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Rare Footage of Qigong Master Demonstrating “Chi” – THIS is The SHOCKING Power We ALL Possess!

By
Elizabeth Williams

This 3,000-year-old Chinese practice involves the mind, body, and spirit into generating a strong energy called chi (alternatively qi or ch’i).

As defined by Energy Arts, Qigong is a form of gentle exercise which is composed of repeated movements which stretch the body, increase fluid movement (blood, synovial and lymph) and builds awareness of how the body moves through space.

These movements help the practitioner generate and harness the life-generating Chi energy, which can be used for self-healing, healing others, and manipulating the energy of objects around you.

While this may sound incredible to some, there have been numerous accounts of its power and here we will show you a rare footage of a qigong master who uses this power to heal people and set things on fire by using his mental focus.

Which is amazing is that everybody can learn to generate and use this energy to help oneself and others. All you need is the power of will and some time to dedicate!

This extraordinary video is just one of the many accounts of the power of the Chi energy when used correctly.

This following video is another example of the incredible power of Chi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkfvv9lEXPM#action=share

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The Pill Is Linked To Depression- And The Doctors Can No Longer Ignore It

By
Elizabeth Williams

People have been trying to avoid unwanted pregnancy since forever. Nowadays there are many methods to prevent it, but do you know whether those methods are good for your health?

The most often used contraceptive among women and girls is definitely the pill. Only in the UK 3.5 million women are using it.

But no matter how effective it is, you should be aware that it carries many risks which mustn’t be ignored any more.

If you ever felt that the birth control is causing you changes in the mood, that’s because it actually is. 

According to a study from the University of Copenhagen, there is a connection between depression and hormonal contraceptives.

This study was one of the largest studies ever conducted. One million Danish women between the ages of 15 and 34 were observed during an average period of 6.4 years. It was a study necessary for quite some time.

The study has shown that women who were using combination birth control pills had 23% more chances of being diagnosed with depression, while those who were using progestin-only pills (known as the “mini-pill”) had 34% more chances.

Furthermore, using the pill can cause some other risks, such as blood cloth. So make sure that you know all the side effects before you start using it.

Other hormonal contraceptives used as an alternative to the pill, showed even higher risk of developing depression. So women who were using a progestin-only IUD (levonorgestrel) had 40% higher risk of developing depression, those who were using a vaginal ring (etonogestrel) had 60% higher risk and for those who were using the patch (norgestrolmin) the risk was 100%.

The most affected were the teenagers. Teenagers who were using the combined birth control pills had 80% higher risk of developing depression, while those who were on the progestin-only pills had 120% higher risk. And for those teenagers who used non-oral contraceptives, the risk was three times higher.

Still when the study was over, there were some experts who suggested that more studies need to be conducted in order to be completely sure that the negative effect of the pill is depression, said the lead author and professor Øjvind Lidegaard, MD.

However, it is always better to be safe than sorry. Therefore if you and your doctor are concerned about the side effects of the pill, maybe it’s time to go for another option.

After all there are a few others from which you can choose from like condoms, the copper coil, diaphragm, new technology, vasectomy and Vasalgel– a contraceptive injection for men.

What makes me sad is that we are constantly reminded that women are more prone to developing depression simply because of their biological femaleness. Apparently to the medical establishment anything else is acceptable as a cause for depression in women but the hormonal contraceptive isn’t.

I think that these Danish researchers have helped many women around the world and any criticism to their methods shows that the medical establishment will do anything in order to refute any problem with the pill.

Perhaps you haven’t experienced anxiety and depression from the hormonal contraceptives, because not all women do, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. Talk with your friend, colleague or relative. Maybe they have experienced these symptoms and by reading this will decide to give up the pill and change their life.

Sources:
Image Copyright: seksan44 / 123RF Stock Photo
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/oct/03/pill-linked-depression-doctors-hormonal-contraceptives
http://time.com/
https://www.irishtimes.com

The Reading Habits Of Ultra-Successful People

By
Elizabeth Williams
Depositphotos_88866680_l-2015 Reading Habits of Ultra-Successful People

Did you know that there is one habit that all extremely successful people share? They read. And they read a lot.

When Warren Buffett was asked to reveal the key to success, he said pointing at a stack of books: “Read 500 pages like this every day. That’s how knowledge works. It builds up, like compound interest. All of you can do it, but I guarantee not many of you will do it.”

