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stress

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Do You Grind Your Teeth?

I can’t tell you how many of my clients (eventually) mention that they grind their teeth in their sleep.  They go to the dentist.  They get piece of plastic to put in their mouth to keep from destroying their teeth.  They learn to sleep and breathe around the weird device.

They take all the steps to address the symptom.  But they don’t address the actual cause.

Stress at home.  Stress at work.  Financial stress.  More stress.

Most people don’t notice or don’t get the connection between stress and the physical signs/symptoms of stress. Stress and tension that you carry through your day can be so intense that signs of stress may even show up during sleep hours:

  • Swirling thoughts that keep you tossing and turning.
  • Interrupted sleep throughout the night.
  • Grinding your teeth.

Some Immediate Dangers

Teeth grinding can cause damage not only your teeth, but can also exert unnatural stress on your jaws and musculature. This can result in waking up to pain that radiates from your jaw, particularly where it connects to your skull. This can throw off the alignment of your teeth in addition to wearing down the structure of the teeth.

Things You Can Try

To treat the symptom, the first thing many people do is find out how they can keep these teeth away from each other when they sleep. This can be done using different types of mouthguards until you can find some more long-term solutions to the problem. You can also try limiting the amount of caffeine and other stimulants that you intake in a day. Stimulants are known for causing a buildup of stress when they are used too often or taken right before bed, but it’s also possible that these manifestations could be signs of other issues that your body has been experiencing.

Deeper Causes

If you haven’t been able to reduce the amount of teeth grinding that you find yourself doing during your journey, then it’s entirely possible that you might have to have some kind of sleep study done. This is important because it’s entirely possible that the teeth grinding is a sign of a more serious disorder like sleep apnea, which could easily develop into something life threatening. Sleep Apnea occurs when your breathing becomes obstructed, so this can lead to interrupted sleep, daytime drowsiness, and in some cases, even death, so you should try to find out the source of this discomfort with an urgent effort. 

The good news about teeth grinding is that it is relatively easy to treat. You can visit your dentist to get a mouth guard, which will be placed over your top and bottom teeth, providing a barrier between the top and bottom rows of teeth. That way, even if you try to clench or grind your teeth, they won’t make contact, therefore protecting the enamel. Over time, you will start reducing the habit thanks to the mouth guard, so you might not have to wear it for the rest of your life.

But what if you want to get rid of the habit of teeth grinding and throw away the unnatural appliances?  You’ve been to all the doctors, and there is no physical reason for you to grind your teeth.  You’ve lived many years without this habit, and want to get back to a more relaxed state of sleep.

  • Step 1 – Look at your life.  What stressors do you live with – and ignore- on a daily basis?
  • Step 2 – Make a change based on what you uncovered in Step 1

It’s probably that simple.  Your body has been screaming at you, trying to get your attention.  You haven’t made the connection until now, and you’ve been ignoring all the ‘danger’ signals your body has been sending.

If you need help translating what your body is trying to tell you, get on my calendar.  We’ll explore what your body is saying, that you haven’t been hearing. 

Things can change.  It’s your choice.  When will you choose YOU?

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Chronic Stress

Alternative Treatments for Chronic Stress

Stress is an everyday word that you can encounter too often in this busy, fast-moving world. While a week’s worth of stress may easily be relieved after a Friday night with friends, stress over long periods of time can result into a wide array of conditions, encompassing physical, mental, and behavioral aspects.

Stress is the body’s response to the pressure perceived from our surroundings. While a small daily dose of stress might be normal, exposure to excessive stress for a prolonged period can lead to more serious diseases and behavioral disorders.

Chronic stress is one of the known culprits for developing anxiety, depression, asthma, heart issues, diabetes, and even for premature death.

Conventional versus Alternative Treatment

Conventional medicine often focuses on treating the mind and the body separately. But in most recent studies, more scientific evidence shows the interconnection between the body and the mind through certain metabolic, hormonal, and biochemical changes that the body undergoes when it is under stress.

On the other hand, proponents of alternative treatments have long since believed that the body reacts differently when the mind and body are in a state of imbalance.

Primarily, the focus of alternative medicine is to treat the body and the mind as a whole, creating a unified balance that promotes relaxation and reduces stress.

