AHA Study Confirms That Sleeping Well Improves Heart Health

August 27, 2022 by Kristen Lawrence

A recent study by the American Heart Association found a link between sleeping soundly and heart health. As a result, they recently updated their checklist to measure cardiovascular health to include sleep quality and duration. Other items on the list include these important heart health and lifestyle factors:

nicotine exposure
physical activity
diet
weight
blood glucose
cholesterol
blood pressure

Now, the AHA considers sleep essential to optimal brain and heart health. The organization recommends that adults sleep seven to nine hours per night. Children should sleep longer depending on age, they say.

The AHA calls the checklist that measures cardiovascular health Life’s Essential 8™, which replaced the previous Life’s Simple 7™. They published their latest guidelines for heart health in the AHA’s peer-reviewed journal Circulation.

Other Updates to the Heart Health Guidance

The AHA also updated other ideal cardiovascular health measures for people aged two and older. It includes updates on healthy eating habits and exposure to secondhand smoke or nicotine via vaping. Diet guidelines also use non-HDL cholesterol instead of total cholesterol to measure blood lipids. Finally, blood sugar measures include hemoglobin A1c, an important measurement to predict diabetes risk.

Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States and worldwide. The AHA’s 2022 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics Update found that around 121.5 million people in the US have hypertension. One hundred million suffer from obesity, while over 28 million have Type 2 diabetes. Additionally, only 25% of adults reported engaging in the recommended levels of exercise, 150 minutes of moderate to intense aerobic activity per week.

However, many studies have discovered that over 80% of cardiovascular disease is preventable. Healthy lifestyle habits such as diet, exercise, and managing other risk factors can stave off risks. Sleeping well also can lower the risk of heart disease, according to the latest findings.

Sleeping Well Promotes Optimal Heart Health

“The new metric of sleep duration reflects the latest research findings: sleep impacts overall health, and people who have healthier sleep patterns manage health factors such as weight, blood pressure, or risk for Type 2 diabetes more effectively,” said American Heart Association President Donald M. Lloyd-Jones, M.D., Sc.M., FAHA, who led the advisory writing group.

He’s also the chair of the department of preventive medicine and the Eileen M. Foell Professor of Heart Research. Additionally, he’s a professor of preventive medicine, medicine, and pediatrics at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.

“In addition, advances in ways to measure sleep, such as with wearable devices, now offer people the ability to reliably and routinely monitor their sleep habits at home.”

Over the last 20 years, scientists have made remarkable discoveries on the mind-heart-body connection. As new research came out, the AHA wanted to update its guidelines with the latest information on cardiovascular health. Four of the original metrics have been updated with newer guidelines or compatibility with cutting-edge measurement tools.

The AHA divided their Life’s Essential 8™ elements of ideal cardiovascular health into two categories: health behaviors and health factors. Health behaviors include diet, physical activity, sleep, and nicotine exposure. Heart health factors include BMI, cholesterol, blood sugar, and blood pressure measurements.

“The idea of optimal cardiovascular health is important because it gives people positive goals to work toward at any stage of life.”

“Life’s Simple 7™ has served as a proven, powerful tool for understanding how to achieve healthy aging and ways to improve cardiovascular health while decreasing the risks of developing heart disease and stroke, as well as cancer, dementia, and many other chronic diseases,” he said. “Given the evolving research, it was important to address some limitations to the original metrics, particularly in ways they’ve been applied to people from diverse racial and ethnic populations.”

He added that prior metrics such as diet weren’t as responsive to differences among populations. Also, the guidelines weren’t as sensitive to dietary changes in a single individual over time. So, they decided to delve into the research and refine the metrics to help people improve their heart health. These guidelines can improve many other facets of health as well.

Life’s Essential 8™ Guidelines

Diet (updated): The new guidelines measure diet quality for adults and children, individually and in the overall population.
- At the population level, dietary assessment stems from consuming foods in the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) eating program. The DASH-style diet score includes the following: high intake of fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes, whole grains, and low-fat dairy. It also contains low sodium, red and processed meats, and sweetened drinks.
- For individuals, the AHA uses the Mediterranean Eating Pattern for Americans (MEPA) to measure cardiovascular health. The MEPA comprises a DASH-style eating pattern assessed with questions about the weekly consumption of certain foods. These include olive oil, vegetables, berries, meat, fish, dairy, grains, etc. However, the questionnaire doesn’t ask about sugary drinks or snacks, so doctors should ask patients during visits.
Physical activity (no changes): They still recommend 150 minutes of moderate physical activity or more per week for adults. Alternatively, 75 minutes per week of vigorous-intensity physical activity would suffice. Children ages six and older should get at least 420 minutes of exercise per week.
Nicotine exposure (updated): As e-cigarettes and vape pens have exploded in popularity, the AHA’s guidelines now include these nicotine-delivery systems. Previously, they only monitored the use of traditional cigarettes. Life’s Essential 8™ also measures secondhand smoke exposure for children and adults.
Sleep duration (new): Optimal sleeping quality and time can improve cardiovascular health. The AHA recommends adults get seven to nine hours of sleep per night. Children ages five and younger should sleep 10-16 hours per night, while those ages 6-12 should get 9-12 hours. Finally, they suggest teens ages 13-18 receive eight to ten hours.
Body mass index (no changes): The AHA states that BMI 18.5-24.9 supports optimal heart health. However, the writing group acknowledges that healthy BMI can vary among different racial and ethnic backgrounds.
Blood lipids (updated): They’ve updated the metric for cholesterol to use non-HDL cholesterol as the preferred number to measure, rather than total cholesterol. HDL refers to the “good” cholesterol, while high levels of other cholesterol can increase CVD risk.
Blood glucose (updated): They’ve updated this guideline to include the option of hemoglobin A1c readings for people with or without Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes or prediabetes. Hemoglobin A1c can measure long-term glucose levels more accurately.
Blood pressure (no changes): Blood pressure criteria remain the same; the AHA cites a reading of 120/80 or less as optimal.

