Bankhead

Here it is: New Years celebrations, or your birthday, anniversary, or sisters wedding. You think; this time Ill do it. Ill diet and exercise and this time Ill get myself the new sexy body I always wanted.

Most of us will promised ourselves the ultimate body in just few weeks only to repeat the promise before the next event. Yes, yes it is very important to keep up with health, nutrition and regular exercise. However the expectations to look and feel sexy can ruin your day. Obviously, very few of us can actually achieve and maintain the desired new body by the next calendar event. Are we doomed to feel we have failed? Well, when our happiness is tied in feeling good about our appearance; it is healthier to change our body image than to physically get a new body

Since I have witnessed my clients doing this dance every year and every season I am sharing here my experiences and observations.

What is body image?
Body image is a perception we hold in our mind of our physical body and this perception also includes our feelings, expectations, comparisons, thoughts, likes and dislikes.

The divide between mind and body what we see as opposed to whats really there.

Our generation is showing the largest disconnect, discontent, disappointments and on... in the gap between what we have/own and what we desire.

Let me put is in terms of what we read in beauty/fashion/cosmetic magazines: We've been bombarded with looks, styles, procedures and advice of how to LOOK sexy. Millions of us have tried it all and have achieved the promised LOOK! Anyone can walk into a fine American department store/beauty salon and come out looking sexy.

Alas, so many of us do not FEEL sexy, even when we had achieved the look. The sexy look has very little to do with the feeling we expect it to produce: just because the perfect looking and hot people on TV look happy and smile, but it does not reflect on their reality, intimacy skills and happiness...

We live in a strange misconception that the perfect body will bring perfect life: perfect friends, spouse, happiness and even perfect children.

How does one develop a negative and/or distorted body image?

Negative attitudes show up in behaviors and feelings when we cannot accept reality: aging, natural attributes (size and shape), disability and diversity. Some of us are obsessed with fashion, comparisons and competitions.

There are several factors that help to initiate negative body image:

First, and most popular is the factor of the massive media (electronic, print etc.) emphasis on perfect bodies.

Second, the combination of low self esteem, peer pressure, jealousy and youth (or not a strong character) could result in poor body image.

Third, we may observe a generation of mothers who have poor body image and raising girls and boys who reflect mothers' attitude.

Forth, because we are now able to change our physical body through cosmetic procedures, many feel that they are not good enough until all options are exercised, even extreme makeovers. We change our body simply because we can!

Fifth, and most important to me, it is the core of body image issues: most people in our culture do not know their body, its boundaries and its potential for pleasure. Therefore, many who suffer from poor body image have no appreciation and respect to own bodys marvel. The human body and our normal healthy life cycle is a miraculous journey. The smart ones among us understand how the body works and appreciate it own wisdom.

Healthy attitudes towards ones body.

Healthy attitudes have to do with respect and a healthy sense of reality. By sense of reality I mean: know your body, love your body and do not expect it to follow your social needs. For example: if you are tall or short (in your perception), these facts of life will not change even if you will/wish them. So you have 'learned to live' with your height. Even if you dont like how tall you are the lessons learned here are valuable: we live with it with small improvements. Do not drive yourself crazy and that is healthy. Other body attributes are not treated with same respect; we are brutally negotiating the shapes, sizes and weights of all our body parts

When the rest of the country is making their resolutions for a new sexy body; be smart, make your resolutions for new sensual body image, and get the joy, pleasure and fun your real body can reward you.

To learn more about Dr. Nili Sachs, please visit her websites at http://www.DrNili.com and http://www.boobytrapped.com Dr. Nili Sachs is the author of: Booby-Trapped, How to Feel Normal in a Breast-Obsessed World

Human beings are sexual creatures by nature. Our physical appetites our naturally occurring and are an integral part of who we are as human beings. Not only is it vital to our survival, but hopefully a source of pleasure and enjoyment as well. We are largely conditioned by a belief system that often instills guilt, fear, insecurity, or shame in our sexuality. Our values & beliefs about sex, how we perform sex and experience our sexuality, are all learned behaviors and ideas. We get messages from our cultures that tell us things, feed our ideas about sexuality, and teach us what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior. Even though sex before marriage is for the most part socially acceptable and widely practiced, the idea of having more than one sexual partner simultaneously is still considered a taboo. Some people believe that no matter how great the sex is in a monogamous marriage, it still does not provide for the basic natural human desire to connect sexually with more than one person.