In fact, during the time when he was at the beginning of his investing career, Warren Buffett has been reading 600 to 1000 pages per day. Today, he still spends 80% of his time in reading every day.

However, he is not the only successful person who has this habit. Here are 7 most successful people and influencers in the world that also have the habit of reading daily.

  • Bill Gates

The former CEO of Microsoft has dedicated himself to read 50 books per year which breaks down to approximately one book per week. The majority of the books he reads are non-fiction, and the themes are usually public health, disease, business, science, and engineering.

  • Mark Zuckerberg

The founder of Facebook has vowed in a Facebook post that he will read one book during 2 weeks’ time. He also said that he always wanted to learn about other people’s cultures and beliefs, so the books’ themes have emphasis on these themes.

  • Oprah Winfrey

The widely popular talk-show host opened her own book club in 1996. She selects one book a month that she discusses with her readers on Oprah’s Book Club. She said that the books gave her “the power to see a world beyond the front porch of my grandmother’s shotgun house.”

  • Mark Cuban

The owner of Dallas Mavericks says that we should treat the business like a sport. This gives him a competitive edge on all he does in his life, including reading books. If he wants to learn about something new, he would read constantly for 3 hours every day. He shared everything he’s read on his blog – Success and Motivation Series.

  • David Rubenstein

He is a well-known billionaire, philanthropist, and a co-founder of The Carlyle Group. He stated that he reads 6 books a week, and 8 newspapers a day, which have given him an extraordinary ability to focus.

  • Phil Knight

The founder of Nike sees his library as a sacred place, therefore he asks people to remove their shoes and bow to the room before they can enter. When he was asked if he still had his library after stepping down as CEO, re responded proudly that he will always have it since he is always learning.

  • Elon Musk

Even before he became the CEO of Tesla and co-founder of PayPal, this young man was reading science-fiction novels for 10 hours a day. Moreover, when he was only 9 years old, he read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica. And, when they asked him how did he know so much about rockets, he simply responded that he reads a lot of books.

And these people are not the only ones who take reading seriously. In fact, there is a study that included 1200 wealthy people, and it was concluded that all the participants read books regularly.

However, successful people don’t just read anything. They are in fact very picky when it comes to choosing a book to read. An entertaining novel or a magazine won’t do.

Successful people tend to read educational books about self-improvement and success. They also prefer and often read autobiographies and biographies about famous successful people for motivation and inspiration.

Even though there are many examples of ultra-successful people who dropped school and never got a college degree, these people, however, never dropped books – they never stopped reading and learning. And they say that the key to their success is extensive learning.

Finally, if these examples still have not gotten you in a mood for reading, keep in mind these positive benefits that reading has on you: Namely, reading was proved to prevent stress, dementia, and depression. Moreover, it boosts your confidence, helps you make better decisions, enhances empathy, and improves your overall satisfaction in life.

Here are some books to consider reading:

HAPPY READING!!!

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Recent Scientific Research Links Anxiety With Higher IQ Scores

By
Elizabeth Williams

Anxiety is a severe mental disorder which has symptoms like fear and constant worry at its core.

However, according to recent findings, your anxiety can be connected to higher IQ; i.e. your inclination to worry is directly correlated with your ability to process information and think clearly. In other words, your anxiety may be a sign that you are a highly intelligent person.

Jeremy Coplan, a psychiatrist and the leading author of the study which proved the correlation between anxiety and intelligence published in Frontiers in Evolutionary Neuroscience, said that “we think normally of worry as being disabling. So we found this strange juxtaposition of something that was supposedly disabling being linked with something (intelligence) that was very adaptive.”

The study included 18 volunteers with no anxiety disorder and 26 patients with anxiety disorder. This study took place at five institutions and involved seven scientists who conducted it. They gave the participants an IQ test and measured their stress level too.

Coplan’s study found out that the participants who had higher stress levels performed better on the IQ test.

Additionally, Sanjay Mathew, from Baylor College of Medicine, took brain scans on the participants and they showed that the cerebral white matter (the place in the brain where critical communications are carried out between brain cells) responded in the same way to worry as in high intelligence.

Moreover, scientists from all over the world believe that anxiety actually makes people more sensitive and in tune with their emotions as well as the emotions of others.

