Sad news! Prof. Dora Akunyili has passed on

We've heard rumours of her death a few times before but unfortunately this time it's for real. Former Director General of NAFDAC and former Minister of Information Prof. Dora Akunyili has died. She died in the Indian hospital where she was taken to on May 11 to receive medical treatment after her health deteriorated.

Various reliable sources have confirmed her passing. She was only 59. So sad! May her soul rest in peace, Amen.

Dangerous effects of smoking

Which Twin Is the Smoker?

Maybe there is no fountain of youth, but there is a surefire way to make yourself look older. Smoking changes the skin, teeth, and hair in ways that can add years to your looks. It also affects everything from your fertility to the strength of your heart, lungs, and bones. Take a look at these side-by-side photos. Can you pick out the smoker? Check your pick and get a closer look on the next slide.

Tobacco's Tell-Tale Signs

Twin B smoked half a pack a day for 14 years, while her sister never smoked. The loose skin under her eyes is typical for smokers, according to Bahman Guyuron, MD, of Case Western Reserve University. It's one of several visible signs -- shown on the following slides -- that tobacco byproducts inside your body are harming your appearance. Twin B also got more sun, damaging her skin from the outside, too.

Damaged Teeth and Gums

Yellow teeth are one of the most notorious effects of long-term smoking, but the dental damage doesn't stop there. People who smoke tend to develop gum disease, persistent bad breath, and other oral hygiene problems. Smokers are twice as likely to lose teeth as nonsmokers.

How Quitting Improves Your Looks

Quitting smoking can improve your appearance. As blood flow gets better, your skin receives more oxygen and nutrients. This can help you develop a healthier complexion. If you stay tobacco-free, the stains on your fingers and nails will disappear. You may even notice your teeth getting whiter.

How Quitting Improves Your Health

In just 20 minutes, blood pressure and heart rate return to normal. Within 24 hours, your heart attack risk begins falling. In the first weeks after quitting, tiny cilia (seen here) start back to work sweeping irritants out of the lungs. Within a year, your risk of developing heart disease drops to half that of people who still smoke. And after 10 smoke-free years, you're no more likely to die of lung cancer than someone who never smoked.

Cigarette Stench

Quitting eliminates the pervasive smell of cigarettes on your breath and in your hair and clothes. This is unattractive to nonsmokers and carries health hazards, too. The odor means that the people around you are  exposed to tobacco toxins, sometimes called "third-hand smoke." These toxins can be especially harmful to small children.

Can You Quit?

Experts agree that giving up cigarettes is very difficult. But if you're telling yourself it's impossible, think again. While there are 45 million smokers in the U.S., there are at least 48 million former smokers. If 48 million people could quit, it is doable. Just keep in mind that most people have to try more than once, and only 4%-7% succeed without help. Ask your doctor which smoking-cessation strategies might be right for you.

How to Live a Good Life

 

Love everything and everyone in your life and neighborhood. Be caring kind don't listen to the negative comments others make. Help your community so you can feel happy about your self.It can be in the form of keeping your community clean and encouraging others to do so or by helping an ailing person in your neighbourhood feel better. You can also gather everyone to celebrate certain occasions together. It always turns out to be fun. 

 

Live it to the max and do every thing you want to. Ever wanted to go rock climbing go ahead , Make a list of 50 things you want to do. Life is full of adventures , try hard never give up. Whenever you get a chance to try out something new never miss it.It may also include things you may think are boring but may not necessarily be that way. 

Stay fit and healthy exercise for at least an hour a day. When your healthy your happy, keep working out never stop working out. Surveys show that people who are healthier are happier. Eat everything that is healthy. Avoid junk food whenever you can. Be physically active. Take up a sport if you want to. 

 

Love every thing and everyone in your life, world and universe. Smell the roses , hug a tree, give all the love you can. Make your enemies friends. Enjoy the little pleasures of life. We often fail to notice these petty tings which are lovely. Such as taking a shower after a tiring day, feeling sleepy in the night, the wind that blows etc.  

