often for many days at a time. This week was such a week. Yesterday, as lunch time came and went, the pangs of hunger began to gnaw at me and I finally decided to run over to the local McDonalds for some lunch. Since I was very hungry, I reminded myself to order thoughtfully.

When those of us fighting the Battle of the Bulge are visiting a fast food restaurant, there are some really obvious things that we must do to avoid overeating and/or choosing the wrong kinds of food. These "obvious" things include to not order anything that is "deep fat fried" and to not "super-size" any order. It struck me, though, as I sat there "inhaling" my cheeseburger, that there are many other things that we can do that will also help prevent over-consumption of the wrong kinds of foods.

The first thing to consider is what you drink. Most fast food companies will provide "ice water" at no charge when you are making a food purchase. Not only can you save some money, but you can drink more water (please see the http://www.weeklyweightlosstips.com archives to read more on drinking water), which is something that you already know to do. Many wise fast food restaurants are also selling your favorite brands of bottled water, which can typically be refilled at the beverage kiosk if you are still thirsty when you finish your meal.

Not only is this important when comparing beverage choices (e.g., soda vs. water), but also when you consider the fact that fast food contains much more salt than what we typically would use on our own food at home. If you have been reading these articles for some time now, you have likely read some compelling reasons why we need to limit our sodium intake. Sodium causes us to retain water (which weighs about seven pounds per gallon) and the only way to safely regulate this (sodium and water retention) is to drink more and more water.

The next thing to consider is the condiments. Many fast food restaurants are suggesting salads as a low-calorie option to their traditional offerings. These are a great way to avoid higher fat, lower fiber alternatives, but with salads the dressing must be scrutinized, or else you may end up not saving calories at all. Dieticians suggest choosing the dressing type wisely, as well they recommend using the smallest amount possible.

If you order items other than salads, the same thing is true. Mayonnaise if a very high-fat food that should be avoided. Most restaurants will allow you to "special order" a small amount of your condiments ("light on the mayo, please...") or just those that are lower in fat and calories. Mustard is a low fat, low calorie condiment, though it may not be suited to everyone's individual taste.

The last thing that I would recommend that you keep in mind when visiting a "fast food" restaurant is to not get wrapped up in the "speediness" of the environment. One of the worst dining habits is to eat your meals quickly. The very nature of the fast food shop makes it difficult to slow down and enjoy your meal. Make a conscious effort to sit down, relax, and savor every bite. Don't allow yourself to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the surroundings. When you sit down at the table with your food, tell yourself that you are going to eat slowly, savoring your food, or you are likely to eat too quickly and too much.

Equipping Your Business for the Disabled

Employers providing services to the public must also take responsibility for ensuring that disabled people can leave the building safely in the event of fire. If you don't, it may be viewed as discrimination. It may also constitute a failure to comply with the requirements of the fire safety legislation in England and Wales.

From 1 October 2010, the Equality Act 2010 was implemented, and replaced major parts of the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act. An additional duty, the 'Disability Equality Duty' (DED), is now required of all public bodies to proactively promote the equality of disabled people. This means that you are required to do even more to ensure that disabled people do not face discrimination by not being provided with a safe evacuation plan from a building.

Below are some of the steps you can take to equip your establishment with the necessary measures required by law.

Mobility impaired people

There is a vast range of people who fit into this category, with wheelchair users being the most prevalent. However, issues relating to this group of people may also be relevant for people with heart conditions or asthma.

The preferred option for escape for people with mobility impairments are by horizontal evacuation either into another fire compartment or evacuation lift. If you aren't able to house these facilities however, a possible facilitating measure may be the provision of suitable handrails on stairways.

For wheelchair users or those who are unable to manoeuvre themselves easily during an emergency, an evacuation lift should be utilised, if possible. If this facility is not available, it may be necessary to carry a person up or down an escape stairway. Carry-down can be achieved in a number of ways, either in a specially designed evacuation chair, in the person's own wheelchair or even using an office chair.

Hearing impaired & deaf people

It is important to ensure that hearing-impaired or deaf individuals are alerted in the case of fire. When only an audible fire alarm is present, this may not be a sufficient alert for an emergency situation.

There is an increasing range of auxiliary aids on the market to combat this issue. The ideal solution is to fit rooms with flashing beacons above the fire exits, which can be set up as part of your current fire alarm system. This should ensure that those with hearing impairments are informed when an alert is in progress.

Due to the enforcement of the aforementioned Equality Act 2010, fire alarms for the deaf are now almost integral within the hotel and hospitality sector. In the event of fire, the hard of hearing are at particular risk when they are asleep. There are now several solutions available which enable them to be made aware when the fire alarm sounds, through the use of high intensity LED lights and vibrating pads.

Visually impaired & blind people

In the event of a fire, individuals who are visually impaired will be assisted significantly by good signage and orientation clues. Although not every establishment will have made the provision to provide specialist orientation information, it is possible to make use of existing elements within the building that may assist the visually impaired to facilitate their own evacuation.

Consider what you can implement into your own business environment with ease; we suggest good colour contrasts on the walls, supportive handrails and step edge markings on escape stairs and different textured flooring for escape routes. The more orientation clues that are provided the less assistance is required by members of staff, though there will still be a need to inform the visually impaired that these clues are present. This will allow employees to focus their attention on other individuals who perhaps require more physical support in leaving the premises.

Hopefully this article has spurred you to re-assess you risk assessment and fire safety proceedings. Remember that you will not always be able to instantly recognise whether a person suffers from a disability or not, so you must ensure you are vigilant and prepared in the situation of such an incident arising.

Divorce Law: Child Custody and the History of the Child

Louisiana family courts have a wide array of sources of authority to look at when awarding child custody, which does not need to be made in conjunction with a divorce. Serious decisions like these do not occur in a vacuum; they are the result of a careful calculation of many different factors.

As the Louisiana family courts always say, "what is in the best interests of the child" is a factor of the utmost importance when determining where and how to affix custody of that child. In determining the "best interests of the child" a court may look to Article 134 of the Louisiana Civil Code. This article provides a family court with a list of different variables which may have bearing on awarding custody.

Even more specifically, Section (8) of Article 134 considers the world that the child has grown up in: local friends, other families, sports, extracurricular, schooling, and anything else that the child may lose if one parent who lives far away is granted custody.

One easy way to understand section 8 is through the story of Greg. Let us say that Greg grew up in Anytown, Louisiana with both his parents until they got a divorce when he was in the ninth grade. Let us also say that, after the divorce, his mother moved three hours north in the state.

Greg is very happy in Anytown, Louisiana. He is very popular in school, and he has a very pretty girlfriend. He made varsity football his first year of high school, and he is extremely proud of that. Furthermore, Greg loves Anytown, Louisiana so much that he plans to attend college there, and he does not plan to apply to any other colleges but those in Anytown, Louisiana.

