Author: Jesutofunmi Mary Lawal

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HOW TO DEAL WITH BODY ODOR

When body odor is mentioned, what comes to mind is an offensive smell.
But in the real sense, body odor is not always bad.
It is a term that describes natural smells that emanate from humans.

However, changes in body odor may develop when influenced by puberty, genetic makeup, diet, poor hygiene, and some other factors.

Most people wonder if body odor is a normal occurrence. Yes, it is normal, given that everyone is bound to have body odor whether good or bad, especially an adolescent who has reached the puberty stage.

Having a bad or unwanted body odor is a common occurrence and can be a result of various factors.

This article is set to help you discover the causes of body odor, types, and, preventative or control measures to get rid of body odor.

PARTS OF THE BODY THAT PRODUCES ODOR

Body odor emanates from certain parts of the body. Those parts include;

  • The Mouth (Producing foul-smelling breath)
  • The armpits
  • The Virgina or Groin
  • The feet
  • The Anus
  • The Belly button

CAUSES OF BODY ODOR

As we grow older i.e during puberty, menopause, etc. we tend to sweat more often than usual due to the hormones behind sweat secretion or perspiration. Your sweat might produce a good odor or have no smell at all.

Sweat is odorless and only starts to smell bad when it comes in contact with bacteria in your body.

Below are some of the causes of body odor;

1. Hormonal changes

Constant changes in hormones can cause your body odor to smell. And these changes could be due to pregnancy, night sweats, your menstrual cycle, and hormonal fluctuations during menopause.

2. Poor hygiene

Poor hygiene is another factor that begets changes in body odor.
Practices like keeping excessive armpit hair, putting on dirty clothes, skipping baths, skipping teeth brushing, and wearing moist or damp undies give room for bacteria to feed on perspiration.
This in turn develops into a pungent body odor, mostly a smell like rotten eggs.

3. Infections and diseases

Bad body odor happens to be a characteristic symptom of some infections and diseases.

The virgina for example, produces a pungent smell when affected by bacterial infections such as yeast infections and vaginosis.
Also, infections such as the Urinary tract infections will cause the urine to release an unpleasant smell.

Skin infections like erythrasma, candidiasis, intertrigo, and other bacterial infections may have negative effects on normal body odor.

Also, diseases or medical conditions like diabetes, kidney or liver disease, cancer, gouty arthritis, and tuberculosis which cause foul-smelling breath, and some others can bring about changes in one’s normal body odor.

4. Drugs

Certain drugs used for the control of some particular medical conditions or infection can influence changes in body odor, causing excessive sweating.
So also, drugs like anti-depressants, codeine, tramadol, and other drugs that trigger hot flashes are known to induce unpleasant body odor.

5. Diet

The food we consume can influence a change in our body odor whether good or bad.
Some foods are known for their smell. People who love onions, for instance, will experience a strong smell on their breath or urine.
Consumption of garlic, locust beans, curry, and cummin in foods can also result in foul-smelling breath.

Some of the other foods that causes foul-smelling breath;

  • Cabbage
  • Asparagus
  • Radish
  • Broccoli
  • High consumption of red meat
  • Alcohol, tobbaco, and caffeine are also known to trigger changes in normal body odor.

6. Hot temperature

Another causal factor of bad odor is hot temperature. People live in some parts of Nigeria, for instance, the northern part experiences heat causing them to sweat excessively which might result in a bad body odor.

Other common factors that trigger unpleasant body odor includes;

  • Stress
  • Obessity
  • Exercise
  • Anxiety
  • And sometimes, Genetics.

READ ALSO:

HOW TO DESTRESS AFTER A STRESS-FILLED WORKWEEK

HOW TO GET RID OF BODY ODOR

Body odor is nothing out of the ordinary. It can be treated by oneself at home.
Change in body odor can be easily curbed by practicing good personal hygiene especially if you are someone who falls under the category of poor hygienic habits. The use of do-it-yourself treatments (DIY) also helps with unpleasant body odor.

1. Good personal hygiene

Washing the body thoroughly with the use of antibacterial soap to keep the skin clean and fresh daily.
While doing this, focus more on the armpits, bellybutton, behind your ears, feet, and groin.
You should also avoid keeping excessive armpit hair. Taking a shower more often also reduces the possibility of unpleasant body odor.

Do not wear clothes more than once, wash clothes regularly, and wear only clean and dry ones. It is advisable to wear clothing i.e bra, panties, and clothes made of cotton as this material allows the body to take in air.


2. Use of deodorants and antiperspirant

Use deodorants and antiperspirants only on clean and dry skin. The active ingredient in most antiperspirants is aluminum.
Use antiperspirant after showering or bathing and before bed.
It is advisable to use strong fragrances i.e perfumes with high longevity.
Take note that, covering up your body odor with deodorants while your skin remains uncared for will only complicate your condition.

