Running Book Review - What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, by Haruki Murakami

Rarely have I felt a sense of kinship with an author like I felt while reading "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running," by Haruki Murakami. I was at first skeptical when I saw this book, thinking that it would be heavy on philosophy, and unsure whether or not it was really a book about running. I can now assure you that if you're a runner, you'll love this book. At its heart, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running is Haruki Murakami's answer to a question that many runners ask of themselves: Why do I run?

The book is his eloquent response to this question, and he answers it with stories about running, race reports, and various other types of personal anecdotes. Murakami sprinkles in a heavy dose of philosophy, but it's a philosophy that any runner or triathlete will appreciate, and I found myself nodding in agreement on numerous occasions. Murakami is a guy that I would love to go on a run with myself - he is clearly a genuinely passionate runner.

Perhaps what I found most appealing about this book was the author's sincerity and honesty. Like many of us who log miles with no hope of ever winning a race, running for Murakami is a labor of love, and it plays a central role in his life. He runs so that he can stay healthy and continue to write novels, and he runs because he simply loves to run. Murakami is also very comfortable with his shortcomings, and he openly admits that he is not a perfect person.

His description of overcoming his fear of the swim leg of triathlons is both humorous and heartfelt - you really feel for him (and laugh at his fear of jellyfish and vicious bears). Murakami's open admission that his best marathoning days are long passed is impressively honest, but it doesn't dampen his love of the sport. Reading this book is like reading a book written by you favorite running partner, which is a nice change from some of the other running-related books I have read. In its totality, it's truly a wonderful book, and it deserves to be read.

Depression - Seeing The Signs In Teenagers

Normal teenager behavior is a mystery in itself but when depression is part of it you need to be able to react. This article will help you see the signs early.

Children now grow much bigger earlier in life, which means that adult-like bodies and physical capacities occur much sooner than before. This increased interest in and capacity for sexuality at a much younger age unfortunately has not been accompanied by acceleration in emotional or social development.

The traditional roles and expectations for children and adults are different now however still undefined, resulting in confusion for both adolescents and their parents. The frustrated attempts at achieving autonomy earlier in life often leads to hopelessness and despair. Both of those emotions are perfect breeding ground for depression.

Here are the symptoms that you might observe:

1. Changes in appetite or weight

Eating patterns of adolescents are difficult to assess given the occurrence of eating disorders and obsessive dieting. Observe where your teenager is skipping meals or shows significant changes in body weight over a short period of time.

2. Feelings of sadness

Just like adults, most teenagers feel sad some of the time. The difference here is that the feeling lasts most of the day and is experienced nearly every day. They might show tearfulness without apparent reasons or being constantly irritable.

3. Feeling guilty, hopeless or worthless

Many teenagers suffer low self-esteem, however this is more extreme. You might observe a total lack of motivation in things previously enjoyed and thought patterns of meaninglessness.

4. Changes in sleeping pattern, fatigue, loss of energy

They might stay up all night not being able to go to sleep and / or sleep during the day so they don't have to face the world. Sitting around at home and refusing to go out are some other signs.

5. Boredom, hating school

Changes in school performance, refusing to go to school, failing exams and general lack of enjoyment can be observed. Generally they lose interest in activities they once enjoyed.

6. Thoughts of suicide, death or self-harm

Either teenagers listen to depressive music, talk openly about death or idolize cult figures who have taken their lives. If your teenager is practicing or at risk of self-harm, actions need to be taken immediately.

7. Inability to concentrate, make decisions or remember things

In addition to the effects of changes in sleeping patterns and changes in school performance you might notice their concentration span decreasing.

8. Loss of interest in the opposite sex, loss of interest in meeting with friends

Decreasing social interaction is another quite obvious change in an adolescent's life style.

In addition to everything mentioned above depression in teenagers often comes with abuse of substances like drugs, alcohol and tobacco.

If you notice more than 3 of the signs mentioned above you might want to get your teenager assessed by your general practitioner, psychologist or psychiatrist.

Gluten and Depression - How Does That Work?

For a lot of years, there has been anecdotal evidence linking depression with gluten (along with more serious mental disorders, up to and including schizophrenia). The problem is, scientists in general, and doctors in particular pay little or no attention to evidence of this type. However, new discoveries have begun to throw light on what is going on.

Clinical depression appears to be linked with serotonin levels in the brain. This has led to the development of new types of anti-depressants, including SSRIs (Prozac is the most well known brand). These new drugs are not without their problems, however. Although initially hailed as dependency-free and safe, there has been a worrying rise in suicide amongst people taking these drugs, and certain patients have apparently had great difficulty in coming off them.

Serotonin is a natural substance which is produced in the body. This natural production appears to be impaired or reduced in various groups of people, including depressives.

The reasons for this impairment are not yet completely clear. However, 90% of the production of serotonin occurs in the digestive tract. So it begins to make sense that the food eaten might have an effect, either positive or negative, on serotonin production.

