SM Blog

Saturday, November 23, 2013

How a bad relationship can make you ill - by damaging your immune system

Feeling anxious about close relationships could make you fall ill - by damaging your immune system.

Not only does anxiety appear to raise levels of stress hormones in the body, it also makes it less effective at fighting off illness.

Researchers at Ohio Sate University tested the health effects of 'attachment anxiety' on 85 couples who had been married for an average of more than 12 years.

People with relationship woes had higher levels of cortisol - a hormone associated with stress and increased risk of disease

People with attachment anxiety are defined as being excessively concerned about rejection.

They also have a tendency to constantly seek reassurance that they are loved, and are more likely to interpret ambiguous events in a relationship as negative, the researchers said.

More...

Couples completes questionnaires about their relationships and had samples of blood and saliva taken.

This was so levels of a key stress-related hormone and numbers of certain immune cells could be tested.

The participants also reported general anxiety symptoms and their sleep quality.

Of particular interest were people considered to be at the high end of the attachment anxiety spectrum.

The researchers found that people with high attachment anxiety produced, on average, 11 per cent more cortisol - a hormone associated with stress - than those who weren't so anxious.

They also had fewer T-cells, important components of the immune system's defence against infection

They also found that the more anxious people were also less able to fight off infection, as they had up to 22 per cent T- cells than less anxiously attached partners.

Incidentally, while more women in the study suffered from higher levels of attachment anxiety, the researchers saw the same elevated levels of cortisol and lower T-cells in the men who were anxious.

Stress is already known to negatively affect health, but this study aimed to look specifically at relationship anxiety.

And while more women in the study suffered from higher levels of attachment anxiety, the researchers saw the same elevated levels of cortisol and lower T-cells in the men who were anxious.

Lead study author Lisa Jaremka said: 'Everyone has these types of concerns now and again in their relationships, but a high level of attachment anxiety refers to people who have these worries fairly constantly in most of their relationships.'

Though some scientists believe that attachment anxiety can be traced back to childhood, Dr Jaremka noted that people who feel anxious can change, over time.

'It's not necessarily a permanent state of existence,' she said in the study published in the journal Psychological Science

Why-couples-drink-abstain-stay-Those-heavy-drinker-likely-divorce.

Is alcohol and marriage a toxic combination?

That depends on who is doing the drinking and how much, according to a recent U.S. study.

The research suggests that heavy drinking is bad for marriage is one spouse drinks but not both.

Scroll down for video

If both spouses were heavy drinkers, divorce rate was same as for couples where neither were heavy drinkers

Researchers at the University of Buffalo Research Institute on Addictions (RIA) in New York followed 634 couples from the time of their weddings through the first nine years of marriage.

Over the course of the nine-year study, nearly 50 per cent of couples where only one partner drank more heavily wound up divorcing.

The divorce rates for other couples was only 30 per cent.

If both spouses were heavy drinkers, the divorce rate was the same as for couples where neither were heavy drinkers.

The study found that almost half of couples where only one partner drank more heavily wound up divorcing

‘Our results indicate that it is the difference between the couple's drinking habits, rather than the drinking itself, that leads to marital dissatisfaction, separation and divorce,’ said Kenneth Leonard, PhD, RIA director and lead author of the study.

‘This research provides solid evidence to bolster the commonplace notion that heavy drinking by one partner can lead to divorce,’ Dr Leonard said.

‘Although some people might think that's a likely outcome, there was surprisingly little data to back up that claim until now.’

Heavy drinking in the study was defined as drinking six or more drinks at one time or drinking to intoxication

Heavy drinking was defined as drinking six or more drinks at one time or drinking to intoxication.

The researchers believe heavy drinking spouses may be more tolerant of negative experiences related to alcohol due to their own drinking habits.

They cautioned, however, that this does not mean other aspects of family life remain unaffected.

‘While two heavy drinkers may not divorce, they may create a particularly bad climate for their children,’ Dr Leonard said.

