Lifestyle Choices

Do you find it difficult to fall asleep until well after midnight, yet are able to sleep a normal length of time if you don’t have to get up for work? Or, do you fall asleep too early in the evening and wake up too early in the morning? If so, your biological clock may be out of sync with your preferred sleep-wake schedule.

Someone with delayed sleep phase syndrome has sleep-onset and wake times that are later than desired, but little or no difficulty maintaining sleep once it has begun. Many adolescents, because of their neurophysiology as well as school and social schedules, suffer from this syndrome. (more…)

3. CERAMIC magnets. Ceramic magnets are generally found in pillow pads and sleep systems. Their gauss is 3,950 and they promote relaxation whilst you sleep. They also kick in the pineal gland (remember Cleopatra!).

Ceramic magnets are far less costly than neodymiums, and so manufactures can readily build them into large items, such as mattress pads, at a fraction of the cost that neos would be.

You will find most of the above magnets will have the NORTH POLE of the magnet towards the body. It is the general consensus that North Pole - Heals

South Pole - Stimulates. For healing, most companies use north pole towards the body. Occasionally my therapists will treat a patient in their clinics with a limited exposure to south pole, but the general rule I would recommend for you is to use north pole magnets only. (more…)

Some interesting facts according to Dr Mark Atkinson BSc(Hons) FCMA FRIPHH. Although medical doctors and researchers remain sceptical as to the effectiveness of magnet therapy, recent research studies from major universities and medical colleges have shown the benefits of static magnet fields in relieving pain.

The Office of Alternative Medicine of the Institute of Health, in Washington, D.C. awarded a million- dollar grant in 1997 for the study of what has been, until now, largely an Eastern and European phenomenon. Medical use of magnets is reimbursable by private healthcare in 50 countries worldwide. (more…)

When, despite all your precautions of good diet, lots of rest, and proper exercise, you do find yourself with a cold or flu, don’t fight it! Listen to Mom and the family doctor, take your medicine, stay in bed, and try to get well. Remember, with a little bed rest and proper treatment, you should be back on your feet again soon.

The best cold-fighting diet is fruits, fruit juices, lots of tea with lemon and honey, and light meals like soups, plain chicken, or fish. Avoid rich foods such as milk, cream, and chocolate, which will only thicken the phlegm in your throat, making you feel worse. (more…)

4. Discover Your Own Guidelines

Find out how many different principles and ways of managing stress you can successfully incorporate into your life. Then do it. Stress in a relationship can be a way of improving not only the quality of the relationship but also the value that one places on it. This demands facing discontent clearly and squarely and expressing it in a way that doesn’t try to make someone else responsible for it. For instance, there are two ways of complaining when your mate squeezes the toothpaste in the middle. One is, “My God, you did it again. What’s wrong with you?” and the other, “You know, I have a problem. I am really bothered by people squeezing the toothpaste in the middle. I can’t seem to get over it. I’d be grateful if you didn’t do it. It would help me a lot.” (more…)

They do exist, particularly among women who have been on the weight seesaw for many years through crash dieting. Sensitivities to specific foods such as milk and milk products or grains (the two most common culprits) can make reducing almost an impossibility, for in the allergy- prone woman, the foods to which she is sensitive are invariably those that she craves and also those that, when she eats them, increase her appetite and lure her into giving up her weight loss program. For instance, I knew one woman who was allergic to wheat (although she wasn’t aware of it at the time). She would go on a reducing diet and stick to it conscientiously until the third day, when the diet called for a piece of toast. (more…)

Worry over breasts causes a great deal of anguish to many women. Occasionally it is about their being too large, or about cancer; more often it is about their being too small, or about how to restore a beautiful shape to a neglected bosom. For breasts are funny things—and most women’s judgments and perceptions about their own breasts are far from accurate. For a woman, the worry that her breasts are too small or that they are beginning to age can be a manifestation of some other underlying fear or insecurity that is masked behind concern over what is supposed to be the archetypal female sex symbol.