3. Oral hygiene

This is also an important part of personal hygiene.
Brushing your teeth twice a day, scraping your tongue, and changing your toothbrush every 3-4 months will reduce the possibility of foul-smelling breath.

4. Good diets

Reduce or stop consuming smelly foods, alcohol, caffeine, red meat, and other foods that induce bad body odor.

5. DIY (Do It Yourself) treatments

Some Do-it-yourself treatments like lemon, baking soda, and apple cider vinegar work wonders on underarm odor.
Another easy way to get rid of body odor is to wipe the armpits with a towel already soaked in warm water, this will ensure the thorough cleansing of the pores on the armpits.

As a young person experiencing puberty, a change in your body odor is normal just practice good personal hygiene.

6. Talk to an expert

The overall important step to getting rid of body odor is to speak out to either an expert in the area or a close pal you know can be confined in, covering up body odor to yourself can make this condition complicated.
It is advisable for anyone experiencing overly excessive sweating, such as sweating while writing, sleeping, and frequently sweat-soaked clothing to see a doctor.

OR

If the odor persists and becomes severe and unbearable then you should see a doctor as it may be due to a disease or an infection in the body.

Fruity body odor is a sign of diabetes, you should see a doctor immediately.

CONCLUSION

As we have said in this article, Body odor is present in all humans. But you should pay attention when you start to notice changes in your body odor, or when you sweat more than usual.


Hope this was helpful to you. Share your thoughts in the comments or join our Whatsapp channel. Follow our Twitter and Instagram page to keep track of more helpful posts.

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On the Blaze

WE CAN NOT STOP EATING BREAD

Do you know “bread addiction” is real?

Of course as bread lovers we ate in self denial as the phrase sounds funny and almost impossible.

“Yes, we know we like bread, we take bread every time, we can’t do without taking bread in a week, we can’t resist the sight of freshly baked bread neither can we shut out the enthralling aroma but that can not be termed as an addiction, it is not an addiction! WE SIMPLY CAN NOT STOP EATING BREAD, PERIOD!” says every bread lover, each time AprokoDoctor’s videos or any other videos scolding bread lovers pops up. 

This content is meant to fully support to bread lovers, explicitly outlining the GOAT (greatest of all time) quanlities of bread in the world of snacks while also outlining the advantages and disadvantages giving us a choice whether to stick to making bread our ride or die, reduce its intake or put a stop to eating it.

Follow till the end to know which category you will eventually fall in to;

GOAT (GREATEST OF ALL TIME)  QUALITIES OF BREAD

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DRINK WATER OR GET COOKED ON TWITTER; TWO TOP SECRETS TO HAVING A GREAT DAY


On one of the numerous quests of how human beings can have a great and lovely day, keen observation and critical analysis have revealed that there are two top secrets to human beings having a great day, daily. These two ways are explicitly explained below;

1. GET COOKED ON TWITTER

Getting cooked or dragged is a prevalent catchphrase used to describe the instance where someone is getting mocked or insulted.

Sounds interesting, right? There is more tea.

Whenever you see a tweet with few or no likes and more quotes and comment section responses then the person is getting cooked. The comment section of such tweet is usually filled with memes and slangs such as “cook that thing” “I’m sat” “na here e dey happen” etc.


Getting cooked or dragged on Twitter is no new thing, it is in fact a common phenomenon nowadays. The process simply involves a crowd of social media i.e. Twitter users gathering to counter the opinion (dropped in the form of a tweet) of another user but in brutal ways that are high-handed use of insulting words or counter phrases. While many are used to being dragged, some are not. Dragging can be a source of emotional hullabaloo for someone being dragged for the first time.
These dragging scenarios do not just occur, they happen when you least expect as Twitter is too slippery a platform when some topics, especially the sensitive ones are up for discussion.

Or ceremonially put, the app might not be in your favor on a day you tweet your most random thoughts, thinking you’re tweeting without a care for traction then suddenly, your tweets crosses seas and oceans to Lucifer’s abode, and people from several timelines away start quoting your “it shouldn’t be this deep” tweet hence, activating you being dragged.

Some of the scenarios that can land you in dragging on Twitter;

I. Tweeting your opinion on controversial topics.

If you want to have a memorable day worthy of putting in your records, just tweet an opinion to counter or an insensitive take on sensitive topics that has to do with religion, feminism, patriarchy, or any trending topic at the moment then release the wheel and watch Twitter users take the wheel of dragging you in through a silver coloured mud.

An insensitive take on a sensitive topic

Better still, tweet a random opinion whether well constructed or not and pray it reaches the part of twitter that remoulds and Interpretes tweets. Relax and watch them twist and give your it an astounding interpretation that will blow your mind and get you dragged like an “I better pass my neighbor” generator.


