There is no miracle pill you can take to banish all ailments and prevent every infection and illness. But it is possible to reduce the risk of developing certain conditions. Adopting a healthy lifestyle and taking good care of your body and mind can go a long way to protecting your mental and physical health. Here are some preventative steps you can take today.

Don’t bottle things up

When you feel angry, upset, frustrated or stressed out, what do you normally do? Do you try and release tension? Do you chat with friends or family members? Or are you guilty of bottling things up or burying your head in the sand? Many of us are not very good at opening up and taking steps to manage or process our emotions. We’re happy to talk about physical health issues, such as the flu or back pain, but we find it much more difficult to tell others about how we feel if life gets tough or we feel low.

Mental health is something we should all be thinking about. Even if you’re blissfully content, there are things you can do to protect your mental well-being. Just as you can condition your body to reduce the risk of injuries, you can shield your mind too. Talk about how you feel or find ways to control and express emotions.

If you don’t want to open up, or there’s nobody around to speak to after a stressful day, try writing or get creative and paint or draw. You might also find exercise cathartic. Exercises like yoga and Pilates can help to induce calm, while high-intensity activities like boxing, running and spinning can be great for channeling anger, frustration or restlessness in a positive way. It’s important to understand the difference between ‘normal’ emotions and signs of mental illness. We all experience anxiety, sadness and irritability. But if you feel sad for long periods of time, anxious when there is no clear cause, or never feel calm or at ease, it’s wise to seek medical advice.

See a doctor if you have health concerns

Many of us will brush over aches and pains or changes in our mental health in the hope that whatever is causing them will magically disappear. While some symptoms are short-lived, and they’re indicative of mild ailments, which don’t require any treatment, it can be dangerous to ignore persistent or severe symptoms. See a doctor if you don’t feel well, you have symptoms that are getting worse or you’re struggling with chronic pain.

Identifying abnormal signs early can often improve the chances of successful treatment and provide peace of mind. There are solutions for many health problems, and seeking advice can help to prevent deterioration and enable you to manage symptoms. If you’re prone to back or shoulder pain, don’t struggle in silence. Doctors, physical therapists and holistic health professionals can help you to get relief from chronic pain and enhance comfort and well-being.

If you don’t feel yourself, you’ve noticed changes in your behavior or your moods, or you’ve been feeling down for a long time, reach out. Therapies like counseling and CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) can help to improve mental health. If you have concerns about changes in your bowel habits, you’ve lost weight, your appetite has gone, or you’ve found a lump, make an appointment. In many cases, there will be nothing to worry about, but it’s always best to err on the side of caution.

Keep on top of health checks

Be honest. When was the last time you went to the dentist, you had your hearing and sight tested, or you checked your BMI or your blood pressure? If you haven’t had a dental check-up for years, you can’t remember the last eye test you had, or you have no idea how much you weigh or what your blood pressure is, now is the time to make some appointments. Keeping up with basic tests and checks is a simple, hassle-free way to reduce the risk of problems and protect your health. If there are any signs of hearing loss or changes in your vision, or your blood pressure is a little on the high side, you can take steps to avoid further issues, for example, wearing glasses, using ear protectors at work or increasing activity levels.

It’s not possible to protect against every illness or injury, but there are some very simple ways you can boost your health and well-being and lower the risk of health problems. Take these tips on board to start building towards a healthier, happier future today.

Trauma is something that can be exceedingly difficult to move past, especially when that trauma was unexpected and came as a serious shock. Whether you were involved in a serious accident or you fell ill with a severe illness, the trauma from being in that kind of situation can be extremely difficult to shift.

The fact is that when something unprecedented happens – something that is traumatic – it can be difficult to know how to move past what has happened. This is especially true if it has a long-term impact, and will be a part of your life going forward. That being said, just because it can be difficult to move forward from a traumatic event, that doesn’t mean that it’s not possible to do so. It’s just a case of knowing what steps you need to take in order to be able to heal – both physically and emotionally.

Wondering what steps you should take to make healing after trauma easier? Have a read of the simple and straightforward guide below!

Do what feels right for you 

First of all, let’s address the issue of what you ‘should’ do – should being the operative word. When it comes to your approach to healing after a traumatic incident, it’s up to you what approach you take. There are steps that may help but you don’t have to do anything, you should only do what is right for you and your personal circumstances. You know you best, so do what feels right for you. If you want to stay in bed and watch movies, do that. If you want to get out and about, go for it – as long as it won’t impact your physical health of course. Do what feels right for you.

Make self-care a priority 

When you’re healing after a traumatic experience, it’s important to look after yourself properly, and a simple way to do that is by practicing self-care as a priority. What is self-care? Simply put, self-care is about doing what makes you feel better – it’s about doing the things that make you feel good. Whether that’s simply sitting down with a cup of herbal tea and a good book or practicing yoga every day, it’s your choice how you approach self-care. What it’s important to remember is that self-care is all about what makes you feel good – while some people find doing a face mask soothes them, others find that hobbies such as sewing, crochet or adult coloring help to make them feel calm and in control. Find what works for you.

