Do you See what small miracles can do?

Do you believe in small miracles which keep on showing us the real meaning of being alive and also create the vital difference to our emotional wellbeing. There are many wonders in the world like colorful sunset, the kindness of strangers, etc. God puts many such miracles in front of us everyday and we should be relishing them with both hands.

Have you ever thought about the everyday small miracles that occur in your life? Things like finding a $100 bill in a jacket pocket a week before payday. Or when your friends come to your aid even before you understand the need.

Take a moment to ponder the beauty of life, love and friendship, recognizing the power of God’s grace. Stopping and admiring the little miracles of nature and life, seems like a distant possibility in current busy times. Small miracles happening in our everyday life is a significant part of living a meaningful, fulfilling life.

Some of the scientists believe that noticing small miracles can be healing for our brain and is a crucial way to heal and nurture our sense of purpose in life. By this you can create a habit to cultivate joy to refocus when our thoughts are negative and loud. It reconnects us to ourselves. Just see yourself reflected in its beauty, richness and diversity.

How to take notice of small miracles?

Start by using your senses to their fullesh – What do I see, smell, hear, taste and feel?

1. The scent of jasmine wafting past
2. The delicious magic of preparing a cake
3. Spotting a bird that you’ve never seen before
4. Reading a poem that makes you see something
5. Find solace in a rose petal,
6. See the beauty of your partners eyes
7. Read words that help you feel less alone
8. Reconnect to a meal you used to cook with your mom once.
9. Notice something that’s been quietly and beautifully blooming, whether you ever paid attention to it or not.

STARD – Results of the Study on Depression Other Treatments

NIMH Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D) Study — All Medication Levels

The NIMH-funded Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D) Study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of different treatments for people with major depression who have not responded to initial treatment with an antidepressant. This is the largest and longest study ever conducted to evaluate depression treatment.

What were the results?

In most clinical trials of treatment for depression, the measure of success (outcome) is called “response” to treatment, which means that the person’s symptoms have decreased to at least half of what they were at the start of the trial. In STAR*D, the outcome measure was a “remission” of depressive symptoms—becoming symptom-free. This outcome was selected because people who reach this goal generally function better socially and at work, and have a better chance of staying well than do people who only achieve a response but not a remission.

In level 1, about one-third of the participants reached remission and about 10-15 percent more responded, but did not reach remission. Still, these are considered good results because study participants had high rates of chronic or recurrent depression and other psychiatric medical problems.

It took an average of six weeks of treatment for participants to improve enough to reach a response and nearly seven weeks of treatment for them to achieve a remission of depressive symptoms. In addition, participants visited their care providers an average of five to six times. Participants who achieved remission stayed on the treatment for an average of 12 weeks before going on to a 12-month follow-up period.

In the level 2 switch group, about 25 percent of participants became symptom-free. All three of the switch medications performed about the same and were equally safe and well-tolerated. In the add-on group, about one-third of participants became symptom-free. Those who added bupropion experienced less troublesome side effects and slightly more reduction of symptoms than those who added buspirone.

In levels 2 and 3 where participants were allowed to either add-on or switch medications, most participants found only one or the other treatment strategies acceptable. Because most participants did not agree to be randomly assigned to one or the other treatment strategy, the findings of the add-on and switch approaches cannot be compared. It is likely, however, that people being treated in the real world also tend to limit their treatment preferences to switching or adding on medications. In addition, the people in the switch and add-on groups were a little different. The group who chose and were assigned to a switch medication had more problematic side effects while taking the preceding medication (citalopram) than the group who chose and were assigned to an add-on medication.

Level 2 also included cognitive psychotherapy as a switch or add-on treatment. Results for the psychotherapy treatment are not yet available.

In the level 3 switch group, 12 to 20 percent of participants became symptom-free, and the two medications used fared about equally well, suggesting no clear advantage for either medication in terms of remission rates or side effects. In the add-on group, about 20 percent of participants became symptom-free, with little difference between the two treatments. However, the T3 treatment was associated with fewer troublesome side effects than lithium.

