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Weight Loss Exercise

Are You Burned Out?



Burnout is the term used for a state of exhaustion; mentally, physically, and emotionally. Who gets burnout? It can be young mothers or busy volunteers who try to be everything to everyone with no time left over for themselves. It can be employees who are doing the work of many with no end in sight or an employer who has a lot of pressure to show results. It can be you. Take a look at these possible symptoms to see if you might be suffering from burnout:

Apathy in all areas of life.
Unsociable – unwillingness to socialize with others. Withdrawn.
Chronically fatigued or exhausted.
Poor sleep patterns or insomnia.
Weight gain or weight loss.
Possible depression.
Anger.
Low tolerance for others’ comments or behavior. Irritable and on edge. Overreact.
Physical symptoms – headaches, other aches and pains, constantly sick.
Forgotten how to have fun.
High level of criticism of self.
Self medicating with food, alcohol, or drugs.
Feelings of powerlessness and low self image.
Do things out of sense of commitment, but begrudgingly.
Mood swings.
Anxiety.

If you recognize many of these symptoms of burnout, don’t brush them aside. It’s time for you to take positive steps to stop the burnout. If you don’t, you may continue on with further physical or mental problems. There is no quick fix to relieve burnout, but there are steps you can take that will slowly guide you to a healthier, happier life.

First off, you need to explore what is causing your burnout and address the source. Options then are to get away from the stress, minimize the number of occurrences or the degree of stress, or learn how to change your attitude towards the stress. Think of some positive triggers that sound pleasing to you:

* Take a vacation to distance yourself from the stress and to relax.
* If your job is a bad fit or you’re to the point of feeling physically sick when you think about your job, you need to take positive action towards finding a new one. Don’t make excuses about the downturn of the economy, company layoffs, not qualified, etc., take action anyway.
* Start saying “no” to others who demand more of your time than you are willing to give. There should be no guilt because if you don’t take care of yourself first, there will eventually be nothing left for you to give.
* Learn to routinely treat yourself to relaxation, even if you don’t want to or feel too busy. Pick what works for you – a bubble bath, a good book, an all time favorite movie.
* Rediscover a passion. Once upon a time you liked to do ______________. Start doing it again, even in small doses.
* Seek help from a counselor, medical doctor, or mental health professional.

Burnout can happen when you’re overcommitted and overworked. If you’ve taken a look at the list of possible symptoms above and feel like you have burnout, take steps now to get back on track and love life again.


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Weight Loss Exercise

What I learned from my Skateboad Injury



I have been wondering this week what to write as my motivation has been a bit down lately and I did not want to infect you with it. So I have decided to write a little message about why I have been down and what I have learned about my back problem over the last few weeks.

What I learned from my Skateboad InjuryEarly in August I went one night to the local skateboard park with my son. Jaiden is 7 and likes to scooter, skateboard, and ride his bike at the skatepark like most kids his age like to do. I have no experience on a skateboard and just like and guy I want to prove my youth and virility and I failed.

I fell and hurt my back

Well today, just over three weeks later I am finally about healed. I hurt my back really bad falling off that skateboard and knocked my pelvis out of place. This led to physio, pain killers, not much exercise for the last few weeks. I have had a lot of time to be thankful for the opportunities I have to exercise, do what I want for exercise, and live a healthy lifestyle most of the time. I hope this thankfulness sticks cause it makes me respect my situations and pushes me to make the most out of life.

This is what I have really learned out of this ordeal

1. Make the most of every day. I am secretly not that excited about going to the gym some days and not as excited as I could be on street hockey days. That will now change. Feeling the endorphin rush, the excitement of a personal record, and the comaraderie of team and even individual sports will drive me like never before.

2. I will respect my body. There are lots of times where I will just eat terrible and think that I can run or ride to burn it off. I am now expecting myself to use my body as a tool, a temple, and a respected piece of person equipment. I will feed it fuel, push it like a machine, and give it treats for good behavior

3. I will keep my core strong. We all know that our core from hip to chest and right around the torso is the most critical parts of our bodies for strength and for stability. The trouble is that in the quest to build a six pack using crunches and lef raises we may not even realize that the most important muscles of the core are the Transverse Abdominus, a muscle that wraps right around the inside of the abdomen (don’t worry I will do some videos on working these muscles).

I know that my skateboard accident was not a real health scare like many people run into through their lives but to m, a guy that tries to pride myself on my healthy lifestyle it was a real shock that a little fall could mess me up so badly. One of the biggest problems mentally was the feeling that I did not have any control over my own body. I had been limping around, walking like an old man, and having to rest myself and watch how I moved for more than two weeks and for me that feeling of helplessness was a real wakeup call.

I think you will see a lot more of these kinds of posts from me in the future as I try to pull us all toward a daily dose of pushing ourselves to be better than yesterday


Categories
Weight Loss Exercise

Panic Attack Symptoms



With the number of people suffering from panic attacks in the millions, it seems this problem is more common than you originally thought. If you feel you may have had panic attacks yourself but you are not really sure, read on to see if any of these symptoms sound all too familiar.

First off, keep in mind that you may not experience all these symptoms. Everyone is different and may experience things in different ways. The following are the most common panic attack symptoms:

* tight feeling in the chest
* increased heart rate
* hot flushed feeling
* excessive sweating or clamminess
* shortness of breath
* hyperventilating
* nausea
* muscle tension
* dizziness
* terror
* fear of impending doom

For many people, the first time they experience a panic attack they feel like they’re having a heart attack or are dying. They’re rushed to the hospital only to find that their heart is fine and the doctors can’t find anything physically wrong. If the idea of panic attacks is not brought up, they’re left feeling that something is wrong with them and they begin to visit different medical doctors trying to determine what it is.

Panic attacks occur when the “fight or flight” adrenaline goes into overdrive. Your body believes that it is about to be attacked and brings forth all the responses that would go along with a seriously dangerous situation. The trouble is, the event at hand does not warrant this behavior. Yes, you know your fear is way out of proportion but you are unable to stop it. You can say to yourself, “This is silly, I’m just going to drive on this freeway for 5 miles as I’ve done many times in the past” but your body reacts anyway.

Even scarier is realizing that these attacks can happen at any time. Some people wake up in the middle of the night with them or have them occur when doing something as benign as watching TV.

It is commonly believed that panic attack disorder can be triggered by any of the following:

* stress, situational or long-term
* hormones
* post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
* possibly excessive sugar or caffeine

The worst part is anticipating or worrying that you will have another panic attack. In fact, the worry can be enough to bring on a panic attack. Added to that it seems each episode is burned into your brain and you feel if you’re in the same situation or location, you will surely have another episode. Because of this you start avoiding these situations or locations. But avoidance behavior is not the answer.

If these symptoms ring true for you, seek answers. You don’t have to continue to suffer from panic attacks, there is treatment available.


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