We all have to deal with a lot of pressure in our day to day life, and over time this leads us to prioritize other things ahead of our personal wellbeing. Of course, there are some responsibilities we have to take on; caring for sick relatives, handling a project at work, and honoring any other commitments we have made. But how long can you keep putting everything else first before your health is impacted?

There is a reason why airline safety dictates that you should put your own gas mask on first before assisting others; you can’t help others if you don’t help yourself. Here are a few ways you can take a little time for yourself, without dropping the ball on your other commitments.

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Your free time can vary per day, so make a plan to do between 15 and 60 minutes of exercise per day. Shut the world out by focusing on yourself, your routine, and your breathing. You can set aside some time first thing in the morning, just before you go to bed, or even in the afternoon before you start dinner. As an added benefit, exercise will give you more energy to cross things off your list. This will be better for your body than increasing your caffeine intake or taking something stronger (if you have any queries about energy and performance enhancements, get your questions answered here).

Delegate

You can’t take on everything at once. You will burn out. When you do, there will be no one who knows how to take over, because you’ve taken on a bulk of the work. The best way to make sure you have more time for yourself is to let someone else take on some of the load. If you’re caring for a sick relative, call in another family member to take shifts, or get some professional help. Form a support network of people who can take care of your children in case of an emergency, such as a spouse, neighbor, or regular babysitter. Ask for help at work if you’re struggling with a project, or turn down an extra assignment if you’re not required to do it.

Rekindle your love for your hobbies

There was a time when you read a new book every week, went shopping every weekend, or took pride in cooking a new dish for your family. Hobbies aren’t just a good way to pass the time; they are a way for us to relax and relieve stress. When was the last time you met a colleague for drinks and didn’t talk about work? When did you last go on a coffee date with your partner? What was the last book you read from cover to cover?

As with your exercise, set out some time each day to rekindle your love for your hobbies, even if you just take a book with you to read on the bus to work.

Finally, remember that you are important.

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We all know sufficient sleep is important. However, some jobs disrupt normal sleep cycles or make it so workers cannot adopt a regular sleep schedule. Adaption is one’s main tool against inconsistent sleeping patterns. Don’t accept unstable sleep; a number of apps, therapies, and professionals are ready to help those counterbalance the demands of work. Here’s how to make the most of irregular sleep.

Airplane Pilot

Pilots must be alert to operate a large aircraft. Moreover, flights get delayed, there are layovers, and flights pass through multiple time zones. It’s incredibly difficult for the body to grow used to such change. However, pilots can compensate for the irregularity by taking naps whenever they can. Some trust they will feel a lot better after a ‘power nap’ consisting of about one hour.

CEO

Businesses may have normal operating hours but those in charge know that business never sleeps. Chief executive officers often sacrifice winks to put in more effort towards marketing, speaking with clients, forging partnerships, etc. CEOs can become especially manic during periods of great revenue production or losses of investment. Such intensity should be diluted with regular days off and vacation time.

Production

Those involved in varieties of production, whether it be toys, cars, furniture, etc, work long hours and do not enjoy sufficient rest. In many cases, it’s lucrative to work longer hours and shifts that last more than 12 hours. What’s worse, such workers begin to condition their mind to stay active during odd hours. Those who constantly modify working hours can benefit by learning methods of meditation and relaxation. That way, when they do finally get to rest, they can fall asleep.

Police

Police, firemen, 911 dispatchers and other emergency workers often work swing shifts which disrupt regular sleep. Moreover, these jobs involve intensity and in some cases life and death situations, so one could imagine how it may be difficult to just go home and fall asleep. Some seek professional counseling as well as medical solutions to treat symptoms of insomnia.

Doctors and Nurses

Nurses are known to work swing shifts and long periods at a time. Doctors do the same and some are ‘on call’ after they leave the hospital, needing to go back in the event of an emergency. What’s even more alarming is that these are parties responsible for the well-being and safety of others. Therefore, it’s of the utmost importance that those in healthcare get sufficient rest. Learn more about sleep friendly apps.

Food Prep

Food prep workers can work very odd hours, some starting work in the middle of the night to have food prepped and ready for the early morning hours. Food prep jobs that influence sleep span from food truck delivery people to those such as cafeteria and diner workers. Such jobs can be trying for those who must get up very early yet keep more normalized hours as well to tend to children, spouses, households, etc.

