Anxiety or fretfulness is a persistent feeling of uneasiness over the unfolding of future events. On the one hand this can be good in that it provides us with motivation. The fear of being hungry and homeless provides the drive to go out to work. In such cases, when we see the paycheck and settle into a routine we usually calm down. On the other hand there are many for whom this apprehension persists regardless of the circumstances. This can be either specific, whereby there is an identifiable object of worry or nonspecific, for which there is no apparent reason for being so vexed. This level of discomfort is the opposite of trust and confidence. Thus the root cause of anxiety is in not understanding the relationship between us and our Creator. Even those who truly believe in the Almighty are unable to acknowledge that he is in control of all events and that everything that happens is for our good.
Moreover, the dark spirit within us wants to foster the feeling of independent existence. It has a distinct advantage because God has deliberately concealed his presence to allow for self awareness. Hence when we operate our five senses we cannot experience God's presence. We can only learn about it through reading and studying. However, once we come to learn and understand that the Omnipresent has created reality within Himself, we begin to realize that nothing is left to chance. Therefore, to fret over what will be is the same as declaring a lack of trust in God.
What If . . .?
With specific anxiety, there is the worry over any number of planned activities. The fretful person is always asking "What if "questions like, "What if I am making the wrong decision? What if something happens? What if they don't like me? What if I don't make the sale? What if the car breaks down? What if a terrorist bomb goes off? What if it rains? What if the agent or editor rejects my book proposal? What if my book gets published and doesn't sell?" Since most people go through such questions everyday, it is a miracle that anyone can make a decision. The question that people should be asking is, "What if I just accept whatever happens and thank God for it?"
I'm Worried about something . . . I just Can't Put my Finger on it
With nonspecific anxiety there is a constant feeling of uneasiness that the person cannot identify. This symptom has undoubtedly become more prevalent since the proliferation of suicide bombings that began around the turn of the new millennium. However, the underpinning of this kind of stress is uncertainty. Most people gravitate toward predictable outcomes. The realization that a situation exists for which the outcome is unpredictable gives rise to apprehension.
For example, there was a man I'll call Raymond who went to work for a company everyday for ten years. He believed that the business was rock-solid and he liked his work in middle management handling customer complaints. He reached a high comfort level with the predictability of his daily life. One day Raymond received an interoffice memo stating that the management had completed a merger deal with a larger company. Â He went home that day with his stomach twisted into knots. He could not sleep and he had to force himself to eat. A barrage of thoughts went through his brain like a hail of bullets, about being fired or relocated to a dreary existence. His problem was that in ten years he never once thought this is God's world and that everything in life is subject to change without notice.
The Resolution - Finding Faith
As said previously, the root cause of anxiety is not being able to trust in the Almighty. It is that simple. The question then is, "How do we fix it?" Developing such total faith in God requires transformation. For most people God is a mere concept, because He does not allow us to see His glory, to hear His voice or to feel His presence. On the other hand, God's revelation is here in the physical world in plain sight. It is the Torah, which is comprised of the Five Books of Moses, the books of scripture from Joshua to Isaiah and the books of the Talmud, much of which is accessible to the general public in many different languages. This is the will and wisdom of our Creator. And, as we have learned from Kabbalah through the Tanya, everything that originates from God stays within Him, especially His written and spoken words.
Therefore, to read and study the Holy Scriptures is the same as being one with Him. Once you receive this revelation, no doubt remains that there is one true God who controls the world. At this point you can direct your thoughts and speak to Him to declare out loud your complete faith and trust.
Furthermore, you need to begin to realize that in reality you are totally dependent on God for every breath. We all walk around in a sea of air. The weight of that column of air that is above us at all times is bearing down on us. This is called atmospheric pressure. It is this heaviness that would prevent our lungs from expanding to fill up with air if not for the thin sac around the lungs in which there is a constant vacuum. If any air gets into this sac the lungs would collapse and the atmospheric pressure would cause death. Moreover, we seem to know exactly how fast and how deeply we need to breathe to regulate the amount of oxygen in the blood without giving it a single thought. Hence it is God's loving care that keeps us breathing an average of 20 times per minute, 1,200 times per hour, 28,880 times per day, 202,160 times per week and 10,512,320 times per year.
Additionally, when we eat, what prevents us from chewing on the inside of our mouths or biting off pieces of our tongues? Again, it is God's loving care. Add to that all of the other thousands of chemical reactions with hormones, enzymes, ions and the flow of millions of electrical impulses every minute and you can easily see that every heart beats with the same rhythmic Divine intervention. If all of the complexities of the human body aren't enough, what about the ecological systems by which the earth and its trees bear fruit or the animals that give us meat and clothing. Want something to worry about? What if all of these things that keep us alive were left to chance?
