The chances of patients experiencing complications after having a cardiac device implanted vary according to where they have the procedure.

We’re not going to sugarcoat it: there’s a lot of nonsense information out there about what antidepressants do and don’t do. People who could benefit from the medication can often be skeptical about taking it because of the fears created by the misconceptions.

In a research paper published in The Pharmaceutical Journal, Prof. Stephen Bazire concluded that antidepressants are still the best treatment for depression.

“Antidepressants are effective regardless of a patient’s language, IQ, race and background,” Prof. Bazire wrote.

READ MORE: Feel Like Your Antidepressants Stopped Working? Here’s What Could Be Happening

“Depression is dangerous and harmful to the brain and antidepressants significantly reduce relapse… [and] reduce the risk of suicide in adults.”

We spoke to Dr Laila Paruk to unpack some of the most common myths and misconceptions about antidepressants.

MYTH 1: Antidepressants are addictive

Dr Laila Paruk: Antidepressants are not addictive. Addiction is characterised by two things: tolerance and withdrawals. Tolerance means that you need more of the same thing over time to get the same effect, which is not the case with antidepressants. Withdrawals are physical or mental symptoms that occur when you stop taking a drug and this is also not what happens with antidepressants.

MYTH 2: They will make you ‘high’

DLP: Antidepressants are not known to have a stimulant effect at all. The structure of an antidepressant is not similar at all to that of a stimulant. So you will not feel ‘high’ when taking them.

MYTH 3: They will change your personality

DLP: The intention of treating patients with antidepressants is never to change their personality, but to improve their quality of life. If someone feels like their personality is changing, it will be something associated with the choice of medication, the dosage and the diagnosis. All antidepressants do is improve symptoms of depression and anxiety; they don’t change personality.

READ MORE: 10 Signs You’re Suffering From Mid-Year Burnout

MYTH 4: They are meant to be taken forever

DLP: The guidelines for the treatment of depression and anxiety suggest that for the first episode of depression and anxiety, a patient is put on treatment for one year. Repeated episodes will mean a patient is on treatment for longer. But the guidelines do not recommend that patients be on them forever; it requires regular monitoring and assessment of symptoms and consultations with your doctor around when and how to come off the medication.

MYTH 5: Taking an antidepressant is all you need for depression and anxiety

DLP: The guidelines don’t advocate the use of antidepressants alone; they recommend the use of the medication along with therapy and other psychosocial interventions. The idea of the medication is that it’s a part of a whole basket of treatments – all of which are designed to improve a person’s quality of life and coping skills.

MYTH 6: They are not safe for pregnancy

DLP: The impact of antidepressants on the foetus is variable depending on the kind of medication and the amount of medication. However, we always look at treating pregnant women in terms of their risk profile, which is on a patient-specific basis.

It’s recommended that if a pregnant woman is on antidepressants and she’s stable on them, she should remain on them throughout her pregnancy. It’s far riskier to have an untreated maternal depression and anxiety patient.

MYTH 7: An antidepressant will have a negative impact on my sex life

DLP: Antidepressants do have side effects that affect all stages of the sexual cycle, from arousal to ejaculation. But not all antidepressants have the same effect. Just because a patient experienced certain side effects on one antidepressant doesn’t mean that they’ll experience the same side effects on another.

Depression has a negative impact on libido, and because antidepressants ease these symptoms, they (in certain instances) could actually improve one’s sex life.

^{This article was originally published on www.womenshealthsa.co.za}

^{Image credit: iStock}

Yamkela Mdaka

Scientists are “extremely concerned” by a bacterium resistant to antibiotics of last resort.

Cycling classes feel pretty dang intense most of the time. They’re typically fast-paced and interval-based. You come out *dripping* in sweat and riding an endorphin high from the heart-pumping beats and ball-of-energy instructor on the mic. So you’d think that cycling is a perfect workout for weight loss, right?

The answer is both yes and no. Indoor biking classes (or cycling outdoors or on your own in the gym) can certainly be a part of your overall weight-loss plan, but they shouldn’t be the only thing you care about if you’re looking to get stronger and shift the scale number. There are a ton of factors that play a role in successful weight loss, and we’ll get into those.

But there are some major pros when it comes to choosing cycling as your cardio method of choice for weight loss — if you peddle wisely. And alllll of the answers you’ve been dying to know about how to cycle for total weight-loss success are ahead.

