Archive for April 2012

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How To Deal With Depression

Some of the Depression Self-Help Tools I’ve used are:

Nutrition and Exercise

EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique)

Reiki

Meditation

A good site for those interested in Meditation is Lifechoice Meditation: Resources, instruction, inspiration and encouragement along the path of meditation and wholesome living.

Hypnosis

Reading some wonderful books

Practicing the Law of Attraction

Alternatives to Traditional Talk therapy and Medication

Acupuncture

Massage,

Shiatsu,

Qi Gong,

Polarity

Talking to friends, family, groups, therapists or other supportive networks

Getting involved with your spirituality

But if the above don’t help you, or you consistently experience uncontrollable emotions, feelings, thoughts, get some professional help.

There’s a lot of help out there, just send an email, or place a call 1-800-273-8255.

Discover powerful depression self help programs designed to assist those suffering from depression. Bright Images Subliminal Programs are guaranteed to give you a new Dynamic Self Image of yourself to avoid depression.

Using 20,000 powerful affirmations, designed to provide you with a new attitude, increased motivation and a new visions of you reaching your goals. Build confidence in meeting new challenges and turn problems into opportunities by using the latest and greatest self-help tools available.

Tests for Depression

Not sure if you need to seek help? One form of depression self help is diagnosis. Education yourself on the types of depression. Take online tests to help you figure out if you need to seek help. Once you know what's going on with you, it's much easier to figure out how to get better.

Depression is a common symptom among sexual abuse survivors. For more information for women recovering from sexual abuse through guided art therapy, spirituality and healing your inner child, please visit www.soul-expressions-abuse-recovery.com.

Creativity and Depression

Many artists create when they are depressed simply to get the thoughts in their heads out of there. Sometimes by putting your thoughts on paper, or computer or in a song or picture you separate from them a bit and you gain perspective. Call it Art therapy or "I write my best stuff when I'm unhappy", it can be a fulfilling form of Depression Self Help.

Depression Self Help

Depression sucks.
It hurts.
And few people understand.
But there are things you can do to start feeling better.
First, if you are in a major depression and have a plan on how to kill yourself - call 911.

If you are having suicidal thoughts on any kind of regular basis. Get help now. Call 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255) or visit this link or if you’d rather email with someone click here.

Depression self help. Many people who suffer from depression or other mental illnesses don’t seek out the help they need. Why? Well, much of society doesn’t support getting help.

You’re friends and family may tell you that you’re just going through a bad patch and you’ll be fine - so you ignore the symptoms and wait it out. You may feel ashamed or think you should be able to get better on your own.

I’ve been through ALL of these and I’m here to encourage you to get help. I’ve always believed in self-help and I’ll share with you the depression self-help tools I have. Sometimes our depression is caused from too much stress.

But sometimes we need help from outside ourselves, in the form of guidance, support and different kinds of healing. I’ve been at the bottom of that black hole and I know how much it hurts. I’ve had people in the past say to me “You’re just thinking negatively” so I tried to think differently, and feel differently and it took me a long time to seek outside help.

Depression Help Fifteen Steps to Feeling Better

Depression Help Step One: Determine what kind of depression you have.

Take into account not only how you feel right now, but how you feel and have felt over the last month, the last year, two years, etc. Was this depression brought on by something concrete, like:

loss of friend / love / family

change in jobs or living situation

financial problems

If your depression is mild to medium, you might try some of the coping methods on our coping with depression page or coping with stress or stress management techniques page. These tips can help you feel better right now. They are fun and can help you develop some skills that will keep your depression from returning.

The following depression help steps are geared towards people who have discovered they are clinically depressed, in the middle of a major depression or have some other mood disorder but of course can be of assistance with recovering from normal depression.

Depression Help Step Two: Get A Physical Check-Up

The first need thing you need to do when treating depression is to rule out any other disease. Go to a general practitioner (GP) or internist, they will run blood tests to make sure you are physically healthy. If you’re physically healthy, next you will be looking to find two specialists, a psychiatrist and a psychologist.

Depression Help Step Three: Find a Psychiastrist

This is the doctor who will prescribe your antidepressants. If your GP is prescribing antidepressants for you then at least make sure you have step four - a good psychologist. If you are clinically depressed or have any mood disorder you will end up needing a good psychiatrist. Make sure the psychiatrist listens to you and isn’t changing your meds every visit. Finding the right medication can be a very time-consuming task. It takes patience and endurance. Don’t give up and don’t settle. It’s your body, your mind and your life. You deserve all the help you can get.

Depression Help Step Four: Find a Therapist – Psychologist

This can be the most important step in your process of healing. Sometimes you luck out on the first try and sometimes it can be like looking for Prince Charming, you have to go on a lot of dates. Make a list of what you are looking for in this relationship. Everyone has different ways of relating to people and each therapist uses different modalities. You need to find someone that you can relate to. Personally, I can’t stand traditional talk therapy. When I go to a therapist and they “actively listen and repeat what I’ve said to them”, or sit there saying “ah” and “yes”, drives me nuts. But I have found various therapists through the years that I have connected with and who have helped me take the steps I’ve needed on my journey. I currently adore my therapist and value her as one of the best relationships in my life.

When it comes to depression help, I can’t stress this enough. A therapist you connect with can be essential to really getting better. There are so many different kinds of therapy. What’s most important is that you find a person you can connect with, whom you trust and ultimately to whom you can say anything.

Depression Help Step Five: Find the Right Cocktail

Most people have to go through a few different medicines before they find the one (or mixture of ones) that work for them. In my own experience, for a while, I felt like soup. They just kept adding medicines to the mix until finally we found the right thing. Don’t put it all in your physician/psychiatrists hands. The medication is for you – to help you, in your life. The doctor isn’t with you most of the time. If you are concerned about ANYTHING, write it down and bring it up with your doctor the next time you see him/her. And if you have bad side effects call your doctor and tell them what is going on.

Depression Help Step Six: Exercise!

If you are searching the web looking for ways to cope with your depression you are going to see this on EVERY list you find. The benefits of regular activity for both our physical and mental health are well documented. Exercise helps us cope with stress and anxiety, and also seems to enhance our sense of control, confidence and self-efficacy.

Depression Help Step Seven: Eat Well

This is another one that we all know. What you eat and drink affects your mood, your hormones, your energy, your everything. There is a ton of scientific information on this on the internet. I know through working with a nutritionist and simply from day to day experience that what I eat affects my mood. Does that mean I make the right choices all the time? Of course not. But if you can just pick one thing a week, one thing that you will do to feed yourself more healthfully, you will increase your healing dramatically.

Depression Help Step Eight: Sleep!

I’ve been an insomniac all my life. If I followed my natural rhythms, I’d go to sleep around 2-3 a.m. and wake up around 10-11a.m but many jobs I’ve had to work don’t do that schedule. So I’m forced to try to go to sleep before my body actually wants to. The things that interfere with my sleep are either I’m having too much fun and my brain is working and I don’t want to go to sleep or I’m making a list of things to do for the next day or worrying about something… you know the drill. I’ve tried all sorts of sleeping concoctions all of which work sometimes but not always. If you are not an insomniac, make a commitment to get regular sleep, it’s crucial to an effective treatment of depression, and a must for maintaining a stable mood. If you are an insomniac, I’ll be posting some help for you in the near future.

Depression Help Step Nine: Get Outside

Nature, sunlight, oxygen. As we know, changes in the amounts of daylight a person gets also alters circadian rhythms, which is why light treatment is so effective, especially for those who suffer from SAD (seasonal affective disorder). If I can't get outside for at least a half hour a day, try getting a daylight light for many they work wonders. Also, it’s been studied that green plants help lower our stress levels, even LOOKING at pictures of nature help. I changed my desktop the other day to a picture of a lush green forest and when I come back to work at my desk, there is a moment where it seems to remind me to take a breath.

