 Let’s face it. It’s hard right now. We’re bombarded daily with all the doom and gloom in the world, we can’t see our family and friends and we definitely can’t hug them! We’re faced with the possibility of illness, financial stress and isolation…fun times heh? It’s no surprise that anxiety rates are rising as we scramble to get a grip on the continually changing rules of lockdown.
These are my 4 foundation blocks to build anxiety resilience. They are not the only things so please reach out for more help if you need it! Sleep- We need a good 7-8 hours of good quality sleep a night. Without this our stress hormones run rampant. We crave stimulants in the form of coffee, carbs and sugar. And all contribute to energy peaks and troughs that set off our anxiety. Good sleep hygiene includes a dark room, skip the coffee after midday and limit screens an hour before bed. Switch to an old-fashioned bath, book and then bed routine. Waking in the middle of the night? Look after your liver with lots of fresh greens, dandelion tea and plenty of water to flush the toxins out. Gut health- our gut is the cornerstone of our mental health. Without good gut health our happy hormones just don’t thrive. We need fresh fruit and veg with lots of fibre to keep belly bugs happy and our mental health on track. I know you stocked up on pasta but in the interest of your mental health skip it and have a pile of fresh veg instead! Naturally fermented foods like sauerkraut help too. Vitamin D- I was a bit sneaky here because while Vit D is uber important for mental health you need to be outside to get it. Breathe the fresh air, listen to the birds and get your body moving! You can just lie in the sun but outdoor activity like walking means you are getting the sunshine vitamin and also exercise which is also awesome for anxiety suffers. Double whammy! Alcohol- Alcohol has a lesser known, but huge and real, side effect called anxiety. It also interferes with your sleep and the way you metabolise food. Don’t fall into this trap. Here are some figures. A standard drink is 100ml of red wine or 375ml of a commercial mid-strength beer- roughly. Australian recommendations are 4 standard drinks a day but less than 10 per week in total. How do you stack up? By building these strong foundations we can keep anxiety at bay and make our time in lockdown a far more pleasant space to be!
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 This one is massive so forgive me for just skimming the surface. When we think of mental health and all the many and varied diagnosis it encompasses nutrition rarely gets a mention beyond ‘eat well’ yet it is an integral part of mental health. There is not one solution to mental health. I firmly believe it takes a village to support mental health. Pulling together a team of trusted health care providers to support you including GP’s, psychiatrists, psychologists, counsellors, natural health care practitioners and body workers creates an unparalleled support network. Whatever brings you even a small amount of help needs to be added in. Like I said, it takes a team. When we talk about nutrition, I am so grateful that the gut-brain axis is being recognised in conventional circles as well as recognising that genetics play a part in mental health and this includes our ability to convert nutrients to usable forms. There’s so much more research being done! I am loving that nutrition is finally being acknowledged as part of the bigger picture in mental health. Gut health I’m the boring person at parties these days with my preoccupation with the gut-brain axis but more and more studies are being done looking at the connection. It’s an incredibly exciting area of mental health. For starters 90% of our serotonin lives in here. This is one of our feel-good hormones. Histamine, as well as causing allergic reactions, is an excitatory neurotransmitter that is broken down in the gut. B12 is synthesised in the gut which, at low levels, can be an issue for energy levels and depression as well as being needed for the creation of other neurotransmitters. Mineral imbalance Did you know that zinc to copper ratios need to be just right for good mental health? If they