Why Vacuum Therapy? The Benefits of Vacuum Therapy Devices For Treating ED

Vacuum therapy devices provide an appealing solution to ED; they offer many advantages over other forms of therapy, drug treatments, and invasive surgeries designed to treat erectile problems facing millions of men. Here are some of the reasons why many of those men continue to enjoy their sex lives with the help of vacuum therapy devices:

1) Faster results than Drugs with No Invasive Side Effects - Vacuum devices provide almost instant erections using negative pressure to pull blood in the penis. There are many drugs that can facilitate erections, but often with side effects. In fact, even in recent news drugs like Viagra are showing more signs for long-term side effects including hearing loss and dangerous blood pressure levels in some individuals with pre-existing health conditions that make taking drugs less appealing, less practical, or even harmful to health. Vacuum therapy systems simply do not have these negative side effects, and often work faster than the 1/2 hour - 2 hour period needed to wait for the drugs to kick in.

2) Sustain and Terminate Erections on Demand - With drugs, erections go away when the drug effects wear off, offering little or no control over the erection. With vacuum therapy, the user is in complete control of their erection, and when no longer desired, the user simply needs to remove the tension ring.

3) Ability to Control Erectile Function - Vacuum therapy systems allow the user to literally create their erections, and terminate them when they choose. Contrast with drugs, which allow the user no control over when they achieve or stop an erection.

4) Lower Long-Term Expense - Face it, expensive ED Medications can add up quick. A medical grade vacuum therapy device will cost more up front, but provides erections on demand years.

5) Covered by Some Health Insurance - Many brands of devices are commonly covered and reimbursed under Medicare and many health insurance.

5) Therapeutic and Predictable Results - Vacuum therapy can be used for more than just achieving and maintaining erections for sex. In fact, it's advised that men have several erections per day to keep the penis and genitals healthy. The penile tissue requires blood flow to stay healthy and maintain its length. Without natural erections to move this blood through the penis, the penile tissue becomes atrophied, making it more difficult to achieve erections and degrades length over time. Penile Rehabilitation helps many users maintain penile length and also achieve full erectile function when done correctly with a vacuum therapy system.

6) Over 90% Effectiveness - Erectile Dysfunction affects millions of men over the age of 50. There are few treatment options which boast the levels of safety and effectiveness of Vacuum therapy. Clinical studies by urologists show that vacuum pumps facilitate healthy penile health and blood flow.

Many of those suffering from ED often pursue drug treatments available - but pills are not for everyone! Some of those who suffer from ED can also have cardiovascular disease, nitrates for chest pain, high blood pressure medications, diabetes, or have had a radical prostatectomy. In these cases, drug treatments often can be dangerous or risky. Vacuum therapy provides near instant results without the side effects that go along with taking drugs.

Reduce Knee Pain With Infrared Light Therapy

It is a well-known fact that we all need light in order to be healthy. But these days we are learning just how important light really is, and that it can be used to treat a number of health conditions, from mental health to physical pain. Natural light helps to provide some of the nutrition we need, and it plays a role in our mental health. This therapy can be a wonderful tool for helping to keep your body and mind healthy, and can help ease certain ailments, ranging from pain to depression. Many people are using light therapy to treat a number of aches and pains, including knee pain, which can be quite excruciating, depending on the type of injury.

What is Infrared Therapy?

This is basically the simulation of natural light using various sources of artificial light that are similar to natural light. It is a proven method of pain relief, and you will find many people visiting clinics to have light therapy treatments. Basically, infrared light is used to warm and relax the muscle tissues, and it is a perfectly safe method of pain relief, which, unlike many painkilling drugs, is not addictive or harsh on the body. It has been proven very effective in the treatment of knee pain, as well as many other types of physical pain.

