With the hustle and bustle of our everyday lives, we often find ourselves yearning for a quieter, more balanced life. If your life has come to resemble an endless race to the finish line, take a look at the suggestions below to bring a greater sense of peace, calm, and even simplicity back into your life.

Tip # 1: Manage Your Time Better
Having effective time management skills will allow you to spend more time with your family and friends. Not great with time management? Then here are a few steps to help you improve your skills:

• Prioritize your time by rating tasks in the order of importance and urgency then direct additional time to activities that are most meaningful to you.
• Deal with procrastination by using a day planner, breaking large projects into smaller ones, and setting short-term deadlines.
• Keep a record of how you spend your time, including work, family, and leisure and make adjustments accordingly.
• Save time by focusing, concentrating, and realizing when it’s time to delegate responsibilities to others.
• Don’t over or under commit yourself or commit to anything that’s not important to you.

Tip # 2: Learn Healthy Coping Strategies
Living a balanced life means that it’s important to learn healthy coping strategies. We all get overwhelmed from time to time so we need to know how to deal with stress and issues as they arise. One way to do this is by recording stressful events, your reaction to it, and how you could have reacted in a journal.

Using this information, you can change unhealthy coping strategies into healthy ones. This will help you focus on the positive and what you can change or control in your life.

Tip # 3: Evaluate Your Lifestyle
You may not realize this but in most instances our behavior and lifestyle choices greatly affect whether or not our life is balanced. To get things into perspective examine your beliefs to reduce conflict between the life you believe you live and the life you really live.
This does not bring balance directly to your life, but it can interfere with the way your body deals with stress in edition to other issues. If your perception is different from your reality try to:

• Balance your personal, work, and family needs according with your other obligations.
• Get to know yourself by spending some quality time with you. This will help you to find your sense of purpose in life.
• Don’t drink or smoke and make sure you get enough sleep.  These are major stressors to your body and cause you to feel “out of balance.”
• Yes your doctor was right—you need moderate exercise several times a week and a balanced diet for a physical and mental strength. Think about it … how do you feel after you eat a Big Mac? Enough said!
• Do something for someone else and expect nothing in return. This will help boost your “feel good” endorphins!

Tip # 4: Have a Support System in Place
Sometimes we need someone to talk to and having a support system in place keeps you balanced because you know you have someone to turn to. Having a positive support system in place is like having “mental security.” You know that you are cared for, loved, esteemed, and valued by those you care for the most. If you don’t have a support system in place the best place to start is to look within your family, friends, church and the community. Research indicates that having social support leads to having better mental and physical health and a better overall quality of life.

Tip # 5: Change Your Thinking
When an event triggers negative thoughts, this may cause you to feel out of balance.  Usually when this happens you experience fear, insecurity, anxiety, depression, rage, guilt, and a sense of worthlessness or powerlessness. These are all emotions that trigger your mind and body to disconnect and cause you to react instead of act.

When issues such as these come up the best way to get your self back into a safe zone, where you feel you are in control is change your way of thinking and act (not react) on the problem. To change your way of thinking start by:

Ridding your mind of any irrational thoughts. This will help you avoid exaggerating the negative thought, anticipating the worst, interpreting an event incorrectly, and will eliminate unnecessary stress.

Learning to solve your problems by identifying all aspects of the issue. Then instead of putting it off find ways to deal with it immediately.

Changing your communication style so that you communicate in a way that makes your views known without making others feel put down, hostile, or intimidated. Poor communication causes a lot of issues that otherwise would never have surfaced.

By implementing a few of these tips you may also increase your performance and productivity which in the end will help reduce your stress and allow you to focus on what matters most to you: Living.

Living a simpler life is all about learning how to slow down and connect more deeply with your inner self.  Whether you do that by simplifying your surroundings, calming your schedule or enjoying a quiet respite each day, the result is the same—a happier, balanced, and more peaceful you!