Then sit tight, pour yourself a glass of wine, juice or anything chill, and cheers to a great day.

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Story Time

MOTHER, PLEASE DONT LEAVE.

“Debo, come inside this minute, dust the footmat and shut my door. No one must go out of this house today until I say so” My father bellowed. 

Obeying my father’s stern orders that were like prison orders was an easier task than washing plates but not again. Not after seeing my mother packing her things to leave the house while my father looked on without saying a word to stop her earlier today. The both of them had fought yesterday night, he was sure of that.

He could still remember the dream that had him sweating profusely, last night. He had woken up breathing heavily and suddenly scared of the dark, contemplating whether to lay down or attend to nature’s call, go to the toilet two rooms away and empty his painfully full bladder. 

A few minutes of contemplation was all it took for him to jump out of his bed and race off towards the toilet without light. With the fear of the dark still lurking around, he paused by the living room’s curtain to make his way to the toilet by feeling the wall, and doors while hitting his legs and big toe on some obstacles on the way. Blaming the dream for instilling such fear was easy, he would have raced towards the toilet and would have been back to his room, the urge to return to bed and resume his dream if he could was greater than the darkness itself. He needed to know why his father was chasing his mother with a pestle in that dream and why people witnessing the act just stood there looking at him chasing her, they made no attempt to stop him or help his mother hideaway. 

Why was the toilet still far away? 

The toilet was like an adjoining room to his parent’s bedroom. He was almost there and it was time to tiptoe. Quietly, he made his way to the toilet’s door, opening it carefully so as not to wake his mother who does not sleep heavily. It worries him always that his mother finds it difficult to sleep and when she eventually does, she sleeps lightly so lightly that a drop of pin could wake her, leaving her fully awake till day break. 

Iya Debo, as his mother was popularly referred to by everyone had once told him the doctor said she has insom.. something, he had made a mental note to check for the meaning of the word from his elementary school’s library but since forgot to do so. He must remember to check it in school on Monday. 

 His mother was the only reason he prays to God to conquer her sleepless nights and that none of his two siblings or himself should wake up to urinate to avoid disturbing her while opening the toilet door that squeaks so loud even at the slightest touch, the door was a bad one, so bad it was at the risk of falling off, it would have fallen off if not for the barb wire his father had used to hold it in place two months ago.

 Baba Debo has refused to call Saka the carpenter to do the repairs.

The last time they tried to raise the topic of repairing the toilet door to his father, he snapped at them and said,

“Manage it that way, I will hold it with a strong wire, and it won’t fall if you kids are careful. And Anyone at whose hand it falls off will have to answer to my judgement”

 Baba Debo’s judgement is not a pleasant sight to behold so they had since stopped bringing up the door’s issue since that day. 

No one dares bring it up again.

He was through using the toilet and was about to close the door and leave when he held a repressed noise that sounded like muffled cries and someone else’s harsh and scolding voice. Curious, he moved away from the toilet’s door towards the source of the sound, lo and behold it was coming from his parent’s bedroom. He was dazzled, never has he seen them bicker at each other, at the middle of the night at that. 

Who is that crying? His mother? His father appears to be the one shouting, why?

He moved closer and saw the door slightly ajar, he moved closer to peep in and listen but could barely grasp anything. All he heard were murmurs.

Minutes passed when he thought to open the door slightly further, he was about to do so, when he saw his father moving towards the door with a very angry expression on his face. He turned on his heels and ran blindly towards his room miraculously missing the obstacles on the way and making no noise. He mouthed a prayer of thanks to God because if his father had caught him, it would have been a different story. 

Curiosity about what was happening in his parent’s bedroom and the will to resume the previous dream had him turning back and forth on his bed until a mild headache forced him to eventually fall asleep.

That was all that happened to me yesterday night, just few hours ago… until this drama unfolding as I stayed by the door watching helplessly as my mother struggled to mount her baggage onto the lorry waiting by the crooked steps that led to our parlor. Earlier that morning, I had woken up to my father’s heavy footsteps on the concrete floor. I knew something was wrong. I came out right on time to witness my beloved father hurling my mother’s belongings out of the house onto the veranda with all the might I have never seen him exert before. All my pleas, questions, and cries fell on deaf ears. He shoved me off his way all the time I tried to stop him, my father was like a menacing beast at that moment. 

My mother did not make any attempt to move her loads back inside or plead with him. She just stood at a corner loosening and retying her wrapper above her breasts. A few hours later, she dressed up and went out. Now, here she is, packing her loads into the lorry she came back with. As soon as she was done, she shouted at the top of her voice to tell the driver to come to tighten the loads together, then she started moving towards me, she stopped a breath away from me and said, 

“Okomii, I will come back for you when the time is right. Make sure to eat well, do your school works well, and don’t miss me. Anything your father tells you about me is all lies. I’m a good mother but I have to leave to survive for you” 

I did not respond as everything was just so strange to me. I have a lot of questions. What happened between them last night? Why does she have to leave? Without me? What was her offense? She held me closer and squeezed me tightly in an embrace.

