Around 2,000 people get lost in the woods every year. We all believe we’re not going to be one of those unfortunate souls…but none of us can ever be 100 percent sure.Here are some survival strategies you need to know to avoid getting into this precarious situation in the first place. But before getting into the nitty-gritty, take a look at the dos and don’ts every hiker or backpacker should memorize.

Getting Lost In The Woods

Do's:<ul><li>Tell someone at home where you’re going beforehand.</li><li>After you realize you’re lost, follow the STOP protocol and prioritize your needs.</li><li>Travel downhill and follow streams towards possible human habitations.</li><li>Stay in open areas and use all signalling devices at your disposal.</li><li>Consider buying a satellite phone if venturing frequently into service-free areas</li></ul>Don’ts:<ul><li>Panic – establish an escape or action plan and follow it strategically</li><li>Deplete your energy running around without a coherent plan.</li><li>Ignore symptoms of serious conditions like hypothermia and heat exhaustion.</li></ul>

Do's And Don'ts

Surviving when you do get lost involves a little preparation. Always, always make sure you have the backpacking 10 essentials with you when you go out hiking or backpacking:<ul><li>Water purifier</li><li>Extra food and bottled water</li><li>Firestarter (matches/lighter)</li><li>First Aid Kit</li><li>Emergency shelter (e.g. a tarp or bivvy)</li><li>Extra Insulation (emergency blanket or extra clothes)</li><li>Flashlight/Headlamp</li><li>Navigation tools (e.g. compass, personal location beacon, maps)</li><li>Sun Protection</li><li>Repair kit & Tools (duct tape and multi-tool are a great combo)</li></ul>

Always Bring The 10 Essentials

Once you realize you’re lost, the first things you need to do are stop, relax, and think about your situation carefully. Excessive anxiety will only cloud your judgment and drain your energy. The STOP method helps you remember what to do after you realize you’re lost. These letters stand for: “stay calm,” “think,” “observe,” and “plan.”A few questions you should address are: How did I get here? How long will my food and water last me? Where’s the closest river or stream? Where should I set up shelter? What’s the weather like? How long till it gets dark? How’s my health?

What To Do IF You Get Lost In The Woods

Once your mind is calm, observe your surroundings and try to get an idea where you’re located. Try and mentally retrace your steps. If it is safe to do so, then climb to the highest elevation possible to better assess your location. If such a venture will take significant time or energy, or you don’t feel confident in undertaking it, then DO NOT attempt it. Simply STAY PUT.

Pinpoint Your Location

Survival experts recommend that people who are lost in mountains or forests travel downhill. In most wildlife areas, it should take you no more than 20 hours of walking downhill to reach a town or city, or at least a road or established trail.Since most cities in the past were built near bodies of water, it’s likely you’ll come across other humans once you reach the stream’s source by heading in a downhill direction towards a valley. Not only are you more likely to come across civilization by walking downhill, it’s also easier on your body and will save you energy.

Travel Downhill

Keep your eyes (and ears) peeled for any and all traces of humans. Whether it’s some trash left behind by a non-practitioner of LNT, a trail or pathway, camping sites, or the sounds of people talking.If you can’t determine your location or navigate your way back to civilization, then you are best to STAY PUT and await rescue. While waiting for help to arrive, you should be aware of the biggest risks that you are likely to face and how to effectively handle them.

Stay Put If In Doubt

You can only survive three days without water. This timeframe, however, could be even shorter if you’re hiking in humid environments. On most trips, you’ll likely have brought H2O with you, but packing a water purifier such as the lifestraw could help save your life by allowing you to drink safely from wild water sources. Alternatively, if you have brought a stove or are adept at making fires, then boiling H2O from a stream will also make it safe to drink.

Dehydration

The onset of hypothermia is usually gradual, so you have to watch yourself carefully before the debilitating symptoms take hold of you.Hypothermia produces symptoms such as extreme shivering, weakened pulse, delirium, and poor balance. It’s far easier for you to contract hypothermia at night, especially if you’re in an area that’s damp.If you feel your temperature dropping, remove any wet clothes you have on because these only increase your risk of developing hypothermia. Use your emergency blanket and light a fire nearby to provide external heat. You can also drink warm water.

What To Do If You Get The Shivers

Cramps are an early warning sign that you’re dehydrated. As these symptoms appear, try to find a shaded area and drink purified water.Once you start to experience symptoms like nausea, clammy hands, or a fast pulse, you must lie down in the shade, sip a drink slowly, and sprinkle cool water all over your face and body.Finally, to avoid sunburn and eye damage, a container of high-grade sunscreen and a pair of sunglasses are musts if you’re hiking in high temps or areas where you’ll be exposed to the sun.

