Did you know there is an actual reason you crave chocolate when you are stressed? You aren’t a gluten for punishment, you are relieving stress! Chocolate is a psychoactive food and named after a Greek term loosely translated to mean food of the Gods.

Endorphins are released in the brain when you are stressed out or under large amounts of pain. These chemicals, also called neurotransmitters, in the brain are said to cause a sense of euphoria, heighten sexual arousal and have positive effects on your immune system. Chocolates are also said to release endorphins as well. Wouldn’t you rather have the calming effect of endorphins from chocolate rather than pain?

Chocolate also releases a neurotransmitter in the brain called phenylethylamine. This chemical is said to named the chocolate amphetamine because it increases happiness, brings people out of depression and can heighten blood sugar and blood pressure. With heightened blood sugar and blood pressure, a person can feel more alert and less drowsy under normal conditions of depression.

Endorphines can also be releases during exercise. The effect known as the runner’s high also has the same effects as chocolate on the body. They release the same chemicals in the brain and they have the same end result. It is a personal choice everyone has to make. If I want to feel good about myself and get rid of some of the stress from this crazy day, do I run a mile or eat a candy bar. To some the choice would be clearly obvious.
This is not to say that chocolate is the cure all candy bar and if you eat a Hershey’s bar at the end of every day, you will be happy and healthy. But something that tastes so good, can’t be so bad to indulge in every once in a while to increase happiness.

How many times have you just finished saying something and then think, “That is not how I meant that.”? Or get frustrated with emotions or actions in certain situations. Knowing yourself and being able to define as much you can about yourself is helpful. This can teach you a lot about your personal behavior and thoughts you didn’t know.

There are many different tests out there to help you figure out your personality type, but the most common is the Myers-Briggs Personality Indicator or MBTI. This test will tell you how you process things and how you view the world. Most date collected by this test is accurate, valid and consistent. It is the main test used by counselors and psychiatrists.

The test looks at four main dichotomies of your personality. These dichotomies fall into three categories; attitude, function and lifestyle. Under the attitude category, an individual will find out if you are mostly an introvert or an extrovert. When you take the test, there will be a sliding scale that relates to exactly where you fall in the range, but when they assign you a four letter label at the end of the test, it does not account for this variation.

In the function category, there are two dichotomies. There is the perceiving and the judging. Under perceiving you can either do what you sense or you can follow your intuition. Under the judging you can either be a thinker or a feeler. And the last category, lifestyle, has two options. You can either live judging or perceiving things. After you take the test and end up with your four letters, you are given a breakdown of the most typical behaviors of that personality. For example, if you were assigned the letters INFJ you would be from 1% of the population. It means you are an Introvert, you follow your iNtuition, you Feel things and you engage in Judging situations.