The researchers also found a slightly higher divorce rate in cases when the heavy drinker was the wife, rather than the husband.

Dr Leonard cautions that this difference is based on only a few couples in which the wife was a heavy drinker, but the husband was not, and that the finding was not statistically significant.

He suggests that if this difference is supported by further research, it might be because men view heavy drinking by their wives as going against proper gender roles for women, leading to more conflict.

The study controlled for factors such as marijuana and tobacco use, depression and socioeconomic status, which can also be related to marital dissatisfaction, separation and divorce.

‘Ultimately, we hope our findings will be helpful to marriage therapists and mental health practitioners who can explore whether a difference in drinking habits is causing conflicts between couples seeking help,’ he said.

Watch-major-religions-conquered-entire-world-5-000-years--90-seconds.

Religion is one of the most divisive forces in the world's history.

Maps of War is a website that creates fascinating visuals of the world to show how movements spread, wars begin and civilizations fall.

They have turned their expertise to religion, focusing on five major faiths to see how they have spread and how wars have determined the influence and stronghold of various religions in a 90-second video.

SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO

In the beginning: Hinduism came before the other major religions, with the birth of Krishna in 3,000BC

Beginning with the birth of Krishna, the time-lapse video covers 5,000 years of religion.

The map slows down for the births of key religious figures and major wars, showing the decline and spread after these events.

The religions traced by the map are Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Judaism.

The fascinating display begins withe the birth of Krishna and the spread of Hinduism back in 3,000BC.

Spread: With the birth of Muhammad, Christianity's spread was stymied

Next, we see the birth of Abraham and the modest spread of Judaism before the conquest of Canaan by the Israelites.

Around 480BC, Jerusalem is sacked the Jewish diaspora began in earnest.

Expansion: Buddhism and Hinduism remain in much the same areas they always were, whereas Christianity and Islam spread to many lands

Around that same time was the birth of Buddha and the spread of Buddhism in Asia, which continues as Christianity is in its infancy around 32AD

The birth of Muhammad in 570AD begins the massive spread of Islam and sparks Christian/Islamic wars such as the Crusades.

By modern times, the map is filled with vast swathes of blue, or Christian lands and almost equally large green, or Islamic ones. Buddhism retains its hold in China while Hinduism holds fast in India.

Map of religion: The last shot of the map shows the geography of religion today

read more

26-Year Old Virgin Thinks She Might Lose Her Virginity To Colleague She’s Falling In Love With After A Night Out

I'm 26,single and still a Virgin,but get this straight. I'm not an extremist,i didn't keep myself because of my religion but to only give myself to someone i truly love. Infact, I'm a very social person that you can never imagine i would be a V.

Now this is the problem:

I got a job 4 months ago and i think I'm falling in love with one of my colleague,who is in a relationshipoooo. Though,we have been very good friends since i got the job..we hang out together,he drops me home everyday, go for lunch together..we have been practically very close.

Well, the issue now is that my mind as started playing games on me(ranging hormones) whenever we together i start imagining silly things in my head *coversface*.

Now the big issue is that ,we will be having our end of the year party next month and he suggested we should go clubbing then probably retire to his house after the celebration of the night*coversfaceagain*.

I'm scared not to get carried away plus my mind is already playing tricks on me, my subconscious also having a huge fight in my head.

I don't no what to do..mind and body wants him but my subconscious is resisting.*confusedface*.

Like i can actually make do with some candid advice now.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

If you are a Nigerian, home or abroad and you love your motherland, this is a public service announcement dedicated to you.(ignore the fact that all the people in the video are white )

See some of best nude celebrity photo shoots ever done! 18+ :-)

A lot of celebrities have stripped down for the cameras and magazine covers...a lot. Some of these photos you've seen, some you haven't. If you're interested in such pics, then you're in luck. After the cut, you will find some of the best nude celeb photo shoots ever done...including some eyecandy for the ladies...#Thankmelater...:-). Enjoy...