Final Thoughts on AHA Finding Link Between Sleeping Well and Heart Health

So, in addition to sleeping well, it’s essential to adhere to the other pillars of health. Regular exercise, a healthy diet, keeping your stress low, and managing health conditions can improve your heart health. Also, diet, exercise, and other positive life changes can improve sleep if you have insomnia.

Many people in the modern world suffer from poor sleeping quality, which can affect other aspects of life. However, the AHA reveals why we should all make sleep a priority to restore balance to our minds, bodies, and hearts.

A Romantic Partner Won’t Fix Your Depression, According to Psychology

August 26, 2022 by Lakeisha Ethans

In our world, we elevate the idea of having a romantic partner and often consider it the ideal state of being. We see people bemoan their fates whenever they’re single, and some may genuinely believe they’ll be happier if they were only in a relationship. There’s already quite a lot wrong with this mentality, but it gets even worse when applied to things like depression. This diagnosed condition makes everything feel bleaker, and it’s easy to think that having someone special in your life will ease the pain that comes with that. But a romantic partner won’t fix your depression, and that’s a psychological fact.

Here’s why.

1. Depression Is An Illness

The biggest issue with the idea that a romantic partner can fix your depression is simple: depression is a mental illness. Like all other illnesses and disorders, in most cases, it cannot be fixed by non-medical means. And, even when some treatment options include non-medical interventions, such as lifestyle changes or mindfulness, entering a relationship is not one of the potential solutions.

Adding a romantic partner to your life significantly changes your everyday experience. When you’re depressed or have any other type of illness, the last thing you need is to add more stress – even positive stress – to your life. Significant life changes and even minor alterations to your daily world will make things more challenging.

That’s not even considering all the other elements of an illness that mess with your life. With depression and other similar mood disorders, you can struggle with mood swings, have trouble wanting to take the initiative and be social, and even be unable to accomplish basic daily tasks. Suffice to say that this is not the best time to gain a romantic partner.

On top of that, a romantic partner who knows you want to be fixed by them will only meet frustration and failure. This can make them feel inadequate, cause resentment, or even lead to them belittling or invalidating your depression out of their frustration. It’s a losing battle.

Not that those with depression cannot have healthy and happy relationships. Research has shown that healthy relationships can withstand the effects of depression and even slightly help mitigate symptoms. Those who learn to manage their symptoms and receive proper treatment can continue with the rest of their lives and be successful in all the ways they want to be! But to enter a relationship hoping it will cure any illness is simply not how it works.

2. Codependency, Depression, and Relationships

The expectation that a romantic partner can fix depression has a severe risk of leading to an unhealthy, codependent dynamic. Codependency is a theory in sociology that explains certain kinds of unbalanced relationship dynamics. As the term suggests, this situation occurs when two people become dependent on each other to an unhealthy extent, unable to function correctly without the other person.

In early theories, codependency was reserved for alcoholics and their partners. In recovery, a partner to an alcoholic would tend to “overhelp,” thus accidentally enabling the alcoholic.

The enabling partner would provide endless chances to the alcoholic, allowing the afflicted to continue to relapse while trusting the safety net of their partner. This ultimately harmed the recovery process, often causing the enabler to make countless sacrifices while preventing any long-term change.

The Impact Of Codependency On Depression

Today, we understand that codependency can apply to numerous other relationships in varying forms. An “enabled” partner in a codependent relationship may suffer from:

Poor mental health
Addiction
Irresponsibility
Under-achievement

Depression alone does not necessarily lead to codependent relationships. However, wanting someone to “fix” your depression can certainly grow that unhealthy dynamic. You end up holding someone else responsible for your moods and may use your depression as an excuse for negative behavior, poor treatment, or unreasonable expectations.

Signs Of Codependency

Meanwhile, the other party in the codependent relationship suffers and benefits from this arrangement. This gives them an incentive to feed into their partner’s depression, intentionally or unintentionally, making healing more difficult. Research states that they may:

Only feel fulfilled or good about themselves when helping others
Feel the desire to fix or control others to be secure or safe
Experience severe people-pleasing tendencies
Eagerly step into the role of a self-sacrificing martyr so they feel that they are a good person
Eagerly step into the role of a self-sacrificing martyr because they want the ability to play the victim

Worse still, this happens subconsciously often, meaning no innate hostile intent may exist in either partner. As long as one person depends on the other because of a lack of self-sufficiency and the other depends on the first for fulfillment, it’s codependent. This is too easy to do when you expect a romantic partner to fix your depression.

3. How Depression Negatively Impacts Relationships

A romantic partner is more likely to complicate things than improve them when you have depression. In most ways, depression negatively affects relationships, leaving little room for the romance you might be seeking. Among the adverse effects of depression on a romantic partner and partnership include:

· Increased Conflict With Your Romantic Partner

Depression often presents as simple sadness or lack of energy, but it can manifest in other ways. One of these ways is increased irritability or a higher tendency to be harmful to others. This can lead to a lot of fighting and conflict and quickly sour any relationship and its dynamic. On top of that, depression can often push you to act out your feelings by lashing out at those around you and taking it out on an innocent partner, say studies.

· Decreased Communication

Communication is a central, essential part of any healthy relationship. But when you’re depressed, your thoughts and feelings feel like they’re your worst enemy. You tend to push away your feelings and repress them, breeds resentment and worsens those emotions in the long run. And, of course, no relationship can survive healthily when communication is minimal.

· Diminished Intimacy In The Bedroom

While the intimacy of this nature isn’t essential for some relationships, most romantic partnerships involve a little bit of fun in the bedroom. This is especially true in new relationships, and many partners find this to be a positive way to bond. But a whopping 75% of individuals with depression also experience a decreased sex drive, say studies. This can be due to poor body image, performance anxiety, shame concerning intimacy, and depression medication, which may be possible to overcome. But other probable causes are complete exhaustion from depression or simply never feeling quite in the mood. Regardless, this can leave both partners feeling inadequate or insecure, thus adding to the depression.