“Debo, shogbo? Answer me”

“Can’t you just beg him, mother?” I spoke out suddenly.

“Beg him? That son of a gun? Oluhun mii o ni je” She vehemently replied while moving her hand over her head in demonstration of the swear. 

She hugged me tightly again, pulled my cheeks playfully, and turned towards the lorry. 

“Mama, come back! Mother, please come back!” I screamed.

The last I saw of my mother was her waving at me from the window of the lorry.

“Please, don’t leave me” I screamed again, my voice echoing in sync with the disappearing lorry.

“Debo, come inside this minute, dust the footmat and shut my door” my father bellowed. 

“No!”  I screamed back at him, left the footmat untouched, opened the door more widely and turned to walk away.

Categories
On the Blaze

HOW TO SURVIVE NIGERIA IN 2024

It is common knowledge that the situation of the country has gone from bad to worse. The persistent irregularity in Nigeria’s economy most especially the high prices of key essentials has led to the rich lamenting, the comfortable, living averagely, and the poor, poorer. The cloud is so blurry with no sign of even, a ray of hope that things will get any better soon.

Nigeria has always been a place of running helter-skelter to survive, there is little or no access to secured employment in the labor sector of the country for the youths, especially fresh graduates, and implementation of initiatives from governments like providing employment opportunities is also absent. It is left to each individual to find a way out and strive to survive in the face of difficulties.
Of course, there are chances of survival i.e. succeeding in Nigeria but they’re as slim as a thread.

Some of the ways to survive nigeria listed below are no new information, and might appear clichè already. This article’s main purpose is to stand as a resounding reminder that you should not let Nigeria kill your dreams of getting higher or meeting your life goals.


Ways to Survive Nigeria in 2024

1. Have a plan/plans


The country is more or less a field of struggles to survive than of ease and every Nigerian must have plans in place to survive. As in financially liberating plans to secure their future. Different versions of solid plans, that is plan A, B, and C must be intact and ready to be weaponised for survival. Your survival rate in this country depends on how solid your plans are, how zealous you are to survive, and how unrelenting you are in case your plans don’t work out.
Almost everyone’s fixed plan is going to school and bagging a degree or a diploma then utilizing the degree/diploma to search and apply for sustainable jobs afterward which is almost or not attainable at all nowadays. Hence, the need to strategize and incorporate a concrete plan for the betterment of your future.

One of these concrete plans is “A JAPA PLAN” i.e. traveling out of the country. One of the ways to survive Nigeria is to be out of Nigeria. It is better to start and work towards this particular plan as early as possible, prepare fundings for your japa plans and make ready preparation of the money making mediums to rely on when you get to the planned destination.

Other plans like learning a skill set or utilizing a passion/hobby as a source of maximum income earning might turn out to be your financial way and a means to secure your future.



2. Earn in Dollars

The next paramount action after acquiring a skill set or utilizing your passion and hobby should be how to use it on platforms or gain clients that’ll pay in dollars. Dollar’s value to Nigeria naira is a high gap, earning in dollars enables you to get the right pay worth the values you proffer.
The exchange rate of Dollar is of substantial value. When you continually earn a good and sustainable amount in dollars, this will enable you sort out as much bills as possible and along the line, if possible, you save enough to invest in other business forum.

These two options mentioned above are not as easy as they appear, they take month or even years of strategic planning, hardwork and a series of failures but the resilience and the great desire to survive Nigeria is the key to keep going. After all, no one wants to be thrown under the bus by Nigeria and its ups and downs.

Categories
Story Time

WHO MADE DAVID MAD (EPISODE 5)

Alfreda had the car at full speed, she did not care if she got the speed limit ticket. She will pay but right now, she needs it to be sane, to think clearly, and to scream. And she did scream, over and over again.

Life with David was supposed to be smooth forever, as smooth and problem-free as it has been for the past 3 years. David never gave her a cause to be sad, worried, and question her trust in him until now.

Even when her friends try to convince her to not trust a man. ‘Men are scum, ‘they will always cheat’ they’d say whenever the topic comes up. Several times, they’ve tried to convince her to hire a private detective to tail him which always results in her blatant refusals, wearing a defensive armor for David and not speaking to the two of them, or picking their calls for the whole week. Tina and Shalewa find a way to apologize, though they still try to slot it in at the slightest crack-in-the-wall of gists, and roaming conversations.

Putting a call through and telling both of them is no solution, she will likely get an ‘I told you so’ response. 

