Cosmetic Surgery: Is it Worth the Pain and Expense?

 

Getting a little nip and tuck in the pursuit of beauty has never been so popular. But is cosmetic surgery worth the financial, physical, and emotional pain?

Yes – Carl

Once it was only the rich and famous that could dream of cosmetic surgery but now a range of different enhancements are easily available, making it more accessible for everyone. So if you’re not happy with your looks and you can afford the treatment, then why not?

I began having treatments about 10 years ago. I was starting to look and feel old and that was making me depressed. The more unhappy I felt, the worse I looked. I was trapped in a vicious cycle and decided to do something about it by dealing with my appearance.

I used Botox to treat the frown lines on my forehead and the difference it made was amazing – I looked so much better. Since then, I’ve also had eye-lid surgery as my eyes had become puffy and baggy with age. After I’d healed from the surgery, I felt amazing. I look younger and feel happy again. My friends have all commented on the improvement.

I haven’t had any other work done yet but I wouldn’t rule it out in the future. After all, we’re all living longer and like many others, I want to enjoy my old age rather than hiding away. I like to go out and looking good is important to me.

For me, however, cosmetic surgery isn’t just about looks – it’s about confidence too. The popularity of cosmetic surgery means that the costs are coming down; making it more accessible for normal people. And yes, it can be painful while you’re having treatment but I believe it’s a short-term pain for long-term benefits.

No – Beth

I think it’s really sad that our society puts so much pressure on people to look a certain way – to the point where they will pay for painful, expensive, and sometimes risky procedures in a bid to change their looks.

If you’re unhappy in life it’s easy to think that making a change to your appearance will make all the difference. But usually it’s not the wrinkles, big nose, or small boobs that’s the real problem. Often people focus on their appearance when really there are psychological issues that need resolving. This is why surgery is addictive – people think that it will solve their problems and in the short-term they may feel better but when their insecurities come flooding back, they seek out more surgery to try and counteract the negative feelings.

The results of cosmetic surgery don’t always last that long so once you start having treatment it can be a slippery slope to years of surgery. And even though treatments are becoming more common, they are still ridiculously expensive. I’d much rather spend thousands of pounds travelling the world – and I’m sure that would make me happier than a boob job would! The risks also put me off – we’ve all seen pictures of celebrities with cosmetic surgery that’s gone wrong. And the risks aren’t just about how you’ll look after the surgery; there are health risks too. The PIP breast implants scandal showed that cosmetic surgeons can sometimes get things massively wrong – resulting in stress and harm for thousands of people. For me, the risks just aren’t worth it – I’ll just stick to make-up, thank you.

Categories: cosmetic, cosmetic surgery, feel, people, Risks, short term, surgery, treatment

How Can Hypnosis Help You Lose Weight and Keep it Off?

To lose weight, you need to eat less and move more – you don’t need a wellness expert to tell you that! So why, then, are we Brits not in amazingly good shape? Often, it may be a sign that you mental wellbeing is plagued by subconscious baggage that’s weighing you down. Clinical hypnotherapist Belinda Hulstrom explains, ‘There are a couple of things that need to happen for us to make changes: we have to want the benefits of that change, and we have to want them enough that we’re prepared to do whatever it takes to get them. We also have to believe that change is possible and that often involves overcoming the obstacles that our mind has set up for us.’

 

This is where hypnosis comes in. You spend your life surrounded by negativity, be it from the media, or even your family and friends. According to clinical hypnotherapist Mark Stephens, creator of the Think Slim programme, this then creates a self-fulfilling prophecy which prevents you from losing weight on a permanent basis. ‘People use a lot of negative self-talk,’ says Stephens. ‘They’ll say, “I’m a yo-yo dieter”, or “Diets don’t work”. But hypnosis can take away the mental prison bars they’ve made for themselves.’ You often eat for the wrong reasons because of your negative emotions. Stephens points out, ‘People will eat when they’re sad, lonely, bored or angry – and then they’ll feel guilty and beat themselves up afterwards, creating a downward spiral.’

