Mental Well-Being

How To Keep Calm During Wedding Planning

Weddings are a rush. The laughter, the excitement, and the nervousness, which go hand in hand with all the stress…

But it doesn’t have to be that way. That cliché about a bride being at her stress threshold in the months leading to her marriage? You can easily avoid it; simply follow these easy methods and keep calm during this wonderful event.

Method 1: Draw The Line

This is about all the pressure and expectation from people around you. Your wedding is yours and yours alone; you can’t please everybody. Don’t hold yourself responsible for everyone’s extra sensitive emotions too.

Method 2: Take A Break

A lot of stress-related issues only happen when stress accumulates. Give yourself a break from everything wedding-related, and simply head out with your SO. Forget about the wedding for a while, unwind, and simply enjoy each other’s company.

Method 3: Figure Out Time Management

When things don’t go as scheduled, there’s going to be some stress. Figure out a detailed schedule for your wedding day, and stick to it.

Method 4: Cue Upbeat Music

Have a go-to playlist for those moments when all the planning and managing everyone’s emotions get to you. Pick some happy music, like ABBA or some early Britney!

Method 5: Consider A Wedding Planner

Much as you’d probably love planning every last bit of your big day, the huge range of tasks involved mean hiring a planner is okay. Advisable, even. You can be as involved as you choose to be.

With these tips, wedding planning gets a whole lot easier, doesn’t it?

References:

https://www.brides.com/story/tips-for-staying-calm-while-wedding-planning

https://www.brides.com/story/how-to-stay-calm-while-wedding-planning

5 Telltale Signs Of Depression

Over 5.5 crores of Indian people suffer from depression. That’s 1 in 20 people. These telltale signs will help you know if someone around you is going through dark times. Here’s how to find out if someone you love is depressed, so you can then help them get through it.

Symptom 1: Staying Aloof

If a friend or a loved one suddenly turns ‘anti-social’, depression may be the root cause. They may have lost interest in companionship, or feel like they might bring others down.

Symptom 2: Increased Drinking

Often turning to alcohol to cope with their social insecurities, depressed people might start drinking heavier than usual. Starting as a coping mechanism, this can become an addiction by itself.

Symptom 3: Constantly Changing Moods

The chemical imbalances that accompany depression can make a person go from happy to crying-aloud sad in a matter of minutes. Watch closely, though—this could simply be due to a clinical hormonal imbalance.

Symptom 4: Getting Bored With Everything

This is easy to catch; if you see a loved one suddenly failing to enjoy something they love, chances are that they are depressed.

Symptom 5: Suicidal Thoughts

As dark and heavy as this is, you’ll need to know. If someone starts talking obsessively about death and suicide, it’s time to step in and get them professional help.

Watch out for these 5 signs, and you might just make someone’s life a little better.

References:

https://www.everydayhealth.com/columns/paging-dr-gupta/how-can-you-tell-if-someones-depressed/

https://www.powerofpositivity.com/10-signs-someone-you-know-is-depressed-and-how-you-can-help/

https://www.normanrosenthal.com/blog/2012/03/seven-signs-of-a-depression

What Does Your Handwriting Say About You?

Did you know there have been studies into what your handwriting says about your personality? There are behaviour patterns that analysts have linked to certain key elements in your writing style.

We’ve gone through some, and put together this easy list for reference.

Element 1: The Slant – Left Or Right?

A rightward-leaning handwriting indicates that you like meeting and interacting with new people. The opposite means you’d rather be left well alone.

Element 2: How Clear Your Signature Is

When signing your name, a clear easy-to-read autograph means a confident personality. Private personalities may tend to create an illegible scrawl.

Element 3: The Space Between Our Words

Large spaces between words mean you like your independence, while smaller spaces mean you’d prefer company. Letters that are crowded mean that you might be intrusive, often getting too close to people.

Element 4: A Matter Of Pressure

Heavy pressure on paper often means a tense mind, while moderate pressure indicates commitment. Light pressure might mean you are sensitive, or that you are extremely empathetic.

Element 5: Dotting The ‘i’s

High ‘i’ dots mean an active mind. Closely dotted ‘i’s show an attention to detail. If your dots are small circles, you might have a playful personality.

Do you think you’re a little closer to understanding who you are? Got some other tips on how handwriting can showcase personality? Let us know in the comments!

References:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2380858/What-does-handwriting-say-Study-finds-5-000-personality-traits-linked-write.html

https://www.rd.com/advice/work-career/handwriting-analysis/

Music To Help You Fall Asleep

No, lullabies aren’t only for babies. If you have trouble sleeping, these are the best types of music that will help you drift away, right into dreamland.

Type 1: The Easy Listening Genre

There’s a specific musical genre that is designed to help you unwind, relax, and gently fall asleep. Easy listening tracks are mostly instrumental, and create a light, soft, jazzy ambience—just right for counting sheep!

Type 2: Ambient Sounds (or) Music

More a soundscape than a collection of songs, quiet ambient music is what you’d call relaxing background music. Atmospheric, comfortingly repetitive and without any clanging rhythms, this is the soundtrack to many a siesta.

