Author Archives: kkipriadis

Tis The Season…

The holiday season is a time of joy and cheer. Yet some people find themselves stressed out with Christmas shopping, holiday parties, and the end of the year coming to a close.

Wanna know the secrets to surviving the stress?

Let go of the materialism and think about the actual meaning of the holiday – no matter what holiday you celebrate! “Those who celebrate the original, Christian, meaning of Christmas are, on the whole, happier than those who primarily celebrate the festive season with consumer gifts.” You don’t have to have a religious affiliation but this time of year is a good one for thinking about others, giving to those who don’t have (not only money, but also your time and presence), and just embracing the joys of the holidays by taking the focus off of the consumer aspect – Psychology researcher says spiritual meaning of Christmas brings more happiness than materialism.

Need more survival tips? Here are ten:

1) Find Meaning in the Season.
2) Muscle relaxation
3) Do only One Thing in the moment.
4) Give yourself a Vacation.
5) Contribute.
6) If you’re feeling down, do something Opposite to how you feel.
7) Self Soothe with Taste.
Comfort yourself
9) Deep Breathing
10) Clean the house.

- Holiday Stress Survival Tips

Happy Holidays and a Healthy New Year!

It’ll Only Take 15 Minutes…

This entry’s theme is inspired by my lack of posts lately! I realize I haven’t posted in a while, mostly because I have a million things going on, but also in part because I tell myself “it’ll only take 15 minutes” … and I end up never even getting to it.

Studies show that the average person underestimates the amount of time it would take them to complete a task. This is called the planning fallacy and there are three different reasonings as to why this happens:

1) We don’t think about how long it took us the last time.
Even after posting numerous blog entries, I still cannot tell you how long it takes to post one.

2) We don’t think about what happens if everything doesn’t go our way … or if we get confronted with a minor mishap.
Happens all the time on the way to school when there are service changes and I have to reroute. I didn’t think it would happen so I didn’t plan for extra time.

3) We don’t break the task up and think about how long each little step takes. We generally look at the whole picture.
The little details add up more than you may think. Who knew that you had to factor in taping the corners of the wall when you had to paint a room?

Another interesting finding was that people who felt that they were in a seat of power generally thought that it would take them a lot less time to perform a task and have it done a while before they were supposed to, compared to the control group.

Here are some tips if you find yourself in this situation often (myself included):

“When you’re making a plan and estimating how long it will take, be sure to stop and
1) consider how long it has taken you in the past,
2) identify the ways in which things might not go as planned, and
3) spell out all the steps you will need to take to get it done.”

(This Will Take No Time At All)

SMILE for Your Big Day!

Going along with the previous post on how important it is for your mental state to look great on your wedding day, your smile is the KEY to achieving this beauty.
There are so many reasons to smile. It makes us look good, it relieves stress, it’s contagious, it changes our mood for the better, and in general, just makes everything more pleasant.
Wedding pictures last forever, years and years after the actual big day. Your smile is the main focus of these photos because it can change your entire face and show how truly happy you are on your big day!
Not only that, but your guests and everyone around you will see you glowing.

How can you achieve this perfect smile? Simple.

There are many different simple treatments that can help that smile stand out:
Teeth Whitening
Porcelain Bridges
Porcelain Veneers
Non Surgical Dental Face Lift
Cosmetic Smile Enhancement
Implant Temporary Restoration
… and so many more.

Any little flaw is fixable!

Look perfect on your wedding day – it will last forever!

For more information on these services visit Lyssova Dental Wellness Group

Premarital Counseling – How It Works and Why It Helps

It’s been seen that premarital counseling can reduce the chance of divorce by 30%. That is a great deal considering the 50% chance divorce rate of marriages in America today. There are six main topics that are concerned with premarital counseling:
1) Goals and Priorities – Are you both heading in the same direction? Do you both share the same expectations for where you want to be in the future?
2) Handling Finances – Saving, Investing, Spending, Finances. They all should be discussed beforehand.
3) Communication and Conflict Resolution – Think about past disagreements and see how you can both benefit from these by how they were discussed and resolved.
4) Children and Parenting – Do you both want children? How many? When? What kind of parenting style? How did your parents raise you?
5) Spirituality – Do you both come from the same spiritual or religious background? If not, how will you handle the differences? How will you raise your children?
6) Roles and Expectations – House duties, children, career, taking care of bills, etc., etc. – who does what?

