Proper Cognitive Restructuring Aids in Overcoming Bad Behaviors

Proper Cognitive Restructuring Aids in Overcoming Bad Behaviors
by Larry Lloyd

Producing a manualized cognitive restructuring program that is effective in helping people overcome faulty thinking and self-defeating conduct is an art form that very few have mastered.

The question is, is it even possible to go into someone's subconscious mind and alter thoughts? YES! The secret lies in Dr David Hawken�s book on truth vs. falsehoods. Truth has energy that can infiltrate the veil of self-imposed false beliefs and help people find their true selves. That is, help them see that they are so much greater than they believe they are.

Creating a cognitive restructuring curriculum requires a profound understanding of the truth, otherwise the written words will have no penetrating energy. Untrue words drop off of the page and onto the ground. There they disintegrate and die and are never thought of again.

True words lift people to a higher calibration whereas untrue words discourage. True words have a force that enlivens energies that resonate at a frequency that people will accept. It's this cognitive energy that can change faulty thinking.

After years of helping domestic violence victims it is still enlightening to watch this self-actualization process. Most abused women believe that they have less value than they really do. By the time they reach the 3rd or 4th session of applying true words, the truth begins to have its affect.

This reprogramming is manifested in their physical, mental and emotional elation. The changes for most people are significant and permanent. Yet let us remember that cognitive restructuring counseling is an invitation to change, not a force. Change is the responsibility of the client. The chief reason counseling programs are ineffective is because they are not set up correctly and they have very little penetrating truth. This is because the person(s) who produced it didn't have the necessary truth. People can go to psychotherapy sessions for years and years and not change because the therapist isn't aligned with the truth. The truth can have a lasting impact on people in a matter of hours, however, it must be available.

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Low Carb Diet Eating: Super Salads

Low Carb Diet Eating: Super Salads
by Wade Robins

The foundation of any healthy low-carb eating is in its vegetable content. Any low-carb eating which does not include enough vegetables to provide the vitamins and minerals lacking in high-protein foods may lead to weight loss, but it will also lead to trouble if it continues for more than a few weeks.

Many people today, however, are not big veggie eaters; the fast food culture has often restricted the daily vegetable intake of millions of rushed diners to the pickles, onions, wilted lettuce, and barely pink tomatoes on their burgers or chicken sandwiches. So it's not surprising that those who decide to try low carb diet eating neglect the veggies.

Go Organic

But after a few days of low carb diet eating of nothing but meat, eggs, and cheese, even lettuce may start to look good. So when you feel the cravings for carbs kick in, be ready to head them off with a power salad, which will not only be a tremendous treat after all that protein. You can get pre-packaged salad mixes at the grocery store, so you don't have to buy huge amounts of different salad fixings. And if you go for organic salad mixes, and dress them up with organic ingredients, you'll have sweeter vegetables than you ever imagined.

One of the most nutritious ingredients you can add to any meal is spinach. This superfood has been shown to support eye health, as well as the brain, skin, and cardiovascular and immune systems. So be sure you salad mix contains spinach; even better, you can buy a bag of organic spinach leaves.

Diversify Your Choices

You have a wide selection of low carb vegetables to add to your salad, from red, green and yellow bell peppers to onions to broccoli and celery to tomato; you can also add nuts or a little bit of low carb fruit like grapefruit or berries. Sunflower seeds can add some nice crunchiness without a lot of carbs and make a great replacement for croutons. If you simply have to go the crouton route, limit yourself to the equivalent of a half slice of bread. You can also sprinkle blue cheese crumbles on your salad for an interesting contrast to the sweetness of the vegetables.

Because you're on a low carb diet eating plan, you can treat yourself to some fat when you choose a dressing for you salad. And one of the most delicious, and healthiest, dressings you can make is an olive oil and fruit--raspberry or strawberry are wonderful-- vinaigrette mix. Olive oil is a fat that actually helps your cardiovascular system instead of clogging it, and you can feel good about eating it. For more info see http://www.southbeachdietclub.com/sbdclub/Origin_of_South_Beach_diet.html on Origin of South Beach diet.

You salads will have to be your main source of carbohydrates for the duration of your low carb diet eating plan, so it's essential that you take the time to make them taste good. You can even add cooked meat or fish to your salad base, and have a complete low carb diet eating treat. Here's a recipe to get you started:

Spinach Raspberry Chicken Salad

1 tsp olive oil 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (3/4 lbs.) cut into bite-size strips 1 cup thinly sliced onion Salt and Pepper to taste 1 6-ounce bag baby spinach or organic baby spinach salad mix 1/4 cup bottled raspberry vinaigrette dressing 1 cup fresh or fresh frozen raspberries, partially thawed 1/4 cup feta or bleu cheese

To Prepare:

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet or wok; add chicken strips and onion and stir-fry over high heat 3 to 5 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center.