Depression Help Step Ten: Support and Friendships

It’s important to find support to help keep you on course, growing and to help when you are feeling at your worst. Depending on your life, these support systems can be support group meetings, meet-ups, online groups or groups that have weekly conference calls. They can be emailing your friends or talking on the phone. Ultimately, it’s about communicating with people outside of yourself who will be loving and understanding. I’ve found a lot of support via email. But a dear friend of mine is more of a phone person. She shared with me that during her darker times, she kept phone eight phone numbers in her phone on speed dial and she would rotate and speak to a different one or two every day. She had constant support but didn’t wear out her friends.

Step Eleven: Cultivate A Positive Mental Attitude.

The way we think affects the way we feel. If we are focused on unhappy things it enhances are depression. If we focus on positive things, and keep our thoughts and feelings continually on these things it helps us distance ourselves from depression. The law of attraction and self fulfilling prophecy demonstrate why and how this occurs.

Either way, what we think and believe affects us. One habit that is helpful is listing what we are grateful for. Every day, I list 10 things that I am grateful for and ten things I wish to manifest in my life.

There are some days that this is the only thing I do that is positive but even this small thing has produced positive results in my life. There is a theory that keeping a gratitude journal--taking the time to consciously count your blessings--is one of the most effective happiness boosters.

According to psychologist Robert Emmons at theU niversity of California at Davis, gratitude exercises improve physical health,as well--including raising energy levels and relieving pain. So, consider making gratitude a part of your daily life to help you alleviate your depression.

Depression Help Step Twelve: Alternative and Additional Therapies.

There are so many therapies available to help us. Whether you choose traditional talk therapy, NLP, polarity or any other alternative therapy, it is essential that you do not go this road completely alone.

That means that you must seek out help. Our society is an interesting dichodomy (contrasting thoughts). On one side, we have available to us multitudes of alternative therapies available to us and they are more widely accepted than previously, but on the other side there are still people who think depression is all in your head and you can just snap yourself out of it.

I do encourage you to find the kind of therapy that works for you in your present life. It’s worth going off the traditional path.

Depression Help Step Thirteen: Connecting With Spirit

Religion and/or spirituality is often a touchy subject. If you are religious and/or spiritual, you may likely find assistance inside your religious community or spiritual beliefs.

But then there are times when even though you are religious and/or spiritual, you feel completely disconnected from the divine.

The search for and the finding of that which is greater than ourselves (i.e. the divine) may be the most important thing we do in life. Connecting with spirit helps renew our hope and can sustain you in your time of need.

Depression Help Step Fourteen: Help Others

Helping others isn’t just the right thing to do. When you help someone else you stop thinking about yourself and your own problems.

Call it a healthy form of distraction. It’s been studied. In nursing homes, the people that help others forget their pain in the moments that they are assisting someone else. I have seen it myself and experienced it in my own life.

Recently, I sprained my ankle and all I could think about was the pain of walking. Then my friend, next to me starts crying because her father has been taken to the hospital. And in that moment, I go to her, hug her, listen and try to say words of comfort. I don’t feel the pain in my body for those moments because I am focused on her. I don’t suggest that you forget yourself and live only to serve others. I suggest that mental health can be aided by living in balance.

Hillel said “If I am not for myself who am I, but if I am only for myself, what am I?”

Take care of yourself and take care of others. Inside it you will find growth, comfort and solace.

Depression Help Step Fifteen: Keep A Journal/Write A Blog

This step relates to Step Fourteen in that we are trying to get out of our own heads. Sometimes, writing out how you are feeling either long hand in a physical diary or by typing into a computer, or talking into a dicta phone helps us say what we are feeling. These feelings may sometimes be overwhelming or sad and exhausting.

The act of writing out what you are feeling can separate these emotions from you and allows you to observe them, let them go and change the behavior that may have led to them in the first place.

Coping With Depression

Coping with depression. There are many useful skills that can help alleviate depression and become happier. Below are ten things you can do to quickly lift your mood. When dealing with clinical depression or long-term depression one has to address the problems beneath the depression or mood disorder and work on abilities to address the underlying problems and/or illness and feel better.

Ten Skills For Coping with Depression

1. Exercise. Something every list on dealing with depression suggests is exercise. Exercise, beyond being good for you, simply makes you feel better. It can be as simple as getting up and doing ten jumping jacks, taking a walk around the block or putting on a song and moving to the whole song. Sometimes when I’m feeling down I put on my Ipod and do figure eights with my hips through and entire song. It’s very easy and, in truth, sometimes I feel very silly doing it. But then feeling silly about it makes me laugh and the whole thing lifts my mood.

2. Smile. Smile at yourself in the mirror. Or don’t. Just smile. Fake it. It’s ok if it’s fake it still works. Smiling lowers your blood pressure, boosts your immune system and releases endorphins, natural painkillers and serotonin (whether or not it’s a real smile or a fake one).

3. Distract yourself. These are truly only short term answers for coping with depression, but if you aren’t clinically depressed,

Watch TV or a movie – preferably a comedy but truly anything that involves you works.

Read a book – ideally one with a story.

Play a game – video games, card games, rubicks cubes

You get the idea. Anything that distracts you from your depression is something that can help you cope in the short term.

Side note: While many people use alcohol, drugs, food, shopping or sex etc. to distract themselves from depression or the things that bother them, I’m absolutely not suggesting you do this. There are healthy distractions and unhealthy distractions. I’m talking about healthy distractions to be used briefly.

4. Talk to a friend. Speaking, emailing, or chatting online can help lighten your mood. Make sure you pick a person that will support you but talking with friends can often help help us cope with depression. It's always good to hear a supportive voice, get a different point of view and see things in a different way.

5. Go to a social event. When we are depressed it is sometimes the last thing that we want to do but when you get into a social situation it helps you stop thinking about whatever bothers you. When we focus on others instead of ourselves we often forget about what is bothering us. Sometimes being with others can help us feel needed and that often boosts our self-esteem.

6. Laugh. Just fake it and laugh for even a minute. This also keys into the silly factor. It will help change your perspective. Laughter is truly one of the best medicines in coping with depression.

5. Sing. You don’t have to be a good singer to enjoy this. Also, it changes your breathing and changing your breathing can help you get more oxygen, relax and this may help you feel better and cope with your depression.

6. Do Affirmations. People have differing opinions about this one. I know from experience coping with depression that affirmations can help you change the inner negative voice that is saying, “my life sucks” or “no matter what I do things never get any better”. If you say to yourself, over and over the opposite of what your negative voice is saying it does help even in the short term.

7. Play the "what if" game. Say to yourself, “what if I had a million dollars, what would I have and do with my life”. Let yourself really get into this. See and feel what you would want and what you would do. This exercise gets you out of thinking of your own life just as it is.

8. Use smell. Smell is one of the strongest senses we have to cope with depression and it keys directly into our emotional selves. The smell of grapefruit is very uplifting. Try it. Or if grapefruit is not your style or you don’t happen to have one or the essential oil laying around your house. Put on some perfume or cologne that you like or yes, use scented candles. Don’t underestimate the sense of smell – it can be very helpful.

9. Do some cleaning. Try vacuuming the living room, cleaning the kitchen or cleaning out a junk drawer. This one works along the lines of part distraction, part exercise and if using cleaning supplies, a kind of aromatherapy. Once done, you might feel a sense of accomplishment and if you don’t feel any better at least you’ll be depressed in a clean environment.

