Do Something Near You

Do Something Near You is an initiative created by the Do Something charity to help everyday Australians get involved in volunteering and give back to their community. So, if you are looking to for something to do that's both fun and rewarding in this semester break simply type in your suburb/postcode and select from the many categories of volunteering and charity work available such as community care, health, youth, animals and environment plus much more. Remember you can never have too much of a good thing, so get as involved as you can!

To find out more about the organisation follow the link below.
http://www.dosomethingnearyou.com.au/articles/page/about-us

Check Out This App: Smiling Mind

Smiling Mind is a unique web and App-based program developed by a team of psychologists with expertise in youth and adolescent therapy, Mindfulness Meditation and web-based wellness programs. Smiling Mind is a non-for-profit, free tool that will assist in improving to the lives of young Australians by providing clarity, calmness, contentment and balance. It is available online or as a smartphone app. 

For more information see: http://smilingmind.com.au/blog/#!/category/background/what-is-smiling-mind

Recipe: Chicken, Vegie and Barley Soup

Ingredients:

• 2tbs olive oil
• 1 medium brown onion
• 2tbs tomato paste
• 1tbs fresh thyme leaves
• ¾ cup pearl barley#
• 2L vegetable stock
• 1 chicken breast fillet
• Salt and pepper
• Paprika*
• 1 medium potato
• 1 carrot
• ½ frozen peas
• ½ pkt baby spinach

Method:

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over high heat and add sliced onion. Cook for 2-3 mins until starting to soften. 
2. Add stock, tomato paste, pearl barley and thyme. Bring to the boil, then cover and reduce heat to low-medium heat. Simmer for 30mins.
3. While soup is simmering, lie the chicken breast flat and slice horizontally into two thinner halves. Season each side with salt, pepper and paprika.
4. Heat oil in a frypan over high heat and sear the chicken on both sides for 3-4mins or until brown and cooked through.
5. Add potato and carrot to soup and simmer for further 10mins, until tender.
6. Roughly pull apart/shred chicken and add to soup with, peas and spinach.
7. Stir, cover and remove from heat.

For extra delicious-ness serve with cheesy toasted pita bread:

1. Cut pita bread in half and fill each with ¼ cup grated cheese
2. Toast in toastie machine and serve

Notes:

# We used soup mix, which has a mix of pearl barley and green and yellow split peas. It is usually easy to find – even Aldi sells it.
* Don’t worry too much about paprika if you can’t be bothered, it will still be tasty. If you’d like a slightly different flavour, sprinkle some curry powder on instead or whichever spice takes your fancy. This recipe is adapted from ‘Chicken and barley soup with cheesy flatbread’ from Taste.com for a bigger vegie fix. Find the original recipe at http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/35167/chicken+and+barley+soup+with+cheesy+flatbreads

The easiest way to get healthy – without exercise!

Getting healthy without exercise, effort or money? Surely not. Until you discover the magic of drinking water. The significant benefit of drinking water is no secret, yet the vast majority of us do not consume enough H₂O each day. Dehydration, even in its mildest form, can have detrimental effect on our metabolism and bodily functions. In fact, your body needs to be adequately hydrated to reap the rewards of a hard workout. So in case you have forgotten or been living under a rock for your whole life, I thought I would give you a quick refresher on the benefits of H₂O:

• Vital to maintain bodily functions and metabolism: our bodies are roughly 60% water and thus is goes without saying that by not replenishing these stores we are adversely impacting its function. Water is also vital to speed up metabolism and clear toxins from our system.
• Suppresses hunger: over 75% of the time when we feel the need for a quick snack or meal we are actually not hungry, rather we are dehydrated. Thus, the calories we consume during this time is surplus and going straight to our waistline or thighs. By maintaining adequate hydration we would be saving our bodies from these excess, unwanted calories.
• Helps you stay alert and maintains energy levels: dehydration commonly leads to fatigue and lethargy, and hence, by staying hydrated we can avoid these feelings – especially during exercise.
• The healthiest drink: no sugar, no preservatives and nothing artificial. As long as its not brown and you can see through the glass, it’s the best liquid for you.
• Other benefits: decreases incidence of headaches, colon cancer, urinary tract cancer and kidney stones; also improves the appearance of your skin.