Healthy Living is the number one goal among North Americans. However, 80% of the population do not know that cooking healthy, eating healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables, and making healthy choices can mean the difference between life and death. I have written this health and fitness article so that people can make healthy choices for their own personal health care and well being.
Here are 25 ways to eat and drink healthy:
1. Do not drink iced water, especially not with meals. This interferes with flow of your digestive juices and impairs digestion.
2. Drink a cup of fresh pure water, at room temperature, the first thing in the morning and last thing at night. You should drink it hot only when you are constipated. In that case, a little lime or lemon may be added.
3. Drink six to eight glasses of water every day, approximately one glass for every fourteen pounds of your body weight. Drink mineral water to be on safe side.
4. Do not drink water with your meals, but drink it half hour before or two to three hours after your meals so as not to disturb the process of your digestion by diluting the digestive juices.
5. Sip the water slowly, never swig it down at once.
6. In order to restore life elements of the water lost in boiling or processing, pass it through the air, pouring it from one cup to another. You will soon notice that this gives a slightly invigorating and stimulating effect, which is absent in dead and devitalized water.
7. It is better that you eat fresh fruits and vegetables than to drink fruit or vegetable juices.
8. Do not keep juices standing, as they will lose their precious enzymes. Apple juice for instance loses one third of them after 30 minutes and all of them after two hours.
9. Coffee, tea, alcohol and chocolate are not recommended because tannic acid, theine, caffeine and theobromine are stimulants.
10. Milk is really a food, not a drink. You should have it in small sips. Otherwise, it will likely produce indigestion.
11. It is not the amount of food you consume that nourishes your body, but only the amount the body itself can assimilate.
12. Choose carefully the foods that fit your system, choose them just as carefully as you choose a shirt, a hat or a tie. You have to try different food combinations until you figure out which health food suit you best. Make health choices such as steam fresh vegetables.
13. Avoid all devitalized foods like canned food, polished rice, white flour and white sugar. Use unpolished rice, whole wheat flour and brown sugar or honey.
14. Another healthy choice is to chew your food carefully and slowly, especially if it is the starchy kind, so that it may be properly mixed with saliva, otherwise starch will be waiting for digestion for several hours.
15. Toasted bread is better than fresh. Do not eat it with liquid. Drink before eating the bread, as starch should be converted into glucose by saliva.
16. Eat only one starch to a meal. For instance, if you have rice then omit potatoes, bread, macaroni starchy pudding and so on.
17. If you suffer from gas, it is advisable to plan your meals so that you do not eat protein and starch together; and especially not with cooked sulphur foods like green peas, cabbage, broccoli, eggs, turnips, and so on because gas is produced by sulphur working on the starch.
18. Do not throw away the water in which vegetables have been boiled but use it for gravies, soup or for drinking. Potato water is excellent as it alkalizes the body.
19. Fried greasy foods as well as rich dishes should be avoided altogether, because these digest more slowly than fat itself. Fat is the last to leave your stomach, carbohydrates is first and then proteins.
20. All saturated fats, such as lard, butter, margarine, eggs, and dairy products will increase the blood cholesterol level and can be classified as unessential fats.
21. Any diet which is high in saturated fat is dangerous. So you should eat a balanced meal, a high fat and low protein diet inhibits the function of enzymes.
22. Remember, it is not only the calories and amount of fat that decide the nutrition and health, but the quality of fat. Bacon, for instance has caloric fat value only. It contains nothing else, neither vitamins, nor minerals.
23. Six cups of fresh raw cabbage juice a day keep peptic ulcers away.
24. The richest source of protein is soya bean. Two pounds of soya been flour contain as much protein as five pounds of cheese, five pounds of boneless meat or six dozen eggs or 10 liters of milk. Soya bean is the only non-acid forming protein.
25. The most essential rule about food, however, has nothing to do with quality, quantity or preparation, but with your mental attitude at the time you are eating it.
I hope that you will use this health and wellness article to make healthy choices when you start your person health care program. If you have any health questions or comments be sure to check out our Health Fitness Site for more health and fitness articles.
Both Thomas A. Sharon, R.N., M.P.H. & Andrew Chin are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Thomas A. Sharon, R.N., M.P.H. has sinced written about articles on various topics from Health. Thomas A. Sharon, R.N., M. P. H. (Surfside, FL) is the author of Protect Yourself in the Hospital (McGraw-Hill; 2003). He became a registered nurse in 1977 and earned his masters in public health degree from New York Medical College in 1988. He has. Thomas A. Sharon, R.N., M.P.H.'s top article generates over 33100 views. to your Favourites.
Andrew Chin has sinced written about articles on various topics from Parenting, Self Esteem and Infants And Toddlers. Andrew Chin is a recognized authority on the subject of . His web site on. Andrew Chin's top article generates over 33100 views. to your Favourites.