All Natural Methods to Relieve Stress

Aromatherapy

Ever heard of lavender and bergamot? These are just two of some popular essential oils that are known for producing aromas found to be effective in relieving stress and muscle tension. Other extracts from certain plants and flowers can bring this wonderful effect to anyone who has inhaled the scent. For an even better result, combine aromatherapy with massage.

Massage

Swedish, Shiatsu, Thai – these are just some of the most popular massage techniques that are used worldwide. In general, massage therapy helps relaxes the muscles and improve blood circulation. This not only reduces stress levels, but alleviates pain as well.

You can go from gentle to deep tissue massages, depending on your tolerance. However, if you suffer from any musculoskeletal condition, make sure you to seek your doctor’s advice first to ask if massage is appropriate for you.

Meditation

Meditation is an ancient practice in Asia that was used to maintain peace and tranquility. It offers a wide range of physical, emotional, and mental benefits, including the relief of stress.

Meditation involves different principles and practices, but commonly involves deep breathing exercises and repeating positive thoughts mentally.

Aside from helping the person achieve a calm state of mind, the deep breathing exercises also offer added benefits such as increasing the intake of oxygen-rich air. And oxygen feeds the cells, thereby aiding in healing of the body and mind.

Yoga

Yoga is sometimes considered as a form of meditation and vice versa. The discipline combines physical and mental aspects to control stress, involving specific poses and controlled breathing aimed at unifying the body, mind, and spirit.

Just like meditational practices, yoga can relieve and prevent chronic stress through relaxation techniques.

Acupressure and Acupuncture

These two ancient Chinese arts of healing are based on the concept of life energy or “chi”, which stimulates the body’s own healing ability. Any malady that the body acquires is attributed to the interruption in the flow of chi, when the body’s natural pathways are blocked.

Acupressure and acupuncture are aimed at freeing the pathways from these blocks by working on certain points. Whereas acupressure uses finger pressures on those points, acupuncture employs insertion of very fine needles through the skin on the same points.

Hypnotherapy

Through hypnosis, the power of the unconscious mind is unlocked, which in turn offers relaxation and a renewed, positive outlook that combats stress.

Final Thoughts

Every person develops their own unique way to cope with stress, and alternative treatments only present a few of these options. It is best to engage in a practice that you enjoy and can commit to in order to see long-term results.  Finding the source of the stress by utilizing intuition and gentle healing techniques can create a new reality. Book a session and explore your current reality so you can expedite the creation of a new you.

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Adrenal Fatigue

,5 Symptoms of Adrenal Fatigue

With the complex lives we lead today, more and more people are suffering from stress-related conditions. The negative impact of stress can affect many areas of the body. One area in particular that can be adversely affected is the adrenal glands.

The adrenal glands are located near the kidneys and produce the hormones that are needed for the body to function properly. Stress adversely affects these glands because when the body is under severe stress the glands start producing more hormones to help the body cope. This is the classic ‘fight or flight’ response. The main stress hormone produced is cortisol, which regulates metabolism.

Of course, in some circumstances a stress response is needed. But when stress is experienced over a long period of time, these glands weaken. The result is adrenal fatigue. So what are the symptoms of adrenal fatigue?

5 Symptoms of Adrenal Fatigue

1     Excessive, unexplained tiredness. Adrenal fatigue makes a person very tired. This is because under stress the hormone levels are elevated, making it harder to sleep. Over time, the body’s cortisol levels are affected and this leads to the body being in an almost permanent state of alertness. All of this can affect a person’s ability to fall asleep or stay asleep for the recommended 8 hours per night.

2     Cravings for salty or sugary foods. One way that adrenal fatigue affects the body is to lower the blood sugar level. When this happens, cravings for energy foods increase.   Foods high in sugar are comfort foods, and stress can cause a person to increase the intake of sugar-high foods.

Adrenal fatigue can also result in cravings for salty foods. This is because the adrenal glands affect how the kidneys regulate mineral fluctuations. When we suffer from fatigue, the body releases more minerals in the urine, which can increase the desire for salty snacks.

3     Heightened energy in the evenings. An adrenal fatigue sufferer could find that she is tired all day but gets a burst of energy later in the evening. Usually cortisol reaches a peak in late morning and then reduces during the day.

4     Difficulty in handling stress. The normal body’s response to stress is to release specific hormones so that stress can be handled effectively. The three specific hormones are cortisol, adrenaline, norepinephrine. Knowing how these affect the body helps us understand the relationship to stress.