Just tell me straight up: Can you lose weight by cycling?

Cycling is basically just as effective as running when it comes to its cardio benefits, says Dr Charlie Seltzer, an obesity medicine physician and exercise specialist. Regular cycling may help lower your blood pressure, insulin levels, and your resting heart rate if you do it frequently enough (as can running), Dr Seltzer explains.

Where cycling gives you a leg up on other forms of cardio? It’s an *awesome* lower-body workout. Your hamstrings, calves, and glutes will all feel the burn during a cycling class, especially during portions where you have the resistance turned up. Your leg muscles are some of the biggest in your body; so the more lower-body muscle mass (and muscle in general) you have means the more calories you’ll burn during your workouts and at rest, Dr Seltzer says.

So if you push yourself during those sprints and hill climbs and turn that knob to the right, you may develop stronger legs by cycling than by running, Dr Seltzer notes. Let’s be honest, though, it can be easy to coast through cycling classes when you’re just not in the mood to crank up the resistance. But if you don’t touch the resistance knob and push yourself, you probably won’t achieve the lower-body strength benefits.

Bonus alert: Cycling is much easier on your joints than running. “Cycling is a great way to get your cardio if you’re looking for a low-impact workout,” says Tatiana Lampa, a personal trainer and corrective exercise specialist. “If you have low back pain but are still looking to lose weight, cycling will be your best bet…and in comparison to other forms of cardio, it has a low risk of injury.”

READ MORE: 5 Absolutely Insane Body Benefits Of A 40-Min Spin Class

Okay, I have to ask…is cycling worthwhile if I want to lose belly fat?

If you’re hoping to lose belly fat specifically, don’t get your hopes up. You can’t spot reduce fat, the American Council on Exercise confirms — no matter what kind of physical activity you’re doing, cycling included.

It’s not all bad news, though. Cycling burns calories, and that calorie deficit can help lead to weight loss if you are supplementing your physical activity with a nutritious diet. With consistency, you’ll lose weight gradually all over, just not in one specific body part at a time (but you know this).

Cycling also kicks your metabolism into high gear, which is helpful for weight loss. “Some people will adapt to cycling in a way that makes them continue burning calories throughout the day,” says Dr Seltzer, “but you have to make sure you don’t use your morning cycling class as an excuse to do less during the rest of your day instead of staying active.”

The takeaway: Don’t take cycling classes with the expectation of shrinking your waistline. Use them as one component in your healthy lifestyle to help create a calorie deficit, boost your cardiovascular ability, and motivate you to practice other healthy habits outside of class, too.

How many calories are we talking here, realistically?

The number of calories you’ll burn is pretty individualized to you, the class you take, and the effort you put in. “Cycling burns between 400 and 1,000 calories an hour, depending on the intensity of the ride and how much the rider weighs,” says Lampa.

Both Lampa and Dr Seltzer agree that an ideal workout routine for indoor cycling class aficionados would include three or four classes per week. So, in theory, you could burn anywhere from 1,200 to 4,000 calories per week by taking cycling classes. That means you *could* burn half a kilogram per week if you maintain the calorie deficit you create through Spin classes by eating healthy on top of ’em. This won’t work if you *only* do cycling classes but don’t think about any other weight-loss factors (i.e. nutrition).

But it’s better to focus on doing what you reasonably can during the week as opposed to requiring yourself to take that many classes if it’s not realistic, Dr Seltzer says. Because, hey, Spinning once a week is better than not Spinning at all.

“You have to consider your own recovery capacity, because ideally you’d be doing six days of moderate, vigorous exercise a week,” he explains. “If you can do three or four days of spinning as part of that, that’s a good start — but you need to be able to do other kinds of activity, too.”

READ MORE: The Metabolism-Blasting Workout You Can Do On Any Stationary Bike

So, cycling should just be one part of my exercise routine, huh?

Yup. As mentioned, it’s a great form of cardio, but it doesn’t strengthen all your muscles in equal ways necessarily. Incorporating other kinds of physical activity can really crank up your weight-loss efforts, help protect your bones and joints, and even maximize the benefits of cycling.