Therapy at Home

Although you can visit a clinic to have light treatments, this is something that, unless you have a great health plan that covers a lot, is going to become quite expensive. You can save yourself a lot of money by using a light system at home. These units are easy to use, and not only are you going to be saving money, you will also be having your light therapy in the comfort of your own home, which for many is a really big deal. If you are interested in light therapy and like the idea of being able to do it yourself at home, you may want to look into the Lumiwave Infrared Light Therapy Device, which is small and lightweight, but really does the trick when it comes to knee pain management. This is a deep tissue light therapy device that helps to provide relief from knee pain without any harmful or negative side effects.

At less than $500, this device will really save you money in the long run, and you will be able to have light treatments whenever you like, at your own schedule. And you only need to use it a couple of times per day for just ten minutes at a time. You will be able to adjust the temperature yourself, and the Lumiwave Infrared Light Therapy Device will shut off on its own, so if you happen to fall asleep, you don't have to worry about the device still operating. Because it is portable, if you are on the go, you can take it with you just about anywhere, and you can even use it at work.

Drug Interactions with Alternative Therapies

Herbs and other alternative therapies were the original medicine. Ancient cultures used herbs and plants to stay healthy and cure illness. But, for years after the pharmaceutical world took over treatment, the Western world lost interest in alternative therapies.

Today, however, interest in alternative therapies is renewed. Many people are choosing to treat some conditions naturally before trying medicines. For example, many people recently diagnosed with high blood pressure and high cholesterol are choosing to increase their exercise, change their diet and lose excess weight before resorting to high blood pressure and cholesterol medications. In many cases, patients can reverse their blood pressure and cholesterol problems without ever needing medication.

Other patients are using alternative therapies as adjuncts to traditional medicine. For example, green tea has been shown to improve the effectiveness of chemotherapy in some forms of cancer. Drinking large amounts of tea while undergoing chemotherapy treatments can increase the concentration of the chemo drugs in the cancerous cells, making it more effective.

A large number of people are also using alternative therapies for preventative purposes. Take green tea, for example. It has been shown to prevent many types of illness, including heart disease, Alzheimer's and some forms of cancer. Others use yoga to relieve stress and massage to manage muscle and joint pain.

But, what if you're pursuing alternative therapies at the same time that you're using conventional drug therapies? Is there a chance that there could be interaction between the two?

Well, the answer is, possibly. There are thousands of drugs being prescribed for hundreds of different conditions today, and no doubt some of the drugs will interact with some of the alternative therapies.

Since alternative therapies have become so popular, some research has been performed to determine how, and if, some of the most popular alternative therapies interact with drugs.

One study, in particular, reported by the UK Tea Council studied the effects of flavonoids on drug therapies. Flavonoids were chosen for study because they are contained in so many substances that we many of us consume regularly, and because flavonoids are generally thought to be very healthy.

Flavonoids are a type of anti-oxidant. Anti-oxidants are extremely important to our health because they combat free radicals. Free radicals are created in our bodies as a by product of converting our food to energy. Free radicals damage our cells and DNA. Over time, this leads to premature aging and disease. Anti-oxidants combat these free radicals, preventing them from causing damage. Research has shown that a diet rich in anti-oxidants, including flavonoids prevents many forms of disease, such as cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer's.

Fruits and vegetables contain flavonoids, as does beverages made from plants, such as tea and wine. But, doctors wondered, could these healthy flavonoids interfere with drugs that we may be taking for medical conditions?

The research mentioned above found that flavonoids can, in some cases, interfere with the transport of certain drugs. Transport refers to how drugs reach the organs or body systems they're designed to affect.

In some cases, this could cause interactions between your medications and alternative therapies such as Gingko Biloba, Milk Thistle, green tea, and soy isoflavones. It's not likely that the flavonoids found in your food would interact, as they are not typically consumed in highly concentrated quantities as is found in herbal supplements.

So, for example, if you're drinking three or four cups of green tea each day to help protect your health, it's unlikely that there would be any interaction. However, if you're taking 10-12 capsules of green tea extract each day, your concentration of flavonoids would be significantly higher, and might cause some interaction.