10. Engage your sense of touch. Take a hot bath. Give yourself a foot massage or engage in any kind of sensual pleasure that you enjoy. This can be very powerful when coping with depression. The point is to do something that makes you feel good. Focus on the physical and it can influence the emotion in positive ways.

How to deal with Stress using PROBLEM (or PUZZLE) based methods.

Problem based coping involves actually dealing with the challenge that is causing stress. This is a monkey that likes to take things head on.

This determined gritty monkey's method involves:

Finding the cause of the predicament

taking action to alleviate the problem.

Learning new skills to help deal with stress

Rearranging your life around these problems. Examples would include: taking the stairs instead of elevators if you are claustraphobic, getting a second job in the face of financial difficulties, or studying harder to prepare for exams.

Planning ahead with ways to directly attack the cause of your stress

Confrontation

Self Control

Problem based coping is generally about taking action and if you utilize the appropriate actions for the cause of your stress this can directly reduce a source of bad stress.

Depression - my story

I remember standing in the kitchen when I was in my twenties looking at knives and thinking:

“I could do it. It wouldn’t hurt nearly as much as the pain inside me. And I know the right way. Should I?”

“But I don’t want to hurt my mom and dad. They’re such nice people and they’d feel so bad.”

And this conversation would continue inside my head. I’d weigh the pros and cons of killing myself then and there “Or perhaps there might be a better method… or another time…”
Obviously, I didn’t do it.

My first therapist.

She was cool. I went to see her for one semester while I was in college. If you were suffering from depression, you could get one semester of counseling FREE. She was very nice and kind. I remember she had a white stripe in the middle of her right eyebrow, it was very becoming. She and I talked mostly about habits and habitual thoughts and of course my history. We got me to the point where I could ask for a hug. That was a big step for me at the point.

Over the years, I’d see a therapist occasionally generally for a few months. You see, I thought that if I could just figure out what was wrong with my thinking and my patterns - I could fix myself. Cuz I knew I didn’t have any kind of mental illness. After all, I never thought I was a bird and wanted to fly out my window or even simply nest on the fire escape. I had friends who were like that. And I’d never completely disconnected, started giving away all my possession and saying goodbye to people; I’d never taken off all my clothes and gone swimming in the middle of a hurricane, and I’d never actually tried to commit suicide or voluntarily put myself in an institution. I was sane. I knew people who’d done all of these things, they had depression, or were just plain crazy, I loved them, they were my friends. I was dull and downright ordinary comparatively. So it was just my thinking that needed correcting.
Marriage & Depression.

Then I got married and while I had my emotional storms I was causing the person I most cared about in the world lots of pain. It really sucked because on top of my not being able to control the depression itself, I felt bad hurting my husband in the process. He tried to be supportive and together we tried to figure out my problem was and fix me.

Around that time, I was holding down a bunch of jobs and I was really STRESSED. I think I fainted at work and I went to my physician and she suggested I take an antidepressant. I didn’t feel depressed. I wasn’t suffering from depression. I was just stressed. But she said take it and I did - and it didn’t help. It only evaporated my sex drive which is always a bad thing. And as I didn’t really believe that I needed drugs, I took them sporadically and then stopped all together one day. I don’t suggest doing this - in fact I’d discourage it. But that’s where I was - let’s just say: “I’ve been down that river of denial and I know it well”.
Denial

It's not just a river in Egypt. I was drowning in the depression river called denial. Cuz, I was still of the opinion that there was a class of really fucked up people that needed drugs and I was not one of them. They had depression, not ME. I was a self proclaimed ‘odd duck’, but I wasn't mentally ill!

We all know where this story is going and yes, you guessed it, in 2008, I hit rock bottom. I’d been flirting with rock bottom for about two years but 2008 was the kicker. I thought I’d been about as low as I could possibly go before but this was the bottom of black hole deep down inside the depths of the Abyss.
Rock Bottom

I can’t explain it, but those of you that have been down there know what I’m talking about. Thinking about death is constant. The feeling that no matter how hard you try you’ll never beat this depression. You can’t even remember what joy or even mild happiness looked like. And at the same time, I was running around trying to get things done. I’d cry and sweat and not be able to breathe. My physician had given me anti-anxiety medicine and then upped the dosage when I came back in and said I thought I might be having a nervous breakdown. And later, after I experienced a personal failure, every demon that I’d ever had came out to stomp on me, tell me how worthless I was, push me deeper into depression and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

At this point, my physician gave me an antidepressant and said, find yourself a psychiatrist and a psychologist. I will say briefly the antidepressant I was taking made me feel invincible. I was flying and not touching ground. But then I’d crash. And I continued to think “I’m processing things wrong, if I can just say the right things to myself, or look at things from the right perspective or whatever - I really should have the willpower to overcome this thing. I don’t need drugs.” And there were professionals who backed me up. One said to me ask yourself two questions and the answer to these questions is always the same.

“Where am I?”
“Here.”
“What time is it?”
“Now”

And from a zen place I agree with that, but when you’re having a panic attack on the subway, weeping uncontrollably and saying over and over to myself

“Where am I?” Here.
“What time is it?”“Now”. I didn’t feel any better.
“Where am I?” “Here.” And here really sucks
“What time is it?”“Now”. I don’t want to be here now. It hurts here now. I can’t live this life.

At that point, I was a highly functioning member of the living dead. I went to work, I did my work. It was a good day when I could keep myself from crying at work. No joy, no glimmer of hope and certainty that I’d never feel any of those things again. As I walked home nearly every street that I crossed I thought, “If I just don’t stop at the curb, I could get hit by that bus - that would be great - then I wouldn’t have to feel this way”. I didn’t eat, I didn’t sleep (I’ve never been very good at sleeping - even when I’m happy).

All my friends were saying:
“How can we help you”, “Go get some help”, “You have clinical depression.”, “You can talk to me if you need someone to talk to”.

I withdrew

But around this time, I did start looking for tests on the internet. Still not completely sure I couldn’t conquer this thing alone. I took tests. They all said - “Go get help”, so finally I did. And I wasn’t fond of my therapist, she was a lovely woman but very old school of that ‘I will be a blank wall and say “hmm”, “yes”, “what do you think about that?”’ variety. And I thought “I could get just as healthy doing yoga and talking to a wall”. But really, how well had that worked for me before. I started looking for another therapist.

I went to some of my friends who I knew were taking medicine for whatever their particular mental ailment was and said “Does anyone know some good books, or websites or forums” where I might be able to get some help.

And with a few exceptions most of them didn’t have many suggestions. Mind you they were all really supportive and were completely there for me - I just didn’t know how to ask for help. It is interesting that even now, when people talk about mood disorders, depression, bipolar, most of the people I know are still a little shy about telling people what is wrong. Or ashamed. After all, there’s no blood test to proof this is what’s wrong with me so it really could all be “in my head” right?

Ultimately, I was referred to a therapist I adore, and diagnosed is Bipolar II. The mood stabilizer they put me on has been the only thing that has truly helped. Not a cure all by any means. Subtle but helpful. I was able to get off the other medications they were giving me. So I only take the one, Depakote. I’ll be honest. I don’t like the thought that I need to take meds. I’d like to think that I could control this with diet and exercise. But I’m taking the meds anyway.

Now you know why you will find so many resources for healing and helping people with mood disorders here on the site. That’s my story. There are many places on the internet where you can find help.

Sometimes the monkey on your back can actually show you how to dealwith stress

How to deal with Stress using APPRAISAL based method. In the case of Appraisal based methods, the monkey on your back has glasses, is your teacher or helps you look at things differently. This monkey can help you see things realistically or alternatively depending on the kind of monkey you grow up with.