Dr Seltzer likes the combination of resistance training and cycling, adding that if you enjoy both of those activities, you could aim for doing each one twice per week. Lampa, too, encourages supplementing your cycling with strength training. Why? Strength training will also help you build muscle, and, as you learned, the greater amount of muscle you have can increase the number of calories you burn during strength training *and* while you cycle, Lampa explains.

Yoga can be a valuable compliment to cycling as well, she adds. “After cycling three or four times a week, the body gets stuck in that seated position while hunched over,” she points out. “It’s really important to stretch out the muscles to decrease possible injuries.”

So if strength training isn’t your thing, consider taking a couple of yoga classes per week to offset the strain that may be associated with frequent cycling. Yoga is no slouch when it comes to burning calories, either: A 70kg person can burn about 150 calories for every 30 minutes of yoga, according to Harvard Health.

Should anyone avoid take cycling classes?

Dr Seltzer recommends you get evaluated by your doc before taking a cycling class if you’re at all worried about your health, an injury, or how it might affect a specific condition you have. But if you’re generally healthy you should get a green light no problem. He does add that some people simply find it uncomfortable to sit on a bike seat for an hour, and if it’s really painful you can totally find another activity to do instead.

“If you’re Spinning because you think it’s going to help you burn body fat but you actually hate it, then Spinning is not going to work for you in the long run,” he says. “It’s not like it’s way more effective than other kinds of cardio or your only option for losing weight.”

But if you adore indoor cycling? The low-impact benefits of cycling do make it an attractive option for cardio lovers who struggle with running or jogging.

^{This article was originally published on www.womenshealthsa.co.za}

^{Image credit: iStock}

Sarah Bradley

You’ve been logging your periods on that tracking app you downloaded to your smartphone and it says you’re supposed to get your period next week. Soooo what gives with the totally random spotting you see in your underwear today? Getting your period is annoying enough — no one wants to blow through their entire tampon stock before a period shows up for real.

Inconvenience aside, spotting before your period can put you a little on edge if you’re just not sure what’s going on with your body. But don’t freak out, as there are a bunch of reasons for why your period is getting ahead of itself that are usually no big deal.

Spotting before your period is most likely related to your body’s ovulation patterns.

The biggest factor at play typically is…hormones (surprise!). “[Spotting before your period] means you’re not ovulating perfectly and not making as much progesterone as you should,” says Dr Mary Jane Minkin, a clinical professor in the department of obstetrics, gynaecology, and reproductive sciences at the Yale University School of Medicine.

Progesterone is one of the hormones involved with making menstruation happen, and Dr Minkin says it plays an important role in stabilizing the lining of your uterus. If you don’t make enough of it during your cycle, some of your uterine lining may be discharged in the five to seven days before your period, which is that spotting you notice.

This is mostly just an annoyance; you don’t have to do anything to address progesterone production, and nothing bad will happen if you ignore it. (The exception here is if you’re planning a pregnancy, in which case you should talk to your ob-gyn about having your hormone levels tested.)

But if the spotting is really bugging you, you can take birth control pills with progesterone, which stop ovulation altogether and provide you with a consistent amount of hormones each month.

Now, what if imperfect ovulation isn’t the cause of your pre-period spotting? You’re probably still not dealing with anything super serious. Dr Minkin stresses that bigger health problems that can cause spotting (we’ll get into some of those in a sec) would also cause symptoms throughout your *whole* cycle, not just the week before your period.

Here are nine other reasons why you might be spotting prior to your period’s big arrival — and what you can do about ’em.

READ MORE: This Is Why You Get Clots In Your Period Blood

1. You’re on a new birth control.

You’re more likely to see spotting throughout your entire cycle if you started a new type of BC, Dr Minkin says, but this could also cause spotting right before your period specifically. This is called breakthrough bleeding, and the estrogen in your birth control is to blame.

Breakthrough bleeding should resolve on its own in a few months after you start your new BC. If it goes on longer than that, Dr Minkin suggests talking to your doc, who may recommend a birth-control method with a lower amount of estrogen.

2. You’re pregnant.

Surprise: You thought your period was arriving a week early, but it turns out it won’t be back for another nine months! Spotting ahead of your normal period week might actually be an early sign of pregnancy, says Dr Minkin. The spotting you’re noticing might actually be implantation bleeding (a.k.a. when the fertilized egg attaches to the uterine lining) or even just the early stages of pregnancy itself.