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In 2005, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported(1) that drug overdoses killed 33,000 people that year. Roughly 10,000 people died in 1990 of the same causes. In 1999, it was 20,000 people. Are you seeing the trend? In 2005, drug deaths were second only car accidents (44,000 people killed) in the category of accidental deaths.

The category ‘‘drug-induced causes” includes not only deaths from dependent and nondependent use of either legal or illegal drugs, but also includes poisoning from medically prescribed and other drugs.

This huge increase in people dying is not because of a heroin or crack epidemic. It’s not young, black people who are dying either. This increase in deaths is happening in the middle-aged, white demographic. CDC epidemiologist Leonard Paulozzi stated to Congress, “Mortality statistics suggest that these deaths are largely due to the misuse and abuse of prescription drugs.” (1a)

46% of of Americans(2) take at least one prescription pill daily. Do we really need this shit? Are these drugs really solving all of our problems? If so, why is the pharmaceutical industry growing every single year, with some of the biggest, if not the biggest, profit margins of any industry?

If you haven’t seen the drug commercials, you are not watching TV. It used to be the majority of commercials were trying to get you to buy a car. That fact may still hold true, but these days you can’t get through a set of commercials without being pitched the latest in Restless Leg Syndrome medication, or the best new pill to get you to sleep at night. Here’s a tip: Stop being such a stressed out lard ass and get some exercise. Maybe your wife would screw you to sleep if you weren’t so repulsive.

Get yourself a Tivo and skip the bullshit. I’ve never felt better!

How much is spent on marketing prescription drugs?

We all know about the commercials. But that only accounts for a portion of total spend for marketing pharmaceutical drugs. Big Pharma spends millions on commercial email, online marketing, and print. They will spend $1 billion in 2008 on direct marketing to make a return of $10 billion (3). Now that’s profitable!

Despite my best efforts, I cannot find a comprehensive break-down of the total marketing spend of pharmaceutical companies. The best I can do is a study that shows that the, “pharmaceutical industry’s drug promotion efforts … estimate that the industry spent $12.7 billion promoting its products in 1998.” (4)

The resulting estimate of $12.7 billion is high not only in absolute terms but in relative terms, Ma noted, as the pharmaceutical industry ranks 34th among the 200 U.S. industries with the largest advertising expenditures.

That was in 1998. The pharmaceutical industry has grown exponentially since then. The commercials have only gotten more rampant. And I thought drugs were so expensive because of Research and Development!

Shouldn’t drugs sell themselves? Do you get the feeling that you’re being sold these drugs to make you think that you’re sick with something, just so you have to spend an insane amount of money per month on prescriptions? If those advertising numbers piss you off, then you might want to check out this article: Big Pharma Money Spent on Marketing Exceeds Drug Development Costs

Are these drugs we’re swallowing by the pound effective?

Don’t get me wrong. I am not some holistic health nut (although I’d probably live longer if I were). For the sake of disclosure, I do not take any prescriptions drugs. Am I lucky, or do I realize that most of our problems can be prevented or cured with changes to lifestyle?

I do see a place for drugs. Some people get legitimate help from the drugs the take. Some. A good portion of the drugs that make up the multi-billion dollar industry of pharmaceuticals are simply doing nothing, if not making us worse.

A recent study(5) suggests that anti-depressants only work for the severely depressed. If you’re one of those halfway depressed souls, then you might as well be taking a sugar pill.

An analysis of the data showed that patients taking antidepressants fared no better than patients receiving a placebo. This appeared to be the case whether the patients were mildly or moderately depressed. The drugs only seemed to benefit a small group of patients — those with the severest depression when the study began.

Middle-aged women: “Doctor, I’m depressed because I’m fat and I don’t like myself.”
Doc: “Here’s some Paxil.”
Pharmaceutical company: “CHA-CHING!”

Wake Up America!

