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3 Things To Remember If You Have Toxic Parents

We did not arrive here alone. We have come into this life through a mother and a father. Even if your parents weren’t available, or they are narcissistic and toxic, your existence here is due to them. Very few of us can attest to having perfect childhood stories. Some of us can’t even remember having that great of times with our families. We all have moments. We have all suffered through our parents’ mistakes. They truly have done the best they could under their capacity. They, too, had teachers who taught them things and had misfortunes. Of course, we cannot go around divorcing our parents for all the toxic energy they continue to instill in their presence.

According to AARP, some suggestions exist for parents on how to endure when their children want nothing to do with them. This is also helpful in dealing with our acceptance and issues when it comes to them:

  • Own up to your mistakes
  • Accept contrary view
  • Avoid guilt trips
  • Hear them out
  • Wait…then wait some more
  • Don’t give criticism or advice

Parents are our first teachers. They are our first superheroes. They become our mentors and the first link to the outer world. Unfortunately, not all parents should be parents. They don’t have the emotional ability to even care for themselves. For those of you who know this firsthand, here is some advice on dealing with your parents’ toxic attitudes.

3 Things To Remember If You Have Toxic Parents

toxic parents

1. You have survived the unthinkable.

Our parents mold us from the very moment of conception. Studies have shown that babies absorb language when they are in the womb during the last 10 weeks of pregnancy. Dr. Patricia K. Kuhl of Bezos Family Foundation, author and researcher at the University of Washington in Seattle says:

“The main message for new moms is that their babies are listening and learning and remembering during the last stages of pregnancy. Their brains do not wait for birth to start absorbing information. Therefore, the journey of parenting doesn’t start when the child is born. It starts in the womb. Any external psychological, emotional and physical issues are transferred to a child before opening up his or her eyes into this world.”

Your parents teach you the fundamental parts of existence: survival, existence, and your place in the world. Unfortunately, not all parents should be teachers either. They, themselves, did not have the grounding and rooting of good parents. Many of you have had no love, felt the disconnection through physical and emotional abuse, and the turmoil of feeling worthless. And yet, here you are! Here you are moving through this world in your unlimited capacity. Your parents have taught you a grand lesson: you get to decide what you are and who you are regardless of your upbringing. You are not limited or incapable of change.

You’ve morphed and have evolved to become you. You don’t have to speak to your parents or acknowledge them for everything, but you do have to forgive them and yourself in the process. You forgive yourself for believing the smallest and largest parts of childhood. Some things parents do to their offspring are unthinkable, inconceivable and horrific. You get to decide how you move in this world because of your past. You can change the stories by not reliving the stories.

2. You give the same amount of respect that you receive.

Criticism is not a death sentence. We would be dead if judgments, dishonoring, and belittling were swords or guns. They are not. For every harsh remark, critique, opinion and negative scorch our parents have made, we get to use that as a choice to do better or be smarter. Sometimes parents want the best for us and believe that they are encouraging a change by coming down on us. At times, parents do not know boundaries. They feel entitled to voice every opinion to their children. They intersect, input and inform over and over, regardless of how you try to stop them.

Your parents are the first people you trust in your life. As adults, you don’t have to anymore. You do not owe them a life sentence. You get to show the same respect that you have been instilled with during this journey. We don’t have to walk on our tiptoes, swallowing all the toxic energy. We have had excellent teachers in our parents to know how much to tolerate. Respect, trust and love are earned. It doesn’t matter if it’s a parent, a sibling, a boss, a mate, or a stranger.

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3. We are mirrors of one another.

What have you learned from your parents? Try to remember the good things as well. They might be small in comparison, but your parents have taught you great things about yourself. Are you strong, smart, or successful? Did you get a talent from one of them? Did you learn what not to be with your own children? Have you experienced a great awareness because of a parent’s abuse, unthinkable behaviors, and exploitation? Sometimes, we become the things we hate and try deeply to avoid, while other times, they show us what not to become.

If your parent was a monster, you can see it and work on never becoming like them. You get to transform and transcend through your pain. Parents teach us important things in life: attachments, love, knowledge, anger, patience, intolerance, and fear. They show us the good and the bad. Many times, their actions are based on their fears and regrets. They don’t know how to show it or evolve from them. But, you get to decide what you can and will tolerate now.

