ABSTINENCE Tough Questions Good Answers

Why Should I Be Abstinent

Sexual abstinence means choosing not to have sex. The reasons people choose abstinence are very personal. Some of those reasons include: — Wanting to protect yourself from HIV/AIDS, or another sexually transmitted disease or infection (STD or STI). — Wanting to wait for marriage. — Not wanting to risk an unplanned pregnancy.

Is It Normal Not To Have Sex

Yes. It’s normal to have sexual feelings. It’s also normal to wait to act on those feelings. In fact, studies show that more than half of all teens have not had sex by the time they are seventeen.

I’ve Had Sex Before. Can I Be Abstinent Now

Absolutely. Many young people realize that they are not ready for sex after they have done it for the first time. No matter how many times you’ve had sex before, you can decide to be abstinent now.

What If I’m In Love

Being in love is a wonderful feeling. But there are many good reasons to stay abstinent, even when you are in love. Abstinence is still a good way to prevent an unplanned pregnancy and protect yourself from STDs. It is important to respect your decision to abstain, even when you are in love.

What If MY Partner Really Wants To Do It

You can still choose abstinence. Explain to your partner that you want to wait. Try to show you care by writing love notes or planning special time together.

What If My Partner Really, Really, Really Wants To Do It

It’s still OK to be abstinent. If you feel pressured, tell your partner that pressuring you won’t change your mind. If he or she continues to pressure you, rethink the relationship. Your partner should care more about you and your feelings than about having sex.

Can I (or My Partner) Get Pregnant If I’m Abstinent

Abstinence is the only guaranteed protection from pregnancy. If you abstain from sexual intercourse and other activities where semen can enter the vagina, you will not become pregnant. (It only takes one tiny drop of semen to become pregnant.)

Can I Get An STD If I’m Abstinent

Abstinence will give you protection from STDs that are passed through sexual intercourse. But some STDs - like herpes - can also be passed through kissing and intimate touching. And, some STDs - like HIV and hepatitis - can be passed through sharing needles. To fully protect yourself, learn about STDs, Get to know how each is transmitted and what you need to do to avoid infection.

We’ve Been Making Out. Am I Still Abstinent

Only you can figure out exactly what limits are. Decide ahead of time and be firm. Remember, if you are making out, you may have a harder time sticking to your limits.

Can I Have Sexual Feelings And Still Be Abstinent

You can have sexual feelings and choose not to act on them. To keep your limits, be clear with yourself and your boyfriend or girlfriend. Avoid hanging out alone (this can make it harder to stick to your limits.) Spend time with friends or family instead.

Doesn’t Abstinence Mean Just Saying No

Sexual abstinence does mean saying yes to other things - like yourself, your health and your future.

Have you ever shouted, “I’m stressed out!” If you live on planet Earth, in all likelihood, you have. The word “stress” typically has negative connotations. We feel particularly anxious or edgy, and could even be at an emotional breaking point. While we can deal with bad stress, through means such as hot stone therapy, we should keep some facts in mind about bad and good stress, and how to deal with them:

1. We need a certain amount of “good” stress

To understand “good” stress better, we need to revisit the body’s natural instinct of “flight or flight.” When we encounter seriously stressful situations, do we deal with them, or avoid them? We need certain amounts of stress in our lives. While crossing a street, we may see a car zooming down the road, towards us. Our professor or boss may assign us a huge workload for us to complete within a small timeframe. In these cases, the brain senses stress, and then transmits important chemicals throughout body. The results are:

• Higher blood pressure

• Increased heartbeat

• Keener senses

• Higher level of blood sugar

In short, we are ready to rock and roll! This explosion of energy informs our body that we need to take action—and take it immediately.

2. Too much stress can be dangerous

In the case of stress, too much is too bad. While a moderate amount of stress can help us to deal with problems and responsibilities, it can overwhelm us. Perhaps we must deal with unpaid bills, a death in the family, or a pain-in-the-neck boss. Such situations can cause us not only to react to them, but also to worry ourselves silly about them. Unhealthy levels of stress can result in several negative health issues, including:

• depression

• digestion problems

• faster aging

• heart attacks

• high blood pressure

• infertility

• poor immune system

• strokes

Consider the life of John D. Rockefeller. Though he was once one of the wealthiest men in the world, becoming overworked and stressed-out caused him nearly to die. However, when Rockefeller followed his doctor’s advice, which included to never worry about anything, he lived to be 97-years-old!

3. Hot stone massages can eliminate bad stress in your mind and body

Having a hot stone massage remains one of the most effective ways to reduce the bad stress in your life. Through heat therapy, these massages help to calm your mind, reduce your heart rate, increase blood circulation, and relax your muscles. While a basic massage can be healthy, a hot stone massage creates additional benefits. By combining the hot stones with virtually any style of massage, you get the basic benefits of massages, coupled with the plusses of heat therapy.

While we typically think of stress as being “bad,” we can experience both good and bad stress in our lives. Whenever stress becomes too much to handle, treatments such as hot stone massages can help to knock out the bad stress in our lives!

“What is in it for me?” Our human nature causes us to ask this question. Ultimately, we are concerned about our own interests. We should certainly be courteous when driving, waiting in line, or chatting on the phone. However, we ultimately want to know how we will benefit from certain products or services. Hot stone therapy is no different. Is it helpful for therapists to use stones, and hot ones at that? In fact, hot stone massages can provide patients with a wide range of benefits. Here are some of the most significant ones:

1. Revitalizes and relaxes muscles and muscle tissue

Unfortunately, getting a hot stone massage will not give you the physique of the Incredible Hulk. However, it can revitalize muscles that are weak and unused. If you are recovering from an injury, a massage can speed up your recovery, and can improve muscles that have become weakened, due to inactivity.

In addition to reinvigorating your muscles, massages can also provide relief to “trigger points” in your muscles. By relaxing tense muscles in part of the body, you can actually benefit other regions of the body as well.

2. Improves blood circulation

While massages in general can improve your blood circulation, hot stone massages are fantastic at achieving this goal. The reason is that they use heat therapy. The therapist warms the stones to a perfect temperature, which allows them to inflate tiny blood vessels in your body. The result is that your blood circulation quickens.

3. The body releases toxins

Perspiring not only serves as the body’s air-conditioner, but also allows the body to release toxins. While we often do not consider skin to be an organ, it is technically the largest organ of the human body! By using heat therapy, such as hot stone massages, the increase of the body’s temperature causes perspiration to push toxins out of the skin’s pores. This can have a tremendously helpful effect on your overall health, and can even be effective against some sicknesses.

4. Stress-reduction takes place

Stress is a part of everyday life. However, it is important to realize that although we cannot always eliminate the causes of stress, we can indeed change how we deal with it. Stress basically consists of those tense and worrisome feelings we have, due to problems in our lives. Hot stone massages reduce stress by allowing our bodies to relax, and increasing our bodies’ blood circulation. The heat therapy from stones creates this effect.

5. Reduces pain

Our bodies sense the world, through tiny objects called sensory receptors. However, our brains tell our sensory receptors “You are feeling pain.” Hot stones reduce the signals of pain from the sensory receptors, to the brain. Thus, we feel less pain.

Hot stone massages can provide an array of benefits, including the aforementioned ones. Reducing stress in our lives remains one of the most effective ways to maintain a healthy lifestyle of our hectic modern world. Hot stone massages remain one of the best ways to decrease the stress and increase the rest!