Heat Exhaustion

Food is important for giving you the energy you need to create and maintain your shelter, or to hike out to safety. Take stock of the food you’ve brought with you and work out how to stretch out your supply for as long as possible.Reserve your energy only for necessary tasks. With more energy in reserve, you’ll naturally require less food to survive.Whenever hunger cravings overwhelm your mind, just slow down, relax, and remember that humans can survive three weeks without food. After a few hours, your mind should become significantly less stressed.

Hunger

Now that you know the greatest risks to your safety, it’s time to learn how to keep yourself going while waiting on help while out in the wild.You need a cool head now more than ever. If you’ve never practised meditation before, now is as good a time as any to begin. Sit down and notice your in-breath and out-breath for 15 to 30 minutes. It takes about 30 mins or so for adrenaline to be broken down in your body. Allowing yourself this time to calm down will allow you to think much more clearly again.

Surviving While Awaiting Rescue: Stay Calm

If you have made the decision to wait out and be rescued then the first priority is locating a reliable water source nearby without wandering too far off.If you can’t find a stream or lake, consider hanging out a tarp to collect rainwater. While quite intensive, you can also use a piece of clothing to collect morning dew off plants and trees and wring the H2O out into a suitable container.

Find Some Water

In order to effectively ward off hypothermia, you need to create a reliable source of fire and find a good shelter. Besides a cave (uninhabited, of course), the best shelter for a cold night in the woods is a tent. If you don’t have a tent and can’t find a safe cave, then try to set up camp near fallen trees or by rock outcroppings.Anyone who doesn’t have an emergency tent with them can build a makeshift tent out of other materials like a tarp or a poncho. You’ll need to tie a rope or place a branch between two nearby trees before draping your tarp over.

Make A Shelter

Don’t walk around aimlessly for hours on end. Always think through your strategy before wasting your energy. You really need to watch how much energy you exert if you don’t have a huge food supply.When you need a break, then sit back, drink some water, eat something, get in your sleeping bag, and rest. Some hikers find it’s better to take catnaps throughout the day instead of sleeping all through the night. This is especially the case if you have trouble falling asleep in the woods after dusk.

Don't Burn Yourself Out

Make sure you are ready to signal potential rescuers. This could take many forms, such as blowing a whistle, flashing a mirror (or shiny metallic object) or even spelling “help” on the ground in an open area.If lost in the mountains, you should use the appropriate signals to alert mountain rescue planes or helicopter teams.

Signalling To The Rescuers

The most important thing before going on a hike is to let friends and family know where you’re going and for how long. Leave them a map of your planned route and any other pertinent information about your trip, i.e. direction of travel, parking location. This way, if you don’t return within the timeframe you’ve provided, then your loved ones can alert the authorities. Don’t get caught up in the mythos of the “rugged explorer.” Letting others know your whereabouts is a sign of maturity and it’s critical for your safety.

How To NOT Get Lost In The Woods: Tell Your Loved Ones Where You Are Headed

This is a great tip if you’re a beginner. It’s an even better idea to stay close to your home on your first hiking adventure. While it might not be as exciting as heading deep into the wilds, this is a great way to learn basic navigation skills in a safe environment.

Travel In Open Areas Or Popular Tourist Destinations

If you’re not too experienced with hiking or backpacking, there’s no shame in scheduling a tour with a guide, which is also a great way to learn the ropes before venturing out on your lonesome.While this tip is optional for easier hiking treks, it’s a requirement for all other times. There are plenty of websites where you can book guided hiking tours around the world, so there’s no excuse for going it alone in areas out of your comfort zone.

Travel With A Guide

You should know how to read scales on a map. The most common map is 1:25,000, which means one centimeter on the map translates to 250 meters on the ground. You should also be able to identify features on the map and understand contouring, both of which can help you navigate terrain safely.Figure out how to use a real compass. Invest in a high-quality compass you feel comfortable with and learn how to use it before your hike.

Learn Basic Navigation With A Map And Compass

Please remember to tell all your relations about your trip and carry your essential travel gear with you on the trail. These two preventative tips, along with the strategies listed above, could well prove critical in “surviving to tell the tale.”

The Bottom Line

Would you know what to do if you get lost in the woods, mountains, or wilderness? Make sure to plan for the best, yet prepare for the worst with our practical survival guide.

You would think it inconceivable in our modern age that it could be possible to get lost in the woods, however, it still happens to around 2000 people annually. Find out how to not to become part of that statistic with our guide.

Stashed ideas

What to do if you get lost in the woods - My Open Country

If you’ve never experienced clinical depression, it is hard to understand what it is like. Well-intentioned people will say things like, “just think positive,” or “just snap out of it.” Though they may not say it out loud, some people think a person with depression is just being lazy, or just trying to get attention. However, major depressive disorder is a serious psychological condition.

