Category: Featured

Many relationships withered away because a partner got secretly depressed and gradually became disinterested. Well, there are signs which can point out if your partner is secretly depressed as well as ways to help him/her.

So, here are 7 signs your man is secretly depressed and ways to help him:

1. They keep having unexplainable aches and pains.
Physical discomfort can one of the biggest signs of depression in men. It can manifest as headaches, stomach pains, back or joint soreness — it can take many different forms.

Many men are hesitant to admit that they’re sick or suffering, but men, as a whole, are way more uncomfortable admitting to emotional pain, so those physical symptoms can actually be great red flags for helping your man recognize that something isn’t right.

2. They seem to feel neutral about everything.
How often does your man say, “I don’t care”? Is it hard for him to get excited about anything? Does he shrug off everything, never expressing an opinion about anything?

When men are depressed, they can sometimes find it very hard to give a damn about anything in their lives, and that kind of extreme apathy goes hand-in-hand with depression.

3. They stop doing the things they love.
When men are depressed, it mutes all of their emotions, particularly feelings of happiness or joy. That’s why depressed men often pull away from activities that they used to love.

If your man won’t go out with his friends anymore, abandons his hobbies, or doesn’t seem interested in the things he used to be passionate about, he might be depressed.

4. They get angry.
Depression is confusing for men. They feel sad and don’t know why. They experience pain and don’t know why. And most men don’t have the social structures or friendships that give them an outlet to talk about their feelings of pain and confusion.

So what do they do? They get angry. They lash out. They become surly and aggressive. They become like a lion with a thorn in its paw — they’re hurt, scared, and don’t know what to do about it.

The only response that seems to make sense is rage. It can make the people around them miserable, but it should be recognized as a cry for help more than anything.

5. They can’t perform sexually.
This can be a difficult symptom to discuss with a man, because you don’t want to pile sexual embarrassment on top of their feelings of depression. But a noted decrease in sexual desire and performance can be a big sign that your man is experiencing depression.

There are other medical reasons why your man might be experiencing sexual dysfunction. It doesn’t hurt to have them checked out by their primary care physician, but depression can cause a waning libido in men, so it’s worth having the conversation with them, even if it’s an awkward one.

6. They sleep all the time.
If your guy is working two jobs or keeps pulling night shifts, it might be understandable if he’s always tired. But if your once-active man seems to find any opportunity to take a nap, he could be depressed.

Excessive sleep is a form of self-medicating for depression. When just being conscious causes someone so much pain, they try to find any excuse to lapse into a deep sleep. If it seems like your man never wants to get out of bed, you might want to start talking to him about depression.

7. They’re unrelentingly negative.
Being depressed sucks, and it warps the way you view the world. One way that men process depression is that it can fill them with a pervasive sense of pessimism. Everything is the worst, we’re all doomed, why ever try because nothing is going to work out anyway.

If your man can find the dark lining of any cloud, that might be a big indication that something inside of him isn’t letting him tap into his positive emotions at the moment and he might need help.

As we’ve mentioned, depression is an extremely serious condition for both men and women, but men often have a harder time admitting they’re experiencing it. If you think the man in your life is struggling, have the hard conversations with them and encourage them to seek out professional help.

It’s also good to try to get him back into healthy routines, like exercise and seeing friends. Eating healthy and going outside more can help, too. Let him know that it’s not weak to need help or even medication when you’re depressed.

In fact, asking for what you need (when you need it) is a sign of strength. It’s a conversation that might save his life.

By Samuel Itsede

Rural Women and girls lag behind Urban Women in all facets of life and are most likely to die from climate-change related disaster.

Furthermore, they face greater constraints in accessing natural resources such as land and water.

This was the observation made by the Honourable Minister of Women Affairs Dame Pauline Tallen in a press statement issued on her behalf by the Director Press in her Ministry,  Shehu Maikai, in commemoration of year 2019 International Day for Rural Women.

The Minister said that the United Nation General Assembly has set aside 15 October, every year, to draw global attention to the plight of women and girls living in rural areas. Adding that the theme for this year’s celebration is “Rural Women and Girls, Building Climate Resilience”.