Coplan also stated that we should not think of worry as a bad thing. In fact, it is a normal thing nowadays because we all are struggling with real life problems every day. Even in the past, our ancestors worried daily about staying safe and surviving from all the dangers in order to pass on their genes.

However, there is a downside in having anxiety and be constantly worried.

According to scientists from Purdue University, chronic anxiety leads to destructive behavior such as excessive alcohol consumption and smoking. Moreover, this constant state of worry can lead further to neuroticism and depression.

However, in Coplan’s opinion, excessive worry can become pathological only if it affects the occupational, the recreational, or the family’s areas of life.

Even so, one can fulfill all their family duties, be successful in their job, and still have zero quality of life because they worry constantly.

The reality is – we all worry. Some more than others. And anxiety is number one the most common mental disorder according to Psychology Today.

Self-awareness is crucial in this case. I know I have anxiety, and I also know that I worry too much. How about you?

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People Are Capable Of Super Human Abilities Using This Ancient Technique

By
Elizabeth Williams

The ancient civilizations hold many mysteries and extraordinary techniques hidden from plain sight. And it would be no wonder to assume that not everything is as we have been told by our education and other mainstream sources.

What if somebody told you that learning from the ancient people, you could attain super human abilities that you have never thought to be possible? For instance, imagine feeling no hunger or need for food, or being able to achieve extraordinary telepathic abilities.

Sun-worshipping cultures like the Egyptian, Mayan, Aztec, as well as the Tibetan and Indian yogis, have found the key to attaining such abilities and they offer this ancient technique to anyone eager to delve into their endless possibilities.

Just as Nikola Tesla once said, life is bound to develop into a form of existence which doesn’t require nourishment and is not shackled by consequent limitations. He believed that the living beings should be able to obtain all the energy needed for the environment, instead of through the consumption of food.

Whether he knew what he was talking about exactly or not, this ability is possible through an ancient transformational technique called sun-gazing.

What is sun-gazing?

The practice of sun-gazing involves a gradual introduction of sunlight into the eyes at its lowest ultraviolet index times of the day – sunrise and sunset. It is a strict practice with rules which need to be followed to the tiniest detail.

Once the proper period is completed, sun-gazing practitioners have reported that their need for food had been completely eliminated and that the results are much more rewarding than just that.

It is also called the HRM phenomenon, named after Hira Ratan Manek, a famous sun-gazer who willingly submitted himself to be tested by teams of scientists and researchers. Funded by NASA, the research lasted for 100 days, where he was observed 24/7.

The research concluded that Hira indeed lacked the need for food and that his brain showed extraordinary abilities which had not been observed in any other human being. One of the amazing discoveries was that his brain had the ability to sustain the life of the nerve cells indefinitely.

The technique

There are several rules to the practice which need to be followed closely.

First, sun-gazing must be done within the hour after sunrise or before sunset to avoid the damaging UV exposure.

Second, during sun-gazing, you must be barefoot, in contact with the earth (sand, dirt, grass, mud).

Finally, you need to begin with only 10 seconds the first day, increasing the length of sun-gazing by 10 seconds for each consecutive day.

This process needs to be kept on for 9 months, equaling to 44 minutes of sun-gazing on the last day.

After the 90-month period, you need to cease sun-gazing and start walking barefoot 45 minutes a day for 6 days.

The final step is to maintain the accumulated energy by walking barefoot for at least 3-4 days a week, 45-60 minutes each day.

What happens to the body during sun-gazing?

The sun’s energy is a pure, free and abundant energy. This means that it will inevitably affect your body and mind in several ways throughout the sun-gazing process.

In the first 3 months of sun-gazing, it has been reported that the sun’s energy will start moving through the eyes and charging the retinohypothalamic tract. The retinohypothalamic tract is the pathway that travels from the retina to the hypothalamus.

The brain then gradually becomes activated by the solar energy supply. In this period, sun-gazers have reported the first psychological experience of relief of mental tension and worry.

During the sun-gazing period, people have also reported a reduced need for food, which gradually increased with each consecutive day. Although it is said that hunger eventually ceases, it is advised to continue consuming food until the appetite disappears naturally. This is when the body switches its supply source from the energy created by food to that of the sun.