Depression: Saying "Be Positive" Doesn't Help

<ul><li>Depression is the second most common mental health issue (behind anxiety) and affects almost all human beings on the planet.</li><li>Everyone has ups and downs, but clinical depression is debilitating, affecting the ability to do even the most simple daily tasks.</li><li>Serious depression literally changes your brain and how it perceives in three ways:</li><li>You develop a negative view of yourself (I am worthless)</li><li>A person with depression believes they are terrible people, they cannot do anything right, and they are inherently flawed. This is why suicide starts to become an attractive option.</li></ul>

Understanding Clinical Depression

<ul><li>Encourage them to seek professional help: Since depression makes people think things will never get better, they often don't bother to seek help.</li><li>Help them get moving: The most important thing in the treatment of depression is "behavioural activation," which basically means to get moving-both literally (as in exercising or just getting out of the house) and metaphorically (in moving toward something you value, like family, career, or spirituality).</li><li>Offer validation and encouragement: People with depression tend to think very negatively, so avoid the temptation to argue with them.</li></ul>

What You Can Do to Help

<a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4684-5122-1_13">Numerous</a> <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/buy/2016-37833-001">studies</a> have shown that social support helps prevent and moderate the effects of depression. Since a big problem with depression is getting lost in the negative thoughts in your own mind, being around other people helps to refocus the mind on more important things, and can remind the person that they are so much more than their depression.

Foster Social Support

People with depression can be very challenging to be around, even for the most loving and well-intentioned person. Since these disorders hijack people’s thinking patterns, their ongoing negativity and pessimism can be hard to deal with. Progress can also be very slow for someone with depression. Even with professional help, it may take weeks or months to show improvement, so great patience is required.

Take Care Of Yourself

Knowing how depression works can help you better support loved ones who are struggling.

Five Ways to Help Someone With Depression

Emotional abuse doesn't get the attention that domestic violence gets. When we talk about domestic abuse, we only focus on physical abuse and forget that emotional abuse in relationships is also domestic abuse. And because we don't focus on emotional abuse, most people in relationships don't recognize it as abuse even when they are emotionally abused.This post talks about the different types of emotional abuse in relationships. So when you are abused emotionally in your relationship, you'll be able to spot it and kick against it immediately.

Types Of Emotional Abuse

1. Lying; You know the meaning of lying right? Lying is a false statement made with the deliberate intention to deceive. If you are in a relationship where your partner lies to you a lot, your emotions become damaged. Because the more you find out the truth, the more you struggle with yourself to trust your partner, and the more you break down for having a partner who keeps the truth away from you to deceive you. For me, there's no worse emotional abuse than lying.

2. Gaslighting; gaslighting is a form of manipulation where the victim is made to doubt his/her sanity and reality. There are different types of gaslighting. But the most common one that occurs in a relationship is when your partner tries to make you unsee something you see or perceive about them. For example, you notice your partner flirting with another person. And when you confront them, they call you 'crazy' or 'toxic' or 'jealous' or 'too sensitive' or 'insecure'. Nothing frustrates the emotion like Gaslighting.

3. Guilt-tripping; Guilt-tripping is making someone feel guilty when they are not at fault. When someone wants you to take the blame for their own mistake, they guilt trip you. It is also a great weapon to get you to do something you don't want to do.I heard about a relationship issue some time ago. The boyfriend wants his girlfriend to learn some sex styles he sees in porn. She doesn't want to. So the guy cheats on her a lot and blames her for it. He said he's only doing it because she has not learned the sex styles. Guys! This is a top-tier emotional abuse.

4. Betraying; This is when someone does something that leads to your downfall or exposes you to danger. In a relationship It means, doing anything that goes against the morals and ethics of your relationship. For example, if your relationship ethics don't allow external romantic affairs. If your partner has a romantic affair outside your relationship, they have betrayed you. Betrayal is so crazy it can trigger a traumatic reaction.

5. Domestic violence; Domestic violence is violent or aggressive behavior that occurs mostly in marriage relationships and dating relationships. Your partner physically attacking you will have a more damaging effect on your emotions than your body. And while bruises can heal easily, emotions can't. The pain domestic violence could cause the body is not anywhere close to the pain it will cause the heart.

6. The silent treatment; The silent treatment is the intentional decision not to talk to someone after an argument or disagreement. Most times in a relationship, there isn't even an argument, your partner just starts ignoring you for no reason known to you. You ask them what's going on and they won't even say anything. This gets your mind curious and unrest. The silent treatment is an effective way to torture someone's emotion

7. Emotional blackmail; Emotional blackmail is a form of manipulation, where people use your emotions to control you. When your partner knows how much you love them and how much they mean to you, they can use it to control you - to get you to do anything they want. For example, they can say if you want to show you care about them, you'll steal for them. I promise you, Emotional blackmail is a powerful tool to control someone easily.

