Easy remedies for Insomnia

Hi All,

Here is a great video with techniques for insomnia that really work. 

I have tried these techniques and they are effective. I tend to wake up if I get too hot. Afterwards, if I don't take action, I may stay awake for two hours in the middle of the night. 

 

The ideal temperature for sleeping is supposedly 65-70 degrees.  But insomnia may occur due to stress or other unknown factors.

So I utilize the tips in the video to go back to sleep. This series of techniques is based on traditional Chinese medicine and helps calm the meridians, or energy pathways in the body.  In fact, Donna Eden can see these pathways, which has helped her develop these techniques for relieving insomnia.

My favorite techniques involve calming the triple warmer (the flight-or-fight meridian) which can get overstimulated and can cause the mind to be too active at night.

I also love the advice about putting your hands behind your knees to produce melatonin. This technique also calms the gall bladder meridian and can lead to immediate relaxation.

One thing I have yet to try is to actually hold the sedation points for various meridians in the middle of the night in order to go back to sleep.  I really look forward to trying this recommendation, which comes from Donna Eden's book Energy Medicine. 

 

If you are unfamiliar with energy medicine, these processes may seem odd. However, they do work, and I think most people with chronic insomnia are willing to try anything that is easy and free as well.

 

By the way, I don't personally know the practitioner in the video, but she is using methods that are based on the work of the wonderful Donna Eden.  I hope you find these useful.

 

 

 

A Votre Sante (Here's to your health), Alix

 

 

 

Chronic Fatigue - Called "Lazy" and "It's all in your head"

Acupuncture treatment for adrenal fatigue

Hi All, I hope this post will be helpful for anyone with a friend or relative with chronic fatigue. 

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)

Chronic fatigue, sometimes called chronic fatigue syndrome is a catch-all term for long term exhaustion - be it mild, moderate, or severe. In my case, the cause was adrenal fatigue, a condition which is very common.

I am making a big comeback from years of chronic fatigue by receiving acupuncture treatments.  You might not know it, but people with CFS can tell a lot about you by the way you react to us.  I've noticed that some people who are a bit out of touch with their bodies seem to have somewhat low empathy for people with CFS. 

One of the most caring actions is to steer clear of offering unsolicited advice to your friend or relative with CFS.

Offering unsolicited help can make you come off as uninformed and off-base, so be sure to listen and "empathize rather than advise."  Unless you are a holistic health professional, you may not be very well informed, and giving uninformed advice can be counterproductive.

Acupuncture

It is interesting to me that when the swimmer Michael Phelps was pictured with cupping marks on his back during the summer Olympics, one article talking about this dismissed acupuncture and cupping as mere superstition. How ironic that the author of that article seemingly knew nothing about the meridians, neurolymphatic points, and had undoubtedly little experience with acupuncture. 

In fact, after 7 years of searching holistic and western medical solutions, acupuncture is responsible for my steady and successful comeback.

I used to experience significant exhaustion that interfered with my life and have been called "lazy", "overly sensitive", and told that "it was all in my head" by folks who knew me.

Adrenal fatigue

Being told to "just drink more coffee" is not necessarily helpful, as too much coffee can make things medically worse.  Especially if the cause is adrenal fatigue, which means the adrenals don't produce enough cortisol because they are exhausted. 

Luckily, western medicine doctors are beginning to address adrenal fatigue, a milder, but exhausting type of adrenal insufficiency.  Many western medicine doctors refuse to acknowledge that adrenal fatigue exists, and only acknowledge the more extreme case of adrenal insufficiency, such as Addison's disease.

Also, please don't "forget" when a loved one tells you they are chronically exhausted because this is a big deal to them. One misguided remark I heard from someone very close to me - "you should really ride your bicycle more."

If you are not familiar with CFS, there is no way someone with moderate to severe CFS is looking forward to a vigorous bike ride.

Also there can be constant pain.  Many CFS people report it feels like they have been hit by a bus - we are talking about somewhat disruptive pain. (CFS can be a precursor to fibromyalgia). I've found the "forgetters" can be people who might push themselves a lot and may not listen closely to their bodies.

A great kindness you can offer is please don't blame or pressure your CFS family member to do more around the house, or to try to push them into more activity.  From what my prior specialist says, it is not uncommon for spouses to accuse their CFS partner of being lazy and "get on their case."

I say all this, not to be critical, but to really paint a picture so you can understand what your friends or loved one may possibly be experiencing.