Look to the future

Healing after trauma is also about thinking about your future and what that future may look like. You need to consider what steps you need to take to secure your future, such as finding a new career route if you’re no longer able to do your previous one, for instance. Or, it might be finding skilled personal injury attorneys to help you to make a claim against the person who caused your accident. You need to think about what steps you can take to help ensure that your future is a bright one, regardless of what has happened to you.

There you have it, everything that you need to know about healing after trauma and the steps that you could take.

Learning an instrument is something a lot of people are searching on Google and other search engines nowadays, as they wonder if they can learn this instrument during the lockdown situation. The flute has a reputation as being one of the most difficult to play, which can make people a bit apprehensive. But, anything is difficult until you know-how.

In this post, we are going to take a look at some of the difficulties you will need to overcome if you are going to learn the flute online. This will help you to understand any challenges you may face and to determine whether you are up for the challenge.

Learn the Language

Firstly, you need to learn the language, which is the case for any instrument. Learning music can be like learning another language. You’ve got lots of unusual symbols thrown at you, from notes to staves. You simply need to invest time in online music lessons that are dedicated to theory.

Another challenge you face is learning to breathe correctly. Poor breathing habits can make you feel dizzy and lightheaded, and they can also have a negative impact on your ability to play. For example, if you do not have strong breath control, your tone will be poor. You can work on this with numerous breathing exercises. Playing an instrument can also impact your hearing if you don’t look after it, so do keep this in mind. If you have hearing problems at the moment, look at a hearing aid guide to see if there’s something that would be suitable while playing an instrument. After all, a hearing problem should not stop you from having fun, right?

Finally, when playing the flute, you will need to turn to ledger lines. This can be challenging, as all notes can start to appear the same when you move upwards of four, five, or six lines.

Tips On Buying Your First Flute

The first thing you need to do is establish a budget. One thing you should not do is look for the cheapest flute you can find. If you do this, you are almost certain to suffer at the hands of a lack of quality. You don’t want a poor standard of flute because this will put you off playing altogether. You should also make sure you opt for a flute that has been designed for a beginner when starting out with online music lessons, and then move onto a more complex flute. Beginner flutes will be light to hold and a lot easier to play. They should also be able to withstand any knocks that it suffers. On the other hand, professional flutes and the likes of step-up flutes are a lot heavier and they are not designed to be easy to play. They also have increased projection and a fuller sound, which an advanced player requires. You should also take the time to read reviews that have been left by previous buyers. This will give you a good insight into the flute and how it plays. If you come across many bad comments, you know to look for something else to learn flute online.

How To Assemble The Flute

Firstly, it is important to recognize that the flute is split into three parts. The head joint is the top part of the flute. This is where the lip plate or the mouthpiece is located. You then have the body, which is the part with the most keys. At the top of the body, you will find the tenon or the barrel, which is where the head joint goes in. Finally, the end is the foot join. When you put the sections together do not grab the flute’s keys or rods. If you do this, you can damage the flute’s functioning, as you can bend the keys and the rods.

So, now you are ready to put your flute together for your online music lessons. Hold the barrel of the flute to put the foot joint in. Make sure you are not grabbing the keys when you hold the end of the foot joint. Simply do a twist and push motion and the foot joint will slide on. Next, align the foot joint to the middle of the keys of the body. Now, to attach the head joint, do the same thing. But do not grab the mouthpiece when doing so, as this can bend it. Finally, align the mouth hole, known as the bore, with the first key of the body.

When life gets hectic and there are other things to worry about like taking care of children and getting work done, it can be easy to lose sight of the importance of looking after yourself. Often, we take our health for granted. If you’re keen to start putting your health first, here are some steps you can take to make your health and well-being a priority.

Move More

Inactivity is one of the most significant risk factors for cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and some forms of cancer. Living an active lifestyle offers benefits for both physical and mental health. If you don’t hit the weekly target of 150 minutes of moderate exercise, it’s a good idea to try and increase your activity levels. You don’t have to join a gym or spend hours running around the park or lifting weights to get fitter and reap the rewards of regular exercise. You can try all kinds of activities, from golf, tennis, swimming and cycling to dancing, climbing, kayaking, hiking and home workouts. If you’re new to exercise, try and build up your fitness gradually, increasing the duration or the intensity of your sessions as you get stronger.

Have fun with exercise, get friends and family involved and try and make physical activity part of your daily routine. If you don’t feel confident joining an exercise class or going to the gym, you can follow online workouts at home, invest in home gym equipment, or tune into virtual training sessions. As well as making a concerted effort to exercise more, you can also make simple changes to your everyday life, including walking or cycling instead of taking the car out and using the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator.

Watch What You Eat

Your diet is crucial for optimum health and well-being. We tend to get carried away talking about our diet in relation to weight loss, but the numbers on the scale are not the only outcome of planning menus and deciding what to eat every day. The most important concern should always be nutrition, as your body is reliant on the food you consume to provide essential nutrients. When you draw up a shopping list, or you think about what you’re going to eat in the coming days, prioritize nutrition. Make sure your diet is healthy and balanced. Aim to eat plenty of different types of fruit and vegetables, cut down on processed, fatty foods, increase your fiber intake and try to stick to main meals. If you tend to live on takeouts, or you eat on the go, and you often rely on snacking, make meals in advance. You can batch cook at the weekends and prepare lunches the night before work.