This information is not designed to influence you to stop using flavonoids to protect your health. Research has shown time and again that they're very effective at keeping you young and healthy. A diet rich in fruits, vegetables, green tea and other anti-oxidant sources can help you keep your weight in check, lower your cholesterol and even regulate insulin.

However, as with any alternative therapy you're considering, it's important to keep your doctor in the loop. Inform him of any alternative therapies you'd like to try, and find out how they might interact with any particular medicines you're taking. This way you can ensure that you're treating your particular health concerns in the best way possible, whether that means traditional medicines alone - or in combination with alternative treatments.

It's nearly impossible for researchers to list every possible medication and every alternative therapy that it might interact with. But, working closely with your doctor, who knows your medical history, health concerns and treatments can ensure that you're pursuing the healthiest route for treatment.

We're all concerned about our health. And, many of us are also concerned about using natural, healthy remedies whenever possible, as well as taking advantage of all we've learned about how substances like anti-oxidants can prevent disease. Alternative remedies can be a great way to stay healthy, but it's important to always consult your doctor before you begin something new.

The Power Of Cold Laser Therapy

A relatively new treatment in the chiropractic field is cold laser therapy. The technology has been around for approximately 30 years, but most chiropractors who use this therapy haven't started using it till recent. The therapy uses well-developed technology to attack the source of several issues within the body, contributing to areas of pain, and enable the areas to heal and be corrected. This therapy process is quite unique for several reasons.

-Cold laser therapy does not require invasive treatment that other surgeries and therapies require. Not invades the body, only lasers penetrating through layers of skin and muscle to reach cells. Recovery is not needed since nothing about the treatment is invasive.

-Most people prefer this treatment because they aren't left with the burden of recovery. Instead, the issue is corrected over time with several therapeutic treatments. Recovery is one of the most difficult parts of surgery and people don't have to deal with it when they get cold laser therapy.

-Cold laser therapy targets the area of pain or problem and works to rejuvenate and stimulate damaged cells. Since cells are the main aspect of healing and correcting a damaged area, they must be targeted and made healthy again. The lasers send photons into the area of damage and enable the cells to become healthy again.

-This therapy can help people with several ailments--arthritis, back pain, tendonitis, chronic pain, muscle strain, soft tissue injuries and more. Since this therapy is so versatile, it helps numerous people each year to recover and become healthy again.

-Side effects are non existent, if the doctor conducts the therapy properly. With less side effects than other treatments, there is less to worry about for the patient.

-Medication is not needed with this treatment, which cuts down on additional costs and reducing the patient's dependency on medication for treatment.

Overall, this type of therapy changes the way chiropractors help correct and heal the ailments of patients. With such a unique and smart therapy, chiropractors can target the source of the pain and stimulate the body back to life and back to a healthy lifestyle. Cold laser therapy is worth considering if you are dealing with any pain or ailment. Consider speaking with a chiropractor in the area about cold laser therapy and see what it can do for you and your condition. You might be surprised and how much it can help and how well it works.

Regular Massage Chair Therapy For Body Building Improves Performance

More and more research studies are showing the benefits of regular massage. Some of the benefits show regular health therapy reduces recover time from injury, increases muscle tone, improves range of motion and increases your flexibility. Just as stretching, diet and exercise are part of your body building routine, regular massage therapy should also be included. It may not always be possible to see a professional therapist. Another viable economic option is a massage chair.

If you body build then regular massage therapy helps you in many ways. It increases circulation allowing the body to supply more nutrients and oxygen. It helps to relax and soften overworked muscles and can soften injured muscles and scar tissue. It reduces the incidence of cramps or muscle spasms. It helps to increase your range of motion by increasing your joint flexibility. It reduces the recovery time from strenuous workouts while reducing aches, pains and discomfort. Massage therapy releases endorphins or your natural pain killer to reduce pain and speed recovery from surgery.

Obviously, bodywork therapy can help your body building regimen and help you reach peak performance. Getting a massage before an important event or workout enhances performance. It also reduces tense muscles, increases flexibility and increases awareness and alertness. In competition, these can help boost your confidence and get you ready to perform.