Your CFS friend or relative may even be trying to hide a difficult situation to look like they are in control or be productive at work, and may be financially challenged due to having to work only part time.

Downshifting

On the bright side, I received a gift from having to downshift my pace due to fatigue.

• The great gift in slowing my pace was waking up to the connectedness of life.
• Instead of overly-socializing, I kept a few close, very valuable friends.
• Instead of power-exercise, I took slow, relaxed walks, and spent time journaling and doing introspective work. 
• As I downshifted, I observed others frantically try to "keep up" and decided I didn't have to be one of them.
• I am so grateful that I slowed down and became more observant of myself and others.
• Plus, I gained a lot of compassion for those who are dealing with long term health challenges.

If you have a friend or relative with chronic fatigue, you will score a lot of points by showing compassion, listening, and being understanding - also not forgetting.  Unless you have been through a similar experience and want to share resources, it is best not offer unsolicited advice that may be off-base - this may eventually tend to drive your friend away rather than help.


A Votre Sante (Here's To Your Health), Alix

Chronic fatigue - for friends and family

Hi all,
 

I don’t usually talk about chronic fatigue much to others in real life.  I think I can be more honest about it now because I've made a big comeback, as acupuncture is working for me.

I hope this post will be helpful for friends and family who want to support and understand a loved one with CFS. 

This is a picture of what my fatigue was like at its worst, a couple of years ago, and some strange benefits to downshifting and living a slower paced life.

People often called me “too quiet.” Actually I was too drained to do much talking, but I did became an astute observer and good listener. I’ve been called “lazy” by people who were not very well informed about chronic fatigue.

I imagine the pace of my life was similar to the rhythms of pre-industrial times.  Before the advent of electricity, the average person slept 10 hours a night.  However, sleeping 10-12 hours was not a "stress-free" life for me as there was constant stress about how I was going to get up early when needed. 

Especially since there was pain. CFS for me was more than just feeling incredibly drained.

I would wake up- and for just a second - curl up in a ball and cry before getting out of bed. I at all wasn't sad, but it hurt some all day, sometimes so the point of distraction.  (Many CFS people experience this.)

My memory could become pretty foggy, and this is not a fun experience.  I managed work very effectively and,  though using Post Its, I never missed a beat.

It's really important to impress upon people unfamiliar with CFS that sleeping a lot is not optional - it's necessary, and it's a bummer.  It is totally impossible to force yourself to lead a "normal" life, and sometimes this is hard for others to understand.

My energy level affected my ability to perform music in public and for a couple of years I only worked part time due to incredibly low energy.  There is often a level of frustration about not being able to do more.

I began to study Jean Bolen's book Goddesses in Every Woman, and I gained a deep sense of worth from the quality of my femininity - having empathy and compassion for others - perhaps because I understood what it was like to have a long term disappointing loss of control. 

One chapter of Jean Bolen's book discusses Hestia, the Greek Goddess of Serenity. Hestia is a quiet, wise woman who brings a subtle, calming effect to others. 

I began to experience this calm through living a slow paced life and people said I had a nice, calming effect on them.

Now that I'm making a comeback through acupuncture, I don't want to push myself in life after years of a slower pace.

My goal is to lead a relatively private, elegant, simple life.

I recently read that "Ordinary" does not mean "Mediocre." It means “Order or Orderly.”

Therefore, an “ordinary” life is one of simplicity and having gratitude for the small and simple things in life.  

So, that is what I have learned from having had CFS. 

Maybe you have learned it too, perhaps through a health issue or another type of challenge.

 

A Votre Sante (Here's to Your Health), Alix

 

Eden Energy Mecidine--amazing holistic techniques!

It's been a while since I posted because, over the past few years, I have immersed myself in learning holistic healing rather than writing about it.  I got really involved with learning Eden Energy Medicine from Donna Eden's books and videos, as well as seeing an Eden Energy Medicine Practitioner.  If Western Medicine has failed to help you, check out this modality!


Donna Eden's book is called Energy Medicine, and check out her videos on YouTube.


The following are links to Madison King on YouTube who is an Eden Energy Medicine Practitioner.  These are for strengthening spleen/sedating triple warmer, which I spoke of in a prior post, and that Donna Eden talks about in her book.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VW-5nIYbW2w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IR-5dSBR5s

I recommend seeing an Eden Energy Medicine Practitioner in your area.

A Votre Sante (Here's To Your Health) Alix

Acupuncture for rosacea--Chicago practitoner

It is very interesting that western medicine has such a hard time treating rosacea.  Often the antibiotics don't work nor do topicals.  I have known many people who have "tried everything," to no avail.