Another benefit early on that has been reported is an increase in confidence and a greater problem-solving ability. It is also said that attitudes caused by lingering psychosis go away, and the old persona full of fears is gracefully replaced by a positive nature.

After 3-6 months of sun-gazing, physical diseases have been reported to start disappearing. By the time sun-gazing has reached 30 minutes per day, it is said that all the colors of the spectrum will have reached the brain.

Color therapists attribute the gradual ceasing of physical ailments to the properties of the colors which reach the brain. All the organs and systems of the body are said to react to different colors of the spectrum. For example, in liver disease, color therapists recommend exposure to the color green for healing; red for kidneys; yellow for the heart.

After 6 months of sun-gazing, the energy stored from the practice is said to be no longer used for the reparation of the body and the mind, and can now move to supporting you in gaining more superhuman abilities.

Beyond healing

By the time you reach 7,5 months of sun-gazing, the need for food should be dwindling. At the 9 months checkpoint, people who have made it this far have reported a noticeable change in the way they felt. Hunger pains and cravings disappear altogether, and the sun-gazer feels ‘charged-up’ solely by the solar energy.

After this period, you are supposed to walk barefoot for 45 minutes a day. During this period of walking, each of the nerve endings on the feet starts stimulating the different organs and glands connected to them.

This is when the pineal gland is said to become activated fully. The pineal gland has been reported to be connected to the locked psychic abilities. Its activation brings the gifts of telepathy, higher spiritual awareness, an increase in intellect and much more.

Beware the dangers

Sun-gazing comes at the risk of damaging your eyes due to the ultra-violet radiation. However, the UV radiation is 0 within the first hour of sunrise and the last hour before sunset. Those who have been practicing sun-gazing correctly have had their eyes checked and the results show no damage whatsoever.

It is advised to check your eyes within the first few weeks of your practice, just to be on the safe side.

Also, forcing yourself to unnecessary hunger and thirst is not recommended at all. In the end, the experience is beneficial even without the goal of eliminating all food for good. You will see how it affects you and you can adjust your habits to how your body responds.

Source:
Image Copyright: szefei / 123RF Stock Photo
Simple Capacity
DISCLAIMER: The purpose of this article is, as with any other article on this website, to report, and inform the readers. We stand neutral to the claims mentioned in this article and advise caution and further research.

What happened when I tried the 3-day diet

By
Elizabeth Williams

Going through a low-calorie diet is a difficult process. It’s definitely easier said than done. You need to possess strong will and determination if you really want to reach your weight goals. So, if you’re not sure you can make it to the end of the diet, it’s better not to start it at all.Having that in mind, I decided to try the famous 3-day diet also go by the name military diet.

If you’re unfamiliar with this weight loss diet, it’s diet plan which aims to help you lose up to 10 pounds in three days.  During that period, you eat small meal portions with the right food combinations. It’s supposed to yield fast results because the number of calories you intake is very low. As for now, I will try to bring you closer to how I felt during this weight loss journey and what I learned.

Day 1

Breakfast:

  • a cup of tea or coffee
  • a slice of wholegrain toast
  • 2 tablespoons of peanut butter
  • 1/2 grapefruit

Lunch:

  • a slice wholegrain toast
  • 1/2 cup of tuna
  • a cup of coffee or tea

Dinner:

  • 3 ounces (85g) of any meat
  • 1 cup of green beans
  • ½ banana
  • 1 small apple
  • 1 cup of vanilla ice cream

Total calorie intake: 1400

As an avid coffee drinker, I was extremely happy because of its inclusion in the military meal plan. After breakfast, I noticed I had enough energy to go through with the rest of the day. However, by the time I had lunch I had extreme hunger pangs. But, then I remembered my weight loss goals and managed to turn my thoughts away from junk food. I came home starving and couldn’t wait to eat dinner on the military menu. Having ice cream on the military meal plan satisfied my sweet tooth and I went to bed happy.