“About one-third of women will bleed in the first three months of pregnancy,” explains Dr Minkin, who notes that this (obviously) makes some people nervous but does not necessarily signal that anything is wrong with the pregnancy.

If you see spotting the week before your period typically comes but then don’t get a full-fledged period soon after, you should consider taking a pregnancy test.

3. You have a hormone imbalance.

Just like how progesterone can mess with your period, abnormal levels of estrogen may also be to blame for your spotting. Yes, this could mean estrogen changes related to a new BC, as mentioned above, or those associated with perimenopause or menopause.

A thyroid issue may also be at play here. According to Dr Minkin, if you have hypothyroidism (meaning your thyroid produces less thyroid hormone than it should) you might miss periods. And if you deal with hyperthyroidism (when you have an excess of thyroid hormone), you might have heavier periods. Both of these may cause spotting between periods.

If you’re dealing with thyroid dysfunction, you would likely have other symptoms in addition to period issues, such as weight loss/gain or fatigue. It’s likely that your doc would rule out other possible underlying reasons for your pre-period spotting but possibly test your thyroid hormone levels if she suspects a thyroid problem.

READ MORE: Why Is My Period Blood Brown All Of A Sudden?

4. You’re under the weather.

Dr Minkin says almost any kind of illness or infection, from influenza to pneumonia to pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), can throw your whole cycle out of whack and give you any kind of irregular bleeding, including spotting. So if you’re spotting before your period but also battling some kind of sickness, chalk it up to your immune system doing what it does best: prioritizing where it needs to direct more of its energy to get you healthy.

That said, if your spotting comes with pain, fever, or a foul vaginal odour, you should check in with your doc — it could point to the kind of infection that requires medical treatment (like an STD or the aforementioned PID).

5. You just had sex.

On another note, early spotting could be (coincidentally) linked to something else you just happened to do the week before your period — like getting busy with a sexual partner.

This doesn’t actually have anything to do with your period. Medically referred to as “post-coital bleeding,” spotting a bit of blood after recently having sex may happen as a result of friction during intercourse, like if the vaginal lining gets damaged or if you don’t have proper lubrication, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Bleeding in the days after having intercourse doesn’t necessitate a call to your provider unless it’s happening all the time, Dr Minkin says. “If it happens once and goes away, it’s unlikely to be anything bad…but if it’s repetitive, we get concerned about precancerous changes on the cervix and would want to do a Pap smear,” she explains.

READ MORE: 25 Reasons Why You’ve Got Period Symptoms But No Period

6. You’re dealing with fibroids.

Uterine fibroids are benign growths that appear in or close to the uterus, as Women’s Health reported previously. When women visit their gyno and end up discovering they have fibroids, it often has to do with the fact that they were experiencing abnormal bleeding (which could mean before their period, but more likely is happening periodically throughout the entire cycle) and heavy periods that last longer than a week.

Fibroids tend to bring on other symptoms in addition to abnormal bleeding. Those may include pelvic pain or pressure, constipation, the need to pee frequently, and more, according to the Mayo Clinic. So if you have bleeding (especially if it’s heavy) when your period should not be happening, not to mention any of these other symptoms, see your Doc. You can get diagnosed via an ultrasound and lab tests.

7. You have endometrial or cervical cancer.

Gynaecological cancers can present with abnormal bleeding, so it’s important to take any vaginal bleeding that you’re concerned about seriously and get it checked out.

As Dr Minkin points out, a little bit of spotting right before your period in particular most likely isn’t cause for concern. With these cancers, symptoms would happen throughout your whole cycle. (In addition to abnormal bleeding, other symptoms of endometrial or cervical cancers include pelvic pain and bloating.)

But with any health symptom that you feel uneasy about, don’t hold back from getting an expert opinion sooner rather than later—even if it turns out to be nothing serious. You know your body best and are your number-one health advocate.

^{This article was originally published on www.womenshealthsa.co.za}

^{Image credit: iStock}

Picture a glass of water filled with slices of cucumber…is there literally anything more refreshing? (Bonus points if you put those slices over your eyelids afterwards.)

But when it comes to eating cukes — do cucumbers actually have any nutrition benefits? Or is chowing down on cucumbers basically the same as eating iceberg lettuce?

Good news, cuke lovers: “Like any vegetable, cucumbers have health benefits, and even if they may not be as well-known as say, kale, it doesn’t mean they aren’t there,” says Jessica Perez, a registered dietician.