This tricky monkey's methods include:

Seeing the situation from different points of view

Seeing the humor in a situation

Trying to see the value or learn something from a difficult situation

Changing your perspective on the problem

Using denial or distancing oneself from the problem

Alter the way you think about a problem by altering your goals and values

Realistic appraisals:
This approach uses glasses that help you judge things to make them easier to cope with. Life events such as traffic jams and spills on the carpet aren't problems unless we appraise them as such. If our appraisals are realistic, we're better able to react to day-to-day life events with a sense of proportion.

The appraisals we make (or the glasses we see through) are generally close to belief system we grew up with. If we hold unrealistic, inflexible beliefs then our appraisals may not always help us cope with stress. Also, irrational beliefs that include 'musts' and 'should', with an emphasis on perfection can make our lives harder. Sometimes we know where our appraisals help us and where they don't. "I must be liked by everyone" and "Everything always has to be neat and clean" are irrational and impossible beliefs to attain.

Alternative appraisals

Is it possible you and your monkey can get you new glasses? Yes, it is possible to change irrational beliefs. First identify them, then reframe them. Suppose you are driving in the car and someone cuts you off at the intersection. It's easy to say, "That person is horrible, they are so inconsiderate" or "This town has terrible drivers".

An alternative interpretation could be: 'I wonder what's happening with that person for them to behave so rudely? Maybe they had a sick puppy on the floor of the car that I couldn't see and they are trying to get to the vet as fast as they can. If I knew that, I wouldn't have responded in the same way.' We have the choice how to frame our perceptions. In addition to these 'primary appraisals', it's important to develop 'secondary appraisals' when we ask ourselves afterwards if there's anything we can do about a life event we've appraised as stressful.

If we feel helpless to change things, or incompetent when facing challenges, then we're less likely to come up with a suitable coping response.

Stress Management Techniques

Stress Management Techniques. We all need them because stress is a large part of life. We all deal with it. From the time, we start walking and talking, going to school and interacting with other people on the planet - we’ve got stress.

And the way we handle stress is a major factor in your lives. In order to manage our stress effectively, it’s important that we take time to discover exactly how we respond to stress, how we habitually react to stress, how it affects our lives and what we can do to manage stress in healthier ways.

Based on stress management techniques of the American Psychological Association, I’ve created the following stress management technique system to assist you in your stress relieve efforts.

Stress Management Techniques

Realize how you Experience stress

Everyone experiences stress differently. How do you know when you are stressed? How are your thoughts or behaviors different from times when you do not feel stressed? What is your scale of stress? It’s really good if you can create a scale for yourself to understand how you are experiencing stress, what you can do to alleviate it and how you feel when you aren’t stressed.

I’ve found talking about stress is similar to talking about pain. Everyone has their own scale.

I’m a big fan of 1-10 scales. Here would be my scale for stress levels (1 being lowest stress, 10 being worst-case scenario.

1. Extremely relaxed, happy, content. Everything is easy. One has no worries.

2. Pretty darn happy. Going about the day - getting things done. Only doing things I want to do.

3. Some stress - but it’s the ordinary “I’ve got to do some things I don’t want to do and I know I can get them done” stress. Still having plenty of time for fun.

4. Feeling as though there are things that need to be accomplished and feeling perfectly able to handle situations. Less fun - more hard work. But still some pride in handling everything one needs to handle.

5. Feeling pressured but not anything that can’t be handled. Prioritizing or taking a break can de-stress the situation

6. Feeling pressured, unsure of the situation but still able to remain in control. Moments of doubt. Lots of Doubt here.

7. Feeling a lot of pressure. Not sure how much can be handled. Need for some action to de-stress and not escalate. Doubt, Worry and some fear

8. Freaking out. Not panicking but lots of worry and fear. Sense of loss of control but can move down the stress scale by a variety of methods.

9. Panic attack. Standard symptoms here. Difficulty breathing. Sweating Palms. Racing Thoughts. Fear of losing it. But not completely out of control. Possibility of reducing stress through breathing, talking to others or of course, drugs (xanax, alcohol, etc.)

10. I call this ‘losing it’. I picture it as crying, screaming, jumping up and down and completely having no ability to calm down. Basically it looks like the only way out is the emergency room, render me unconscious with drugs or sledgehammer. Must crash or shut down and reboot to handle this situation.

Discover the Root of your stress. What events or situations trigger stressful feelings. Are they related to your children, family, health, financial decisions, work, relationships, emotional issues, creative endeavors or something else?

Awareness of Warning signs. When we are enduring too much stress, more than we can handle or are currently equipped to cope with, our bodies give us warning signs. Headaches, muscle tension, recurring pain, frequent colds and sickness, lack of energy, difficulty concentrating, or breathing, feeling irritable, angry, out of control, or depressed. Any of these can be warning signs of too much stress.

LEARN how you currently deal with stress. Determine if you are using healthy or unhealthy behaviors (such as smoking, drinking alcohol and over/under eating) to cope. Is this a routine behavior, or is it specific to certain events or situations? Do you make unhealthy choices because it’s easiest and fastest or because you don’t know what to do in the moment?

IDENTIFY healthy stress management techniques. Ideally you will identify alternative coping methods that work for you that you can utilize to replace some of your unhealthy coping methods. While it may not sound great, some of the old standards truly work. Try taking care of yourself. Eat right, get enough sleep, drink plenty of water and exercise. Ensure you have a healthy mind and body through activities like yoga, taking a short walk, going to the gym or playing sports that will enhance both your physical and mental health. Take regular breaks from work. No matter how hectic life gets, make time for yourself and do something that really feeds who you are— even if it's just simple things like reading a good book or listening to your favorite music. Keep in mind that the unhealthy coping behaviors you use, you’ve developed over time and they can be difficult to change. Don't take on too much at once. Focus on changing only one behavior at a time.

FIND ENCOURAGEMENT. Reach out for support. Accepting help from supportive friends and family can improve your ability to manage stress. If you continue to feel overwhelmed by stress, you may want to talk to a psychologist, who can help you better manage stress and change unhealthy behaviors.

Main Causes of Stress

In order to discover the main causes of stress we first need to define what stress is.

The word stress comes from Middle English stresse, hardship and partly from Old French estrece, narrowness, oppression. Definitions include:

1. the physical pressure, pull, or other force exerted on one thing by another; strain.

2. Physiology. a specific response by the body to a stimulus, as fear or pain, that disturbs or interferes with the normal physiological equilibrium of an organism.

3. physical, mental, or emotional strain or tension: Worry over his job and his wife's health put him under a great stress.

Stress is often defined with our fight or flight mechanisms as in definition 2. We feel threatened by something (real or imagined) and our body goes into its fight or flight response. Of course many times fighting or running from the situation is either impossible or inappropriate so we have to find new ways of dealing with stress.

According to statistics, courtesy of the American Psychological Association (APA).

• Fifty-four percent of Americans are concerned about the level of stress in their everyday lives. (APA Survey 2004)
• Two thirds of Americans say they are likely to seek help for stress. (APA Survey 2004)

Currently, I don’t personally feel that I am under a great deal of stress but when looked at these main causes of stress and took this test my score was much higher than I’d predicted. We don’t always look at things clearly when we’re stressed. And we don’t always realize how some situations may affect us more than we think.

If your score was 150 or over, I would encourage you to try some of our coping techniques and reach out to friends, family, doctors or other support systems that will help you alleviate some of the stress you may be feeling.

Top 10 Main Causes of Stress

This chart details the main causes of stress and gives you a way to test how many of these stresses you have been under.

Reiki Energy Healing

Reiki is energy healing.

The universe is made up of energy. Our bodies are electrical and magnetic fields as well as blood and bone.