Day 2

Breakfast:

  • 1/2 banana
  • 1 hard-boiled egg
  • a cup of coffee or tea

Lunch:

  • 1 cup of cottage cheese
  • 1 hard-boiled egg
  • 5 saltine crackers
  • 1 cup of coffee or tea

Dinner:

  • 2 hot dogs without a bun
  • 1/2 banana
  • 1/2 cup of broccoli
  • 1/2 cup of carrots
  • 1/2 cup of vanilla ice cream

Total calorie intake: 1200

After having breakfast on the second day of the military 3-day diet, I felt neither full nor hungry. I thought this military meal plan is amazing! After the second meal, I developed bigger cravings than before. Then I remembered that drinking a lot of water on the military weight loss diet can help me with my cravings and I did that. By the time I came home from work, it was dinner time. I was content with myself because I only ate a ½ cup of ice cream since the old me would have consumed more calories by eating the whole ice cream! I received a few comments about how military life was made for me, which gave me further motivation.  

Day 3

Breakfast:

  • 1 slice of cheddar cheese
  • 5 saltine crackers
  • 1 small apple
  • a cup of coffee or tea

Lunch:

  • 1 slice of wholegrain toast
  • 1 egg cooked to your preference
  • a cup of coffee or tea

Dinner:

  • 1 cup of tuna
  • 1/2 banana
  • 1 cup of vanilla ice cream

Total calorie intake: 1100

On the last day of this weight loss diet, I had the feeling like the military meal plan was working and felt confident. I was also amazed at how my eating habits were changing. I ate the last meal without succumbing to temptations and went to bed anxious about tomorrow’s weight loss results. The next day, I couldn’t believe my eyes. By following the military diet, I managed to reach my weight goal – 10 pounds! The next four days I was very careful about taking fewer calories and did some changes to the meal plan.

Conclusion

Following the military meal plan is a perfect way to change your eating habits and lose some weight. Don’t be skeptical and try the 3-day diet! If you can manage to stick to the low-calorie meals, I have no doubt that you will achieve great results!

Combining These 2 Activities Is The Most Effective Way To Fight Depression, Scientists Say

By
Elizabeth Williams

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), depression (or Major Depressive Disorder) is the leading cause of disability in the U.S. among people aged 15 to 44. In a given year, depression affects roughly 6,7% of the U.S. population, or more than 15 million American adults aged 18 and older.

It has been hypothesized that depression is correlated to the creation of new nerves in our brains, which in the case of depression is lowered. This neurogenesis hypothesis is what scientists used as a basis for a research in which they tested how a combination of two commonly prescribed activities for depression can positively affect its reversal.

In their research, published in Translational Psychology, the scientists involved 52 individuals, 22 of whom were diagnosed with a major depressive disorder (MDD), while the rest were non-depressive.

After the brain scans, which showed that the participants suffering from MDD exhibited brain activity associated with poor concentration and focus, the groups were given two tasks:

  • 30 minutes of focused attention meditation, in which the participants were instructed to focus on their breathing all the way to the end.
  • 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise.

These activities were repeated twice a week for 8 weeks.

As the study notes, meditation and aerobic exercise have been long deemed useful for the treatment of depression. However, the combination of the both has not been assessed by any study so far.

What they found after the 8-week program was that the participants suffering from depression showed a 40% reduction in their symptoms and their brain activity increased greatly. Not only did the depressed participants feel improvements, but also the nondepressed participants reported to have felt much better and positive after the program.

The reason behind these results lies in the neurogenetic processes that are triggered by the physical activity, namely the aerobics exercises, and reinforced by the meditative practice, which helped the newly formed cells to differentiate into mature neurons.

Although the study was done on a small sample and didn’t follow up on the long-term effects of the program on the participants, it promises a new approach to the treatment of depression.

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How Early Can Pregnancy Symptoms Start

By
Elizabeth Williams

If you have been trying to get pregnant, you may be anxious or eager to know when your pregnancy symptoms will start.

You are not the only one, the two week wait after ovulation can seem like for ever. The truth is that every woman is different and when they start to feel pregnant can differ.

For example, some women can know as early as six days after intercourse that they are pregnant. While for some; morning sickness, feeling fatigued and a late period are obvious signs that they pregnant. The best way to confirm if you are pregnant is to take a pregnancy test after your missed period. Testing for pregnancy too early can result in a false or negative pregnancy test result.