One of the challenges of getting regular bodywork therapy is reliance of going to a professional therapist. Most body builders have a strict regimen of diet, exercise and nutrition. Finding time to get a massage on a regular basis can be problematic. Massage chairs are a good solution for this situation. These robotic chairs are always available when you need them and their therapies can be delivered at your convenience. These massage recliners can provide you with regular healthy therapy. Studies show that the real benefits of massage therapy are when it is received on a frequent and regular basis.

Shiatsu chairs provide a wide range of therapies. Some of the best chairs have hundreds of different possible health therapies available. Some of the most common are Shiatsu, Swedish, deep tissue, sports and acu-pressure. Additionally, these shiatsu chairs can perform full body massage. A roller system is used for the back, neck and shoulders. The lower body and arms/hands are manipulated using an air compression massage. These health therapies are very effective.

Some advanced robotic chairs also have full body heat. Heat can be applied to different sections of the recliner. This helps to reduce swelling and help blood flow. Also, there are lower body traction systems. These traction systems will stretch out the lower body from the lower back, hips, thighs, knees and ankles. This is especially relieving after a good strenuous work out. Some massage chairs incorporate music players with headphones so that you can relax in your own environment.

Most people think that massage chairs are expensive. However, if you are getting regular bodywork from a therapist, then they really are the most economic way to receive massage therapy. A professional therapist may cost $50 per hour plus tip. These mechanical masseuses can provide an hour of relief for as little as $3 per hour. Most therapy chairs are rated for 1,000 hours. If you purchased a $3,000 chair, then your cost per hour is $3. This is a big economic advantage.

If you body build, then you really should incorporate massage bodywork into your regimen. The benefits of regular massage therapy help you to attain peak performance. Keep your body and muscles in top condition and lessen the chance of injury with regular massage. A massage chair is a great compliment to your arsenal to get regular massage therapy.

The Basics of Relationship Therapy: Knowing What You Feel

Bill, a software company manager with sandy hair and bright blue eyes, first came to see me when he was 35 years old. He was married to Anne, an attractive brunette who was a full-time mom to their three-year-old son, Cody. After living with Anne for five years, Bill had lost touch with the good feelings he once felt, and he was getting tired of the same old routine in their relationship.

For one thing, Anne no longer seemed interested in Bill's attempts at romance. When he wanted to make love, she always seemed to have five household projects that needed to be done. While there was a time when each would drop everything to be sexual, those days were long gone.

Bill brought home flowers after work to surprise Anne, but she scolded him, saying they could not afford to spend that kind of money while raising their son. Deep down, Bill felt hurt and angry because he was trying to do the little things that Anne used to like. However, like millions of guys, he did not really know what he was feeling other than a general down feeling. When he felt this discomfort with Anne, he handled it by making impulsive sarcastic comments. At other times he would spend hours at the computer, something he knew she disliked, just to get even with her.

Building a Brick Wall

A brick wall was gradually going up between the two of them, and their love was getting buried. As the wall went up, Bill began to have fantasies about being with other women. He started going to lunch with a friendly female co-worker who made Bill feel like he was attractive, important and appreciated.

Bill secretly began looking for an apartment, thinking he may want a separation. He was tired of the chronic fighting with his wife, but every time he looked at an apartment, he couldn't help but wonder if this was what he really wanted. Just thinking about leaving Cody made his heart race as he remembered too well his own upbringing in a broken home. Bill didn't want Cody to grow up with a dad he only saw on weekends. He wanted to give him the stability his father never gave him, but Bill didn't want to sacrifice his own happiness. He felt conflicted and confused.

When Bill felt lonely he ate more junk food, or he would binge drink (drinking alcohol with the primary intention of becoming intoxicated). He was spending more money on fast food while he was cutting back on his workouts at the gym. After Cody was put to bed, Bill would go out drinking with his friends or stay up late surfing the web. As his marriage was going down the tubes, chatting with girls on online dating sites was his favorite pastime. This, at least, brought a little excitement into his life.