Drug companies lie to you. Plain and simple. Those drugs you thought were non-habit forming? They are. Those drugs you thought could cure your Restless Leg Syndrome (which has got to be a made up disease), well, it causes compulsive gambling. Those drugs that cured arthritis? Well, turns out they cause heart attacks and the drug companies knew it.

The staggering death rate from accidental drug overdose or use is no accident. We’re taking more drugs than we’ll ever need. We’re turning children into mindless drones because every time a kid jumps off the wall they’re diagnosed with ADHD. (Maybe it was that 100 grams of sugar in their cereal they had in the morning?) Some will cause addiction and will ruin your life, like Percocet or Paxil. Others will simply eat up your income, producing absolutely no results except less money for you to spend on the things you need.

How about stopping the problems before they start? Get off your ass and live your life. Being overweight causes more problems than you can imagine and no pill is going to fix that. Working 16 hour days may bring in more money, but you’re distancing yourself from your family. Don’t be surprised when one of you has to get on anti-depressants, whether its you because of stress or your spouse because of depression and loneliness.

Take a step back and look at your life. Do you actually have problems, or do you only think you have problems because of what some commercial told you during Oprah?

Our bodies are incredibly well developed machines. Our brains are marvels of modern science. We can fix 95% of our problems because they are self-induced.

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Teenagers lack knowledge about condom use, the study suggests

Nearly half of all under-25s do not use condoms with new partners, according to a new survey.

The report by the National Aids Trust also found that more than 200 young people questioned rarely or never used a condom.

The finding has prompted the body to call on the government to introduce condom advertising on TV and radio before the nine o’clock watershed.

The Trust is also lobbying for condom awareness to form an essential part of compulsory education in all schools.

The call comes during National Condom Week.

Wake-up call

Deborah Jack, chief executive of the National Aids Trust, said: “In National Condom Week, the British public need a wake-up call on condom use.

“Too many people don’t know the basic facts on how condoms prevent a sexually transmitted infection such as HIV.

“Too many people are inconsistent in how they use condoms and too many people give up on condoms in a relationship without a health check-up, thus possibly harming their health or that of their sexual partner.

“We need to educate the whole population in the importance of condoms.”

Sexual partner

The Ipsos MORI survey suggests that 49% of Britons don’t always use a condom with a new sexual partner.

Some 24% of people questioned who had a new sexual partner within the last two years said they would only stop using a condom once they had both been tested for HIV and other sexually-transmitted infections (STIs).

A further 17% said they would always use a condom.

That leaves over half - 53% - putting themselves at risk of an STI when they stop using condoms in a relationship.

I’m seeing more Chlamydia, Gonorrhoea and infections like HIV and Hepatitis Dr Anhoushka Hari

Doctors say they’re seeing more problems in their surgeries because of this.

GP Anhoushka Hari told Newsbeat she’s treating more and more people with STIs and has also seen an increase in accidental pregnancies.

“I’m seeing more Chlamydia, Gonorrhoea and infections like HIV and Hepatitis,” she says.

“A lot of these diseases are silent, so you can be carrying and transmitting one without having any signs of it at all.”

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Béatrice de Géa for The New York Times

WHAT’S ON TV? Nintendo’s Wii Fit offers, from left, hula-hoop exercises, yoga, fitness training, top, and boxing.

WHEN Nintendo released the Wii 18 months ago, it upended the notion of what video games could be. Moving beyond the sunlight-deprived young men at gaming’s core, Nintendo appealed to the rest of the world with an intuitive, family-friendly entertainment experience.

Women, parents, even nursing-home residents have been drawn to the Wii’s simple evocations of games such as tennis and bowling. The Wii has become the best-selling game machine of the current generation, selling more than 25 million worldwide, and remains scarce on store shelves across the nation.

