Monthly Archives: February 2019

Drug Addiction, Holistic Health, Mental Health

Art Therapy For The Young

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The young kids of today are hooked to their Snapchat, IPads, and even Fortnite. While these activities are fun and help them communicate with their friends, what is a kid supposed to do if they are having troubles with a mental disorder?  For children who already have mental illnesses like anxiety, PTSD, or depression, the answers can become even more vague since they won’t know all the words or terms to describe what they are going through. Some kids are very talkative and will have no trouble describing what thoughts they have, while others are quiet and might be shy to open up to even their parents.

As a form of holistic medicine, art therapy is a great way to get children to open up and connect without being afraid to be judged. They can freely express what is going through their mind to a therapist who intently listens to what they have to say. Learning about their thoughts and environment will crucially improve their social skills and personal sense of responsibility.  Let’s look at the ways art therapy is well suited to help our young kids!

Art therapy takes on many forms!

Using Art Therapy

Art therapy is a great way for young kids to let out their creative side, fear no judgement in a safe environment, and learn how to communicate easily about their feelings. This form of therapy is unique because it involves no medicine, can take on many mediums, and is welcome to patients to not only kids but adults of any age who have trouble processing their thoughts. Like any other therapy, the patient and the therapist have to form a bonda and stay patient with each other. Frustration and confusion is bound to happen, but sorting through these roadblocks together will make the patient learn many new things about themselves. Some ways art therapy is a great choice includes:

  • Art therapy allows clients young and old to take part. Children love that they can draw anything about their world, while adults tend to love the stress relieving benefits that free drawing brings. Art therapy is available in almost every treatment center that is based around the idea of holistic therapy. Holistic therapy encompasses healing the body, mind, and the spirit at once rather than using medications to cover up a person’s problem. Do some digging into what centers are around your area to sign up for a great art therapy program near you.
  • Some of the most popular art therapy methods are active imagination therapy, gestalt art therapy, and third hand. Gestalt is a form that I have firsthand experienced even in grade school. Being able to draw whatever I wanted helped me process my thoughts and calm down my mind during the school day. On the other hand, active imagination allows patients to practice free association with words or images that come to their mind while they create their form of art. For those who have problems with anxiety, this is great so they can better reflect on their own feelings instead of reacting to people in an unhealthy way. Lastly, third hand allows the client and the therapist to form a team and produce artistic images together. Through this method, the two parties learn more about each other and a strong sense of trust is built for the client to feel comfortable to share more.
  • Art therapy is available on multiple mediums. Over one hundred years ago, the early stages of art therapy strictly used what tools were available at the time. Children would take paints, crayons, and charcoal to draw what images helped express their dreams, thoughts, and environments. Today, thousands of art tools are available and can range from colored pencils, knitting, water colors, to clay sculpting and magazine collages. The way a patient will choose their medium is to tell the therapist more about themselves and what kinds of art they enjoy doing. If the child has a hard time communicating, usually parents will step in and help point the therapist to mediums that they have observed the child doing in their spare time. Today, with the amount of digital mediums in our toolkit art therapy can include digital collaging by online software, 3D printing various objects, and creating animated drawings.
  • Kids learn how to build better communication skills. There are some things that can’t be taught through a textbook, especially when it comes to building stronger emotional intelligence. Art therapy a natural method of treatment that helps children build self-expression, a more positive perspective on their world, and a stronger sense of self independence. They learn to understand what emotions like anger or fear are, and what to do when they come across a strong feeling like it again in the future. A child can also work through any difficult experiences they went through by drawing about them. This is much more stress relieving than trying to every detail and relieve negative memories.
  • Art therapy is full of variety and is always changing. A patient will never have a boring session where they don’t’ learn something new about themselves. Since art is so versatile, their creations will always be different and may show a different side of their personality. This is enjoyable for the therapist to learn about a patient’s experiences and helps the child look forward to sessions instead of dread them. Parents also can rest easy that the child will view therapy is a fun activity to participate in rather than worry than they may take out their depression or anger somewhere else.