The World of Instant Gratification

The media does a superior job of promoting instant gratification, and this was a problem for both Anne and Bill, as it is for a significant percentage of couples. Delayed gratification involves being able to contain and manage your feelings while listening to your partner, and many people do not want to tolerate this discomfort. Most people prefer instant gratification over delayed gratification, and it causes too many marriages to end up in divorce. Many of these marriages could become exceptional if people would learn to listen to their partners, ask good questions, keep their feelings on hold and delay gratification. During difficult discussions with Anne, Bill was impatient and found himself going around in circles, so he distracted himself with alcohol, junk food and web surfing instead of taking on the challenge of developing a strong marriage.

The truth is, far too many marriages and partnerships fall apart because people:

1. don't know what they are feeling,
2. distract themselves when they feel uncomfortable, instead of getting closer to their true feelings,
3. get highly defensive and reactive during conflicts, and
4. stop expressing themselves to their partners.

The result over time is the building of resentment, and love gets buried. As you get to know Bill, you will learn how he had problems with all four. Bill's most serious problem was self-medicating his pain with alcohol, which was putting him and others at risk.Periodically, Bill thought about seeing a relationship therapist, but he kept postponing it.

Getting Some Help

Bill made an appointment to see me shortly after a police officer stopped him for driving under the influence. He knew he was heading in the wrong direction and didn't want to jeopardize his job. Bill was honest about what was happening in his marriage and had the emotional health to see that he was partly responsible for his relationship problems.

He admitted to having a rebellious side, which came out in his sarcastic comments toward Anne and his desire to get back at her. He confessed to intentionally leaving open the dating website window in hopes that Anne would get jealous. The thought of telling her that he felt hurt and wanted to get even was something that never crossed his mind. It never crossed his mind because he was only dimly aware of these feelings, and slowly, brick by brick, he pushed away the person he really loved.

Bill gradually opened up about having some awareness of a deep depression that he traced back to growing up with an alcoholic father. As a young boy, Bill remembered feeling scared and hiding under his bed when his father was drunk and yelling. In many ways, Bill felt he had lost his father to the bottle when Bill was just a preschooler. Without healthy support from his parents, Bill never learned about core feelings like sadness, anger, fear, frustration, excitement and love/joy. When Bill tried to talk to his mother, she seemed absorbed in her own world, worried about her husband. Bill still remembered that pained look in her face whenever he tried to reach out.

He also never learned to differentiate, which is a development process that involves learning skills and refined subsets of skills while growing up. Since Bill never learned to identify his core feelings, it was hard to express what he wanted. This stifled the positive feedback from others that could eventually help Bill discover his true identity. The only way Bill could get essential nurturing and appreciation was to cater to his parents' needs, and thus he learned to put his feelings aside and hold back. Over time, this holding back drained a lot of energy that he could have used for valuable learning.

Bill began to struggle with anxiety when he was around 12 years old - he tossed and turned at night and sometimes just couldn't fall asleep. Sometimes he felt like he wanted to run away. He also felt boredom and a mild sense of depression that gradually progressed through his teen years. During those years, he longed for his dad to be there and support him, but instead he felt lonely and needy. This would have been an ideal time for Bill to do some relationship work.

It was clear to me that Bill was going to have a hard time quitting his drinking and getting to know his feelings because of his childhood history of stuffed-away pain. He admitted he was not able to stop drinking completely, but he rationalized that cutting back would be the answer. Bill had suppressed a lot of feelings for years but there was a wonderful opportunity to work through his feelings in individual therapy, and eventually, in couples therapy.

In the section below you will learn about some of Bill's experiences in individual therapy and some of the skills he needed to learn. To move toward cultivating an exceptional relationship, Bill first needed to develop a positive relationship with himself. This involved developing an awareness of his thoughts and feelings, from which he could make decisions about the actions he wanted to take. He also needed to learn how to express his feelings in a way that Anne could accept, if he was to save his marriage. Finally, it was important for Bill to realize that his drinking was self-destructive, and he needed to make a decision to quit.