She is desperate to do something, anything to get out of this mess with David. The options they both have are in no one’s favor. It’s either she dies or he dies. She will not let any of that happen. 

“Never!” She said out loud.

She can not survive without David. They need each other to survive.

Should she call Tina? Tina is the most approachable of their trio and she always has a solution to all problems. That’s it! Tina! After searching frantically for her phone, she realized it might be at home or lost in the garage when she was trying to enter the car in a rush.

Alfreda brought the car to a stop in the middle of the road with the tires screeching loudly, she did a U-turn and headed straight home at full speed.

The front door was still ajar as she had left it, she went straight to their bedroom to search for her phone, but it was nowhere to be found. She searched downstairs in the living room, the garage, and everywhere else she could think of but to no avail. 

Even David was not in sight.

Where did he go to? That man is supposed to be indoors, hiding his head from the impending death! Why the hell is he out there? She is scared to death here but he is like hell not, she has to find him.

She forgot the main reason she was home, she rushed out toward her car and sped to the nearest telephone stand. 

“Omg” She exclaimed as she got to the stand and saw four people waiting for their turns. 

She switched off the car engine silently fuming, she came out of the car and joined the queue. 

The wait seemed to take forever, she started counting as each person took turns to call….one…two. The second woman seems to be calling the whole of the town, why? She started tapping her foot on the ground…Three. The third man is done…three. Before she could stop herself, Alfreda rushed towards the telephone stand, picked it up, and dialed David’s number. The fourth man’s wail of protest fell on deaf ears, it seemed like a church bell ringing from afar. When she’s done, she’ll apologize.

She heard a click at the end of the phone and then, David’s voice

“Hello”

“David! Where in the name of Jesus are you? Why are you risking your life moving about? I expected you to be at home” Alfreda screamed into the telephone.

“Oh, Al! Are you safe? Thank God. I was so worried about you. You just left without telling me where you’re off to” David responded, his voice low almost inaudible.

Alfreda knew something was off.

“Where the hell are you? David. Where are you!” 

“Well, you have to calm down Al, and listen. I’m there again. At the game house. I had no choice but to come”

A long deafening silence.

“Al, I have to go. And Al, are you searching for your phone? Do not stress yourself, I took it. I sold it. I needed the money to bet on another game, that’s what’s holding our life now. Why we are still alive. I have to keep on playing, placing bets on human life to keep us alive” 

The call dropped and right there, where everyone was waiting for their turns to call, she cried. She was oblivious to the screams and remarks of those in the queue, she cried and cried until she had cried her whole heart out. 

David is in shackles, and it appears he can’t be out of it until… until what? 

With a heavy heart, she stood up from the floor of the telephone stand, and walked slowly to her car, silently apologizing to those hurling abuses at her for keeping them waiting in the queue and silently acknowledging those with the pitiful, sympathizing look on their faces.

She drove home and took a shower after which she changed into a comfortable home dress and laid down to ponder on what to do to get them out of this mess. The first step is to call Tina. 

She started mentally looking for her phone again when she remembered that it was gone. 

Now, she has to go back to the telephone stand. She stood to dress up to go back to the telephone stand when it occurred to her to just go to a nearby store and get another mobile phone. Then suddenly, she remembered that the last time the topic of hiring a private detective came up Tina had squeezed a business card of one private detective downtown in her hands. She had just further squeezed it and thrown it away.

“Away? Away where?” She murmured to herself, scrolling through her memory to gasp where the business card ended up.

Yes! It should be inside her journal. 

Now, where is the journal?

She set out to find it, ransacking and rummaging through the already scattered bedroom. 

It was nowhere to be found. The car is the next place to search. 

She went downstairs, searched and searched, and was about to give up when she saw the peeping form of a piece of paper under the driver’s seat, she bent her back and stretched her hands to reach for it. Her relief of having found the business card was cut short when what she held turned out to be a squeezed envelope. 

“Where the hell is this card?” Gritting her teeth, she murmured to her and began searching all over again, thoroughly with a vengeance. 

After long hours of searching, she finally saw it lying peacefully in between the pages of her journal. The journal was in the booth of the car.

Getting a new phone wasn’t as much work as she thought, it was as if the phone store was waiting for her visit. She saw one as soon as she reached the end of their street, got the phone in no time, went back home and placed a call to the private detective who picked up on the 3rd ring, in just 5 minutes he fixed an appointment with her the next day. The man sounded like he had not had clients for years and was happy to get one.

Now what is she to do next? Look for David? 

No, take a shower and sleep. Alfreda went upstairs and took a cold shower regardless of the cold weather. 

Minutes after lying down to sleep, She realized it was a big joke thinking she could sleep. Reading was not an option, thinking was. She could get killed in her sleep. She has to be at alert.