Not all of us have to be drastic in our relationships with our folks. It isn’t until you have your children that things start to click at times. Stress, anxiety, fears and their own upbringing interfere in parenting. But, you owe it to yourself to forgive, heal, and love yourself in a way they could not provide. You get to learn from their lessons, without using every memory as a crutch to stay in negativity.

Final Thoughts on Toxic Parents

You do not exist here on earth. Instead, you strive to evolve and learn through love, vulnerability, and compassion. It’s easy to help others when they never hurt us. Parents require that we learn to be empathetic and kind, especially with ourselves first. You hold the power to be better than you were told and shown to be in childhood. Indeed, you are the only one who can learn from it.

“Power is confusing for us, perhaps even terrifying, because our relationship with it had an unfortunate beginning. Someone in a position of power over us used and abused us…It seems as if power were something to be wielded, always at someone’s expense, usually our own.” ~ Maureen Brady, Beyond Survival: A Writing Journey for Healing Childhood Sexual Abuse

(C)Power of Positivity, LLC. All rights reserved

6 Ways to Turn On Your Weight Loss Hormones

Weight loss can seem like a confusing puzzle to solve, but with the help of these six ways to turn on your weight loss hormones, you’ll be able to solve that riddle in no time.

What are hormones?

Hormones, called your body’s chemical messengers, get sent via your bloodstream to organs in your body. They’re different hormones in your body that affect various body functions and processes, such as

  • Growth and development
  • Food metabolism
  • Sexual functions and reproductive health and growth
  • Brain function and moods
  • Body temperature and thirst

6 Ways to Turn On Your Weight Loss Hormones

Let’s look further at these six ways to turn on your weight loss hormones as soon as you are ready.

weight gain hormones

1. Rebalance your weight loss hormones by eating satisfying foods

Some foods are just more filling and satisfying than others.

You will notice this not just by the round fullness of your stomach after eating them but by how long you feel satisfied or satiated before you have the desire to eat again.

The weight loss hormone responsible for your full feeling is called leptin.

Sources of protein are excellent ways to nourish your body and activate leptin to help you feel full longer. Leptin tells the brain that you are no longer hungry and stop eating.

Researchers in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition says ‘a moderate increase in dietary protein in association with physical activity and an energy-controlled diet may improve the regulation of body weight.’

The study showed that eating protein increased satiety or fullness and helped people lose fat in the body rather than lose muscle mass.

2. Build muscle mass to support your weight loss hormones

The same hormone responsible for bulking up bodybuilders can also be a weight-loss tool for you. The sex hormone testosterone is present in both men and women, and we can get more of it by weightlifting. In turn, the greater testosterone levels you have, the more weight loss you will see because muscle burns fat.

Lifting enough weight with enough repetitions that you begin to feel muscle soreness or ‘the burn’ is the right amount to see results. Turning on this weight loss hormone may be as easy as lifting a toddler and a car seat throughout the day or carrying the four bags of groceries and a gallon of milk from the car to the kitchen.

3. Always eat breakfast to turn on weight loss hormones

In the morning, you are turning on your weight loss hormones by breaking your overnight fast, or break-fast, as we call the morning meal. Your body is in a state of fasting while you sleep, and it burns very few calories as you process the day’s information as dreams and memories. The body’s heart rate and breathing are slow, which means a sluggish metabolism while at rest.

To break your body out of the resting phase, jump-start your metabolism with some plant-based protein or vegetarian sources of fat and carbohydrates in the morning. Keep the total calorie count below 800 if possible and keep the carbohydrate portion of the meal small compared to the protein and fat content.

4. Increase your fat-burning power while sitting

The weight loss hormones of the thyroid are produced from the butterfly-shaped thyroid gland in your throat. According to German obesity research on thyroid function, when the thyroid hormones Triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) were measured in obese children before and after a weight reduction program, they found that a slight weight reduction led to a long-term decrease in the levels of T3 and T4.

The reduction in the T3 and T4 thyroid hormones led to a more efficient metabolism while resting, which sped up further weight loss. If you can lose as little as 5 pounds, you can turn on your thyroid weight loss hormones to keep the weight loss going.

5. Get better sleep for better regulation of weight loss hormones

Levels of the weight loss hormone leptin that makes you feel full are also dependent on you getting 6 to 8 hours of sleep each night. When you do not get restful sleep, your leptin levels decrease, so you tend to want to overeat to consume more levels of energy to make up for the lack of rest.