are not, we can see a range of mental health concerns ranging from mild anxiety to risky, impulsive behaviour. Often children will present as having low attention spans, unable to sit still and have angry outbursts. Low zinc can impact our ability to think. ‘No zinc, no think’ is a nice little saying but low copper can create similar issues so be cautious with supplementation. Zinc and copper can most definitely be tested in a blood test. Before you all run out to get blood test be aware that these are not the only things that could be an issue. Low vitamin D can be an issue in depression as can low B12. Too much histamine stimulates our nervous system also. Honestly, the list goes on and on. This is just a very quick overview. There are many, many reasons why you may be feeling the way you do which is why creating a team to thoroughly cover everything is so important. Methylation issues Here’s a fun one that seems incredibly topical right now. Variations in the MTHFR gene can inhibit our body’s ability to change folic acid to folate (the useable form). There are lots and lots of fall outs from this including recurrent miscarriage to, you guessed it, mental health issues. It sounds simple enough, but over-methylating and under-methylating give 2 different responses. A huge range of children’s behaviours can be exacerbated by a variation in the MTHFR gene including lack of attention, impulsivity, anxiety, obsessive behaviour or thoughts and self-harm in more extreme cases. Obviously, these can be attributed to adult concerns as well. The specific MTHFR gene is not the only one in the body that has variations aka mutations aka SNPS but it’s a common example. It is all about epigenetics and whether these genes are active or not. All kinds of things get them going including stress, diet, environment, exposure to toxins and so on. It is absolutely possible to test for these things although symptoms need to be taken into account as well. We are individuals after all! I’m not suggesting that anything I’m outlining here is THE answer to all mental health issues, but they are definitely a piece of the puzzle worth exploring. If you are concerned, chat with your GP but also with your natural health practitioners. Get your team together! There are many pieces to the mental health puzzle. It is worth exploring them all! The information given here is general in nature and not intended as a diagnosis nor should it be taken as such. It is in no way intended to take the place of advice from your chosen healthcare professional or specialist. If symptoms persist, or you have further concerns please see your chosen health care provider. References
Martin, C., Osadchiy, V., Kalani, A., & Mayer, E. (2018). The Brain-Gut-Microbiome Axis. Cellular And Molecular Gastroenterology And Hepatology, 6(2), 133-148. doi: 10.1016/j.jcmgh.2018.04.003 Russo, A. (2011). Decreased Zinc and Increased Copper in Individuals with Anxiety. Nutrition And Metabolic Insights, 4, NMI.S6349. doi: 10.4137/nmi.s6349 The role of genetics and genomics in clinical psychiatry. (2018). Controversies In Psychiatry, 20(3), 169-177. doi: 10.31887/dcns.2018.20.3/mhoehe Wan, L., Li, Y., Zhang, Z., Sun, Z., He, Y., & Li, R. (2018). Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase and psychiatric diseases. Translational Psychiatry, 8(1). doi: 10.1038/s41398-018-0276-6  Blue skies, sun shining, cool nights and warm days-perfection is currently available on the Tablelands! With all this sunshine it’s the ideal time to top up the old vitamin D levels. Vitamin D, aka the ‘Sunshine vitamin’, is incredibly important to us. It’s synthesised on the skin by sunlight but there are only a few foods that contain the sunshine vitamin and not in great enough quantities to ignore the action of sunlight. The sunshine vitamin is necessary for the absorption of calcium so it’s indispensable to our bones. Rickets is not as common as it once was, but it is a prolonged vitamin D deficiency that causes it. Vitamin D deficiency has been named and shamed as contributing to a variety of conditions including osteoporosis, depression, anxiety, diabetes, weight gain, asthma and low immunity…that’s quite a list!