Learning from the Past

It didn't take long to get a deeper understanding of why Bill had a difficult time knowing what he was feeling. Not only was his father a drunk, but also he had a family history of mood disorders.He thought his dad had bipolar disorder although it had never been diagnosed. Bill reported early problems in school - his teachers said he was often out of his seat and disrupting the classroom, and eventually his family physician diagnosed hyperactivity.

Apparently, some type of hyperactivity continued into his adulthood; I learned there were times when Bill would make irrational decisions about spending, such as buying a new car on a whim or planning a last-minute trip, without consulting his wife. Clearly, his impulsiveness was negatively impacting his life - when he came home with flowers, it only reminded Anne of these earlier episodes, and she instantly became critical.

Anne and Bill seldom took the time to hear each other out and were stuck in a cycle of defending their own positions. There was little understanding, so neither one could figure out a way to negotiate and return to harmony and health in their relationship. Their differences were leading to destruction rather than to the amazing relationship Bill and Anne secretly longed for.

Given his symptoms of impulse spending, the need for decreasing amounts of sleep and trouble slowing down, I referred Bill for a psychiatric evaluation. Dr. Filbert made a provisional diagnosis of bipolar II and anxiety. Bipolar II is a mood disorder characterized by periods of depression, normal moods and symptoms of hypomania. Hypomania includes such symptoms as restlessness, pressured and rapid speech, having endless energy but needing as little as 3 hours of sleep, involvement in numerous activities, silly behavior and irritability. The doctor prescribed an antidepressant and Lamictal, a mood stabilizer that helped Bill to slow down and connect more deeply with his feelings. Since he could better identify what he felt inside, the medication really helped Bill progress in therapy.

His homework in the early months of therapy was to identify whether he felt sad, mad, scared, excited and/or love. I had Bill keep a journal of his feelings and thoughts, and gradually he became more connected to his emotional side. He was able, at last, to talk with Anne about some of his pain, and fortunately she understood. He still had a lot of work to do because he needed to learn self-calming skills for the agitation that was part of his bipolar II condition, and he also continued to carry a lot of suppressed pain about his father..

Bill shared with me that his parents were divorced when he was 15 years old. He felt guilty during that time because he believed, on some level, that he was the cause of their divorce. His dad left at a time when Bill needed his guidance, and Bill felt a responsibility to care for his grieving mother. These conditions made it nearly impossible for Bill to develop good connections to his feelings. Also, he had never learned to tolerate uncomfortable feelings or to talk out problems in the context of a significant relationship. Essentially, Bill lacked role models for a healthy adult intimacy.

Like Bill, there are people of all ages who try, at all costs, to avoid their feelings. Addictions of various sorts such as drugs, gambling, sex, alcohol and even food are all known to self-medicate emotional states that people think they can't tolerate. Conflict avoidance is another serious problem in relationships where adults lack effective listening skills and are out of touch with the depth of their feelings. The bottom line is that people can tolerate a lot more than they think, and these skills can make an amazing improvement in communication and intimacy.

Developing strong connections with feelings and being able to both contain and appropriately express those feelings are essential to mastering the challenges of life and developing exceptional relationships. Most people want to achieve important goals in their lives, but many don't succeed because they have not learned how to identify their feelings, tolerate the discomfort of negative emotions and stick with a plan to reach an important goal.

Learning How to Identify Your Feelings

Healthy people know what they feel and what to do about it. This was hard for Bill to figure out because of his long history of burying his feelings. With some work in therapy, Bill gradually learned to identify more fully with the range of his feelings. He learned to hang out with his uncomfortable feelings long enough to know what he was feeling, and then he could put action on the feeling. But just how do you go about learning this important skill?

Learning to identify and contain your feelings will take some time, but it is worth every minute. Here are the five main steps in the process:

1. Schedule some quiet time to be with yourself.

2. Focus inward on one event in your day where you had an emotional response, and make notes about what you felt and thought. Remember the core feelings -- do you feel sad, mad, scared, excited, frustrated or love/joy?