Your body reasons that if you are tired, you need more energy in the form of food, and the weight loss hormone leptin is not high enough to tell your brain that you aren’t that hungry.

6. Breathe like a yogi

The yogi practice of focused breathing can help speed up your metabolism by changing the levels of adrenal weight loss hormones in your body. In a study where researchers asked participants to breathe through a single nostril at a time by closing off the other for 27 respiratory cycles, repeated four times a day for one month, they found that the participants had an increase in resting metabolic oxygen consumption of up to 37%.

weight loss hormones

10 Foods to Support Healthy Weight Loss Hormones

Having a good hormonal balance is essential for losing weight. Certain foods support healthy hormones. Here’s a list of the ten best foods to eat to help your hormones and lose weight.

1. Tuna and salmon

Fatty fish such as tuna and wild-caught salmon are high in omega-3s that help produce hormones. They boost your mood and improve the balance of your hormones. Eating fatty fish helps you feel full so that you won’t snack between meals. Fatty fish is high in vitamin D, which keeps your hormones under control and helps address weight gain and fatigue.

2. Eggs assist in the regulation of weight loss hormones

Eggs help produce hormones. They’re high in protein, which lowers insulin, the hormone that affects your hunger. Eating a boiled egg for breakfast will keep you full until lunchtime.

3. Eat healthy fats

Some fats are bad for you, but healthy fats are necessary to keep your body healthy. Fats give you energy and help with cell development. Three great healthy fats to add to your diet include

  • Avocadoes-This superfood helps your body maintain and balance estrogen and progesterone.
  • Flaxseed-Flaxseed helps keep your hormones in balance. Don’t overdo adding these healthy seeds to smoothies. Too much flaxseed can throw off the balance of estrogen in your body.
  • Brazil nuts-This nut boasts the highest level of selenium, a hormone that supports your thyroid function.

4. Add healthy whole grains to rebalance weight loss hormones

Whole grains are packed with B vitamins. They support the hormones that affect your moods and energy levels. Substitute these whole grains for potatoes or white rice.

  • Quinoa-This superfood won’t raise your blood sugar the way processed grains do. It’s a great source of vitamin B and helps your body sustain healthy insulin levels.
  • Brown rice-When possible, skip the white rice and choose brown rice instead. Brown rice contains phytoestrogen that help keep your estrogen levels in balance. It’s also rich in B vitamins.
  • Oatmeal-Oatmeal isn’t just for kids. Oats are high in soluble fiber, which aids your digestive system. It’s also high in vitamin B, manganese, and zinc.

5. Don’t forget your leafy greens

Leafy greens are packed with antioxidants that help fight inflammation. They help lower stress and lower your cortisol levels. High in fiber, they help prevent hormone-related health problems.

6. Crunchy cruciferous veggies assist your weight loss hormones

Crunchy veggies like cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, and kale remove excess estrogen from your body. Broccoli helps relieve PMS, reduce cramps and mood swings associated with your menstrual period.

7. Fresh organic fruits

If possible, buy organic fruits to guarantee there were no chemicals used in their growing. Chemicals such as pesticides disrupt your hormones. There are some fruits that you need to peel to eat, so they aren’t as bad for you if they’re not organic. These fruits include the following types:

  • Bananas
  • Pineapples
  • Watermelon
  • Cantalope
  • Oranges, tangerines, or mandarines

Best organic fruits for hormone balance to lose weight include:

  • Blueberries-Blueberries are rich in antioxidants. They’re full of B vitamins that help with the production and balance of hormones such as progesterone.
  • Apples-High in fiber and vitamin C. Helps raise your progesterone levels, which helps you feel less anxious and moody.
  • Strawberries-High in phytoestrogen that balances your hormones.

9. Herbs

Herbs add flavor and healthiness to your diet. These common herbs help balance your hormone levels.

  • Garlic-It helps balance your estrogen levels.
  • Turmeric-Turmeric contains curcumin, which helps your hormones and improves your blood flow. It’s also a powerful antioxidant.

unbalanced weight loss hormones

10. Kimchi or sauerkraut support weight loss hormones

Did you turn up your nose when your grandma ate sauerkraut? Grandma got it right because kimchi and sauerkraut are full of good bacteria and probiotics that keep your gut healthy. Your digestive system plays a role in producing serotonin, your happy hormone that helps your mood.