With the phrase ‘middle aged’ meaning different things to almost everyone, it can be difficult to pinpoint an exact age in which being ‘middle aged’ is supposed to start. With recent studies showing that the majority of us see middle age starting at around 55, this completely contradicts previous research that suggested the start of middle age to be at 36.

But regardless of when you perceive middle age to start, there are certain stereotypes that are generally always associated with this age group. From being health-obsessed to not liking change, the stereotypes of middle-aged people are often more negative than positive. But recently, they’ve been seriously challenged with new research suggesting middle aged people are even more tech-obsessed than the younger generation! So, if you see yourself falling into this ‘tech-obsessed’ middle aged category and want to freshen up your smartphone’s selection of apps, here are some of today’s best options specifically targeted towards people of your age.

Vouchercloud

We all love a discount but, when it comes to restaurant and excursion vouchers, the hassle of printing them can be enough to put people off altogether. But, with Vouchercloud, you’re able to quickly download a huge array of vouchers straight to your smartphone, allowing you to simply show your phone screen with the voucher displayed when it’s time to redeem it.

From restaurants to garden centers to day-trips, Vouchercloud adds new discounts every single day so it’s worthwhile to regularly check. But, before downloading a voucher for a day trip, make sure to check the weather first as no day trip is as fun in the rain! Take a look at this link to discover a weather app that’s both accurate and user-friendly.

WebMD

There’s no denying that, as we get older, we’re more prone to illness. WebMD offers an innovative symptom checker app that enables you to input virtually any symptom you have and learn more about what it could mean.

Also offering detailed first aid information and a list of important medical terms you might need to know in the future, WebMD is certainly worth a download!

Pillboxie

Along with illness often comes medication and our memories may not be quite what they used to be as we increase in years. But luckily Pillboxie does all the remembering for you, ensuring you never miss a pill again!

Simple to use and extremely effective, all you have to do is set it up with your medications and the times at which you should take them and voila! You’ll have created your very own pill-taking alarm system that will remind you every single time a dose is due.

Just because you’re middle aged, it doesn’t mean you can’t be tech-savvy. Simply owning a smartphone is probably enough to impress the younger generation and, with the above apps downloaded and ready to use at the click of a button, you’re sure to put all the unnecessary stereotypes to rest and enjoy having fun!

A self-confident teen is one who can say no to smoking, drugs and alcohol with ease, has the clarity to see and work on their personal goals and who will grow up to be a well-balance adult. Low confidence can lead teens to make bad decisions that can affect the rest of their lives.

Why Self-Confidence is Vital for Teens

Self-confidence is the belief in your own ability to be successful in your endeavors. Your teenager’s self-confidence is linked to her self-esteem, which is how good she feels about herself, and how she feels she is a worthwhile person. Just because your teen has a high self-esteem, doesn’t necessarily mean she is confident. Her level of self-confidence can vary throughout her life, particularly during the major life changes and challenges of adolescence. Many teens struggle with low confidence during early adolescence. Self-confidence is vital for teens because it makes them feel secure, make informed decisions and avoid situations that are not right for them. Here are some tips for you, as a parent, to instill a strong sense of self-worth in your child.

• Offer opportunities: Give your teen the opportunity to try different things such as traveling, learning to play an instrument, and different sports and hobbies. This will help her realize what she enjoys doing and what she’s good at.
• Color-in confidence: Relaxing mandala coloring books, such as Coloring Book for Me & Mandala can help improve confidence and self-worth in your teen.
• Positive praise: Praise your teens for her actions and accomplishments. If a game or a test doesn’t work out quite as she’d hoped, praise her efforts.
• Be a role model: There are many ways you can instill confidence in your teen by being a role model. For example, you could discuss with her what you are going to do to try and succeed at a particular task. If you are unsuccessful, you can be the model of resilience by talking about how you can make it work next time.
• Be patient: Neurological research shows that the reason your teen sometimes may appear fickle or impulsive is because sometimes they have difficulty thinking rationally, because the connections between the emotional part of the brain and the decision-making part are still under development, so be patient with them when they make mistakes.
• Instill persistence: When your teenager makes mistakes, and she will, show her ways she can learn from them. Explain that often things don’t work out at the first attempt, and offer suggestions on how she can find ways to keep trying.
• Ask for their opinion: Often, teenagers have a lot to contribute and can offer insightful suggestions. Let your teen join in family discussions and plans and listen to her opinion without being judgmental. You’ll find she really appreciates being asked to join in.