Case in point: all these cucumber benefits you’ve probably never heard of before…

1. Cucumbers are super nutritious.

Here’s the nutrition info for one cup of cucumbers:

• Calories: 16
• Protein: 1 g
• Fat: 0 g (0 g saturated)
• Fibre: 1 g
• Carbohydrates: 4 g
• Sugar: 2 g
• Sodium: 2 mg

And beyond their low-cal package, cucumbers pack a lot of important nutrients:

• Vitamin C: 14 percent of the RDI
• Vitamin K: 62 percent of the RDI
• Magnesium: 10 percent of the RDI
• Potassium: 13 percent of the RDI
• Manganese: 12 percent of the RDI

2. They contain antioxidants and micronutrients.

Scientists have been hard at work debunking the idea that cucumbers are basically salad filler. According to the Journal of Aging Research and Clinical Practice, cucumbers contain a group of polyphenols called lignans, which may be helpful in treating estrogen-related cancers.

Perez says they also contain other types of antioxidants like beta carotene and flavonoids, which help fight inflammation and protect cells from chronic disease.

READ MORE: 8 Benefits Of Gherkin Juice That Will Make You Want To Drink Some ASAP

3. Cucumbers may help keep your blood pressure in check.

High blood pressure, or hypertension, can leave you at risk for developing an aneurysm, stroke, or worse. Since cucumbers are high in the electrolyte potassium, they may reduce sodium-induced water retention and thus lower blood pressure, according to the American Heart Association.

But, of course, cucumbers on their own won’t mitigate the damage of an entire bag of chips a day, so if you do have high blood pressure, make sure you also work on reducing harmful habits (like smoking, maintaining a sedentary lifestyle, and eating excessive saturated fat- and cholesterol-laden foods), in addition to focusing on your cuke intake.

4. They can keep your digestion going strong.

Basically all the calories in cucumbers (and yes, there’s not that many) come from fibre. According to Perez, fibre helps improve gut health and bowel movement regularity, is beneficial in managing certain conditions like diabetes and high cholesterol, and will even fill you up to prevent you from overeating. Heck. Yes.

READ MORE: 9 Best Types Of Greens And Lettuce To Add To Your Salad

5. Cucumbers keep you mega-hydrated.

Staying hydrated is crucial for carrying nutrients to your cells, preventing constipation, and flushing out bacteria, to name just a few. Perez says eating cucumbers can help you reach your recommended daily fluid intake (eight cups of H2O, FYI).

The amount of water you actually ingest from cucumbers depends on your serving size, but since they’re made of 95 percent water, you can be sure a cup of cukes will contribute significantly to your water needs, according to Bonnie Taub-Dix, a registered dietician and creator of BetterThanDieting.com and Read It Before You Eat It.

6. They keep your gut happy.

As mentioned, cucumbers boast a lot of fibre, which is great for supporting a healthy gut. But when you eat them in pickle form, they’re really superstars in this category. ICYMI: Pickles (or gherkins) are made of cucumbers plus the right mix of pickling spices, salt and vinegar. “The fermentation process makes them perfect fuel for your gut,” says Taub-Dix. Increasing the “good bacteria” in your gut is associated with a host of benefits like better immunity and functional bowels.

7. They may help promote a healthy weight.

There’s not a single food or exercise that’s singlehandedly responsible for weight loss or maintenance, but cucumbers are certainly a great addition to an otherwise healthy lifestyle that’s rich in produce, whole grains, healthy fat, and lean protein. “They can help with weight loss in the sense that if you fill up more on them, you’ll be less likely to eat junk foods since they can be a very filling food,” says Perez.

READ MORE: Kale Vs. Spinach: What’s Better For You?

8. Cucumbers may help regulate diabetes.

Similar to how they can help you maintain a healthy weight, cucumbers are clutch at keeping diabetes in check. Perez, again, notes that because they’re rich in water, they expand in your stomach and thus reduce cravings for sugary snacks, which is a great way to regulate insulin levels.

9. They could help strengthen your bones.

Calcium isn’t the only nutrient that keeps your bones strong — think about opting for vitamin K-rich cucumbers more often as well. A study from the journal PLos Medicine found that postmenopausal women who took five milligrams of vitamin K every day for two years experienced 50 percent fewer fractures than the control group. Because vitamin K helps clot blood, however, talk to your doc before any sudden increase in cucumber intake if you’re taking any blood thinners.