This Simple 3 Ingredient Recipe Helps You Fall Asleep In MINUTES

Insomnia can cause so many health problems for people who can’t fall asleep. That makes this simple three-ingredient recipe is a miracle for those who truly need it. Being able to get a restful night’s sleep will help you to have more energy and better mental focus. Besides that, you will allow your body to awake refreshed and invigorated.

This Simple 3 Ingredient Recipe Helps You Fall Asleep In MINUTES

Sometimes being able to fall asleep in minutes eludes us, even though we know we need to get a good rest, for example, after a night out of drinking. The excitement and stress of the day are hard to let go of before bed and we lie awake worrying about what the next day will bring.

Instead of not being able to fall asleep, try this simple 3 ingredient recipe in this article. You’ll find it will help you to relax your muscles and get the sleep that you need to face the next day. Let’s look at how you can create a relaxing sleep spray to apply to the soles of your feet with only a few ingredients.

fall asleep

Negative health effects of not being able to fall asleep

Researchers reviewed several previous studies on insomnia and concluded that the following health problems are related to not getting enough sleep:

  • Depression
  • Anxiety disorders
  • Other psychological disorders
  • Alcohol abuse or dependence
  • Drug abuse or dependence
  • Suicide
  • Decreased immune functioning

In addition to these mental and physical health problems, the study found that those that used sleep medication had a higher risk of mortality than those who did not use medications to help themselves fall asleep. There may be possible links to poor cardiovascular health as well. But the research was not as conclusive for heart health problems.

Indeed, all of these negative health effects of not getting enough sleep. Therfore, using this simple 3 ingredient recipe to help you fall asleep fast. Additionally, it is an easy way to improve your physical and mental health.

The 3 key ingredients that make up this sleep recipe

Researchers at the Department of Nursing at Keukdong College in Chungcheongbuk-Do, Korea studied the effects of lavender aromatherapy on insomnia and found that ‘length of time taken to fall asleep, the severity of insomnia, and self-satisfaction with sleep were improved’ when a 60% solution of lavender essential oil was used in an infuser. The researchers also found that symptoms of depression were improved when they used a 100% solution of lavender essential oil.

When purchasing your ingredients for this simple 3 ingredient recipe to help you fall asleep in minutes, look for high-quality ingredients. You need lavender essential oil and a good quality roman chamomile essential oil.

A spray of magnesium oil is a good way to get this essential nutrient into our bodies if we are not getting enough from our nutrition. Magnesium is essential for healthy rest and it can be absorbed through the skin. While not truly an oil, you can also use a liquid containing dissolved magnesium crystals on the skin at night to help you fall asleep in minutes.

A study conducted by George Eby Research in Austin, TX says ‘Clearly, magnesium is extremely effective in promptly inducing sleep when taken at bedtime, and sleep is vital to recovery from depression.’ Using magnesium in this recipe is helpful for us to achieve a healthy amount of sleep.

What the experts say

The researchers at George Eby Research also found a connection between depression and magnesium levels. They say this:

“Magnesium was found usually effective for the treatment of depression in general use. Related and accompanying mental illnesses in these case histories include traumatic brain injury, headache, suicidal ideation, anxiety, irritability, insomnia, postpartum depression, cocaine, alcohol and tobacco abuse, hypersensitivity to calcium, short-term memory loss, and IQ loss were also benefited. Dietary deficiencies of magnesium, coupled with excess calcium and stress may cause many cases of other related symptoms including agitation, anxiety, irritability, confusion, asthenia, sleeplessness, headache, delirium, hallucinations, and hyperexcitability.”

Related article: These Herbs Can Help You With Anxiety And They’re More Effective Than Medicines

asleep

The 3-ingredient recipe for falling asleep in minutes

To make this recipe, you will need the following ingredients:

  • 4 oz magnesium oil
  • 10 drops lavender oil
  • 10 drops Roman chamomile oil

Combine these 3 ingredients in the listed quantities in a dark-colored glass spray bottle. The dark color keeps the essential oils from losing their potency because exposure to sunlight will cause them to deteriorate. Shake the spray bottle well to combine these ingredients.