Type 3: Classical Music

There is a wide range of classical music, available in a number of moods. To help yourself sleep, pick soft classical tunes or collections featuring instruments like the viola, dulcimer, or flutes.

Type 4: Bedtime Stories

Remember when tales of talking animals and birds and other such stories would put you right out when you were a kid? You can listen to bedtime stories narrated by soft-spoken storytellers.

Type 5: Sounds From Nature

You’ll find recordings of calming natural sounds, like quiet rainfall accompanied by calming harps, strings and wind chimes.

These simple types of music should put you to sleep quite easily. If you still have trouble falling asleep, try professional help. Sleep is vital to good health, after all.

References:

https://sleepybliss.com/products/sleep-aids/sleep-music/

4 Simple Ways To Cope With A Paranoid Partner

Life can be tough if a loved one is given to paranoid thoughts. When your other half or some other family member tends to check your phone or accuse you of things you didn’t do, you need to deal with it smartly.

Here are 4 ways how to do so.

Tip #1: Don’t Lose Control

Staying calm and under control is key to dealing with a paranoid person. When you lose your temper, you can enable their paranoid suspicions that you don’t fully like them.

Tip #2: Get To The Root Cause

Finding out why a partner gets so paranoid about a particular issue is the only way to help them deal with it. For instance, your spouse might constantly worry about you cheating on them because of a past betrayal of trust.

Tip #3: Don’t “Admit” To Mistakes You Never Did

A number of people in relationships with paranoid partners are pushed over their line sometimes. They get fed up and simply accept mistakes they never did, only to shut up a paranoid partner.

Don’t do this; this only justifies and confirms their paranoid suspicions.

Tip #4: Seek Professional Help

As with any medical issue, check with a doctor if these simple tips aren’t enough to help you deal with your partner.

If your partner is paranoid, the key to living happily with them is trust, commitment and the right knowledge. These tips help you with the knowledge part, while the rest is up to you.

References:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-creativity-cure/201601/7-tips-coping-paranoid-partner

http://love.allwomenstalk.com/helpful-tips-for-handling-a-paranoid-partner

5 Easy Ways to Unwind, Relax and Recharge

It often feels like life has a certain way of creeping up on us, doesn’t it? Every day, we all deal with the stresses of work, family, doctor’s appointments and bumper-to-bumper traffic.

It often gets overwhelming. Here are 5 simple ways you can relax, unwind and recharge to face tomorrow.

1.Take Things One By One

Every evening, make a list of things you need to do. Just make sure you don’t set unrealistic goals. This may seem simple, but it keeps your mind uncluttered.

2.Pamper Yourself

An occasional cheat meal or a glass of wine is a great idea. Just don’t make it a daily indulgence!

3.Get Some Exercise

A bit of moderate exercise does you a world of good. Mental stresses melt away as you get a good workout in. Try yoga and some soothing music.

4.Unplug To Unwind

If you can’t seem to relax in the evening, switch off your intrusive phone. Watch a relaxing video, and try some meditation.

5.Get Assistance When Necessary

If these methods don’t quite help you rejuvenate everyday, get professional help. Not everyone faces the same levels of stress.

With these handy tips, you’re all set to recharge for the next day!

The 4 Best Tips To Avoid Road Rage

You’re on the way to work, driving through heavy peak hour traffic. You’re already stressed out because of all the tension getting ready. Maybe you’re worried about an interview you’re about to attend, or about a looming deadline at your job.

Then, someone swerves dangerously in front of you. You lose your temper and start screaming uncontrollably, or spouting obscene language.

That is road rage. And these are the 4 things you can do to avoid it.

Get Enough Sleep

Make sure you get the right amount of Zs before you hit the road in the morning. Adequate sleep will keep you relaxed and in control over your emotions. You’ll also be more alert to dangerous driving from fellow drivers.

Choose Your Music Wisely

Statistics show us that people listening to loud, aggressive music can prime people for angry confrontations and such behaviour. Instead, listen to a soothing pop playlist or a radio station that plays soft, mellow music such as classical, or jazz.

No Aggression On The Road

Do not take out your aggression on your car. Since a vehicle feels like an extension of you, people often tend to let out their frustration by stepping on the accelerator.

Do not do this.

Behave Like You Were Eating Out

When eating at a nice restaurant, you most likely wouldn’t lose your cool at the slightest but of provocation. Channel the gentleman in you, and play it cool when you’re on the road. Put your restaurant etiquette to good use!

These tips should keep you from getting too angry behind the wheel!

References:

https://www.rd.com/advice/travel/driving-stress/

https://www.geico.com/more/driving/auto/car-safety-insurance/7-ways-to-avoid-road-rage/

The Beauty Of The Mental Detox: 4 Simple Tips

Ah, adult life. Where we’re all in command of our emotions, and we’re too grown up to let stress get the better of us, and work is entirely manageable without getting on our nerves.

If only it was that simple!

But real life isn’t simple, or even easy. We all deal with mental stress from a number of sources. It can be getting ready for work everyday, it can be the chaos of managing work, family and fun, it can be dealing with screaming kids, and it can even be dealing with bosses who scream like kids!

This is why we need the mental detox. Here are 4 tips on how to do it.

