Women Helping Women in Addictions
Women's Issues
Exploring Identity – Who Am I?
Jul 24th
Many people have come to a part of their life when they are exploring their identity and ask themselves this question “Who Am I” or “What is my purpose in life”. Ask yourself this question “Who Am I” and how is your understanding of who you are? Maybe there is not an immediate problem for you to look at yourself, explore your identity and your life. Usually people who have personal issues with their life in loosing a job, divorced, separation, financial problems, alcohol problems, or death will delve into themselves and break free in what is keeping them from growing within themselves.
What do you believe to be true about yourself? As a child we grow up to be told by our parents, teachers, family, church about ourselves in what we possess, what knowledge base we have or lack, what skills and talents we have or do not have, our values, our worth, and we believe wholeheartedly in what we have been taught. Of course we believe because they are here for the purpose of nurturing, loving, teaching, and taking care of us.
Let me tell you a little story that affected me most of my life as a child, teen, and young adult. I was attending a Catholic School with my sisters and brother, and had difficulty in third grade. My parents, as many other parents, took the teachers views and beliefs in and never questioned them or their motives. I was kept back in third grade and the nuns told my parents that I was a slow learner, and my parents believed them. My parents in turn told me I was a slow learner, which I believed all through my life that I was a slow learner and this belief became my truth. I finished high school, never pursuing college and started a family at a young age. In my late 20’s I pursued Junior College, then onto the Universities. I was then raising four children, a housewife, working full-time, and continuing night courses. I was determined to become educated, get the best of grades, and go onto obtaining a bachelors degree in Psychology.
It was not until my 30’s that I started working on myself and asked that question “Who Am I”. Who was I performing all this for, what is my purpose, what am I trying to prove to others. My main drive was to prove to my parents, teachers, and society that I am not a slow learner. I had to look at how I was driving myself into the ground to prove to others that this old belief was not the truth but a lie. Before I could stop this cycle of having to prove to others, into being accepted as an intelligent person and not a slow learner, I had to first believe it. I was the driving force of all this, if I wholeheartedly did not believe I was a slow learner, then why was I so determined and working so hard to prove it to be wrong.
It was not until then that I knew what had to be done to change my low self image and my self belief. I had to go back and heal that hurt child that believed the Old Belief to be the truth. In order to turn it around you must see the opposite of truth which is a lie, and make it into a new belief and a new truth of yours. This old belief and old lie, that I held so close to my being, was other’s and not mine. In order to change that part of me. the Old Belief needed to die and give life to my New Belief and New Truth. This reprogramming is like a computers memory banks, you must delete the old to bring in the new and upload. This is what happens to our own memory banks, we must explore, research, identify, delete, restore, and take inventory periodically. My New Belief System and New Truth System lives on as I continue my venture in “Who Am I”.
I leave you with these questions; What would you like to do and accomplish? What good would you like to attract into your life? What particular areas of growth would you like to attract into your life? What blocks or character defects would you like to change? What would you like to happen in friendships and loves? Give it your all - I will help you along!
Treating Depression – Alternative Medicine and It’s Benefits Compared to Prescription Drugs
May 17th
Treating depression? Alternative medicine can help without all the problems associated with taking antidepressants. In this article, you’ll learn how taking the natural path to health can lift your mood and help you reclaim your life for good.
Before we talk about natural remedies, let’s take a closer look at prescription drugs. Although these medications do work for a certain segment of the population and some people seem to do well on them, others just can’t tolerate the side effects. Worse yet, they add a sense of anxiety to the mix because no one really knows the long term effects of these drugs on the brain. For these reasons and others, many people are looking for a treating depression alternative to drugs.
An excellent alternative is natural remedies. These remedies are made from medicinal herbs that have been used for centuries to relieve depression. In addition to being time-tested, these herbs have also proven effective in clinical trials. Further study of the restorative qualities of these herbs has shown that certain herbs work better together.
For instance, you may have heard of St. John’s Wort. While this herb works to elevate mood and produce feel-good neurotransmitters in the brain, it is much more effective when combined with another herb called. Passion Flower. Taking these herbs together in a proven formula that delivers the same dose every time is an effective treating depression alternative to prescription drugs.
While using alternative medicine can help you turn your life around, it is important to take other measures once the supplement has you feeling more energetic and motivated to make small changes in your life. First, take a close look at your diet. Make sure that you are eating lean protein, lots of fresh vegetables (especially leafy greens), fresh fruit, whole grains and nuts. Since the chemicals in processed foods can adversely affect your moods and leave your body starving for nutrition, slowly substitute healthier foods over time if you have been eating a diet that is mostly made up of junk food.