Cortisol. Gives the body extra energy to cope with the stress, it increases memory function and lowers sensitivity to pain. However, the body needs a rest period after cortisol has been released in a stress-related situation. If a person is suffering, from adrenal fatigue rarely gets to have the ‘rest period’, over time less and less cortisol is produced.

Adrenaline. Probably the most well-known stress response hormone. This gives us the initial burst of energy needed to respond to stress. Once again, adrenal fatigue will affect the amount of this hormone and therefore the response to stress is reduced.

Norepinephrine. This hormone helps the brain to focus on the stress. Without this active hormone, the response to stress could be described as lethargic.

5     More infections. Cortisol helps to regulate the immune system in the body and cortisol works as an anti-inflammatory. Too much cortisol over an extended period of time hinders the response of the immune system and this can result in an increased number of infections throughout the year. On the other hand, if the adrenal glands are so weakened that they produce too little cortisol, then the body’s response is to over-react to infections – resulting in certain autoimmune disorders.

Final Thoughts

If you are living in a perpetual state of stress, get on my calendar so we can explore ways to bring down your stress levels. We may find some simple steps you can take without major disruptions to your life that will allow you to bring your body back in balance and allow it to come back to its normal state of being.

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Your Immune System

Natural Ways to Increase the Body’s Immunity

Imagine a nation that lacks an army capable of defending itself against interlopers and invaders. Or think of what could happen to your important documents and files if you left your computer without any competent shield against malwares and viruses. In almost any imaginable scenario, we know all too well that being defenseless is like walking on a tightrope of doom.

The same holds true with the human body, a system that is so fundamental yet so complex in its workings. Without our body’s built-in system of protection against germs, viruses, bacteria and other foreign bodies, our organs and essential bodily functions could very well be just time bombs waiting to explode. But thanks to our immune system – our body’s crucial line of defense against infections, diseases, and other ailments – we are protected against invaders that threaten the daily functioning of our body’s system.

Our immune system is key to maintaining health and vigor. Intermittent bouts of colds and flu throughout our lifetime reminds us how our daily functioning is affected when we let our body’s defenses down. Worse, a weak immune system makes us susceptible to attacks of potentially damaging cell issues, such as cancer and autoimmune diseases.

When our immune system is compromised, whether through genetic predisposition or due to the environmental risks that we encounter on a daily basis, our body’s natural ability to ward off the bad guys wanes and we are left defenseless against a host of infections and other ailments. Because not all immune systems are created equal, maintaining an immune system-boosting approach to health will help us through and beyond the challenges we face.

Eat Lots of Fruits, Vegetables and Nuts

Adopting a diet that is rich in beta carotene, zinc, and vitamins C and E found in fruits, vegetables, and nuts aids in replenishing white blood cells, and strengthens the immune system.

  • Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, chard and kale enhances the liver’s immune function by boosting its ability to clean out toxins.
  • Brightly colored fruits and vegetables like carrots, citrus fruits, apples, berries, and onions are rich in antioxidants that eliminate free radicals and improve the immune system.
  • It is also helpful to make a dietary habit of incorporating certain foods that are known to boost the immune system.  Examples of such foods are: raw garlic (a great antibacterial and antiviral compound), ginger (cleanses the lymphatic system, lungs and sinuses), avocado (rich in amino acids and a good source of antioxidants) and mushrooms (contain beta glucan, a complex carbohydrate that increases immunity against infections, allergies and cancers).
  • Whenever you can, avoid refined sugars and complex carbohydrates found in sodas and sweets. They can suppress the ability of white blood cells to ward off bacterial attacks.
  • Drink water, teas, and fruit juices to help boost your immune system.

Catch a Good Dose of Zzzs

When you sleep, your body repairs itself and restores its ability to function properly. When we are sleep deprived, our body is unable to function optimally. Physical and mental alertness can be compromised. Insufficient restorative sleep also compromises the ability of cells to regenerate, decreases the body’s immune function, and raises the level of inflammatory chemicals in the body, which in turn can cause us to become ill.

This is why we may feel like we are likely to catch an infection or a cold when we are not getting enough sleep. The results of an experimental study done by the University of Chicago found that subjects who were restricted to only four hours of sleep during a weeklong trial produced only half of the normal level of antibodies when given a flu vaccine.