From topicals, to antibiotics, to probiotics, digestive enzymes and eating paleo, it seems that only a small percentage of people blogging on the internet have been able to clear up their rosacea.

I began to experience rosacea recently; I had a flare up of spots and burning hot red cheeks.  Well, after a few sessions of acupuncture, it cleared up.

If you live in Chicago, try Dr. Feng!  He is located at 634 W. Addison (and Broadway) at Hua's Oriental Center, 773-934-0199.  He is really well recommended in the Chicago area, and I have know several people who rave about him.

A Votre Sante (Here's To Your Health), Alix

Acupuncture for chronic fatigue and rosacea

This post talks about acupuncture and another modality "Eden Energy medicine" that uses acupressure.  If Western Medicine has failed to help you, I strongly suggest that you check out Donna Eden's books and videos on YouTube, as well as visit an experienced acupuncturist.

I am a huge fan of Eden Energy Medicine, and have been seeing a Donna Eden practitioner about long-term fatigue issues.  I began to show much improvement, but my practitioner had to take a hiatus. 

What to do?  I love Eden Energy Medicine so much and was so enthusiastic about it that my practitioner helped me to do an acupressure routine on myself at home in between my appointments with her.

However,  after she went on hiatus, I intuited that I needed just a little tweaking of my routine.  So I went for a diagnostic visit with an acupuncturist.

Sure enough, the acupuncturist gave me advice that tweaked my acupressure routine. 

What I was doing to cope with the adrenal fatigue--on my own-- was "sedate triple warmer meridian/strengthen spleen."  Also "strengthening the kidney meridian" is often required.  I know how to muscle test myself for these, so all was well.  Some of you may be familiar with this common practice from Donna Eden's books and videos.

However, suddenly, I began to develop rosacea and my sinuses got worse.  This was while my Eden Energy medicine practitioner was on hiatus, so I did some googling of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and came to the conclusion that I had stagnant heat in my liver.

The acupuncturist was able to confirm this, but put a twist on my treatment.  He began to sedate (clear out) my liver meridian, but told me I must put on hold "strengthening my kidney meridian."

Why?  "Because," he said, "when the liver meridian is clogged, it is like a clogged sink."  Kidney element is "water" and strengthening it at the same time you are clearing liver, only "ads water to a clogged sink." 

What is happening with his treatment (now only sedating liver meridian) is that my rosacea cleared up and became almost invisible.  I am able to use acupressure at home to sedate the liver at in between visits. 

Later, after my liver is clear, he will begin to strengthen my kidney meridian, which will bring back my energy!  And I can do my acupressure for this at home in between visits.

Excellent!  It never hurts to get another viewpoint from a qualified holistic practitioner.  Later, when my Donna Eden practioner resumes her practice, I will go back to her becasue I think Eden Energy medicine is amazing as well!

If this blog seemed too technical, check out Donna Eden's work, which will make all of this jargon so very clear and understandable.  You, too, can begin to do your own energy routine at home using Donna's techniques--and even go see a Donna Eden practitioner or acupuncturist.  Many people have found this to be life changing!

A Votre Sante (Here's To Your Health), Alix

Natural Cures for Depression

Thanks for the comments everyone, I am getting a lot of readers of this blog.

I received a comment about natural cures for depression.  What strikes me is that most doctors are not giving the very easy urine-test for neurotransmitters.  This test is only about $90 without insurance coverage.  The test provides a neurotransmitter profile to assess the different levels of serotonin, dopamine etc.. 

In Europe, St. John's wort is used as a natural remedy for depression, and some western medicine doctors are now using it here in the states. 

Be sure to have a qualified medical professional who is experienced and can guide you through the process.  A lot of people are concerned about the dangers of pharmaceutical antidepressants hence the interest in St. John's Wort.

Exercise, counseling and checking for other conditions that might mask as depression, such as adrenal fatigue, might be appropriate.  Getting help from a qualified professional who is experienced in natural cures-- there are many western medical doctors who are also naturopaths--can reveal all the potential options for treating depression, including a healthy diet.

Check out this blog from Whole Health Chicago that talks about St. John's wort--they even talk about doses at the end of the blog.  Again, make sure you are seeing a qualified health professional instead of treating yourself. 

Whole Health Chicago has western medical doctors who use St. John's Wort. 

http://wholehealthchicago.com/2009/05/19/st-johns-wort/

A Votre Sante (Here's To Your Health), Alix