As a parent, you can give your teen a safe environment to live in and lots of good opportunities for grown and development. This will help her become a confident and successful individual.

In the modern world, we are hooked to our gadgets. In fact, we struggle to be apart from our phone for too long. After all, it’s our main way of communicating with other people, whether that be via call, text, or social media! And it can be extremely useful for work. If you work from home, it can help you to speak with clients quickly. And it can be a handy tool if you need to check emails on the move. Therefore, if you do misplace your favorite gadget, it can leave you in a panic. After all, you don’t know what you will do without the top accessory. And some people even deal with Nomophobia; a fear of being without their phone! If it’s lost for good, it can cost you an arm and a leg to replace the phone. However, there are some ways you can avoid losing your phone in future. Therefore, here are some vital tips to ensure you never have a missing mobile again!

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Download the Find My Phone app

One of the worst things about finding your phone is being unable to figure out where it’s gone. After all, it could be in the home or even out on the street. And if it’s been stolen, you have little hope as it could be the other side of the country. However, there are a few handy ways you can avoid it being lost for good. For one thing, you should download the essential Find My iPhone app if you have an Apple device. That way, you can find out exactly where your phone is from logging on to your iCloud from any other device. As long as the mobile has some form of internet connection, you will be able to track it down anywhere in the country! And not only this but if it has been stolen, you can wipe your information, so it becomes useless to the thief. Therefore, they won’t be able to take any more of your personal details which they could use to make fraudulent purchases! And having this handy app on your phone can mean you will never lose your phone as you can quickly find where you put it. Of course, not everyone has an iPhone. Therefore, if you do have an Android device, for example, there are some other apps out there like Prey and Theftie which will be equally as useful for finding your lost phone, so it’s not gone for good!

Give your phone some unique touches

It can be a challenge finding your phone as everyone has similar phones these days. In fact, you will struggle to find another person within your close group of friends or family who doesn’t have the same phone as you! Therefore, if you do lose it, it can be hard to find your phone. And asking people to look out for it can be challenging as they might not be able to identify if it’s yours. Therefore, you need to make sure you add unique touches to your phone. After all, if it’s easy to spot, you will soon see it on the floor or in your bag! One thing you could do is get a vibrant case for your phone. After all, if it’s in a glowing gold or even a bright pink, you will soon see it in the bottom of your car or out on the street. And you could even get your initials placed on the back of the phone. For one thing, you will struggle to misplace it with other people’s phones if your name’s on it. And if it does get lost, you will soon be able to get your phone back. Also, you could think about getting a unique wallpaper for your phone. After all, there are lots of ready made phone wallpapers, or you could even make your own. And with this personal wallpaper, your phone will definitely not get lost again. After all, as soon as people see it when they touch the home button, they will know the phone belongs to you!

Always be consistent with the place you put your phone

You might be surprised to know that some people put their phone down in different places every time they come in. And it can leave them feeling confused about where they put the device. After all, it might have seemed like a safe place at the time, but now you are left confuzzled. Therefore, to ensure you don’t lose your phone again, you need to be consistent with where you leave the device. Get a docking stand for the phone which you can use to put it on. That way, you will know exactly where the phone is so it won’t get lost. Or put it right next to the charger in future. If you get into this habit, you will always put your phone in the same place. And then will always have your phone with you!

Keep some battery on your phone and have the sound on

It’s so easy to run out of battery during the day. After all, if you have a number of apps running at once, you are likely to be draining the battery. But if your battery does die, you are going to struggle to find your phone. For one thing, you won’t be able to ring the phone, so won’t be able to spot in your room. And you also won’t be able to use any of the apps mentioned above to trace your phone. Also, if anyone picks up your phone, they will get a black screen so won’t be able to trace it to you! You also need to make sure the sound is on. A lot of people have their mobile on silent if they are busy working or with friends, but if you lose it, you won’t be able to hear where it is. Therefore, keep it on low volume to ensure it does ring if you need to phone it!

