Let’s face it, running and managing a business is not easy, and truthfully, to say that it is would be a downright lie in most cases. In order for your business to succeed, you need to have a smart and proven business strategy in place, but even then, nothing is set in stone in regards to your business succeeding. Even the most efficient of managers and business owners can often overlook the early warning signs of a company in distress, so it’s important to know what to look out for, and to recognise the warning signs early on. If your company is struggling financially, if you aren’t careful, failing to act early, or taking the wrong steps could potentially be disastrous and could even lead to bankruptcy, and nobody wants that. To ensure you act early and save your company before things get worse, here are a few tips on what to do when your company is distressed.

Place an emphasis on cash – Cash, as they say, is king, and if your company is distressed, boy does this ring true. In order to achieve a successful and impressive turnaround, you should ideally place an emphasis on cash returns, and cash itself. In order to do this, you will need to go back to your business roots and take it back to its early days of conception. Basically, it very simply comes down to a case of whether your business is making money or losing it. Going a step further, it comes down to which business investments and decisions are making money, and which are losing money. Put simply, if there are investments or departments in your company that are losing you money, unfortunately they need to go, or at least things will need to change.

Seek out and hold on to talented employees – A company is only as strong as its employees, and as you know, if your company is made up of a majority of incompetent employees, well, you are going to go under sooner rather than later. If your company is distressed and you do require an extreme overhaul, you will need to let go of employees that are holding you back, and replace them with skilled and competent workers that could legitimately improve your business. Advertise wherever possible, hold interviews, seek out references, and trust your gut instinct when hiring, and when you do hire skilled employees, do all you can to retain them.

Seek professional investment from business turnaround experts – Sometimes, if your company is struggling and is sinking, seeking out investment could be your only chance of survival, so you will need to ensure that you make the right choice when seeking an investor. A lot of business go down the insolvency practitioner route, when in reality, that could only make things worse. Ideally you should seek investment from serial investors and business turnaround experts with a tried and tested record. By seeking investment in this manner, not only do you benefit from the funds required to save your company, the business turnaround expert will also help you to enhance your company valuations, as well as your marketing and advertising, which in turn will help to boost and improve your business.

Stress. It comes to us all. Some of us are more susceptible to feeling stressed that others. There’s no rule to what makes us feel stressed or how we deal with it. However one thing is for sure – stress needs to be acted on and controlled before it gets out of control. It may help you with that if you are aware of what the four main categories of stress are and their characteristics.

Eustress

This might sound like a contradiction, but eustress is considered to be a friendly type of stress. It’s something which makes us feel good, not bad.

An example of eustress may be the anticipation of competition (say a few moments before the start of a sporting even you are competing in or perhaps part of the crowd) or you are otherwise inspired.

It makes you feel temporarily pumped up and in the moment. You are motivated to do well and give it your all.

Distress

Distress is quite the opposite to eustress. A stress event causing you to feel distressed is not going to make you feel good about yourself.

A feeling of distress makes you very uncomfortable about the situation. It plays on your mind, you’re not sure what to do and that drags you down further increasing your stress levels.

If you can manage to deal with whatever is stressing you quickly (for example it may be a relatively minor thing) and make it go away, your feeling of distress should go away with it.

If not the distress may get worse and affect you for longer until the cause of distress can be managed.

We have all been there during our lives. The most important thing is to do something about it and take action.

Hyperstress

Just like the name suggests – hyperstress occurs when whatever is stressing us pushes us further than we can cope with. We all have our limits and stress levels are no exception.

In the case of stress – going beyond our limits and venturing in to hyperstress territory can push us towards a mental breakdown.

A common cause of hyperstress is being so consumed with many tasks and responsibilities (both personal and professional) that the person simply cannot manage any longer and is pushed over the edge.

If this is you – seek help immediately. Or ideally seek help before you get to the hyperstress stage.

Hypostress

Another category of stress is hypostress. It’s sort of the opposite of hyperstress.

With hypostress, it can be brought on by having too little to do or be responsible for. In other words – boredom. You have nothing to do and no motivation.

Hypostress may be caused for example by having a dull job which does not stretch or challenge you or not having any hobbies which keep you occupied outside work.

Looking for new challenges or taking up a new hobby can help with tackling hypostress.

These are the four main categories of stress. Each one can be managed to reduce their effects and reduce your stress levels.

Unlike the typical red fox, Gray fox prefer to live in the thicker areas made up of woods and heavy brush.

