Tea? You ask...

Not too long ago, in the store I work at, a new book arrived called, "Tea is always good tea".

As a European, I drink lots of tea and that's throughout the day. Despite being Irish as well, I don't add any sugar, nor milk, nor cream. No honey, nothing adding in the tea... You may think I'm insane to drink straight black tea, but I was raised on tea, it's how it's always been.

When I saw the book, I just need to have it!
A short background on what tea is it refers, usually, to the beverage made by steeping the dried leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant in hot water. People usually think of British when talking about tea. Not entirely wrong, British people do drink a lot of tea themselves...

Here are some interesting facts from my little book.

"Loose Leaf:
'Loose leaf' refers to whole or broken tea leaves that do not come in tea bags, requiring you to measure leaves for each brew. Generally, of a higher quality than bag tea, loose-leaf tea calls for steeping tools to separate the leaves post-brew.

Pros:                                                                                               Cons:

-Available in a wide selection of teas                                            - Generally more expensive
-Yields more nuanced flavors and                                                  -Disposing of wet leaves can be
aromas                                                                                             inconvenient and messy
-Allows you to control the ratio of
leaves to water

You can dry high-quality whole leaves after use and re-step them several times.

Tea Bags:
Tea bags contain small, chopped pieces of tea leaves in a packet or sachet. Most tea bags containing black tea have been processed using the mechanical CTC (crush, tear, curl) method.
Pros:                                                                                               Cons: 
- Quick brewing time with strong                                                  - Lower quality of flavor
flavor                                                                                              - Loses freshness quickly
-Simple to store, transport, and                                                      - More likely to become bitter
dispose of the leaves
-Easy to brew one cup at a time

Don't squeeze a tea bag at the end of a brew! This release bitter tannins into the tea." 

I personally use tea bags, easy to brew, fast enough for me when I'm in a rush which is more common than you may think. I have nothing against loose leaves, the only little issue I keep bumping into is the mess as well as taking longer to make by a few minutes.

"Storage:
Tips for quality and longevity

KEEP IT DRY AND SEALED
To preserve flavor and aroma, store your tea in an airtight container. Be wary of storing fragrant items nearby, as they might taint a tea's aroma.

KEEP IT DARK
Tea leaves are sensitive to light, so store them in dark containers. If using glass jars, store them in a dark cupboard. 

KEEP IT COOL
Heat can damage a tea's flavor and aroma. Store your tea leaves at room temperature- or slightly cooler."

My tea isn't kept in a special storage, to be honest, I don't have much space to put them, too much of it, so I keep the bags inside their boxes in my cabinet. Dark and cool enough to keep everything under control. Now, when I think of my future place, my little comfort home, I will have jars full of either loose tea or bags. Cause being Irish isn't always about drinking Guinness... Tea is also very important. 

"OCCASIONS FOR TEA

Wake up:
The caffeine in tea makes it an ideal morning beverage.
Relax: 
A soothing cup of tea is the perfect way to warm up and wind down.
Celebrate:
Toast to good news and milestones with a tasty symbolic tea.
Connect:
Slow down the pace of life and take time to share the experience with others.
Cure:
Enjoy the medicinal properties of various teas and tisanes.
Respect:
Show reverence to current and pas culture and traditions. "

I usually drink tea to either get warm on a cold rainy day or simply because I want to drink tea. The only occasion I would consider drinking tea as an "occasion" would be when I'm having breakfast with mum, then tea is required! Not so much of an occasion, mostly a requirement, plus the place we usually go to, knows what we order, and they know our teas! She has to be more the English Breakfast tea, while I'm more the Earl Grey person or simply my Irish tea when there's some, which is rarely. 

For some people, tea is considered beneficial, healthy, and a "snobby" enough drink. Tea time is for everyone, not just the rich! So if you are a fan of tea, or you enjoy a simple cup of tea, this book is for you! I certainly am learning a lot about different teas, so I thought I would write another post about different teas and their benefits. 

"You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me." - C.S. Lewis

~Bella

Mood disorders... Psych 101...

MOOD DISORDERS

When emotions take over

Mood disorders are when disturbances in an individual's emotional state are so extreme that they affect his or her thinking processes, social relationships, and behavior. These tend to be episodic, meaning the symptoms will come and go. There are two major types of mood disorders that can be broken down into several sub-types. They are depressive disorder and bipolar disorder. 

