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History of Emergency Contraceptions
Life

History of Emergency Contraceptions

The journey to accessible emergency contraception has been long and complicated. Like with many other medications, research started with animal studies before moving on to human use. Learn about the creation of the morning after pill, how it became approved, and when it became widely available for use.

Feb 28 • 3 minutes

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Study links negative maternal health outcomes and restrictive abortion policies
Life

Study links negative maternal health outcomes and restrictive abortion policies

Reports show that states that are proposing or have implemented restrictive abortion policies or bans have worse maternal and child health outcomes than states that have preserved access to abortion care.

Feb 22 • 2 minutes

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How Hormones Impact Your Skin
Body

How Hormones Impact Your Skin

It’s not just skin deep. Hormones impact most of our body's functions, including our skin. Three key hormones play an important role in our skin's health throughout our entire lifetime. Estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. 

Feb 16 • 3 minutes

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Why are birth rates falling?
Life

Why are birth rates falling?

Birth rates in the United States have been on the decline over the past decade. For example, in 2018 there were 59.1 births for every 1,000 aged 15-44 women and dropped to 58.3 in 2019. In 2020, there were 55.8 births. 

Jan 24 • 3 minutes

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When to worry about breast pain
Body

When to worry about breast pain

Breast pain occurs for a variety of reasons. How do you know if the discomfort is normal or a sign of a more serious condition like breast cancer? Get to know common reasons for breast pain, types of breast pain, symptoms to watch out for, and some pain management techniques.

Jan 24 • 5 minutes

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How to Set Realistic Goals
Life

How to Set Realistic Goals

The new year is a convenient time to rethink how you want to live your life. So how do you go about setting goals that are realistic and motivating? Goal setting is a skill that becomes easier the more you practice. Think about why you set goals, how you can create attainable goals, and ways to improve your goal success rate.  Why do we set goals? Goals provide targets in your life. They have the potential to increase your sense of fulfillment and overall well being. Your motivation is key to any goal-setting endeavor. Benefits of goal-setting might include: Improved focus, energy, and motivation Creating and maintaining healthier habits Improved organization and performance Reduced depression, anxiety, or other mental health concern A sense of accountability Provides a way to measure progress How do we create attainable goals? Consider a few principles as you create new goals. Studies show that accomplishing goals is more likely when a goal is specific, challenging, and valuable (you can commit to it). The goal-setting process should include room for feedback and risk management. You can adapt the basic (business) premises of risk management and risk tolerance for personal use.  What are the potential losses when you’re working towards a specific goal? Take improving your drawing skills, for example. Practicing a new skill takes time away from something else, like hanging out with friends. Is that loss okay if you fully accomplish the goal? Creating attainable goals requires a certain level of self-awareness. Only you can decide how to rank your values. Goal setting tips Split large tasks into manageable pieces If a goal is too far-reaching and hard to accomplish, it’s easy to get frustrated and abandon the idea entirely. Create milestones with shorter deadlines to keep the momentum going on the overall project. Take control of your deadlines Hard deadlines can cause you unnecessary stress. If a deadline is far away, it might be harder to focus. Creating tighter deadlines may keep you on track and prevent the urge to work on a task until the later deadline just because it exists. Track your goals Creating a daily visual representation of your progress, such as a map, can help you stay motivated. You can track on a weekly or monthly basis as well.  Create short-term and long-term objectives If all of your goals take a lot of time, it can get frustrating. You might feel like you’re not accomplishing anything when everything’s constantly a work in progress. Achieving short-term goals may help you stay motivated as you work toward longer-term goals. Use procrastination to your advantage The urge to procrastinate might be an attempt to protect you from burnout. Take the breaks you need so you can keep your progress fresh. A walk in the middle of the day might provide a helpful way to refocus. Publicize your goals It’s easier to feel accountable when other people know that you’re working toward something. Professional goals often have built-in accountability because others rely on the results. You have to be a bit creative to stay accountable with personal goals. Ask friends to work on goals with you. That way, you can support each other on personal goals. You can also ask for help within different parts of your community, in-person and online.  Prioritize your goals Consider what you need to accomplish first and why. It can be overwhelming if you have a long list of goals without some way to organize them. Categorize each task to help the prioritization process. Then you can decide which category is most important and focus there.   Evaluate your goals Make sure to analyze the process. What worked and what didn’t? How can you improve next time? Does the accomplishment live up to your expectations? Treat yourself Rewards may help you keep yourself motivated. Celebrate as you reach new milestones by doing something purely because it makes you happy.  Visualize your goals Keep a physical reminder of your goals visible. It can be a vision board, wish list, or any other visualization. Keep it on a desk, refrigerator door, or somewhere else you look frequently.  How to set goals  Set SMART goals The criteria for setting SMART goals include: specificity, measurability, achievability, relevancy, and timing. A SMART goal conveys what you need to do, a method of tracking progress, whether you can accomplish it, why the goal is valuable and a deadline. Set reach goals Objectives and key results (OKRs) help you focus on long-term and very distant goals. You might progress further by focusing on something that’s out of reach rather than on more attainable goals. When it comes to setting reach goals, the time frame is less important than the journey.  Set value-based goals Intrinsic motivation helps accomplish goals. Consider what makes specific goals important, and create a value scoring system. Higher value goals should be your focus. You can combine goal-setting methods to create a process that works best for you.

Jan 6 • 4 minutes

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How do hormones affect your skin?
Body

How do hormones affect your skin?

While there’s been a lot of focus on the outward appearance and rejuvenation of skin, there’s more than what meets the eye. It’s not just skin deep. Hormones impact most of our body's functions, including our skin.

Jan 6 • 4 minutes

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How to Practice Gratitude
Life

How to Practice Gratitude

Did you know you can improve your life and help those around you by expressing your gratitude? Read about the ways to define gratitude, what practicing gratitude can do, and some methods of practicing gratitude.

Dec 21 • 2 minutes

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7 things to always keep in your medicine cabinet
Life

7 things to always keep in your medicine cabinet

Is your medicine cabinet in need of a re-stock? Here's our guide to what you need.

Aug 18

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pregnancy and ovulation test kits
Life

Which Stix Kit is right for you?

How to choose the right Stix kit of products to help you stay healthy. Choose from pregnancy and ovulation tests, yeast infection care, and UTI treatments.

Aug 24