The practitioner lays his or her hands lightly on the person being healed. The process consists of 12 formalized hand positions that move along the chakras and the meridians in the body. These same points are used in acupuncture and EFT. Just like acupuncture and EFT, you don’t need to believe in the process for it to work. Practitioners also use three symbols to facilitate healing. These symbols as well as the system were developed by Dr. Usui.

Dr. Usui was a Buddhist monk who had also studied Christianity. He originated this therapuetic system which he taught and practiced. Dr. Usui had a mystical experience on Mt. Kurama. He used this experience along with the knowledge he had learned in his various studies. He put these together and developed this therapuetic process.

This system is not a religion. But the practice is spiritual in nature and can easily co-exist with any religious beliefs. The only prescription Dr. Usui had for living was the following:

The secret art of inviting happiness.

The miraculous medicine of all diseases

Just for today,

do not anger

Do not worry and be filled with gratitude

Devote yourself to your work.

Be kind to people.

Mornings and evenings join your hands in prayer and repeat these words out loud and in your heart

For the improvement of mind and body

Usui Spiritual Healing Method

I find this process of Reiki helpful in many situations including the practice of meditation. This energy is very gentle and restores what is needed in the body - be it emotional, mental or physical.

As always, if you are suffering from a serious disease, I would suggest that you use this system in addition to any traditional medical help. It’s always good to try multiple solutions to a problem we face.

Positive Thinking

Positive thinking. We know it’s one of the keys to being happy with our lives and sometimes it comes so naturally. You’ll be going about your day and everything is easy. Then other days positive thoughts and happiness seem to be so far away you can’t even imagine them. There is a school of thought that you are born a certain way, either you are an optimist or a pessimist. You see the glass half full or half empty. But I disagree, I’ve always seen myself as an optimist, but there are certainly times that I find it difficult to see and feel positive.

Since we know there are so many benefits to positive thinking including better mental and physical health, ease of relationships and better ability to handle stress, it would be great if we could try to cultivate optimism in our lives.

Positive Thinking - Seven things you can do right now.

1) Gratitude List.
Make a list of good things in your life. Think of your life right now. What good things are there to be thankful for? We’ll first off, if you’re reading this, you can see and read and you have internet access. There are three things right there to start your list off. Start listing them on a piece of paper or just go over them in your head. Don’t discount the small stuff, the things you take for granted. The fact that you can find any positive things in your life no matter how depressed you may feel can be comforting and will change your mood. Every day, I try to list 10 things I’m grateful for and 10 goals or things I would like to have in my life.

2) Play the 'what if' game.
If you had a fairy godmother, or an unlimited amount of wishes or someone gave you a billion dollars, what would you do with it. Write it down. Imagine it. Don’t say one thing and then go, but I don’t have that. Spend at least five minutes imaging what your life could be like. Indulge your fantasies - it’s our dreams that can give us the hope to make changes in our lives.

3) Smile.
Make yourself smile consistently for three minutes straight. Studies have shown that simply the physical act of smiling makes us feel better and lightens our mood.

4) Focus on NOW.
If you are truly in the moment there are no problems. Stop for one moment. Forget the future and the past and concentrate on now. Look around and ask yourself what is everything like now. Our problems are most often worries about the past and future.

5) Look for the Positive.
No matter how bad things appear you can always find a positive. Try adding at least to the end of your sentences when you here yourself begin to complain.
I am fed up with my job but at least I can pay my rent.
I weigh too much but I drank plenty of water today.
This also will help you to think more positively. Depression makes everything black and this technique can help bring in a little light. Stop saying I can't - realize that there are few things you can't do mostly what you are saying is that you don't want to do something. Examine why this is so - is it fear? Star correcting your statements and also those you tell yourself. you will be more happy as a result.

6) Enlist support.
Find a friend to email your gratitude and goal list to at the beginning of each day or each week. Join social networks. Twitter. Facebook. MySpace. There are many social environments and many forums online that support those who are looking to improve their lives.

7) Be kind and loving to yourself.
One of my teachers said, you are at the place you are at right now. You can’t go from 0-150 in your car and you shouldn’t expect that you can feel horrible one moment and be dancing on cloud nine the next. But if you take steps you can feel a bit better, a little relief, a shade lighter. Allow yourself to take baby steps.

Herbal Remedy For Hay Fever

The summer season is fast approaching that a lot of people are excited to go out and enjoy the sun. Many of us would want to go to the beaches.

Some would want to take a leave from work and just spend some quality time with their families. Also, there are those who would want to escape the noise, the stress and the busy streets of the cities and just get some peace.

Let’s talk about the latter because a lot of us would want to go to the suburbs and enjoy nature at its best. It is nice looking at the green, the flora and the foliage just pure natural bliss.

In the midst of the enjoyment we get to experience at times that we start feeling different as if we are going to be sick for no reason and the next thing you know you have a slight fever and other symptoms. How does this happen? It could be hay fever. Is there a remedy? Yes there is.

First let’s discuss facts about hay fever. Hay fever is commonly known as nasal allergies which obviously implies that allergens were breathed causing an allergic reaction.

A more sophisticated term specific to the allergic reaction to pollen is Pollinosis or Pollenosis.

Pollen is the anatomical part of the plant’s flora or flower that is the mobilized by carriers such as insects or by the wind to pollinate other flowers for fertilization. This makes it a potential allergen.

Note that hay fever is qualified as a seasonal condition due to its prevalence during the summer time. It is however not surprising that hay fever may be experienced though out the year if the allergens are present in the air regardless of the season.

The common allergens causing this condition are pollen, dander and even dust in the air. This may normally affect the nasal pathway and the eyes as well.

The signs and symptoms manifesting on people with hay fever are coughing, sneezing, itching of the eyes, sore throat, itching of the skin, eyes and ears. Also runny nose may manifest as well as the occurrence of an impaired sense of olfactory. The persistent coughing and or sneezing may also interfere with a person’s sleeping cycle.

A good remedy for hay fever is drinking tea made of boiled grapefruit, with lemon and honey. This will help soothe the sneezing and the coughing. A small amount of petroleum jelly may be applied to the walls of the nasal cavity to help ease the itching.

If you want to use the inhalation method you may choose to use chamomile boiled in hot water. Drape the back of you head with a clean towel to direct the vapor of the boiled herb onto your face so you could breathe it.

Additionally, if chamomile is made to a tea it may be drank to help soothe the symptoms of hay fever. On the other hand, Eucalyptus of the mint family may be used using the inhalation method to help decongestant stuffed nose. It was noted that the exploration of this substance may cause the decline in the intensity of the symptoms.

Prevention is better than cure says a lot of people and we cannot help but agree. If occurrence of hay fever happens too frequently at home make sure to exert the extra effort to clean up to avoid prevalence.

Herbal Remedy For Bronchitis

Bronchitis is defined as the inflammation of the bronchus in the lungs. Inflammation is a common sign infection. The infection or irritation may be caused by a foreign matter breathed, viral or bacterial infection.

Note that this condition may be a symptom to other more complicated causes so it is advised that if this persists that anyone should seek for medical attention as needed for treatment, if necessary.

Bronchitis in general is the body’s attempt to get rid of the volume of mucus build up in the lungs. The inflammation is caused primarily by the infection but then is aggravated due to the persistent coughing and other complications that develop due to the infection.

There are two types of bronchitis and this article will explain those in detail plus the appropriate herbal remedies for it.

The first type is the Acute Bronchitis. Acute Bronchitis is often brought by the contraction of viral infection from the environment either by inhalation of contaminated droplets suspended in the air or contact with contaminated things.

The treatment of this type of bronchitis is based solely on the symptom-treatment which means the body will be allowed to recuperate from the presence of the virus naturally and then the symptoms manifesting will be relieved as it occur.