A family court will probably consider heavily the fact that Greg is an adolescent who is clearly and demonstrably very happy in Anytown. Assuming, for the sake of this example, that all other things were even (that his parents loved him equally and he loved them equally, and that both parents were able to provide the same stable, productive, and loving standard of life) than Greg would likely remain with his father in Anytown.

As I have noted in some of my other articles, custody battles after a breakup or divorce are rarely black and white. Most times there are other considerations which a court must make in determining the custody arrangements.

That said, in some circumstances, the home, school and community history of the child can be the first or second most importantly thing that a family court will consider, assuming there are no serious health or danger concerns with one of the parents.

Additionally, keep in mind that three different "histories" of the child are considered under section 8. Sometimes, a child may not have a life which fits very cleanly into all three categories. For example, a child who is home schooled really does not have any "school history" to speak of. However, their "home history" would suddenly take on much more weight. Additionally, a child may be unhappy with his current school or community history, which could also change the analysis of a court.

The Mat: Categories and Types

The Mat comes in various kinds or types according to its usage. This article will help you identify all of your matting needs. Descriptions and examples are also given for your convenience.

The mat's different categories are:

DOORMAT - it is a flat, usually rectangular object placed immediately outside or inside the entrance to a house, buildings/offices to reduce maintenance costs and the risks of slip and fall injuries. It is also designed to scrape dirt, debris and moisture away and stop these elements from entering your house/building.

ANTI-FATIGUE MAT - designed to minimize back pain, foot pain, weariness, stress, etc., when the work of a person requires standing for a long time on hard floor surface. It is one of the approaches to prevent injuries, caused by working in a standing position. This type of mats is recommended by Occupational Safety and Health Administration. It is designed with comfort and durability in mind. Some anti-fatigue mats incorporate several important safety factors, such as non-skid surfaces to prevent slips in wet/greasy areas, colored safety borders to improve visibility in work areas and beveled edges to prevent tripping and allow easy cart access.

ANTI-STATIC MAT - is one of a number of anti-static devices designed to help eliminate static electricity. It has a conductive material embedded within the mat that collects the static. The mat would need to be grounded (earthed). This is usually accomplished by plugging into the grounded line in an electrical outlet.

CHILDREN'S PLAYMAT - soft foam, cushioned mats designed to protect kids in play areas, at the same time makes their playtime fun and educational

CLEAN ROOM MAT - especially designed for sensitive areas where dirt, contamination, and bacteria can be a serious hazard. It attracts and traps dirt, have anti-microbial properties that prevent germs & bacteria from building up

EXERCISE MAT - designed to reduce aerobic impact, provide cushion and protect the floors. It eliminates vibration and stop carpet fibers from getting into the moving parts of the exercise equipment. It is a cellular vinyl exercise mat that creates a soft yet durable pad for the exercise equipment to rest on. It can be used as a general fitness mat, yoga mat, pilates mat or aerobic mat.

HOME/RESIDENTIAL MAT - these includes a variety of mats depending on its usage around the home or housing complexes like condominiums, apartments and housing communities.

INDUSTRIAL MATS - designed for specific applications in industrial and commercial facilities to promote safety, prevent accidents and to improve work conditions.

LAB & MEDICAL MATS - a special type of anti-fatigue mat that improves the working environment for jobs that demand prolonged standing. It provides safer traction and facilitates better performance and productivity. It is designed with a beveled edge to reduce tripping hazards, also for easy cleaning and sanitation, and is resistant to chemicals.

Body Mass Index (BMI), Rising Obesity and Risk of Obesity Related Non-Communicable Diseases

"Eight in 10 men will be overweight or obese by 2020", "Obesity timebomb: Eight in 10 men will be overweight by 2020" and "80% of men will be overweight by 2020 study claims" in major UK newspapers. It is an impressive report that analyses the most recent Health Survey for England data (1993-2007) and uses this to predict future obesity trends and their consequences in terms of the increase incidence of Body Mass Index (BMI) related diseases. It uses a statistical model to predict the trends for obesity to the year 2050. It looks mainly at an age group of males and females between 40-65, sorts them out according to their BMI and makes the predictions for obesity in relation to other non-communicable diseases such as arthritis, coronary heart disease, diabetes, gall bladder disease, hypertension, stroke and the following cancers: breast,colorectal, endometrial, kidney, oesophageal and liver.

The BIG message being sent to us: the higher BMI, the quicker you will die from one of this non-communicable disease! Looking at this research paper, it is difficult to believe that this kind of extrapolation is being taken as a good predictor for these risks. It is not a statistically significant model and is the equivalent of simply guessing and distorts the outcomes of the true picture. We all know that being overweight or obese increases our risk of non-communicable diseases as we discussed this in our article "Diet and Non-Communicable Diseases" but does this risk also correlate with having a high BMI? BMI was first described by Adolphus Quetelet in the mid 19th century and defined as the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters. The general acceptable BMI range as defined by the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) for overweight (25 to 29.9) and obesity (30 or more) is based on evidence from studies of morbidity and mortality risk mainly in the younger (18 years old) Caucasian population. Until recently, this gold standard was for everyone, irrespective of age or sex. Recently, it has been proven that for children, BMI (also called BMI-for-age), should be calculated differently. Additionally, BMI ranges for children and teens are defined so that they take into account normal differences in body fat between boys and girls and differences in body fat at various ages. For adults though, there are many other factors in that need to be considered when correlating BMI with obesity especially for the older population. For instance, both smoking and pre-existing illness cause a lower BMI over a period of decades of the adult lifespan, and both predict increased mortality.

The medical community generally agrees that your best weight is a lean body with fat being 10 to 18% of total body weight for men and 18 to 25% of total body weight for women. If you exceed these limits you have too much body fat, regardless of your actual weight. It is possible to be overweight but not having too much fat, especially for those with a large muscle mass from body building or other muscle building exercises. Factors such as fitness, ethnic origin and puberty can alter the relation between BMI and body fatness and must be taken into consideration. A recent study showed that the diagnostic accuracy of BMI to diagnose obesity is limited, particularly for those with BMI of 25 to 30, for men (body builders, athletes) and for the elderly as BMI could not distinguish between fat and preserved lean mass. The authors state "a scenario to exemplify this would be a person with a BMI of 25 with preserved lean mass and mildly increased fat content, compared to another person with the same BMI of 25 with limited lean mass and a high body fat content, both representing completely different levels of exposure to the deleterious effects of adipose tissue, a fact that limits the BMI ability to predict long-term health outcomes." In fact, BMI itself is only a proxy for body fatness; it is only an overall measurement of obesity. Fact: Most heart disease occurs in people who do not show any of the traditional risk factors. Several studies show, conclusively, that for many who are classified as being overweight, even obese, lifespan is not shorter in comparison to "slim people"as this does not make you more prone to strokes, heart disease or cancer. BMI thresholds for overweight and obese are overly restrictive for older people and it was in fact how sedentary these elderly people were that increased or decreased mortality. Furthermore, there is evidence to show that even in young adults, there appears to be an inherent bias of using BMI as an indicator of obesity in diverse men and women. In reality, obesity is a heterogeneous condition with individual differences in the pattern of fat tissue deposition. This is important because fat the accumulates in and around the internal organs known as visceral fat and in particular around the abdominal area, is quite strongly associated with enhanced risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes; while fat under the skin surface (subcutaneous fat) is not directly associated.