To maintain a healthy immune level, try to maintain a regular sleep schedule. Optimally, shoot for seven to nine hours of uninterrupted sleep each night. Avoid chronic sleep deprivation as it can impede the body’s natural ability to heal from daily stresses and fight off infections.

Keep a Daily Exercise Routine

We might have heard it all too often: The human body was not created to endure long hours of inactivity. Being stuck behind a desk for hours, lounging on a couch in front of the TV, or avoiding the need to exercise reduces the efficiency of the systems of our body, including the immune system. Moving or exercising not only increases oxygenation at the cellular level, it also stimulates the body’s lymphatic system (which flushes out toxins) and promotes the reproduction of leukocytes (cells that fight infection).

Maintaining an exercise regimen to keep your immune system going does not require you to be a hard-core exercise buff. A daily dose of 30 minutes of moderate movement – walking around the block, running after your child or taking the stairs instead of the elevator – can do wonders to help keep your immune system healthy.

 Overcome Stress

It doesn’t take a genius to understand that stress has become a normal part of our daily lives. We are exposed to stress at work, at home, even in our social and online interactions. Stress has become so prevalent that some people live in a state of high stress for extended periods. This state of ‘fight or flight’ takes a toll on the person’s health, and eventually they succumb to chronic stress and burnout or fall ill.

Stress is a part of life and we need to manage it properly, just like any other challenge we encounter. Keep in mind that stress is a condition that could be overcome by learning a few tricks to keep it at bay.

Learn to meditate, slow down once in a while, strike connections and develop deeper relationships with people, find a way to work out to blow off some steam, laugh every once in a while—whichever route you decide to use, remember that you are making not just your immune system but your whole being better by learning to overcome stress.

Take Immediate Action

Schedule your next session to determine the functioning state of your immune system. How high is your stress level? Is there something energetically we can do to bring down your cortisol levels?

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Anxiety

Natural Treatment Methods for Anxiety

Many people who struggle with anxiety turn to prescription medications for treatment, which in some cases can cause even worse side effects or significant dangers to a person’s health. This is one of the reasons so many people are turning to natural treatment methods to help with anxiety issues that are causing problems in their lives.

What Is Natural Treatment?

Natural treatment is simply treatment without chemicals. This can be non-medical treatments or natural supplements or even a mix of both.

No matter what method you choose, be sure to consult your physician and to take any advice or treatments he recommends seriously. But you can also add alternative natural treatments for a more holistic approach to your anxiety care.

Alternative Natural And Non-Medical Treatment Options

There are many non-medical treatments for anxiety that you can use each day to help get your anxiety under control.  Non-medical treatments are for people who are willing to commit themselves to a treatment that is not chemical based.

  • Regular exercise will allow your body to release “feel good” hormones. This is a great non-medical treatment for those who are suffering from anxiety, because you can create a routine where you exercise each day.  But you can also use exercise to help when you have unexpected moments of anxiety.  This will help your body to become healthier, and a healthy body can deal with anxiety more easily than an unhealthy body.
  • Sound therapy is another form of non-medical treatment that can be used for anxiety.  This is a new discovery that science is using to treat many things including depression and anxiety. The way sound therapy works is that the person listens to high frequency sounds, and these sounds stimulate the brain and recharge it.  Sound therapy has been found to create a permanent state of peace and relaxation in some patents.

Herbal Supplements

There are many herbal supplements that can be used to alleviate your anxiety.  These can be used as an alternative treatment to prescription medications but should never be mixed with prescriptions without first talking to your health care provider.  You should never stop taking prescription medications unless directed by your physician, and should only alter the dosage under your doctor’s care.

  • St. Johns Wart is the most popular herbal supplement for anxiety, and is the most reliable.  It also contains a sedative that can help you sleep.  It is best to take St. Johns Wart with your evening meal or right before you go to bed.
  • Kava is another herbal supplement that is used for mild to moderate anxiety.  Unlike St. Johns Wart, Kava does not contain a sedative.  You should be very careful when taking Kava because it can affect the liver.  It is recommended that you not drink any alcohol when taking using Kava.  It is also known to interact with anti-psychotics, so you should speak to your doctor before taking Kava.