10. They’re super versatile in cooking.

Cucumbers have a neutral flavour, so they work really well in a number of dishes, or as a simple snack.

^{This article was originally published on www.womenshealthsa.co.za}

^{Image credit: iStock}

Marissa Miller

Unless you’re Nick Jonas circa 2014, jealousy isn’t a good look (and won’t launch your solo career the way you want it to…trust). But hey, it happens—even when you’re in an otherwise happy relationship with an amazing partner. In fact, there are two types of jealousy in relationships, according to Dr Terri Orbuch, author of 5 Simple Steps to Take Your Marriage From Good to Great and professor at Oakland University in Michigan. (Fun!)

The first: “reactive jealousy” — which is basically when you become aware of an actual threat to your relationship. (Read: There’s something to react to.) The second one — “suspicious jealousy” — is the reason you just can’t resist taking a peek at your BF’s phone when he’s in the bathroom.

Suspicious jealousy, Orbuch says, “occurs when a partner hasn’t misbehaved.” Despite there being “no proof that this person has engaged in any behaviour that would significantly and perhaps legitimately threaten the future of the relationship,” your insecurities in the relationship, low self-confidence, or mistrust in your partner fuel your suspicion and eventual jealousy.

“This distinction is important, because almost everyone feels reactive jealousy when they realize their partner has been unfaithful or is doing something that jeopardizes the relationship,” she explains. “However, people vary in their tendencies to feel suspicious jealousy in the absence of any real threat.”

That’s because “some people seem to be more naturally or temperamentally jealous than others,” explains Dr Jill Squyres, a clinical psychologist in Colorado and Texas. Oh, and another super fun thing about relationship jealousy: You can inherit it from your parents (not so upset about getting your mom’s nose now, hmm?).

“Jealous parents will likely convey permissive or even encouraging attitudes about the role of jealousy in committed relationships,” she explains.

And another (sorta obvious) culprit: your past. If you’ve been burned by a cheating partner in the past, you might be more prone to jealousy because you don’t want to get fooled again. (I mean, I get it.)

To keep yourself from going green with envy, here are seven expert-approved tips guaranteed to kick jealousy to the curb:

1. Know yourself (and your little green-eyed monster).

Before you go all Sherlock Holmes on your S.O.’s social media, take stock of your natural inclination toward jealousy, suggests Squyres. Reflect on moments when that annoying feeling reared its ugly head and what events, if any, provoked them.

That can help you suss out whether that jealous feeling gnawing at you is based on solid intuition, or if it’s just anxiety or fear of losing your partner masquerading as intuition. “If you are rarely jealous, your gut instinct likely has more justification than if you are chronically jealous,” she explains.

READ MORE: So You Cheated On Your Partner — Now What?

2. Come off the offensive.

Instead of confronting your partner with guns a’blazing, just tell them how you’re feeling. (Try using “I” statements — like, “I’m feeling like X because of Y” — to take away some of the accusatory vibes.)

“Talking it over with your partner is the best way to determine if you have something to worry about and what to do about it,” says Squyres. Doing so can also help you jumpstart an open dialogue about what might trigger jealousy in you and your partner (it’s bound to happen to them, too), so you can both be sensitive to any reasonable concerns going forward.

If you hash things out and they ensure you that your jealousy is unfounded — and you still feel it — you may want to consider talking to a professional, who can help sort through your emotions.

3. Set healthy boundaries.

“Jealousy often reflects unhealthy boundaries,” Squyres says. (Uh…yikes.)

Yes, you want to feel close and securely attached to your partner, but they shouldn’t **actually** be your ride-or-die. Too-rigid boundaries that don’t allow for reasonable (emphasis on reasonable) closeness with other people outside your relationship is a problem, she explains.

Remember that open dialogue? “This can also be a good time to have an explicit discussion about appropriate boundaries, expectations regarding relationships with coworkers, friends, neighbours, and old flames, and what kind of regular checking in or contact you agree is reasonable,” Squyres notes.

Setting healthy relationship boundaries (think: lunches with your work husband is okay; texting after-hours is not) will help you avoid a future freakout.