There are a lot of things that can be done to improve the less than perfect bust but it is important before you embark on any of them that you ask yourself if it is really the size, shape, or condition of your breasts that is bothering you, or if it is something else. Otherwise, you can work hard to improve things, find that you succeed in developing an almost perfect bust, and wonder. why it hasn’t made any difference at all as to how you feel about it. For although many glossy magazines would have us believe otherwise, some of the world’s most miserable women are blessed with exquisite breasts. (more…)

In France, where the care of breasts is almost a national institution, they have developed a number of more or less effective salon treatments (some more, some less) that involve exercises to strengthen muscles, hydrotherapy to improve circulation and absorption by skin, and finally the application of creams and oils containing the essential oils of plants and other substances such as embryo and placenta extracts. Although most of the Western world pooh-poohs the idea that such treatment cando any good, there are thousands of French women whose exquisite breasts would belie this skepticism. (more…)

If your breasts are too small, the above kind of treatment can increase their size usually by somewhere between a half to two inches. If they are too large, the same treatment, because of its toning and firming action, will make them appear slightly smaller. But if you want a more drastic reduction, which I think should only be considered in cases of extreme size (a good bra can work wonders for the rest), the only alternative is surgery. Mammaplasty for breast reduction entails making several incisions in the breast area (just where depends on the particular patient) and then removing fat tissue. It usually also means moving the nipple itself, which results in scars around the nipple area and the strong possibility that the patient will be unable to breast-feed a child. But results from this operation are generally good. (more…)

Fear of cancer is widespread. And, unfortunately, the bulk of information about breast cancer disseminated to women concentrates only on the detection aspects how to examine yourself to check for signs of tumors— rather than on how it might possibly he prevented in the first place.

There is increasing evidence that cancer may be caused by a high fat diet. Deaths from cancer and from coronary heart disease among women are highest of all in areas where the diet is high in fat and low in fresh vegetables and fruits. High consumption of meat may be implicated too. Studies show that groups of people who eat a low meat, low saturated- fat diet tend to have a low incidence of cancer. (more…)

WEEK 2 STAYING ON TRACK

Days 8-14 are about staying on track and motivated. So, you’ve kept your cravings at bay for seven days. That’s cause for celebration. Part of the low-GL philosophy is to separate treats from food, so instead of reaching for high-GL snacks or a glass of celebratory wine, why not reward yourself with a different kind of treat? Giving yourself (non-food) treats is very important as it helps you to celebrate and recognise the progress you are making.

DAY 1

Breakfast Breakfast smoothie

Lunch Deli-style pastrami open rye sandwich

Dinner Pesto-baked salmon with boiled baby new potatoes and roasted vegetables

Snacks 1 slice pumpernickel-style rye bread with nut butter/celery and ¹/2 carrot made into crudites with guacamole (more…)

Moving is invariably a time of stress. Whatever the reasons for the move, such as a marital problem or a change of job, which may cause depression in themselves, the upheaval involved may cause physical tiredness and emotional strain. Selling a house may take months, during which you have to put up with strangers traipsing through your private life, and there may be weeks of uncertainty while financial transactions succeed or fail.

A house is almost always a home, invested with feelings and memories. Part of you will always be there. You may even have built it or part of it yourself. However_ much bigger and better or more exciting the new house may be, there is inevitably a feeling of loss about what you are leaving behind. Unless you are moving locally, you will be leaving familiar faces and places, probably good friends, and you will be facing the unknown where you may initially feel isolated and lonely.

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Although physical diseases can cause or mimic depression, they are a comparatively rare cause. Most of the specific illnesses mentioned here are uncommon and, with the possible exception of hypothyroidism, they start with depression in only a relatively small number of cases.

Several hormones have an effect on mood. As well as the female sexual hormones, hormones from the pituitary gland, adrenal glands, thyroid glands, parathyroid glands and pancreas may all affect energy and mood. However, such effects occur only when there is a significant disease in therelevant gland, which is fairly rare, and in which case there are usually also physical symptoms. (more…)

The pre-menstrual syndrome is a group of symptoms which occur regularly before menstruation and during early menstruation. After menstruation you are, by strict definition, entirely free from symptoms.