A report by Ron Hoggan M.A. & James Braly M.D. examines the relationship between depression and diet. They cite various studies carried out by Christine Zioudrou and later followed up by Fukudome and Yoshikawa. They point to morphine-like substances caused by incomplete digestion of proteins in cereal grains and dairy products (called "exorphins"). It is thought that these exorphins can be absorbed through the intestine, offering a possible explanation for the psychiatric effects experienced by otherwise healthy individuals.

Another report by Alessio Fasano and Carlo Catassi states that there is an "Asymptomatic Silent Form" of celiac disease. The term asymptomatic is a bit of a misnomer, as it refers only to the lack of positive test results. Symptoms of this form of gluten intolerance (which may not all be present) are: iron deficiency, a tendency to depression, irritability, or impaired school performance in children "feeling always tired," and easy fatigue during exercise, and reduced bone mineral density.

In a lecture he gave in 2002, James V. Croxton, M.A. talked about new discoveries relating to previously ignored cells in the brain called glial cells. These appear to be closely involved in the immune system, and directly affected by gliadin, part of the gluten found in wheat and other cereals.

Gluten-free diets (sometimes combined with dairy-free) have been used for autism, depression and schizophrenia, with some success. Even though the mechanism is still not fully clear, it does appear that there is a scientific basis for a connection between gluten and depression in susceptible individuals.

Further research may bring a cure. For the time being, though the only safe approach is to exclude gluten from the diet entirely.

Common Bipolar Symptoms in Adults - What You Should Know

Bipolar disorder symptoms in adults are easier to establish than in small children and can be severe. These symptoms are very different from the usual turbulent emotions experienced in daily life and can lead to damaged relationships, poor performance in school and at work, and an inability to perform routine tasks and in the extreme suicide. It often develops in the teenage years and can go unnoticed for many years and the symptoms may seem like separate problems at first making it difficult to spot. This disorder is a long term illness that needs to be managed carefully throughout the patient's life.

The symptoms of bipolar disorder in adults are classified into two categories unique to the pole or extreme episode that the patient is displaying. Some of the common symptoms of the manic episode are mood changes of elation, euphoria and extreme optimism that can lead to poor judgement. Aggressive behaviour and hyperactivity is also observed and a heightened sexual activity is seen in the patient. The patient may also suffer from insomnia, restlessness, anxiety, impulsiveness, quick and unfocused speech, hostility, delusions, irritability and paranoia. The surprising thing is that despite all this high energy activities the patient does not feel fatigued and seems to be on a roller coaster.

The other classification of bipolar disorder symptoms in adults is the depression episode. This is characterised by the exact opposite of the manic episode. The patient feels hopeless, guilty, and worthless, tired and tends to be forgetful. They also have trouble sleeping or sleep too much, lose or gain a lot of weight and lose interest in activities that they enjoyed or may withdraw from society. Patients lack concentration and feel overwhelmed by their emotions leading to suicidal feelings. Feelings of apathy and self loathing may also be encountered and the patient will want to withdraw from the rest of society completely.

In uncommon cases, the patient may experience a mixed affective episode which is in essence a state during which symptoms of mania and those of depression occur simultaneously. The patient may get teary during a manic episode or have a torrent of racing thoughts during a depressive episode. This mixed state is the most dangerous period of mood disorders and may lead to substance abuse, panic disorder and suicide attempts. Learning to recognise the bipolar disorder symptoms in adults is the key to unlocking the treatment for victims and helping to restore them back into regular society where they can be productive once more.

Some Anger Quotes to Help Control Anger

Anger is never good can always harm you more than it can harm others. You could destroy a friendship or a relationship that you built over the years in just a moment of anger. There are several ways of anger management and self control is the only way in which one can control his or her anger. I personally count to 100 slowly and I am usually calmed down by time I reach 50. And there are various other ways of self control. I have also found that reading motivational books can make you curtail anger to a great extent. Since we all don't have the time to read, I have compiled some quotes on anger by famous writer and philosophers that might help you to control you anger.

There is a saying that repentance and anger towards someone is like drinking poison and wishing that the person would die. Self control is when we can keep a check on our desires but it rarely happens that you just go mad about getting something, and self control is easier when it is about keeping a check on some desire, because you can certainly control your desire. But anger is spontaneous and if you were conscious of it, you would not be angry in the first place. And because it is so spontaneous, it becomes all the more difficult to control Anger.

It needs a lot of practice to control anger and you need to stop it as soon as it comes because it is often too late if you let yourself loose even for a few seconds. As soon as you get angry, always try to remember what could go wrong if you fly off the handle and think whether you will repent something that you are going to do momentarily. If you let anger overcome you, your inner demon will say that you don't care about the consequences, and when you start thinking that way, you need to think of the adverse consequences that your loved ones might have to face.

Here are some tips to control Anger:

1) Understand your common causes of anger :

When I was in living in the dorm, I used to get very angry whenever someone wakes me up just to ask me something trivial. Somehow my anger takes over because someone broke my sleep just to ask something trivial and I would just scream at whoever is waking me up. Of course I would apologize later for losing my handle, but by then I would have made the damage.