With hooked claws, a gray fox has the ability to climb trees and will often hunt for food and seek shelter in a tree. They will also climb a tree to escape danger. They make their dens in rocky crevices, caves, trees, hollow logs and brush piles. A Gray will often widen the burrow of a smaller animal and use it to raise their young. Dens are only used during the mating season and when raising pups.

They also have a reputation for aggressively responding to a distress call. Without much sign of fear or caution, a gray fox will often rush in within those first few minutes of calling. Popular distress calls include cottontail rabbit distress sounds, mouse and vole squeaks and gray fox pup distress.

Small grassy fields surrounded by woods are some of the best places to hunt. You’ll want to sit a distance of 30 to 40 yards out from the tree line. Like all predator hunting and calling you’ll want to blend your silhouette into the surroundings by sitting against a tree, hillside or tucked into some tall brush.Although movement is usually what a fox will detect first, it’s a good idea to wear camouflage from head to toe paying more attention to your head and hands.

Gray fox have a very capable sense of smell and will turn and bolt at the slightest hint of human scent. Like hunting all predators, you will need to consider wind direction into your set up.

Producing a distress sound at a high volume usually results in a fast response from the fox. It doesn’t seem to matter if you blow the distress call in a sequence or continuously. Both techniques seem to work on a gray fox. If nothing responds in the first 10 minutes it usually means that no grays are present and it’s time to move to a new location.

Gray fox are not large animals and smaller caliber guns starting with a 22 mag or a 12 gage shotgun using #4 shells are popular choices. A turkey load using #4 shot will work. A 22 mag is a good choice out to about 100 yards. A shotgun is a very good choice out to approximately 30 yards.

Just like hunting coyotes, bobcats and all other predators, hunting the gray fox will challenge your hunting and calling skills while providing some adrenaline filled fast paced predator calling action.

One classification of personal injury lawsuits is called “intentional wrongdoing.”

Cases of negligence deal with the breakdown of civil laws –such as the unintended consequences of traffic violations. On the other hand, intentional wrongdoing is an umbrella term for cases involving a deliberate step beyond negligence.

Common types of intentional wrongdoing that result in lawsuits are acts of: (1) assault, (2) battery, (3) false imprisonment, and (4) intention infliction of emotional distress.

Assault and battery are often confused due to similarities in their definition. Both involve harmful or offensive contact, but battery involves actual contact without consent. For instance, threatening to do harm against another individual with a weapon is by definition an assault. The threat goes a step farther and becomes battery when a weapon makes contact with the victim; in this instance, a lawsuit of both assault and battery may be pursued. It’s important to note that use of the weapon without physical contact, such as throwing an object unsuccessfully, is not battery.

False imprisonment is less common than both assault and battery. Due to the rights of individuals who have reasonable suspicions of foul play, not all detainments are defined as false imprisonment. Detainment by police with probable cause, or a store clerk’s detainment of a suspected shoplifter, does not constitute false imprisonment. On the other hand, hostage situations and detainment of defaulting tenants by a landlord are both false imprisonment situations.

Intention infliction of emotional distress, the last in this category, refers to the psychological damage caused from an assault. While assaults are classified as imminent threats, emotional or mental distress does not have to be tied to an actual threat.

Take, for instance, a defendant who intentionally lies to the plaintiff. Overwhelming emotional distress can result from the belief a child or family member has died in an accident. While the defendant’s motives for the lie may be varied, the result is the same for the plaintiff: emotional distress, which can often lead to frantic or harmful reactions by the plaintiff. In this case, the threat was not imminent and the child was not in immediate harm from the lie, but the psychological damage occurred nonetheless.

Intentional wrongdoing cases must establish the following four criteria: (1) the defendant acted intentionally or recklessly; (2) the defendant’s conduct was extreme and outrageous; and (3) the conduct was the cause (4) of severe emotional or mental distress.

If you or a loved one has been the victim of intentional wrongdoing, it may be advisable to seek council with a personal injury attorney. An act of assault can happen again, and next time it may move to the extreme case of battery. Peace of mind and security from harm are in your best interest-both physically and emotionally.

When does ordinary stress become too much stress or distress? There are a variety of reason children feel stress. Death of a loved one or it could be someone they did not even know, divorce, remarriage, moving, abuse, world crisis; such as the wars, family or community violence, natural disaster, and cultural conflict may heighten stress.