3. Stay with your feelings long enough to become clear about what you are thinking and feeling.

4. Let yourself journal about whatever comes to mind so you can go deeper into your emotions and generate options from this connection.

5. When you feel confused, stick with the process till you get somewhere.

Journaling is a great way to get connected with your feelings, and I will share a sample of Bill's journaling below. This will enable you to understand his internal struggle and see how journaling can help you get in touch with your feelings. In this journal section, from early in his therapy, Bill was mainly grappling with his feelings toward Anne (the content has been changed for confidentiality):

What's on my mind? Mostly I am connected to negative thoughts about Anne. She is such a control freak, and all she cares about is keeping the house in perfect order. She'd rather clean the kitchen than make love. I'm sick of her, and I feel bad that I want to move on. Actually I am really angry at her, and I'd like to make her pay for how she mistreats me. And how am I going to tell her all of this?

Also, my life seems boring and such a routine. It's the same old thing day after day. The only bright star in my life is Cody. I feel stuck and I know this place. I feel stagnant, compressed and like my energy is stuck in cream cheese. So what are my options? My therapist says "knowledge of options is power." So what are my options?

• I can tell Anne the truth about these feelings.
• I can go on the way I have been, stuffing my feelings.
• I can just move out and find a new place to live.
• I could suggest counseling for the two of us.
• I could have an affair.
• I can talk with my therapist about these feelings.

It's hard to tell Anne the truth that I feel lonely, hurt and depressed, and she'll probably just tell me I need a therapist, like something is wrong with me. I already feel something is wrong with me - sometimes I feel like such a failure. I think it is best to talk to my therapist. Yes, that seems like the best choice, so I'll trust this feeling.

Moving Forward

From his journaling piece, Bill and I were able to recognize that he felt angry and rebellious, but underneath that layer of feeling he felt sad and alone. He realized that he actually felt hurt when Anne didn't want to make love.

I was also able to identify that Bill was struggling with bipolar depression and, at times, agitation. We instituted a weekly exercise plan, and he was better able to move forward. He took up track and surfing, and he soon felt invigorated and better able to handle stress. With his commitment to identifying his thoughts and feelings, Bill was able to get in touch with his feelings, communicate more effectively and gradually work through the pain from his childhood. He expressed rage about how his father treated him, but found that underneath that feeling there was a deep sadness.

Bill later decided he wanted to bring Anne into therapy, and in their third session he mustered up the courage to share his true thoughts and feelings. Understandably he fumbled a bit, but he was generally effective in his communication. He used what is called "I" messages such as "I feel very discouraged about our marriage, I feel angry at you and sometimes I think to myself that I want to leave the marriage."

It's easy to see that this type of messaging told Anne more about what Bill felt rather than what Anne was doing wrong. His communication prompted Anne to share that she felt hurt because of Bill's sarcastic comments. Anne confessed that she distanced herself from Bill as a way of getting back at him. As it turns out, each was trying to get even with the other.

Healthy disagreements and constructive communication were nearly impossible when Anne and Bill couldn't share their true feelings. When Bill was connected to a challenging feeling, his goal was to quickly get rid of it. Anne channeled her anger at Bill with chronic cleaning because she had never learned about assertive behavior from her mom. She needed to make a real effort to express her anger as soon as she became aware of it.

Both Anne and Bill agreed to speak up about what they wanted and to work individually on keeping notes to develop a stronger connection to their thoughts and feelings. Gradually, each partner was able to connect with the full range of feelings, and while it took almost a year, they were able to rekindle their former love and intimacy. Cody is now sixteen, and Bill and Anne have developed a set of skills that will serve them for years to come.

If you are one of the many people who are out of touch with their feelings, there is hope, there is help, and it is just a phone call away.