· Desire To Isolate Yourself From Your Romantic Partner

Depression makes you want to be alone. You feel more like withdrawing and can feel like you don’t have energy for anyone, including a romantic partner. This would kill a new relationship, so even if there were a chance it could fix you, it’d be next to impossible to keep it alive when you don’t have it in you to even talk to your partner.

· Less Interest In Taking Care Of Yourself

A genuine partner in this with you for the long run won’t care if you “let yourself go.” But unfortunately, brand-new partners are likely to be slightly more superficial, and your lack of ambition, self-care, and motivation is unlikely to make a good attractor. While you’re perfectly worthy of love regardless of your mental state, dating and finding a romantic partner means playing the field. In this process, you will find many people with no interest because of your issues. And yes, some will be cruel people. But their words and actions are likely to affect you still, especially when you’re already depressed and in a vulnerable position.

· A Feeling Of Hopelessness Goes With Depression

Hopelessness is a prevalent symptom of depression, as research has shown. This sense encompasses everything, from your career to your friendships, and it certainly affects relationships. Cognitive distortion can cause you to feel that the future is bleak and things will always end badly. While it’s possible to overcome this, this is a reason a romantic partner can’t fix your depression. Your perception will be skewed when you enter the relationship, and you’ll only see a dire future ahead. This is a lot of stress for a new relationship!

Worse still, an unhappy relationship or dynamic with a romantic partner is likely to feed into depression, making it even worse. This forms a destructive cycle, as studies show.

4. Your Expectations Aren’t Reasonable

The bottom line is that even the most genuine romantic partner cannot fix your depression. Indeed, expecting that is entirely unreasonable. These expectations are likely to create an extremely unhealthy dynamic in your relationship. This dynamic may involve:

Your partner thinks that you don’t love them; if you loved them, their presence would be sufficient in “curing” your depression.
You think your partner doesn’t truly love you, as you perceive them as not doing enough to fix your depression.
Your partner feels responsible for your mental and emotional state, often becoming ashamed, growing scared, or losing confidence when you have depressive episodes.
Are you wondering if your partnership is genuine since it’s not working in fixing you?
Both partners cannot focus on good times and live each day peacefully one step at a time, as all concentration is on fixing the depression.
Your partner spends their entire time trying to change you to be less depressed while you lose your self-esteem because you feel pressured to change.

Final Thoughts On Some Reasons Why A Romantic Partner Won’t Fix Your Depression

Depression requires professional treatment from a mental health professional, not the addition of a romantic partner to your life. While it’s possible to have a good relationship while you’re depressed, that relationship should not be used as an attempt to cure the disorder.

10 Attractive Traits to Look For in a New Partner

August 26, 2022 by Lakeisha Ethans

True love is something you experience only if you learn to care for someone despite their flaws or how they look. However, you shouldn’t fall in love with just anyone. Just because you can theoretically love someone who hurts you doesn’t mean you should. If you are looking for a new partner, you should always look past physical attraction to ensure they have some attractive traits.

Many people think that having standards for dating means you are shallow. And that can be true if your criteria are about appearance or wealth. If you only date blonde-haired people, don’t be surprised if you’re seen as shallow. Physical attraction is important as someone’s looks give you the first impression of them. If someone is not your type, then no one can condemn you for not dating them.

But there are many other attractive traits that you should prioritize. The most essential qualities are the ones that define someone’s personality. How they act and how they can treat you can make or break a relationship.

10 Attractive Traits to Seek for a Stable Relationship

Beauty transcends looks…what’s inside also counts. Look beyond physical attraction for these qualities.

1. Honesty (Maybe the most essential of these attractive traits)

At the core of every successful relationship lies honesty. If two people are honest, they can communicate and have trust. Moreover, honesty is fundamental to ensuring your relationship doesn’t become toxic. So, when you look for someone new, learn if they are honest.

This is an attractive trait that you should never give up on. Don’t settle for someone comfortable with lying to you from the beginning. Even if they are white lies, they still show that the person cannot be trusted. If they can lie to you about what they ate yesterday, what’s to say they won’t lie to you about more significant things? That’s not the type of person you need in your life. Your new partner should be able to be open with you, no matter what.

2. Respect

One of the most attractive traits someone can have is being respectful. Your relationship will never work if your partner doesn’t treat you equally. To be happy, you need to find someone who would never consider you beneath them. Someone who respects you will listen to you and consider your perspective. You can tell if they do even from the first date.

If they insist on going to a place you don’t like, that’s your sign to get out of there. But they’re a keeper if they ask for your opinion and plan everything with your preferences in mind. Also, if they try to get to know you and never act condescendingly, that’s a good sign. Of course, respect means much more than that. But these are a few things that you can look for as early as your first date.

3. Integrity and Values Are Highly Attractive Traits

You should always strive to be with someone who has integrity and a robust set of values. One thing that you will always consider an attractive trait is when someone shares your values. Sure, society has become more and more open-minded. You can be with someone of a different culture, religion, or economic background. But it’s always nice to share your values with the person you are dating.

Even if you don’t have the same values, being with someone with integrity is essential. That shows they are good and want to do good in the world. If they keep their word and take accountability for their mistakes, that’s an attractive trait. This is the kind of person you can create an emotional connection with.

4. Maturity

Everyone likes to have fun. But an attractive trait in a potential partner is their maturity. When you want to build a life with someone, you must know they can be serious.

Being mature doesn’t mean being stuck up. It just means that they know how to balance fun and responsibilities. A mature person can converse intelligently and care for their issues when necessary. That means you won’t be stuck caring for the person you are dating.

5. Openness

You never want to fall for someone who will try to impose their views on you. Nor will you be able to form a meaningful emotional connection with someone close-minded. An attractive trait you should look for in a new partner is openness. Being open doesn’t mean they won’t have opinions and values. But it means you can openly communicate and share your thoughts and feelings. They won’t judge you for who you are.

On the contrary, they will embrace it and try to learn from you. More importantly, look for someone who isn’t bigoted and accepts everyone regardless of their background. If you date someone who looks down on people because of their culture or race, it’s time to dump them. This kind of internalized hatred will inevitably seep into your relationship. But that’s not a risk if you date someone accepting.

