Latest Stories

Most recently published stories in Longevity.

Don't Touch Me
I do not like being touched, especially by strangers. I don't like strangers trying to hug me. I'm not even keen on handshakes. I hate it when you are on the bus and the thigh of the person next to you rubs against yours. It makes my skin crawl. Crowds give me anxiety. I don't like it when people tap me on the shoulder. I hate it when someone I barely know touches my arm. Touch is not a comfort to me.
By Sarah Sparks9 years ago in Longevity
My Journey to Weight Loss
My name is Melissa Hensley. I am 32 years old. A few years ago after I had my son, I developed a hernia in my stomach that just got bigger over time. By the time I actually got up the nerve to go see a doctor and get it diagnosed it had become very large. My doctor sent me to a specialist who told me I needed to stop smoking and lose 30 pounds before he would help me. Ever since I was in high school I have struggled with my weight. After hearing this from the doctor I went on a life changing journey. I quit smoking and I asked my doctor to put me on adipex. For those of you who don't know what adipex is, it is basically the antidote for fat. He gave me a prescription for it and told me to take one with my breakfast. I decided that instead of eating breakfast, the adipex along with a soda (I'm totally addicted to soda!) WAS my breakfast. The adipex totally curbed my appetite and I was almost never hungry. The adipex was amazing. I loved it. I would skip lunch altogether. Around dinner time it would start to wear off and I would eat a small dinner. I starved myself to death and the weight quickly came off.
By Melissa Hensley9 years ago in Longevity
Garlic and Onions: Two Foods With a Medicinal Kick
On June 7th, 2017 the University of Guelph announced the findings of Prof. Suresh Neethirajan’s work with onions and the plant's ability to create a hostile environment for cancer cells in the body. Onions are an organic sulfur food, containing some powerful flavonoids. Flavonoids in the most simple explanation are the workhorse part of an antioxidant (Dimitrios, B. 2006). Antioxidants and flavonoids are highly researched because of anti-carcinogenic and anti-cancer properties (Borek, C. 1997; Le Marchand, L., Murphy, S. P., Hankin, J. H., Wilkens, L. R., & Kolonel, L. N. 2000; Lautraite, S., Musonda, A. C., Doehmer, J., Edwards, G. O., & Chipman, J. K. 2002). Onions contain two strong flavonoids, Anthocyanin and Quercetin. Years of research from around the globe has shown that Quercetin is a viable anti-cancer agent (Brisdelli, F., Coccia, C., Cinque, B., Cifone, M. G., & Bozzi, A. (2007) which is strengthened by Anthocyanin, which gives fruit color. While all onions contain this combination of flavonoids, red onions have the highest concentration of Anthocyanin.
By M.J. Green9 years ago in Longevity
My Inner Fight
I'm going to start by saying this: I know no one suffers the same as anyone else this is just my story and I'm putting it out there in hopes to help other people.
By David Coon III9 years ago in Longevity
F*ck Anxiety
Anxiety is one of those things where it invades every seemingly normal part of your life and makes it 100x more complicated. Simple tasks at work turn into emotionally stressful situations, easygoing conversations become laborious and start to agitate you, and climbing a gentle rolling hill becomes a trek over Mount Everest. I've had to deal with my anxiety for a long time, and even when I was dragging myself on all fours up that gentle hill, I refused to ask for help.
By Mikayla Appleby9 years ago in Longevity
Life Crisis When You're Only 26 Years Old
You guys are probably thinking "oh why am I listening to her about her life crisis;" I can tell you now when you read this, or when you have finished you will think "oh damn she's right". So button it shrimpy! Haha joke's on you.
By Lizzy Arrow9 years ago in Longevity
Sometimes It's Good to Take a Break.... Top Story - June 2017.
Modern life is so very often dominated by routine and ritual, the little things in life that make the cogs keep turning and make everything seem normal. Without a ritual, routine or pattern in our life, a little comfort nest of the expected, we worry. We panic, we doubt ourselves, and that doubt manifests itself upon those you meet. Your relationships, your family, your friends and the strangers you share a bubble with on the tube or sidewalk all feel it, a difference, a negative difference. A disorder, a frantic unknown that drives you crazy yet you don’t know why. It’s a blank canvas without a starting line or a starting thought.
By Word9 years ago in Longevity
Angels vs. Demons
I've almost made it through another day. I worked around the house like everything was okay. But it's not, and this mask is peeling. I may smile, but I'm not okay. Inside me is a war I can hardly describe. There is a part of me that wants to live and another side that tempts me with the idea of dying. I have no plan or desire for execution so suicidal does not truly describe my state of mind. The flashes of what I could do to myself keep me deeply depressed. and the pain that I feel is almost too much to bear.
By Tiffany Thompson9 years ago in Longevity
First Things First
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from having anxiety and depression, it’s that life…well, life isn’t always beautiful. There will always be struggles. Some days I can hardly get out of bed. Sometimes the only thing I want is to be held by one specific person, and absolutely nothing else. I can’t remember what day of the week it is, or what dream I had last night, but I know it was bad.
By Baylee Ence9 years ago in Longevity
Who Am I? Am I Who I Want To Be?
Who am I? Am I who I want to be? I was only 4 years old when I lost my parents. What I mean by lost is that I was taken from my parents.
By Julianne Collins9 years ago in Longevity
After The Cure
I grew up with a heart condition. From the ages 12 to 17 I spent my time in waiting rooms, emergency rooms, and laying on my bed unable to speak because of the amount of pain I was in. I was the kid in your grade who you never saw, who was constantly missing class because of doctor’s appointments or because I simply didn’t feel well. I was the teenager who was depressed, who didn’t eat, who had anxiety attacks on top of the heart palpitations. Heart palpitations can be a side effect of panic attacks, making my cardiologist skeptical that there was something physically wrong with my heart, and that what I was experiencing wasn’t just puberty, and therefore something I would grow out of. I knew it wasn’t something that would simply go away, but due to lack of proof, I had heart palpitations that made my heart beat over 200 beats a minute for 5 years. But I was very lucky.
By Lovin9 years ago in Longevity
Dear Tummy;
I wish we had a better relationship. I have been trying since I was a teenager to feel better about you but our negative relationship still haunts me every single day. I have tried everything to hide you. Extreme corsets, tummy-slimming undies, control top pantyhose, baggy shirts, those horribly uncomfortable tummy-tucking Lycra shorts thingies that just end up rolling down and creating a weird lump under my clothing... you name it, I've tried it. And still, there you are like a creepy stalker following me everywhere I go.
By Sarah Sparks9 years ago in Longevity