And remember to keep on top of backing up your device. That way, if you do lose your phone for good, you haven’t lost precious videos and photos too!

So you’ve decided that you want to help other people who are struggling with their mental health, but are unsure how to go about doing so. Maybe you have suffered from mental health problems in the past and understand what it’s like to struggle to keep your head above water? Perhaps a loved one has lived with mental health problems for many years, and you know what it’s like to watch a loved one struggling to lead a normal life because of their mental health. Whatever your reason for wanting to help people who are suffering from mental health problems, it doesn’t matter, all that matters is that you find a way to make a difference.

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Today, mental health problems are more common than ever before. In the UK, anxiety and depression are the two most common mental health problems. At one point or another in their lifetime, one in six adults will suffer from a mental health problem. That means that around 10.6 million people in the UK currently suffer from some form of mental health problem, and that number is rising every year. The question that a lot of people are asking themselves is how can I help? The good news is that there are plenty of ways you can make a difference when it comes to mental health, here are some suggestions:

Volunteer at a local charity

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A great way to make a difference to the lives of people suffering from mental health problems is to volunteer your skills at a local mental health charity. If you have free time that you’re happy to give up to help others, then volunteering could be the answer. Volunteering at a local charity could mean all sorts of things, it could mean offering free counselling to people who are struggling with their mental health problems, it could mean running the charity’s social media pages and blog for free, it could mean volunteering in their charity shop. You don’t necessarily have to work directly with people suffering from mental health problems, you can help by doing other things, so if you’re not a great communicator or listener, don’t worry because you can still help.

Be an online listener

Another way that you can help people suffering from mental health problems is to become an online listener. If you’ve only got a small amount of free time to offer, then you can become an online listener. There are various websites that you can sign up to as a listener which allows you to listen to other people’s worries and concerns via an online chat. There are also apps that you can sign up to that allows you to listen to other people’s worried via an app instant messenger. It might not seem like you are doing much but even by listening to someone else’s worried and concerns you can make life easier for them. If you’re going to become an online listener, it’s a good idea to undergo some training first, to make sure that you’re equipped to deal with whatever comes your way. Most mental health support sites and apps offer training, but it’s best to double check before signing up.

Become a mental health nurse

If you want to spend the majority of your time focusing on helping people with mental health problems, then your best bet is to become a mental health nurse. Yes, it will require training and experience, but it’s an incredible way to make a difference. To get an idea of what the role will involve, take the time to browse mental health nurse job vacancies to see what each role involves – this should give you an idea of whether you’re a good fit for the type of work that you would be doing. Being a mental health nurse is a great way to help those suffering from a mental health problem, but it’s important to realise that it’s not a role that’s a good fit for everyone. So you need to determine whether you’ve got what it takes to work with people suffering from mental health problems day in, day out.

Spread awareness

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Another way that you can help people with mental health problems is to spread awareness. A lot of people are unaware of how many people mental health problems affect and don’t understand what they can do to help friends or loved one who are currently struggling. By spreading awareness about mental health, you can make it easier for people who suffer from mental health problems to get the help and support that they need. It’s not always easy to spread awareness about a certain topic, but it has become slightly easier thanks to the internet and social media. The best way to spread awareness is to share and create information that can be referred to as and when it’s needed, such as informative blog posts.

Run courses

If you want to take a more hands-on approach to helping people suffering from mental health problems, perhaps you could run courses to help with management. There are facilities all over the country that run successful anger management and anxiety management courses among others, that you could replicate in your local area. The fact is that a lot of mental health problems can be effectively managed, giving sufferers the opportunity to lead a normal life. It’s just a case of making sure that the help and support is available to them, which is where running courses come in. If you’re willing to get the qualifications to run these courses, you can make a big difference to the lives of many people within your local community. You could even opt to run online courses, helping people much further afield than just in your local area.

So there you have it, a few suggestions of ways that you can help people suffering from mental health problems. The fact is that mental health problems are becoming more and more common, which is why there needs to be more help and support available.