I’m sure that’s brought up plenty of questions so here come some answers! You’re more likely to have a vitamin D deficiency if you are vegan (more on that in a minute), have limited exposure to sun, impaired digestive function, have darker skin or the frail and/or elderly. That’s the short list but you get the idea. As mentioned, there are some foods that contain vitamin D. These are butter, milk, egg yolks, cod liver oil and sprouted seeds. This is why vegans are at a greater risk of vitamin D deficiency. But vegans don’t need to miss out! Plant based sources include mushrooms and tofu. Some foods are fortified with vitamin D. There are also supplements. And of course, sunlight! Sunlight is the most important source of vitamin D. And the big question is always how to get enough sunlight without risking skin cancer. I consulted the Cancer Council for this, and it turns out that we only need a few minutes of sunlight a day up here on the FNQ tablelands. Opt for times outside peak UV levels which are usually before 10am and after 3pm. Take your shirt off! The skin is a massive organ and the more you expose to sunlight the more vitamin D is made. So, grab your morning cuppa, show some skin and bask in the morning sun to warm up and strengthen your bones the passive, lizard-inspired way!  If you can’t shift the weight or feel like your middle is getting bigger no matter how much you try take a look at your stress levels. It’s not your imagination. If you’ve been under stress for quite some time it is very likely that elevated cortisol levels are contributing to your increasing waist-line. Cortisol is one of the adrenal hormones produced in times of stress. It was developed in a time when we got chased by bears and other predators. Even though the stress is not usually life threatening our brain perceives the threat in the same way. Cortisol is quite the hormone. In a perfect world it’s the hormone that gets us up and outta bed in the mornings. Mornings are when it should be highest. As the day goes on it is meant to decrease and be at its lowest in the middle of the night. It also ensures we remain on alert when danger is near. It sharpens our memory and our responses, it mobilises glucose for the brain to use and it shuts down non-essential things like digestion and muscle repair. Basically it preps the body to run from a bear! It’s really useful! Once the danger has passed cortisol is meant to decrease to regular levels so our body can chill, digest, sleep and repair itself. But, in chronic stress it simply doesn’t get the chance. It stays in high alert levels for the majority of the time leaving us tired and wired, finding digestion not what it should be and craving sugar and carbs.  Craving sugar and carbs? This is where things get complicated as long term heightened cortisol levels results in cells that are insulin resistance. The cortisol increases blood sugar levels but the muscle and fat cells refuse to take the insulin in a bid to stop the enormous flow of glucose and redirect it to the brain. Insulin is needed for glucose to enter muscle and fat cells but not brain cells however. The excess insulin makes you want to eat more but the excess glucose that isn’t being used gets turned to fat. Whoa! Complicated hey? Belly fat? It gets better! Why the middle fat? Cortisol also encourages more fat around the middle as this visceral fat is better able to make cortisol and also has more receptors. This means not only are the adrenals pumping out cortisol but now you have extra being made in your belly fat! Super! Can you hear the sarcasm? It may also be because while your body is in fight or flight it ain’t digesting food well at all. Part of that belly could be bloating from poor digestion. Can’t sleep? Lack of sleep comes into play here too. High cortisol levels means we are tired and wired. By the time we relax enough to sleep, it’s time to wake up. Only our cortisol has only just reduced. We struggle to get out of bed, reach for coffee, more coffee and then a side of coffee with that coffee. But by night our cortisol is back up to danger speed and off we go again. And what happens when we’re tired? Our body craves food for energy. Enter more weight gain! Emotional eating?. We often turn to comfort food in times of stress. Comfort food is usually high carb or sugar or both. But cortisol is causing insulin resistance so all the excess glucose gets turned to…you guessed it! Fat! What does this all mean for my weight? In a nut-shell the longer you are under stress the longer you are experiencing on going high cortisol levels. The longer this goes on the more belly fat gets made, the more insulin resistant the cells become, the more you crave energy rich (not necessarily nutrient dense) food, the less quality sleep you get and the less your body is properly digesting leaving you bloated. As cortisol also constricts the arteries it raises blood pressure. Not ideal! If you want to know how you can nourish your adrenals check out next week’s blog! Stress is not the only cause of weight gain, but it is a significant contributor. If you are experiencing unexplained weight gain get in contact with your preferred health care provider because it may be something else but if you are experiencing on going high levels of stress it could just be that this is causing your pants to tighten. References