A recent study on subjects with a BMI of 30 or above both healthy, showed that about a third of these subjects, although 'obese', did not fulfil the criteria for 'metabolic syndrome' (a term created to identify common atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk factors that often cluster together). In other words, these people could be described as being 'metabolically healthy' and this applies to a significant proportion of the population: being 'obese' does not at first sight appear to be such a bad thing in health terms. The authors found that 'obese' but 'metabolically healthy' individuals tended to have less visceral fat, and more subcutaneous fat. This is an expected finding, but also highlights again why the BMI is a quite-useless marker for health. This study also found that those fulfilling the criteria for metabolic syndrome and therefore more likely to have excess visceral fat, also generally had higher levels of the 'inflammatory' substances interleukin-6, tumour necrosis factor-a, and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1. There is emerging evidence that, for whatever reason, visceral fat is associated with or encourages a 'pro-inflammatory' state, and is now quite well established that inflammation is a possible key underlying process in the development of chronic diseases including heart disease and type-2 diabetes. Another recent study conducted mainly on women also had similar findings. Although BMI has traditionally been the chosen method by which to measure body size in epidemiological studies, alternative measures, such as waist circumference, waist:hip ratio and the waist:height and techniques such as ultrasound, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) which reflect the amount of fat located in the abdominal areas, have been suggested to be superior to BMI in predicting risk for various obesity-related conditions such as diabetes. Although waist circumference is an easily obtainable index of abdominal adiposity, it does not distinguish between the subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue compartments. One Framingham Heart Study looked at participants with a volumetric computed tomography (CT) method to define the prevalence of abdominal obesity in terms of elevated volumes of visceral and subcutaneous fat and correlate this to risks of obesity and non-communicable diseases. They found that clinical measures of BMI and waist circumference may misclassify individuals in terms of visceral fat and metabolic risk. In April 2006, researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles reported the results of their clinical study of 14,739 patients diagnosed with coronary artery disease who were followed for over three years. They found that obese and overweight patients were at significantly lower risks for cardiac death than normal weight patients. Therefore, combining BMI with other methods such as waist circumferences may be a valid way of assessing risk of obesity and related diseases but even these are biased as waist circumferences cut-points are based on BMI category, hence are interrelated.

Factors such as life style can also affect risk of obesity and related diseases such as ethnicity, exercise and nutrition. Data in women suggest that there may be racial/ethnic differences in visceral abdominal fat at a given BMI or waist circumference and different waist circumference or BMI cut-off points may be necessary to adequately reflect risk in different racial/ethnic groups. Recent evidences suggest that the increasing prevalence of Type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in Asian countries is occurring at levels of BMI much lower than the WHO BMI cut-point of 25. Exercise is a main contributing factor to the amount of visceral fat. Systematic, progressive resistance training - also called strength training- is a safe and efficient way for middle-aged and older adults to improve their health. One large study of 2834 patients ranging from 32 to 83 years done recently by the Farmington Heart Study, found that people who every day eat several servings of whole grains and limit intake of refined grains have less visceral adipose tissue. This study found that while those in the higher whole grain intake only had a 4% lower waist circumference, they had a 17% lower visceral fat tissue than those consuming the lowest whole grain. Interestingly, higher intakes of refined grains were associated with higher visceral fat tissue. This association persisted after the researchers accounted for other lifestyle factors such as smoking, alcohol intake, fruit and vegetable intake, percentage of calories from fat and physical activity. The researchers said "while their study adds to other research that shows a link between higher whole grain intake and reduced risk of metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance, it is, like the others, an observational study, and the numbers are not that high, so really what needs to happen now is more robust, larger studies that specifically investigate whole grain consumption and body fat distribution, in much larger and diverse populations, in order to discover what drives the link." There is much change in the terminology of "fat" itself. It has been common knowledge among basic scientists and clinicians that fat or the adipose tissue is an active endocrine and immune organ with pathogenic potential. As such, clinicians and patients may find the term 'obesity' being relegated to describing fat-mass related pathology. Clinicians may find the term 'metabolic syndrome' replaced with 'adiposopathy' and 'sick fat' as scientific and clinical terms, respectively, which better describe the adverse metabolic consequences of dysfunctional adipocytes and pathogenic adipose tissue. In conclusion, BMI itself is not a perfect measure of body fat and other measurements need to be taken to determine if a person is indeed overweight or obese and further at risk of developing a non communicable disease that will shorten their lifespan. Only time will tell if the report by Professor Klim McPherson might prove to be correct or if we can control our time on this earth by just following a few simple tips. Our advice is to eat wisely especially by eating whole grains and avoiding processed foods, exercise regularly and keep to the agreed best weight with fat being 10 to 18% of total body weight for men and 18 to 25% of total body weight for women.

Our book "Is your Food Killing You?" goes into more detail on how and why your food causes Cancer and Diseases and much more. We pride ourselves on giving you the whole picture and all the facts not just the shocking headlines without any substance behind it. If you want to know more about how your food affects your health then visit Food Myths Busted [http://foodmythsbusted.com/blog]. Find out what the Food and Medical industry does not want you to know as well as why the Government is in on all of this you deserve to know the truth about the food you consume.

How Working With a Virtual Dietitian Can Be Good For Your Health!

The days of "dieting" are over. We know that about 95% of people who follow diet plans fail and regain their weight. The key to success for weight loss or improved health is to learn how to create lifestyle changes that you can live with. It is all about learning to shift from doing the same old things that don't work, to adopting new ways that get your lifestyle and eating habits back in balance.

We live in a time where many tasks in our every day life can be done virtually. Being able to work virtually with a Registered Dietitian (RD) who has expertise in nutrition and wellness coaching is no exception. This article will help explain how a virtual nutrition and wellness coaching program works and what benefits you can expect to achieve by working with a nutrition professional.

Working face to face with an RD is a great option, but many people do not have a qualified professional in their area to work with. Others simply lack the time for routine office visits because of their busy schedule. This is exactly where working with a virtual dietitian comes in.