There are more types of emotional abuse but these are the most common ones in relationships.In any relationship you find yourself, be it a love relationship or any other one. Don't allow yourself to be abused emotionally. Understand that anything your partner does to you that makes you break down emotionally is abuse. And it's not okay.

Emotional Abuse

<ul><li>The most effective way to respond to a difficult person is to first observe one's own emotional and physical reactions. </li><li>A common problem that occurs when communicating with difficult people is forgetting the desired goal of the interaction. </li><li>Mentally rehearsing an upcoming conversation with a difficult person can lower one's chance of saying something reactive that will make it worse. </li> </ul>

Key points 📝

Conflicts with difficult people can easily become a vicious cycle when our own reactions escalate the situation. And the more intensified the conflict, the more that we will dread and be stressed by the idea of future interactions.The most effective tool to make sure you aren't escalating a situation is to become adept at pausing and being a keen observer of your own emotional and physical reactions. Even just making a habit of waiting five seconds before speaking when you are in a conflict can help keep you from doing further damage.

1. To de-escalate, learn to master the pause. ⏸️

Another common problem in our interactions with difficult people is that we get distracted by our upset and lose sight of the <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/motivation">goals </a>we are trying to accomplish. When you are forced to interact with someone who is being difficult, it's very easy to get off track and end up leaving the interaction no closer to what we were hoping to accomplish.Instead, remembering what goal you are after—resolving a specific issue, getting an answer to a question, getting clarity on something confusing, putting in an official request for something to be done—can help you make sure that you stay on track.

2. Always keep your desired outcome in mind. 

Difficult people can be particularly adept at throwing us off our game by getting an emotional rise out of us. Just like a musician, actor, or <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/sport-and-competition">athlete </a>is more likely to nail a difficult performance if they have practiced, so too can practice and rehearsal help our most stressful interpersonal moments.Don't be afraid to script a difficult conversation, knowing of course that there will need to be some wiggle room built in. Even better, by rehearsing in advance, you can come up with wording that is less likely to escalate the situation

3. When possible, rehearse in advance. 

Often, the hardest interpersonal interactions are the ones where we take things too personally and feel wounded or insulted by another person's behavior when really it has nothing to do with us at all.Observe your thoughts for distortions that make the situation more about you than it really is, or that needlessly <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/catastrophizing">catastrophize </a>the outcome of a situation. But when a difficult person shows consistent patterns of dysfunction across situations and with different people, there is limited control we can have over their behavior—and it only adds needless worry and heartache to blame ourselves.

4. Don't over-personalize.   

It may be helpful to reflect upon your behavior, especially if you see these patterns of difficult interactions across separate circumstances in your life.Whether you are doing things to escalate the situation or your <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/body-language">body language </a>, tone or wording is making you come across more aggressively than you intended, it may help to try to boost your self-awareness by looking for patterns of your own. And finally, even if it is always the other person being difficult, it can sometimes lessen the frustration to send some empathy their way.

5. A little self-awareness and empathy go a long way. 

When conflict arises, there are ways not to make it worse.

5 Things to Keep in Mind When Dealing With Difficult People

Reading is an exercise in empathy; an exercise in walking in someone else’s shoes for a while.

I can feel infinitely alive curled up on the sofa reading a book.

Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.

She read books as one would breathe air, to fill up and live.

Reading is a form of prayer, a guided meditation that briefly makes us believe we’re someone else.

I am so impressed again with the life-giving power of literature. If I were a young person today, trying to gain a sense of myself in the world, I would do that again by reading, just as I did when I was young.

Reading makes immigrants of us all. It takes us away from home, but more important, it finds homes for us everywhere.

Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.

Salvation is certainly among the reasons I read. Reading and writing have always pulled me out of the darkest experiences in my life. Stories have given me a place in which to lose myself.

It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, who had ever been alive.

That is part of the beauty of all literature. You discover that your longings are universal longings, that you’re not lonely and isolated from anyone. You belong.

Reading is important. If you know how to read, then the whole world opens up to you.

Reading is a discount ticket to everywhere.

Reading is like thinking, like praying, like talking to a friend, like expressing your ideas, like listening to other people’s ideas, like listening to music, like looking at the view, like taking a walk on the beach.

Reading is the sole means by which we slip, involuntarily, often helplessly, into another’s skin, another’s voice, another’s soul.

Reading was a joy, a desperately needed escape—I didn’t read to learn, I was reading to read.

Keep reading. It’s one of the most marvelous adventures that anyone can have.

It is not true that we have only one life to live; if we can read, we can live as many more lives and as many kinds of lives as we wish.

Maybe this is why we read, and why in moments of darkness we return to books: to find words for what we already know.

If one reads enough books one has a fighting chance. Or better, one’s chances of survival increase with each book one reads.

These quotes highlight the power and joy of reading a good book.

These quotes highlight the power and joy of reading a good book. We found the best funny and sentimental messages about reading.