6. Patience

In any long-term relationship, problems will arise. There’s no way to avoid having some issues. You won’t always see eye to eye. Sometimes you want different things. To solve these issues, you need to be patient with someone. You need to know they won’t get angry when things don’t go their way.

Patience is also essential when you are dealing with personal issues. Having someone willing to take their time to help you out is imperative. If your partner isn’t willing to wait for you to solve your issues, the relationship won’t last.

7. Independence

This might seem counterintuitive to some people, but independence is one of the most attractive traits. When you are with someone, you don’t always need to be all over each other. It’s way better if you can have your own life. In that case, the relationship will be a bonus instead of the center of your existence.

If someone is too clingy or always relies on you, that’s a red flag. Your job in a relationship is not to take care of your partner as if they are your child. They need to be stable and have a life of their own. Of course, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t help them during tough times. But, if they always hang out at your place as if they lived there from the beginning, that’s not ok.

8. Look For Satisfyingly Attractive Traits, Such As Empathy and Affection

Having an empathetic and affectionate partner is something everyone wants. But they must be like that with everyone, not just you. Sure, they must treat you right. A good partner will always want to take care of you. For example, they won’t be ashamed to hold your hand in public. But you can only tell how genuine they are by seeing how they treat others.

Pay extra attention to how they treat strangers. Many people can treat their family and friends nicely. But true empathy is about being kind and understanding towards everyone. If they help people in need, that’s your sign they would make a great partner.

9. Ambition

Ambition will always be an attractive trait. It shows that they won’t just settle. Instead, they will always try to improve on all fronts. And it’s not just about getting a promotion, though ambitious people want a promising career. It’s also about personal growth. They will always strive to learn and fix their flaws.

As you go through life, you will change and grow. And you want someone willing to take that path with you. Knowing you are with someone who will work to improve will also strengthen your faith in the relationship. But you need to be careful, as they could become too ambitious. Make sure they won’t sacrifice you for their growth. When you meet someone new, discussing how both of you see your future is important. This way, you can gauge if their ambition is healthy or not.

10. Sense of Humor

So far, all the attractive traits we’ve discussed have been more serious. But it’s essential to have a fun relationship. Not everything needs to be somber all the time. Research shows that partners with a shared sense of humor have stronger relationships.

So, look for someone who gets your jokes and has a similar sense of humor. If you are sarcastic and dry, you’ll get along the best with someone whose jokes are the same. This is because you’ll get each other instead of coming across as offensive. Humor is very personal; you don’t want to spend your whole life explaining your jokes.

Plus, you can bond and create a deep emotional connection through humor. You don’t just need someone who is objectively funny. They can be objectively unfunny. You’ll have a strong relationship if you share a sense of humor.

Final Thoughts on Some Attractive Traits to Look For in a New Partner, Besides Physical Attraction

Many people make the mistake of conflating physical attraction and true romantic attraction. Even though looks are important, there is a difference between lust and love. For love, you need a more profound connection than the one given by physical attraction. And there are many other things more attractive than looks. Personality and values are things you should value at least as much as looks, if not more.

Meeting someone new can be scary. It can be hard to read new people from the first date. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have guidelines for what you are looking for. Plus, knowing that you can have a stable relationship is more attractive. Sure, having flings can be excellent. But your potential partner must have certain qualities if you want something more.

That doesn’t mean you need to be stuck up about your choices. Give them a shot if someone isn’t as tall as you’d wished but is a fantastic person. But don’t settle for someone dishonest and unreliable just because of physical attraction. Make sure your partner has integrity and is respectful and affectionate. You should always look for the ten attractive traits listed above when dating someone. And, if they don’t have them, maybe it’s time to dump them.

6 Signs of Social Wellness Most People Overlook

August 26, 2022 by Lakeisha Ethans

Social wellness is a concept that encompasses your relationships with those around you and your relationship with yourself. Essentially, if you can maintain individuality while actively taking part in the world around you as a part of the greater picture of humankind, you are socially well. This often creates more excellent care for your community, larger society, and the people around you.

Many people overlook social wellness as an essential part of their overall well-being. In reality, this pillar of health is just as important as physical, emotional, and spiritual wellness. When you surround yourself with genuine relationships, healthy friendships, and lovely connections with the people you regularly interact with, it ultimately improves your life.

Social wellness can improve other aspects of your well-being. Do you think you’re socially well? How can you tell? Here are six signs of social wellness most people overlook.

1 – Assertiveness Without Aggression

A lot of people struggle with assertiveness. Essentially, this is the ability to stand up for yourself without feeling afraid or ashamed and without apologizing. When you’re capable of doing this, you’ve achieved some degree of impressive social wellness.

For some, assertiveness can teeter over into aggression, as many people struggle with the conflict of being assertive. Crossing this line can lead to passive aggression or direct aggression, which is not the same as being assertive.

Traits Of Assertiveness That Reflect Social Wellness:

Research shows that you’re assertive if you have the following traits and capabilities:

You don’t experience any negative emotions when you communicate boundaries and needs.
You can maintain comfortable and positive relationships with the people around you.
You’re well aware of your rights.
You feel free to express your desires, emotions, and thoughts.
You don’t bottle up your thoughts, so you don’t get resentful and angry about your needs not being met.
When you do experience anger, you have control over it and can express it productively.
You’re willing to compromise with the people around you without reducing your rights.
You know a good mix of verbal and non-verbal forms of assertiveness and can utilize both as needed.
You’ll easily differentiate between assertiveness, aggression, and passive-aggression.
You don’t feel ashamed for expressing your needs; set healthy boundaries without apologizing.

2 – Respectful Treatment Of Others

The ability to treat the people around you with respect is a huge sign of social wellness. It means you have excellent or comfortable relationships with the people around you and are happy to be the “bigger person” in times of unfair conflict. You don’t feel threatened by the people around you and have no interest in bringing them down for any reason.