Spray this mixture on the bottoms of your feet before bed to help you fall asleep in minutes. The skin of the feet can absorb the essence of these 3 simple ingredients. Therefore, they will help the body to relax and prepare us for an excellent night’s rest.

(C)Power of Positivity, LLC. All rights reserved

9 Behaviors Self-Respecting People Never Tolerate

Many of us have realized that we must alter our lives drastically during these times of grand transformation. Self-respecting people cannot accept complacency. These times call for bravery, honesty, and transparency to transform into our highest selves. We must drop anything that no longer feels good in our souls and honor our true selves. If you genuinely respect and love yourself, you will not tolerate any of the following toxic behaviors.

9 Behaviors No Self-Respecting Person Should Ever Tolerate

Do you engage in any of these behaviors?

1. People Pleasing

You must do what makes you happy and go with your gut feeling. Forget trying to convince others; they will only try to tear you down most of the time, and give you 1,000 reasons why you shouldn’t follow your heart. You have to rise above the opinions of others, and instead do what feels right to you. Any self-respecting person values their own opinion over others.

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2. A Negative View of Themselves

“Be mindful of your self-talk; it’s a conversation with the universe.” – David James Lees

If you want your reality to look more positive and vibrant, your thoughts must align with what you want your world to look like. The world will look gray and depressing if you have a negative view of yourself. However, if you have a positive relationship with yourself, you will see endless opportunities and bliss wherever you look. Self-respecting people love and nourish themselves with positive thoughts, relationships, careers, and goals.

3. Remaining Stagnant

“A comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing ever grows there.” – Unknown

If you look around, the world seems pretty scary, and so many people decide to remain in their safety net as long as possible to avoid anything uncomfortable. However, you can’t grow if you don’t try new things. Self-respecting people love to push the boundaries and see how much they can stretch their limits to keep evolving as a person.

4. Trying to Fit In

Again, you can’t grow and learn if you only care about following the herd. To thrive in this world, you must carve your path and learn to trust your instincts, not the tired, worn-out opinions of others. Learn to feel comfortable in your skin and trust your intuition; you will see a new world open up for you.

5. Working at A Soul-Sucking Job

Unfortunately, most people work at jobs that hate to pay the bills. However, you don’t have to become a statistic; you can leave that job that drains you and look for something else that will truly fulfill your soul. Self-respecting people dig deep to uncover what their soul wants, then follow that calling unabashedly. Of course, sometimes you have to tough it out until you find something better, but our point remains that anyone who loves and respects themselves will ultimately leave a job that doesn’t support their mental and emotional well-being.

6. Neglecting Your Health

Feeling good starts and ends with you; no one else can take charge of your health. If you don’t feel mentally, physically, or emotionally, examine your life to see where you can change.

Change doesn’t happen overnight, but it does happen gradually with actionable steps. Any self-respecting person puts their health first because they know that without this, they can’t enjoy life to the fullest and bring their best selves to the table.

7. Overly Controlling Relationships

If you have friends or a partner who tries to dictate every aspect of your life, then this should definitely signal the alarm bells in your head. You should never tolerate someone who wants to manipulate and control your relationship. According to an article on toxic relationships, “Toxic relationships can exist in any kind of relationship, and they are bad for your health..”

You deserve friendships and relationships that will enhance your well-being and challenge you to grow and learn. Simply put, if anyone in your life brings you down more than they raise you up, then you need to let them go. Self-respecting people don’t allow anyone but themselves to control their lives, period. Even experts agree–being a doormat can be harmful to a person’s mental health.

8. Being Lazy

In the age of technology, many of us have allowed our smartphones, tablets and computers to entertain us the majority of the time. We’ve lost our motivation because it seems easier to sit in front of a screen than actually go out in the real world to accomplish things. However, any self-respecting person will not allow themselves to become complacent; they continue to work hard toward their goals, and know how to use self-control and discipline to their advantage.

self respect9. Not Choosing Happiness

Too many people settle for less than what they deserve in the world today, simply because they don’t value themselves highly enough, or they feel too comfortable in their current situation to make changes. However, any self-respecting person always chooses what makes them the happiest, regardless of what they have to do to get there. They don’t place any limits on their lives, because they know that magic indeed does exist in this world, despite what we’ve been led to believe.