Art Therapy In The Future 

Art therapy was much different one hundred years ago compared to today. Our world is changing and our technology acts as almost an extension of our bodies at this point. Social media is everywhere, and the kids of today are quite familiar with being on it frequently throughout the day. As art therapy gains traction and slowly welcomes more digital mediums, children will benefit from its benefits of allowing them to decompress, let go of their fears, and gain self-awareness. Since younger children also usually have a lot of questions about new programs, make sure that you listen to them and allow them to learn from your answers. Don’t be impatient or annoyed if they are skeptical at first, you may have felt the same if you once started a new program for you mental health. If you want to learn more about what art therapy services are running in your local community, check out what is located in nearby schools and counseling locations. Some therapists might specialize in art therapy for younger patients like children or teenagers. Ask questions and never be afraid to try something you haven’t thought of before!

Art therapy is great for recovery.
Drug Addiction, Mental Health

Club Drugs

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Club drugs are taking the lives of young adults who enjoy partying, music festivals, and letting loose by storm. For some people there is no better feeling than heading out with friends to enjoy live music and the pleasurable effects of drugs like molly, MDMA, marijuana, and cocaine. In most cases, club drugs are used for the stimulant side effect that tends to keep people awake for a long time. It may also cause hallucinogenic effects forpeople to enjoy the concert or the party more intensely. Since most club drugs tend to be used with heavy drinking, one night out can quickly turn into a dangerous activity that puts one’s life at risk.  Since music festival is right around the corner, it’s crucial to know how to keep yourself safe and what drugs you should be staying away from.  Let’s look at the ways club drugs are being used and how it can lead to addiction or even overdose over time.

Club drugs are popular in concerts.

Club Drugs Effects And Addiction

Club drugs are highly addictive like any other kind of illegal drug. Many people will grow a dependency on club drugs as they might feel like taking them is the only way to have a good time. One night of extreme euphoria from molly or MDMA will lead to several more experiences sought out by the same person. Molly drug side effects cause a greater release of serotonin in our brain. Serotonin is a type of neurotransmitter that plays an important role in the regulating our overall mood, sleep, pain, appetite, and other behaviors. This is why many music festival goers take molly to feel a rush of pleasure and joy. What many people don’t’ realize is that taking MDMA seriously depletes the standard amount of serotonin in the brain over a long period of time. This leads to high irritability, poor memory abilities, feelings of depression, fatigue throughout the day, high anxiety, impaired motor skills, and troubles sleeping as well. In order to combat these disturbing symptoms, a person will be even more inclined to take MDMA again so they feel “normal” again. And the cycle begins.

Other hallucinogenic club drugs can include LSD and ‘magic’ mushrooms. They play heavily into our sensory perceptions and often lead to the crazy “trips” that you often hear people in college raving about. The drug works by simply altering the way our environment is sent and received by the brain. Most people take the drugs by eating stamps, ingesting it in pill form, or cooking it into edibles. Combined with alcohol, all of these drugs pose a huge threat to our bodies and leads to hangovers, black outs, and worse conditions. The dreaded hangover is full of nausea, headaches, sore muscles, and severe dehydration. For most people who mix hardcore drugs and alcohol, a hangover is likely the best condition to wake up in since it means that their body somehow processed all the chemicals it was fed from the night before. But what about the long term effects? The long term effects of continued alcohol consumption with drugs include alcohol poisoning, nerve damage, lowered memory function and liver diseases as well. You may also wake up to doing things you may regret for a long time. Drunk driving, domestic violence, and unwanted contact with people are all activities that tend to link with being heavily under the influence. You definitely don’t want to find yourself stuck dealing with any of them.

The Road To Addiction

Even though many people start using club drugs once in a blue moon, it doesn’t take long before they form a serious problem with addiction. People tend to forget that their bodies are not infinite and invincible against all outside forces. No matter what background, age, or gender you are your body is vulnerable to building an addiction to the strong chemicals in club drugs that bind to “pleasure” receptors in our brain. We can start to justify our behavior over time and lose track of how the drugs are taking a toll on our body. Over time, people fail to draw the line of when things get too far and could suffer from an overdose because they simply took too much.  For people who are addicted to MDMA, they may suffer from a risk of kidney damage from using the drug too often, dental issues from grinding issues on their teeth, and losing out on cognitive abilities. Some users take even several months to recover mentally from a trip due to loss of concentration done from the unusually high production of serotonin in their minds.

Get help for club drug addiction.