Learning How to Handle Stress

Learning how to handle stress is another way you can naturally treat your anxiety.  One of the ways you can do this is by keeping a daily journal.  Here you will be able to write down all of your feelings, talk about the things that are causing you anxiety, determine if there is anything you can do to change the situation, and create an action plan for changing the situation.

Listening to positive affirmations is another way some people handle anxiety.  Positive affirmations teach your brain to think in a new way and after you have listened to them for a while you will find that when you are becoming overwhelmed by anxiety they will automatically play themselves over and over in your mind.

Putting It All Together

Now is the time that you should put everything you have learned together.  If you want to alleviate your anxiety naturally, it is not enough just to exercise or just to take a supplement.  You have to put all of the techniques together. Taking a supplement while creating an exercise routine, eating right, and learning to manage your stress is the best way for you to naturally cure your anxiety.

The Missing Piece

Finding the root cause of the anxiety might have eluded you in the past. But now you’ve found the way to explore the cause and rip it out by the root. Are you ready to live your best life?

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Stress Kills

Stress Kills: Is Yours Out Of Control?

Stress is arguably one of the most silent killers on the planet, largely because people don’t realize something is going wrong, or they refuse to act on it.

But why does stress contribute to so many aspects ill health, ultimately leading to death?

Because often it is untraceable. You may not even realize that you are suffering from stress overload.

Interested to know if your stress is rapidly becoming out of control? Look for the following tell-tale signs:

Unexplained Aches And Pains

A little pain here and there is normal, and should be nothing to get worried over; but it can spell a worrying trend when it occurs too often. And this is the case with being overly-stressed all the time.

Muscular pains most commonly occur around the back, neck or shoulder areas, and may be attributed to poor sleep patterns, although not always. Medication to treat the pain many only yield temporary relief, and should not be relied upon as a long term solution.

Frequent Colds And Infections

One thing associated with high stress levels is the negative effect on immunity. Cortisol suppresses the immune system and leaves the body wide open to infection. This is especially troublesome during flu season, and necessitates that extra precautions be taken (such as increasing anti-oxidant food consumption).

Poor Sleep Patterns

Insomnia is usually one of the first signs that you are over-stressed, as cortisol does not work by itself. In fact, it recruits the neurochemicals adrenalin and noradrenalin, which enhance awareness, and energy levels.

This is an important function in the morning when you need that “get up and go” boost, but not at night when you should be unwinding. Use of heavy stimulant based supplements (such as caffeine) too late in the evening can cause this to occur out of sync with your normal functionality.

High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure involves multiple pathways all experiencing dysfunction, with cortisol happy to oblige. High blood pressure in this case is precipitated by increased retention of water (which increases blood volume), faster heart rate, and blood vessel constriction. All these factors increase blood pressure, so care needs to be taken to manage cortisol and stress levels.

Loss Of Sex Drive

Both men and women require a normal level of testosterone to modulate sex drive, but this important hormone is suppressed when levels of the stress hormone cortisol are high. Cortisol and testosterone share a negatively inverse relationship, meaning that as one goes up, the other goes down. If this loss of sex drive occurs in a young person who previously enjoyed normal sex drive, it can be an indicator that the person is overly stressed.

Frequent Outbursts Or Mood Swings

It can be hard to maintain a level head when stress levels are high.  High stress levels can cause someone to lash out for seemingly no reason. This is not normal behavior, especially if the individual was previously very level headed. If it does occur, it may be best to reduce the work load and make a concerted effort to lower the stress level by relaxing in nature or by spending more time with family and loved ones to connect to what is important in life.

Depression or Feelings of Inadequacy

Stress can seriously affect your emotional well-being, especially since it can tear apart relationships with loved ones. You are likely to be irritable, picking fights, or feel pressured to perform. This can lead to depression, anxiety, or feelings of disappointment. Depression is sometimes difficult to diagnose, especially in individuals who do not possess a strong support system.

Conclusion

If you find yourself experiencing one or more of the symptoms above with increasing frequency, it is time to take a step back from the burden you have placed on your shoulders. Sometimes a short vacation, weekend getaway, or just a simple trek in the great outdoors can do wonders for your wellbeing.

It would also be a good time to check in with your body and see if you are carrying old baggage with you that is negatively impacting your life. Old traumas, memories, and emotions can create physical symptoms in your body. We can explore those and rebalance your body so it can function more efficiently, throw off those old symptoms, and bring peace back into your life.