Now Nintendo’s latest brainchild, Wii Fit, could send similar ripples through the home-fitness market. Scheduled to be released in North America next week, Wii Fit is not meant to replace a gym. But in a world of $3,000 elliptical machines and $150-an-hour personal trainers, it has at least a chance of becoming a global, affordable, mass-market interactive home-fitness system. (On its overseas debut last month, it became one of the fastest-selling games ever in Britain.)

Exercising with Wii Fit is like having a Bob Harper or a Denise Austin who talks back — gently cajoling you through exercises, praising, nudging, even reminding you to eat a banana once in a while. It also lets you see how you stack up against friends or family members; each user creates a cartoony avatar called a “Mii.”

The system costs $90, plus $250 for the basic Wii console. It uses a television and a sensitive “balance board” placed on the floor to present a few dozen activities, from push-ups to yoga, to more entertaining challenges like balance games and aerobic contests. Nintendo is not aiming Wii Fit at people with a serious exercise regimen. Rather, it is meant to appeal to the person busy with work and family who just wants to have fun getting a little toned at home.

Believe me, I could use some help. As a video game journalist, I live in a world where Buffalo wings, potato chips and jalapeño poppers are considered food groups. The closest I get to serious exercise is flopping around at concerts like a lumpy, overeducated flounder.

Then again, most Americans aren’t really in great shape either. So I felt I could reasonably reflect the broad mass market (if you will) in testing whether a silicon coach has the potential to rescue millions of Americans from decrepitude.

To help me evaluate the system, Thursday Styles recruited two fitness professionals, an avid exerciser and one work-at-home parent to try Wii Fit at the Chelsea Piers sports complex in Manhattan. Here is what we thought:

THE MULTITASKER

Shira Weiss, a 33-year-old mother of two who works out of her home in Teaneck, N.J., as a publicist for small businesses, wants Wii Fit because it fits both her lifestyle and her doorway. “Before having the kids, I used to work out every day — I belonged to a gym — but now it’s really only when I have a chance,” she said. “Let me put it this way: I clean with vigor. I like aerobic exercise and would like a treadmill. But we tried to get one, and the door of our house was too narrow. It just wouldn’t fit, and my husband was like, ‘Forget the treadmill.’ ”

She eyed the 12” by 20” Wii Fit board. “But this could work,” she said.

Wii Fit’s almost 50 exercises are divided among four categories: strength training, aerobics, balance games and yoga. Each user creates a personal profile, including a potential weight loss (or gain) goal. The system tracks a user’s weight and body-mass index as well as their performance on individual exercises. To help prevent novices from overextending or frustrating themselves, only a few exercises are initially available in each category; more advanced activities are unlocked only after completing simpler options.

Ms. Weiss found her groove in Wii Fit’s aerobics section. She proved a quick study with the hula hoop game (gyrating in circles), before finding her long-sought treadmill replicated in the running game. In Wii Fit, running does not use the board. Rather, the user puts the TV-remote-size Wii controller in her pocket or hand and runs in place while the motion-sensitive controller serves as a pedometer. On screen, the user runs through a bucolic park while a pacesetter beckons the player onward. For longer runs, users can watch television while the Wii tracks their progress.

“I enjoyed it,” Ms. Weiss said. “It’s more interesting than running on a treadmill because it gives you something to look at. It’s like an interactive exercise game. In some ways, it’s like playing Nintendo, but with your body.”

BOTTOM LINE Wii Fit could be the right choice for exercise amateurs trying to get in shape in the living room.

THE SWEAT HOUND

Luke McCambley, 18, knows he is an anomaly.

“You don’t find many art-school gym rats, but I guess I qualify,” he said.

Mr. McCambley, a student at the School of Visual Arts in New York, was the only Wii Fit tester who actually owns a Wii. But he also belongs to a Crunch downtown, works out six days a week, and is studying to become a personal trainer.

So it wasn’t surprising he had little problem with various strength exercises like push-ups and leg twists. He aced balance games like skiing and heading soccer balls, and looked like he could punch through the screen in his aerobic boxing session.