The benefits of working with your virtual dietitian are:

You can have a program tailored especially for you.
Your sessions are private and confidential.
You get regular feedback and encouragement to keep you "accountable".
Your program is flexible and portable, allowing you to work at your own pace.
You can have ongoing support for as long as you like or need.
Here are two ways to easily access the services of a virtual dietitian no matter where you are located.

1. Use an online service where you can access regular coaching and guidance from an RD weekly:

In this format, you provide your dietitian with basic information about your current lifestyle and eating habits. This helps both you and the dietitian identify what your needs are, as well as what you would like to achieve as a result of using the service. Once individual needs are evaluated, the dietitian works with you weekly through a secure email system to help set up you're eating and/or lifestyle plan. Weekly emails are designed to teach you skills that promote weight loss and improve lifestyle. Learning specific behavior modification strategies can help you overcome obstacles that have gotten in the way of your success in the past. When you receive weekly professional coaching via email, you learn how to move ahead, instead of being stuck with your old behavior. The weekly email contact helps you stay on track and keeps you accountable for your plan.

2. Get your nutrition and wellness coaching from the RD routinely with telephone contact:

Telephone coaching is another powerful way to maintain contact with your nutrition professional. Telephone coaching can be done after completing an online program or as a standalone way to maintain contact. Like email coaching, your initial discussions with the RD revolve around your specific needs and goals for lifestyle change and weight loss. Then at prearranged times, you speak over the phone to plan, discuss, revise or add to the program you are working on. It's an easy way for you to discuss what is working for you and what needs to change. The coaching model empowers you to discover ways to keep motivated and may help you achieve a major breakthrough that assures your continued progress. Individual or group telephone coaching sessions are options that may feel more "personalized" because you are actually talking to the person you are working with.

It's important to remember that online or telephone coaching is not an appropriate venue for dealing with specific medical issues that fall under the category of Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT). A Registered Dietitian is the right person to provide MNT, however, this type of work requires coordination with your physician and meetings with the RD are done face to face.

Whatever your preference, using online or telephone options to work with an RD can go a long way toward helping you with lifestyle changes or weight loss. If you have a strong desire to make positive changes in these areas, consider using these venues to access a nutrition expert. It may be just the thing fits well into your busy schedule, and, it's a program that works!

Reviewing OSHA Regulations For Protective Clothing and Industrial Equipment

Choosing the right industrial apparel is vital for implementing an effective personal protective equipment program that will both meet OSHA compliance standards while keeping workers safe on the job. OSHA regulates the use and selection of personal protective industrial equipment and offers a comprehensive guide for every category of hazards and numerous specific applications, with more rules being added as new hazards are identified. The government draws on numerous standards from practical experience and other safety organizations, such as the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), in order to produce working rules for employer safety.


In total, these guidelines cover a wide range of topics and fill multiple volumes. This article will endeavor to briefly touch upon industrial apparel selection and usage in a general manner in order to familiarize employers and employees alike with OSHA's main points. In the end, referring to official documents is necessary to ensure compliance.


OSHA Selection Factors For Personal Protective Industrial Equipment

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration lists six factors to consider when selecting industrial apparel and equipment for inclusion in a safety program. All industrial apparel should be evaluated on clothing configuration, components and options, sizes, ease of donning and doffing, clothing construction, accommodation of other selected ensemble equipment, comfort, and restriction of mobility. These factors are used to ensure personal protective equipment (PPE) will fit properly, will not create a hazard in itself, and will provide thorough protection. The available components and options should be weighed against an industry's specific processes and materials.

For the chemical industry or worksites that utilize chemicals, OSHA has specific rules on industrial apparel. PPE must be chemically resistance in three ways, including permeation, degradation, and penetration of substances to the body. Choosing the right material that offers all three modes of protection requires reference to specific material safety data sheets. Always be aware of chemical interactions and combinations in the case of simultaneous exposure to multiple agents. Furthermore, industrial equipment must also be evaluated for its ability to be decontaminated. In many instances, this means that disposable safety gear is appropriate. Otherwise, chemicals need to be neutralized and clothing laundered before returning it to service.

OSHA also allows for cost considerations to be a part of the selection process. In a compromise to business, safety features should not be cost prohibitive. The exact wording of the OSHA guidelines states that, 'Protective clothing end users must endeavor to obtain the broadest protective equipment they can buy with available resources to meet their specific application.' It often helps to shop around with different industrial equipment suppliers to find the best deal that satisfies safety requirements.

Inspecting Industrial Apparel

All equipment must be routinely inspected for proper functioning. Each user needs to be trained in an inspection routine in order to maintain their own PPE in addition to having knowledgeable supervisors. Any of the following issues are a reason to discontinue use of a piece of PPE:

1. Degradation of the protection ensemble;
2. Perception of odors while wearing a respirator;
3. Skin irritation;
4. Unusual residues on clothing material;
5. Discomfort;
6. Resistance to breathing;
7. Fatigue due to respirator use;
8. Interference with vision or communication;
9. Restriction of movement;
10. Physiological responses such as rapid pulse, nausea, or chest pain.

Proper Industrial Equipment Usage

Of course, even the best protective gear is useless if it is not used correctly. OSHA goes to great lengths to specify proper usage. In general, all PPE should fit securely without restricting motion and should be free of abnormalities like cracks that could compromise their integrity.

What follows is a sample checklist that OSHA could use. It assumes that the user is putting on a full body chemical suit with respiration, and a second person is on hand to assist and supervise during the process. This procedure, or one like it, should be routinely practiced so workers can safely and quickly equip their protective gear.

1. Inspect all clothing and respirators before use.
2. While standing or sitting, step into the legs of the suit, ensure proper placement of the feet within the suit, then gather the suit around the waist.
3. Put on chemical-resistant safety boots over the feet of the suit.
4. Tape the leg cuff over the tops of the boots.
5. Perform negative and positive respirator face piece seal test procedures.
6. Put on long-sleeved inner gloves (similar to surgical gloves). Secure gloves to sleeves.
7. Begin to secure the suit by closing all fasteners on openings and secure all belts and/or adjustable leg, head, and waistbands.
8. Have assistant check all closures and observe the wearer for a period of time to ensure that the wearer is comfortable, psychologically stable, and that the industrial apparel is functioning properly.

This guide touches briefly on gaining an understanding of OSHA regulations and how to create an effective safety program. Do not stop here; safety is a lifelong learning pursuit.

Workplace Violence - Acknowledge, Anticipate, and Act

Part I--Acknowledge that workplace violence will happen

The workplace has become a dangerous place. Just ask staff and faculty at Virginia Tech University or the people at NASA. People prone to committing violent acts are in fact mentally unstable, and they work alongside us every day. Organizations of all kinds must develop policies and contingency plans to deal with the potentialities of workplace violence.