Pregnancy Symptoms and When They Start

  1. Implantation cramping: Implantation is the process by which a fertilised egg attaches itself to the lining of the uterus around a week after conception. The implantation process sometimes causes mild cramps but the cramps should not be painful like a woman’s menstrual cramp. Implantation occurs 6- 10 days after conception. This is around your week 3 – week 4 of pregnancy.
  1. Implantation Bleeding: One of the early sign of pregnancy is a light bleeding also known as implantation spotting. Implantation can sometimes be accompanied with a light bleeding that occurs as the fertilised egg burrows through the uterine lining to attach itself. Only a few women bleed during implantation. So you may still be pregnant even though you didn’t notice any spotting. Implantation bleeding happens around week 3- 4 of pregnancy.
  1. Morning Sickness: Also known as nausea and vomiting usually begin around week 6 of pregnancy. This is after you have had a missed period. Although it is called morning sickness it can happen in the morning, afternoon or night. Although the exact cause of morning sickness is unknown, Doctors or health care providers believe that morning sickness is caused by an increase in the level of pregnancy hormone released after implantation. After implantation, the human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) hormone is released in high quantity. If you are expecting twins, your morning sickness could start as early as week 5 because you have more pregnancy hormone present at this point.
  1. Fatigue and Tiredness: Fatigue and tiredness can start as early as a week after conception. This is around week 3 of pregnancy. After the sperm meets and penetrates the egg, a woman’s body immediately begins to work hard to support the new embryo. Also the level of estrogen and progesterone hormone increases. It is believed that an increase in progesterone hormone causes tiredness and fatigue in pregnancy. You may feel like you need to take more naps or sleeps than usual. But some women do not feel tired until they are in their second trimester or third trimester. Every woman is different.
  1. Frequent Urination: The urge to pee more often than usual is also an early pregnancy sign. It is believed to be caused by an increase in the level of pregnancy hormone. Also as the uterus grows bigger after implantation. It exerts some pressure on the gall bladder. This may make you to feel like visiting the toilet more often.
  1. Sore Breast and Breast Tenderness: Changes to breast in early pregnancy can around week 3 of pregnancy. After conception, your level of estrogen and progesterone hormone increases to support the growing embryo. This increase in hormones may make your breast feel sore and more sensitive than usually. You may also notice that your boobs feel fuller. The estrogen hormone is responsible for this.

When Anxiety Presents As Anger, Not Fear

By
Elizabeth Williams

My anxiety has been with me for a really long time. I think it started in childhood. My mother tells me I have been a very anxious and impulsive kid back then. When I was a teenager and hit puberty I wasn’t doing well, to be honest.

I was battling anxiety and depression, but I was blaming it on the hormones. Only later did I realize how serious my problem is. And now, I am an adult who struggles with anxiety almost every day.

Anxiety doesn’t necessarily mean being nervous or scared all the time. No. Anxiety can present itself in numerous ways. When you get that hurting feeling and pressure on your chest – that’s anxiety.

When you are happy one moment and sad another – that’s anxiety. When your mind starts racing and imagining things that didn’t even happen – that’s anxiety. When you are constantly worried about what may or may not happen in the future – that’s anxiety.

When you start laughing, or crying, or jumping for no reason – that’s anxiety. When you flake on people and abandon plans at the last minute – that’s anxiety.

Yes, anxiety presents in all these ways and much more that may not be obvious. However, there is one way that anxiety presents in me, and that is – anger.

This means that when I get anxious, I get really angry and pissed off. Back then, when I was growing up, I was always having huge fights with my brother because he was always making me lose my temper.

All the little things he did to tease me annoyed the hell out of me, and oftentimes I couldn’t stand him. Of course, I’ve always looked bad in my parents’ eyes because of this temper of mine. It was just really hard to control my anger and stop letting ordinary things bum me out.

Today, I have managed to keep my anger-anxiety under control with the help of medication. Although it is more subtle now than before, anxiety can still make me lose my temper sometimes.

It happens when I say something without thinking and what I say doesn’t sound as good as it sounded in my head, so I become anxious and start beating myself up about this for days. But, I am also anxious to correct myself and admit my mistake.

When it’s hard for me to calm down, when I start talking negatively and complaining – that’s my anxiety.

I don’t want to feel this way. I don’t want to be moody and irritable. I am doing everything I can to keep my anxiety under control, but sometimes nothing works. I still have my angry outbursts sometimes, and usually, they are for no reason. Oh wait, the reason is anxiety.

Have you ever felt this way? Please share your story with us.