In level 4, seven to 10 percent of participants became symptom-free, with no statistically significant differences between the medications in terms of remission, response rates or side effect burden. However, those taking the venlafaxine-XR/mirtazapine combination experienced more of a reduction in depressive symptoms than those taking the tranylcypromine. Also, those who were treated with tranylcypromine were more likely to discontinue the treatment citing side effects as the reason. It is also possible that the dietary restrictions associated with taking an MAOI could have limited its acceptability as a treatment.

In conclusion, about half of participants in the STAR*D study became symptom-free after two treatment levels. Over the course of all four treatment levels, almost 70 percent of those who did not withdraw from the study became symptom-free. However, the rate at which participants withdrew from the trial was meaningful and rose with each level—21 percent withdrew after level 1, 30 percent withdrew after level 2 and 42 percent withdrew after level 3.

What lessons are learned from the results?

For the first time, doctors and people with depression now have extensive data on antidepressant treatments from a federally funded, large-scale, long-term study directly comparing treatment strategies.

Results from level 2 indicate that if a first treatment with one SSRI fails, about one in four people who choose to switch to another medication will get better, regardless of whether the second medication is another SSRI or a medication of a different class. And if patients choose to add a new medication to the existing SSRI, about one in three people will get better. It appears to make some—but not much—difference if the second medication is an antidepressant from a different class(e.g. bupropion) or if it is a medication that is meant to enhance the SSRI (e.g. buspirone). Because the switch group and the add-on group cannot be directly compared to each other, it is not known whether patients are more likely to get better by switching medications or by adding another medication.

Results from level 3 apply to those who do not get better after two medication treatment steps. By switching to a different antidepressant medication, about one in seven people will get better. By adding a new medication to the existing one, about one in five people will get better. Level 3 results also tell us that adding T3 may have some advantages over adding lithium for patients who have tried two other treatments without success.

Finally, for patients with the most treatment-resistant depression, level 4 results suggest that tranylcypromine is limited in its tolerability and that up to 10 percent may benefit from the combination of venlafaxine-XR/mirtazapine.

An overall analysis of the STAR*D results indicates that patients with difficult-to-treat depression can get well after trying several treatment strategies, but the odds of beating the depression diminish with every additional treatment strategy needed. In addition, those who become symptom-free have a better chance of remaining well than those who experience only symptom improvement. And those who need to undergo several treatment steps before they become symptom-free are more likely to relapse during the follow-up period. Those who required more treatment levels tended to have more severe depressive symptoms and more co-existing psychiatric and general medical problems at the beginning of the study than those who became well after just one treatment level.

These results underscore both the need for a better understanding of how different people respond to different depression treatments, and the challenges in finding broadly effective, short- and long-term depression treatments. Future research may help identify which treatments work for which patients.

What do the STAR*D results mean to people with MDD and their doctors?

The results reiterate the need for high-quality care and attention to the individual needs of patients. Doctors should provide medication at optimal doses, be aware of and offer treatment choices, and maintain diligent monitoring of patients both during treatment and after they become symptom-free so as to avoid relapse.

Like other medical illnesses, depression affects different people in different ways, but a wide range of effective treatments exist. People with depression should not give up if their initial treatment attempts do not result in full benefits. They should continue to work with their doctors to find the best treatment strategy.

In addition, patience is required. While some people may experience benefits in the first six weeks of a treatment strategy, full benefits may not be realized until 10 or 12 weeks have passed. During this time, doctors should work with their patients to adjust dosages so as to find an optimal level, and avoid stopping a treatment prematurely.

Job burnout: Are you suffering and taking right action?

Does your work schedule and stress causing an impact on your health and happiness; does it make you weak and you constantly need rest; does it worn you out everyday and you feel deeply exhausted? If the answer is yes, you are most likely to suffer from job burnout.

Find out early if you are feeling any of the below symptoms and discover if you are at risk of job burnout.

If we explain about what Job burnout is, it is the special type of stress where the physical, emotional or mental exhaustion increases to alarming levels and it is often combined with doubts on competence and self worth. You need to take some action before job burnout starts affecting your health badly.

Self check for Job Burnout

Just ask yourself following questions and find it yourself if you are suffering from job burnout.