Respect is a reasonably nuanced topic. It doesn’t mean agreeing with everyone all the time. It doesn’t mean allowing people to walk over you or always letting them have their way. And it certainly doesn’t mean giving space or compromises with those who have abhorrent or inherently negative, harmful views and intentions.

Instead, respecting others means knowing the rights of all human beings and knowing that these people, no matter who or what they are, deserve those rights. It also means having positive interactions with others and respecting their boundaries, needs, and communication.

3 – Well-Balanced Social And Personal Time

Everyone must balance their “me-time” and the time they spend with others. Even introverts benefit from social interaction and must have it in their lives, and even extroverts must take time to recharge on their own.

Studies explain that social interaction is crucial to well-being, but personal time is just as important. Further research indicates that having me-time is vital for work and home well-being and can even strengthen relationships.

Many people struggle with loneliness when not with others, but you can be alone without being lonely. Learning to enjoy your own company is an enriching experience, and the ability to take yourself out on dates and sit with yourself is a clear indication of social wellness.

On the flip side, some people struggle to make friends and dislike regular social interaction. Taking it slow and steady by joining online groups, community clubs, local volunteer organizations, and other similar circles can be a great way to incorporate more social experiences in life.

Once you have balanced personal and social time, you have one aspect of social wellness. To take it a step further, you must have good social times with strong circles of uplifting, genuine people you like. After all, your social wellness depends on the people you’re social with.

4 – An Ability To Be Oneself

It may surprise you, but many signs of social wellness lie in yourself. When you connect with others, you want to be authentic if you aim to be socially well. It sounds simple, but it’s something many people struggle with. The ability to ultimately be yourself is a powerful and valuable trait.

When you’re socially well, you can be entirely who you are when introducing yourself to others and hanging out with friends or family. This state means that you:

Are you comfortable in your skin
Feel valued and appreciated just as you are
Are relaxed around your friends and family
Feel like you belong in the spaces you’re in
Can step outside your comfort zone without compromising your identity
Are secure about yourself and don’t compare yourself to others or bring others down
Love and accept yourself, even while acknowledging things you’d like to improve
Have healthy self-esteem and don’t rely on others for validation

5 – Participation In Community and Having Fun Doing It

Social wellness isn’t just about your close friends and family. It’s also about having plenty of acquaintances with whom you have positive or neutral relationships and can confidently interact. For many who struggle with social confidence, this seems like an impossible concept, but human beings are naturally social creatures. We thrive on human-to-human connection, and those moments are ones to be grateful for!

Sometimes it can be challenging to participate in a community, even if it’s one you’ve grown up around or spent many years being technically a part of. You can attempt to increase your community participation in the following ways:

Spending a few minutes chatting with those in your neighborhood
Joining clubs and groups locally that you’re interested in
Striking up conversations with those you see regularly
Expanding your horizons and seeking out new communities and friends beyond your usual sphere
Volunteering for organizations that you believe in
Participating in community events
Play a community sport
Seeking mentors in your field

On top of this, one of the critical features of social wellness is your ability to have fun when you’re in social situations. There’s not much point in being around other people if you’re constantly anxious, uncomfortable, or otherwise unhappy in those situations. Having fun improves your overall happiness and forms positive connections, facilitating bonding moments that encourage you to perform further social interaction.

This isn’t to say that you can’t ever be socially well if you have social anxiety. But you can’t deny that being at peace, letting loose, and having tons of fun is part and parcel of spending time with the people you like. If social interaction robs you of any ability to have fun, then you have a little way to go on your journey to social wellness.

6 – Good Communication Skills And Better Relationships

The absolute cornerstone of social wellness is your ability to communicate. Without good communication, conflict arises, and any relationship can fall apart. No one can read anyone else’s mind, so if there’s something that needs to be said, that has to be said out loud!

But communication is about more than just talking about what you think. It’s about knowing how to do so productively and positively. This facilitates better conflict-solving abilities and helps relationships to stay strong and grow stronger. This involves:

Using non-blaming languages when pointing out an issue that you have with someone, allowing for open discussion
Having excellent listening skills and aiming to understand people when you hear them out, instead of simply listening to formulate a response
Expressing your thoughts and feelings without feeling ashamed of them
Letting go of avoidant behaviors and directly dealing with conflict, thus reducing the build-up of resentment
Being constructive and firm without being harsh or unfair when calling someone out for negative behavior
Knowing when it’s time to take a break and try again when it comes to complex conflicts or communication
Feeling comfortable expressing your needs and talking about what you want without providing a disclaimer or apologizing.

Good communication skills also allow you to open up to the most trustworthy people in your life. You’re not overly generous with who gets to see you at your most vulnerable, but you’re also not unnecessarily closed-off. This means that you form genuine and close relationships with a select few people who have earned your trust and feel the same about you.

These communication skills also allow you to learn from the people around you. You always have your listening ears open and are curious about what people have to share. If you leave most conversations a little bit wiser and are happy about that, then you have a high level of social wellness!

Final Thoughts On Some Signs Of Social Wellness Most People Overlook

Social wellness is an integral part of a healthy and happy life. If you notice that you tick off many of these signs of social wellness, congratulations! You have a healthy social life and a good balance of prioritizing and loving yourself while caring about others. You have a healthy support system, a good circle of close friends, and positive interactions with your community.

Do you think you’re not socially well? The good news is that you can improve your social wellness by strengthening your social skills and working on your self-confidence and self-esteem. If you need some help, don’t be afraid to reach out to a mental health professional, especially one who specializes in socialization and social anxiety!

4 Ways to Stay Positive, Even Through an Illness

August 26, 2022 by Lakeisha Ethans

To live your life to the fullest, you should always look for ways to stay positive despite all of life’s crazy surprises. Positivity is a fantastic drug.

Research shows that happy thoughts can make you more resilient to sickness and other adverse life events. But it can be tough to stay positive when you’re not feeling well, and even more so when being unwell has completely upended your life.

Sadly, many people experience sadness, anxiety, depression, stress, and other negative emotions when sick. This can make recovering even more difficult. Read on if you need a pick-me-up to help navigate a tricky health crisis. Here are four ways to stay positive, even through an illness.