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5115704/ https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/improve-insulin-sensitivity#section4 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5115704/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3942672/ https://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/111609p38.shtml  Tears, meltdowns, clinginess…and that’s just the parents! Jokes aside this is a really tough time for lots of little ones. There is a million things you can do but one basic one that gets frequently missed is sleep. Super basic and incredibly important for our ability to emotionally regulate. Any sleep deprived parent will be able to tell of heightened emotions of some sort. Our little ones are absolutely no different. The only difference is they don’t have the maturity to know that one influences the other…plenty of time to work that out! to edit. A number of studies have linked a lack of sleep to anxiety and mood disorders. As science discovers more we have explanations for so many things- sleep loss and irritablilty, teariness, inability to control anger, depression…the list goes on. Some of it is chicken and egg stuff but a good night’s sleep will help regardless. Here’s a basic idea of how much sleep kids need: Age Recommend hours of sleep 2-5 years 10-13 hours 6-13 years 9-11 hours 14-17 years 8-10 hours That is a LOT of sleep! If your 5 year old goes to bed at 8pm then the earliest they should wake is 6 or 7am. Your 8 year old for example, goes to bed at 8.30am and they will be waking at around 6.30am. Don’t forget to account for time to get to sleep. Not all kids fall asleep as soon as their head hits the pillow. I know I’m not the only one with kids that go to the loo 4 times after getting into bed and get up for at least one drink! That can go on for more than an hour… I’m not telling you this to make you feel guilty. I ask my clients to ditch the mother guilt at the door. This is about knowledge because once we know we can do something about it. Lots of these tips apply to parents as well so pay attention- sleep can become a family project! Sweet slumber tips:
Weirdly, sleep begets sleep. That is the more good quality sleep you have the more you will get. And lots of sleep helps our wee ones regulate their emotions that much better…I’m not going to guarantee no tears but giving your kids the best opportunity to sleep you possibly can is giving them a stable base for the day. References https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/child-sleep-zzzs/201805/how-much-sleep-are-children-getting https://adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/related-illnesses/sleep-disorders https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/sleep-and-mental-health http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/need-sleep/whats-in-it-for-you/mood https://psychcentral.com/news/2013/06/27/sleep-loss-increases-anxiety-especially-among-worriers/56531.html https://www.sleephealthfoundation.org.au/files/pdfs/Sleep-Needs-Across-Lifespan.pdf Disclaimer: Homeopathy is a traditional medicine.The TGA considers Homeopathy a low risk medicine. It may be used in conjunction with other medicines. For any ongoing chronic condition, it is important to be assessed or examined by your healthcare professional or specialist.
Information given here is in no way intended to take the place of advice from your chosen healthcare professional or specialist. Any examples given from the authors life do not indicate that the remedy in question will work for everyone in every instance. They are used solely to illustrate the use the medicine in a practical situation. Information is generally in nature and nothing said on this website is intended as a diagnosis and should not be taken as such. Always seek medical advice in emergencies. 
Australia is burning and I feel utterly useless sitting up here in FNQ. What can we do beyond donations and thoughts? And then I realised that I have a bucket load of knowledge that might actually benefit someone suffering from smoke inhalation, grief, exhaustion, emotions…so I did a facebook live which you can see below. And now I’m backing it up with a blog. Easy reference and you don’t have to listen to me haha! This is going to be of more benefit to those already familiar with homeopathy but my offer stands of free consults and remedies to those in the fire affected areas or fighting fires. I’ve also started a FB group and have about 10 other homeopaths with the same offer! Head to https://www.facebook.com/groups/457092981885348/ if you need some help or just want to support us! All the remedies here I’d give in a 30c 3-4 times daily. Just one pillule straight from the cap to under your tongue to dissolve. This is very basic acute prescribing. You give it until the symptoms start to get better and then stop. That’s it. Nothing too tricky there. Rescue remedy- every home needs this to take the edge off their anxiety and fear and heightened emotions generally. You can give either 2 drops under the tongue or 4 drops in a bottle of water that you sip at all day. This is my preferred method for chronic anxiety. No limit to how much to use other than it’s preserved in alcohol. I see it in most chemists and definitely health food stores. 