Getting Help

There’s much more to life than taking club drugs and suffering from the long term consequences. We only have so much time on Earth and we want to make sure we can live every day to the fullest. If you feel that you’re suffering from club drug side effects or know a friend who is, don’t hesitate to reach out for help. The sooner you take action the better chances you will have to recover your body and mind. Look up what treatment centers specialize in rehab for MDMA addictions and other related issues. You’re not the only one who is going through your situation and may find solace in a support group with others trying to overcome an addiction. Once you enroll in a program, ask your family and friends for support. If your friends are the ones condoning drug use, it may be time to make new connections with people who believe in other activities. It doesn’t hurt to let go and move in if you’re making the best choices for your body in the long run!

 

Drug Addiction, Mental Health

Smoking Weed And Sports

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Smoking weed and playing sports have long been two activities that were prohibited to become mixed together. In almost every case an athlete who is caught smoking marijuana is either put on probation or may be kicked out of their sports team entirely since it violates the code of conduct. However, whether or not it’s done behind closed doors, more athletes than ever are turning to marijuana to benefit their sports performance or recovery. Times are changing and weed is becoming more common and legal in many states throughout the country. Even though you might be against to marijuana in sports, it’s worth being ware of the reasons why athletes are more prone these days to using it. Let’s walk through some ways smoking weed and playing sports may actually work for some athletes.

Marijuana in sports is a growing trend.

Benefits Of Smoking Weed For Athletes

Now that cannabis is legal in many parts of the U.S., researchers are starting to debunk several myths about marijuana about the drug.  At the same time, the social stigma is beginning to loosen to point that many athletes are challenging the stereotype of the “stoner look”. But is marijuana truly a miracle drug? Some signs of benefits of marijuana in sports include:

  • It helps athletes with their recovery. Reducing muscle and joint inflammation is one of the most promising areas of cannabis research at this point in time. Several studies have found that CBD, the non-THC containing property of marijuana helps ease levels of anxiety and inflammation form intense training. CBD is completely legal and is in fact manufactured by “gummy” form, by vape pen form, and by oil form by several health companies now. Now, researchers believe that it can even become a natural way to treat autoimmune conditions like Crohn’s disease, lupus, and depression. The possibilities seem to be endless with the property. One cannabis start up founder even stated that using cannabis believes it helped in many ways by stating that “since treating with cannabis I’ve learned that not only does it help with the physical pain, it helps me mentally—it has greatly increased my quality of life.” It’s only a matter of time until more states pick up on the benefits that marijuana provides.
  • Marijuana in sports may provide the benefit of treating painful muscle spasms as well. Spasms are very common in athletes who train for several hours every day and regularly break down their muscle tissue. One M.D. stated recently that studies in rodents showed some beneficial effects in muscle recoveryand reduction of muscle spasm after consuming small amounts of cannabis. Lots of research still needs to be done but the potential to treat patients who also suffer from Parkinson’s disease and anxiety attacks can make a huge difference.
  • Marijuana can help athletes deal with their insomnia and daily stress levels. It’s no secret that THC induces sleep in most people, but studies have also found that it can does people with sleep apnea and even suppress dreams which are caused from long term symptoms of PTSD. Most experts recommend that athletes can use CBD to ease REM sleep disorder and reduce daytime fatigue. Everyone knows how important sleep is to overall performance and how legally dangerous smoking weed and sports is, so trying different forms of CBD can be extremely beneficial. Additionally, taking CBD comes with less side effects that traditional sleep medications cause like long term fatigue, mood swings, and even headaches in some people.
  • Taking low levels of THC or taking CBD is shown to improve the mental clarity of thousands of people. For athletes, this can benefit their focus during important workouts and other tasks throughout the day. In some athletes, they have been open about cannabis providing a type of “meditative flow” that they rarely experience during their stressful schedules. Marijuana in sports still has a long way to go, but experimenting with low doses of 5mg to 10mg at a time can provide great benefits for top performers. However, it’s highly important to abide by the rules of the team and especially of the state if THC is strictly prohibited.
  • It helps athletes who have a long term struggle with ADHD. It turns out that the amount of professional athletes who have ADHD is double that of the general population. In fact, at least ten 10 percent of these athletes who are reported to have ADHD says cannabis has helped a major amount. People with ADHD can easily focus on what topics capture their interested, so the challenge lies in maintaining that focus when distractions come in their way. Using all natural and organically strained cannabis can help enhance their focus in these situations. However, different strains are used to help people with general focus issues and for treating sore muscles so asking the right questions is crucial here. You don’t want to take too much of a strain or take the wrong type of a strain for your personal problem.

