what does not kill me only makes me stronger

Whatever you're going through today is just temporary and if it doesn't kill you it only makes you stronger to deal with other things in life that may come your way.

The Importance of Humor

Relationships are really hard. They require a lot of  effort to keep a relationship healthy and strong. Close contact, passion, keeping the spice, being thoughtful and having patience are just a few ingredients to keep the relationship brewing. One overlooked spice, is humor. It's the glue to keeping the small things that really matter from crumbling away.


Humor encourages positive thinking. It requires a special gift to be able to look for a silver lining in every cloud and not many people can do so, though many need to. Without humor, all you see is dark despair and disappointment. Humor allows you accept flaws, that the universe is not perfect and neither is the person you're having a relationship with. A minuscule characteristic should not distract you from the wonderful connection you have with someone. A sense of humor keeps you sane and keeps you attracted to the relationship. A dose of those endorphins sure feels good too.


There's also humility in humor. If you can't laugh at yourself, how can you ever get through life? Having a sense of humor means you can roll with the punches. A lot of times people forget why they were in the relationship to begin with. Prides are hurt as tempers flare and threatens to destroy something that once brought joy. Having a sense of humor allows the relationship a chance for its feuding parties to one day look back on the fight and laugh. Humor allows people to put their differences behind them and enjoy what the relationship really has to offer. Fights don't seem so serious after a few punch lines.
Humor also keeps the relationship fun. Over time, strain on the relationship may cause it's magic to fizzle out. Having a quick wit and a few jokes on hand could help in reconnecting and rediscovering that spark. Jokes and pranks also help up the ante on laughter, aiding the bonding process. Laughing together makes you feel in touch and connected. A well timed joke can disrupt a mundane meeting between bosses and subordinates, creating a brief atmosphere where it appears, that behind the facade of titles and pay checks, anybody can enjoy a good chuckle.


Humor is very important in any relationship. It comes in handy when deflecting criticism in a mother/daughter relationship and can diffuse a spat between husband and wife. It strengthens friendships and is a great stress reliever at family gatherings. Having a sense a humor can mend broken relationships and create new ones. So the next time you're feeling frustrated at a misunderstanding, have a good belly laugh.

The Health Benefits of Humor: Laughter the Best Medicine

Life is not a bed of roses, at times it is beautiful and at others it leaves behind a trail of sadness. There are many times in our lives when we feel low and the challenges expect us to tackle them clearly and responsibly but that doesn’t mean that we should remove the slightest moments of laughter and light heartedness from our lives.

Laughter is a blessing in disguise which many of us fail to realize. In fact it is one of the things which are contagious in a positive manner; when you smile you leave a smile on the onlooker’s face as well. Laughter is one integral aspect which takes a person beyond just the concept of flesh and bones. Indeed, a person who laughs more has a happy heart and a happy mind which are extremely essential to be successful in life.

Laughter is therapeutic in nature as it opens up your lungs by freeing the breathing process, eases the chest tension by stretching the diaphragm and gives an overall healing effect to your body. It helps in improving respiratory functions for people suffering from problems like asthma. Laughter boosts the overall blood circulation as it improves the blood vessel function and reduces blood pressure and heart rate. It also helps reduce stress in a great way as it reduces the ‘cortisol’ level in the body.

One of the best healing effects of laughter is seen in combating cancer. Cancer thrives in a body which is oxygen depleted and laughter is known to increase the blood circulation thus it increases the availability of oxygen in the body. This is precisely the reason why most of the patients are advised to watch funny stories and cartoons to make them laugh uncontrollably. Another laughter therapy is that it reduces weight by reducing food cravings. In fact, laughing for ten minutes burns 40 calories in a day. Laughter indeed, is the best medicine. To lead a happy and healthy life, laugh a lot and enjoy your life.

