Real True Beauty

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Every day young girls and women are bombarded with unrealistic media representations of women. Advertisements, Miss America contests, television shows, and movies are all responsible for the low self esteem that many women are facing today. In media, ‘beautiful’ women are depicted as being thin, perfect skinned, and big breasted. The reality is, many women are not thin, do not have perfect skin, and are not big breasted. Since they do not fit these ‘ideal’ images of beauty, many women believe that they are not beautiful and do not appeal to men. This article will dispose of these media beliefs about beauty by discussing what beauty really is, how ideas of beauty differ around the world, and what men really think about beauty.

As many people know, there are two types of beauty; outer beauty and inner beauty. Outer beauty, or physical attractiveness, is the type of beauty that is focused on most by the media. Unfortunately, media takes most physical attributes to the extreme. ‘Beautiful’ women in the media have perfect skin, perfect bodies, and the perfect weight, leaving women in the real world feeling insecure and undesirable. Unfortunately, media cannot be ignored. It is everywhere. It is on television, on the radio, in the movies, in ads, and even in children’s toys. This is why it is extremely important that we begin to emphasis the importance of inner beauty to young girls and women. Inner beauty, often ignored in media representations, includes psychological factors such as personality, intelligence, politeness, and personal charisma. Rather than focusing on unobtainable physical characteristics, young women should be focusing on attainable inner beauty.

Easier said than done, right? In today’s society, the pressure of a woman to be beautiful is stronger than ever. Unfortunately, most women are not focusing on inner beauty as they should be. So, for those women, here are two suggestions. The first is to ignore media representations. There are very few women in the world who actually fit the profile of a woman in the media. Even the women who have made it to television are often edited and airbrushed to look the way they do. The second point to establish is that ideas of beauty are forever changing. Beauty changes from time to time and from place to place. What is beautiful to one person is not beautiful to another. For example, in Western cultures, extra long necks may not be considered a beautiful trait. However, the Kayan tribe of Thailand believes that elongated necks represent ideal beauty. They are so infatuated with the idea of long necks that the women actually wear brass rings around their neck to help give them an elongated appearance. This shows how different cultures have different ideas of beauty. The same is true for different people within the same cultures. What is beautiful to one American man may not be beautiful to another.

Similarly, most men in Western cultures have a different idea of beauty than women. When you ask a woman what would make her more beautiful, she will often describe physical characteristics such as better skin, better hair, or bigger breasts. Men, on the other hand, often won’t mention physical characteristics when asked what beauty is. Research has shown that men believe happiness and healthiness make a woman beautiful, not physical characteristics.

Regardless of time and place, standards of beauty are always there. Unfortunately, media representations are giving young women unattainable beauty ideals which are damaging the self esteem of young girls and women. Instead of trying to live up to these unrealistic ideals, understand that beauty is not static. Everyone has a different idea of beauty. If one person doesn’t find you beautiful, another will. Also, focus on your inner beauty. If you allow your inner beauty to shine you will be happier and healthier, allowing you to achieve your ultimate goal of attracting the perfect man!

Addiction Treatment Myths

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In May of 2006 HBO, USA Today and The Gallup Poll asked US adults, who had an immediate family member with a drug or alcohol addiction whether they thought addiction was a disease.

Three-quarters of U.S. adults who have a family member suffering from a drug or alcohol addiction think that addiction is a disease.

Whether you agree or disagree alcoholism was first recognised as a disease as early as 1785, by Dr. Benjamin Rush, signer of the Declaration of Independence and physician of George Washington’s Army.

In his widely dispersed essay on “the effects of ardent spirits,” Rush clearly called intemperance a disease and, an addiction.

Seeing addiction as a chronic disease may be a hotly debated topic, however if it makes addiction treatment more easily accessible and helps the addict to structure their life around the problem, surely it makes sense to regard addiction as analogous to a chronic disorder?

There are common myths regarding addiction treatment which make the rapid access of treatment for people addicted to alcohol or other drugs more difficult than it needs to be.

In spite of the stigma and value judgments many people put on addiction it has striking similarities to other chronic illnesses like diabetes, hypertension and heart disease.

Interestingly enough the rates of adherence to treatment and rates of relapse for addiction and these other illnesses are similar too, so the belief that addiction treatment is generally unsuccessful due to the high rate of relapse is entirely incorrect.

One of the best indicators of treatment success is adherence to a prescribed treatment plan and for patients with chronic illnesses this is difficult. Statistics show that not only can addiction be treated effectively, addiction treatment is often more effective than treatment for other chronic illnesses.

Not sticking to the treatment plan results in 50% of diabetics needing to be treated again within one year of diagnosis and their first treatment. Similar statistics hold true for other chronic diseases.

