Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Make Temporary Employment Agencies Work for You


Have you considered a temporary job to help pay the bills while you land that permanent position? Nowadays, temporary agencies specialize and can place people in just about every career field.

There are long term assignments and, in many cases, temporary agencies may provide benefits to their employees: paid holidays, medical & dental coverage, life insurance, and 401K plan. Ask a lot of questions about the cost of the benefits to you.

Temp jobs can provide you with experience in industries and careers you where you might not worked before. This is a good way to enhance your resume. If you are not happy with the assignment or the employer, you can move on to your next position and start fresh.

A temp job can also be a foot-in-the-door at a company you are interested in. And temporary assignments can turn to permanent employment. It is estimated that 90% of all companies use temporary employees. More and more, companies use temporary agencies to screen their employees and to send them the best candidate for their ‘temporary’ assignment. If the company likes the employee, he/she may end up with a permanent position. If they don’t like the employee, they can request another be sent, without any commitment on their part. So, what are you waiting for?

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Monday, August 24, 2009

Chronic Pain, Addiction, and Depression


Chronic pain is defined as pain that lasts longer than 3 months. Some experts define it as lasting longer than 6 months. Chronic pain is different than acute pain in that it is not easy to find the cause. Diagnosis can reveal no injury in the body at all, and yet the patient can be experiencing very debilitating pain.

One way that chronic pain begins is from an injury. Scientists have found that repeated pain from an acute injury changes the way the brain lets you know you have pain. Even after the injury has healed, pain messages replay over and over again. Chronic pain may worsen in response to environmental and/or psychological factors such as depression and addiction. Chronic pain may also be related to a number of different medical conditions including (but not limited to) diabetes, arthritis, migraines, fibromyalgia, cancer, shingles, sciatica, besides injury or trauma.

There are a variety of treatment options for chronic pain. The goal of pain management is to provide symptom relief and improve an individual's level of functioning in daily activities. A number of types of medications have been used in the management of chronic pain, including acetaminophen, ibuprofen, aspirin, COX-2 inhibitors, antimigraine medications, sedatives, opioids, and antidepressants. Many people have become addicted to narcotic pain medication. Nonmedicinal treatments for chronic pain can include exercise, physical therapy, counseling, electrical stimulation, biofeedback, acupuncture, hypnosis, chiropractic medicine, and other treatments.

For more information contact the American Pain Society.

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Five Easy Steps to Daily Meditation


Meditation has been found to help our immune system by minimizing the effects of stress on our bodies, as well as fighting off and helping the healing from disease. It also improves our concentration, patience, and problem solving ability. Who wouldn’t want that?

Interested in trying meditation, you don’t need much time to get stated. And it isn't as difficult as you might think. Here are five ways to fit much-needed meditation into your schedule:

• Five minutes to start: Keep it short. You don't have to set aside half an hour; you can start to feel the benefits with even a few minutes of regular meditation. You can build from there.

• Have a focus. If sitting with your eyes closed is difficult, focus on an item on the wall or a candle flame. Keep your mind blank, stay in the moment. If you can’t do that, count from one to ten over and over.

• Find a regular time. Do not do it before you go to bed or you will fall sleep, and do not do it while you are doing something else like taking a shower. When you meditate, focus on meditation.

• Try tensing your muscles before hand. Tense your face muscles, then your neck muscles, shoulders, chest, stomach, arms, hands, thighs, calves, and feet. Each muscle group for five seconds.

• Meditate again when you find the time. Reward yourself, before the drive home or after it. Or if you take mass transit do it them. Do it before an event that requires your best performance. Whatever you do don’t do it on an empty stomach: to much bodily activity.

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