As the holidays embrace us and we have more activities, errands, and social occasions, it is always a good idea to take a little time for ourselves.
I find it is even more important in the world we live in today!
I have also noticed that most people are so busy doing everything for everyone else, that they aren’t making enough time to nurture and take care of themselves.
Please remember, the better we take care of ourselves, the better we can take care of the ones we love. We all need to take some time each day to slow down, calm the mind, and rest. If we don’t take a little time for ourselves, emotions and stress can get hold of us.
“Our emotions infuse life with a rich texture and transform our conscious experience into a meaningful living experience. Emotions determine what we care about and what motivates us. They connect us to others and give us the courage to do what needs to be done, to appreciate our successes, to protect and support the people we love and have compassion and kindness for those who are in need of our help. Emotions are also what allow us to experience the pain and grief of loss. Without emotions, life would lack meaning and purpose.“(1)
Stress will put the body into survival mode, and it will break down the immune system quickly. Studies show that 60 to 80% of doctor visits are associated with stress! The last thing we need to be doing to ourselves during this busy time is to break down our own immune system. We want to do all we can today to stay as healthy as possible.
We have been conditioned to believe that stress is the silent killer, but studies show that stress itself is not the killer. In actuality, it is how we THINK of stressful circumstances. (Psychologist, Kelly McGonigal has a marvelous talk on this subject.) If we feel we can get through the situation, then we are not harmed by the stress. If we think stress will harm us, then it will. So, be mindful of how you focus on things.
A soothing hot bath or foot soak at the end of the day is always a wonderful way to relax and release stress. I add some magnesium chloride to the bath, along with some lavender essential oils for a truly relaxing bath.
Along with that, here are some additional techniques on how to get a handle on stress, and boost the immune system as well!
First
Breathe!
Breathe deeply into the diaphragm. I can’t emphasize this enough. When we are stressed, we tend to hold our breath and/or only breathe into our upper lungs. When we do this, it cuts off much of the oxygen to the brain, which makes it harder to think. This type of shallow breathing tells the body that we are in a fight or flight mode.
Most importantly, shallow breathing breaks down our immune system. Research that has been done with deep breathing exercises has shown an immediate positive impact affecting blood pressure and the PH of the blood.
According to Esther Sternberg, a physician and researcher at the National Institute of Mental Health, and author of several books about stress, “Slow Deep Breathing can actually stimulate the body’s reaction that will calm us down.” She says deep breathing is like putting on the brakes of your car.
According to Sternberg, when you’re stressed, the immune system’s ability to do its job to fight infections is seriously compromised. If you want to handle a stressful situation, and boost the immune system, and ultimately feel better, you need to breathe deeply and slowly on a regular basis. It’s free, easy, and you can do it anytime and anywhere!
Pranayama yoga uses breath work as a regular part of their practice.
Cleveland’s Integrative Medicine Clinic has their chronic disease patients learn and practice breathing, using yoga techniques. Mladen Golubic, who was a physician at the Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Integrative Medicine, says “You can influence asthma; you can influence chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; and you can influence heart failure.” There are studies which show that people with these conditions who practice breathing exercises regularly, benefit greatly.
Second
Eat whole organic foods (that are in their pure form, not from a package or fast-food container), and eliminate caffeinated beverages from your diet.
Many people rely on and become dependent on beverages that contain various forms of caffeine to help them deal with fatigue, which can be caused by stress.
Caffeine will actually raise the level of stress hormones in the body, is a bowel irritant, and is also dehydrating. Get off the roller coaster of caffeine and try for a steady, even stride of energy.
Hydrate your body with abundant amounts of water first thing in the morning, as soon as you wake up and before eating anything. Then eat a densely nutritious breakfast. When our body is really fed on a deep cellular level, we are giving the body the fuel it needs to run on.
Dehydration is a major cause of disease and illness, so hydrate with water or coconut water between meals. We need to drink as much water in the cold months as we do in the warm months. Central heating can dehydrate us.
Don’t drink water with meals. Drinking water with meals tends to make us not chew our food as well as we should. Avoiding liquids with meals can encourage you to chew your food until it’s liquid, and better able to be digested.
Drink water between meals for hydration. Add a tiny bit of whole unrefined sea salt (electrolyte is a fancy medical term for salt) to the water for additional minerals. This will help the body absorb the water more effectively.
Third
Get a good night’s sleep.
Every night, make the last 30 minutes before bed a time of reflection, gratitude and positive, peaceful thoughts. Sleeping is where our body rejuvenates itself. A good night’s sleep can make a world of difference in our health and well-being. What we focus on before bed is what our mind is going to ponder over for hours throughout the night.
Make a list of the things that are on your mind, and also list the things that need to be done the next day. Put them down and get them out of your head. Release any thoughts about problems, and shift the focus to solutions.
Have your sleeping space free of clutter and electronics. Make sure that your bedroom is completely dark. Light can disrupt the sleeping pattern, even if it is just a little nightlight. This will create a more peaceful healing environment.
Free up the mind by taking about 20 or 30 minutes to focus the mind on something positive, joyful and peaceful.
Studies done by the Heartmath Institute show that when we focus on positive thoughts like gratitude, compassion or caring, we can actually stimulate healing responses in the body to the point of even activating our own stem cells.
Meditate, and if you like, you can do it with some soft uplifting music or sounds of running water. If you do need to do something, then read or watch something that is uplifting, positive and relaxing. If you can’t seem to sit still or have problems keeping your mind quiet, try one of Dr. Joe Dispenza’s walking meditations. The walking meditations are wonderful and they are my favorite mediations these days.