If you don’t do what makes you happy, you won’t have much of a soul left at the end of your life. To rise above and set your soul on fire, you must leave behind anything that doesn’t enrich your life, and choose things that enhance it. This goes for people, jobs, relationships, where you live, diet, workout routines, and everything in between. We came here to thrive, not just survive, so remember this the next time you feel unhappy.

(C)Power of Positivity, LLC. All rights reserved

Get Ready For A Major Shift, New Moon in Leo August 2nd

The new phase of the moon brings many exciting things for us as it rises in the sign of Leo on August 2nd, 2016 and this article will tell you what you need to know about this time in your life. Leo is one of the most energetic signs in the zodiac, so this is the type of energy that you can expect to come your way as we finish out the last scorching month of summer.

Astrology and the science of astronomy used to be linked as one philosophy, but modern scientific discoveries separated the two. The movements of the planets are observable, measurable scientific phenomena, but the influences we feel on our lives are less measurable. However, science has found that the moon can affect us in significant ways.

Researchers at the University of Michigan studying the effects of the new moon on the stock market found that consistently across 48 countries, stock returns are lower on days of the full moon and higher on days around the new moon on the level of 3 to 5% per annum. This effect is true even when controlling for stock market volatility and trading volumes.

A Polish research study found that the moon affects human behavior in many other ways. They say ‘Admittance to hospitals and emergency units because of various causes (cardiovascular and acute coronary events, variceal hemorrhage, diarrhea, urinary retention) correlated with moon phases. In addition, other events associated with human behavior, such as traffic accidents, crimes, and suicides, appeared to be influenced by the lunar cycle.’ The researchers also mention that more women tend to ovulate during the dark phase of the moon than at other times.

What You Need To Know About The New Moon In Leo on August 2nd 2016

You don’t have to be a Leo to appreciate the changes that are coming. Leo will experience a special surge, more so than the other astrological signs. Every zodiac sign will need to know about monthly energy shifts and what the moon rising in the sign of Leo means for them.

What you need to know about the energy of the new moon

As a new moon rises in any zodiac sign, the astrological energies that you encounter will a type of rebirth where new things are beginning for you. The moon is starting new and is practically undetectable in the sky as it is coming out of it’s dark phase where the Earth’s shadow passes across its face.

The light of the sun cannot reach the surface of the moon in it’s current position, but as it begins to shift in the next day or two, you will begin to see the crescent moon with its points to the left as the sun sets in the west. The crescent will grow until the moon reaches first quarter on August 10th when it will look about half full.

Forward movement and progress is going to be made this month as a time of renewed energy comes to you. Think of the new moon as a time of fresh starts for everyone. We all get a clean slate to start over with each month, and the new moon in Leo is your chance to clear away any worries about the past or the future and focus on the moment that you are in and what you can act on now.

What you need to know about the moon in Leo

Creativity is at an all time high now. Even if you have not summoned your artistic talents in the past, you may feel the urge to doodle, to write creatively or to play music on an instrument. Maybe dancing is a creative outlet for you.

Any action that you take to make something that wasn’t there before is an act of creativity. Use the energy of the new moon in Leo to push yourself forward and see the accomplishment of something that you didn’t know was possible before.

With the new moon in Leo on August 2nd, 2016, your health should also be improving at this time. This might be an improvement in your physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual health that is affected. Emotionally, you are moving into a more positive time.

Leo is fun to be around and this beginning phase of the new moon is the start of something fun for you. You need to know that having a Leo for a friend right now will make this an even more entertaining time for you.

What Leo needs to know about the new moon in Leo on August 2nd

Leo, this could be the moment you have been waiting for. When the moon is in your sign, you feel the influences of all of the above exciting changes times ten. You are usually powerful and a force to be reckoned with, but there’s almost literally no stopping you now. Leo has always has a motto of ‘Lead, follow, or get out of the way’ but this month it may be a warning to others to get out of your way.

Related article: 9 Things You Need To Do If You Love A Leo

Obstacles are no match for Leo at this time of the year, and you obliterate anything that might hold you back. In fact, you’re likely to break down so many barriers that you clear a path for people who can follow in your mighty paw prints as you lead the pack.

(C)Power of Positivity, LLC. All rights reserved

What Do Your Fingernails Reveal About Your Personality?