The second type is the Chonic Bronchitis and this is the type of bronchitis that lasts by about one to two years. This case might need specific medical treatment so consulting a medical professional is advised.

Ginseng is a good remedy for bronchitis as it acts as an anti-inflammatory agent. It reduces the congestion of the bronchial passages and so it facilitates the expulsion of the sputum building up in the lungs.

Astragalus is another herbal remedy that is believed to be an antibiotic. The truth about this herb is that it has that intrinsic quality to promote immunity.

With the boosted immune system it will allow the infected to be able to recover faster compared to relying on the normal process of the body’s recuperation rate.

The rate of the body’s healing will entirely depend on the nutrition and other biological factors that are relevant to combating illness like smoking, drinking alcoholic beverages, hydration and many others.

Echinecea, like Astragalus, helps boost the immune system to help hasten the recovery from the infection.

Coltsfoot is another remedy especially when the bronchitis starts manifesting coughs. Coughing is the body’s reflex to expel the sputum build up in the lung or in the airway in general. Coltsfoot is cough suppressant.

Elecampane works on coughs like Coltsfoot but it works to help clear the sputum from the lings by stimulating the production of fluid in it for easier expulsion.

The expulsion of excessive sputum will aid in preventing the progression of the condition as the sputum may harbor the pathogen and other bacteria that may cause complication(s).

Eucalyptus of the mint family may be used for steam inhalation to help decongest the nasal pathway. This is one of the worst discomforts having a respiratory tract infection. When you can’t breathe through your nose it is such as hassle.

You can’t smell anything. You feel your nose is stuffed. And then you loose appetite. All of these are not a good combination. But there are remedies available. You just need to search for them.

Top 55 herbal remedies

Around the world different cultures heavily relied on medicinal plants and other plants to seek relief from conditions they contract from the environment.

There are those who believed that because of certain fruit’s shape that it can heal the ailments of certain body parts.

That the place of origin of the herb greatly influence the healing properties of the plant and the spectrum of conditions it can treat as well. All of the information were only derived from observation and no scientific basis were provided to either prove efficacy or to disprove or discontinue usage due to potential risks be it great or small.

At this time, current time, studies show that all of the byproduct of research for pharmaceutical companies has benefited humans in multitude of ways of which their goal is to improve the quality of life.

One thing is for sure, herbs should not be used to replace formulated medicines for specific treatment especially those that are formulated for complicated cases. Note that even taking the supplements might require a physician’s approval before taking to reduce the risk of contraindications.

This article will talk about those herb remedies used on common conditions that may be done individually independent from a physician’s advice. This article will note few of the top 55 remedies that are being suggested for use as intervention.

First let’s talk about burns since almost all of us might have experienced this at least two to three times or sometimes we wouldn’t even remember how many times that happened.

So we will rank the few remedies sited here based on how frequent the case is experienced. The best remedy to use on burns is the application of Aloe Vera extract on the affected area.

The Aloe Vera extract has a cooling effect to take away the burning sensation and it is mostly water which is essential to cell repair and it is generally hypoallergenic as well.

Next is a solution for a lot of women’s discomfort during the menopausal stage of their lives. The Black Cohosh has been used to treat hot flashes.

Common to women in the premenopausal or menopausal stage experience this symptom that would typically last seconds or a few minutes.

Black Cohosh is a good alternative supplement to level the declining amount of estrogen in the human body. For people who cannot take estrogen they may take Black Cohosh supplement as an substitute but only after confirmation of their attending medical professional.

Anybody has heard of cramps of the stomach? We can vouch that a lot of us reading this article had that moment in our lives.

There could be multiple causes for this type of bodily reaction. In Europe, most people use tea made out of chamomile to help relax the stomach and to reduce contraction also to relieve pain generated from those involuntary contractions.

These contractions are not normal since it does not follow the peristaltic pattern by the body and so causing pain and discomfort.

This next one is a no brainer. You ever felt sleepy but you had to stay awake? That sounds like a good reason to get a cup of brewed coffee. Though drowsiness is not a disease it happens to all of us when we have to stay awake and we did not have enough rest during the night or the day.

Coffee is packed with caffeine that will aid in stimulating the brain and so will keep you active as needed.

There are other remedies out there for other ailments. Feel free to search for them but these are the ones that ranked top four based on commonality.

Herbal Remedy For Dandruff

The summer time is nearing and many of us people are looking forward to that dryer warmer season for fun and enjoyment.

Probably some of us have experienced fun during the cooler months but nothing beats going out in the sun bathing in its rays and enjoying the heat while soaking in breathtaking beaches!

Coming with the summer season is the dryness and difficulty in managing the hair, scalp and skin. You ever thought of having sunburn? How about unmanageable hair? How about dandruff? We would like to talk more about the latter as it seems simple but more prevalent among all ages in the world’s population.

By statistics it showed that close to half of the total population of the world after puberty are affected by this very common condition regardless of sex and ethnic origin.

As humans we associate with a lot of people every day and so it is somehow a bit embarrassing to showcase this mass of white flakes on the back of your clothes, your collar, you hair.

Have you ever been in a situation where you had to constantly check your shoulders to see if any of the flakes fell on it?

Dandruff is not a disease

Dandruff is not a disease just to put a stop on the here-say that it is an illness. It is not. Dandruff is the shedding of the skin’s outer layer that is practically made of dead cells on the scalp. Naturally this is a way of the body to renew the old corny layer of the scalp.

This process, popularly known as molting on lesser form of animals, would induce a feeling of itch and some discomfort. Note that dandruff is a condition caused by too much exposure to both intense heat and cold.

When person is exposed to too much heat the tendency of the scalp is to dry out and shed for a new layer of skin to protect the head.

While there are other cases where people exposed to too much cold causes the sebum or the oil produced by the skin to moisturize the layer and the hair turn to flakes as the said secretion has fat in it. The itching part is the body’s natural way of ridding the scalp of the flakes.

List of Herbal Remedy For Dandruff

There are herbal remedies available to solve a dandruff problem that is the primary reason why you are reading this article.

But first we need to understand the factors affecting the formation of dandruff to understand the circumstances surrounding its occurrence.

These factors are the skin oil or sebum, the microbes on the skin and their by-product, and individual resistance.

The common herbal remedy to dandruff is the use of highly moisturizing oils and other regimen.

Olive oil is one of the most commonly used interventions that may be applied neat to the skin, the scalp. This may be applied after heating it in the microwave to a temperature not too hot but warm.

Be very careful not overheating the oil as it can cause burn on your scalp and you definitely just want to get rid of the dandruff and not your hair.

The preparation may then be massaged to the scalp. This is advised to be done before bed time.

Allow the oil to sit on the hair and scalp just cover it with a shower cap and when you wake up just rinse it off with a mild shampoo. While sleeping the oil will be absorbed by the skin and aid in keeping it moisturized.

Here is the video how to use olive oil for dandruff problems

Herbal Remedy For Joint Pain

List of Herbal Remedy For Joint Pain

Joint Pain is a laymen’s term to describe the obvious, joint pain. Though the cause of the joint pain could be a more specifically enjoyable topic this article will focus on the herbal remedies available to us.

You ever wonder why people look for herbal remedy to many medical conditions. Well, many people have a tendency to believe that there is an alternative intervention out there with the least or zero risk of side effects.

We see this as an opportunity to better ourselves and not cause any further harm to our body, logical.

Two common cause of joint pain are osteoarthritis- more commonly known as arthritis and then fibromyalgia.

Osteoarthritis is the inflammation of the joint. This condition is the most common form of arthritis that is a result of the trauma to the joints, injury, and infection or generally many people just plain aging.

About 50 million of the population of America suffers from this condition and all these are just but part of the adult segment of the population.