Quotes

20 Quotes About Reading That Capture the Magic of Books

Making historyIn 2016, Sikkim was recognised as the "first organic state in the world and crime-free state with the best governance" by the World Book of Record London.The government of Sikkim stepped into the organic mission process in 2003, the year when it stopped imports of chemical fertiliser in the state.

World's First "ORGANIC STATE SIKKIM"

With the green revolution in the 1960s, India increased its crop production and the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides increased simultaneously. This affected agriculture along with water, air and land. Recognising its adverse impact on the environment, sikkim promoted organic farming.

TACKING THE PROBLEM 

Organic farming makes ise of cow dung, compost manure, green manure, bio pesticides, earthworm manure, neem came, lemongrass, fruit residues, and bacterial culture.The use of organic and fossil fertiliser instead of chemicals and insecticides keeps the soil fertile and reduces the risk of droughts.

A GREENER WAY OF FARMING

To make Sikkim an organic state, organic practices were implemented on around 75,000 hectares of agricultural land. In this action plan, the Sikkim government prohibited the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides. The violation of this law could lead to imprisonment of 3 months including a fine of 1 lakh.

THE ROAD OF ORGANIC 

The government initiated partnerships with many agricultural R&D organisations in the country and overseas including biological research from Switzerland.Organic farming was done on 8,35,000 hectares of land in Sikkim, whicb benefited about 4,00,000 farmers.

SETTING AN EXAMPLE 

The state government adopted villages to convert them into bio- villages.People were made aware of organic fertilisers and organic manutmre was made available to all. In addition, nutrition management, techniques, pest management, and laboratories for farming were also introduced.

BIO- VILLAGE

In 2018, Sikkim was honoured by The United Nation's Fertiliser and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) with an Oscar Award for its best policies to acquire 100% organic farming

THE OSCAR GOES TO...

India ranks first in the number of organic farmers and fourth in terms of area under organic farming. Many states like Uttarakhand and Tripura have set targets similar to Sikkim to go fully organic

A TRADITIONALLY "ORGANIC COUNTY"

How is organic husbandry done in Sikkim? We should always learn new things 😍

"ORGANIC GREEN"

When we think of an addict, we often imagine a homeless person in the park sniffing glue or a gaunt person with a heroin needle in their arm. However, addiction doesn’t have anything to do with what one is addicted to. Addiction simply means leaning on something. The addict relies on their chosen pursuit to block unwelcome emotions from entering their consciousness. The particular object of their addiction may be whisky or marijuana, but it could also be their mobile phone, buckets of a specific snack, cleaning cupboards, or tracking birds.

How we imagine addicts

The popular misunderstanding of addiction allows people to claim they are merely going to the office again, checking the news or working out at the gym. Yet, addicts are not weak or evil. They are, first and foremost, scared. The solution shouldn’t, therefore, involve censorship and lectures but love and reassurance. We should make moves to allow people to feel safe about facing their emotions and confident they can handle what is going on in their minds.

The addict fears being left alone

When we think of an ‘addict’, certain stock images come to mind: a homeless person sniffing glue, a gaunt figure with a heroin needle in their arm. But this masks what is in reality a far more universal phenomenon. We are all addicts. Sign up to our new newsletter and get 10% off your first online order of a book, product or class: https://bit.ly/3HpVdSa For books and more from The School of Life, visit our online shop: https://bit.ly/3NWKnGj Our website has classes, articles and products to help you lead a more fulfilled life: https://bit.ly/3NSIFpj Join this channel to get access to exclusive members perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7IcJI8PUf5Z3zKxnZvTBog/join FURTHER READING You can read more on this and other subjects on our blog, here: https://bit.ly/3xOMHts “When we think of an ‘addict’, certain stock images come to mind: a homeless person in the park sniffing glue, a gaunt figure with a heroin needle in their arm, a breakfast-time vodka drinker… But such gothic characterisations mask what is in reality a far more universal and less overtly dramatic - though still pernicious - phenomenon. Addiction doesn’t have anything to do with what one is addicted to: it can’t be neatly circumscribed to those who rely on hard drugs or alcohol. In its essence, addiction simply means leaning on something - it could be anything - because it prevents particular ideas from coming into our minds. The addict relies on their chosen pursuit to block unwelcome emotions from storming the theatre of their consciousness…” MORE SCHOOL OF LIFE Watch more films on SELF in our playlist: http://bit.ly/TSOLself SOCIAL MEDIA Feel free to follow us at the links below: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theschooloflifelondon/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheSchoolOfLife Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theschooloflifelondon/ CREDITS Produced in collaboration with: Aaron Sampson https://aaronsampson.co.uk Title animation produced in collaboration with Vale Productions https://www.valeproductions.co.uk/

Why We Are All Addicts

When an excessive number of tourists visit a popular destination or attraction, it causes damage to the local environment and historical sites and creates a poorer quality of life for residents. Sustainable tourism is a framework for engaging travellers and the travel industry in supporting goals that include protecting the environment, addressing climate change, minimizing plastic consumption, and expanding economic development in communities that are affected by tourism.