Marijuana And Sports Of The Future

It’s hard to tell how many athletes will be able to start smoking weed to help with their issues of focus, muscle strain, insomnia, or anxiety, but the research that points to the benefits it provides is highly thorough. It’s much better to deal with an issue in the natural way than take a medication that doesn’t work to fix the root of the problem. At the same time, if you are an athlete who wants to start using cannabis or CBD to improve your health or boost your performance, make sure you’re aware of the risks that come with the substance and the legality of it in your state. Every state has its own set of rules, so just because the weed is sourced from California doesn’t make it legal to take when you live in Illinois. Watch out and use your best judgement so you don’t sacrifice your future!

Marijuana and sports recovery is highly controversial.
Car Dealership, Uncategorized

Arizona Street Racing

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If you’re a big fan of living on the edge and participating in street racing, it’s important to know what health and legal risks are involved from engaging in it.Because street racing encourages thousnads of people around the country to drive at speeds that can put their life in danger, it is illegal in most states and is deemed to be an extremely dangerous form of reckless driving. Street racing threatens the safety of the people racing, but also any spectators, nearby cars that are driving, and pedestrians walking down the street. Arizona street racing in particular is known for the variety of motor clubs involved and the amount of injuries reported from frequent get-togethers in public.

In order to protect yourself and your future, you need to know what laws are placed against street racing so you aren’t put in a bad position. Car shows in Arizona and other warmer states may put street racing on a pedestal, but that doesn’t make the activity perfectly safe and legal to take part in. Let’s walk through what the Arizona car scene looks like and what legal consequences may be involved if you happen to get caught.

Street racing is highly dangerous.

Street Racing Risks

Phoenix auto events have a history of hosting popular street races for spectators to bet on and racers to gain popularity through. While it is definitely exhilarating to be involved in, street racing is incredibly dangerous for everyone at the scene because it increases the chance of high impact collisions, decreases the reaction time of the drivers, lowers to ability for cars to retain control through tight curves in the city, and increases rollover risk of the vehicle as well. Arizona street racing is highly prohibited for this reason and can lead to the potential loss of your license. If a cop first sees you racing someone on any road, you will get a ticket for racing as an initial warning sign.  Even if a cop sees you drive or accelerate quickly by yourself, you could get a ticket for racing in the form of an exhibition of speed instead. Either situation isn’t ideal since your name will be marked and watched by the legal force for a long period of time.

Since street racing on a either a smaller road or a highway is a class one misdemeanor, a convicted driver could get a fine of at least $250 and a few hours of community service. Their license may be taken away for up to ninety days with a permanent legal record as well. If the driver doesn’t learn their first lesson and is caught a second time, they will face a fine of at least $500 along with more community service and license suspension. However, the important thing to remember is that If the second conviction is within two years of the first, the driver will be charged guilty of a class six felony and will not be eligible for probation or pardon. This means that they will be serving no less than ten days in prison and their driver privileges will be permanently revoked. The driver will also have to attend an 8-hour traffic survival school class in person if they haven’t already. Since we live in America and getting from one place to another is extremely difficult without a car in some areas, this situation is definitely not one you want to find yourself in because of a little street racing.

Know Your Rights

If you’re ever charged with an account for street racing, make sure you know what your defenses are if you believe that it was incorrect. Since the law requires that multiple vehicles have to be present for drag racing to occur, it can frequently be argued by people that no other vehicles were at the scene. This defense is quite effective when only one driver was cited for street racing and no other people were around. Since cops are often managing public traffic by themselves, they can only cite one vehicle at a time and could have misjudged the scene.

Another possible defense someone could use against being charged for Arizona street racing is that they were fleeing road rage. The person committing road rage may have not been stopped by the police and the person charged for racing may have been feeling by necessity. Remember that this argument is only effective if your vehicle was ahead of the other vehicle when you got pulled over.

Lastly, if the police do not follow the correct Miranda procedure with you, your statements could be considered involuntary. This may lead to your case being thrown out of court along with any misleading police reports, false identifications, and unfair practices the cop may have used against you. Unfair tools usually include flawed photo lineups and inaccurate accident reconstruction in many Arizona street racing cases. In order to use these defenses it’s in your best practice to hire a trusted attorney who will efficiently represent your case in court. Most of the time public defenders won’t spend as much time on your case and may not pose as strong of an argument.