 

In order to lose weight, then, you need to make a change to the way you think. ‘No amount of emotional eating will help repair yourself,’ Stephens warns. ‘We need to get on top of the negative emotions and learn how to feel happy.’ With the help of a hypnotherapist, you can break the negative cycle and replace these thoughts with positive ones. Stephens comments, ‘With hypnosis you’re bypassing the analytical and reasonable part of the mind and going straight to your subconscious, where all your memories are, and feeding it with positive suggestions. Hypnosis can help by changing people’s mindsets.’ The mindset you need to adopt is one of a long-term goal, rather than a short-term obsession.

 

It’s easy to lose weight on a short-term basis; what’s tricky is keeping it off – and that’s how hypnotherapy can help. In 1995, a study published in the Journal Of Consulting And Clinical Psychology showed that ‘the addition of hypnosis substantially enhanced treatment outcome’ in six studies relating to obesity and weight loss. The patients who underwent hypnosis continued to lose weight, even after the treatment had ended. Hulstrom echoes the fact that you need to change the way you think about weight loss. She notes, ‘It’s not about losing weight but about getting rid of something we no longer need or want and about creating a whole new relationship with food and our bodies.’

 

You also need to train your brain. Hulstrom concludes, ‘Probably the most powerful message hypnosis can get across is that you always have the power to choose. You can have that piece of chocolate cake, but you don’t have to have it. Hypnosis can help create a relationship with yourself that’s more honest.’ This is why the Think Slim programme gives participant the following verse to memorise:

 

I am tomorrow what I eat today, before each meal that’s what I say.

 

The more water I drink, the more inclined I will feel to only eat a nourishing, healthy, slim meal.

 

Between main meals I drink water or tea, between each meal I stay snack-free.

 

Excess fat I burn with every step I take, I have no desire for chocolate, ice-cream or cake.

 

Whether it’s a walk, a swim or a sport I play, I aim to be active twice every day.

 

I stay focused on my goal and the body I deserve, and it all boils down to each meal that I serve.

Categories: clinical hypnotherapist, emotional eating, hypnosis, Lose weight, Losing Weight, nbsp, negative emotions, short term, slim programme, Weight Loss

Why is the Atkins Diet so Effective for Weight Loss?

A popular diet for many years now, the Atkins diet consists of using already-stored fat deposits in the body as energy to create a fat burning machine out of your own metabolism. It does this by removing carbohydrates from your diet so that you don’t use them as an energy source – once they have been removed, you body can use fat instead to burn off calories and help you to lose weight. Initially, those following this diet remove all carbs from their food intake and survive of protein instead, then gradually re-introduce carbohydrates back into the diet after some time has passed.

 

The process of shifting your metabolism from using glucose as energy to using fat is known as ketosis, which means you can eat fat-rich foods and still lose weight. Because the production of glucose in the body is kept to a minimum, and your body doesn’t release insulin, it can even help to prevent diabetes. This form of diet is still extremely popular, and it’s status as an effective diet doesn’t appear to be fading any time soon. What makes it so appealing to people is that they don’t have to cut out the usual sins of a diet, which are high-fat foods. Naturally, given the inclusion of so much fat, it has been under scrutiny by many experts as being bad for your health. This hasn’t stopped millions of people from following its practices and rules though. It remains one of the most popular diets ever to have been devised, despite the risk it poses to people’s health over time.

 

The Atkins diet is easy to follow an follows a pyramid scheme of foods that you can include – you can have a lot of protein sources, such as meat and eggs, but whole grains are kept to a minimum at the top of the grid. To keep you from getting bored, and to introduce a little variety as you go along, you can begin to include low-carb foods once you’ve been on the programme a while – eventually you can begin to eat a few carbohydrate foods as well. This type of diet that enables flexibility is great for dieters as it stops them from getting bored and giving up – the main cause of so many diet failures. The Atkins diet relies heavily on the body’s natural functions, so it alters the way our bodies work by causing it to metabolise fat and use the very thing we’re trying to lose as energy. This means you’ll see both short-term and long-term effects. In the short-term, your body will lose the weight by burning the fat you already have stored, meaning you’ll see results quickly. In the long-term, your body is being prepared for metabolising differently so that you can include the right amount of carbs without gaining weight again.