The clock by her bedside read 10.01 pm when Alfreda woke up later that day and David was not yet back.

 She needed not to call him to ask, he was not coming home tonight.

That night was the beginning of the end.

David did not come home that night, neither did he the next day nor did he the day after and several days later.

She searched for him and made a missing person report everywhere she could. 

He was nowhere to be found until…

Until 60 days later when he showed up at the foot of the bed. Alfreda woke up and saw him staring up at her, she took him all in with her eyelids half opened, His beards were overgrown, his eyes sullen and sucked into their sockets, his shirt hanging on him like a scarecrow…He looked like he had just survived the rain of fire and brimstones or a deadly war ….He looked like…like…

Suddenly, the exact form of what he looked like occurred to her, fear gripped her and made her jump off the bed right on her foot. 

David looked like a zombie seeking for whom to devour…like a madman ready to go on a killing rampage.

READ ALSO:

https://626blaze.com/category/lets-talk/story/

Categories
On the Blaze

THREE TIPS ON HOW TO DISCOVER YOUR SOURCE OF HAPPINESS

What brings about happiness should be paramount and foremost to each individual, we all deserve to know and gladly indulge in what brings us immense joy and fulfillment. Your source of constant happiness might be tangible indulgences like diligently building on your career, your course of study in school, your interaction with other individuals, your passion for something, or generally, what you do at leisure like listening to music, reading, surfing the internet, retail therapy and many more.
Nowadays, the majority go about the day’s activities looking worn and morose without a care as to what makes them happy and lightens up their spirit.
Some are clueless about the things that make them happy and those who have one way or the other disregard what brings them happiness, subconsciously or unconsciously overlooking and setting aside what makes them happy due to tedious workloads at the workplace or school, they tend to be so worn out from excessive workloads and overwhelmed with deadlines so much that there is no time to think about what brings them happiness let alone actualizing them. While some out of care and selflessness tend to make other people’s happiness, particularly their loved ones, a priority over their happiness. This kind of people tries everything possible to make sure you are comfortable, healthy, and nourished while being oblivious to the lack of care for themselves. How then do these people discover what makes them happy? Below are tips to discover what makes you radiate with happiness as an individual;

How to discover what makes you happy.

1. HAVE THE RIGHT MINDSET

One of the pathways to discovering what incites happiness in you is having the right mindset and harboring happy thoughts. Prepare your mind towards positive thoughts, reminisce on things that you’ve possibly done in the past that made you immensely happy, remember the pleasurable moments, and memorable experiences you have had, and try doing those things again to spark joy.

2. DISCOVER YOUR HOBBIES/PASSION

• Hobbies:

Hobbies are pleasure-inducing or dopamine-pleasing activities done to evoke enjoyment in leisure time. Check yourself, and your surroundings for a particular thing you enjoy doing that brings you immense pleasure. Even as a person busy with workloads from work or school, there must be something you do that brings a smile to your face each time you indulge in it, find it, and do it over and over to induce happiness.


• Passion:

When we talk about passion, it is simply the great love or strong interest we have in something almost to a fault. Passion in this context is a career path or a lifetime interest that certainly makes you feel happy and fulfilled to do it. It is common knowledge that in the course of obeying our parents, one might be studying or might have studied a course totally of our parents’ chosen and not of ours just to please them. Also, our choice might have been altered by the institution of choice, which in the process leaves us unhappy and unfulfilled. It is not late to pursue what you wanted from the onset, it is never too late to cross over from that course to the one you’re passionate about, not too late to learn and build that career path. See this content as a piece of encouragement to restrategize and center on your passion, if the chance ever comes to make a change seize it and make good use of it. A life of unhappiness & unfulfillment is not worth living.

3. PRIORITIZE YOURSELF

Yes, you are a kind person who finds it hard to say no to people even at the expense of your happiness. Sorry, but it is less of a flex compared to prioritizing yourself first and above all. Now, that’s a flex! Resist the urge to bend easily to people’s demands if it’s at the expense of your happiness and fulfillment.
Anything that requires doing for others, that will puncture your constant laughter, do not do it! Find the courage to say no, buy that stuff before you buy for others! It may be as little as reading a book, read that book before you lend it out! wear that new wig before lending it out to a friend who you do not offend! Look after your wellbeing as much as you do others and practice self-care. Above all, eat foods that make you happy!

HOW TO DESTRESS AFTER A STRESS-FILLED WORKWEEK
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HOW TO DESTRESS AFTER A STRESS-FILLED WORKWEEK

The joy several people feel when the end of the week or weekend is approaching is next to none. Especially on a Friday, you see them work with a big smile on their faces, radiating with the enthusiasm of the coming weekend. To them, it is a time to rest, they get to cook and eat good and healthy foods and not the usual fast food like junk and sodas they take all through the week. Also, the weekend is the only time they get to be with and reminisce with their loved ones.