Overtourism

A National Geographic survey in the U.S. found that while 42 percent of U.S. travellers would be willing to prioritise sustainable travel in the future, only 15 percent of these travellers are familiar with what sustainable travel actually means. Fifty percent of consumers familiar with sustainable travel are between 18 and 34 years old.

National Geographic survey results

The travel industry is dependent on the health of local communities, environments, and cultures. To achieve sustainable tourism, we need to invest in the resiliency of places affected by overtourism. Storytelling can help by highlighting problems brought on by tourism and providing resources, practical tips, and destination advice for travellers who want to explore the world while leaving behind a lighter footprint.

Building better practices

Most people want to support sustainable tourism, even though the concept remains fuzzy.

What does sustainable travel mean?

Understanding which foods contribute to chronic inflammation of the gut and brain is a powerful step in managing your mood and energy levels. Always try to avoid these five types of foods that can make you tired and stressed:

Foods that can cause anxiety and fatigue

Consuming unhealthy processed foods like baked goods and soda, which are loaded with refined and added sugars floods the brain with too much glucose. This “sugar flood” can lead to inflammation in the brain and may ultimately result in depression and fatigue.Instead, reach for nutrient-dense whole foods like fresh or vegetables and clean proteins like organic grass-fed beef .

1. Processed Foods

The industrialization of the food industry has led to the development of inexpensive, highly processed oils created from the byproduct of abundant crops like soybean sunflower and palm oils.Through processing, these oils become incredibly high in inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids and devoid of anti-inflammatory omega-3, which promotes brain health. Studies have shown that people who consume foods high in omega-6 fatty acids are at higher risk of depression compared to those who consume foods high in omega-3s.Opt for other alternatives like extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil when cooking.

2. Industrial seed oils

Apart from pastry desserts, sugar can also be found in surprising foods like ketchup, salad dressings and savory items like french fries.Added and refined sugars exacerbate inflammation and overwhelm the body with more sugar than it needs, which can create increased anxiety and unstable mood levels.

3. Added and refined sugars

A 2016 study looked at 715 factory workers and measured their levels of depression, resilience and fried food consumption. It was found that people who consumed more fried foods were more likely to develop depression in their lifetime.Fried foods are likely mood killers because they’re usually fried in unhealthy fats.

4. Fried foods

Sugar replacements are increasingly common in foods that claim to be “healthy” by helping you cut down on calories.Science implicates many artificial sweeteners can contribute to depression. One study showed that people who consume artificial sweeteners, mostly via diet drinks, are more depressed than those who don’t consume them.To cut down on artificial sweeteners, put natural sweeteners like honey or agave nectar in your beverages.

5. Artificial sweeteners

Probiotics: yogurt with active cultures, tempeh, sauerkraut, kefir, kimchi, and certain cheeses
Prebiotics: beans, oats, bananas, berries, garlic, onions, asparagus, artichokes and leeks
Low-GI carbohydrates: brown rice, steel-cut oatmeal and chia seeds
Medium-GI foods, in moderation: honey, orange juice and whole-grain bread
Healthy fats: monounsaturated fats like olive oil, nuts, nut butters and avocados
Omega-3 fatty acids: fish, tuna, herring and sardines.
Vitamins: B9, B12, B1, B6, A and C
Spices: saffron and turmeric
Herbs: oregano, lavender, passionflower and chamomile

Foods that fight fatigue

The gut and the brain are in constant two-way communication, and the health of one directly influences the health of the other. We rarely think about the impact food that we eat, on our brains, mood and energy levels. When inflammation is present in the gut, less energy is available to the brain and body.

If you're constantly feeling tired and stressed, evaluating your diet might be a good place to start. Harvard nutritionist and brain expert Dr. Uma Naidoo shares the types of foods she avoids at the grocery store to maintain healthy energy levels and a happy brain — and what to eat instead.

A Harvard nutritionist and brain expert avoids these 5 types of foods that can make you 'tired and stressed'

Perseverance refers to our ability to pursue a goal or passion over time, and stick with it if we encounter obstacles or setbacks.Perseverance is closely related to a range of other concepts including resilience, motivation, drive, determination, grit, passion, and conscientiousness.

4 Activities to Improve Perseverance

Various studies have shown that perseverance is an essential quality for success in life (Duckworth, 2016). It often tops aptitude and raw talent and is a more accurate predictor of achievement.Our ability to stick with our tasks, goals, and passions is vital. Persevering entails effort and practice. It also involves our ability to learn from failure and try again.