Im sure that you probably dont need me to tell you that for the most part the world does not think well of people who are sexually explorative. You are talking about venturing into a lifestyle that society tells you is wrong, that this is not what couples do, there is something wrong with you if you do it and like it, it means there are problems with your relationship, it is immoral, and so on. Even though none of these claims are true, it does not make it any easier for all your exposure to those messages to go away. With the narrowly defined bounds of what society deems socially acceptable behavior, the pressure to stay in line is felt by anyone who yearns to break through.

It is perfectly normal to desire other sex partners. Even happily monogamous couples recognize the realities of outside sexual desire. Our desire for this is pretty much hardwired into both men and women with genetic instructions for males and females of all species to replenish their population. The ancient biological need for a man to spread his seed and inseminate every female in sight is still felt my men today.

Adrienne Taylor is the author of Getting Your Wife Or Girlfriend To Become A Swinger. She has surveyed thousands of swingers around the world. Get your copy of her book at: http://www.GetHerToSwing.com.

Learn how to get your wife or girlfriend into the Swinging Lifestyle. Start by visiting her web site at: http://www.GetHerToSwing.com.

Dry socket (alveolar osteitis) is an infection in your tooth socket after a tooth is extracted. It occurs when the blood clot at the site of a tooth extraction is disrupted prematurely. This leaves the alveolar bone unprotected and exposed to the oral environment. The socket can be packed with food and bacteria. The pain typically commences 3-4 days following the extraction. This is often extremely unpleasant for the patient, as symptoms include extreme pain (sometimes worse than the toothache that indicated the extraction), a foul taste, bad breath, and swelling in the infected area. Nerves are exposed, and sometimes the bone is visible in the empty socket. It is often accompanied by what feels like an earache. There may be lymph-node involvement.

Dry socket occurs in approximately 5 percent of all tooth extractions. Women are at higher risk than men for developing dry socket. Of the women that have developed it, the majority take an oral contraceptive. Smokers have been shown to have a greatly increased risk of developing alveolar osteitis after tooth extraction. This is thought to be due to the decreased amount of oxygen available in the healing tissues as a result of carbon monoxide in tobacco smoke. It is advisable to avoid smoking following tooth extraction for at least 48 hours to reduce the risk of developing this dry socket.

Treatment for alveolar osteitis is mainly preventative. Maintaining good oral hygiene is a must before and during the healing period. If possible, have your teeth professionally cleaned several days before dental surgery. Take all of your regular medications for systemic illnesses (diabetics and cardiovascular diseases). Women are recommended to have extractions during the last five days of their menstrual cycle. This is to minimize chances of developing dry socket because the estrogen levels are lower during that part of the cycle (day 23-28).

Several things can cause the premature loss of a blood clot from an extraction site, including smoking, forceful spitting, sucking through a straw, coughing or sneezing. You should also avoid consuming carbonated or alcoholic beverages after an extraction, as these have also been associated with the development of dry socket. Also, you should:

keep your fingers and tongue away from the extraction site.

apply an ice pack to your jaw for the first 24 hours following surgery - on for 15-20 minutes, and off for 30-40 minutes - to prevent pain and swelling and stop excessive bleeding.

not rinse your mouth the day of surgery. The next day, you can rinse gently with warm salt water; dissolve one teaspoon of salt in a cup of warm water. Be sure to rinse and spit gently. Call your dentist right away if you notice any symptoms of dry socket. Treatment for dry socket typically includes a gentle rinsing of the socket to remove debris. This is followed by packing the socket with Alvogyl. Its fibrous consistency allows for easy filling of the socket and good adherence during the entire healing process. The active ingredients of Alvogyl include:

eugenol for analgesic action;
butamben for anesthetic action; and
iodoform for anti-microbial action.

Sometimes analgesics are also prescribed. You usually need to return to the dentist's office two to three times over a two-week time period for re-dressing and monitoring the healing. Fortunately, a dry socket is often self-healed over a longer time. In very rare situation where the dry socket can't heal itself, another operation may be needed. The procedure aims to make the socket bleed again and so that a new blood clot can be formed inside the post-extraction socket.

For information, contact Dr. Nguyen at drnguyen@softdental.com. SoftDental (http://www.softdental.com) is Houston's Premier Laser, Family and Cosmetic Dentistry.