If you are considering making changes to your diet to try and lose weight, it’s critical to seek medical advice and to take great care when looking at diets and eating plans. If you’ve been looking at juice fasting tips, or you’ve read about celebrity diets or new fads and trends, it’s wise to get a professional opinion. In many cases, fad diets can lead to significant, swift weight loss, but the results are unsustainable, and the diet isn’t healthy. Cutting out food groups can also make you experience cravings. The best way to lose weight safely if you want to drop a couple of pounds is to adopt a healthy, balanced diet and increase your activity levels. These are long-term changes, which will benefit you for years to come.

Understand The Importance of Mental Health

If somebody said the word ‘health’ to you, what kinds of images or phrases would pop into your head? For many of us, it would be images of running or tucking into a fruit salad. We tend to automatically think about physical health, but mental well-being is equally important. Mental health should be a priority for everyone. Just as you can take steps to protect and nourish your body, you can also adopt preventative measures to shield and boost your mental health.

Try to reduce and manage stress, take time out to recover and rest, exercise frequently, make sure you get enough sleep, and surround yourself with people who have a positive influence on you. If you have a hectic lifestyle, or you struggle to unwind or switch off, it’s also beneficial to devote time to hobbies and interests. Creative activities can be particularly cathartic if you have difficulty expressing or managing emotions, or you find it hard to wind down. It’s also crucial to understand that there is help out there for mental health conditions in the same way that treatments and therapies are available for physiological illnesses and injuries.

Get Enough Rest

In the US, around 70% of adults don’t get enough sleep. Most of us can cope with the odd restless night, but if you experience sleep troubles on a regular or an ongoing basis, it can take its toll on your health and your mood. Sleep is vital for enabling the body to heal, rest, and recover. If you don’t get enough sleep, you may be more susceptible to illnesses and infections, you might feel irritable or emotional, your performance at work might suffer, and you may also be more prone to anxiety and stress. One of the simplest and most effective ways to improve your sleep quality is to adjust your routine. Spend part of your evening doing something you find relaxing, set times for going to bed and getting up and avoid checking emails or scrolling through social media feeds late at night. If you get into the habit of going to bed at 11pm and getting up at 6am, for example, your body clock will soon adapt and you should find it easier to get to sleep.

Many of us feel like we’re juggling a lot of balls at the same time. If you’re working, you’ve got kids, you care for relatives, or you’re studying, it can be difficult to ensure your health comes first. The reality is that taking your health for granted can be hazardous. It’s not possible to prevent every illness, but there are steps you can take to look after yourself and reduce the risk of developing health problems. Make time for physical activity, ensure your diet is balanced and nutritious, prioritize your mental well-being and make sure you get enough rest to allow your body to recover and heal.

Have you struggled to kick bad habits and build healthier habits in their place? If so, chances are you may have blamed this on a lack of willpower and felt like a failure when you didn’t break a bad habit or successfully build a new one into your life.

You may be tackling it from a less than ideal perspective. What if you approached it differently with a new angle?

To break bad habits and build healthier new ones, it’s helpful to understand how habits work. Habits are not formed instantaneously. They require thoughtful, inspired action to make them stick and become a natural outgrowth of your life. Did you know it can take up to 21 days of doing something before it can be established as a habit you do automatically?

Start Small

Don’t dive in thinking you can do amazing things from day one. Chances are it will be a tough task to do. Start with something small and see how you get on. Once you’ve successfully created one new habit, then build your way to other, more significant, patterns you want to establish.

Motivation

Motivation comes in different forms to different people. Some like the feel of constant congratulatory recognition from others and thrive off the positive feedback. Others may prefer to keep it personal and track their new habits in more discreet ways. Do whatever works for you.

Share on your social media accounts to keep yourself accountable and have others as your witness. Keep a record or a journal of the changes you are making, how you feel day to day, and what has made things easier or harder each day. This will give you an indication of when you form the habit and don’t have to keep reminding yourself to do it.

A visual habit tracker that is clearly visible in your home or workspace could be an extra incentive to hit those targets and build those new habits. Fill it in each day to see how well you are getting much in the same way as a child’s reward chart. Or even use an app on your phone to help you stay on track to hit your target. There are many apps available these days to help you do this.

Build On Small Steps

Once you have the small details in place, the more significant steps will naturally fall in line. Let’s take exercise. You started small by adding a 15 minute walk in your local neighborhood five times a week. Once you have formed this habit and are making good progress with it, then look at adding slightly longer walks once or twice a week or one workout class.

Use this method to form all of your habits no matter what they are and set yourself up for success by creating the lasting foundations for sticking to better habits. Doing it this way will enable you to break down your goals until they are in more manageable chunks and more natural to accomplish.