Around 40% of hypertension patients will need emergency medical attention for episodes of severe high blood pressure, and only about 30% of adult asthma patients take their medicine as prescribed. Although addiction treatment is statistically more successful than treatment for other chronic diseases, drug addicts commonly have relapses during treatment and recovery and begin using drugs again.

The difficulty in following a treatment plan and handling the stress of a chronic disease show how complicated changing human behavior is.

Addiction – an Involuntary Disorder?

Some people argue that addiction is self inflicted. Although it is true that the initial choice to try a substance is voluntary, experimentation and testing limits is a normal part of growing up.

Addiction is a bit like the lottery, we really have no way to accurately predict who will become addicted through ‘normal’ alcohol or other drug use. Peer pressure and availability of drugs influence young people; although not all people exposed to these two factors go on to become addicts. And once addiction develops drug use is compulsive and not voluntary.

Some say that the reasons for initially trying drugs are hereditary, however generally those who experience extremely enjoyable responses to the substance are more likely to use again, until the addictive cycle kicks in. At what point the addictive cycle kicks in is dependent on what drugs are being used, so particularly for youth experimentation is with drugs is very risky as we have no way of determining who is more likely to become addicted.

Unfortunately drug addiction causes changes in the brain pathways that continue long after substance abuse has ended making it impossible for that person to effectively control their intake of alcohol and other drugs.

Once addicted, there are many factors that have considerable influence on the addict and their need to continue ingesting the alcohol or other drugs. Medical science has made huge advancements over the last years and our knowledge of why people become addicted, but also once people are addicted to alcohol and other drugs – what makes them continue to drink alcohol and use drugs despite the negative consequences is now clearer.

Addiction as Compared to Other Chronic Disorders – Many chronic illnesses require changes to patient behaviour and lifestyle as well as lifelong treatment. With diabetes, hypertension and asthma there are external factors which influence the effect it has on the sufferer. The same holds true of people addicted.

Factors such as parenting practices, stress in the home environment and behavioural aspects like exercise and nutrition influence the severity of the disorder. We all known people who are trying to lose weight and yet they persist in poor eating habits and a sedentary lifestyle.

We know that people who eat an unhealthy diet and do not exercise regularly have a higher risk of heart disease, yet when they have a coronary we don’t berate their poor decisions and lifestyle, we help them towards recovery as best we can.

Certain choices play an important part in the onset and severity of these chronic illnesses.
These disorders require constant treatment for improvement. In most cases the disorders are managed, rather than cured.

Because of the influencing factors and the high rate of relapse in addiction, management of addiction and improvement of symptoms is a realistic goal, although the journey to recovery can be fraught with failure, that doesn’t mean that treatment is unsuccessful.

Successful Addiction Treatment

Treatment which is considered successful has a vast improvement in the following three areas:

• Reduction of drug and alcohol use;
• Increased personal health and social functioning;
• Reduced threat to public health and safety.

There seems to be a strange phenomenon where certain drugs and certain subcultures have better addictions treatment outcomes than others. For example those addicted to opiates who are professionals seem to do better than those who are unemployed with little education, even though the addiction is with lesser amounts of the opiate.

Another way that addiction treatment is successful is that it saves money in the long run. The costs of the actual substance as well as the consequences of addiction are appalling.

Although treatment costs seem initially expensive, the long term savings are well worth it, not to mention the quality of life improvement for the addicted person and their family. Being able to engage with life again in a normal, productive and meaningful way is priceless.

Addiction treatment which is assisted with medication usually has a greater success rate. Medication is used as a substitute to the drug and administered in reduced dosage, making withdrawal a lot less stressful. It allows the addict to continue with everyday life in a normal fashion, much like a diabetic using insulin and a hypertension patient using beta-blockers.

Much of the success of addiction treatment comes through treatment compliance. The combination of educational programs, counselling and medication is essential to recovery.

For a variety of reasons, sometimes due to socioeconomic status and the lack of family or social support addicts do not continue with the treatment program and end up relapsing.

Believe it or not, many patients with the more mainstream and socially acceptable illnesses, like diabetes, hypertension and asthma, (all illnesses that need continued care throughout the patient’s life for treatment to be successful) do not stick to their treatment or make the necessary life changes for their successful recovery for the same reasons that the people addicted to alcohol or other drugs did not succeed.

Addiction treatment is worth structuring as a chronic illness as it helps people in treatment recover. Considering addiction a disease may not meet the rigid classification of a disease. We’re gaining new information all the time and the anecdotal evidence of recovering people has pointed towards addiction to alcohol and other drugs being a disease for many decades now.

A Beginner’s Guide to Online Diet Programs

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There are many different online diet programs that cater to the dieting needs of people of all ages, sex, and sizes. Online diet plans are very convenient, since these can help people stay fit without having to go all the way to a nutritionists’ office. What’s more, all information a person needs regarding a diet program can be found online, and he/she can even find people who have gone through the same dieting process and provide him/her with the necessary support.