“I go to the gym, so I don’t need this, but for someone who doesn’t want to leave the living room it would be great,” he said. “Over all, I liked it a lot. It seems really well-designed for the people it’s for. I worked up a sweat with a couple of the exercises.”

He added: “If you really committed to the strength exercises, you could actually get some results. That said, if you’re really looking to get fit, join a gym. But this would be great for mothers, or if they want their kids to get a little more in shape.”

BOTTOM LINE Serious athletes don’t need Wii Fit, but you (or your children) might like it.

THE YOGA MASTER

Wii Fit is not, however, the right choice if you want to impress Cyndi Lee, 54, the founder of Om Yoga in New York.

Before trying the system, she eyed the board and declared, “It’s too small.” Nonetheless, she sailed through a progression of Wii Fit’s yoga poses, including the half-moon, warrior, tree and sun salutation. For each pose, at least one of the user’s feet or hands is usually on the board.

Afterward, her main concern seemed to be that Wii Fit reduces yoga to a collection of physical exercises rather than presenting yoga as a comprehensive approach to physical, mental and emotional wellness.

“This is a little dumbed down and they are teaching more from a fitness or gym perspective,” she said. “They’re saying things like, ‘Tighten your glutes,’ which we would never say in yoga.”

Ms. Lee also spied what she called incorrect elements within some poses. “Like with the warrior pose they show the knee going past the foot, which is a big no-no,” she said.

BOTTOM LINE Wii Fit will not make you a yogi.

THE FITNESS PROFESSIONAL

Sharone Huey, 51, an exercise physiologist at the Sports Center at Chelsea Piers, spent the most time with Wii Fit. Over two days, she watched most other sessions and spent at least two and a half hours with the system herself.

Her initial skepticism evolved into a somewhat surprised admiration.

“Actually I think it’s pretty good,” she said. “You can definitely get a workout. When I started doing it, I realized all the activities were pretty much on point. There were some things I didn’t like, like the alignment in a couple of places. But over all, I thought they did a good job and this will be a good tool for people who can’t make it to the gym.”

“I can see this in a seniors center or senior community and it would be very interesting to be able to set up a whole class of people on boards, tracking their progress,” said Ms. Huey, who reigned supreme as the week’s hula-hoop champion.

“The big thing is so many people buy a treadmill or some other exercise machine and in two weeks it becomes an expensive clothes rack,” she said. “This makes exercise fun and I think it will help to motivate a lot of lazy folks.”

Among them, potentially other members of the Huey family. “I’ll get this for my lazy sisters,” she said.

BOTTOM LINE Watch for the Chelsea Piers Wii Fit class coming soon (maybe, just maybe).

THE COUCH POTATO

And what about Mr. Lumpy Flounder himself? Around this time last year, I went to West Virginia to write about a plan there to install the aerobic video game Dance Dance Revolution in every school in the state. When I got back I thought, “O.K. let’s see if I’ll exercise regularly at home on D.D.R.”

I lasted a week. The problem was there were days when I just didn’t want to dance to electronic house music for half an hour. Wii Fit just might be different (though more than one tester commented on Wii Fit’s somewhat cheesy music). For me, the key is that one can approach Wii Fit like a game. In its sheer variety of activities, you can always find something to do. It beckons me to unlock the different exercises, to get four stars in snowboarding, to get through six more jackknife crunches.

I’ve spent about seven hours with Wii Fit recently and I’m still doing it. The step exercises remain my strong suit, though I’m still trying to figure out how to use my balance to navigate my floating bubble through the canyon without popping. I’m even running a little.

But I realize that in an exercise program no manner of electronic frippery (or fancy workout clothes) can make up for old-fashioned motivation. If I stop using Wii Fit, it won’t be because the graphics or the sound were bad. It will just mean I got tired of exercising, and no mere product will be at fault. Will I achieve the modest weight loss goal I’ve set? I can only hope so.

And no, I won’t tell you what it is.

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