News.Scotland.Org

Scotland, Jan 7: A round the clock counselling service will be made available to minimise the increasing rate of stress, depression and anxiety in Scottish teachers. The initiative is put forth by Teacher Support Scotland (TSS) and is expected to help thousands of teachers who were reluctant to seek help in the past. The pilot project conducted in Fife and Renfrewshire got a good response. Drawing inspiration from this the scheme is being extended to all over the country by enhancing free confidential telephone and e-mail support.

Some of the teachers who participated in the counselling process expressed their concern over the management pressure, long working hours, heavy workloads and the disruption, aggression and violence from the students. A recent study conducted by Edinburgh University gives a clear picture about the gravity of the situation.

According to the study 33% of secondary school teachers show the symptoms that resembles the clinical psychology outpatients along with physical symptoms of giddiness or chocking. Teacher Support Scotland is planning to provide private counselling to at least 4000 teachers per year when it expands its function nationwide later this year.

While commenting on this the chief executive of the organisation, Mike Finlayson said: “The counselling is truly needed. The fact is that for several teachers their profession remains a lot more difficult and stressful one. At the same time the teachers can’t just wait for others to help them out of their problems. They are taking responsibility and they remain proactive. To do their job effectively they have to get rid of the physical and mental complications.”

He further added that: “The service is designed so as to provide comprehensive information, guidance and training by the professional counsellors. The service will be made available round the clock and seven days a week and initially a quick response e-mail system is made available. Telephonic counselling is also enabled to facilitate the teachers.”

Teachers are the guiding torches of the future generation. So this is a commendable initiative to alleviate the mental and physical problems faced by the teachers in Scotland.

January, 7

Breakfast is one of the most essential meal in one’s diet, and now research has proved that, those who have their daily in-take of breakfast are least borne to put on weight. The study conducted by doctors from Addenbrookes hospital, Cambridge, revealed that to skip a breakfast means keeping the body away from all necessary nutrients and makes it to store more lunches and dinners in the form of fat.

It was surprising to see that even if one eats the biggest breakfast still he is not going to gain more weight or fat. But the situation becomes opposite with the person who skips his breakfast and moves a step forward to gain fat. In the research it was noticed that those who acquire between 0 and 11 percent of their total daily energy intake during breakfast added on 1.23kg over 3.7 years. On the same hand those middle-aged men and women who consumed between 22 and 50 percent, added only 0.79kg on the same time base. This highlights how breakfast is one of the key factors to reduce the risk of obesity and those who skip it are adding to the rate of obesity.

Another benefit of having breakfast is it keeps one going through out the day without tiredness and fatigue. Healthy breakfast is best way to fight with many health problems in a long span of time. Many doctors and health experts have backed the need to have a breakfast daily, as helps to keep one ticking over until lunchtime. Even one of the earlier studies conducted on children showed how these days modern school going children in the UK are substituting their breakfast to junks foods and fizzy drinks, which is depriving them from the nutrients and right amount of energy they require for the day. Also it is known that with the bad eating habit, UK stands second for the most obese women in the whole world. All these reports some how shows now there is a need to give a thought about one’s health and diet and to keep the body fit with a healthy life cycle.

But after all these studies and researches carried out to get the inside of this essential diet supplement, which is the ideal way to begin the day and give the body the much needed energy to carry out the wear and tear of the day.