Joy vs Razor

Free Photo Retouching - Limited Time Offer

2007-10-24T10:41:00.000-07:00

For a limited time, you may send in your portraits or old, damaged photos for repair. We specialize in portrait retouching such as acne removal, skin smoothing, added makeup, etc. We can also restore most aged photos, and even colorize black and while photos/ vice versa.

This is a limited time offer only, so please don't hesitate!

The only catch is that by sending us your photos, you agree to let us use the before and after for our portfolio.

Please send your images to soulsymphony@care2.com.

Images must be scanned at high resolution (at least 300dpi). Photos taken using a digital camera must be saved at the best quality compression setting. Accepted file types are JPG, JPEG, and TIFF.

Short on Cash? Donate to Organizations for FREE at Care2.com

2007-10-20T05:39:00.000-07:00

Rapidly evolving website, Care2.com, not only sports a community of over seven thousand people dedicated to making a difference, but also includes several click to donate pages.

Visitors can visit these pages and click up to once daily. Care2 automatically donate a portion of the revenue generated by their sponsors to aid the corresponding cause. Users can even sign up with the website to track their donations and refer friends, whose donations will also be added to the user's total.

Care2.com's current click to donate options include: Race to Stop Global Warming, Race for the Rainforest, Race to Save Baby Seals, Race for the Oceans, Race for the Big Cats, Race for the Primates, Race to Help Children in Need, Race for Pets in Need, Stop Violence Against Women, and the Race to End Breast Cancer.

Unmotivated to Exercise? Try Dance Dance Revolution!

2007-10-17T13:26:00.000-07:00

Are you having a difficult time motivating yourself to visit the gym? A popular video game produced by Konami is becoming known as a captivating and effective way for both teens and adults to manage their weight. First introduced in Japan in the year 1998, Konami’s musical video game features over 1000 across all versions. This innovative video game is played on a dance mat depicting four arrows: up, down, left, and right. As the music plays, sequences of these arrows appear on screen. The player must step on the arrows on his or her dance mat in response to the arrows on screen. DDR features a huge variety of genres including pop, R&B, techno, trance, house, j-pop, and more – so there’s something for everyone. DDR is available in both the adaptable home console versions and at many arcades across the country.

Dance Dance Revolution features at least 3 difficulty levels depending on the version you’re playing. Most recent versions of the game have a fourth “Beginner” difficulty setting. Players start by practising on Beginner or Light mode, and progress with time to Standard mode, and eventually Heavy, Trick, or Challenge mode. Many versions also sport a workout mode, allowing players to track the number of calories they’ve burned, equivalent number of miles jogged, swam, etc. While Light and Beginner modes won’t have players burning huge numbers of calories, they are easy enough for pretty much anyone regardless of their level of fitness. Players practising Standard and Heavy modes will burn quite a large number of calories.

Other health benefits of Dance Dance Revolution and other forms of regular exercise include positive mood lift, stress reduction, prevention of heart disease, osteoporosis, etc. Exercise also significantly improves your blood circulation. Efficient blood circulation assists the transfer of nutrients as well as oxygen to various parts of your body. Hypertension (high blood pressure) and varicose veins are examples of other conditions that may be prevented through regular exercise.

Dance Dance Revolution is available in stores such as Wal-Mart and Best Buy, as well as online. You can purchase your copy through Ebay, or DDR Nation. Also, be sure to join DDR Freak's community for some great tips and advice from expert players.

2007-10-09T20:00:00.001-07:00

WHAT IS SOCIAL ANXIETY DISORDER? (aka SAD, Social Phobia)

Social Anxiety Disorder (also known as SAD or Social Phobia) is a mental illness affecting more than 15 million Americans today. This disorder usually manifests itself during early adolescence, and affects more women than men. Unfortunately, however, it is also currently one of the most misunderstood mental illnesses. An individual with Social Anxiety Disorder may experience intense self consciousness in social situations. They worry boundlessly that they will be rejected or judged negatively by others. They may also fear that their actions and behaviours will embarrass or humiliate them. You might consider SAD to be an extreme form of shyness. An individual suffering from Social Anxiety Disorder recognizes that their fears are irrational, but still can’t seem to shake them. This disorder can negatively affect every area of a person’s life, as Social Phobics will often go to extreme lengths avoid situations that trigger their anxieties. Some individuals suffering from Social Anxiety Disorder can become severely isolated, having little to no personal contacts, jobs, education, etc. This can lead to a pit of depression, loneliness, and despair.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF SOCIAL PHOBIA

Social Phobics often fear situations where they will be forced to interact with new people. These situations are either endured with severe anxiety, or avoided completely.

Individuals suffering from Social Phobia often fear and avoid situations in which they will be observed, or watched by someone while engaged in an activity. Often, they will feel too uncomfortable eating, drinking, or writing in the presence of other people.

Social Phobics are often intensely self conscious when it comes not only to their physical appearance, but also their actions, and behaviours around others. They may feel they are behaving in an awkward manner, or that they look nervous, or "crazy". They may avoid conversation, for fear that they will say the wrong thing, offend someone, or sound unintelligent.