How much water do you need per day?

The general recommendation seems to be roughly around 6-8 glasses per day. But this variable depending on the water content of the food you are consuming and also the level of daily activity. So what is the perfect amount? Check your urine! If your urine is a lemonade or pale-straw colour you can pat your self on the back because your body is well hydrated. If it’s a distinct yellow or yellow-green colour you should grab your bottle and head straight to the tap. (If it’s any other colour you either need your eye checked or you should see a doctor).

Tips to stay hydrated:

• Get yourself a drink bottle and take it everywhere. Sip throughout the day rather than waiting for the thirst sensation.
• Go for a glass of water first thing in the morning – yes, that is, before (or, instead of) your morning coffee.
• Drink a glass of water before and after each meal.
• If you want to make things interesting, slice up a lemon and a few strawberries, put them in the bottle and throw it in the fridge overnight to let the flavours infuse. Experiment with other fruits or vegetables – acidic ones work best.
• Green tea is a great hot substitute instead of black tea or coffee, plus you get an added dose of antioxidants.

Why doctors hide their own illness...

There is a mountain of stigma associated with mental illness, but do we in the medical profession, cop it the most?

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/may/16/why-doctors-hide-their-own-illnesses 

HIIT – The Latest Buzz in Fitness

What is it?

HIIT – high intensity interval training – is method of training designed to maximize the benefits of exercise in the shortest time possible making it ideal for time-restrained individuals, for example, medical students. For those of us don’t want to – or don’t have the time to – spend 60 to 90 minutes on the treadmill or lifting weights then this is ideal. All you need is 20 minutes per day to see some real results!

How does it work?

HIIT combines alternating short periods of high-intensity exercise with less-intense recovery periods.

Does the compromise in time lead to compromised results?

NO! This is the best part about HIIT. The periods of high-intensity activity leads a increased number of calories burnt and also forces your body to adapt to a superior level of exercise than a mediocre-effort 60 minute workout. HIIT also increases the “after-burn” effect where your body will continue to burn calories even after you stop exercising.

A 2011 study that was presented at the American College of Sports Medicine Annual Meeting demonstrated that 2 weeks of HIIT increased an individual’s aerobic capacity by as much as 6-8 weeks of endurance training.

Will I lose muscle mass?

NO! The short, sharp bursts of exercise combined with the rest periods ensure that the body burns carbohydrates and fat preferentially to muscle

How do I do it?

It’s simple and requires no equipment at all. You can choose any activity – running, swimming, cycling, rowing or even weight lifting – and perform that activity at 90-100% effort for no more than 1 minute and then rest for an equal amount of time – we will call that one round – and then perform as many rounds as possible. If after 20 minutes you are not exhausted, lying on the floor, you haven’t worked hard enough.

For example: jump on a treadmill, set your incline at 2.0 or above and select a speed that is a sprint for you, e.g. 16.0kph. Then sprint at that speed for 30secs and then take a 30secs rest by either stepping off the treadmill or by having an active recovery at a very low speed, e.g. 6.0kph. It is vital that your recovery is a proper recovery – you need to remember that the benefits of this training is reaped during the active phase rather than the recovery phase and by pushing yourself too hard during the recovery, you are compromising your efforts in the active phase.

If you want to make the work out harder you can increase the incline, increase your running speed or – the best way – decrease your rest time.

Just a quick warning that when you first start this sort of training it might make you feel sick or dizzy during initial sessions so its important to know your physical limits and always stay hydrated.

The Black Dog

A great animation that explains what it is like to live with depression.

“Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen.” - Brené Brown

1. Connection is why we are here
2. Shame is the fear of disconnection: "Is there something about me that, if other people know it or see it, that I won't be worthy of connection? I'm not __________ enough"
3. Vulnerability is the idea that in order for connection to happen, we have to allow ourselves to be seen, really seen
4. Whole-hearted people, living from a deep sense of worthiness have:

• courage to be imperfect (to tell the story of who you are with your whole heart) - fully embrace vulnerability 
• compassion to be kind to themselves first and then to others, because, as it turns out, we can't practice compassion with other people if we can't treat ourselves kindly
• connection - the thing that gives purpose and meaning to our lives