1. Stay Positive by Letting Yourself Experience Emotions

It’s a common misconception that those who stay positive never let themselves feel bad. For genuine positivity to take root, you must first process your emotions. It sounds counter-productive, but it’s how it works. When you don’t acknowledge your emotions, you repress them, exacerbating them. Studies show that it strengthens them as they influence you in subconscious ways. It’s like being weighed down by negativity!

That’s why the best way to stay positive through an illness is to permit yourself to feel the natural and valid emotions of being sick. To do this, you can:

· Name Your Emotions

The emotions you feel when you’re sick are bound to be complex. Try to name them out loud or describe them. This can help your brain process these feelings and help you understand how these emotions impact you.

· Have a Good Cry

There’s no shame in having a good cry when you need it. Being sick can be overwhelming, especially when the future feels uncertain. Studies have shown that crying can sometimes help relieve negative emotions and uplift mood. More importantly, it’s a release of your feelings that comes from allowing yourself to express your negative emotions.

· Let Yourself Be Sick of Being Sick

It’s normal to get sick of being sick, especially if your illness requires a lot of treatment or a prolonged recovery period. You might feel guilty for tired of feeling this way, but don’t be ashamed! Your body is not working as it should, and it’s expected to tire of dealing with that. This is a normal, healthy emotion to feel and shouldn’t be excluded so that you can stay positive. Toxic, unrealistic positivity is not genuine positivity at all!

· Stay Positive by Writing in a Journal

If you have trouble letting yourself feel your emotions, it can help to write them down. Use a journal, Word document notes application or anything else to express all your thoughts. Do not, at any point, pause to judge yourself for what you feel. Write whatever pops into your head and allow yourself to release your emotions through the medium of the written word.

2. Stay Positive by Accepting the Help You Need

When you’re sick, do you try to do everything yourself? Do you tell people not to help you and tend to push yourself to perform daily tasks that leave you exhausted and even sicker? This is a common situation for people who are ill, and it may happen because:

You worry about being a burden to the people around you, so you reject their help
You feel like everything is spinning out of control, so you attempt to take control of your daily life
You hate being dependent on others and force yourself to behave independently to avoid that situation
You feel ashamed or insecure about how you act and appear when sick, so you keep others out as much as possible

While these are all reasons worthy of empathy and understanding, they will also render you unable to stay positive. The fact is that when you’re sick, you deserve help and care, and it’s crucial to your healing that you accept assistance from those who care about you. If you reject all help, you’ll be exhausted and unable to recover, and you won’t have any energy left for positivity.

If you want to embrace positivity, you should accept help in the following ways:

· Ask for a Listening Ear

As you already know, being ill can be emotionally taxing, and sometimes, what you need is a shoulder to cry on and an ear to listen to without judgment. Find trusted people in your life to who you’d like to be able to vent and ask them if they’d be happy to listen. Talking to someone can relieve stress, allowing you to stay positive with their support.

· Let People Take Care Of You

You must allow the people in your life to take care of you. These people care about you deeply, want to help you recover and seek to make your time spent ill more comfortable. Don’t shut them out or push them away! It’s lovely to set boundaries for lines you’d prefer not to be crossed, but don’t forget that you deserve to receive help in this difficult time.

· Take Time to Care for Yourself to Stay Positive

When you’re sick, self-care often goes out the window. You forget to take the time to eat well, drink enough, take nice baths, and do things you enjoy. But how are you going to stay positive if you feel so awful? While illness can reduce the number of ways you can take care of yourself, there are always options you can use. Taking care of yourself while you’re sick means permitting yourself to nap multiple times daily. Other times, it means going for a short walk. Tailor your methods of self-care to your specific illness and circumstances.

3. Stay Positive by Joining a Peer Support Group

Being ill can be incredibly isolating because your life changes so dramatically while the lives of those around you remain mostly constant. And, even when your loved ones do all they can to be there for you, the fact is that they might not fully understand what it’s like to be in your shoes.

Thankfully, we live in the internet age, where it’s easy to go online and find various support groups for those with all sorts of illnesses. Finding a community of people like you can make you feel less alone and help you stay positive. Better yet, these individuals may have unique advice and wisdom based on their experiences that can be helpful for you.

If you go for treatment somewhere regularly and have the energy, you can also try making friends in person. Having a “buddy” physically present in the same or similar circumstances can boost your mood and help you stay positive. After all, research shows that social relationships can have a pretty significant impact on health!

4. Reflect on Life And Sickness

Many people receive a lot of extra time as a side effect of being sick. This often makes a positive mindset so tricky when you’re ill. You have all the time in the world, limited energy to fill it, and nothing but your thoughts for the company a lot of the time. This can quickly lead to depression, resentment in your life, and general negativity.

Instead of allowing yourself to wallow in self-pity, use these empty moments to reflect critically on life, sickness, and yourself. This can be a massive moment of self-discovery for you, and having this free time can allow you to get in touch with yourself on a deeper level. You’ll not just learn to stay optimistic right now but to stay positive in a healthy way long-term. Here are some potential topics for reflection:

· Your Behavior and if it Serves You

Examine your recent behavior in light of your sickness. This doesn’t mean your actions or energy levels, but your personality and how it has responded to illness. Has your behavior served you, or has it harmed you? What kind of behavior would you instead put forward? How can you move toward adopting that desired behavior without falling into toxic positivity or repression?

· The Universal Laws of Impermanence

The only thing sure in life is that nothing is permanent. Your current situation is not permanent. Your mood is not permanent. Your current state is not permanent. You will feel different tomorrow, even a little bit, than you feel today. You can take comfort in knowing that things can be better, that things have been worse, and that if things are worse tomorrow, well, you’ve overcome bad things before – because those bad things aren’t permanent!

· Seek Out the Good Things Around You

Finding positive aspects of life when sick can be challenging, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t there. Don’t allow yourself to get stuck in clouds of unhappiness that you can’t see through. Find things that you like and are grateful for despite everything. This can be simple, like a comforting warm drink in bed or the intrigue in the books you read and the shows you watch.