I use my Lifewave Silent Night Patches, which have been found to regulate sleep through melatonin production. The silent night patches can also help reduce oxidative stress as melatonin is an antioxidant and cancer protective. Great for calming ADD | ADHD in children. To learn more about them, click here and contact me, (214-202-9243 or nancy@nancyaddison.com), if you would like to try them. (Here is my Lifewave referral number 1439757 and link https://www.lifewave.com/organichealthylife)
Fourth
Make time for laughter!
There have been numerous studies revealing clear evidence that episodes of laughter helped to reduce pain, decreased stress-related hormones, boosted the immune system, and decreased anxiety. I’m actually a certified laughing yoga instructor, because I believe in the power of laughter so much.
The Cancer Centers of America use laughter therapy now, and says it can:
• Enhance oxygen intake
• Stimulate the heart and lungs
• Relax muscles throughout the body
• Trigger the release of endorphins (the body’s natural painkillers)
• Ease digestion/soothe stomach aches
• Relieve pain
• Balance blood pressure
• Improve mental functions (i.e., alertness, memory, creativity)
Laughter therapy may also help to:
• Improve overall attitude
• Reduce stress/tension
• Promote relaxation
• Improve sleep
• Enhance quality of life
• Strengthen social bonds and relationships
• Produce a general sense of well-being
Some funny recommendations for lifting your mood are:
1. Movies like: Elf, Legally Blonde, Big Business, The Court Jester, The Glass Bottom Boat (anything Doris Day for me!)
2. Music – The Love Train by the O’Jays, Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B, Biscuits by Kasey Musgraves.
What (music, movie, audio book) makes you feel joyful? Play that whenever you need to shift your energy or lift your mood.
When we are laughing, we can’t be worrying about the past or the future. It makes us completely present.
I also wear an Aeon Lifewave patch, if I am feeling stressed, because the studies have shown that they can lift your mood.
The Aeon patch is anti-inflammatory, anti-stress, and so they call it the happy patch! The patch raises Anti-neoplastons, and can help balance the brain, is calming. and can reduce cortisol, reduce c-reactive proteins, and elevates DHEA.
The name of the substance that is elevated in the liver is called phenyl-glutamine. It’s part of the primitive immune system and it’s not an antioxidant but it induces antioxidant activity in the cells. It upregulates production of superoxide dismutase or SOD. SOD causes a broad-spectrum reduction of inflammatory markers such as c-reactive protein, inflammatory cytokines, homocysteine, lipid peptide and fibrinogen. Click here to listen to a medical doctor explaining how they work.
(My Lifewave referral number 1439757 and link https://www.lifewave.com/organichealthylife)
Try it any of those suggestions, you may like it.
In conclusion:
It’s been an unusual and sometimes challenging last 4 years.
I heard that in today’s world, we are confronted with more input in one day than our grandparents were in a whole year.
As life is speeding up, it is important to know how to slow down, take some time to stop and smell the roses, and focus on what is important in life.
Ultimately it is a choice.
If you are feeling depressed or low, find a place to volunteer, or get involved with a group that is doing something that interests you. When we are helping others or getting involved, we find ourselves feeling empowered, and it can lift our mood, and create happiness in our life.
Breathe deeply, eat and drink whole fresh food, focus on the solution and positive things in life, find something that can make you laugh, and release stress from your life.
I send you wishes and love for a blessed December.
Breathing and Stress: NPR- “Just Breathe: Body Has A Built-In Stress Reliever” by Gretchen Cuda, December 6, 20103.
https://www.npr.org/2010/12/06/131734718/just-breathe-body-has-a-built-in-stress-reliever
Laughter: Cousins N. Anatomy of an illness as perceived by the patient. N Engl J Med. 1976;295(26):1458–63. [PubMed] Devereux PG, Heffner KL. Psychophysiological approaches to the study of laughter: toward an integration with positive psychology. In: Ong AD, van Dulmen MHM, editors. Oxford handbook of methods in positive psychology. New York, NY: Oxford University Press; 2007. pp. 233–49.
Effects of Laughter Therapy on Anxiety, Stress, Depression and Quality of Life in Cancer Patients https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/effects-of-laughter-therapy-on-anxiety-stress-depression-and-quality-of-life-in-cancer-patients-1948-5956-1000362.php?aid=60533
Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Volume 3 (2006), Issue 1, Pages 61-63, http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ecam/nek015, Humor and Laughter may Influence Health. I. History and Background by Mary Payne Bennett1 and Cecile A. Lengacher 2, 1Indiana State University, College of Nursing, IN, USA, 2University of South Florida, College of Nursing, FL, USA, Received 30 March 2005
Nancy’s 7 books on Amazon are also in Audio and some of them are in large print:
https://www.amazon.com/Nancy-Addison/e/B00E6K5KGY/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_book_1
Nancy’s website is: https://www.organichealthylife.com
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Medical Disclaimer:
Information provided in this podcast, blog, article, video is for informational purposes only. The information is a result of years of practice and experience by Nancy Addison CHC. However, this information is NOT intended as a substitute for the advice provided by your physician or other healthcare professional, or any information contained on or in any product label or packaging.
Do not use the information provided in this blog, audio podcast, article, video for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, or prescribing medication or other treatment. Always speak with your physician or other healthcare professional before taking any medication or nutritional, herbal or homeopathic supplement, or using any treatment for a health problem. If you have or suspect that you have a medical problem, contact your health care provider promptly. Do not disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking professional advice because of something you have read in this email.
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