Unbalanced people cause disruptions

Many Americans are mentally ill. The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that 26.2 percent of Americans ages 18 and older--close to 60 million people--suffer from an identifiable mental disorder. The killer at Virginia Tech clearly fell under this category, and while mass murder at work or elsewhere remains a rare event, worker-against-worker violence and on-the-job homicide happens all too often. No matter who studies the matter, the numbers are gloomy. Statistics from the Occupational Health & Safety Association claim that 2 million Americans are victims of workplace violence each year. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, each year about 1.7 million workers in the United States are injured during workplace, and, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2005 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), the years 1992 through 2004 saw an average of 807 workplace homicides annually. While the most recent of these years, according to the CFOI, have seen a modest drop in incidents in the United States, the problem is growing worldwide, as found by a United Nations' International Labour Office study released last year.

Guidelines restore order and prevent violence

Officials cannot control the behavior of others, but they can incorporate guidelines to follow. They just need help. Faced with a range of threats, such as disgruntled employees, domestic violence, stalkers, and, of course, robberies, rapes, and assaults, American businesses and organizations are hiring consultants in record numbers to design programs that train employees and employers in how to predict and prevent violence on the job. By developing official policies that include safety procedures, hiring and firing practices, threat management, crisis intervention and supervisory training to address the "red flags," the organization and security consultant can join forces to reduce the risk of violence.

Understanding human behavior is a key ingredient in countering this violence, and management must learn this skill, according to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal, "Bosses Have to Learn How to Confront Troubled Employees." The same article points to major corporations that have implemented programs that train managers in how to spot troubled, potentially violent workers and have instituted hotlines employees may use to report workplace violence.

A study by the Society for Human Resource Management finds that 68 percent of employers have a formal workplace violence policy. A survey by the American Society of Industrial Security finds 25 percent of firms turning to employee training, 15 percent to zero-tolerance policies, and 13 percent to limited building access in their attempts to prevent workplace violence.

What's clear is the need for intelligent anticipatory strategies. The next installment of this series will look at the behaviors employers must anticipate in determining who might be a perpetrator of workplace violence.

Part II--Anticipate workplace violence before it happens

In the previous installment of this three-part series, "Workplace Violence: Acknowledge, Anticipate, and Act," we acknowledged the problem by looking at statistics on workplace violence worldwide and touching upon the prevalence of various guiding policies that organizations have already put in place to counter the trends. We will now explore how organizations can anticipate workplace violence before it happens.

Anticipate problems

As mentioned last time, zero-tolerance policies are among those gaining in popularity. Behavior that was at one time looked at as harmless is now considered hazardous, and it is possible to create psychological profiles of people most likely to commit a potential act of violence. Causes for concern are any employees who:

o Constantly make slighting references to others

o Consider themselves superior

o Are never happy with what is going on

o Exhibit a need to constantly force own opinions on others

o Have a compulsive need to control others

o Seem paranoid (convinces that other employees are "out to get them")

o Are consistently unreasonable

o Makes coworkers feel uneasy just by their mere presence

o See a conspiracy to all functions of society

o Own firearms and share what seems to be obsessive interests in military, law enforcement or underground military groups

o Don't take responsibility for any of their behaviors or faults or mistakes (always "someone else's fault")

o Take legal action against the company, constantly filing one grievance after another

o Blow everything out of proportion

o Have many hate and anger issues on and off the job, whether with co-workers, family, friends, or the government

o Applaud certain violent acts portrayed in the media such as racial incidences, domestic violence, shooting sprees, executions, etc.

o Make statements like "he will get his" or "what comes around goes around" or "one of these days I'll have my say"

o At once lack people skills and are good at their tasks, paying attention to the details

o Are sometimes sexist or sexually harass others

o Have had trouble with the law, even just a minor incident

o Might be addicted to alcohol, prescription or street drugs

Any combination of these is enough to lead to workplace violence. Even just one is a red flag. In days or weeks prior to a violent act, significant emotional events may push questionable employees to commit violent acts. They might feel humiliated as a result of being proven wrong, or lose out on a promotion or pay raise. Love interests might reject them. Marriages might end. The ensuing emotional storm and physical symptoms (e.g., trouble sleeping, fatigue, sudden weight loss or gain, and other maladies) resulting from any of these scenarios can overwhelm the fragile soul, one prone to acts of rage in the absence of a social safety net; managers, therefore, should encourage employees to maintain strong social networks at work. Peers have a way of anticipating disaster before it happens.

Downsizing might upsize aggression

Organizational downsizing may be a major contributor, too. Employee termination can cause a significant degree of trauma. We equate our "selves" with our job titles. We introduce ourselves to others by give both our name and job title: "Hi, I am Robert; I am a personal security consultant." Being a personal security consultant is what I do, but it is not who I am. While layoffs alone are traumatic, most of us ultimately see the difference between what we do and who we are; take away a mentally unbalanced person's job title, however, and the loss of identity may seem, to him, much more profound and lead to violence.

The next, and final, installment in this three-part series will look at the actions we can take to prevent full-blown workplace violence if aggression has already escalated conflicts to the brink.

Part III--Act to prevent workplace violence

The previous, second installment of this three-part series, "Workplace Violence: Acknowledge, Anticipate, and Act," included tips organizations can follow to anticipate workplace violence. Ideally, anticipatory strategies will stop workplace violence long before it happens. But aggression in the workplace has a way of becoming difficult to manage. If anticipatory strategies have failed to catch potential violence before it has begun to escalate, organizations can still act to quell the aggression before becoming a statistic.

The University of California, Davis' Division of Human Resources identifies a number of tactics that managers can use to respond to aggression at work. Many of these are mainstays of conflict resolution that others have developed, on their own, and adopted.

o Respond quietly and calmly. Sudden movements or outburst may provoke retaliation.

o Ask questions. The aggressor may simply want attention, which he or she interprets as respect.

o Consider offering an apology. It's a tactic to create a sense of calm.

o Summarize what you hear the individual saying. There's a better chance that the aggressor will understand that you're actually listening.

o Calmly and firmly set limits.

o Ask the individual to stop the behavior and warn that official action may be taken.

o If the disruption continues, reiterate the possibility of legal action and involvement of law enforcement.

o Direct the individual to leave the office.

At this point, if the situation has yet to diffuse, signal for assistance. You will, most likely, need to involve law enforcement.

Random acts of violence hold their own

Disgruntled employee syndrome is just one form of workplace violence. High risk professions such as taxi driver, gas station attendant, grocery clerk, liquor store cashier, and jewelry store merchant remain. It is estimated that 85 percents of assaults and 55 percent of murders happen in service industry worksites or retail trades. Those whose occupations find them handling money or engaging in person-to-person contact with the public should exercise caution. Random acts of violence continue to hold their own in these spheres, and physical assaults are common in health care and social service-type agencies.