Positivity can also be more nuanced, like being grateful that you have time off work or being glad that you’ve been able to reconnect with someone since you’ve been sick. Challenge yourself to find good things around you. If you can’t find them, create them! Please arrange for your favorite flowers to be delivered to your house and display them in a nearby window. Curl up with a good book. Play music that you like. Make friends online. Good things are always enjoyed, even in the most challenging times.

Final Thoughts On Some Ways To Stay Positive, Even Through An Illness

Optimism and positivity can be hard to maintain. It’s challenging to stay positive in everyday life, but when you’re sick, that can be even harder. Following these four tips for remaining positive in times of illness, you can slowly but surely rise from the fog that has obscured your world due to sickness.

3 Ways Unconscious Bias Holds You Back

August 25, 2022 by Lakeisha Ethans

Unconscious bias is an unavoidable part of existing in a world filled with moving pieces and lengthy histories that make their mark on today. To deny that you can be biased is to deny the truth. Everyone is affected, to some degree, by bias. People are judgmental by default. Believing that you are completely capable of total equality without pausing to consider and unlearn bias first is a doomed affair!

Many people deny the existence of their own unconscious bias because they are ashamed or afraid of what that bias says about them. But the fact is that these hidden forms of judgment are not a reflection of your character unless you agree with those thoughts. Unconscious bias comes from external factors – the media you watch, how you live, and how society treats you and those around you.

There are many forms of unconscious bias. Some of them can be helpful. For example, if you’ve seen enough cartoons about bees swarming people who disturb their hives, you instinctively steer clear of any hives. But most unconscious biases are negative, unhelpful, and even wholly untrue! And then, these wrong things proceed to dictate your life.

Unconscious bias roots itself deep down in your mind, and it takes a lot of work to confront and uproot those concepts. But if not removed, these issues can significantly harm your life and slowly seep into your interactions with others, altering your ideals, values, and the way you see the world. And all of this happens because of things you aren’t even consciously aware of!

1 – You Jump To Conclusions Due to Unconscious Bias

The human brain innately can only consciously process forty bits of information each second. This sounds like a lot, but did you know that the brain still processes unconscious information during that process? Indeed, research shows we unconsciously process a shocking eleven million informational pieces each second! This is why we jump to conclusions – we feel the need to create mental shortcuts to speed up our processing.

This wouldn’t be a problem if we could always trust our unconscious processing as objective and factual. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. As previously mentioned, your implicit bias is inaccurate and can often include beliefs that your conscious self abhors.

As such, the conclusions you jump to as a result of unconscious bias are inaccurate. After all, jumping to conclusions is expertly recognized as a form of cognitive distortion. This means that it is an inherently irrational pattern of thought. Here are some ways that jumping to conclusions can hold you back:

Being Judgmental

You make quick, snap judgments about the people around you and miss out on unique and valuable connections. This judgmental way of thinking can also make you uncomfortable to be around, costing you your career and social life.

Labeling

Instead of understanding nuance, complex situations, and critical thought, you opt to label people, things, and events without thinking. You lose opportunities to learn more from these nuanced situations and gain new perspectives and understanding. And it certainly doesn’t help that you’re sure to label yourself, which limits your success and keeps you trapped in a box of your own making!

“Mind-Reading”

Of course, no one can read minds, but many people perform the cognitively dissonant process of “mind-reading.” This involves making assumptions about how others think or why they behave a certain way instead of communicating to clear the air. These assumptions cost you your professional and personal relationships at some point and can even become a mental prison. For example, if you think, “I have a stutter, and no one respects people with a stutter,” you might opt out of participating in big projects at work or be too afraid to take risks.

Fortune Telling

This is one of the most harmful things to hold you back in your life. Like with “mind-reading,” sure, you’re not fortune telling with any accuracy. Instead, you’re jumping to conclusions about how an event or situation will turn out. You choose not to audition for a role because you’ve already decided that you will probably not get in. You don’t try for a promotion because you think everyone else has a better chance of winning. Ultimately, all you do is kill your prospects before they’ve even begun. No wonder this judgmental behavior holds you back!

Confirmation Bias

This bias refers to the innate tendency to seek out and interpret information so that it confirms your current views. This ends up forming a never-ending cycle where your unconscious bias creates conscious bias, further reinforcing your unconscious beliefs. It takes a lot of effort to break the process; if you don’t, it only gets stronger throughout your life.

At its core, this causes you to become close-minded. Gone are your opportunities to learn from others, seek new ideas, and broaden your horizons. You’ve already jumped to conclusions about most things, so you don’t think there’s anything else to learn!

2 – You Live A Life Governed By Emotions Instead Of Facts

Unconscious bias may be a process in your brain, but it’s emotional, not logical. You’re basing your thoughts and actions on half-baked, unproven, and ultimately untrue ideas, and you refuse to leave the comfort zone of those thoughts because of their emotional importance.

Maybe you’re afraid of thinking of other, more complex perspectives. Perhaps you’re uncomfortable with the idea of confronting your biases. Either way, this is an emotional view, not a perspective ruled by facts or rationality.

Emotions are healthy and normal, and there’s nothing shameful or wrong about having emotional thought processes. However, to manage these feelings, you have to sit with them, process them, and then question them to see what isn’t accurate to the situation. One might easily ignore this with their unconscious bias since jumping to conclusions is easy to do when it comes to emotional circumstances.

When you view things through the lens of your emotions, being judgmental holds you back in the following ways:

Appeals easily manipulate you to emotion and people pushing your buttons.
You’re unable to confront hard truths and are therefore unable to process reality and move forward to face that reality.
You have a lot of unprocessed emotions and trauma, which can lead to increased negativity and severe resentment.
You lose the ability for intelligent thought because you see most things in black or white and stick to binary extremes.

3 – You’re Unable To Detect Unconscious Bias In Others

As you’ve likely already gathered, unconscious bias affects everyone. But not everyone is interested in unlearning those biases or using more profound, critical thought to overcome their prejudices. Some insist they have no biases or decide that their unconscious biases are innately correct, shifting them into conscious bias.