 

There are risks attached, such as potential risks to your heart due to the inclusion of so much fat in your diet that may clog up your arteries or cause blood clots, as well as the risk of developing kidney stones. Because you are cutting out certain food groups, you’re also risking other areas of your health such as your bones. As with any diet shift, you should seek the advice of your GP before drastically changing your diet. There may be pre-diagnosed health risks that may make this unsuitable for you. However, maintaining a healthy weight is important, so if you are obese then you should seek out a way to return to a normal weight to avoid any undesirable health concerns.

Categories: Atkins, Atkins Diet, body, diet, Diets, foods, health, Long term, Lose weight, short term, weight, Weight Loss

Fad Dieting as Seen by Professionals

Whether you follow them or not, fad diets are unmistakably on the rise around the world. Whilst longstanding weight loss companies like Weight Watchers are still turning an excellent profit, many of us looking to shed the pounds are turning to the diets that are so regularly splashed across the covers of magazines, endorsed by celebrities and promoted by friend-of-a-friend anecdotes. In fact, as the media and word-of-mouth is such an important factor in the spread of these diets, oftentimes the science behind them falls into insignificance.

With this in mind, online doctor and pharmacist Chemist Direct consulted dieting professionals from a range of disciplines to ascertain their views on the fad diets du jour and see if their popularity is justified.

 

Texan dietitian Megan Ware’s biggest gripe with fad diets is that they give dieters the impression that they will be able to maintain their weight loss:

“Fad diets only work in the short term, not for long term loss. Most people go back to their old eating habits once they get tired of dieting. Of course you are going to lose weight following that plan when you’re probably taking in less than 1000 calories per day.”

 

Registered Bariatric Dietitian Lori Rosenthal supported Megan’s viewpoint, stressing that stark changes to one’s diet are inevitably unsustainable in the long run:

 

“The best way to go about losing weight and keeping it off is to make one or two healthy changes at a time, only adding another once the first has become part of your routine and you enjoy it. If you feel restricted or deprived the change won’t last”.

 

But changing one’s routine, that is, one’s day to day behaviour is easily talked about but less easily put into action. Luckily, Lou Ryan, a behavioural therapist, was at hand to give some perspective to why dieting doesn’t work on a psychological level:

 

“Diets are not an effective long-term solution because they target the symptoms (i.e. unwanted eating behaviours) using willpower instead of dealing with the root cause of those unwanted behaviours (i.e. the subconscious thought process that creates food cravings).”

 

So, it would appear that the most important aspect of successful weight loss is targeting unwanted eating behaviours in a slow, methodical process, rather than simply depriving your body of nutrients and waiting for it to reduce in mass.

 

Whilst many dieticians and therapists will have their own plans for achieving this, I personally found Joseph Grenny, author of New York Times bestseller Change Anything, to have the most easily digestible approach. He proposes a five part plan for changing unwanted eating behaviours:

 

1. Change your impulses: Change the way you think about what you currently consider to be unpleasant behaviours. Create a Personal Motivation Statement on a 3×5 card that connects to your values, and read the card when you feel tempted to quit.

2. Learn the weight loss skills you lack: Losing weight requires skills, not just will. For example, when facing temptation our research shows people who learn a couple of simple skills are 50% better at resisting their urges.

3. Turn accomplices into friends: Don’t underestimate the power of your peers. For example, Harvard sociologist Nicholas Christakis discovered that obesity is partly infectious. Having obese friends increases your chances of following suit by a whopping 75%.

4. Get a coach or mentor: Coaches are crucial to behaviour change success. People with half a dozen active friends who play the role of coach or mentor are almost 40% more likely to succeed than those with less than a half dozen friends.

5. Reward small successes: Give yourself a small reward for reaching short-term goals. For example, if you give up fizzy dinks, set aside the £2 per day you save and do something meaningful when you reach £100.