She noted that Climate change worsens existing inequalities between rural women and their urban counterparts.

“For example, urban women have the capacity to adopt low carbon emission technologies such as gas, microwave, solar or electric cookers, while the rural women are at the mercy of green-house gas emission by flaring fire wood and animal dungs as source of energy”. she said.

Dame Pauline Tallen advised government to adopt a gender responsive climate policy and program to reduce harmful effects of global warming as a result of climate change.

She said that the climate policy that she has in mind should include; a concerted effort to support the capacities of rural women and girls in agricultural production, food security and natural resource management and the provision of low green-house gas emission technologies, at affordable prices, to rural women.

The Minister said that her Ministry is working alongside development partners to ensure that rural women access critical resources including; Capital, Land, Technology and Entrepreneurial Skill as a way to boost climate resilience.

By Jennifer Yusuf

Vice President Yemi Osibanjo will tomorrow, Thursday the 17th of October, pay a working visit to the Nigeria Farmers Group and Cooperative Farm, NFGCS,  in Gaate, Kokona Local Government Area of Nasarawa state.

Speaking exclusively to Daybreak, the National Coordinator of the farm settlement, Mr. Retson Tedheke, noted that the high powered delegation visiting the farm was a welcome development as it would afford the Vice President and his entourage the opportunity to see first hand what Nigeria Youths can accomplish on their own in agriculture with the right government policies and incentives.

”  when the Buhari administration came into power agriculture was a major plank of the government’s policy, which many of us keyed into and I am happy to say that since 2017 when the NFGCS came into existence we have steadily grown in membership and through crowdfunding by our members we are today one of the biggest integrated farms in the whole of Nasarawa state”.

He said that NFGCS adopted a unique model that enabled members of the cooperative and private investors to invest their funds into farming and at the end of the farming seasons the harvest is sold and profits are distributed to investors based on their investment.

“our unique model has worked because since inception we have always been open and transparent to our members who are spread all over the country and overseas. our unique model ensures that no matter where you are, you get your profit immediately after each farming season, currently, we have over 2000 persons, mainly Nigerian youths registered as members of the Coorperative”

Speaking on the incentives available to members and subscribers, Tedheke noted that the NFGCS is a coopreative society built on trust and the carefull managent of subcribers funds and the hiring of the best hands in agri business “in the first year of our operation, every subscriber was able to make over 50% return on his or her investment and ever since we have tried to sustain the temple irrespective of challenges”

Speaking on some of the challenges the Coorperative has had to contend with, he noted that it was mainly in the area of commodity prices and funds for expansion, but however said that the recent closure of the country’s border is making a difference.

“the border closure is a blessing to Nigeria farmers especially rice farmers who dont have to contend with the cheap and toxic rice been dumped into the country from God knows where. Nigeria farmers have the capacity to meet our demand for rice. Rigth here we are building a rice city and a holding facility that is one of the biggest in the whole of the middle belt. our rice brand, “Gaate Gold” is becoming a household name, only yesterday two traller loads of rice left this farm for the eastern part of the country our operation is expanding”

Speaking on the challenges confronting the farm he noted that the NFGCS has yet to receive any support whatsover from Nigrian banks “they have been visiting our farm in the last two years but non has supported us, they make promises and after that we dont here from them again, our members who see what we are doing and the result we are getting are the ones financing everything you see here”.

He however praised the efforts of the Agric warehouse in Keffi for providing the farm with equipment and fetilizers, “the Keffi warehouse has been wonderful they have always stood by us and whenever they have farm equipment that we need they have always been forthcoming and giving us the necessary support”

He used the occassion to call on commercial banks in the country to stop paying lips service to the development of agriculture or giving funds meant for farmers to politicians whose farms exist only in their briefcases as this would not help the Buhari administration achieve its agenda in the agricultural sector.

” the Buhari governement has put the policies in place, the CBN has released funds for the development of agriculture the only weak link are the banks” he noted.

He also commended President Mohammadu Buhari and Vice Presiedent Yomi Osibanjo for taking note of the achievements of the NFGCS, hoping that the visit will spur the cooperative to do more and show the way to Nigeria youths that there is money waiting to be made in agriculture.