READ MORE: 12 Ways To Feel Sexy AF Right This Very Second

4. Take a look in the mirror.

Real talk: Jealousy often stems from being too dependent on your relationship and not having a strong sense of your self-worth as an ~individual~, according to Orbuch. She recommends “taking an honest look at yourself, just you, apart from any relationship.”

Then comes the hard question: Do you depend on romantic relationships to determine how you’re feeling about yourself and your self-worth?

If the answer is “yes,” Orbuch encourages you “to spend time with friends and family who think you’re great and care about you” —

regardless of your relationship status.

Because they love you for you (and tbh, have probably been missing you a bit since you hit committed-couple status), they’ll be first in line to remind you exactly why you’re awesome.

5. Do your own thing.

Love makes you do crazy things, but unfortunately, so can your insecurities. (Remember that time you were three years’ deep in the Instagram of your S.O.’s college ex? Yeah, things like that.) “Feelings of inadequacy also lead to more jealousy,” explains Orbuch.

Before you can tackle that little green monster to the ground, it’s important to realize that your jealousy may have absolutely nothing to do with that cute coworker who commented on your partner’s post and everything to do with your own self-confidence (or lack thereof).

To build that up, love from friends and family can only go so far. You need true and total self-love — which starts by owning who you are.

“Branch out so your identity is not solely tied to being a partner,” Orbuch suggests. That can be anything from shaking up your usual routine with a new workout class to mastering a new skill, like learning another language. Whatever makes you feel like a bonafide badass, do it.

“The more your definition of self is tied to your own accomplishments and experiences apart from any romantic relationship, the less jealousy you will feel,” Orbuch says.

Plus, self-growth feels damn good.

READ MORE: Why You Need To Know Your Attachment Style For A Healthy Relationship

6. Don’t play the comparison game.

“Sometimes, you can become jealous or worried that your partner might be attracted to others because you are comparing yourself to those around you,” explains Orbuch. “When you do this, you can always find something that you don’t like about yourself.”

Instead of having a self-bashing sesh, focus on your strengths, she says. Maybe you kill it in the generosity department, or can always make people laugh.

Take a sec to list five positive things you like about yourself (or more — lean into that self-love, girl). Orbuch even recommends carrying the list around with you, for those times you need a little reminder.

7. Remember: jealousy ≠ love.

Unless you’re role-playing as a couple on a daytime soap, getting jealous won’t show your partner how much you love them, according to both Squyres and Orbuch. And — surprise, surprise, it’s not a recipe for long-term happiness.

“Some couples can create a strange kind of stable instability where jealousy leads to fighting, which then leads to making up,” Squyres explains. “This is an exhausting and destructive pattern.” (I’m already tired just thinking about it.)

On the flipside, Orbuch says, “If you try to make your partner jealous because you want to see how much they love you, it can backfire.” So, like…don’t do that.

Instead, when jealousy starts to creep up, think back to specific moments when you felt loved by your S.O. That will help you remind what love is and — just as important — what it isn’t.

^{This article was originally published on www.womenshealthsa.co.za}

^{Image credit: iStock}

Lindsay Geller

The term ‘addictive personality’ is one that most of us are familiar with. We use it in day-to-day conversations about the vices we stay away from like coffee or chocolate: “Oh, I’m not even going to start on that — I have an addictive personality.”

And in other (more serious) instances, we use the term when we don’t want to experiment with things like alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, gambling and so on.

But is the concept of an addictive personality fact or fiction?

READ MORE: If You Answer Yes To These Questions, You May Have A Food Addiction

As a health issue, addiction is complex and varied so it’s strange to pin down a single type of “personality” as one that is intrinsically drawn or prone to it. This is why the idea of an addictive personality is considered too “one-type-fits-all” for something as complicated as addiction.

Maia Szalavitz, Author of Unbroken Brain: A revolutionary New Way of Understanding Addiction, says that the idea of an addictive personality is a myth.

“The ‘addictive personality’ is seen as a bad one: weak, unreliable, selfish and out of control. The temperament from which it springs is seen as defective and unable to resist temptation,” she writes.

READ MORE: Let’s Get Our Facts Straight About Sex Addiction

“Despite decades of attempts, no single addictive personality common to everyone with addictions has ever been found… research finds no universal character traits that are common to all addicted people.”

Guess that’s that on that!

But in the same breath, there are still certain traits that leave people at a higher risk of developing an addiction — and that’s the real conversation.