Any company whose workforce's duties fit the abovementioned descriptions can improve its security by incorporating or utilizing the following:

o High-watt external premise lighting (paying special attention to visibility in high-risk areas)

o Timed drop type safes and signs explaining that a "timed drop type safes in use"

o Robbery response training

o Violence in the workplace consultants

o Silent alarms

o Video cameras everywhere

o Guards, badges, and checkpoints

o Employee assistance programs

o Crisis intervention training

Onus of responsibility falls upon the employer

Ultimately, every organization needs a prediction-prevention plan that incorporates elements of anticipation and action. Proper hiring and firing practices are essential, too; employers must know what to look for when prescreening potential employees--and what signs to look for in long standing employees. Without taking proactive measures, the company risks huge losses in lawsuits, reputation, and, of course, human life.

Effective Health Eating Tips You Should Never Forget

Improving general fitness is a primary purpose for a lot of people, and with sufficient reason for their action. Researchers report that the rate of being overweight is getting to a remarkable degree which is dangerous, and with this comes a significant increase in cerebral vascular accidents, cardiac arrest, and a wide range of other potentially harmful medical issues. If your goal is to stay healthy and strong, then you must first give consideration to the foods that you consume on a daily basis. A lot of people seem to have overlooked the fact that food was designed to provide the body with nutrient and energy. Once we are able to get the right relationship with our foods we will not think it a difficult task in living a healthy life. In this article are tips that will help you to eat rightly to enable you to obtain a comprehensive healthy lifestyle.

When it comes to living a healthy lifestyle there are basic things that you need to know if you must achieve a healthy life. Some of the things that you must know about are the various food categories that are needed. The body needs different sources of food to maintain excellent health. Some of the foods that you should eat are vegetables, and this should also be gotten from different sources, not just one. While daily eating the right amount of vegetables is necessary, you also need to know that just getting in the same organic at every meal is going to reduce your overall vitamin status. So try as much as possible to eat fresh healthy proteins, fresh whole wheat, and different carbohydrates. Always remember that eating a variety of foods from the same food source offers diverse nutritional value and keeps your diet nutritionally well balanced.

Plan Your Meals

While it may seem bizarre, having your meal at a regular recess every day can help keep you healthier. When you avoid foods, you might eat more at the next meal and have a greater tendency to eat unhealthy treats throughout the day. Learn to identify starvation by asking yourself when did you have your last meal? If it's been longer than 2-4 hours, then it is an excellent time for you to eat your next meal.

The Base Line

The ultimate healthy eating tips that anyone can take are those that can help any person design maintainable changes to his or her habits, at the long run. Many of us have been taught to pay no attention to our body's natural instinct or eat to deal with our emotional baggage. That's why changing your eating pattern can get quite a lot of perseverance and patience

Don't Lose It - Try Some Brain Exercises Today

Brain exercises are the latest buzz. Why should you exercise your brain? Research into the brain as it ages, points towards the brain being like a muscle in your body. If you don't use your brain and challenge it, the functions deteriorate.

The brain starts to lose its capabilities after about the age of 30! Pretty scary! However, if you look after your brain, actively engage and challenge it, these losses can usually be reversed and the results maintained.

Most of us do use it.... However, I know I am guilty of not keeping my brain in tip top condition. So what can I do today to get my brain back on track?

There are of course many factors that contribute to overall brain health such as general health, nutrition, stress, environment, sleep and many more. This article is about what options are available for keeping your brain active using brain exercises.

Printed Puzzles, Games and Brain ExercisesYou can do some really simple things like checking the back of your daily newspaper for:

Crossword puzzles
Sudoku
Brain Teasers
Riddles
Wordsearch
Picture Puzzles
Specialized books with collections of puzzles are also a popular choice. The key is to do it regularly.

All of these things help keep your brain active in slightly different ways. I know that when I stopped doing a daily crossword regularly I was shocked to pick one up and find how slow I was at solving it. In our busy lives we just find it hard to keep doing these things.

Nintendo DS based Brain Training Games and Exercises

A couple of years ago Brain Training on Nintendo DS took the world by storm. Many parents bought these games for their children but became hooked on improving and maintaining their own brain age! Brain Training and Big Brain Academy (another game available for Nintendo DS) are firm favorites in our household, but they have their limitations - the major one for me was regular access to the Nintendo and also that my kids could check out my brain age!

Computer Based Software Programs

Software programs are available for your computer. They can be purchased and installed or downloaded from the internet. The choice of these comes to personal preference. Usually these programs cover only one aspect of brain exercises or cater to specialized areas such as those with brain injuries. They are generally fairly expensive.

To maintain your brain function you have to keep repeating the same games and programs. After an initial flurry of activity, I found it hard to make them a habit.

Online Brain Exercise Programs

Online Brain Exercise Programs fall into two categories - free and paid subscriptions.

There are some pretty good games out there that you can access for free online. Some of these free brain exercises are just games, some seem to have some science behind them and there are yet others that are likely to become paid subscriptions in the future but are currently in beta testing.

Generally, free games are not structured but can be great fun - whilst the paid subscriptions have varying degrees of structure and feedback.

The paid brain exercise programs have a few differences. Most allow you to try the games without the program or feedback or offer a free trial period. Everyone has different tastes. Although I like a challenge I don't want to feel stressed, plus they take different amounts of time, so you have to factor that into your usage.

What Will You Do?

How will you use it? Or will you lose it?

There really is no excuse for not exercising your brain by:

using a paper based game
taking advantage of some of the free brain games out there on the internet
subscribing to a brain training program that guides you through like a personal trainer.
The key is to work out which type is going to fit into your lifestyle regularly and make a long term difference to your grey matter.

Working Out and Staying in Shape for Busy Dads and Middle Aged Men

Do you find that you are running out of time to work out, or that you have gained belly fat and fat on other parts of your body recently? Or maybe you have been overweight for a long time, have tried to work out with some effort, and have not had good results. I understand how it can be for busy dads and middle aged men when their life is so hectic they don't have time for the gym.


Accelerated Muscular Development is a program created by strength & fitness trainer Jim Smith. Jim Smith is also a training advisor for Men's Health magazine. This program consists of 3 categories for full, upper body, and lower body workouts, and each category is divided into four sections. The great thing about this program is that it contains a significant amount of material. It contains ten ebooks and guides, and dozens of step by step tutorials showing you exactly how to use weight and gain muscle rapidly. Jim Smith will act as your personal trainer and take you practically by the hand to show you everything you must know to build massive amounts of muscle and get stronger in the shortest time possible.