1. Do you behave cynically or critically at work?
2. You do not have clarity about your job and you often feel disillusioned?
3. Are you relying on drugs or alcohol to make you feel batter?
4. Did you saw any changes in your sleeping habits or eating routine?
5. Do you have unexplained headache or backaches which cripples your day and work schedule?
6. Do you behave improperly with co-workers, customers or clients and often get into arguments?
7. Do you feel your energy has been sucked out consistently while at work?
8. Are you unsatisfied with what you have achieved?

If you have answered Yes to at least 3 of the questions above, you might be experiencing Job Exhaustion or burnout.

What causes job burnout?

There could be many causes of Job burnout but some of the most prominent ones are:

1. If you think that you have no control over the important decisions about your work like schedule, workload, assignments, etc, you tend to feel burned out and exhausted.
2. If you are not clear on your job expectations, it makes you feel uncomfortable at work further causing job related stress.
3. If you are working with a office bully, or has a micro manager in your boss, things can go highly stressful.
4. The job you are doing if unfit for your interests and skills make you more and more unsatisfied with the job causing huge stress over time.
5. Isolation at work or in personal life, make you stressed a lot.
6. If you are not able to maintain Work-life and carry lot of work home making family and kids waiting for your time always, you will soon become worn out and become a victim of job burnout.

How to take care of Job Burnout?

  1. Manage the stress factors that contribute to job burnout.
  2. Evaluate your options.
  3. Adjust your attitude.
  4. Seek support.
  5. Assess your interests, skills and passions.
  6. Get some exercise and sleep.

Top Ways in Which Social Media is Changing our life

Rewind about 20 years from now, who would have ever thought about the smartphones, social media, twitter, facebook linkedin, etc. The Social Media Revolution has been in the corner since last one and half decade or so when it was present in some isolated places and with websites like Friendster and MySpace. Although they had decent adoption, still the population in general was not at all aware of such imminent revolution.

Fast forward to 2017 and the revolution has been converted to a buzzing trend in the current times. It has spread all across the world with Billions of people logging in to social media every day. It has not only attained the status of one of the most important part of modern lifestyle, but also a unique and surprisingly fruitful marketing channel for businesses types. My son once was stunned to know that cell phones (smartphones) was unheard of about 20 years back and we never carried phones earlier.

Things have been changing with a great pace and looking at the social changes it looks like things are changing permanantly. It has officially and diligently entered in our culture at all levels ranging from top to grass root level.

Effects of Social Media on People

According to Health experts we are more and more sitting than moving or walking. It is like sitting is the new smoking. Sitting is one of the worst thing we can do to our health and it can raise many disease vulnerabilities. There is similar risk carried by the things we are doing while we are sitting. If we are scrolling the social media accounts and news feeds mindlessly for either minutes, hours or days, it is ruining and affecting our mental health. This phenomenon is affecting our collective psychology.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has issued few warnings to parents about the negative effects of using social media on young kids and teens. They have shown increased risk of cyberbullying and facebook depression in children, same as like in adults.

Although there are few benefits of using Social media like getting connected with people far off and find all your old pals and relatives whom you have never talked since years. If you are looking at using social media as a time killing tool or using it for some emotional lift is a bad choice. Studies have shown that if you leave facebook or other social media activities, it is going to raise your psychological well-being.

Try to use this powerful tool in moderation and don’t let it become a emotional and psychological turbulence.

How Social Media has changed our daily lives

These brilliant communication tools have profoundly changed the world of communication and interactions all over.

1. Where We Get Our News – Now we rely on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin for the news from friends and family, rather than relying on the newspapers and online news.In this way, you can choose the people or groups you wish to read or know about and rest you can keep in the back burner.

2. Start and Do Business – Setting up and launching business has become easier and simpler with the proliferation of social channels of marketing. Earlier, the setup and operations of business was quite a task but now, interest-focused Facebook groups, Twitter searches, and niche social networks helps in doing business activities easily and become more trget focused.

3. Providing newer means and horizons for Interactions – We will not stop using large media organizations and neither will we stop communicating by phone or in person meet. We will now have another tool to help in communication in the form of social media.

4. It has opened up the channel between customers and businesses. Now the orders can be placed on twitter rather than waiting to talk over phones, faxes, meetings, etc.