Let’s take a look at what these are:

1. Genetics

Several studies have found a significant link between the genetic make-up of a person and their risk for developing some sort of addiction. Essentially if have a close family member who struggles with, or has struggled with, issues of addiction — you are at a higher risk than the average person to have similar issues.

2. Mental health

Mental health disorders such as depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, antisocial personality disorder and so on have also been linked to a higher risk for developing an addiction. But it’s important to remember that this does not mean that every person with a mental health issue will have an addiction issue.

Prof. Mark Griffiths, a professor of behavioural addiction, writes: “Just because some person has some of the personality traits associated with addiction does not mean they are, or will become, an addict. Practitioners consider specific personality traits to be warning signs, and that’s all they are.”

3. Lack of impulse control

People who struggle to control their impulses are also at a high risk of becoming addicted to something. This is because they are more likely to make decisions without necessarily worrying, or even caring, about the consequences. But according to the American Addiction Centre, people who are too firm with their impulses also experience a high risk for addiction. “People with intense focus and habitual behaviours may be as likely to develop addiction as those who are unable to control their impulse.”

4. Lack of self-regulation

A drug addiction study that was done at the University of Rochester Medical Centre found that the failure to control behaviour based on the expected reward from said behaviour is linked to the development of an addiction.

“The vast majority of people, when faced with something they want, will assess how achievable the goal is and adjust their actions and expectations in order to maximise their potential to achieve it,” senior author of the study, Prof. John Foxe, said.

“However, it appears that the integrity of this system of assessment and self-regulation is impaired in substance abusers and this may contribute to the risk-taking behaviours and poor decision-making commonly associated with this population.”

^{This article was originally published on www.womenshealthsa.co.za}

^{Image credit: iStock}

Yamkela Mdaka

You’re eating well and working out, but you’re still gaining weight. If you add winter to the mix, weight fluctuation can be your worst enemy.

Personally, winter rubs me up the wrong way. I could be working out consistently, with no to little results. “That’s it, I’m blaming winter,” is what I’m likely to say, but sometimes winter has absolutely nothing to do with our weight fluctuations.

Below are a few reasons you could be gaining a few kilos instead of losing.

1. Chronic Stress

Chronic stress can cause havoc to your metabolism. People eat as a way to comfort themselves. Chronic stress often leads to hormonal changes, that alter your cravings for high-calorie foods.

READ MORE: 10 Times Your Weight Gain Might Signal A Big Health Problem

2. Leptin Levels

First things first, what is leptin? Leptin is a hormone that is produced by your body’s fat cells. The more body fat you carry, the more leptin you produce. Leptin targets an area of the brain called hypothalamus, signalling whether you’re full or if your body needs more food. The problem arises when the leptin levels are elevated, but the brain doesn’t acknowledge the hormones signal to not consume food anymore. A solution to reversing your leptin sensitivity is by exercising more frequently, sleeping longer and eating more fibre.

3. Exercise

Whoa, hold up!

Exercise? That’s right!

Remember there are different workout routines for a variety of fitness outcomes. Some, workout to gain weight, but over-exercising can lead to a few stress-related hormonal fluctuations. If you’re exercising to lose weight, but there are no results it’s probably because you’re not taking recovery days between your workouts. Resting days are necessary for muscle repair and to reduce inflammation.

4. Medication

Weight gain from medication is caused by a number of factors such as medicine, your age, and the medical condition. Depending on the medication you’re taking, the meds could stimulate your appetite. Talk to your healthcare about these side effects and see if they can provide you with alternative medicine. In addition to that, pay a bit more attention to your diet and exercise.

READ MORE: I Just Started Working Out – Why Am I Gaining Weight?

5. Genetics

Our genetic makeup has a huge influence on what happens to our bodies, but that’s not an excuse to not put on those running shoes. Don’t stop moving, no matter what. Consistent workouts can do wonders for your health. Read more about it here

6. Water intake

How can something so calorie-free be responsible for weight gain? When you consume and excrete large amounts of water, the results on the scale change. That’s no reason to stop drinking the good stuff though. The weight gain is not actual weight gain, it’s simply water weight.

^{This article was originally published on www.womenshealth.co.za} 

^{Image credit: iStock}

Ondela Mlandu

A study suggests that airlines do not carry adequate supply of cures for youngsters on board their flights.