One will definitely agree that being single, while having emotional stability and some peace, goes way better than tolerating daily doses of emotional turbulence in a relationship. Right?

Well, here are 5 ways being single is way better than being in a bad relationship:

1. You are enough.
The mainstream media is filled with really unhealthy messages regarding relationships. For example, many say that you need another person to make the holidays complete or to make you happy. These romantic notions work great in books and on the Hallmark Channel, but when taken literally, these ideas are destructive.

You are always a whole and indivisible being, capable of immense self-love, self acceptance and sexuality. Appreciate yourself and know that you’re not alone in your singleness.

2. You made a choice to be single because you want to be single.
Although it sounds ass-backward, this is a paradigm shift that will help you in the long run. By consciously making the choice to be single, if will shift the way you view your life and how you live it when it comes to sharing that information with your co-workers, family and friends. You are making this decision, so be proud.

3. You are in control of your own life.
Instead of remaining the victim of your own fear of being single, take control. Tell yourself that you are actively remaining single for a the holidays.

If you do plan to date every once in a while, make sure the dates are fun and give you ample time to get know someone. There’s no rush and no pressure, just fun.

4. Do whatever you want.
In the end, your relationship status is a personal choice — there is no right or wrong, no good or bad. Instead of being the victim of cultural assumptions and societal norms, take the time to find out how you really would like to engage with other people.

What kind of status would you choose if there was no pressure, no assumptions? Take your time and find what’s best for you. If you think something is a good idea, then there have already been many others who think the same, and have most likely blazed a trail for you to follow.

The way you engage in relationships (or don’t) is not what’s important; what is important is doing it consciously, and doing what’s right for you.

5. It’s better to be single than in a bad relationship.
Getting into an unhealthy, bad relationship simply out of a fear of being alone is a really bad idea. It takes a lot of courage to take that leap into being single, but it’s always, 100 percent of the time worth it when the relationship is causing more harm than good.

Being single does afford one with a kind of freedom especially if one is coming out of a bad relationship. Actually, being single comes with its perks and you should either take advantage of those perks or sit all day nursing an unnecessary feeling of loneliness.

Hey! here are 10 ways to rock singleness:

1. Learn how to relax.
Your singledom will not last a lifetime. The worst thing you can do is panic and think you have to find someone immediately or your life is over. This air of desperation is by far the most debilitating energy to bring into a new relationship with yourself or with anyone new. It makes you blind to obvious red flags and puts you in all kinds of compromising situations.

Be happy to have been given this special opportunity to get to know yourself. Look at it this way: if you are uncomfortable spending time alone with yourself, what makes you think anyone else will feel comfortable spending time with you?

This can be quite a challenge to someone that has continuously filled up their lives with someone else only to discover that they really don’t know or like themselves at all. Having a relationship with yourself is exactly like having a relationship with someone else: You have to be supportive, caring, understanding, and you have to learn to listen and communicate with yourself. Sometimes the only way to get you to listen to yourself is to force this “time alone” upon you.

2. Stay clean and sober.
Forget about coming home or staying home plastered, stoned or disconnected — it’s not a good recipe for a successful relationship with yourself or anyone else. This is a sobering experience but trust me it will start to grow on you if you just give it a chance.

Why not take this time alone to get the help and support you need to beat your addictions once and for all? If you can’t do it for yourself, you won’t do it for anyone else.

3. Give yourself a chance.
Being happy alone does not happen overnight, especially if you are a recovering codependent. There will be times that you feel like you’re invisible, no one will ever love you, you’re wasting your life, and a whole lot of negative self-talk. The best thing to do is to take yourself for a walk or on a date.

Learn how to cheer yourself up. The better you get at being alone, the better you will be at being in a relationship.

For some, it is extremely difficult to cater to your own needs. Are you one of these people that will happily cook if someone is over but if it is just you, crackers and peanut butter will suffice? Make the effort to cook for yourself. Seriously, this is one of the most self-loving things you can do for yourself.

4. Study something new.
Wow, what a perfect time in your life to go to night school or study online or completely change career tracks. Figure out what you are passionate about and go for it. There is no one to hold you back but yourself.