Ignatia- our best known grief remedy! We need this collectively as a nation right now. Teariness, sleepless with grief, reactions that aren’t appropriate like laughing at something sad or crying at something funny and yawning which can be a sign of needing more oxygen- definitely if you have fires burning nearby. There can also be a hoarseness and loss of voice with the grief. Again, this is likely with all the smoke.
Aconite- this is traditionally used as a shock remedy particularly when the person has suffered a near death experience or felt like they were going to die. I’m sure there are plenty of you! Also great for that croupy cough kids (and adults) get which come on in the middle of the night. Euphrasia- perfect for too much smoke! Traditionally used for a collection of symptoms including watery burning eyes, runny nose worse in the morning and a cough. Sound like too much smoke? I think so too. Arsenicum album- burning is the thing to remember here. There will be things like a burning throat and/or burning eyes. The throat will fee constricted with a dry cough that will be better for small sips of water and warm drinks. And restlessness! It’s a very restless remedy. It’s a bit similar to aconite as it also has that fear of death in its picture.
And some tissue salts that might help:
Ferrum phos- perfect for any kind of inflammation. It’s also great for iron and therefore getting more oxygen around the body. Nat mur- lovely to help dry mucous membranes and redistribute that water in the body. Kali phos- for the utterly depleted and defeated. An excellent, traditional nerve tonic. These are really easy to get from the chemist. Ask for Scheussleur salts. A few other really simple things are:
I don’t know if this is helpful. I really feel totally ineffectual right now so if someone gets even a tiny amount of help from this then wonderful! I’ve helped someone. Much love to everyone! This topic is peppered thorough everything I write and say so I figured the time had come to get some things down in writing! Gut health. It's a term that is incredible popular right now. It's a buzz word and I know why!  What's the first thing you think of with gut health? The first thing? Is it poo? I think of poo! I"m sure i"m not the only one (please don't let me be the only one). Well here's the interesting thing. It's only partly about poo. We can tell heaps by noting our bowel habits, timing, frequency, consistency, difficulty, smell, colour texture...but who honestly looks? I ask ALL my clients and consistently get "Great! Fine! All good! No problem!" but they are complaining of symptoms of a poor immune system, skin conditions, allergies, and a low mood or difficulty sleeping. Mix and match as you wish. Each and every one of those symptoms can be impacted by gut health. Here's couple of quick facts:
but if we get too much histamine it produces all sorts of allergic issues.
Totally easy to do! No excuses to give your gut some TLC to boost your immune system, mood mood and digestion!
Enjoy!  You're getting a real sense for my eclectic taste in music! In my early teens right through to my late teens I had a total love affair with The Beatles. I spent many hours mooning about John Lennon (already dead and buried for a number of years) and dreaming of the Cavern in Liverpool where they got started. Ahhhhh...the glory days of music. Sorry. Back to health and healing. When we get injured or sick we just want to get better and be back to our old selves. Agreed? We want to go back to the time when we felt well and we want to do it as quickly as possible. Immediately in fact. If there was a magic pill we'd take it. Unfortunately for us healing and good health doesn't always work that way. Acute conditions may respond to Homeopathics in this way e.g a flu may improve very quickly with the right Homeopathic, bruising may rapidly disappear with Arnica, you may feel a million dollars after your Bowen session. Awesome! We love it when that happens! It's incredibly satisfying for the client and the practitioner. And with the acute conditions I see it regularly. However, when we're dealing with chronic conditions (those ones that last for years, maybe our mother had it too, maybe it's hormonal, mental or emotional etc) or injuries (plantar fasciitis, injuries that have plagued you for years, those that developed over time from sports or are work related etc) the healing and the path back to health can truly be the mythical 'Long and Winding Road'. The way I explain it to my clients is this...  This is what we all hope for. We want a clear path back to our healthy life. The trend is straight up, no blips, no waivers and no back tracking. Gotta love the upward trajectory!  The reality is this. See how it jumps up and down? There are peaks and valleys as well as plateaus. This is far more common! Most importantly though...the general trend is still upward! Go the upward trajectory! It can be difficult for us to see sometimes, especially if we have hit a valley, but if you look back at where you started you get a clearer picture of the gains you've made. This is healing. This is the path to good health.  