Smile. People will start to approach you and you'll have lots of friends and be happier in general. Greet everyone by saying a hi. This will give others an impression that you are a friendly person. 

 

Find a good person to marry. Would you prefer a snobby rich person or a poor nice person? Think about it. Wealth and looks are not the only important things when it comes to life partner. Having fun is. With whom you have fun and are comfortable with is the most important.  

Start taking up hobbies. Sign your self up for classes ex. dance, soccer don't sit on the couch all day eating and watching TV. Enhance your skills and abilities. The more skills you have the better. Try perfecting the skills you think you already posses. 

 

Try to hug a tree per day. It shows you how much there is to life. Remember life is not only about humans but also about animals. Adopt a pet. Especially dogs they are selfless lovely creatures. Try and donate to an animal charity. 

Why do people cheat in relationships?

When you first fall in love with someone certain chemicals are released in your body that gives you the sensation of pleasure, joy and excitement. Later on these chemicals disappear and the feelings of love are felt through intimacy and closeness instead of butterflies in the stomach.
When a man meets another woman other than his wife and finds her attractive these chemicals are released once again whether he is a cheater or not. At this point cheaters go for the new relation while honest people avoid giving in to the feelings of attraction they felt.

People who don't understand this concept might cheat

When this happens to a cheater he never realizes that the attraction he feels towards that person results from the hormones that are released in his body but instead he thinks that he loves that new person more than his spouse.
Cheaters might say something like:

• I experience new feelings when i see her that i don't experience with my wife anymore
• I am more motivated to see him than to see my husband
• I never seem to get bored of her

When we formulate these terms scientifically they become as follows:

• I forget how those chemicals felt like, with that new person i can feel them again
• More chemicals are pumped into my body when i see him than when i see my husband
• i don't think those chemicals will ever stop being released (the same thought that he first got when he married his wife)

How to prevent cheating?

Most of the cheaters who understand this concept stop cheating simply because they realize that they are just chasing chemicals and not real feelings. In my book The ultimate guide to maintaining a healthy relationship i explained how both partners should understand the fact that chemicals won't last forever and that intimacy must take over such feelings in order for the relationship to survive.
People who cheat chase a mirage then sooner or later will find that the chemicals they were after disappeared once again and this is where serial cheating comes from.
If you know a person who cheats on somebody then let him read this article. If you cheat then now you know that you are only going after chemicals and that you not in love with someone else.

Isn't there any way to restore these chemicals?

Yes you can restore these chemicals to your existing relationship by doing things such as increasing the eye contact and experiencing exciting events together. For more information on this topic read my article how can i love my husband again.

How to make anyone fall in love with you

We fall in love when we meet people who meet the criteria we have In our subconscious minds which was formed as a result of our past experiences, the way we were raised and the life events we faced. (see The psychology of falling in love for more information on that topic).
However most psychologists nowadays talk about a new fact which is that love can hardly happen if there were no physical attraction in the beginning of the relationship.
This means that being attractive, at least according to the standards of the person you are trying to attract, is an essential ingredient for love to happen and even if all the criteria was met love cannot happen without physical attraction. (see Why we Find certain people Attractive

You can increase your attractiveness levels!!

So is it possible to make anyone fall in love with you?
Based on these theories and on what psychologists said, it’s only possible to make those who are physically attracted to you fall in love with you but not other people.
While I agree with the psychologists in their points still I don’t agree with the way most of people look at these findings. A normal person would read the previous lines then say “Oh , I don’t have a chance” but the truth is that your own levels of attractiveness can be changed and thus your chance of making someone fall in love with you can be increased !!
It was found that smiling, being more confident and assertive can increase your overall attractiveness. Moreover, in my book How to make someone fall in love with you I even explained how your overall perceived attractiveness can increase if members of the other sex noticed that you are demanded.
A research found that women find a man more attractive if they saw other women smiling at him!! (see What attracts women). So in short your overall attractiveness can be increased which in turn can allow you to make certain people fall in love with you even those who weren't previously interested in you.