How about the fear of failure, given the increased pressure of standards testing? It is not always obvious, however, when children are feeling overtaxed. Children often have difficulty describing exactly how they feel. Instead of saying “I feel stressed” they may say “my stomach hurts.” My son’s stomach hurt each time there is an activity he is anxious about. Some children may cry, become aggressive, talk back or become irritable. Others may behave well but become nervous, fearful or panicky.

Stress can affect a child’s physical health. Asthma, hay fever, migraine headache and gastrointestinal illness can be brought on by stressful situations.

What can parents do? The most important thing is to begin by monitoring your own stress levels. Frequent conflict in our lives is unsettling for our children. Keep the lines of communication open- Kids feel better about themselves when they have a good relationship with their parents. Encourage friendships-Children who do not have close friendships are at risk of developing stress. Schedule play dates, sleepovers and other fun activities. Keep in mind your child’s temperament when scheduling daily activities- you know your child best.

Most importantly-children of all ages need time to relax and play.

There are four primary parameters of human existence, according to existential theory. These four parameters, or givens, include isolation, freedom, death, and meaninglessness. This article addresses isolation and offers some ideas for how to alleviate the pain of isolation.

There are three types of isolation. The first is interpersonal isolation, or loneliness, which speaks of being isolated from other people for various reasons. For instance, we can feel isolated due to mental illness, geographic distance, lack of appropriate social skills, or loss.

The second type is intrapersonal isolation, which is the result of separating from certain aspects of oneself. We may be cut off from our feelings, we may deny our wants and needs, or we may distrust our own intelligence or intuition, for example.

The final type is existential isolation, which is that infinite separation that exists between oneself and others, no matter how close they may be. This is the place that gives rise to the common expression “No matter who is with you when you die, you die alone.” Sometimes we counter this isolation by blurring our boundaries to enmesh ourselves with others, which results in the loss of ourselves. Or we learn to distance ourselves from people (e.g., aloofness, mental illness), or even to become self-effacing, in order to avoid the pain of rejection.

Isolation seems to be so much a part of the human experience that Erik Erikson incorporated it into his theory of human development. Specifically, he uses the terms Identity versus Identity Diffusion, Intimacy versus Isolation, and Integrity versus Despair, all of which can describe various aspects of isolation. For instance, if a woman has developed a sense of identity diffusion and enmeshment, she might be prone to experiencing empty nest syndrome during midlife when her children leave home and develop their own identities as adults. If she loses the intimacy of marriage and a supportive social structure, she could experience a deep sense of interpersonal isolation, or even despair.

If isolation is an integral part of the human existence, what can be done to counteract its inherent pain? This is easiest if we look at the three types individually.

Interpersonal isolation can be alleviated by creating and maintaining a strong social support system. Think of family (or not), friends, colleagues, and professionals such as mental health therapists, coaches, energy workers, organizations, and so forth.

Intrapersonal isolation can be alleviated by paying attention to who we really are, and by honoring our true self. That means know what we’re thinking and feeling, know what we believe and why, acknowledge our wants and needs and values, and learn to trust our own intuition and insight.

Existential isolation can be alleviated by choosing a belief system that makes us feel connected with something greater than ourselves. A belief system that allows us to feel that even when we lose our connection to others and to ourselves, we’re still not completely alone. Sometimes it’s this alone that keeps us going when we might otherwise give up completely.

Over the years, I have counseled many elite gymnasts. Recently, an Olympic gold medalist in gymnastics from Japan came to my offices to learn about my approaches to counseling top athletes. The gold medalist, who also has a bronze medal in the high bar came with approximately twenty therapists who also counsel and coach athletes.

Most of the gymnasts I have counseled have been females. And these frequently experience significant amounts of stress. The stress comes from a number of sources.

First, many gymnasts get frightened after they have been injured while trying a new move or while pushing themselves during a competition. They present with symptoms that are very much like post traumatic stress disorder. Many gymnasts who I have counseled report concerns about significant and multiple injuries which can frighten them and impair their ability to perform to their potential.

Also, if they pressured to compete while they are injured, they can be at risk for an additional injury. You can’t do well in gymnastics if an injury or a fear of being injured in clouding your mind and your thinking.

Second, many female gymnasts report tremendous pressure to maintain a low body weight. Some engage in bulimic behavior to avoid being ridiculed by coaches and other athletes. And many gyms fail to educate kids about sound nutrition and healthy eating for athletes.

The obsession with weight is a problem within our general culture, but it appears to be exponentially worse in the world of gymnasts.