Practice Safe Measures

There’s much more to life than street racing and risking your life, so practice safety as your number one priority on the road. These days, many Phoenix auto events have canceled the street racing because of the legal repercussions it has led to. Instead, consider attending events such as luxury car exhibits, public auctions for cars, and other fun events to bring together car lovers around the country. A car is a highly powerful vehicle and needs maintenance to work its best, so treat it with respect and abide by the law. You’ll be better safe than sorry!

Arizona street racing creates a list of issues.
Mental Health

Improve Your Energy

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Everyone wants to feel on top of the world and energized throughout the day, but sometimes it can be tough to experience this heightened level without the help of outside substances. Coffee, Red-Bulls, and even pre-workout stimulants are things that thousands of people take to increase their energy throughout the day. While these substances do the job, taking too much everyday can lead to unwanted side effects such as jittery hands, a heightened heart rate, elevated levels of stress, and trouble sleeping at night. Although I’m a huge coffee fan, drinking too much does get to me and can get in the way of my focus. The best way to increase your energy is to do it naturally, so stay tuned. We’re going over key ways to help you feel more focused and level headed throughout the day without downing endless cups of Joe.

Increase your energy levels the natural way.

Increase Your Abilities 

The best ways to increase your abilities and energy every day is to build a variety of healthy habits. Usually we forget that our bodies aren’t robots and need plenty of nutrients to stay strong throughout the day. Some important things to remember to help you improve your energy levels naturally include:

  1. Start with better quality sleep. This seems like a no brainer but all of us still push good sleep to the side to get ahead in work, our business, our hobbies, or our addiction to Netflix.  From pushing back bedtime to meet a deadline to missing out on a few hours of sleep due to shifts at work, many people start to feel worse the next day and can suffer from poor memory, focus, agility, and moods.  This is the number one reason you probably are feeling lethargic, grumpy and tired right now in fact. I recommend that you aim for around 7 hours of sleep per night, so prep your bedroom for a great time of shut eye. Close the blinds, turn off the lights, make your bed, and develop a healthy night time routine to help this.
  2. Reduce your stress levels. It’s not uncommon for people with busy lives to feel very stressed and overwhelmed. Stress can drain our energy and ability to concentrate since our mind starts racing at one hundred miles per hour. Start finding a natural way to lower your stress like meditation in the morning, going for a lunch break walk, and getting into a healthy exercise routine. Even listening to your favorite playlist and reading a new book will help your mind switch off for a couple minutes and reflect on the day so far.
  3. Start exercising or moving for at least one hour a day. Studies show that sedentary people with persistent, unexplained fatigue decreased their tiredness by huge amounts by just starting one new exercise. Going for even a ten minute walk is great to get your mind feeling more focused instead of chugging a cup of coffee or eating a sugar packed snack.   To incorporate exercise into your day, you could try incorporating an exercise ball at your desk, going for a walk on your lunch break, squeezing in the gym before your work or school, or getting an exercise buddy.
  4. Cut down on your alcohol. I know this first hand as a previous college student that too much drinking lowers your energy levels. Hangovers can totally wreck your day and hundreds of studies actually point to too much drinking lowering your metabolism, your ability to function as well overtime, and hurts your ability to get quality sleep. Drink in moderation and try your best to not go overboard. You can still have fun and let loose when you can but know what your personal limit is with drinking
  5. Eat a heather diet. Food is fuel and there’s no secret when it comes to putting the right things into your body. You will definitely feel worse if you’re eating fast food, sugary snacks, and drinking soda throughout the day compared to eating a high protein, high fiber, and complex carbonhydrate packed diet.Additionally, if you have an erratic meal pattern and regularly skip meals, you may miss out on necessary nutrients, making you feel tired. Make sure you eat when you are hungry and keep track of your calories if you are watching your fat levels.
  6. Drink enough water. Being dehyrdtaed leads to a long list of effects like fatigue, stress levels, headaches, and feeling like you may even pass out. Drink at least eight glasses of water each day so you can start feeling your best! Keep a aluminum or glass flask with you at all times so you can drink water in an environmentally friendly way. If you hate the taste of plain water, it helps to put in slices of fruit or cucumbers, or even add flavor drops so you feel perked up.

Watch Your Health 

These tips are the best and most natural ways to increase your energy moods over time. If you do feel like you’re much more sleepy and fatigued than usual, it may be a sign to take a trip to your doctor. They can assess whether or not you may have an underlying issue at hand. However, the best way to keep yourself healthy and not relying on outside substances is to treat your basics of diet, sleep, and hydration as a priority!

Naturally increase your energy levels with exercise!