In medicine there are about one hundred forms of arthritis and by far this type is prevalent. The joint pain is normally localized meaning it is only limited to the affected joints and is not migrating.

Fibromyalgia on the other hand is condition that is idiopathic in nature. Idiopathic means that the cause of the condition is not known though it is believed that it is directly related to injury, physical and emotional stress also depression.

The common complaint by people experiencing this idiopathic illness is pain on multiple sites of the body additionally tenderness of soft tissues.

More about Fibromyalgia Herbal Remedies

By statistics it showed that over 6 billion people in America are affected by this condition mostly adults. Logically if this prevalence on adults in America is notable then it is logical to conclude that it may be because most of these individuals are subjected to stress.

List of Herbal Remedy For Joint Pain

There are many herbal remedy for Joint Pain and some of those are listed on this article. An example is Cayenne. Cayenne is a member of the nightshade family of plants.

Commonly it is used in powder form that is then applied topically to the affected area. The Cayenne powder has a component called capsaicin and is a skin irritant.

Though it is an irritant the substance capsaicin is a strong antioxidant and it also has an anti-inflammatory quality. When combined with lotion or cocoa butter this is applied topically to temporarily relieve pain.

Ginger on the other hand is a popularly known pain killer. The active components in ginger that are good anti-inflammatory agents are the alkaloids gingerols and shogaols.

Ginger may be used in many kind of ways. Example of this is brewing it as tea for ingestion, as a topical application on the affected area and or as an additive to food.

If this regimen is used to relieve the pains of arthritis the advisable dosage is nothing more than 1000 mg, 500 mg is also acceptable. When used as a topical application it would normally feel warm in the area which will increase the blood circulation of the affected area thus reducing pain.

Note that the use of herbal remedies may have certain effects to any medication a subject may be taking. If you are advised to take certain medications with strict order from your doctor it is best you consult with them first before taking any herbal remedies for your joint pain to avoid any contraindication.

Rosemary Benefits

Several Rosemary Benefits

Rosemary, also scientifically identified as Rosmarinus Officinalis, is an herb that was native to the Mediterranean. This herb has been qualified as one of those that can be used as a food enhancer and many others as its popularity grew and so people took interest in finding out what else this herb can do.
Rosemary is a perennial herb. Herbalists use the term perennial to describe plants that may have a life span of over two years.

Horticulturalists cultivate a variety of the rosemary plant. Rosemary has many species all cultivated for both commercial purposes or just for plain garden use. These varieties are also called as cultivators.

Rosemary, a perennial herb, is native to the Mediterranean region and so has been used by many for cuisines of the place this herb is native to. Even though this herb is bitter and astringent in high concentrations when regulated its aromatic property complements a wide variety of flavor or flavor combination.

The herb may be used both in fresh and or dried forms though the dried version is more potent in terms of the aroma and other flavor attributes.

In remote past rosemary has benefited many individuals, this aromatic herb is used as a topical application for its natural anti-inflammatory property.

To make this infusion you basically can combine the foliage of the herb with select wine types and allow it to soak over a time period sealed away before use.

As previously indicated on the previous paragraphs, people have taken interest in finding out if there are other uses they can find from this widely used herb. Studies were conducted for specific yields.

Study about Rosemary

A study has been conducted to prove for its potential as a cancer-preventing component. The study showed that rosemary may benefit people due to its high content of both carsonic acid and rosmarinic acid.

These components showed potential as phytochemicals that means they have a level of potency again carcinogenic elements.

Surprisingly, though not in the locale of the study they were also able to reveal that the substance Carsonic Acid showed the quality to protect neural cells from free radicals that may cause damage.

Due to this very helpful quality it was concluded that rosemary can also reduce the risk of developing diseases that degenerates the state of the nervous system like that of Alzheimer’s disease.

A separate study was conducted that determined the efficacy of this perennial herb showing that people just using this herb leads to an enhanced and accelerated brain activity.

Another study utilized the powdered form of the herb administered to mice and the study concluded that the use of the substance prohibit s the binding of certain cancer-causing factors to the cellular level thus preventing the development of cancer of the mammary gland.

Topical Uses

Note that when rosemary is used for topical application the subject’s skin reaction must be considered. Before administering the subject must be tested by using the skin-patch method.

Apply a small amount on the skin and observe in around an hour for any reactions. If the subject shows adverse reactions it is likely that they might have some allergy to the substance and so further use or any form of application is prohibited.

Additional caution must be considered by people who have Iran Deficiency Anemia (IDA).

The use of rosemary somehow performs interference in the assimilation of the nutrient iron into body cells so it is discouraged that people with this medical condition must not, in any way, apply or intake preparations or food additives of this herb.

Cough Herbal Remedies

Cough is a common manifestation of respiratory tract infections. People might just use the term cough to describe an illness but then in diagnosis there could be more to it than just plain cough.

Note that a lot of people who seeks consultation with a medical professional during the cooler months are those who have contracted the illness or have acquired the disease causing pathogen primarily by transmission either by inhaling the droplet of the contaminant in the air, not properly washing hands and many other modes of transmission like using contaminated utensils or personal things from other people who has the disease.

It cannot be helped that people ask about a treatment that is all-natural in to alleviate cough and to potentially resolve the immune-compromised condition.

Since all cultures have had times in the past where majority of the population in the planet relies on these herbal concoctions we are sure that there use of herbal remedy for cough is still apparent in any locality.

Cough is.....

Cough is a basic reflex of the body to help the infected area (lungs, throat etc) to expel any obstructive material and to rid the body of the infectious factors trying to inhabit the body causing disturbance of homeostasis or balance. This is a way of the body to clean the bronchi in the lungs and even the airway.

Type of cough

There will be times that a cough is caused by irritants and allergies. In general there are two types of cough regardless of the causative factor.

One is dry cough where there is no sputum apparent when coughing and two productive cough which is the direct opposite of dry cough.

Dry coughs can be relieved by the use of herbal remedies that is a cough suppressant or you may try expectorants on this cough type to make dry cough to a productive type.

This is normally common on viral respiratory tract infections. In the course of the infection, as it progress, sputum becomes more abundant and so dry coughs then naturally progress to a productive cough.

Cough suppressants must only be used on dry coughs this is to relieve exhausting persistent coughing that interferes with sleeping.

Productive coughs are commonly caused by bacterial infection and would usually last a week and may reoccur. When a person contracts bacterial infection of the respiratory system the administration of antiseptic substances appropriate to the condition will be necessary.

Regular Use of Cough Herbal Remedies

Now let’s talk about the herbal remedy for each type.

Licorice extract has been used widely for its expectorant property though some of its derivatives were found to have antitussive qualities. Let’s distinguish expectorants versus antitussives. Antitussive is a fancy term for cough suppressants while expectorants are those substances that induces an increased production of the lung fluids and so is good for productive coughs.

Wild Cherry Bark is an example of an antitussive. This substance helps decrease the irritation of the membrane of the affected area. The amount of the extract used for the administration is controlled as there is a substance in the extract that can be toxic in high dosages. The substance is called prunasin which is the substance that helps reduce the irritation. It is highly discouraged not to use this antitussive for a long period of time as the dosage due to the risk.

Fibromyalgia Herbal Remedies

Many among us in this fast paced world are keeping up with the struggles, challenges and goodness in our lives.

Do you ever notice that there could be times where you feel sudden fatigue and pains on your body? Do you ever think that this could potentially some medical condition? Did you ever think of consulting a specialist for such pains?

Most of us if not all would just try and alleviate ourselves of these pains with the help of analgesics but then of course it happens over and over again in the course of our lifetime. Will it ever stop? You could be experiencing Fibromyalgia without you knowing it.