Meanwhile, some people feel little or no joy about the weekend, majorly because these sets of people do not get due rest during the weekend.

They are in two categories;

• The first category are those who do not get the chance to indulge in de-stressing activities after a stressful work week because they go through more mentally or physically straining activities. The reasons for this default in utilizing the weekend might be routined leftover workloads, urgent calls from the office to work from home while other reasons might be pending house chores such as; unwashed laundry that has been amassed over the week, one to two repairs around or in the house, and others that were left undone during the workweek. 

 • The second category, are those who are not occupied with the reasons above but do not have ideas of the right ways to destress after a long stressful workweek, they do not attempt to indulge in stress-relieving activities.

Health issues like constant headaches and body aches, physical weaknesses, insomnia, and more often than not, the victims of stress getting upset at the slightest provocation and so on, are the resulting consequences of not destressing, thereby worsening the fatigue that has gathered over the week. 

 The good news is—there are proven ways to destress regardless of how busy you are.

Is stress making you angry, weak, and unhappy, here are some right ways to help you destress or stress relief methods;

  1. MEDITATION: 
Meditation

Meditation is a rapid, easy, and effective way to reduce stress. This involves eliminating wandering thoughts in the mind and gathering one’s focus on the atmosphere, and one’s surroundings while breathing in and out to retain the focus. As a victim of stress, you do not require equipment or any long process to indulge in meditation, all you need is the free will and resolution to spare 10 minutes to perform it. 

Meditation helps clear the burden of work that accumulated during the workweek, it renders balance to the physical, health, and psychological well-being. 

  1. UTILIZING PAID HELPERS.

Paid helpers such as Domestic house cleaners, artisans, dry cleaning services, etc. are great solutions to pending house chores. Cleaners can be paid to help you clear your house from time to time, drop your dirty laundry off at a dry cleaning service, and pay artisans to do the repairs needed around your house, employing a cook is also a good way to reduce stress. Paid helpers relieves you of the burden of coming back home to get house chores done or using your weekend for chores in place of resting. Paid helpers also pave the way for you to indulge in other stress-relieving activities knowing that all pending housework will be catered to.  

  1. SIGNING UP FOR SELF-CARE ACTIVITIES

A great way to ease stress is through indulgence in self-care activities. 

Self-care can be;

I. VISITING A SPA

  A spa offers physical services like thorough body massages, pedicure and manicures, laser hair removal, aromatherapy, hydrotherapy, herbal poultices, hot stone therapy, hands, and feet messages, skincare activities like body scrubs, facial treatments, and so on involving all things beauty maintenance aimed at the relaxation of the body and soul. ‘Beauty maintenance’ is a nominal term popularly used to describe all these body care and stress relieving procedures. 

Booking a session at the spa is a top-tier, wholesome, and extremely effective way to destress after a fatigue-inducing workweek for the two categories of stress victims mentioned above. Spa sessions do amazing wonders for a stressed body and soul, after each session, you’ll feel as if burdens are being dropped from your shoulders one by one until there is none anymore. You feel energized and healed. Yes, each session promises healing to your stressed body and soul.

 Sounds interesting, right? Don’t you think you are due for a visit to the spa?

 Wait! I know some men reading this already think “No, that’s a feminine thing meant for women not suitable for men to indulge in”  I’m sorry to say you are wrong. As a man, a visit to the spa will do your body and soul a lot of good as it will, a woman.

So, go! Go today and experience relief like never before.

We cannot but mention that not everyone can afford spa service and If that is the case, alternative ways to get yourself relieved can be DIY(do it yourself) massages, where you get someone close to you to help with the simplest massages like shoulders, hands, and feet and your body joints. Also, you can research on simple DIY aromatherapy procedures and many more that you can do in the corner of your room to relieve stress.

Self-care can also be;

II. VISITING THE HAIR SALON

Self-care for stress relief can also be in the form of visiting a salon. Loosening your old hairstyle, getting your hair washed, your scalp massaged, and getting other hair care treatments and procedures done in the process. Hair care is a unique form of stress relief, it helps clear your head of discursive and intrusive thoughts, you get to feel the confidence that comes with making a new hairstyle, and above all, you get to destress.

Of course, if you cannot afford to visit a salon, you can indulge in self-service. Outline a time suitable for you to do all of these at home and carry them out as systematically as possible to achieve the main goal of destressing. 

  III. Self-care is also watching movies and playing video games over the weekend. Aside from the other ways to destress mentioned in this content, movies and video games are very suitable activities to indulge in on a weekend to relax.

In conclusion, meditation, paid helpers, and self-care activities are proven ways to destress after a long, burdensome, and stress-inducing workweek for the two categories of people who feel little or no joy when the weekend is approaching. Try one or all of these this weekend or the next and see changes.

