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Patients often fail to tell care providers of alternative remedies they use, believing those “non-prescription agents” are harmless or unimportant. But herbal supplements may interact with prescription medications and can be dangerous. You need to be certain that you report all medications, herbal remedies, and supplements to each care provider you see, each time you visit. If you don’t you are at risk.

A "state-of-the-art" paper,  published online February 1, 2010 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Dr Ara Tachjian (Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN), reports that more than 15 million people in the US alone take herbal remedies and/or vitamins at doses that might be interacting with their cardiovascular medications, potentially putting them at risk.

Visits to complementary and alternative medical practitioners now "far exceed" those to primary physicians and these alternative medical practitioners increasingly advise people to use herbs and supplements.  This can be dangerous for those who are on prescription medications.  For example, these common herbal remedies are known to interact with the heart or cardiovascular drugs, including St John's wort, motherwort, ginseng, ginkgo biloba, garlic, grapefruit juice, hawthorn, saw palmetto, danshen, echinacea, tetrandrine, aconite, yohimbine, gynura, licorice, and black cohosh.

Every medication, supplement, and herbal agent should be listed on your medical fact sheet. Share this fact sheet with EVERY care provider you see, each time you visit. You can find a template to make your own medical fact sheet here. Using a medical fact sheet is the single most important thing you can do to advocate for yourself and those you love. For more details about how to create and use a medical fact sheet consult the book Health Care Your Way.

Positive relationships are the foundation for happiness, high functioning teams, and success.

Positive psychologists have measured the communication patterns in high functioning relationships and found that there is an ideal ratio of positive to negative messages used in teams, families and relationships that flourish. Positive relationships require a 3:1 ratio of positive to negative messaging.

What does this mean?

·         If you want your team or your family to flourish, share your appreciation regularly and liberally.

·         If you want your employee, colleague, friend, teenager, or spouse to listen and truly consider a piece of constructive criticism, share at least 3 positive comments for each negative one.

 Don’t try to fake positive regard; it doesn’t work. A fake smile or an inauthentic positive comment has a negative effect so don’t bother. Instead, concentrate on your real feelings of appreciation and share those with the people you work with, interact with, and live with.

 What “counts” as a positive?

A slight touch, a smile, words of appreciation, and/or a nod of affirmation all count as positive communications.

 What “counts” as a negative message?

Negative communications included criticism, frowning, shaking of the head, and/or unresponsiveness.

 What gets in the way of positive sharing?

·         Belief that positives are not necessary

·         Preoccupation with problems: The problems may even be unrelated to the relationship. If stresses and concerns take up all of your mental energy then you aren’t available to share the positives that good relationships require. This is a common phenomenon in our overscheduled and high stress lives.  

 Is there such thing as too much positive?

·         Yes, too much doesn’t work.  A 5:1 ratio is ideal. If you go well beyond that and start sharing 11 positive for each negative, you have crossed the threshold and instead lose effectiveness.

 So, how nice do you have to be? It depends on what you’re after. If you are looking to build up the positives in your own life then you need to be pretty generous with gestures of good will and appreciation.

To read the study click here.  

The Happy Virus

I caught the happy virus last night

When I was out singing beneath the stars.

It is remarkably contagious-

So kiss me.

-Hafiz  

(translated by Daniel Ladinsky in The Subject Tonight is Love)

Moods are contagious. The Sufi mystic we call Hafiz was aware of that truth back in the 14^th century.

Just pay attention and you’ll see the phenomenon in action all around you. There are people who elevate the mood in a room each time they show up. There are others who bring the mood down. Scientists don’t know how it works but we know that moods rub off on others.  

What sort of mood are you spreading? If you are not spreading happiness, I would like you to ask yourself why. Why do you spread unhappiness? It takes very little effort to put on a good mood and to lighten up a bit. Once you do, you spread it to those around you and it comes back to you again.

Happiness is easy to spread; so spread it. It may be the best gift you can give this holiday season. It’s free and everyone wants it.