What is fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia is a medical condition that is generally described as a chronic pain illness. This conditions manifests experience of pain on multiple body parts characterized as musculoskeletal in nature.

People suffering from this condition also experiences stiffness and then tenderness of soft tissues, sleep disturbance and fatigue too.

The common sites where pain is experienced are the shoulders, the neck, the back and even the pelvic area at times.

Causes of fibromyalgia

The cause of this medical condition is not known to anyone. Medical conditions with an unknown cause are termed as idiopathic.

Though the occurrence of this condition is of unknown cause it is somehow associated greatly to people who are subjected injury, physical and or emotional stress like depression and other syndromes like chronic fatigue syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, insomnia or even just plain sleep disturbances.

Statistics in America shows that 6 Billion of its total population (adults) suffers from this idiopathic medical condition. About sixty percent of the total count is women.

Also studies showed that the prevalence of this condition is quite common to people in ages between twenty and twenty-five, about the prime of their lives.

The prevalence showed the density in the population who suffers from the condition by the age bracket but younger people are also manifesting similar symptoms.

The term remedy is associated to fibromyalgia as there is no cure to it. The focus of the administration of anything to patients manifesting these signs and symptoms is of course to just relieve the symptoms brought by the condition.

Best Fibromyalgia Herbal Remedies

People nowadays seek natural ways of treating conditions and relieving signs and symptoms of those with no cure yet. People will tend to ask "is there an herbal remedy to fibromyalgia?".

To answer that question well there are many that can be used to alleviate the signs and symptoms of the above mentioned.

About St John’s Wort

St John’s Wort has already been used by many in alleviating the pains caused by fibromyalgia. This herb is a natural antidepressant. It helps alleviate pains by inhibiting neurotransmitters impaling the sensation for pain.

St. John’s Wort is a good example of a remedy due to most of the associated cases to fibromyalgia are stress related and so naturally if you administer an antidepressant then all other symptoms that goes with depression or stress might go away as well.

Other herbal components that can be used are those like Ginger, Turmeric, and Astragulus that helps boost the immune system to prevent the furtherance of such a medical condition. Additionally, Ginseng, Ginkgo Biloba and some members of the Mint family such as Peppermint and Eucalyptus may be found helpful as well.

Herbal Remedy for Hot Flashes

Hot flash is a common complaint from many women approaching the premenopausal period of their lives. Let’s make clear that a hot flash is not a disease but a symptom of an upcoming life event.

Note that a hot flash may also be induced on different other medical conditions that affect the thermoregulatory ability of the body.

People who experience this discomfort would normally seek natural ways to relieve it. Herbal remedies are those that get to your mind first before anything else.

Hot Flashes are not just seen and or experienced by women. There were cases charted as well regarding men experiencing the same but since the prevalence of this condition is more common in women then it is best that we focus on the remedies and other possible intervention relevant to both men and women.

All women are going to go through the early stages of menopause but not all of these women approaching that significant stage will experience hot flashes.

Statistics suggests that eight out of ten women experiences hot flashes during the premenopausal stage and during the menopausal stage itself.

The alleviation of the manifestation of a hot flash is of utmost priority since it is extremely uncomfortable to the subject.

Hot flashes symptoms
Hot flashes are notable when the following is felt: sudden increase in the feeling of warmth that is normally common to be felt on the head and around the neck region and there were reports that indicate the heat is felt all throughout the body inducing sweating, flushing of the skin characterized by redness, and night sweats if it occurs while the subject is asleep. Hot flashes may also be experienced years before the onset of the menopausal period.

The predictability of the occurrence is not possible as it is caused by the declining levels of estrogen that is the primary female hormone.

As people seek alternative to conventional medical treatments below is a list of herbal remedy to ease the manifestations of a hot flash.

List of Herbal Remedy for Hot Flashes

Evening Primrose extract is one of the most commonly recognized emmenagogic substances that may be used to aid people suffering from hot flashes.

The Evening Primrose extract contains gamma linolenic acid that inhibits the production of prostaglandin also known as the pain chemical of the body.

Prostaglandin enhances the perception of pain and so logically eases the pains and discomfort brought by premenopausal stages and menopausal stage as well.

Notably this extract also has the component that targets the hypothalamus which is the center of thermoregulation resulting to an effect that helps relieve hot flashes.

Red clover is another popular plant to relieve hot flashes.

This is a wild plant that is an ideal source of estrogen-like substance known as isoflavones.

Isoflavones are chemical compounds that have a similar chemical structure as that of estrogen.

With the similarity in structure it mimics the function of estrogen and sort of acts as a substitute for it. With regular intake as supplement it will aid in stabilizing the declining level of estrogen by tricking the monitor watch of the body saying there is filler for it.

There are many other herbal remedies available out there to aid the occurrence of hot flash bit nonetheless if you seek herbal remedy bear in mind that you have to do is try to look for it.

Herbal Remedy For Sinus Infection

Typically people around the globe would look for various interventions to certain medical conditions.

It is common than not that people consult with medical professionals for consultation, get admitted for further observation if the case needs it, or others are tagged as outpatients scheduled for another consultation after a brief period of time suggested to take prescriptions.

Prescriptions, normally you would think chemically formulated and is unsafe due to potential risk of side effect(s). With this ideology people tend to look for an alternative route to treat conditions and or ease the symptoms incorporated to it to aid recovery.

It is commonly practiced in many cultures that these types of conditions be cured with the use of naturally occurring substances derived from plants, herbal remedies.

Summer is fast approaching and it cannot be helped that a lot of people will be having their particularly hated upper respiratory tract infections due to viral, bacterial proliferation and or allergies as it is around this time of the year where many allergens are airborne.

A common case that many people may be experiencing is the occurrence of infection to the sinuses. Though not a serious condition it becomes irritating and it spoils a lot of fun in the summer.

Note that the infection of the sinuses could possibly be an indication of another condition, caution.

Sinus Symptoms

Sinus infection could manifest a list of symptoms including runny nose- that is a watery discharge from the nose, headaches due to increased intra cranial pressure- or the pressure inside the head, induced aches of the molars- tooth, loss of olfactory - meaning the ability to determine scents, at times fever due to the infection which is a normal way of the body to eliminate pathogenic factors, inflammation of the throat, induced cough reflex due to irritation and then fatigue.

Most of the over the counter medications available are chemically formulated and are designed to combat the symptoms of the respiratory tract infection causing these manifestations.

These medications do not literally exterminate the causative factor especially for viral infection, which many medicines cannot cure.

List of Herbal Remedy For Sinus Infection
There are multiple herbal remedy that are available for people to utilize in cases such as sinus infection and its symptoms.

Eyebright is a notable herb that has anti-inflammatory quality to aid in decongestant the nasal pathway for easier breathing and so reducing intracranial pressure. The same anti-inflammatory quality may be obtained by making a tea out of Garlic and Ginger. When taken, this will allow the relief of pain (ginger) and then the loosening of inflamed sinuses.

The herb coneflower is a good remedy to sinus infection cause by pathogens. This herb will aid in boosting the immune system that will hasten recovery from the illness causing the infection itself. An herb called Goldenseal can aid in the recovery from the respiratory tract infection due to its antibacterial and antiviral qualities. Goldenseal has the quality that chemically formulated medicines do not have to combat viral infection.

Lavender is also a good herb to use in aiding the recovery of people suffering from sinus infection caused by respiratory tract affecting pathogen. Lavender is a natural stimulant to hasten tissue regeneration when damaged. Additionally it showed on studies that it has antibacterial and antiviral quality as well.

For those looking for an herbal remedy try some of these suggested herbal interventions. Seek help from experts or qualified practitioners for advice regarding their uses.