How stress damages the brain
Stress, pressure, fatigue, poor diet, alcohol, and drugs damage neural connections between the brain’s prefrontal cortexor and the rest of the brain. When you are overtired or under intense mental or physical stress, the brain bypasses its higher,

this is one of the best way to calm down when you feel anger rising rapidly Anger is nothing but misdirected energy says Dr Rachna Singh, lifestyle management expert at Artemis Health Institute, Gurgaon. So before you throw a cup at your partner or chase the car that nicked you while overtaking from the wrong side, start breathing slowly and deeply and count to 100. This will keep you from doing anything dramatic. “Deep breathing for 2-3 minutes at this time will help distract you and bring adrenalin levels down,” adds Dr Singh.

 HAVE WATER/JUICE/CHOCOLATE: Sipping water when you are really angry helps calm you down, says clin- ical psychologist and psychotherapist Seema Hingorrany “Many people feel irritable when they are hungry so eating a piece of chocolate helps provide your body with some food. Chocolate also activates feel-good hormones, so two pieces might do wonders tor your mood.” Sipping water or juice also helps distract you and your mind moves from negative to positive thoughts.

 CALL A TIME OUT: sometimes, in an argument with a friend or partner, you may say something in the heat of the moment that you will certainly regret later. At these times, it is best if you remove yourself from the situation. “Excuse yourself, wash your face and return to the discussion after 5-10 minutes. When you return you wn find yourself much cooler and calmer and more capable of dealing with the situation calmly,” says Dr Singh. She adds that this technique works well also while dealing with kids throwing tantrums or teenagers who flare up at their parents. “Send them to their bedrooms for 10 minutes. The kids cool down considerably,” she says.

 VISUALISE: When you feel the anger rising, visualise something that calms you down. “It could be a soothing waterfall, a calm sea or even walking on cold grass,” says Hingorrany “Even a symbol like the Buddha will work because it helps shift your mind from irritability to calmness.” You can also chant a mantra that will help bring you out of the negative spiral you have entered. If you are a controlling personality you are more likely to explode in anger than if you are not. So it will also help to consciously remember that there are some things you can control and some things you cannot.

VENTILATE: This simply means that whenever you are really angry about something, before reacting violently to the cause of that anger or instead of letting it fester inside you, call a friend, partner or parent to vent your feelings. “The saying ‘a problem shared is a problem halved’ means something. When you discuss something you are angry about with a friend or partner, you reiterate your thought process aloud. This helps you calm down and also manage to see things more clearly”.

BY colleen braganza

Source : HT

All music can be healing especially when it is played in sequence.The following information gives you guidelines on creating your own healing music sequence, even if you do not play an instrument!

 1  Select Appropriate Music.Most of us choose music that we “like” but will this give us the best results? In fact, often the music we are least attracted to will have the greatest benefit (when played in the right sequence). Let’s say you are very angry. So your first instinct is to put on some really angry music. Does it really help, or does it kind of perpetuate how you feel? Yet, on the other hand if you play some light and happy music, by comparison to how you are currently feeling, it will probably make you feel angrier! As you see, selecting music is not a simple one-shot process.

2  Consider Music Sequencing  -Sometimes it is necessary to first choose music that totally matches your current mood rather than the mood you wish to acquire. Consider arranging a series of different musical compositions in sequence that are customized just for your needs. For example, if you are dealing with depression, select a composition which represents depression in its extreme form, to you. Follow this with one that is only mildly depressing. Then select a neutral composition, and end with a composition which is clearly uplifting and motivating. Listening to music in a sequence like this allows for your current stress level or mood to be first honored and then to be gradually transformed.

3  Speakers Are Ideal–  It is ideal to listen to the music through speakers rather than    headphones so that the cells of the body themselves may “listen” to the sound.

4  Prepare Yourself to Listen-Take off your shoes. Stand relaxed, sit or lie down and breathe.

5  Listen All the Way Through-It is preferable to listen to the musical composition all the way through, without interruption. This allows for the optimum response to the transformation process.

6  Foreground, Not Background-We all have the tendency to use music for the background of other activities. Try developing the technique of just listening to the music, not doing anything else. This way, you will get the best benefit.

7  Your Response is What is Important-It is through your response that the emotional/cellular memory may be released. Do not think that you have to just stay still and concentrate on the music! In fact, if the music inspires you to get up and do something or your mind begins to wander, allow, allow, allow! Allow all responses without judgment. On the other hand, do not begin listening to the music while you are already doing other unrelated activities. The important thing is to let the music embrace you totally.

8  Listen Actively, Not Passively-Allow the music to reach your inner feeling, and respond freely to it. Everyone has a different manner of expression. You may experience visual images, thoughts, movement, an intensification of emotion, physical vibrations, sleep, or nothing at all.

9  Observe Mind/Body Connection-A lot of research has been done recently showing that there is a definite connection between the mind and the body. (Actually this refers to the emotions too but it sounds succinct to say “mind/body.”) Even though music healing is often related to relaxation and emotional issues, there is the likelihood that this indirectly could have a benefit on physical illnesses as well.

10 Enjoy the Silence!  – When the music stops, it is suggested that you bask in the silence for many moments. This will help integrate the feelings.

Musical way to recover from illness :

In last month’s issue of the journal Brain, scientists from Finland and Canada reported on the effect of music on patients recovering from stroke occurring in the left or right hemisphere middle cerebral artery region (causing paralysis and speaking difficulties). In the study 60 stroke patients were randomly assigned to one of three groups: listening to music, listening to audio books of their choice and no listening. Each day for two months using a portable CD player, patients recovering from a stroke received many hours of music therapy, language therapy or no therapy. Over six months their neurological recovery was monitored.
   The results were remarkable. Verbal memory (ability to recall a 10 word list) and focused attention (ability to stay alert for long durations) improved significantly in the music group compared to the others. Based on psychological testing, patients in the music group were less depressed and less confused compared with the patients in the no listening group.
   There are several possible reasons for such a dramatic improvement. In a healthy person, music listening activates networks of neurons in the brain leading to an enhancement of attention, memory, motor function and emotion processing. While recovering from a stroke when the neuron are plastic and trying to repair themselves, listening to pleasant music enhances the interconnected networks of the subcortical and cortical brain regions resulting in improved long term recovery.
   Most stroke patients spend over 70 percent of their recovery time in nontherapeutic activities. Adding music in the rehabilitation periods may provide significant improvement as well as pleasure to the recovery process. Music may also help all of us in our daily routine too.
   Dr Manoj Jain is an infectious disease physician
   working in Memphis (US) and Indore (india)