A person suffering from Social Phobia will often speak using a soft, quiet voice, in short sentences, and may avoid eye contact. They may appear fidgety, or tense, and may forget to smile out of nervousness. Others however, may smile or giggle nervously. These anxious behaviours, among others, may be perceived as rudeness or rejection by the other person.

Children and teenagers will often skip or perform poorly in school. A classroom is a big group of people, and intense anxiety can ensue. Kids who are quiet are often an easy target to bullies, which worsens the problem by further damaging a sufferers already fragile self esteem, and causing them to feel alone, and alienated.

These fears can lead to physical symptoms of anxiety including: trembling, muscle tension, twitches, lower jaw tension/shivering/teeth clenching, racing heart, stuttering, mind going blank, heart palpitations (sensation of heart pounding in chest), shortness of breath, dizziness, numbness or tingling in the extremities, hyperventilation, fainting, depersonalization (feeling of unreality or being disconnected from one's sense of self), fear of dying or going crazy, etc. These physical manifestations of anxiety are termed Panic Attacks.

Social Phobia can easily lead to Agoraphobia, in which a sufferer is afraid of leaving his or her house for fear of embarrassing themselves by having a panic attack in public. Someone with Agoraphobia may worry so excessively about having a panic attack in public, that they may actually have one. This may lead to extreme isolation.

Social Anxiety Disorder can also lead to profound depression. Sufferers have an estimated 40-50% lifetime coexisting depressive disorder. Loneliness, isolation, emptiness, nostalgia, alienation, and despair. A sufferer may feel that they are too socially incompetent to have friends, or that they are a terrible person that nobody could ever love. They may worry that they will never marry, or have children, or a family. They may also be unable to prepare or find the career they had always dreamed of, as job interviews, new places of employment, schools, etc. trigger intense anxiety or panic. They may question whether life is worth living, and why it is worth living. These thoughts, combined with a sense of hopelessness can lead to suicide.

TREATMENTS FOR SOCIAL ANXIETY DISORDER

Fortunately, Social Phobia is a highly treatable disorder. Social Phobia has a lifetime prevalence rate of approximately 13%. Earlier onset of the disorder, and coexisting substance abuse are associated with a more guarded prognosis.

There are several treatment options for Social Anxiety Disorder.

Upon visiting a doctor or psychiatrist, a sufferer may try a variety of medications before finding the one suitable for their needs. Often, a doctor or psychiatrist will start with a drug known to cause relatively few side effects to begin with, and move up to comparatively less safe options.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is the overall best treatment option for Social Phobia. CBT assists the individual in dealing with his or her phobia as opposed to merely masking the symptoms as most medications do. CBT is associated with the greatest long term success in treatment. This form of therapy helps patients re-examine thinking patterns and beliefs that are contributing to their anxiety. Gradual exposure (Exposure Therapy) to anxiety triggering situations helps to desensitize the individual. Group therapy, as well as social skills training are often a part of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.

Beta Blockers such as Propranolol (Inderal) may be prescribed to control the physical symptoms of anxiety, ex. shaking hands, etc. Propranolol may help immensely with physical symptoms, however, not the anxiety itself.

SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) such as Luvox, Paxil, and Serzone are often prescribed to begin with in treating Social Phobia. They are considered to be one of the safest medication options, with fewer side effects than others. They are usually not side effect free however, and may work well for some people, but not others. They must be taken for a period of 2 weeks to a couple months before the effects are noticed. They are also known to cause potentially severe withdrawal symptoms in some people, lasting anywhere from weeks to several months after the last dose.

Tricyclic Antidepressants are sometimes considered, although they usually are not as effective as SSRIs. Trycyclics such as Effexor are often used to treat severe depression.

MAOIs (Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors) are another option for the treatment of Social Anxiety Disorder. They are considered only if all other types of antidepressants have failed, due to potentially lethal dietary and drug interactions. MAOIs are particularly useful in treating atypical depression. However, one specific MAOI, Nardil, has been known to work wonders for some individuals' Social Anxiety. However, some users claim that since Nardil was reformulated in 2003, the drug is no longer as effective as the older formulation.

Benzodiazepines, particularly Klonopin, are the most effective medications for Social Anxiety. Unfortunately, due to their high potential for abuse, and the risk of potentially severe withdrawal symptoms including rebound anxiety, physicians do not often prescribe these medications. Benzodiazepines should not be taken for longer than a period of 2 weeks to avoid physical dependency.

Many of us experience shyness at some point in our lives. However, if you are experiencing significant shyness or symptoms of Social Anxiety Disorder, it is best to make an appointment with your family physician or a therapist. There are also many effective self help books available on the topic of Social Phobia, as well as other disorders such as clinical depression. Please don't wait to seek treatment, SAD is a highly treatable disorder. Finding help will vastly improve your quality of life.

Resources

Social Anxiety Support

Amazon Books on SAD