Not sure what you are passionate about? Spend more time alone. It will come to you. Give yourself a chance to listen to your inner voice. This process can take time and you really have to be patient with yourself.

5. Meet new people.
Not necessarily for romantic reasons, just to expand your support community. If you are consciously attempting to stay out of relationships for a designated time period, you will still need people to share your life with. Friendships are paramount. Where would we be without our friends? Truly alone.

No friends? Are you friendly? Do you make an effort to say hello and meet new people? Perhaps you need some help with overcoming shyness. Take responsibility for who you are or are not attracting into your life and make the necessary changes to attract some solid friends.

6. Hit the gym.
Start with reconnecting with your body. It’s the only one you have this lifetime and we often look after our cars (which we can trade in) better than our bodies. Singledom is the perfect time to get yourself in shape, and the endorphins released when you work out keep your spirits flying high.

7. Rediscover your creativity.
We all have the ability to create magnificence. You may have temporarily forgotten what you came here to create, but if you spend enough time alone you will rediscover your creative self.

It’s the perfect opportunity to play when no one is watching. So take out those pencils, paints, clay, inventions, designs and let loose.

8. Focus your attention on your thoughts.
Where are you putting your attention? What is your most dominant thought?

Take this time alone to become extraordinarily aware of your thoughts. Monitor them, erase and rewrite, and spend at least 30 consistent days changing negative thought patterns.

9. Be grateful for what you already have.
Each night before you go to sleep, concentrate on what you are grateful for in your life. Every little thing can help create the spirit of gratitude.

If you are so inclined, start to write a journal about everything you are grateful for and watch the list get bigger each day as your gratitude attracts more things to be grateful for.

10. Step out of your comfort zone.
Each week, plan to go somewhere new or do something different. Don’t wait until a man or woman is in your life to follow your dreams. Do it now. You have more chance of meeting your special someone if you are living your life to the fullest. Even if you don’t want to meet anyone, you still will have a blast following your hearts desires.

Being single and alone can be a positive force, turning you towards greater creativity and greater personal development. In this “space” that you call your own, you can grow to know and love yourself as a separate individual.

One who is not dependent on another human being for their identity does not fixate or keep moving around seeking pleasure, seeking comfort, and satisfaction from the energy of another being. You can learn to find contentment in and with yourself — just be there alone, calm, cool and collected with the person you love: you.

Commentary

(People’s Daily Online)

On the afternoon of Oct. 13, rioters in China’s Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) cut the neck of a police officer from behind when the latter was handling a case of criminal damage at the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) Kwun Tong station.

The wounded officer was sent to hospital for emergency treatment and two suspects were arrested by the Hong Kong police immediately at the scene.

“This is murder,” exclaimed netizens after watching videos shot at the scene, while a great number of netizens expressed their support for the Hong Kong police, saying “I hope the wounded police officer recovers soon.”

A violent attack on the police is a felony in any country. In the US, criminals who kill police are basically all sentenced to death, or receive life imprisonment in those states without a death penalty.

In Hong Kong, those who commit acts of deliberate murder or cause serious injury to other people can be sentenced to life imprisonment too, never mind the fact that the rioters cut the neck of police officer with a sharp object, clearly attempting to kill the officer.

If such savage acts are not seriously condemned and severely punished, this will further encourage the rioters and pose an extreme danger to the security of Hong Kong.

For the past four months, extreme radicals have regarded the Hong Kong police as their main target for attacks.

Violent rioters have time after time broken the bottom line of rule of law, attacked the police with bricks, iron bars, gasoline bombs, toxic, harmful liquids and powders, and even bitten off a police officer’s finger.

More than that, these radicals instigated hatred for the police, and even exposed the personal information of police officers and their family to the public. They have maliciously cursed the children of police officers, causing a great psychic trauma to the police and their family.

More and more Hong Kong citizens have realized from the brutal events that the rioters must be severely punished by law and their act of violence must be stopped with more powerful measures.

Hong Kong residents are looking forward to the courts’ steadfast efforts to safeguard the dignity of the rule of law, to adhere to judicial fairness, to defend justice and to prevent the cruel rioters from doing whatever they want and get away with it unpunished.