Season chicken to taste with salt and pepper.

Turn off heat. Add spinach and vinaigrette to skillet; toss well.

Divide mixture among plates. Sprinkle each salad with raspberries and feta cheese.

Common Symptoms of Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma is one of the most deadly forms of cancer. It’s considered to be 100% fatal due to the inability to be diagnosed in time for any treatment to be effective. Studies have shown that on average, patients live only 242 days after diagnosis.

Mesothelioma is caused by exposure to asbestos dust or particles. From the time of exposure it can take twenty to thirty years before the symptoms manifest. Generally, the disease starts from the mesothelium (the lining of the body that protects the organs such as the lungs, the heart and parts of the abdomen) and can easily spread to the other parts of the body.

There are three kinds of mesothelioma and each has different symptoms.
Pleural mesothelioma – attacks the lining and the cavity of the lungs. Symptoms, as the disease advances, include: chest pain as the lungs fill with fluid along with shortness of breath, a tightening sensation in the chest, persist coughing, rasping, difficulty in swallowing, coughing of blood, fever and weight loss.
Peritoneal mesothelioma – attacks the areas in the stomach and abdomen of a person. This type is very painful as the tumors press on the wall of the abdomen. Symptoms include: stomach pains and swelling in the abdomen, pain as severe as a ruptured appendix. As the disease advances, next comes intense pain in the chest, difficulty breathing, anemia, abnormal clots in the blood, rapid weight loss, constipation, fever and vomiting.
Pericardial mesothelioma – attacks the lining to the heart and surrounding area. This is the rarest of the types. Symptoms includes sever chest pains, palpitations, labored breathing and coughing.

The problem with correctly diagnosing pericardial mesothelioma in time to treat it successfully is that its symptoms could easily be mistaken for some other medical condition. A successful diagnosis requires that the patient undergo either an abdominal scan, CAT scan or an MRI.

The warning signs should never be ignored and it’s important when seeing the family physician to mention any possible asbestos exposure in the past.

Mesothelioma Research

Recent years have shown considerable progress in mesothelioma research and clinical trials.
Technology

Although there is still no early detection for mesothelioma, there have been advances in technology. Now anyone who has knowingly been exposed to asbestos may have these tests performed:
Chest x-ray – useful to see if there is anything abnormal in the chest.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan – helps to determine if an abnormality in the chest is mesothelioma or some other non-malignant tumor.
Computer Tomography (CT) scans – can create detailed images of the chest and show any abnormalities.
Clinical Trials

As far as current research there is an on-going field trial for a new drug called Alimta (Pemetrexed). This is to be used in conjunction with Cisplatin, a chemotherapy drug, which interferes with cancer cell growth. Alimta is intended to stop cancer cell multiplication.

This drug has been approved by the FDA for mesothelioma patients, particularly when surgery is not an option. It needs to be remembered that this drug is new and there are few records yet to prove effectiveness. On the positive side, however, there are reports of a 54-year old patient in Africa who participated in this treatment and returned to work after five treatments.

Interesting and positive research work is also being done at the Josson Cancer Center. A drug, Tarceva, is being combined with anti-inflammatory drug, Celebrex. Apparently this combination has an increased response rate of three times on cancer patients. Again, these are only initial findings and need to be validated before this treatment can be approved as safe and effective.

Asbestos Abatement

Specific procedures must be followed to remove asbestos from homes and buildings. This is to prevent the building from being contaminated with asbestos. This procedure is known as asbestos abatement. It needs to be done by licensed contractors and it is highly recommended that untrained personnel do not undertake asbestos abatement on their own.

Specialized equipment is needed for asbestos abatement. Various safety steps also need to be taken. Every effort should be made to make a secure and airtight environment for this work. Certain necessary steps are required to remove asbestos from:

Heating and air conditioning ducts
Special care needs to be taken to fully seal the building from any possible contamination from asbestos particles by spreading plastic sheets over the ducts and any spaces in the walls or floors to seal the floor and surrounding area.
The use of a special HEPA-AIRE negative air vacuum, built specifically for asbestos abatement, to connect to the airtight space, which draws all air and airborne particles through a special filter.
The special filters used in these machines must be disposed of in accordance with hazardous materials regulations.

For other areas
A fine mist can be sprayed over an area suspected to contain asbestos. This helps to settle the dust.
Contractors spray a special chemical, an encapsulant, over the area.
Contractors wear special one-piece coveralls designed to keep the wearer from coming in contact with the asbestos. This suit covers the head, hands, body and feet of the worker.
It’s important to have an airtight environment both for the area and for the worker.