 

The problem, however, is that the majority of dieters are still fixated on quick results for little or no effort. This may pay dividends if you just plan to lose weight for a particular special occasion like a holiday, but the path to true wellness unfortunately is going to take a lot more effort.

Categories: eating behaviours, Fad Dieting, Fad Diets, Long term, Lose weight, Losing Weight, Professionals, short term, unwanted eating, weight, Weight Loss

Rethinking Short-Term Disability Coverage

Life insurance is the primary focus for most families when planning for their financial future. The loss of the breadwinner can be crippling both emotionally and monetarily yet few individuals think about having disability insurance. Because you are likely to experience a disability sometime in the span of your career, you may want to rethink your short-term disability insurance needs, especially if you hold the brunt of the financial duties in your household.

Planning for the Unexpected

As the major breadwinner, it is your responsibility to make sure your family does not lose everything because of your illness or injury. Short-term disability insurance allows you to take time off work when you have a critical unforeseen medical issue or a difficult pregnancy or after the birth of your child. Having this type of disability insurance in place has advantages for both you and your employer that includes job security, improved long-term health, and financial compensation. It protects everything that you have.

Sometimes, an illness or injury can immobilise you. You might be faced with a mountain of hospital bills. You might be facing depression. You might be stressing over your health or the health of your baby. Don’t feel that you have to tackle all of it alone. You might want to consult with therapists, financial advisers, or a local attorney, such as Auger & Auger if you reside in North Carolina for instance, who deals with personal injury cases.

Planning for Job Security

For individuals without short-term disability insurance, staying on the job may be difficult, especially if you’ve been injured or have suffered a protracted illness. If you are unable to return to work, your employer must search for a replacement to take up the slack. And you are now faced with uncertainty for your future. Short-term disability provides a respite, so the employee can remain on the payroll books until their physical hardship has passed.

Planning for Those Bills

Since short-term disability covers typically two-thirds of the worker’s income, you’ll still have money coming into your household, and you’ll still be able to cover a portion of your monthly expenses. It’s the goal of your employer and insurance company to have you return to work as soon as possible so your full salary is not going to be covered. This is their incentive for you to not delay your return.

Because Federal and State laws are in place, short-term disability can protect your position while you’re away. The laws are designed so that you can take the necessary time off to deal with the birth of a child or work through an injury or illness without having to worry about losing your job too. Since the laws are dependent on the particular state where you reside, you need to check with your employer first before requesting short-term disability insurance.

Planning for Good Health

A worker who doesn’t have short-term disability insurance may feel the need to work through the injury or illness. This could worsen their condition and place their health in jeopardy. By having this type of insurance, you can feel comforted knowing that you can seek the proper medical attention for your ailment, even if you have to miss work to do so. Knowing that you have a position when you return can even help you heal a lot faster. Getting the problem corrected immediately leads to better long-term health and fewer future headaches.

Short-term disability insurance can be one of the most beneficial policies that you’ll ever purchase. Besides the advantage of earning income while being sick or injured, it allows you peace of mind knowing that your position will be secure when you are healthy and well again, and your family is able to stay afloat financially.

Debbie Nguyen is a designer, writer and mother in the Atlanta area. Maintaining her health is key since she’s a freelancer. Auger & Auger is a personal injury law firm in the Charlotte, North Carolina area helping those faced with short-term disabilities.

Categories: coverage, disablity, short term

Overview of Anti-inflammatories, non-steroidal

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are a medication widely used to:

• relieve pain


• reduce inflammation (redness and swelling)


• bring down a high temperature (fever)

NSAIDs are used to treat a wide range of conditions.

Common acute (short-term) conditions that can be treated with NSAIDs include:

• headaches


• painful periods


• toothache


• soft tissue injuries such as sprains and strains


• infections, such as the common cold or the flu (NSAIDs do not treat the underlying infections, but can help to relieve symptoms; especially fever)

Common chronic (long-term) conditions that can be treated with NSAIDs include:

• most types of arthritis, including rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis


• back pain


• neck pain

Things to consider when using NSAIDs

NSAIDs are associated with a small increase in the risk of a person experiencing a heart attack, stroke or heart failure.