Emotional Eating

Women are known to be sensitive and emotional individuals. An increase in eating habits due to strong emotions is known as Emotional Eating. Hence, this type of eating disorder primarily affects women. Emotional Eating can be a recuperative health condition, but it can also cause devastation in most social relationships.


CAUSES:


Boredom and Stress
Overeating and emotional eating are similar in nature and result. Emotional eating, like overeating, most likely will result in gaining extra weight. Boredom and too much stress can also lead to this eating disorder. Hence, the difficulty in dealing with inner conflicts may lead to emotional stress. And more women tend to overeat during times of stress to ease or lessen their emotional pain and misery.


Emotional Situations
Hiding emotions can put a big barrier between relationships with people around you. Most people with this problem tend to resort to eating instead of facing their emotional situations. This can cause severe emotional problems for you and the one with whom you are having an argument, because instead of dealing with it and finding a solution, you head to the kitchen to get something to eat. In due time, these incidents can grow to more serious arguments and could lead to more emotional turmoil between you and the people around you. The effect would be more and more emotional situations and your answer would be to eat and eat more.
Disappointments or frustration can also lead someone to overeat, and when someone wasn’t able to reach target goals, that person had more reasons to eat. Whether they feel they are not being appreciated or they are simply overreacting to small problems, they may be ready to eat again. These persons turn to food for fulfillment and contentment; they accept the fact that only food can make them happy. This makes a person’s self esteem and self confidence very low and the cycle of eating when they are down, repeats over and over again.


SOLUTION


Remember, the first step to recovery is to admit you have a problem. It is hard to find a solution if you don’t know what the problem is. If you do admit this, you are on your way to recovery. Just remember to watch what you eat and say to yourself ‘you are beautiful’. No need to look at models with their thin bodies; for all we know they also might be having these problems.

Health Benefits of Steam Baths

Stress and tension is a fairly common occurrence for most people these days. There are occasions when stress can be so overwhelming that you feel like giving up. You can become depressed and when you reach this state it is extremely difficult to motivate yourself to do anything. Your physical and emotional well-being can suffer if you let stress get to you, which is why you have to find a way to let off steam. You need to find something which enables you to release those pent-up emotions and gets you to burn off some energy.One of the things I learned lately is that going to a gym or spa after a hard day's work can really do wonders. I discovered that taking a steam bath/sauna have health benefits beyond just relaxation.

photo from tine_stone of flicker

A good sweat whether it's from a workout or from a steam bath is excellent for healthy skin. Dermatologists understand the benefits of steam to create a beautiful, healthy glow. Serious sweating washes the skin better than soap and water since it unlocks the pores and lets deep-seated grime along with dead cells to be washed out. 


Steam bathing is also an effective treatment in respiratory conditions and is highly recommended for the treatment of the common cold, sinusitis, bronchitis, and asthma (it does apply to me because I'm an asthmatic person). Steam relieves inflammation and congestion of the upper respiratory membranes, It also helps relieves throat irritation by moistening the air. Steam loosens secretions and stimulates discharges of mucous from the throat and lungs. Also, it improves circulation and blood flow, the heat of a steam causes the heart rate to increase and blood vessels to expand that creates cardiovascular workout without having to strain muscles and joints, it is actually the same result we get from mild workout such as brisk walk.

Steam bath also relaxes muscles and relieves the pain due to physical and mental stress, even releasing toxins and free radicals that may allow for better overall health. You may wonder about the difference between sauna and steam bath but there generally is no difference noted between a dry sauna and a wet sauna or a steam bath as the benefit is related to generating enough sweat and heat to detoxify and relax the body.

One of the things I realize in my own life is that no matter how bad a day might have been, taking care of my self makes all the difference in how I feel about who I am. Taking care of my body not only cleanses the outside, but it also refreshes me internally. From my perspective it’s a cleansing of the soul if you will. Taking care of my body reenergizes me from within.


Now that I learned that stress and tension can affect our physical, mental and emotional state, the best way to restore ourselves is to reward ourselves with a hot and relaxing bath.  :)