Step 1: Embrace Positivity

Specifically, this has to do with the thoughts that go through your head. Pay attention to the ideas and thoughts you constantly dwell on. If a particular thing has a negative effect on your mood, try and stay clear of it.

When you fill your mind with positive thoughts, you tend to have a more positive outlook. This is a crucial part of the mental detox.

Step 2: Let Things Go When You Can’t Control Them

There really is no point holding on to something you simply have no control over. When you stress and stress about such things, you only store up negative energy.

When a particular situation is out of your control, don’t let it get to you. Moping won’t change things, and will only add an unnecessary mental load. Let it go—it’s not worth losing your happiness over.

Step 3: Express Thoughts You’ve Bottled Up

Open up to a trusted confidante. When you try and stuff everything down or ‘sweep it under the carpet’, you add to your internal stress. There is only so much you can handle. Get in touch with how you really feel.

Voicing out your frustration can be a cathartic experience. Deal with your true feelings, and you’ll loosen your load. Just make sure you confide in someone truly trustworthy.

Step 4: Stop Living The Digital Life

Are all digital devices inherently stressing? Technically, no.

But consider this: in an effort to stay ‘in the know’, we are constantly hooked to a drip feed of digital news, updates, and societal pressure. Experiment with a device-free time just before bed and when you wake up.

Use these tips to start clearing up all that mental clutter you’re carrying around. Let go of negativity and stress sources, and your mind will free right up!

References:

https://www.peacefuldumpling.com/6-simple-ways-to-do-a-mental-detox

https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-23274/a-7day-mental-detox-for-a-more-positive-life.html

Sher-Lock Those Thoughts: The Science Of The Mind Palace

If that title confused you, here’s a refresher: Sherlock Holmes, the famed British detective, uses this technique to store his considerable collection of memories. Retreating into a virtual palace that exists only in his mind, he sifts through data that includes everything from chemical formulae to chicken breeds.

But is this simply a great plot device, or an actual mnemonic (mental aid) you and I could use?

Let’s take a look at the science behind the ‘mind palace’.

The Invention Of The Mind Palace

This technique is thought to have been created by Simonides, an ancient Greek poet. After fleeing a party where the building collapsed, the poet realized he could recall the identities of his fallen fellow party-goers by visualizing where they were standing before the building fell.

He later put this technique to good use, making it a popular mnemonic device for people in ancient Greece.

How You Can Create Yours

The idea is simple.

You create an imaginary building in your mind. Visualize details like where the windows are placed, where room entrances are located, and how corridors are laid out.
The effectiveness of the mind palace lies in the attention to detail.
When you use this technique to memorize strands of seemingly unconnected data, use vivid imagery.

If you have to imagine a car, for example, picture it making loud noises in the (say) third floor living room. If the image you create is vivid and detailed, you’re less likely to forget it.

How Does The Mind Palace Work?

The core on which this mnemonic device works: you perceive space as a kind of image. In 2002, scientists studied the top 10 competitors of the World Memory Championships. Out of the 10 SMs (Super Memorizers), 9 used the memory palace technique.

The study showed that their brains weren’t somehow wired differently. The MRI scans showed that the mind palace users’ brains were more active during the memorizing process.

And that’s why it’s the secret for you and me: the mind palace doesn’t depend on superior intellectual capacity or IQ. All you need is practice; the people in the study we discussed had all been using the mind palace.

What’s more? You can use it at any stage in life. The mind palace technique has even been shown to improve memory during old age.

References:

https://www.magneticmemorymethod.com/memory-palace/

https://www.wikihow.com/Build-a-Memory-Palace

We Need To Talk About Suicide Prevention

Thoughts of suicide are common and can happen to anyone. The person you know is still the same person they were before, they are just feeling very distressed and distracted at this point in time. They may certainly be just as scared about the unusual thoughts of suicide as you are for them. You should talk to them about it.

How to have the conversation?

You can often feel at a loss about what to do when it comes to beginning a conversation with someone who is at the brink of committing suicide.

With these 4 simple steps, learn how to help the person through this phase and to get help.

Step 1 : Identifying their concerns

Observe how the person is looking and feeling. What are they are saying and doing? What is it that indicates that the person may be having suicidal thoughts?

Consider these signs a chance to check in with the person to help or connect with them.

Step 2 : Ask them

A good time to talk to the person is after you have noticed their symptoms and then express your concern. Empathize with them; tell them that others in similar situations have had thoughts of suicide. This might help them open up. Do not ask directly or they might hesitate to speak about what they are going through.

Step 3 : Listen

Show them that you are open and willing to listen will help the person to not feel uncomfortable. Remain calm and non-judgmental. Allow them to express their worries. It can be tempting to offer solutions and deal with the problem at this point, but don’t jump to problem-solving. Listen to their concerns and show that you’re taking their experiences seriously.

Step 4 : Help them

Be honest in telling them that you are concerned and that you are willing to support them even if it may require extra help. Show them that you care and assist them to get extra help if required.

By starting conversations about suicide, we can all contribute to suicide prevention. Developing skills to respond we are preparing ourselves to protect someone when they are at their most vulnerable.

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