You are interesting = you are attractive

The good news is that if someone finds you interesting then there is a very big possibility that he finds you attractive too.
When we say that someone is boring we actually mean that we don’t experience any kind of excitement when being with him and when say that someone is interesting we actually mean that certain hormones are flowing in our bodies that make us feel excited because of his presence.
In most cases being described as interesting means that you have managed to trigger excitement hormones in other people or In other words, you were labeled “Attractive” by this person who found you interesting.
There are lots of techniques that can help you make people fall in love with you, combine them with the techniques that make you more attractive and making anyone fall in love with you won’t be a hard task.

Sensitive nervous system?

People who have the Ectomorph body type (small limbs, slim body, almost no fats, low bone density) have a very sensitive nervous system.
In the demanding world we live in Ectomorphs can have a rough time if they didn't know how to deal with life pressures. First of all you should know that having a sensitive nervous system doesn't mean that you are an emotionally sensitive person but it just means that your nervous system is very sensitive to external stimuli.
Provided that all other factors are constant a person with a sensitive nervous system can get more motivated when he listens to motivational music than an ordinary person.
Because the nervous system of an Ectomorph is more receptive than that of an ordinary person he gets affected by external stimuli much more than other people.
However this kind of sensitivity is a two edged weapon, while an ectomorph can absorb positive messages sent to his nervous system faster than others he also absorbs negative messages with the same speed as well.

How to survive in a rough world with a sensitive nervous system

In order to avoid the disadvantages of your sensitive nervous system you need to avoid making some mistakes that many Ectomorphs do.

• 1) Excess stress: As an Ectomorph you should avoid excess stress at all costs. A small amount of stress is OK but when you find that things are going out of your hands you must take a break. Because your nervous system is too sensitive 10 minutes of excess stress might ruin the rest of your day so be careful not to overload your system
• 2) Don't do something that you hate often: Ectomorphs are much more receptive to external stimuli than others. If an ectomorph hates his job then after few weeks his life will turn into hell because of the unbearable emotions he will experience. sometimes its hard not to do the things that you hate in life but at least make sure you don't do those things often
• 3) Don't overload your system: Do you like loud music? Then don't keep listening to it for hours. Your nervous system is so powerful that it absorbs more data from the world than others and as a result it can easily get overloaded if too much data was presented to it.
• 4) Sleep extremely well: The last thing you would want to do if you are an ectomorph is to have a poor quality sleep. The nervous system gets really irritated when the body needs more sleep and as a result your whole day might be ruined if you didn't sleep well.

Emotional sensitivity vs a sensitive nervous system

Not all ectomorphs are emotionally sensitive. If an Ectomorph didn't know how to correctly process the words he hears or if he gave them an incorrect meaning then certainly he will become an emotionally sensitive person.
In other words emotional sensitivity isn't just the product of a sensitive nervous system but it has a lot to do with the meaning a person gives to the words.
In other words a normal person with a non sensitive nervous system will still get hurt if he interpreted the words of others incorrectly or gave them a negative meaning.
2knowmyself is not a complicated medical website nor a boring online encyclopedia but rather a place where you will find simple, to the point and effective information that is backed by psychology and presented in a simple way that you can understand and apply. If you think that this is some kind of marketing hype then see what other visitors say about 2knowmyself.
The Solid confidence program was launched by 2knowmyself.com; the program will either help you become more confident or give you your money back.

Photos: Meet the 9 most important people in the world

The eight men and one woman you see above are some of the most important people in the world. Seven of them are the leaders of the most powerful countries in the world, while two are leaders of the European Council and Commission. The G7 leaders are currently gathered in Brussels to discuss the situation in Ukraine, foreign policy issues, global economy and more.

From left to right: Italy's Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harperm, US President Barack Obama, President of the European Council Herman van Rompuy, Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel, Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron, Head of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso, France's President Francois Hollande and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Russian president Vladimir Putin wasn't invited to the summit. See more pics after the cut

Do you think somebody is missing........................................................................