Tap Into the Inner Genius You Didn’t Know You Had

What is Inner Genius?

There is no place in our brain which is called Genius and you cannot find it in the scientific textbooks. We have read about individuals like Albert Einstein and Leonardo da Vinci, who’ve been popularized as genius by others. What these men have which we do not have which makes them genius? Scientists have researched that and found that few of the “genius” brains may be larger physically. In some cases like Leonardo da Vinci who could write and paint with both hands simultaneously, the explanation moved on to the lateralization of the brain functions.

Dr. Roger Sperry, Nobel Prize winner in 1981, demonstrated the independence of consciousness between the left and right brain hemispheres. Another Dr. Frederic Schiffer’s did a recent researh and wrote a book – “Of Two Minds”. The split brain has a role to play and gives lot more enigmas rather than solution.

There are few cases in which someone acquired savant syndrome and became Genius — people who spontaneously develop prodigious memories and genius level abilities. There are 32 documented cases of Acquired Savant Syndrome worldwide, where, in every case, the savant had no particular skill before the incident or accident that unleashed their inner genius.

It’s not only trauma or injury which inflicts savant syndrome, it can also be develop after other types of brain damage, such as stroke or dementia.

Special skills in acquired savants, like the unusual abilities of “natural savants” like autistic children, usually manifest as musical abilities—most often the piano with perfect pitch, arithmetic abilities, painting, drawing, sculpting, and spatial skills where the savant can construct complex accurate models or excel at direction finding and map making.

Our brain is designed to filter out unwanted details from a familiar concept.

Traits of Longer Life – Tips to Live longer and Healthier

Old is Gold, well yes or no both. We spend most of our lives lost in our reactive mind—worrying about the future, regretting the past. This way of living brings about the opposite of the personality traits associated with a long life. If we are alert and rooted in the present moment, we’ll be more conscientious, open, emotionally stable, friendly, and emotionally expressive, which are the five traits of leading a long and healthy life. Mindfulness is one of the trait which can bring out the other fundamentals found in people who tend to live long, healthy lives.

There is a delimma though, throughout history, elderly people were seen as respected leaders, pillars of wisdom for the community. And yet today, seniors are largely relegated to the corners of our society, marginalized and disrespected, which is partly because growing old is equated with becoming sick, decrepit, and senile.

Five key traits for longevity

1. Conscientiousness – Thorough and efficient people who are less likely to take risks lived longer.

2. Openness – You should be quick to listen to others. Always give a open ear to listen to other person’s feelings and ideas. This will ensure longer life span.

3. Emotional stability – Be emotionally stable which can be the strongest links to living a long life.

4. Friendliness – For women, friendliness is the second highest character quality associated with a long life.

5. Emotional expression – People who lived longer were openly expressed their emotions.

How Do Leaders Deal With Disruption and Changes in Life?

President Kennedy wrote: “Change is the law of life and those who look only to the past or present are sure to miss the future.”

Change simply means that something is different than it was a minute, a day, a week, a month, a year or a decade or more ago. Some trigger has modified the details of your life, the organization you work for, even global economic conditions.

Change can be caused by evolving external forces, such as the rise of ISIS. Most people did nothing to start this phase of terror perpetrated on the world. But that doesn’t mean they can avoid its ramifications.

And then some change is fostered internally, by the change in the way you see your life going, by new perspectives on your employment, education, relationships, and your health.

Change is disruptive and can even be turbulent — especially when it hits close to home and plays with our emotions. But then leadership today is all about managing disruption. And disruption is an hourly occurrence. Leaders are people who don’t just learn to live with or manage change — they actually create change and help others successfully navigate it.

Listen carefully to catch the change behind the change. Change can be tricky and misleading. Be careful not to make a superficial translation of some trend only to be led down some dead end. Not all change is what it seems on the surface.

If you don’t truly get under the change and analyze it before you react to it, you may miss something — like the critical time to quit your job and move on. You are not the only person in the world affected by change. You may be stuck in a trap where you think that you caused the change in your life and that it is harmful to you alone.