Some of our most minor personal habits, like how we keep our fingernails trimmed, our finger length, or even the natural shape of our fingernails, can reveal more than you might guess. Indeed, these trait reveal much about our unique, individual personality traits. In this article, we will look at some of the reasons our fingernails can reveal our inner personality and what our fingernails say about us.

What Do Your Fingernails Reveal About Your Personality?

In grade school, it used to be a joke that you would ask someone to look at their fingernails. If they turned their hand with their fingernails pointing toward themselves with their hand curled, it meant they were feminine. But if they looked at their hand with their nails pointing toward the other person, it meant they were masculine. Boys tried to catch girls doing this the ‘wrong’ way for their gender and vice versa and then used that as another reason to tease. Unacceptable bullying and nonsense aside, it turns out that fingers may have more in common with our masculinity or femininity than you might think.

Let’s research finger length, fingernail shape, and what it means for our personalities.

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Finger length and masculine or feminine personality traits

Research by the Department of Psychology at the University of Alberta, Canada, studied finger length in men and its correlation to mood. The researchers say that there is an apparent reason for finger length being studied because ‘Finger length ratio (index to ring finger) is a sexually dimorphic trait found in various species ranging from humans and mice to zebra finches.’

The research shows that, on average, males have a relatively shorter index finger compared to their ring than females do. The theory is that the finger length ratios of the index finger and ring fingers are related to the amount of estrogen or testosterone that a baby receives in the womb during development.

The Canadian study also revealed a connection between depression in men and the length of their fingers. They found that a more ‘feminine’ ratio of finger length was related to depression in men. Other studies have found a connection between a shorter index finger in men and ADHD symptoms, alcohol dependency, autism, aggressiveness, leadership, a tendency to be a psychopath, and other traits.

For women, a shorter index finger indicates an increased risk of anorexia and assertiveness. A more extended ring finger than an index finger for women indicates elevated bulimia risk, neurotic behavior, psychopathic behavior, visual memory, and verbal skills.
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What your fingernail shape reveals about your personality

A study from the Dermatology Division of the Department of Medicine at the University College Hospital in Ibadan, Nigeria, says the following about fingernail shapes and personality traits:

  • Fan-shaped or Triangle shaped with the point down (wider at the tip). Fan-shaped nails with a narrow base that widens towards the top of the finger (like a fan) may reveal an anxious or high-strung personality.
  • Almond or Triangle point up (wider at base). Fingernails that are wide at the base and narrower at the tip might indicate a gentle, creative, more refined, and emotionally sensitive personality.
  • Broad rectangle. A fingernail that is wider than it is long is associated with a short temper. These broad and square fingernails reveal an ‘easy going, calm, honest, patient, upright, balanced and broad-minded person.’
  • Tall rectangle. Long fingernails could mean the character will be prone to selfishness and narrow-mindedness.
  • Square. Square fingernails are relatively equal in length and width. People with square fingernails reveal a person who can be ‘tight-fisted, mean, and stingy.’ This shape of fingernails also reveals a tendency towards impatience and quick thinking, and the shorter the fingernails, the more critical the personality.
  • Oval or round. This shape tends to be the most positive, open-minded, and happy. A rounded fingernail shape is creative, independent, and a quick learner.
  • C-shaped curving down. This fingernail shape indicates a personality that is hard working and has had to overcome an obstacle in the past. This fingernail shape reveals a person who is perseverant and courageous.

Anatomy of our nails

What we call our fingernail is anatomically the nail plate. The nail plate is made of the protein keratin produced by the nail matrix near the cuticle of the fingernail.

The part of the fingernail attached to the nail bed is pink because we can see the blood vessels of the nail bed. The free edge of the fingernail is white in color as the fingernail grows beyond the nail plate.

According to Bianca Maria Piraccini, author of Nail Disorders: A Practical Guide to Diagnosis and Management, on average, fingernails grow about three millimeters per month. Nail growth slows as we age and is fastest in early adulthood.

Fingernails and personality disorders

Excessive filing, biting, or picking at your fingernails can cause hand health problems. Often, these behaviors may be an outlet for extreme stress for a person. Nail-biting is a habit that children often outgrow by their early adulthood. So continuing to chew your nails may be a sign that anxiety or stress is becoming overwhelming to you.  In extreme cases, nail-biting can become an obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. In fact, thoughts of nail-biting and needing to chew them interfere with daily activities or result in a negative mood.

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