We are at that time of our lives when it is time to make New Year’s resolutions. If you are like most people, you probably think of this as a fad, because these resolutions are just a gimmick - something suitable just for the festive season. Some of people will just do this for giggles or just to share with friends and family in some party to attract a few cheers. Curiously within a week, all those goals that you set for yourself become a faded memory and within another week, it has disappeared from your sights. Well, my friend, if this sounds familiar to you, don’t call them New Year’s Resolutions just call them New Year’s Fantasies. You know how long fantasies last, don’t you? What return on investment on your time and effort do fantasies generate? Absolutely nothing. You remain where you are in life - your future continues to become the mirror image of your past. You continue to remain in that ever-complaining mode and in misery, knowing fully well how uncomfortable you are in your confort zone.

Let this New Year of 2009 be the turning point of your life. You’ve tried the old-fashioned way that you have learned and grown up with so far and that pattern of living has brought you where you are today. What you do today and prepare for the New Year will shape your future.

This New Year of 2009 is the Year of the Ox in the Chinese calendar. According to the Chinese tradition, people who will be born in the year 2009 will be stable and persevering, tolerant and have strong characters. The resoluteness and fearlessness of those to be born in this year of 2009 will be unprecendented and they will see their goals and resolutions to their completion. Hard work will not faze these newborns - they will just get it done and it will be done right.

Wow! Is that not amazing? Mankind today around the globe is at a defining moment. We can continue living with the old-fashioned and sub-optimal practices and go deeper into the caverns of extinction or break through those self-deprecating paradigms, acquire the knowledge to weather the storm and emerge transformed and liberated. Let this New Year of 2009 be the year that you are born again.

For the first time in your life, make a list of New Year’s Resolutions - no more fantasies please. You can make outrageous resolutions and you will see them manifesting into reality. You see, a resolution is infinitesimally more powerful than those fantasies of the past. You know why? That’s because a resolution is the evolution of a sincere thought, upgraded into heartfelt wish, enveloped with a passionate feeling and implemented with affirmative action. So far, your so-called resolutions stopped at the semi-first stage of the evolutionary process - at the thought. No wonder they did not materialize in reality.

This New Year of 2009, make it different. When you make your list with this perspective in mind you will find that the Universe begins to correspond with the nature of your song. Now, more than ever before, it is important that you take action here and now, so that the future reveals a dramatically different life for you than have experienced before. Remember that stress never helped solve any problem - it only aggravates it. This New Year of 2009, make it payback time - put the stress on stress this year and squish it to the ground. You can do it - or is there an option?

December 21st, 2008
Categories: Remedies . Author: Jay Bose . Comments: No Comments

Depending on where you live, your sexual orientation may be regarded as taboo and something that society may not accept. This is particularly true for homosexual people, who find themselves in embarrassing situations when the news about their homosexual orientation becomes public. They are often subjected to ridicule and at times discrimination from society and even place of work, which in turn leads to tremendous stress on their psychological health.
Often homosexuals, consciously or even unconciously proclaim their sexual orientation and in turn find themselves stigmatized for no reason at all. “Straight” people seldom proclaim that they are “Straight”, so why should homosexuals make such a big deal about their personal sexual orientation. It is a matter of personal choice and preference and everyone has a right to live their life the way they choose to do. As long as you are a noble and honest individual contributing to society, that is all that the world should care about and the individual should care about. Why draw unnecessary attention and attract stress in life when it is easy to avoid it? You are special in your own way, make that the light that shines your path - not what your sexual orientation is, unless of course there is a specific purpose for that proclaimation.

June 21st, 2008
Categories: Stress, Uncategorized . Author: Jay Bose . Comments: No Comments

Schizophrenia is one of the psychological disorders that still holds the medical commiunity hostage to find a cure. The compexity arises due to the various symptoms that patients suffer, which makes it difficult to treat them all at one time. While medications are available to address some of the symptoms to relax the nervous system, the effects are only temporary. Once the effects wear off, the patient needs to take another dose of medicine or revert back to the symptoms.
A careful analysis of the symptoms of schizophrenia reveals a stong similarity with other stress related disorders, however. For example, lack of interest in life is a classic example of major depression. Unwillingness to communicate with others and trying to become an introvert is similar to someone suffering from social anxiety disorder. Delusions and hallucinations are symptoms reported by patients of PTSD and panic attacks. There are long term remedies available without medication for these disorders. Schizophrenia patients could evaluate these remedies and consider adopting them to obtain relief. Of course there is no substitute than help from a qualified professional and it is always recommended that you do consult your physician before adopting such measures.

June 10th, 2008
Categories: Schizophrenia . Author: Jay Bose . Comments: No Comments

Most definitely what you eat has an impact on you psychological health just like your physiological health. Foods that act as stimulants cause more anxiety and depression than most people think. Alcohol and non-prescription drugs taken for entertainment value are the worst that one can indulge in as a remedy to drown stress related disorders in life. Smoking leads to nicotine deposits collecting in the lungs, that in turn cause the lung capacity to decrease. This means less oxygen intake, which in turn leads to oxygen starvation in the body cells. Toxins are not eliminated from the cells, which leads to disease - this in turn leads to physiological and psychological stress.

In order to lead a pschologically healthy  life, load up on Vitamins A, B and C, tryptohpan, betacarotenes, magnesium, calcium, zinc and iodine. Refrain from high saturated fat content foods and high cholesterol foods. For non-vegetarians, white meats, fish, eggs are always recommended for stress relief. Your diet should contain a good mixture of proteins, complex carbohydrates, low fat, fibers and minerals in order to not only ensure that you have removed all dietary stimulants from your life and are able to provide a solid foundation on which your psychological health can thrive and sustain through challenging times.

May 25th, 2008
Categories: Diet and Nutrition . Author: Jay Bose . Comments: No Comments

More often than not we tend to think in the negative. We contentrate on our weaknesses, dwell on what we don’t have or what we cannot do and look at the glass as half full. This defensive attitude towards life has almost become second nature for us. The negators in our mind are so strong that we seldom take the time to rejoice in our strengths and what we already have. Physiologically this means that the brain has a lower level of serotonin (the happy hormone), while the adrenaline and cortisol levels are at a level higher than normal. If this is how we choose to shape our lives it becomes more and more difficult to adopt techniques for anxiety and stress reduction. As a matter of fact, the negative attitude can become a huge inhibitor for any therapy.

. It is very important to be aware of the physical symptoms of anxiety attacks, because they are nature’s way to communicate to you that something is amiss, so that you can take action. A shift of attitude can go a long way for managing stress in life. One must appreciate what he or she already has and feel grateful for it, realizing that there are millions in the world who may not be so blessed. This feeling of gratitude is the first step to make your shift your emotions in the positive direction. The next step is to take the negators out of your weakness and consider them to be a strength. For example, remove the negator from the statement “I don’t have money” and imagine the end result. Removing that negator will probably not bring you money in the next minute, but the shift in thinking sets you in the right direction. If you continue to think that you don’t have money and get stressed about it, you will never have what you want and will continue to remain under stress. However if you can think that you have money, your will automatically start to take steps that will help you reach the end goal. Leverage the power of the mind and you can overcome any inhibitions in life. There is no better substitute for stress related disorders than having a positive attitude in life.

May 5th, 2008
Categories: Alternative Therapies . Author: Jay Bose . Comments: No Comments