Targeted actions for managing Change for Leaders like CEO’s

Targeting pockets of opportunity: CEOs should focus on a few well chosen initiatives, primarily in their existing markets, to stimulate organic growth.

Concentrating on the customer – CEOs are creating new ways to demand and foster customer loyalty. Few could be capitalizing on digital marketing platforms and involving customers in product/service development. But does not mean they have a open budget. They need to cut down cost of R&D and take care of innovation.

Improving operational effectiveness – CEOs should be balancing efficiency with agility.

A New Way to Understand the Narcissistic Male

though many people can be selfish and conceited from time to time, some individuals take it to a whole other level. When these traits define the person – and they negatively impact everyone who is part of their life for as long as they are a part of it – they usually signal a mental health condition known as Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Like all personality disorders, naricissism can have far-reaching consequences for both the one suffering from it and the people who care about them.

Some typical characteristics of Narcissistic Males

Individuals with narcissistic personality disorder have a very distorted sense of self. They are generally “grandiose”, which means they have an inflated or exaggerated opinion of their positive traits and / or abilities. Even though some are very attractive, highly intelligent, or exceptionally talented, narcissists typically regard themselves as elite or exceptional compared to everyone else.

The Statistics of Narcissism

There are no firm statistics available in regard to the frequency of Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD). Psychologists state that 1% of the population is diagnosed with NPD, and that 75% of the cases in therapy are men. Remind yourself that this 1% statistic is gathered only from individuals diagnosed in therapy.

By definition, narcissists severely lack humility and will avoid admitting there’s something wrong with them at all costs. Most narcissists in therapy are forced there by the courts, or have arrived for ‘other’ reasons such as alcoholism or a divorce. They usually don’t show up to deal with ‘narcissistic’ behaviour.

According to experts estimates there are up to 16% of society who are severely narcissistic. This is almost 1 in every 6 people. I believe this is a much more accurate assessment. What is frightening is: narcissists are extremely emotionally insecure.

Narcissists thrive on the praise and admiration of others. Their air of superiority is exaggerated often quite obvious, although some narcissists are very skilled at pretending to be humble when necessary.

Symptoms of Narcissistic Persons

  1. Exaggerated sense regarding their accomplishments and talents
  2. Use of others to get what they want in life
  3. Belittlement of others to boost their fragile self-esteem
  4. Obsessive self-involvement
  5. Inability to feel empathy; lack of a sincere interest in others
  6. Slightest criticism is met with rage and/or shame
  7. Inability to maintain healthy relationships
  8. Unreasonable expectations of favoritism
  9. Striving for constant admiration and attention
  10. Fantasies revolving around personal success and attractiveness

Treatment or Handling options

While medication can help treat symptoms of depression or anxiety that may also be present, there is no medication that is effective for the treatment of narcissistic personality disorder.

7 Strengths for 7 Stressors of Today

The modern world today has been the worst all across human history for the stress effects on our daily life. There are many people who are feeling the psychological burden. Lot of us are feeling very tired and withdrawn from everyday routine and daily activities. The constant exposure to media is aggravating the situation towards the downward spiral because of the environmental and social events happening all around us and in the world we live.

Here are some of the top stressors in the current times and how we can overcome them to live a simple yet fulfilling life. Following these tips will mobilize your strengths towards achieving greater resilience and buoyancy in daily life.

1. The world is going through tough times and going to a shallow bottom – there are many horrific events like fires, earthquakes, hurricanes, and flooding. The political environment all around is also not giving any sense of stability either.

To cope up, remember that in all the times of despair and calamity, we see many resources being mobilized by people to care for others whom they do not know or never met. This is the human nature which has made us coexist since so long. The feeling of altruism, sympathy, and empathy are still in all of us fundamentally. Be helpful and provide hope for yourself and others.

2. Are we destroying our planet and making it inhabitable – The population of the world has been growing ad currently it is over populated, due to which we are consuming more and more resources. This causes Earth to suffer due to waste, deterioration of resources, oil reserves, etc.

Well, think that the basic step starts from you. We must do all that we can individually and collectively to make our planet better.

3. Feeling Lonely – We are living in a mobile world where people are moving constantly for school, work, leisure, etc. Therefore, we are often lonely with extended family living at distance, whether hundred miles or thousands of miles. Disintegration of community and relatives is making us get lesser and lesser emotional support.