DEPRESSIVE DISORDERS

To be diagnosed with major depression, an individual has to experience a major depressive episode at least once. Major depressive episodes last for a period of two weeks or longer, and the individual will suffer from some, if not all, of the following symptoms:

• An overwhelming and consistent feeling of sadness or irritability
• Feeling guilty or worthless
• A loss of interest in doing anything, even previously enjoyable activities, and a lack of interest in being social
• Having very low energy
• Being unable to focus or make decisions
• Experiencing a change in eating patterns, either not eating well or eating too much
• Experiencing a change in sleeping patterns, either not being able to sleep or sleeping too much
• Experiencing recurrent thoughts of suicide or death

Interestingly enough, individuals that are extremely depressed will usually not commit suicide because, during their major depressive episode, they feel too apathetic and unmotivated to create a suicide plan and follow through with it. Instead, it is during the recovery process, when the individual has more major depression than men. While more women also attempt suicide than men, men are more successful with following through with their suicide than women. In addition to major depression, there are several other types of depression that share these symptoms:

Dysthymia Disorder

If a person experiences major depression symptoms for at least two years, then they have what is known as dysthymia disorder. It should be noted that people who suffer from this do not experience depressive symptoms at all times. There are moments when they do feel completely normal. 

Seasonal Affective Disorder

Appropriately referred to as SAD, seasonal affective disorder is when a person suffers from symptoms of depression because of the time of the year. The majority of people who experience the condition do so in the wintertime. 

Psychotic Major Depression

This is when an individual suffers from symptoms of major depression and also has hallucinations and delusions. 

Postpartum Depression

Postpartum depression occurs when a woman experiences depression following childbirth. This may be due to shifts in hormone levels, a lack of sleep, bodily changes in the woman's social or work relationships. 

Atypical Depression

This is a type of depression where an individual has many characteristics of major depression. Symptoms of atypical depression usually included a gain in weight and increase in appetite, excessive sleeping or always feeling tired, and feeling very sensitive to any type of rejection.

Catatonic Depression

This is a very rare type of depressive disorder where a person will become motionless for an extended period of time, or move in a violent or strange manner. People who suffer from catatonic depression will sometimes decide not to speak, or may even imitate the actions or speaking pattern of another individual. 

Melancholic Depression

This type of depression is characterized by losing interest and pleasure in many, if not all, activities. Individuals also find it very difficult to react positively when something good happens. Symptoms are generally worse in the morning, and early morning awakening can occur, where an individual wakes up on his or her own at least two hours too early without an external source causing the person to wake. 

Individuals suffering from melancholic depression also experience a very strong sadness that is obvious because of how different the person seems.

"Depression is a prison where you are both the suffering prisoner and the cruel jailer."- Dorothy Rowe

~Bella

Coffee addiction...

A few months ago, I went through a couple of addictions that I described such as YouTube. The most "normal" addiction that I currently struggle with is COFFEE. Many of you suffer from the addiction.

When you hear addiction, you go straight to drugs, alcohol, but we forget the other little things which keep us from living right. Doesn't matter if they hit your health or sleep or the ability to socialize with others. Addictions are a part of every human being, it's part of society. Playing video games all day long can be an addiction, keeps you from going outside and socialize, physically socialize!

Coffe...

What a long story! It's a love/hate relationship that grew stronger throughout tough and sleepy times, but also made me more anxious, more vulnerable to the disorder. One cup of strong coffee, no sugar, no cream, just black coffee will wake me right up. Yet, even after a cup, I want another one later on... Then, the anxiety kicks in out of the blue, worse than ever, and still, I want that cup of coffee, that cappuccino, that espresso.

As it may affect my anxiety in a terrible way, drinking coffee have some benefits!

#1. Coffee can help people feel less tired and increase energy level. Caffeine is the most commonly consumed psychoactive substance in the world. Many trials in humans show that coffee improves various aspects of brain function. This includes memory, mood, vigilance, energy levels, reaction times and general cognitive function.
( I've seen that after drinking a cup of coffee, I wake up, feel energetic enough to start a day)

#2. Coffee has some essential nutrients. For example, in a single cup of coffee contains Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Pantothenic Acid (Vitamin B5), Manganese and Potassium, Magnesium and Niacin (Vitamin B3). May not seem a lot but some people drink more than one single cup, I know I can go up to three cups a day before 16:00 or 4:00 P.M.

#3. Coffee seems to want to protect the liver. We all know how important our liver is, it is an amazing organ that carries out hundreds of important functions in our bodies.  Somehow, coffee may protect against cirrhosis which is a condition that may be lead by several diseases such as hepatitis, fatty liver disease, and others. People who drink 4 or more cups per day have up to an 80% lower risk.