Importance of Perseverance

We can understand perseverance as a continuous drive to reach our goals and improve our skills and performance through persistent effort. It is a form of purposefulness and goal-orientation, which requires long-term commitment and discipline. It is fueled by passion.Our potential is one thing. What we do with it is quite another. While aptitude, skills, and a basic degree of talent are important as determiners of success, they are not as significant as hard work and trying, again and again, to improve what we do.

What Is Perseverance in Psychology?

Perseverance and resilience are also closely related to our ability to learn from our failures. Perseverant and resilient people deal more productively with failure.Perseverance and Resilience can be learned. In other words, we can all practice becoming grittier and work on our ability to persevere.

The Link Between Perseverance and Resilience

1.     Interest2.     Practice3.     Purpose4.     Hope

4 Ways to Improve Perseverance (Angela Duckworth)

We must, first of all, follow our passion. That entails discovering what our core passions are. This process involves curiosity, trying new things, experimenting, and actively seeking to develop and stay with our interests.

1. Interest

Then, we have to practice. But we must practice deliberately, by honing in on our weaknesses and Achilles heels, setting challenging stretch goals, and incorporating feedback.

2. Practice

Purpose refers to our desire to contribute to making the world a better place and to helping others. It can be a core driving force for passion.

3. Purpose

Hope, the fourth and final ingredient, is related to the belief that our efforts matter and that they can improve our future.

4. Hope

“It’s your reaction to adversity, not adversity itself that determines how your life’s story will develop.”― Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Persevering Through Adversity

Perseverance is an essential quality for success in life. This ancient virtue of fortitude explicitly combines perseverance with courage.

Perseverance in Psychology: 4 Activities To Improve Perseverance

If you are not happy now there is no amount of followers, likes or positive social media comments that will make you happy. External vadidarion isn't happiness it's an hamster's wheel.Valdiation is an inside job. If you are truly happy you won't feel the need to shoe the world that you are.

Your Self Love Must Be Stronger Than Your Desire To Be Loved

If you get angry and say “X thing made me angry”, you will get angry often.If you get angry and say: “I made myself angry because of X thing” you will get angry less often. If you realize that, you’ll have the power to control it. If you don’t, you’ll spend your life triggered easily and unhappy often.

You are always responsible for your emotional reactions:

If you want to feed a problem, keep thinking about it. If you want to starve a problem, take action. Most of the harm starts in your mind, with you and your thoughts. Most of the solutions start with a decision, courage, and action.

Don’t feed your problems with thoughts, starve them with action 

“Finding yourself” is a pop culture lie. “Finding your passion” is a pop culture lie. “Finding your soulmate” is a pop culture lie. These pop culture lies, and the perfection they promise us, if we would only keep searching, stop us from working through the natural challenges within our careers, relationships, and within ourselves. There is no perfection, only room for improvement.

You have nothing to “find”:

Just like social media has algorithms to give you more of what you’re interested in, life has an algorithm that gives you more of what you’re thinking about and focusing on. You can train your algorithm to make you more anxious, worried, or insecure by focusing on negative things. You can train your algorithm for happiness, success, and growth by focusing on positive things. Your thoughts become your decisions and then your actions your focus becomes your future. Comfort eating on negativity will make you unhealthy, and mental weight is the hardest to lose. Like fast food, negativity often tastes good in the short term, but will make you unhealthy in the long term. Your mental diet consists of what you watch, what you read, who you follow, who you spend time with, what you say, and what you think. If your goal is to have a healthier mind this year, start by removing all the junk food in your diet.

04 Life has an algorithm too:

These are the things i learnt from someone that changed my life. I believe so can you.

If you’re not happy now, there’s no amount of followers, positive social media comments, or Instagram likes that will change that. External validation isn’t happiness — it’s a
hamster wheel…

Self improvement 

5 Uncomfortable lessons that we all need to learn

Most people have a gap between the person they are and the person they want to be. There are little things you think you should do and big things you ought to commit to, like working out regularly, eating healthy, writing a novel, reading more or simply doing your hobby.  But it may seem that you must become different to achieve your goals. While other people can consistently put in more effort with discipline and willpower, maybe you find yourself slipping back into your old ways and always seem to fail.

Struggling to achieve your goals

Making a decision to do something is like moving through a real jungle: It's hard. Your brain hates using energy, so it came up with a trick. All your actions and behaviours leave paths in the jungle of your brain. The more often you do something, the more stamped out the trails become, so you take these familiar paths because it is comfortable and effortless. This explains why change is hard when your mind is full of established paths.

Change is actually hard

<ul><li>A routine is a sequence of actions you carry out the same way every time because they've worked well for you. For example, you get the same ingredients for your favourite dish and cook them the same way because you like the taste of the result.</li><li>Routines can eventually become habits, which feel easier because they are a sequence of actions you do without thinking about them. You don't have to convince yourself to do something that's a habit - you just do it.</li></ul>

Routines and habits

If we want to change and introduce a new behaviour into our lives,  we can focus on small changes, not big ones. Improving your life a little is much better than aiming high and doing nothing.