Third, a lot of girls who experience a growth spurt can no longer perform the way they did when they were smaller and lighter. This change can be quite upsetting to a gymnast who was finding the sport to be quite easy prior to their physical changes.

Fourth, some gyms and coaches have a rather militant approach to training gymnasts. This kind of philosophy or method is right for some children, but it is not suitable for all kids.

Fifth, some gyms are not careful enough in helping youngsters to avoid injuries.

Sixth, the conflicts between youngsters, coaches and parents are widespread and quite intense in this sport.

Seventh, many gyms neglect to provide adequate training in the mental aspects of competing in gymnastics.

Recently, a young gymnast called me. When she got on the phone, she marked, “Dr. Granat, I know your voice. We play one of your cd programs in the gym I train in all the time.” I was quite happy to hear that one of my programs was being used to help some gymnasts with the mental aspects of the game.”

Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) is characterized by a severe difficulty in breathing, anxiety, agitation and fever. This condition usually follows a few hours or days after a severe insult or injury to the body like sepsis, trauma, drug overdose, blood transfusions, or major lung infections. A reduced level of oxygen in the blood is typical of this condition.

ARDS is a very serious condition and all affected patients need to be hospitalized in an intensive care unit for treatment and supportive care. While there is no specific modern treatment, intravenous fluids, antibiotics, steroids, and mechanical ventilation with oxygen form the mainstay of management. The Ayurvedic management of this condition consists of treating the basic pathology of the disease, reducing and preventing further organ damage, and preserving life.

The air sacs and the surrounding small blood vessels in the lungs get severely damaged in this condition. This causes either a collapse of the alveoli or an accumulation of fluid; both situations lead to a diminished exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide, and highly reduced levels of available oxygen for the body tissues. Modern medicine uses steroids to reduce the lung inflammation. Ayurvedic medicines like Ras-Sindur, Malla-Sindur, Sameerpannag-Ras, Shwas-Kas-Chintamani-Ras, Shrung-Bhasma, Vishan-Bhasma, Pushkarmool (Inula racemosa), Arjuna (Terminalia arjuna), Yashtimadhuk (Glycyrrhiza glabra), Kantakari (Solanum xanthocarpum), Praval-Bhasma and Praval-Panchamrut are used for this purpose. These medicines reduce lung inflammation and open up the airways.

The consistently low level of oxygen in the blood causes damage to other vital organs in the body, like the kidneys and the liver, and predisposes to a multi-system organ failure. Ayurvedic medicines like Nardiya-Laxmi-Vilas-Ras, Maha-Laxmi-Vilas-Ras, Siddha-Makardhwaj-Ras and Hemgarbha-Ras are used to increase the blood pressure, improve the circulation and provide more oxygen to the vital organs. Punarnavadi-Qadha (decoction), Punarnavad-Guggulu, Goksuradi-Guggulu, Mahamanjishthadi-Qadha, Saarivadi-Churna, and Yava-Kshar are used in combination with the above-mentioned medicines to improve organ perfusion, reduce inflammation and swelling, and reduce the circulatory load on the lungs.

Medicines like Sukshma-Triphala, Triphala, Arogya-Vardhini, Triphala-Guggulu, Kutki (Picrorrhiza kurroa), Punarnava (Boerhaavia diffusa), Guggulu (Commiphora mukul), Kalmegh (Andrographis paniculata), Haridra (Curcuma longa), Daruharidra (Berberis aristata) and Sharpunkha (Tephrosia purpurea) are used to treat infection and reduce toxicity which can further damage the entire body system.

Ayurvedic medicines can thus be used to improve treatment outcomes in ARDS and increase the chances for survival and a complete recovery. Since these patients are seriously ill, all medicines have to be fine-powdered and administered through a naso-gastric tube, along with honey and milk. In the current scenario, using Ayurvedic medicines for such patients involves a lot of medico-legal implications. The relatives need to sign a consent letter before the commencement of treatment, which clearly indicates the seriousness of the situation, and the fact that Ayurvedic medicines can at best be provided as supportive treatment, in addition to modern treatment and supportive management and care. Hospital authorities too need to give either a written consent or at least implied oral consent for the simultaneous administration of Ayurvedic medicines. Considering the high mortality of this condition, a joint treatment approach could definitely work out to benefit all such patients.

In a recent paper, the International Council of Nurses (ICN) headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland has summarized the various dimensions of increased decision making by nurses as follows: strategic planning, budgeting, efficient resource planning and utilization, and the planning, management and evaluation of programs and services.