Finally, find an exercise that you enjoy. Finding pleasure in movement is the only goal besides keeping your body moving for at least 30 minutes at a time. Allow yourself to experience the joy of motion and you will continue to exercise for life. Since exercise releases endorphins in the brain, it will work together with a natural remedy and a healthy diet as an effective treating depression alternative to prescription drugs or other methods.
Laura Ramirez helps others achieve health and wellness through her research. Learn more about her findings by going to www.cure-depression-naturally.com.
By Laura Ramirez
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Laura_Ramirez
Love Is Not Control
May 17th
I had gone jogging through the park earlier then usual on that faithful spring morning. He was there sitting on a bench by the bike path. He had been reading the paper as I jogged by. I had never seen him before, but I usually jogged later in the morning, so I wasn’t surprised at seeing some one new. I finished my jog and went about my day as usual. The next day I started my day off in the usual way. Except I did go jogging earlier then my regular time once again for some reason, I could not name, I wanted to know if the man would be there in the park again.
He was and this time I stopped at the bench to tie my shoe, giving us a chance to say hello. We did and introduced ourselves, is name was Cal and we hit it off, we like the same movies, the same music, and the same kind of food. So he asked me out that Friday night. For months we enjoyed each other’s company. Maybe that is why I never saw the control issue start. His control over me happened so gradually at first, it was just the tiniest things.
One night we were going out to dinner, he was there to pick me up. I was dressed in my midnight blue dress with my gold loop earrings finishing off, my assemble. I opened the door to his waiting arms. After a wonderful long hug and kiss he followed me on into the house we still had a few minutes before or dinner reservation.
“Sweetheart you look so beautiful, tonight.” He said with a smile, “there’s only one thing that looks off. How fond are you of those earrings, because I think these would go with that dress so much better.” He had reached in his pocket and pulled out a small jewelry box, inside were crystal blue diamond stud earrings.
He was right, and oh, how sweet it was for him to buy me a gift. That was when it all begun, in the following months came more jewelry that he liked, or would look better with some outfit or another. After the jewelry came friends, clothes, nail polish, shoes, all with the explanation of it looking better or I bought this for you, my pants went tighter, my dresses slinkier. My shirts were lower cut.
I was eye candy exhibited for others, to state I have what you all want, but will never have. At parties I had to be at his side at all times, other then going to the ladies room. I had to be back within a certain amount of time. If I took too long we would leave the party, and I would be questioned. What was I doing? Who I was with? After six months after the first gift the accusations started.
If I was late coming home from work, I was with someone, if I didn’t answer the phone when he called I was talking to another man, the list went on and on. I could no longer wear my old clothes, after all he wanted me to be seen in that clothes he bought me, that was why he bought them was for me to wear, then he would turn around and accuse me of wearing the clothes for some other guy, I was parading myself around for other men.
He kept me hurt and confused, and worried about everything I said and did. If I smiled at some man that entered a restaurant he took me took, I wanted to sleep with him. Within the year my friends were gone, my family was put at a distance, my world revolved around him and only him. I didn’t smile anymore, I didn’t joke around with anyone, I was totally different with everyone.
Now it was time for the physical abuse as well, but in a way I’m glad it started. The first time he hit me across the face I woke up. I realized what was truly happening to me and what he truly was all about.
I don’t know how I lost my self-esteem, I was old enough I should have seen the signs. I’d been in bad relationships before and had always seen the signs right off, and ended them. Why was this one so different? I still ask myself those same questions.
This is the only answer I came up with; I thought he was exactly what I had wanted in a man. I was in love and I was blind to everything, I had to get hit literally for me to wake up.
Thank God most men don’t have the finesse and the patience to go so slow. I now look at every guy I date, through wiser eyes. If I even see one sign of them wanting control of me they are history. I pay attention to what the man says and how he says it. I’ve ran into to a lot more men like Cal, but the minute they want to tell me how fast I can drive, I leave them in the dust. I no longer take out my earrings to replace them with their gift, I thank them for the gift and let them know I will wear them the next time we go out, then put it to the side and keep wearing what I have already chose to wear that night. Then I watch and see what his reaction to me not wearing it right away is.
Small signs and a man’s attitude can tell you a lot. Learn to look for the signs and his temper if you pull the unexpected.
By Janeal Mulaney
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Janeal_Mulaney