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Story Time

WHO MADE DAVID MAD? (EPISODE 4)

Alfreda looked into David’s eyes and saw dread. The issue at hand is no joke, right then and there she was determined to try everything possible to find out and discover all about this wrecking game, this mess he got himself into.

“They were just empty threats, Dav. You could have just told me before you got in too deep, to this point of no return, or just reported to the right authorities.” Alfreda said on the verge of tears but no single tear dropped. She needed to be composed and get to the root of this.

“I wish they were empty threats, Al. Those people are evil, they are the devil himself. I made friends with a guy, Tunes. His name is Tunise, he was in deep shit as much as I was, and we planned to leave together. We threatened the owner of the apartment we use for the night game, Mr. Shoke, with recorded videos of the murders that had taken place there, he promised to halt the game and claimed he was not aware of such taking place in his building. We made Him swear and recorded a video where he confessed to not being aware of the game and promised to halt further activity,”

He paused to cough and continued,

“I and Tunes left feeling relieved but we both had our doubts, we did not trust him entirely. Believe me Al, there was no way we could have reported to the police, we were being watched day and night and any suspicious movement could have led to instant elimination. That was the instructions the tails watching us were given. We were warned. I and the guy were able to see the owner of the building because the tails knew we were still within the vicinity of the game house and they did not suspect anything, if they had known we went to see the man, we would have been killed. But they got to know eventually, somehow the man betrayed us. Yes, we stopped going to the game house as soon as we spoke to the owner, Mr. Shoke. Three days later, I got an email with a video attachment…In the video, I saw someone who looks exactly like me brutally murdering Tunes, hacking him to small pieces.”

David paused to look at her face and saw the shock, vivid over her face. He rushed towards her and was about to touch her when I raised her hands to stop him.

“Dav, I’m too stricken enough to not want you near me, just move back and tell me everything else there is. I need to know my next line of action”

“I just wanted to be sure you are okay, Al. I did not mean for you to get shaken by all these.”

Alfreda laughed and answered,

“You did not inform me of when you were about to commit this atrocity, you did not before you got in too deep neither did you when you were an inch away from being ruined but now, that you’re too far away from being redeemed, you chose to tell me and you expected me to not get shocked at this folly of yours? You had high expectations, my dear. I hope you do not expect me to find solutions or is that why you are telling me now?”

His expression gave him away. He can’t be for real. Alfreda shook her head and laughed that sad laughter once again. He wants her to find a way to help him out. What can she do at this point? She does have to find out what to do. It seemed like Tunise died but how? God knows she would lose her mind if David died.

With a straight face, she asked David,

“Is Tunise dead?” She asked.

“Yes, they killed him. Those evil people manipulated the recording of his murder, making it seem like I killed him. If the video gets out, all everyone will see is not the real perpetrator but me killing him. Under that video, I got a message saying, ‘That is the exact punishment for those who make any attempt to break free and betray them. I was warned to not try anything suspicious or they will kill you, kill everyone at my place of work, kill your mother, and make me a wanted criminal. They…they came here”

He was no longer speaking, she was not surprised to see him dabbing at his eyes. About time he shed tears. If possible, he should shed enough tears for both of them. She felt like screaming and crying out loud herself but she was too numb to move, not to talk of doing the others.

After a few minutes had passed, David continued speaking,

“They came to throw his corpse in our backyard, they informed me it was there. I did all I could to be careful while disposing of it but somehow, they captured me in the act and sent me the recordings to further warn me. Al, what do you think we should do? I have tried all I can, I have gone to beg them to let me go, I have borrowed some more loans and given them more money yet, they want me to keep on with the game and kill you as a punishment for desiring to leave or they will Kill me like they killed Tunes. You see I’m in deep shit, Alfreda. What do we do?”

She gave no response.

Alfreda’s heart slammed against her ribcage and she almost peed in her panties and was fuming with anger. She looked lost and miserable. The room was hot, her insides were burning and she needed to escape the room. She was taking off the thick clothing she had on when David asked again,
“I need you to answer me, Al. I didn’t mean for any of these to happen to us… I knew… somehow, you’d find a way for us out of this mess. I’m out of options, what should we do? Where are you going? Answer me, Al what should I do!” He cried.

Alfreda was at the door, her hands on the doorknob before she replied and said,

“It seems too late, David”

She opened the door, closed it gently, not paying heed to the urge to slam it shut, and went down the stairs. She needed to vent her anger on something…somewhere. Okay! What she needs is to take a drive with ear-blasting music playing from the car’s speaker.

In the room, she had seen blood drain out of David’s face, he looked like he had seen a ghost and she knew. She knew it was because she had called him David. It has always been anything else lovely, except David.

STAY TUNED FOR EPISODE 5

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