The ICN has again stressed that the position of the nurses as the “point guards” of the whole health care system who are in close touch with what’s really happening out there uniquely qualifies them for coordination of health services and “strategic planning and the efficient utilization of resources.” Who can argue with that?

One hopes that through such expanded participation in the decision making process at all levels, the trend for “moral and ethical stress” among nurses that has been covered by the recent literature might be countered as well, at least to a certain extent.

The recent research by Mary C. Corley, PhD, RN., Associate Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University found that a large percent of nurses interviewed would not want family members treated in their own hospitals.

The same study also showed a larger percent (25%) of nurses had left a position in the past due to “moral distress” compared to 13% in 1995 — that is, the “distress” of disillusionment with the various “managed care systems.” Increased political participation in decision making should be expected to work in the other direction and increase job satisfaction among nurses at large. It would help not only the patients, their families and public at large but the nurses themselves too.

The hair is of so much importance to the face, that the gracefulness of a woman’s head, and the likeness of a man’s portrait, depend in a great measure upon its arrangement. ~ Auguste Alexandre Philippe Charles Blanc (1813-1882), Art in Ornament and Dress. How true is this and the hair dryer is the only quintessential tool in every girls dresser. If you are not happy with your current hair dryer then this is the ultimate guide to all your hair dryer problems.

In a perfect world we would all get perfect hair like that of supermodels every day. But, for most of us, it is a lot of work with our hair dryers – so it is important to make sure you’re using the right one. Not all heat tools are created equal and it’s not always easy to know which is best for your blow and which ones can damage your hair. How do you know if your locks require an ion or a tourmaline? Which will give you the volume you’re looking for? I have navigated the essential questions you may have with my years of experience with the good, the bad and the ugly.

Call it hair or blow dryer. Like most of us, I thought an essential item in the dresser like a blow dryer is an easy buy from your supermarket. Little did I realize that my choice would lead to limited blowout options and never ever that dreamy hair style you get from the saloon. That started off my quest of the questions which you may also have –

1. Why can’t I get that perfect hair at home that I get at the saloon?

2. Is there a type of hair dryer depending on my hair type?

3. Does hair dryer does damage to my hair?

4. Are heat protection serum important?

5. Can I just use a hair straightener or curler?

I will do my best to point you in the right direction, guide you by writing comprehensive reviews and guides to pick the best dryer and will not let you make the common mistakes which will lead to distress.

As far as science and technology dates back, there are stories in history about how people in past have tried to find innovative methods of drying and setting their hair. Perhaps the most notable was the concept of trying to iron out the wet hair with hot coal in the improvised ‘hair dryer’!

Thankfully, today we don’t have to resort to such drastic and hazardous means. The electric hair dryer is surely a great invention of modern times. Once a simple tool to aid in quickly drying out wet hair, today the humble dryer has undergone metamorphosis into multiple avatars, from amateur to professional use, with variations in design and technology.

Ionic

These hair dryers break down the water molecule into ions. In addition to hot air required for the blow dry, it aids in smoothening out the hair by locking in moisture. These hair dryers have the least damaging impact and are in fact fantastic for dry and damaged hair. They work wonders for those with frizzy and coarse types of hair as well, as the moisture helps to nourish the hair and give it a well settled look with sheen.

Ceramic

These are great inventions, since they take out infra-red heat which does not cause harmful damage to hair or the surrounding skin and the underlying scalp. These gently dry the hair, working systematically from inside towards the outer realms. Hence they offer great protection from heat damage and over drying. So if you have hair that is prone to get damaged, or have frizzy hair, ceramic dryers are ideal for you. Those who have curly hair or Keratin treated hair, they will be satisfied at the blow dry by ceramic hair dryers.

Tourmaline

These hair dryers seem to take the best of both the above mentioned types of technologies. They emit infra-red heat as well as negative ions. Thus they are great for styling, since they do not let the hair get damaged due to more exposure. They dry hair gently and also add enviable sheen to them.

Hybrid

Many hair dryers today offer a combination of one or more technologies, to give the perfect blow dry without causing damage. Such dryers are generally more suitable for all hair types, making them a perfect choice for a family or hair saloons who deal with many types of hair.

Tip: To prevent damage, keep your dryer moving during use. If you let it sit too long in any one spot, you’ll risk damage from over drying. Furthermore, you can also use a strengthening treatment like ‘Living Proof’s Perfect Hair Day’. Hair Dryers The Right Way!!!