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This Natural Painkiller Grows In Your Backyard And It’s As Strong As Morphine

By
Elizabeth Williams

Pain accompanies many different situations and conditions. From diseases to simple injuries, the pain that occurs can affect the ability to function normally and it can interfere with your daily activities.

Its prevalence is one of the reasons for the major opiate dependency epidemic that the world is experiencing nowadays. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, opioid pain relievers prescribed in the US alone have reached a staggering 207 million in 2013, making the United States “their biggest consumer globally.”

The prescription opioids are not much different than heroin and morphine, causing a fast-paced dependency and addiction. Which is more, it has been estimated that more than 100 million people in the US suffer from chronic pain, many of who will inevitably become opioid addicts in the long run.

Wild Lettuce as a Healthier Alternative

Opioid addiction is not a joke. It eventually starts revolving one’s life around the ways they can get the ‘high’ of the opioid medications, forcing people to obtain the medications illegally. Which is worse, opioid abuse affects the health in more than one way.

This makes many non-opioid substances a healthier alternative to pain relief. One such alternative is Lactuca Virosa, or Wild Lettuce.

More commonly found in North America and England, this plant has been used for centuries as a pain relief alternative to the addictive prescription pain medicine.

The milky white substance this plant produces offers pain relieving and sedative effects similar to those of the opioid substances, without the presence of any opioids in it. It affects the central nervous system directly and it does so by lessening the feeling of pain.

Historical Use

Wild lettuce has been used as an opium substitute (thus earning the name opium lettuce) since the 19th century. However, its use gained popularity in the 70’s with more and more people using it as a more natural pain-relief remedy, as well as for recreational purposes.

Back in those days, people would prepare wild lettuce in various ways. For instance, they would cook the plant with water and sugar until the mixture reached a syrupy consistency. This syrup was very bitter, even with the sugar added.

The most common way of preparing the plant was by drying it and using it as tea. The wild lettuce tea is popular even today. In addition to using it as tea, some also dry it for vaporizing or smoking.

Other Benefits

Wild Lettuce is used for a variety of reasons. The most popular are

  • Migraines – People have reported experiencing fewer migraines by using the herb.
  • Insomnia – Wild lettuce induces relaxation and euphoria, helping one to fall asleep faster. This is why people who have trouble sleeping use it instead of the commonly prescribed addictive sleeping aids.
  • Anxiety – This plant has mild sedative properties, allowing a person with anxiety to find some stress relief.
  • Asthma and Cough – Wild lettuce also has antitussive properties, helping with alleviating or suppressing a cough. Also, patients suffering from asthma who have used opiates experience more episodes when they go through opiate withdrawal. This is why some choose wild lettuce, which is the opiate-free option.

Although wild lettuce induces effects which are as strong as those by opiates, it’s legal to use and grow. This is because it doesn’t contain any addictive substances.

However, you should be careful with its dosage, as too much of it can harm you.

Side Effects

Just like with anything else, wild lettuce should be taken with moderation. Large amounts of intake can have negative effects, which may even result in death.

While wild lettuce is safe for most people in small amounts, just like with opiates, according to WebMD, large amounts can cause a slower breathing rate (respiratory depression), which may result even in death.

Ingesting large amounts of wild lettuce can cause sweating, fast heartbeat, dizziness, pupil dilation, ringing in the ears, vision changes, sedation, breathing difficulty, and death.

People who have the following health conditions should not use wild lettuce:

Enlarged prostate: Wild lettuce contains a chemical that can harm people who have trouble urinating.

Allergies to ragweed and related plants: If you are sensitive to the Asteraceae/Compositae family, which includes ragweed, chrysanthemums, marigolds, daisies, and others, you should avoid using wild lettuce, as it will cause an allergic reaction.

Narrow-angle glaucoma: If you have this eye condition, you should avoid wild lettuce, as it contains a chemical that might worsen the glaucoma.

Use of sedative medications (CNS depressants): These medications interact with wild lettuce. The combination may cause too much sleepiness. Some sedative medications include: lorazepam (Ativan), phenobarbital (Donnatal), clonazepam (Klonopin), zolpidem (Ambien), and others.

Image Copyright: coramueller / 123RF Stock Photo
Sources:
Core Spirit
WebMD
National Institute on Drug Abuse

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