#4. Depressed? Drink coffee. Depression is a serious mental disorder that may cause a significantly reduced quality of life. It's becoming more common at this period of time. A Harvard study published a couple years ago, women who drank 4 or more cups per day had a 20% lower risk of becoming depressed.
(I had to go through depression, and I can tell that coffee did help me out with the happiness that wasn't around anymore)

Coffee may affect us in a negative way, but we forget the good that may also give us. It's quite an addiction, don't worry if you are one of these people who can't go a day without drinking a cup of this magical drink. I was reading an article from last year in "The Huffington Post", British, very interesting! They stated; " ...if you suspect that you're going overboard with your coffee addiction, you're certainly not alone. In fact, some of the most successful and acclaimed human beings to ever walk the planet were totally, sometimes painfully, nuts for coffee. Just ask these guys:

1. Johann Sebastian Bach wrote a short opera about coffee obsession.
2. Ludwig Van Beethoven took his coffee with exactly 60 beans per cup.
3. Benjamin Franklin hung out at coffee shops before it was cliche.
4.Voltaire is said to have drunk 40-50 cups of coffee a day.
5. Søren Kierkegaard took his coffee with approximately 30 sugar cubes, give or take a giant scoop.
6. Teddy Roosevelt drank a gallon of coffee a day. 
7. L. Frank Baum had four or five cups of coffee with cream and sugar each morning. 
8. Margaret Atwood has her own coffee line. 
9. David Lynch has anywhere from four to seven cups of coffee a day- with plenty of sugar.  "


Don't worry you aren't alone to be nuts over coffee... I know I am, even with my anxiety! 

"Coffee doesn't ask silly questions. Coffee understands." 

~Bella

Is it true or just a crush?

It's been a while since my last love advice post, I know I haven't been giving much advice, too preoccupied with other "things". So... Today, I decided to write and express my feelings towards a question that popped up really often, and it happened to me as well...

How do you know if you are in love with someone? 

Sounds difficult to know, but trust me, there're a few ways you can tell that it isn't just a crush!
Falling in love is one of the greatest, exciting but also scary thing out there. 
Loving someone is different for everybody. We love a certain way like for your family members you may love them a different way then you may love your best friend.We love

people in different ways at different times!  

So here is some ways that helped me and a few of my friends to really know if we loved or just had a simple crush on the person. 

When you wake up, it's the first person you think about! It's the first person that pops into your head when something good happens to you; you have to go tell them the news. When something terrible has happened, you seek support and comfort from that same person! 

These quotes about love being selfless and putting the love of your life above yourself?! Well, it's true, look at what Olaf from Frozen said, "Some people are worth melting for." Take this example into consideration: you are both sick in bed, but instead of leaving her/him do everything, you take charge into helping or doing everything for her/ him. Their needs become a priority, take a more important place than your own needs. 

Human beings are far from perfect, we all have flaws, look in the mirror! I, myself, have tons of flaws, being over caring is one of them! When you are in love, your lover's imperfections become qualities. You look above these little flaws, but when you are in love you accept the person's flaws and qualities. Love is the ability to accept and learn how to love imperfections (unique flaws). 

The best part of your day is when you hear from them (your special someone), and you look forward to that part of the day! They bring a smile on your face! Seeing them is better than being alone, and you prefer being with them than anyone else. 

You stay closer to the person you love when around others. You don't back away from cuddles or kisses, public affection. When in a group of people, you may go ahead and talk to someone across the room, far from your partner, but you check up on them in the corner of your eye and go back directly to them as soon. 

And finally imagine a future where the person you "love" isn't around! How will you react? Will you cry yourself to sleep at night, and dream of having them around, or will you just say, "Wasn't meant to be, there's plenty fish in the water." ? 
That simple question may answer a lot! Ask yourself questions like: 
- If something happens to them, they are at the hospital, will you rush out there or wait the next or couple days to go see how things are going?
- Do you see yourself with that person for the next year or so?
- Can you be yourself around them? (If you are yourself it means you aren't afraid to show your true self, and it means a lot more than just a crush).
- Can you go on days without talking to them or can't at all?

Don't assume these are just the ways to know, I'm sure there are other ways, don't jump to any conclusion! I'm interested in knowing what are your ways, I'm always open to opinions! 

Loving someone isn't a game, it's your feelings, emotions that are attached to that one single person! You can just not talk to them, can't just ignore them and pretend they don't exist! When you love, you do everything in your power to be there for them, to love them unconditionally, to protect them from the bad things. Now, we are humans and humans are rather stupid and blind when in love... If I were you, I would be careful on who you say I love you to...

"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength while loving someone deeply gives you courage." - Lao Tzu

~Bella