To cope up with feeling of loneliness, we do need to be with others and feel part of a group. Invite friends over for dinner or extended an invitation to someone for coffee. Be inspired and extend yourself to an activity or an invitation and savor some connection.

4. There is so much anger around us with people upset naturally always. – The frustrations of life comes out in any form at any time with minimal or no provocation at all. Well, you might have heard it million times before, but the coping mechanisms remain same – exercise, meditation, friends and family, vacation time, etc are all the ways to reduce the daily life frustration. Do what you enjoyed once and stopped doing it due to time and its relevance.

5. How can I help or how can I get help – Healthy stepping back from your own world can take you to the longer road of good and destressed life. Keep in mind that grief and loss are part of life. What does loss or grief mean to you? How have you managed your own loss or grief in life? What helped, what didn’t? How can you cultivate them? Time to introspect and help others introspect.

6. Accept that stress is part of life – When stressful situations arise, remind yourself that they are part of life and will come and go. Nothing in this life is permanant – neither does your stress. So take a relaxed approch towards stress in life.

7. Have a realistic outlook about everything in your life. Do not see the world through rose-colored glasses rather have your own outlook which is realistic. You also need to check the silver lining in the tough circumstances. Stressful circumstances are there to make you become stronger and better.

7 Strengths for 7 Stressors of Today

The modern world today has been the worst all across human history for the stress effects on our daily life. There are many people who are feeling the psychological burden. Lot of us are feeling very tired and withdrawn from everyday routine and daily activities. The constant exposure to media is aggravating the situation towards the downward spiral because of the environmental and social events happening all around us and in the world we live.

Here are some of the top stressors in the current times and how we can overcome them to live a simple yet fulfilling life. Following the tips will mobilize your strengths towards achieving greater resilience and buoyancy in daily life.

1. The world is going through tough times and going to a shallow bottom – there are many horrific events like fires, earthquakes, hurricanes, and flooding. The political environment all around is also not giving any sense of stability either.

To cope up, remember that in all the times of despair and calamity, we see many resources being mobilized by people to care for others whom they do not know or never met. This is the human nature which has made us coexist since so long. The feeling of altruism, sympathy, and empathy are still in all of us fundamentally. Be helpful and provide hope for yourself and others.

2. Are we destroying our planet and making it inhabitable – The population of the world has been growing ad currently it is over populated, due to which we are consuming more and more resources. This causes Earth to suffer due to waste, deterioration of resources, oil reserves, etc.

Well, think that the basic step starts from you. We must do all that we can individually and collectively to make our planet better.

3. Feeling Lonely – We are living in a mobile world where people are moving constantly for school, work, leisure, etc. Therefore, we are often lonely with extended family living at distance, whether hundred miles or thousands of miles. Disintegration of community and relatives is making us get lesser and lesser emotional support.

To cope up with feeling of loneliness, we do need to be with others and feel part of a group. Invite friends over for dinner or extended an invitation to someone for coffee. Be inspired and extend yourself to an activity or an invitation and savor some connection.

4. There is so much anger around us with people upset naturally always. – The frustrations of life comes out in any form at any time with minimal or no provocation at all. Well, you might have heard it million times before, but the coping mechanisms remain same – exercise, meditation, friends and family, vacation time, etc are all the ways to reduce the daily life frustration. Do what you enjoyed once and stopped doing it due to time and its relevance.

5. How can I help or how can I get help – Healthy stepping back from your own world can take you to the longer road of good and destressed life. Keep in mind that grief and loss are part of life. What does loss or grief mean to you? How have you managed your own loss or grief in life? What helped, what didn’t? How can you cultivate them? Time to introspect and help others introspect.

6. Accept that stress is part of life – When stressful situations arise, remind yourself that they are part of life and will come and go. Nothing in this life is permanant – neither does your stress. So take a relaxed approch towards stress in life.

7. Have a realistic outlook about everything in your life. Do not see the world through rose-coloured glasses rather have your own outlook which is realistic. You also need to check the silver lining in the tough circumstances. Stressful circumstances are there to make you become stronger and better.