NSAIDs are only used in people who have an existing high risk of developing these types of conditions if there are no suitable alternatives and the medications bring significant benefit.

High-risk groups include:

• those with a history of previous heart attack, stroke or heart failure


• people aged 75 or over


• people with diabetes


• smokers


• people with high blood pressure

NSAIDs are also not usually recommended for people who:

• are pregnant or breastfeeding


• have a history of kidney disease


• have a history of liver disease


• have active stomach ulcers (a sore in the lining of the stomach), or are at risk of developing stomach ulcers

Read more about the things to consider when using NSAIDs.

For people who are unable to take NSAIDs for medical reasons, the painkiller paracetamol can be used as a safe alternative. For more severe pain, prescription painkillers, such as codeine or tramadol, can be tried.

Or in cases of severe inflammation an injection of steroids (corticosteroids) can often help.

Read more about alternatives to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

Side effects

Most people take NSAIDs without having any side effects. Short term use is unlikely to cause significant problems, especially in younger patients.

If side effects do occur they usually affect the stomach and intestines (gastrointestinal tract) and can include:

• indigestion


• stomach ulcer


• allergic reactions

In older patients (aged over 55), or those who have had previous stomach ulcers, but who need long term NSAID treatment, stomach acid suppression medications are often prescribed in combination with NSAIDs to reduce the risk of stomach ulcer complications.

Read more about the side effects of NSAIDs.

Interactions

It is very important to read the patient information leaflet that comes with your medication as some NSAIDs can either react unpredictably with other medications, or make them less effective.

For example, it is usually not recommended to take an NSAID if you are also taking medication to prevent blood clots such as low-dose aspirin or warfarin.

Read more about potential interactions that can occur with NSAIDs.

Dosage

NSAIDs are available in:

• tablet or capsule form


• as a topical treatment (a cream, gel or lotion rubbed into a specific part of the body)


• eye drops – used to treat eye pain

Less commonly, NSAIDs are used as a suppository – a capsule inserted into the rectum (back passage).

It is important to strictly follow all of the instructions about the recommended dosage for your particular NSAID. If you exceed the recommended dose, you risk experiencing a wide range of adverse effects, some of which can be serious.

Read more about the recommendations on dosage for NSAIDs.

Names

In Europe, the most commonly prescribed NSAIDs are:

• diclofenac


• ibuprofen


• naproxen


• celecoxib


• mefenamic acid


• etoricoxib


• indometacin


• aspirin (in doses greater than 600mg)

Most of the NSAIDs listed above are generic medicines. This means that their production and distribution is not limited to a single company. Therefore, they are available under a range of different brand names.

Some NSAIDs are available over-the-counter, without the need for a prescription, such as aspirin, diclofenac, naproxen and ibuprofen.

However, because a medication is available over the counter it does not mean it is safe or suitable for everyone. Again, it is important to read the patient information leaflet that comes with your medication.

It is generally accepted that naproxen is the safest NSAID with regard to heart attacks and strokes and celecoxib is the safest with regard to stomach problems.

Note: Aspirin must NOT be given to children unless directed by a doctor. Also, some people with asthma get attacks triggered by aspirin or NSAIDs.

Anti-inflammatory:Anti-inflammatory medicines reduce swelling and inflammation.
Fever:A fever is when you have a high body temperature (over 38C or 100.4F).
Inflammation:Inflammation is the body’s response to infection, irritation or injury, which causes redness, swelling, pain and sometimes a feeling of heat in the affected area.
Joints:Joints are the connection point between two bones that allow movement.
Migraines:A migraine is type of recurring headache. It is usually accompanied by nausea, vomiting and sensitivity to light and sound.

Overview of Anti-inflammatories, non-steroidal

Categories: anti-inflammatory, attack stroke, Heart Attack, high risk, information leaflet, short term, stomach ulcers, term conditions