Air-testing equipment is also used for asbestos abatement. It measures the amount of asbestos in the air before, during and after the asbestos procedure. Contractors are required to keep asbestos levels below a certain reading. These levels must also be certified as safe before the work area can be unsealed and people are allowed to safely enter.

All protective equipment must be disposed of according to the hazardous materials laws.

Asbestos Exposure

Risks of exposure

Once the asbestos enters the air, it can stay suspended for a long period of time, which increases the chance of being inhaled and settling in the lungs. Asbestos that is spun into loose fibers is the easiest material to be released into the air but any material containing asbestos can become airborne. These particles can be difficult to remove and require specialized equipment in the form of HEPA negative air pressure machines with specially designed filters to clean the air.

Common ways in which asbestos can become airborne include:
During renovations to buildings that already contain asbestos,
Concrete containing asbestos is pulverized,
Roofing tiles treated with asbestos are crushed,
Any asbestos containing product is disturbed in such a way that it releases particles into the air,
Even drinking water may contain asbestos from natural, sources or from asbestos containing cement pipes.

All personnel who work on construction sites, demolition sites, or with the mining and production of asbestos may be exposed to high levels of asbestos.
Precautions

It’s important to use properly trained contractors, certified and reputable, for asbestos removal. This process is called asbestos abatement. These trained professionals know how to remove the asbestos safely and to stop the asbestos from becoming airborne. Once airborne, these particles can only be removed using the special HEPA machines.

It’s important to realize that there is NO safe level of asbestos exposure. Exposure can cause cancers, tumors, scarring and death.

Where is Asbestos Found?

Where is Asbestos Found?

Products

There are very few legal uses for asbestos in today’s world. One of those is for the shielding on the space shuttle and another is in the insulation of the solid fuel boosters.

One use that most people don’t think about is vehicle brakes. It’s ideal in this application as it resists heat. Most of the other products containing asbestos are building materials. Such as:

Construction (commercial, residential)
Insulation contains asbestos. It can be dangerous because it is often used to insulate homes, office buildings and schools. Homes built prior to 1950 have a good chance of containing insulation still with traces of asbestos. Its use was widespread at this time. This type of insulation is the one most dangerous for airborne particles. However unless you decide to renovate these particles won’t be disturbed.
Flooring may contain asbestos. Sheet vinyl or vinyl tile may contain asbestos. It was added during production to make the flooring stronger. This type of asbestos product is considered safe most of the time. If it becomes damaged however, or if you decide to cut or sand the flooring, these particles could be released into the air.

If you own an older home and you’re concerned it’s advisable to have your house inspected by a specialist.
Naturally occurring asbestos

Asbestos is a natural substance from metamorphic rocks and deposits of it can be found in most countries in the world. It is still mined today in the former Soviet Union, Canada (white asbestos), South Africa (brown asbestos), and Australia (blue asbestos).

Many countries, including the United States, have banned asbestos mining due to the extreme hazards

What is Asbestos?

Contrary to common belief, asbestos is a naturally occurring fibrous material. It is still mined and processed in many countries throughout the world today.
Types of Asbestos

There are six main types of asbestos, broken into two separate categories. These two categories are:

Serpentine: meaning snake like or curly in appearance

Amphibole: characterized by straighter fibers

The serpentine group has only one member - chrysotile, which accounts for over 90% of all asbestos in world production. This asbestos is white or green in color and is often used as insulation or for fireproofing products. With its widespread usage, chrysotile is responsible for most asbestos-related health problems.

The amphibole group contains the other five types of asbestos. Of these, amosite and crocidolite are the only two used for commercial purposes. These two are characterized by strong, stiff fibers and are consider highly dangerous when these airborne fibers are inhaled or ingested.

Amosite, brown-asbestos, had been banned in many countries for decades but it was still being commercially produced up until this last decade. At one time, it accounted for 5% of the asbestos used in factories and buildings.

Crocidolite is a rare bluish form of asbestos. It is highly resistant to chemicals. It’s considered to be the most dangerous form of asbestos and was previously used to reinforce plastics. Prior to this, it was used in some yarns and ropes.

The remaining three types of asbestos are: tremolite, actinolite, and anthophyllite. There were never in commercial use and are not covered in our discussion here.

Most Common:
Chrysotile (White asbestos)
Amosite (Brown asbestos)
Crocidolite (Blue asbestos)

Rarer Forms
Fibrous Tremolite
Fibrous Anthophyllite
Fibrous Actinolite