Diet programs found on the Internet can range from those approved by doctors and other medical practitioners such as the Mayo Clinic Diet, to diets that provide satisfying results without having to do any strenuous exercises like the Atkins Diet. These diet programs are usually described in websites, and users are given examples of food products that are usually included in the program.

The Grapefruit Diet is a 12-day diet program that promises to burn fat. This diet can be extended beyond 12 days, but it is important for the dieter to take 2 days off before continuing the diet. Grapefruit hasn’t been scientifically proven to effectively burn fat, but there have been testimonials and stories from previous dieters who say that the Grapefruit Diet has worked. A menu under the Grapefruit Diet includes grapefruit, water (about 8 glasses of water should be imbibed daily), black coffee, and vegetables. The enemy of this diet is complex carbohydrates.

Another diet program that can be found online is the Sonoma Diet. This diet relies on the different combinations of food and the amount one can eat. The Sonoma Diet is composed of three waves, which would answer the different weight loss goals and cravings of a person. In the first wave, the cravings for sugar and other food products that led to one’s weight gain will be solved. Here, the dieter is taught the proper eating habits that would help him/her succeed at this diet program. It is during this wave when a person’s weight loss comes the fastest, thus making him/her more determined and possibly excited to continue with the diet.

The second wave of the Sonoma Diet is the primary stage of the diet program, where the dieter is taught to enjoy each bite of his/her food instead of wolfing it all down. Unlike in the first wave, weight loss in the second wave is much slower, but it still comes at a steady pace. Dieters stick to the second wave until they finally meet their ideal weight. Finally, the third wave of this diet program is for maintaining the dieter’s weight and shape. Dieters can now occasionally treat themselves with a slice of their favorite cake or sundae. Compared to other diet programs, the Sonoma Diet doesn’t necessarily prohibit dieters from eating “bad” foods; the focus of this diet is more on the portions taken by the person. However, this diet holds lean meats, grains, and vegetables in high regard.

Looking for a diet program on the Internet isn’t difficult. As long as you know what you want to get out of dieting, there is no reason why you shouldn’t be thin in no time at all.

Cancer Causes

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There is not possible a single cause of any disease. Cancer is a group of 200 diseases in which the cells of body become abnormal and being out of control. Before describing the main causes of the cancer I am first defining in short the various types of cancer.

Types of cancer :

  • Breast Cancer
  • Brain Tumor
  • Bone Cancer
  • Bladder Cancer
  • Anal Cancer
  • Appendix Cancer
  • Gastrointestinal Cancer
  • Head & Neck Cancer
  • Leukemia
  • Lung Cancer
  • Lymphoma
  • Prostate Cancer
  • Skin Cancer
  • Soft Tissue Sarcoma

    • Causes of cancer :

  • Tobacco

    • Tobacco is the main cause of cancer. Cigarette smoking also comes in this category.
    Smoking can cause cancers of the lungs mouth, throat, bladder, kidneys and several other organs. According to the records smoking causes 30% of all cancer deaths in the U.S.

  • Drinking of alcohol

    • Drinking a lot of alcohol also been increase a person’s chance of getting cancer of the mouth cavity, throat, and some other organs.

  • Sun Exposure

    • Ultra Violet rays are the main cause of skin cancer. Sun burn and UV rays can damage your skin and this damage can lead the skin cancer.

  • Genetics

    • If your family belongs to any kind of cancer history, it means you need to extra precautions because genetics plays very important role for many hereditary cancers,
    And their may a grate chance of them to develop in your body. Breast cancer genes The BRCA1 and BRCA2 are examples of genetic predisposition.

  • Infectious diseases

    • Viruses are also cause of some cancers. The main viruses which affect the human cancer are hepatitis B, hepatitis C and human papillae virus.

  • Environmental Factors:

    • Today’s environment is so stressful that most people are affected by a depressed immune system. Various immune problems you can face such as allergies, asthma, yeast infection, frequent cold and flu etc which may cause of cancer of various categories.

  • Hormonal imbalances

    • Harmonic imbalance is also a big cause of cancer. Hormone imbalance is a type of allergic reaction which promotes the “endometrial” cancer.

  • Unsafe Sex:

    • Unsafe sex can increase your risk for human papillae virus infection. If one has more the one sex partners then the possibilities of cancer in the uterus increases. Researchers also think during the oral sex the same case can be drawn to tonsil cancer.

  • Age Factor

    • Various types of cancer become when a person get older. That’s cause is the changes that cause a cell to become cancerous in the first place take a long time to develop. There have to be a number of changes to the genes within a cell before it turns into a cancer cell. The changes can happen by accident when the cell is dividing. Or they can happen because the cell has been damaged by carcinogens and the damage is then passed on to future ‘daughter’ cells when that cell divides.