Massage Therapy Certification - A Millennial Career for the 21st Century

A significant amount of news coverage has been given to "Generation Y," or "The Millennial Generation" - most often considered to be individuals born between 1980 and 1994. Growing up in the 21st century entails greater privilege and greater hardship than previous generations have faced. One thing's for sure - members of this generation are needed to fill critical healthcare job gaps, one of which just might be massage therapy.

Massage therapy is recognized by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) as a growing career, and one with benefits beyond the immediately obvious. The massage therapy education trains students to have a comprehensive understanding of human anatomy and physiology, which is essential for effective massage treatment. The scientific background of the massage therapy certification program allows students of massage to understand how different body parts and systems work together - and how, if one system is out of whack, a massage client can feel ill or out-of-sorts all over.

Schools such as the Certified Careers Institute, with campus locations in Clearfield and Salt Lake City, Utah, offer massage therapy education that prepares students to sit for a massage therapy certification. This education is popular with the younger generation, because it leads to a career with worker-defined office conditions. Young workers can choose what type of massage therapy they will specialize in, decorate their offices however they choose, and determine what kinds of massage oils, wraps, and techniques they will use on their clients. This generation of young adults, who grew up with technology, views "cool" careers like massage therapy in a positive light.

It's a good thing, too. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that as Gen Y's parents - the Baby Boomer generation - age, there will be an increased need for professional massage therapists to administer their services as supplementary medical therapies. Generations X and Y enjoy massage therapy at work or after-hours. Today's jobs can demand long hours, and some people must work two jobs to be able to meet their bills; so, massage therapy is a helpful accessory to a demanding career. It can also become a great career for a Gen Y student. This generation, more so than older counterparts, places emphasis on work-life balance, and many enjoy more flexible working arrangements, including flex time and telecommuting. Some massage therapists can set their own hours and delineate their own working conditions, making massage therapy certification an appealing career choice for the under-30 set.

This kind of treatment can also be beneficial to individuals who suffer from depression, isolation, or Seasonal Affective Disorder (side effects, after all, of our highly interactive -but ultimately, human-contact deprived - wired society). Many people eschew drug therapies for mental health issues - after all, modern antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs have gotten negative press because of certain deleterious side effects. Massage therapy enables total body relaxation, which can effectively boost a person's mood. In fact, certified massage therapists themselves can benefit from the health-conscious outlook their career field demands. Individuals who sell health services can market their services more credibly if they are actually healthy individuals, themselves - meaning, for example, that they eat a healthy diet, follow an exercise regimen, and refrain from using drugs or alcohol.

Millennials' Boomer parents can benefit from massage therapy. Adult-onset (Type II) diabetes and heart disease are two major killers of older Americans - and the Boomer generation is aging and quickly closing in on their retirement years. The massage therapy education, such as that provided by the Certified Careers Institute's Clearfield and Salt Lake City, Utah schools, teaches students massage techniques that can be beneficial in treating conditions affecting older adults: diabetes, arthritis, gout, and even cancer. Boomers, too, face career stress - after all, their generation was strongly affected by corporate mergers and downsizing. Massage therapy can help them shed the health-negative stresses of the modern workplace.

Finally - and perhaps most importantly - massage therapy education and certification addresses some of the commonest woes of 21st century higher learning and job market conditions. College tuition has soared over the past decade, necessitating that some Millennials take out substantial private loans to pay for their educations, and that others forgo college altogether. And, the modern job market is a volatile entity, with technological advances, outsourcing, and downsizing threatening every industry from computer sciences to journalism. Students today must make difficult choices when deciding upon careers - and, many of those choices come with sacrifices.

The massage therapy education, by contrast, is a relatively simple process - programs like Certified Careers Institute's can take just weeks - and has fewer course requirements than a traditional four-year degree does. Therefore, acquiring a massage therapy certification is cheaper than getting a college degree. And, this particular career is expected to grow as it is increasingly recognized in the allied health field - making it a smart choice for people who want job security.

It's no wonder, with all of these positives - cool job description, health-positive benefits, job stability, and a low-cost education - that Generation Y is turning massage therapy into a career of the future.