Being the fact that most likely all of you reading this article are very busy, it is necessary if you want to stay in shape and lose weight that you find a program that has a low time commitment, or else you will never actually end up making it to the gym. Jim Smith has included six extremely useful free bonus items in the Accelerated Muscular Development system that you will find very beneficial. The program also contains a full 60 day money back guarantee, so you have absolutely no risk when purchasing this program.

Final Conclusion:

If you are looking to get in great shape with little effort, and minimum time spent at the gym, then this is exactly the program you need.

Lies, Evil And Narcissism

Back in 1983, well known American psychiatrist Scott Peck (1936-2005) published a book that by his own admission; "I have written it with trepidation," was very difficult for him. That book was titled; People of the Lie. In this book he delves into the essence of human evil. Coming from a Christian perspective his tendency was to look at the subject through rose coloured glasses....somewhat coloured by his religious beliefs, but his writing goes a long way to putting the question of evil into a perspective that we can all understand and relate to, and unfortunately sometimes see and even get caught up in, in everyday life.

When I read this book so very long ago I came to better understand generally why people lie, and why they manipulate or otherwise wreak havoc with their own, as well as other people's lives.

However the book became particularly disturbing for me when I began to read about a particularly dangerous TYPE of liar and on more than one occasion I had to stop, and take a step back before I was able to return and continue again. It wasn't so much because of what I was reading, well actually it was but it was also because I recognized people who had come through my life that fit into Scott Peck's definition of this type of liar and by extension this form of evil!

The experience of them was traumatizing to say the least.

Before going any further I should make the point that it is important to understand that not everyone who lies is evil but most certainly, everyone who is evil lies!

There has been much written about your "run-of-the-mill" liar if I can put it that way, so I do not have to spend any particular amount of time just regurgitating what probably most of you know already. Suffice to say and truth be told.....most every one of us reasonably normal, reasonably well adjusted individuals lies from time to time.

But why do we lie? There are some fundamental reasons for this:

Fear of harm: I think the easiest reason to understand why we lie is for self protection, including self deception, to prevent harm to ourselves. This harm can be either physical or mental.

Fear of punishment: When growing up, how often did we lie about how well we did in school or who started a fight to our parents? How often do we cover up our mistakes and transgressions because of this fear?

Fear of conflict: To some degree, we all fear having to deal with confrontation.

Fear of rejection: Sometimes, a fragile level of self-esteem is the basis for why we lie to each other, because we want to be and remain popular in our relationships. Typically, it is harmless boasting to make ourselves appear more admirable to other people.

Fear of loss: This is usually the loss of personal objects, such as money or expensive valuables. Greed is the foundation for this reason and can be found in each of us. We often lie to make ourselves more desirable to other people too. Most common, people lie for fear of losing an opportunity to have sex. Other times, when our self esteem starts to decline, we even lie to ourselves as a means to prevent loss of morale.

Altruistic Reasons: We often lie to help our friends and loved ones. How often do we flatter someone just to make them feel better? This is the only selfless reason why we lie.

Despite all the technical reasons why people lie, it all boils down to this; the fundamental reason why people lie is because it mostly works. At least for a while!

And because lying has become more understood in today's society, it unfortunately has become more acceptable. It has sometimes even become an admirable and useful social skill.

"Lies of omission are every bit as bad as lies of commission."

Now please do not misunderstand, these reasons for why so called normal people lie can have very serious, devastating consequences for those being lied to and for those lying but as stated they are not the subject of this essay. Believe it or not although I do not condone lying, lying for these reasons is not nearly as dangerous as those who lie because they are evil.

The Subject of Evil

According to Scott Peck; "evil is that force, residing either inside or outside of human beings, that seeks to kill life or liveliness. And goodness is its opposite. Goodness is that which promotes life and liveliness." He goes on to say that some of us are very good and some of us very evil, and most of us are somewhere in between. We might therefore think of human good and evil as a kind of continuum. As individuals we can move ourselves one way or another along the continuum. Just as there is a tendency for the rich to get richer, however, and the poor to get poorer, so there seems to be a tendency for the good to get better and the bad to get worse.

For us to be able to get a better understanding and appreciation for the forces that act on people who are evil, Scott Peck suggests that we look at the phenomenon of narcissism.

Now it can be said that we are all of us self-centered to a lesser or greater degree and although we have a tendency to judge a situation or a plan according to our own advantage, most of us quite naturally, or as a result of our socialization are able to see things from another person's perspective that is, from a viewpoint different from our own. In other words we can empathize with another and act accordingly.

The people whom Dr. Peck refers to as "evil" are those who lack this capacity for empathy, altogether. If you have been around for any length of time, you should be able to think of persons you know or who have come through your life as well, who emulate this type of behaviour!

It can be said that each of us is not only a unique entity but we do also have clearly marked boundaries which need to be recognized and respected if we are to live in peace with each other. A mentally healthy person is able to both, see and appreciate his/her own boundaries and those of others. "We must know where we end and others begin." Narcissistic people lack this ability to distinguish between boundaries.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders DSM-IV-TR, published by the American Psychiatric Association, identifies 10 distinct personality disorders, narcissism being one of them. I read somewhere that 1 in 5 people could be diagnosed with some form of personality disorder.

The character of a person will always show through his/her personality by the way they think, feel and behave. When the behaviour is consistently pervasive, inflexible, maladaptive and antisocial over a period of time, then that individual is diagnosed with a personality disorder. Scott Peck would say that by virtue of their unwillingness to tolerate the sense of personal sin and the denial of their imperfection, an evil person would easily fit into this broad diagnostic category.

Typically, most personality disorders begin as problems in personal development and character which peak during adolescence or early adulthood and lead to distress or impairment ultimately being defined as a personality disorder.

Personality disorders are not illnesses in a strict sense as they do not disrupt emotional, intellectual or perceptual functioning. However, those with personality disorders suffer a life that is not positive, proactive or fulfilling. Not surprisingly, personality disorders are also associated with failures to reach potential.

Definition of a Narcissist

"People with a narcissistic personality have a sense of superiority, a need for admiration, and a lack of empathy. They have an exaggerated belief in their own value or importance, which is what therapists call grandiosity. They may be extremely sensitive to failure, defeat, or criticism. When confronted by a failure to fulfill their high opinion of themselves, they can easily become enraged or severely depressed. Because they believe themselves to be superior in their relationships with other people, they expect to be admired and often suspect that others envy them. They believe they are entitled to having their needs met without waiting, so they exploit others, whose needs or beliefs they deem to be less important. Their behaviour is usually offensive to others, who view them as being self-centered, arrogant, or selfish. This personality disorder typically occurs in high achievers, although it may also occur in people with few achievements." Excerpt from: Merck Manuals (Online Medical Library)

There is a particular pathologic variant that the psychologist Erich Fromm (1900-1980) called "malignant narcissism." Malignant narcissism is characterized by an unsubmitted will. All adults who are mentally healthy submit themselves one way or another to something higher than themselves, be it God or truth or love or some other ideal. They do what God wants them to do rather than what they would desire. "Thy will, not mine, be done," the God-submitted person says. They believe in what is true rather than what they would like to be true.