Introducing new habits

The best way to make change easier is not to force it with willpower. Instead, convince your brain that it's no big deal. For example, if you want to become fitter, the first thing to do is break this vague goal into clear, separate actions. The idea is to make the action as easy as possible. It should be so small that it is manageable and so specific that you don't have to think about it a lot. For example, doing ten squats every morning.

How to build a habit

Change Your Life – One Tiny Step at a Time Get your Habit Journal here: https://shop-us.kurzgesagt.org/collections/habit Sources & further reading: https://sites.google.com/view/sources-change/ If you are like most people, there is a gap between the person you are and the person you wish to be. There are little things you think you should do and big things you ought to achieve. From working out regularly, eating healthy, learning a language, working on your novel, reading more or simply actually doing your hobby instead of browsing reddit. But it can seem that to achieve your goals, you have to become a different person. Someone who is consistent, puts in more effort, has discipline and willpower. Maybe you have tried your hardest to be like that. And it worked! For a while. Until you find yourself slipping back into your old ways. In the end, you always seem to fail. And with every failed attempt, you become more and more frustrated and annoyed with yourself. If you believe “success and hustle” internet, it is all your own fault: if you don't succeed, you just didn’t want it enough and the failure is all you. But change is actually hard. But as with most things in life, understanding why makes things easier. OUR CHANNELS ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ German: https://kgs.link/youtubeDE Spanish: https://kgs.link/youtubeES French: https://kgs.link/youtubeFR Portuguese: https://kgs.link/youtubePT Arabic: https://kgs.link/youtubeAR Hindi: https://kgs.link/youtubeHI Japanese: https://kgs.link/youtubeJA Korean: https://kgs.link/youtubeKO HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT US? ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ This is how we make our living and it would be a pleasure if you support us! Get Merch designed with ❤ https://kgs.link/shop Join the Patreon Bird Army 🐧 https://kgs.link/patreon DISCUSSIONS & SOCIAL MEDIA ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ Reddit: https://kgs.link/reddit Instagram: https://kgs.link/instagram Twitter: https://kgs.link/twitter Facebook: https://kgs.link/facebook Discord: https://kgs.link/discord Newsletter: https://kgs.link/newsletter OUR VOICE ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ The Kurzgesagt voice is from Steve Taylor: https://kgs.link/youtube-voice OUR MUSIC ♬♪ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ 700+ minutes of Kurzgesagt Soundtracks by Epic Mountain: Spotify: https://kgs.link/music-spotify Soundcloud: https://kgs.link/music-soundcloud Bandcamp: https://kgs.link/music-bandcamp Youtube: https://kgs.link/music-youtube Facebook: https://kgs.link/music-facebook The Soundtrack of this video: Soundcloud: https://bit.ly/3MeaN4M Bandcamp: https://bit.ly/3as6FB9 If you want to help us caption this video, please send subtitles to subtitle@kurzgesagt.org You can find info on what subtitle files work on YouTube here: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2734698?hl=en-GB&ref_topic=7296214 Thank you! 🐦🐧🐤 PATREON BIRD ARMY 🐤🐧🐦 ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ Many Thanks to our wonderful Patreons (from http://kgs.link/patreon) who support us every month and made this video possible: ziipzaaapM16A4, Filippo, Alloy robot, Harold Mabin Jr, Toby Lowe, BiohazardVictim, Riad Salihu, Gunnstein Lye, Jeff Wheeldon, Andy Kelly, Quenby Joanette, Daniel Schulte-Hillen, Val Kabalkin, Maximilian Thomas Goldstein, Tyler Lindberg, Felix, Davesanify, Russ Newman, Kira, Thomas Schenck, Skyler Stanley, dirk from wellington, LoveGiants (Polyamorous) Seeking 4 BrotherHusbands, BalrogWing, Coffee is the path to victory, Addie, Lucas, vb, Santiago Perez, Robert Walsh, Angus Jake Smith, JamesDBartlett3, Marlison Gosalvez de Alencar, Rahul Golwalkar, Keerthi Vasan, Brian Bradley, Lincoln Volk, Haubrechts, Avalanche, Craig B, Tina Hatch, Nathan Ornat, Amathara, khalifa almehairbi, jtfletchbot, Steven Zeck, Maurice Ibler, Bafy78, Andreas Høve Smidt-Nielsen, Victoria Camp, Andrew Dawson, pierluigi valente, GH, Jay C, Sergey Melnik, CultistLemming, Thane Stevens, Alex MacKay, SimpleAvocado, Dave Kircher, Karen Rosenow, James Pita, Kyron

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