All of us need help from time to time. It's good to think carefully about what you like to do, what you do well, and what you could most happily offer someone in need. Check out these tips fo asking for help (left box), as well as a two-stage way to ask for help.

Your goal is to build a dependable support network by communicating clearly and effectively. Check out (box left) 5 points that can help you be a good communicator, as well as barriers to good communicators. Then begin improving your control by gaining strength through asking - try these easy exercises.

When we walk into a store, emblazoned on nearly everry box, bag and bottle on every shelf is a multitude of nutritional claims - screaming, "Buy me! Buy me!" But remember: claims are marketing ploys, pure and simple! So we've provided some rules to follow to make you a truly savvy shopper.

After a rough day at the office or a nasty interchange, a great joke can often quickly lift us out of a bad mood. But why? Dutch researchers think they've verified why this is so and how a joke helps us -- most of the time - laugh it off and turn our negative mood positive.
Madelijn Strick, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher at Radboud University in Nijmegen, Netherlands, and her team set out to figure out exactly how a joke can lift bad moods.
Not to spoil the punch line, but the researchers found a joke works not just because the humor distracts us from negative emotions but because of the cognitive work we need to do to "get" the joke.

When you're helping someone else - friend, child, family member, care partner, whomever, it's easy to get wrapped up in the tasks you and they have agreed upon. Helping others often necessitates paperwork, follow-up and follow-through - work that puts your own needs on the back burner. So we're here to remind you of 6 important and easy steps that will keep your own life balanced and healthy.