Full article at http://www.infobarrel.com/6_Marriage_Preparation_Topics_for_Premarital_Counseling

Another 10 questions:
1) Am I a spender or a saver? What about my partner?
2) Are we in debt?
3) Have we discussed our sexual health? STDs?
4) Preferences for intimacy? Time/Place/Frequency?
5) How are household chores being split?
6) What are our pet peeves?
7) Have we decided if we both want children?
Infertility, adoption, other options?
9) Are we both professionally established?
10) How do we deal with job stress?

Full article at http://psychology.suite101.com/article.cfm/20_questions_before_marriage

Inna L. Goldina of Livable Lovable Life will be presenting at the Great Bridal Extravaganza show among leading wedding professionals. Special deals for premarital individual and couple’s counseling will be available during the month of September. Please email inna@liloli.net for more information.

www.greatbridalextravaganza.com

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 27 AT 6PM IN NEW YORK CITY

Great Bridal Extravaganza! September 27, 2010 in NYC

Inna L. Goldina of Livable Lovable Life will be presenting at the Great Bridal Extravaganza show among leading wedding professionals. Special deals for premarital individual and couple’s counseling will be available during the month of September. Please email inna@liloli.net for more information.

Monday, September 27 6-10PM at the Metropolitan Pavilion in NYC

Men In Red

The color red has been shown to affect the way someone thinks of the person wearing it. Studies were done with undergraduate students in many countries and in sum, here are the findings:
“Eliot found that the impact of the color red made the man seem more powerful, attractive, and sexually desirable. However, the color red did not make the man seem more likable, kind, or sociable. In addition, when the male study participants were asked to view and rate the attractiveness of a pictured male, the color of the clothing or border made no difference in their responses.”
- Women Attracted to Men Wearing Red

Another article also took on the idea that women are more sexually attracted to men wearing red, based on ratings. – Men Wearing Red Found to Trigger Female Desire

Stay Busy, Be Happy

A new study shows that people who kept busy were generally more happy. This may include why people work so hard and so much in today’s society. By feeling they are benefitting society, they are getting a sense of happiness in return. – Staying Busy Translates to Being Happy

People who were even forced to be busy, even if it was not desirable, stayed happier. An idle person staying idle was less happy than an idle person who was busy. – Why We Like to Keep Busy

This could also explain some people’s behaviors – like working although you don’t have to, making a mess just to clean it up, or taking something apart just to put it back together again. – Keep busy to keep happy, study shows

Nightmare Therapy

Many people suffer from nightmares that affect them severely in their real lives. Links with sleep disorders and Post Tramautic Stress disorder are becoming more clear. There is now a method to treat this nightmares people suffer from thanks to Dr. Barry Krakow. Imagery helps by simply picturing of what you want your dream to be and focusing on that. “Patients participate in sleep studies as needed, and do considerable work on their own, using a manual he published to guide them, “Turning Nightmares Into Dreams.” … hundreds of patients treated, about 70 percent have reported significant improvements in nightmare frequency after regularly using the treatment for two to four weeks.” – Following a Script to Escape a Nightmare

Here Dr. Barry Krakow discusses his nightmare therapy more in depth. – In the Mind’s Eye of the Beholder.

Marriage, Fertility, and PPD

“Being hopeful about the future only helps if those hopes are confirmed by experience, he found. But for many couples—especially those lacking problem-solving skills—those early high hopes are dashed, leading to disappointment. For such couples, realistically anticipating some rough patches may not be a bad thing—and in fact can result in greater satisfaction over the long haul.” – Can negativity save a failing marriage?

“Documented cases have shown that simple everyday stress causes biological symptoms that affect fertility. ” – Can Fertility Counseling Help A Couple Get Pregnant?

More Than Just Baby Blues: How Postpartum Depression Arises and How It Could Be Prevented

Marijuana use and Depression, Suicide Rates

Suicide rates for middle aged men are seen to be rising. Many factors such as “job losses, higher rates of alcohol and substance abuse, and subsequent relationship stress” have been causing this – Report: Suicide Rates Climb for Middle-Aged Men

“Several studies have found an association between marijuana use and increased risks of depression and anxiety disorders, but some others have failed to confirm such a link. Moreover, it has been unclear whether marijuana use itself, or some other factor, accounts for the connection seen in some studies … Overall, the researchers found a modest association between marijuana smoking before the age of 17 and the odds of suffering depression later on. ” – Early pot smoking, depression may be linked