The symptoms are variable, ranging from migraine, backache, joint pains, asthma, tension, irritability, pimples and blotchy skin to swollen breasts, swollen ankles, bloatedness and tiredness. If the symptoms include the triad of tiredness, depression and irritability, this is called pre-menstrual tension. To find out whether you are susceptible to pre-menstrual depression or tension, it is useful to record accurately the timing of symptoms in relation to the menstrual cycle. This means using a diary or a chart every day for several months, and recording the presence or absence of symptoms and the presence or absence of menstruation. Only if there is a regular correlation and if the symptom disappears after menstruation, can you be sure of the diagnosis. (more…)

Any severe illness and some medical measures, such as operations, radiotherapy and the use of some drugs, may deplete energy and therefore mimic depression. At the same time the prospect of long-term illness or of facing life with debility creates all kinds of feelings which may be repressed.

Losing the function of part of your body, being permanently debilitated, losing part of your body through amputation, or knowing you are going to die naturally cause grief. An initial numbness or disbelief about your condition may sometimes amount to a complete denial of the facts. Sometimes people who are told they have cancer manage to block the fact so effectively that they have no memory of knowing or of ever being told. More often the fact is known but there is remarkably little worry, or an unrealistic optimism. Some degree of denial may continue for a long time. (more…)

Hospital may be advised or needed in cases of black or white depression. If you or a friend are likely to be admitted, it is worthwhile considering the advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages

Hospital provides a refuge, a place of asylum. Although the concept of asylum has had rather a bad press in recent years, for someone who is desperate, a period of rest can be a life-saver. Hospital provides a break from all the pressure of the outside world and a place where most basic needs are taken care of. For someone in the very depths of hopelessness, a period of asylum can break the vicious circle of trying to perform, failing, feeling worse, feeling the pressure mount higher, trying again with even less hope, failing, and so on. Asylum does not necessarily need to be a hospital, but the reality is that there are few places that are willing or able to deal with very severely depressed people. (more…)

The Problem With Techniques

The ideas described in the section on Gestalt are not peculiar to it and are found in many of the more modern therapies. Although founded on an attempt to find more vitality, they can be misused, because as soon as any technique becomes inflexible it creates an act rather than a vital expression. Because the techniques are exciting, some people also use them to get a temporary “high” on human experience, rather than to learn to be more themselves. The important point is that any technique is only a tool of the trade, a “gimmick” to get through to the more alive part of a person. Tools can be used in many ways, and some tools work better in some people, and in some eras, than others. What is most important to you as a client is the skill with which the tool is handled and the integrity of the handler. (more…)

Many different therapists challenged what they believed to bethe over-intellectual approach of analysis and encouraged more exploration and expression of feelings, including bodily expression. The orientation of therapy moved from an understanding of problems with the mind to an attempt to help a person feel more alive and whole by developing feelings, body, spirit and mind in proportion. This approach is sometimes called “Humanistic Psychology”.

This technique was developed by Jacob Moreno (18A-1974), a Viennese contemporary of Freud, who noticed that a particular actress became “nicer” in her private life when she played “nastier” roles in the theatre. People often found it easier to be honest while acting out a role. In psychodrama, former situations, or situations that are feared, can be acted out in a group setting. The acting out of the situation makes it more real and emotive than a verbal description. (more…)

Wilhelm Reich (1897-1957), a pupil of Freud, extended analytical ideas on repression of thought and feeling to include the physical level. He showed that people literally tense against an uncomfortable or socially unacceptable thought,by tensing muscles and thereby creating an “armouring”, rendering the body physically less vulnerable. When the body is harder, the person feels less vulnerable emotionally. Many people are aware of their bodies tensing in a tense situation, for instance, their necks stiffening in a moment of anxiety. Lowen and Pierrakos, both patients and pupils of Reich, took the best ideas of Reich and developed what they called “bioenergetics“. In this form of psychotherapy they made use of physical movement to help release old tension patterns, which Reich had recognized to be related to old patterns of thought and feeling. (more…)

Many hormones affect mood. With the exception of female hormones, hormonal treatment is indicated only when there is disease of the gland secreting the hormone. In these uncommon cases the gland may be treated, by surgery for example, or the missing hormone may be replaced thyroxine given to a hypothyroid person removes depression. There is considerable controversy in medical circles about the use of female hormones. They have been used to prevent and treat post-natal depression, for premenstrual tension, and for menopausal depression. The clearest useful effects have been inthe prevention and treatment of pre-menstrual tension. (more…)