1. What puts a smile on your face? Is there a particular event, a particular topic that makes your whole face just lighten up? Whatever it is that makes you smile, and makes you happy whenever you encounter it, this is a sign of something you are passionate…
(Source: onlinecounsellingcollege, via psych-facts)
1. Breathe slowly and deeply: Shallow chest breathing makes your heart beat faster, and tenses your muscles, so you feel more stressed. In contrast, breathing slowly and deeply helps you feel much more relaxed.
2. Visualize yourself being calm and relaxed:Imagine all your stress being washed away; or try and visualize yourself in a peaceful scene such as lying on the beach or in a garden, with a book. As you focus on the details, you’ll start to feel less stressed.
3. Smile: Research shows that when we force ourselves to smile it actually improves the way we feel.
4. Don’t grit your teeth: We tend to hold stress in certain parts of our bodies - the teeth and the jaw are one typical part. So when you start to feel stressed, repeat the following exercise: Put the tips of your fingers on the joints below your ears. Clench your teeth - inhale - hold your breath – and then exhale, saying “Ah-h-h-h” . Unclench your teeth and repeat the exercise.
5. Write your feelings down on paper: Writing gives us a way to express how we feel, and it helps to release our pent up emotions.
6. Count to 10: Give yourself some distance and time before responding. If you react right away you might regret it later on.
7. Take a sniff: There are numerous healing oils that can help to calm you down so take a sniff from a bottle of soothing, healing balm. (For example, chamomile, eucalyptus, lavender, peppermint, rose and thyme.)
8. Go for a walk: Endorphins are released by any form of exercise – and these improve our mood and help us keep things more in balance. Just going for a walk will help to moderate your breathing, reduce your blood pressure, and help to calm you down.
9. Soak in a hot bath: There’s nothing like relaxing in a hot bubble bath to reduce your stress levels and improve the way you feel (especially if you light some scented candles, as well).
10. Turn up the music: We all have favourite music that distracts us from our problems, that grounds us in the present, and helps us feel less stressed.
(via psych-facts)
1. All-or-nothing thinking: Looking at things in black-or-white categories, with no middle ground (“If I fall short of perfection, I’m a total failure.”)
2. Overgeneralization: Generalizing from a single negative experience, expecting it to hold true…
(Source: onlinecounsellingcollege, via psych-facts)
Why Cognitive Development and Attachment Decide How Old You Are
The ability to attach to another person draws back to infancy. According to Mary Ainsworth’s “The Strange Situation” research experiment, only 60 percent of infants are truly attached to their mother while 40 percent linger along the gray lines of being emotionally independent. An infant’s attachment to it’s mother is a significant beginning to a persons relationship with people.
The nature of an infant-to-parent bond lies in the infant’s need for care giving. This form of attachment continues through childhood. The child develops attachment for those who provide for them. The relationship is merely dependent on the caregivers ability to give continuously. The attachment asks “What can you do for me?”
Beyond childhood, something comes into our lives without invitation. This thing is the ego. Egocentricism shifts the individual’s standards for attachment. This change occurs around the age of eleven when the preteen begins to conceive the difference between experimental and hypothetical thinking. The adolescent becomes far more self-conscious. They merge from their parental attachments and turn to peers for self-assurance. The individual begins living with an “imaginary audience” that watches their every step. If you know any preteens, you’ve probably notice a surge of vanity. To them however, life is about answering the questions “Who am I and who am I meant to be?” Maybe you recall this phase in your own experiences.
Another ruling factor in this development stage is puberty. During puberty, the frontal lobe is rarely fully developed, which blocks the individual from seeing the risk in their decisions. So here in this young human being, is not only unfinished brain development, but raging hormones. This causes the nature of this person’s attachment to change from “What will you doforme?” to “How will you make me feel about myself?” This could be the reason so many adolescents make large mistakes that negatively control the rest of their lives. The arousal of feeling interesting, unforgettable or even addicting can cause an individual to make emotionally fueled choices without recognizing how they feel about the source of that attention.
Over time the identity develops. The four stages of identity deal with every corner of our lives, from career choice to religious affiliation; From sexuality to political stance. There are four types of identity and they are as followed:
- Identity Achievement: You have explored various options in life and have made a commitment.
- Identity Foreclosure: You have reached firm commitment and never explore other options.
- Identity Moratorium: You have made a commitment, but you are still exploring.
- Identity Diffusion: You have made no commitment or exploration.
With a developed identity, an individual is capable of deciding what he or she wants in life. The firm identity calls for an entirely different form of attachment, and this attachment is the attachment to another person’s identity. So instead of “What can you do for me?” and “How do you make me feel about myself?”, the attachment takes on a new array of thoughts that ask “How well can I know you?” The attachment’s dynamics no longer revolve around the individual, but around the pleasure of experiencing the separate identity of the other person.
In reality however, all three stages are not met by everyone. Some people only develop attachment to those who provide for them. Some can not build an attachment past the adolescent need for attention and re-assurance. To build an attachment purely for the admiration of another is rare.
Source: “Psychology” second edition
Schacter,Gilbert,Wegner
(Source: optimismforjournalism, via psych-facts)
Being good at making small talk is a crucial life skill, and is key for making a positive impression. Some tips to help you with this include:
1. Go prepared when you’re meeting new people, or when you have to attend a social event. Think about some topics you can talk about with others (and…
i am a title :)
![Security Tips for Banking by Smartphone
Keeping track of one’s money used to be an arduous process. Some took a DIY approach by hiding gold coins under mattresses or burying dollar bills in back yards. Others avoided threats of roving pirates and shovel-happy neighbors by keeping their cash in banks. But this solution wasn’t hassle-free. Hours were lost tracking pennies in handwritten registers, as well as commuting to banks to make deposits, transfers and withdrawals.
Enter the smartphone. Now we can manage our money by logging on to banking Web sites through mobile Internet connections or banking applications that link directly to financial accounts. We can even transfer funds via text message.
Mobile banking services like these aren’t only for the tech-savvy; they’ve become a mainstream tool for the money-using masses. According to a report by Javelin Research, the number of people using mobile banking services increased from 19 percent to 30 percent in 2011 [source: Bell]. And, if gaps that threaten data security continue to be addressed, the percentage of those usingmobile banking is expected to continue to increase.
Even with the potential risks, we’re glad that “mobile banking” now refers to smartphones instead of carrying around the money jar. Our top five tips for keeping your money safe when banking with your smartphone begin HERE.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6lmmqUDDO1rpdglno1_250.jpg)
![Would you care for a tasty shard of glass? Yum!
These completely transparent chips might look like they could cut your mouth to ribbons, but they are actually perfectly edible potato chips. Originally created by Hamid Salimian, Diva at the Met chef, these are perhaps the most curiously normal snacks you will ever see.
Upon closer inspection, the chips are only made from potato starch and stock, which explains the transparency. Instructables user Imnopeas said that “it has the distinct crunch and flavor of a potato chip, but in an unexpected space-age form.”
Here’s the recipe via Instructables. Enjoy making people think you’re either trying to kill them by feeding them glass or preparing them for a trip to the moon!
[via Geekosystem]
FUTURE SNAX
SO TOTALY MAKING THESE OMG](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m5ya09Z3XG1qzfsnio1_1280.jpg)