When you interact with the people around you, you cannot know how much work they’ve done to unlearn or manage their own biases. The way they treat you could be rooted in numerous forms of intolerance. If you don’t realize that they’re letting this irrationality dictate how they perceive you, you could be caught up trying to fix things about yourself to reach their expectations without realizing that it’s a non-starter. You might also lose self-esteem in the process.

Worse still are the biases that could make or break significant moments in your life. Even those with expertise in their field are subject to their preference, and you need to know when to listen to someone, stand up and advocate for yourself, and seek other opinions from the less biased.

You may not realize it, but implicit bias is deeply steeped in our world and culture. If you don’t acknowledge your preferences, you likely won’t know how other people’s biases affect you. Typical forms of unconscious bias that can be dangerous include:

Medical Bias

Some studies have gone far into detail about the existing unconscious bias that pollutes much of the medical world. Doctors and similar medical professionals may deny treatment or downplay the issues of women, people of color, and overweight individuals. These forms of implicit bias are systemic, so you must notice when you’re a victim of it so you can advocate for yourself and seek second medical opinions.

Racial Preference (Maybe The Best-known Unconscious Bias)

This controversial topic is, sadly, very well-studied. Research shows that employers are judgmental and more likely to prefer white-sounding names to names of other ethnicities when seeing equally qualified resumes. It’s pretty easy to see how racism can hold you back in life, so the harmful effects of this go somewhat without saying.

The Halo Effect (A Sneaky Way of Being Judgmental)

The halo effect is a psychological phenomenon whereby you are more likely to see positive things about someone or something you already have a positive impression of. At first glance, this doesn’t seem dangerous, but research says otherwise. But that means you’re more likely to trust someone you find attractive and less likely to question the intentions of someone who has impressed you in another way. This makes you easier to take advantage of, and you can be completely blindsided and unable to view your relationships objectively.

Final Thoughts on Some Ways Unconscious Bias Holds You Back

Unconscious bias is a serious personal issue, but it’s also a severe issue in the larger society. These innate judgments of other people and various situations can and have led to widespread systemic problems, and it can all be a lot to take in and process.

For something so prevalent, it’s certainly unfortunate that it can so easily hold you back. By understanding the effects of this implicit bias and how it affects your life, you can learn to manage, overcome, and rise above the bias that you’ve internalized. There’s always an opportunity to learn and improve, so don’t be hard on yourself for your preferences. What you choose to do about those judgmental ways of thinking defines who you are!

Being Judgmental

Labeling

“Mind-Reading”

Fortune Telling

Confirmation Bias

Medical Bias

Racial Preference (Maybe The Best-known Unconscious Bias)

The Halo Effect (A Sneaky Way of Being Judgmental)

The Community

Our Free Community of Positively Powerful SuperFans

Every day is a day to shine. Shine on!

Other Updates to the Heart Health Guidance

Sleeping Well Promotes Optimal Heart Health

Life’s Essential 8™ Guidelines

Final Thoughts on AHA Finding Link Between Sleeping Well and Heart Health

1. Depression Is An Illness

2. Codependency, Depression, and Relationships

The Impact Of Codependency On Depression

Signs Of Codependency

3. How Depression Negatively Impacts Relationships

· Increased Conflict With Your Romantic Partner

· Decreased Communication

· Diminished Intimacy In The Bedroom

· Desire To Isolate Yourself From Your Romantic Partner

· Less Interest In Taking Care Of Yourself

· A Feeling Of Hopelessness Goes With Depression

4. Your Expectations Aren’t Reasonable

Final Thoughts On Some Reasons Why A Romantic Partner Won’t Fix Your Depression

10 Attractive Traits to Seek for a Stable Relationship

1. Honesty (Maybe the most essential of these attractive traits)

2. Respect

3. Integrity and Values Are Highly Attractive Traits

4. Maturity

5. Openness

6. Patience

7. Independence

8. Look For Satisfyingly Attractive Traits, Such As Empathy and Affection

9. Ambition

10. Sense of Humor

Final Thoughts on Some Attractive Traits to Look For in a New Partner, Besides Physical Attraction

1 – Assertiveness Without Aggression

Traits Of Assertiveness That Reflect Social Wellness:

2 – Respectful Treatment Of Others

3 – Well-Balanced Social And Personal Time

4 – An Ability To Be Oneself

5 – Participation In Community and Having Fun Doing It

6 – Good Communication Skills And Better Relationships

Final Thoughts On Some Signs Of Social Wellness Most People Overlook

1. Stay Positive by Letting Yourself Experience Emotions

· Name Your Emotions

· Have a Good Cry

· Let Yourself Be Sick of Being Sick

· Stay Positive by Writing in a Journal

2. Stay Positive by Accepting the Help You Need

· Ask for a Listening Ear

· Let People Take Care Of You

· Take Time to Care for Yourself to Stay Positive

3. Stay Positive by Joining a Peer Support Group

4. Reflect on Life And Sickness

· Your Behavior and if it Serves You

· The Universal Laws of Impermanence

· Seek Out the Good Things Around You

Final Thoughts On Some Ways To Stay Positive, Even Through An Illness

1 – You Jump To Conclusions Due to Unconscious Bias

Being Judgmental

Labeling

“Mind-Reading”

Fortune Telling

Confirmation Bias

2 – You Live A Life Governed By Emotions Instead Of Facts

3 – You’re Unable To Detect Unconscious Bias In Others

Medical Bias

Racial Preference (Maybe The Best-known Unconscious Bias)

The Halo Effect (A Sneaky Way of Being Judgmental)

Final Thoughts on Some Ways Unconscious Bias Holds You Back

The Community

Our Free Community of Positively Powerful SuperFans

Rise and Shine On! Master Your Day with the Ultimate Positive Morning Guide + Checklist

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Us

Every day is a day to shine. Shine on!

Rise and Shine On!
Master Your Day with the Ultimate Positive Morning Guide + Checklist