Subject of Evil (PART II)

A predominant characteristic of the behaviour of the evil is scapegoating. Because in their hearts they consider themselves above reproach, they must lash out at anyone who does reproach them. Definition: Scapegoat - an innocent accused and forced to take blame. And more significant, one who is the object of irrational hostility.

Scapegoating works through a mechanism which psychiatrists call projection. Since the evil, deep down, feel themselves to be faultless, it is inevitable that while they are in conflict with the world, they will invariably perceive the conflict as the world's fault. Since they must deny their own badness, they must perceive others as bad. They project their own evil onto the world. They never think of themselves as evil; on the other hand, they consequently see much evil in others.

The essential psychological problem of human evil is a particular variety of narcissism. Narcissism, or self-absorption, takes many forms. Some are normal. Some are normal in childhood but not in adulthood. Some are more distinctly pathological than others. If the central defect of the evil is not one of conscience, then where does it reside? The essential psychological problem of human evil is a particular variety of narcissism.

Surprisingly, except for their evil, evil people are most ordinary. They live down the street - on any street. They may be rich or poor, educated or uneducated. There is little that is dramatic about them. They are not designated criminals. More often than not they will be "solid citizens" - Sunday school teachers, policemen, or bankers, and active in the PTA.

We all know that the tendency of so-called evil people is to mostly evoke a feeling of repugnance in us and Dr. Peck feels that this is natural. However, while it is important to label a person's character or actions as evil, he feels that it is necessary for us to also see that evil is a sickness and that the only way to really heal it, is through compassion. On the surface people who are seen as evil might not appear to suffer, but under the surface, they are battling with tremendous currents of fear. It is precisely through the attempt to keep fear at bay and their lack of preparedness to face reality that an "evil" person develops the kind of personality they do, so as not to have to acknowledge their own suffering.

So then, in summary, to a greater or lesser degree, all mentally healthy individuals submit themselves to the demands of their own conscience. Not so the evil, or narcissist however. In the conflict between their guilt and their will, it is the guilt that must go and the will that must win.
* * * * * *
To all the run-of-the-mill liars out there who I mentioned earlier in this article who are not evil or narcissistic, I would ask you to take a close look at what appears in the green box, there just might be something there of interest to you.

JAMES LADD B.A., C.H.R.P., C.P.I.R. Life & Business Coach, author and speaker, who has without a doubt been down the "Road Less Traveled," having survived and thrived after a double lung transplant in August of 2003. Jim comes to this place in his incredible life journey with a dynamic combination of work and life experience. Jim worked as an Organizational & Human Resource Development Specialist for over 35 years in the private, public & non-profit sectors and also managed a provincial government employee assistance program serving over 15,000 employees. He has authored and facilitated a wide variety of training programs covering such diverse topics as; managing organizational change, conflict resolution, performance management, managing and/or coping with stress, interviewing & counseling skills, supervisory & management skills. His most recent publication is titled; "The Personal Transformation Guide." In the community he became an award winning football coach over the course of 25 years (Coach of the Year 3M of Canada, Coach of the Year, Developmental Category, Coaches Assoc. of Manitoba. In August of 2010 Jim was inducted into the Football Manitoba Hall of Fame in the coaching category.

Controlling Your Finances - Tracking and Recording Spending

I spent my 20's not paying much attention to my finances. If I needed something, I'd put it on my credit card without a thought. My wife and I both had good incomes, our mortgage was low, I never even considered that I was slowly digging myself deeper into debt. When we had a child we lost my wife's income and suddenly it hit me... Where did all my money go?

When I took a hard look at my financial situation it was hard to believe how much money had simply disappeared into thin air. We didn't have a huge house, fancy cars, large TV's, or anything to explain it. As I researched, I found this was a very common situation. In general, people simply do not keep track of where they spend their money. I'm sure many that will read this article are in the same situation that I found myself in.

OK, that's a bad situation, but now what?

There are several steps to improving this situation. The first step is to track how you receive and spend money. Recording your finances gives you the knowledge you need to take control of your money and put it to work for you. You cannot possibly control what you do not understand, so please do not underestimate the importance of this first step. This is not budgeting, this is not a way to judge how you spend your money, it is simply gathering information on where your money comes from and where it goes. The data we gain here will help us to form a baseline for our spending habits.

So I can do this for a few weeks and that's it, right?

Anyone who is serious about gaining control over their finances will need to gain the discipline to continue this step for the rest of their lives. Money is a magical thing, it can disappear extremely fast (and it doesn't even take a magician). Financially successful people consistently keep tabs on their money, and soon you will too! This is the first step that will lead us to learning how to pull a rabbit (or money in our case) out of your hat rather than reaching your hand in and finding nothing!

How do I do it?

Tracking your finances is easier than you think, it simply takes discipline. I've been doing this for a few years now and I honestly don't even give it a second thought anymore. It's really not very time consuming and it doesn't take a rocket scientist.

All you need is a place to record your transactions. This can be as simple as a notebook or as complex as a software application (personally, I use Microsoft Money). Any time you spend a form of currency (cash, credit, check, or even a gift card), record it. Make a few categories that are not too narrow nor too broad. For an example, here are the categories I use (add or remove categories that are more applicable to you):

Automotive (Gasoline/Maintenance)
Insurance (Health/Life/Auto)
Utilities (Electric/Gas/Phone/Internet/Satelite/Water/Garbage/etc)
Allowance
Clothes
Entertainment/Recreation
Healthcare
Household Goods
Personal Care
Charitable Donations
Pet Care
Dining Out
Gifts
Groceries
Home Improvement
School
Subscriptions (AAA, Book Club, etc)
Taxes
Debt Payments
Bank Charges
Savings
Retirement
Miscellaneous
When you record a transaction, decide what category it fits best in. Note what it was and how much the transaction was for and keep a running tally. Get to where this becomes routine and you won't even think about doing it anymore. It is important to record everything you spend. If you buy a can of pop out of the vending machine, record it. Drive through the fast food place? Write it down!
This sounds like a lot of work, how can I make it easier?

Always save your receipts. If you have the option to getting a receipt, get one! All the information is there that you need to record and all you did was pick up a piece of paper.
Use a spreadsheet or software program (such as Money or Quicken) if possible. Though this isn't necessary, it makes things easier.
Use online banking and billpay to your advantage. If you use a check, credit card, or even debit card, your transactions are recorded.
Make it a habit! Taking a couple minutes at the end of each day to compile your receipts is much easier than trying to compile everything at the end of the month.