(People’s Daily Online)

Various circles of Hong Kong society recently slammed chaotic phenomena occurring on the campuses of China’s Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), and stressed the need for educational reform and a need to carry out and enhance national education.

On Oct. 8, because of his remarks suggesting deterrence efforts of Hong Kong police to end violence, Chan Wai-keung, a lecturer of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), was besieged by masked students in the classroom that he had been lecturing for nearly five hours.

Such outrages sparked widespread criticism and anger across the city.

Violently disrupting class is in no way the reasonable behavior of college students, said Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers (HKFEW), which condemned the act of violence committed by the students and ordered the students to express their appeals in a rational and peaceful manner.

This is disappointing, said HKFEW, stressing that such an act not only damaged the right to freedom of expression, but endangered the safety of the teacher.

Students should not force university executives or anyone to declare for or against things, not to mention attacking and insulting people with violent means, said president of MBA alumni association of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), calling upon all the students to quit violence, think and discriminate wisely, and try to get in-depth knowledge about social issues.

When Hong Kong is caught in such a chaotic situation, some black sheep in the education field still hold the candle to the devil in disregard of the facts and make no effort to restore peace, said an editorial of Hong Kong newspaper Wen Wei Po, noting that as the place for imparting knowledge to students, schools must shoulder the responsibility for disorder in the society today.

Ta Kung Pao, one of the oldest Chinese-language newspapers based in Hong Kong, pointed out in a commentary that since those students who turned the campuses into grounds for violence engaged in illegal acts of violence, damaged their universities and insulted university president while they enjoyed great subsidies from taxpayers, are they still worthy of their identity as college students, and do they still deserve social recognition and protection?

The HKSAR government should make more efforts to promote national education, and set clear requirements that pertain to them, said principal of HKFEW Wong Cho Bau Secondary School, adding that schools should carry out strict management and provide relevant training for educators, while efforts should also be made to cultivate a sense of social responsibility and national identity amongst citizens.

Agency Report

Data released by the General Administration of Customs Monday shows China’s total trade amounted to 22.91 trillion yuan($3.24 trillion) in the first three quarters of the year, growing 2.8 percent from a year ago. The country’s exports rose by 5.2 percent to 12.48 trillion yuan and imports dropped 0.1 percent to 10.43 trillion yuan. Trade surplus of China expanded 44.2 percent during the period to 2.05 trillion yuan.

These data carry weight. The new round of high-level China-US trade talks has made substantial progress in some areas, triggering positive feedback from global markets on Monday. It is of special significance since China’s trade can still grow in a harsh environment, which demonstrates the tenacity of the Chinese economy and the effectiveness of the measures to cope with internal and external challenges.

China-US trade has declined by a large margin in the first three quarters, a result of the trade war. However, China’s trade with the EU and ASEAN has grown significantly, enough to offset a drop in China-US trade. It’s worth mentioning that China’s trade with Belt and Road route countries grew 9.5 percent. The country has diversified its trade markets and optimized its structure.

Under the backdrop of the trade war, the growth of China’s exports proves the competitiveness of Chinese products. The latest WTO data shows that during the first seven months of the year, the growth rate of China’s trade surpassed that of Germany, Japan and South Korea, consolidating its status as the world’s top commodity trading country. This enables China to further restructure its economy, and master more initiatives no matter in trade talks or the trade war with the US.

The most important thing is to do our own things well. It is the lesson the trade war has taught the Chinese people. China will continue to open wider and develop its market. The efforts will create a chain reaction, leading to better-than-expected results.

We have seen the arrogance of some American elites during the trade war. But the performance of the Chinese economy has made them realize that wishing of a unilateral win for the US is increasingly unrealistic. However, there are also Americans who opposed a trade war with China from the very beginning. As China’s economy shows a greater internal driving force, relying less and less on the US market, rational voices will start to influence US society and sway public opinion incited by those elites.

There will always be uncertainty, but it is nothing to be feared. The Chinese economy is undergoing a historic transformation, which won’t be an easy process. But we will not be overwhelmed by the difficulties. Hard work, perseverance and an optimistic Chinese society will create a better future.