But I knew the cause of anger. I get angry very often in this particular situation and I said to myself then that I will think rationally and not scream when someone wakes me up. Because you, it was not the question that irked me, but the fact that some one woke me up lit the fire, and the trivial question just adds fuel to my anger. I just had to not light the fire to control my anger. And after months of practice when I asked a friend to wake me up everyday, and then practicing not to be irritated when I am woken could I control my morning or siesta anger.

2) Think of God :

This might not work for atheists, but those who have faith in god must try to remember his favorite god whenever he is in danger and pray to help him conquer his anger. Whenever I start losing my temper, I would start praying to god like crazy to help me overcome the anger, and yes it sure helps.

3) Think of the consequences :

This is the most difficult thing to do when you are angry, because when we are angry, we often don't care about any consequences, and we don't care about anything. In times like that, think hard about all the consequences. Think about your loves ones what it might cause to them, even if you don't care.

4) Count to 100
Now this is the most effective, age old formula for controlling anger. Ignore everything above, and ignore everything around you and just start counting from 1 till you are calmed down. It works even better if you count using you fingers. Just count away your anger. This is the most effective technique. Try it.

It also helps to remember these quotes that I have compiled. Print them out and post them in several visible places and it will certainly calm you down.

"For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Speak when you are angry - and you'll make the best speech you'll ever regret."
- Dr. Laurence J. Peter

"Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned."
- Gautama Buddha

"Resentment is like taking poison and waiting for the other person to die. "
- Malachy McCourt

"When anger rises, think of the consequences""
- Confucius

"There are two things a person should never be angry at, what they can help, and what they cannot."

- Plato

Depression and Compulsive Behavior - What Not To Do

In other articles related to depression, most people primarily focus on treating or defeating depression symptoms. Here I'll take a look at things you should avoid to keep your depression from deepening or worsening. All of the following may give you temporary comfort but could also result in deeper depressive symptoms in the long term. Avoid them at any cost:

Compulsive Behavior

Keep compulsive shopping to a minimum. When feeling down, many depressed people go shopping only to financially regret it later. This is especially a problem if part of your depression has already resulted in financial distress. Instead, replace the compulsion with a healthier one. Put in a favorite movie, bake a favorite food of yours. Put on your headphones, listen to music and take a walk around the block. Take a long hot shower or bath, or sit in a hot tub or sauna (if you have one). The possibilities of substituting compulsions are endless.

As with the above advice, try to avoid compulsive eating. While some people react to depression by not eating, others will overeat at home or at restaurants in order to feel instantaneous comfort. Gaining weight and becoming fatter will only make you feel worse about yourself - the last thing you need when you're already battling depression. If food is a problem, try eating more frequent smaller meals rather than fewer big meals.
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Drugs

Try reducing your intake of caffeinated beverages, especially if your depression also comes with anxiety. Caffeine gives you a short 'rush' but may be quickly followed by a low mood period. Caffeine may also contribute to sleeplessness, which could result in more irritability.

A word about alcohol & depression. Limit or completely refrain your intake of alcohol. Drinking is unpredictable- it could make you more emotionally depressed or give you momentary happiness, only to eventually be followed by a low. Alcohol also wears down your body and mind and depletes your body of needed nutrition. If you do 'need' to drink, avoid drinking on consecutive days - it will only further your depression and may make you spiral into an addictive drinking cycle where you feel you can't cope without it.

It's only natural to reach for comfort during low periods, but for depression the consequences can be deadly. Chances are slim to none that your depression symptoms will improve long-term by shopping compulsively, eating out of comfort, or abusing substances. These things are like trying to put a band-aid on a broken bone. Depression is a multi-faceted problem that needs to be confronted on all angles such as diet and nutrition and a variety of lifestyle adjustments. The only real solution is to take positive steps, not backward ones.

Advantages of Team Truck Driving

Independent owner-operators and the owners of small trucking fleets are largely in control of their own destiny. That is part of the appeal to many of the individuals who choose this particular professional path. Wise decision making can serve to bolster a growing company's bottom line and one critical error has the potential to undermine a wealth of progress. Perhaps the most significant decisions that an owner will make are those regarding the employment of other drivers. Having to cover the cost of another driver's salary is not a small matter, but the additional business that you may be able to accept as a result of having more drivers available might more than make up for the expense. Choosing a team truck driving approach is one option that may, under some circumstances, prove favorable for your trucking company.

Team Driving Benefits

Team truck driving is not the best choice for every owner-operator or small fleet owner, but it may be right for you. When team drivers travel together, it requires a special pairing to avoid intense personal conflict over the course of a long journey. When drivers haul a cargo load in legs, valuable time can be lost if one of the truckers along the chain has reliability issues. But some of the potential benefits of team driving for your business may include:

• Reducing the length of time that drivers must spend away from home and family


• Increasing the earning potential of a single vehicle by expanding the truck's possible schedule and distance


• Helping to combat driver depression and to reduce the turnover rate


• Lessening the likelihood that drowsy driving accidents will occur

A Financial Partner

As you are seeking to expand your company's client pool and geographical region, being able to compensate additional drivers is essential. Contact the truck factoring team of TBS Factoring Service, L.L.C., to learn how freight factoring can help you to stay ahead of the curve.