Every now and again I see this kind of healing. It's slow and painstaking with many plateaus and tiny gains. BUT the general trend is still upward. Although the slope is long and slow the general trajectory is still upward. This can be really disheartening for everyone but it is super important to remember that the graph still shows an upward trend. Don't give up!!  So why the peaks, valleys and plateaus? Good question! And the answer is multi faceted...This is what graphs can't plot and predict. Here are some thoughts. Sometimes life gets in the way. At sometime in the healing process we may experience stress, grief or extenuating circumstances which may mean a number of things. Maybe we start eating poorly again and go back to old habits. Maybe we forget to take the homeopathics or miss Bowen appointments. Maybe just the stress has exacerbated your condition temporarily. These things are unavoidable. Speak to your practitioner to see what they can do to support you through this valley. Maybe you need a review. It may be a simple case of upping the potency or maybe you need or sit through it as your body rebels against being well again. The best way forward is to contact your practitioner. They've done some heavy duty study on just these things and will be able to take you to the next step. The biggest avoidable reason for valleys and plateaus is this. Once you start feeling well again you want to jump right back into life where you left off. This is especially true for injuries. You have a Bowen session, you wake up feeling amazing and go for an enormous run or work out and BINGO! The old injury returns. Maybe you've cut out wheat and the treatments/remedies are working. You feel so awesome that wheat starts to creep back in and BINGO! All the old issues return. Maybe not as bad but they return. That's the valley or the plateau. Give your body time to truly heal. Ease yourself back into life. Have respect for the healing process and your body. You need to build your fitness back up, strengthen muscles and listen to your body. We're all human. I do this kind of thing all the time but if you want the best from your Bowen or the best from your homeopathy keep this in mind! If you've been struggling with a health issue or injury for months or years it is unlikely it will resolve overnight. The bottom line is healing and good health takes time and hard work. The path is not usually straight. It can feel like you are going nowhere. BUT...look back to where you began- you won't turn into a pillar of salt (I promise) but you will see how far you have come!  Disclaimer: Homeopathy is a traditional medicine.The TGA considers Homeopathy a low risk medicine. It may be used in conjunction with other medicines. For any ongoing chronic condition, it is important to be assessed or examined by your healthcare professional or specialist. Information given here is in no way intended to take the place of advice from your chosen healthcare professional or specialist. Any examples given from the authors life do not indicate that the remedy in question will work for everyone in every instance. They are used solely to illustrate the use the medicine in a practical situation.
Always seek medical advice in emergencies.  We had an awesome experience this weekend! Something you don't expect in the tropics...we went ice skating! It was an absolute blast! While Gavin and the kids are exceptionally at ease on anything that moves under their feet I am the odd one out. Even though I spent half (ok most) of the session hanging onto the sides I still had a blast! I wish I could say the same for a young boy I was following as we edged our way around. My heart went out to the poor kid as he clung to the side begging his mum to take him home as tears flowed down his cheeks. He was so frightened of falling he was shaking! Unfortunately once you're on the rink you have to go round to get off...What a nightmare for him!
It reminded me of a dfferent time a few years ago when Gavin took my eldest son and a few of his friends inline skating. I got a call about 20min into the session from Gavin saying that one of the boys had never been skating and despite all of Gavin's training/teaching skills and patience he was trembling with fear and unable to let go of the sides. He was basically frozen to the spot. Gavin was really concerned that the child would have an awful experience and be put off for life! The parents were open to homeopathics- was there anything in the kit he could give to help?  ABSOLUTELY! There was a very clear choice to use in the management of the symptoms of anticipatory anxiety, trembling and fear of falling (you can add in frequent trips to the loo if you weren't stuck on the rink). GELSEMIUM. It's the perfect choice for those that are fearful of falling! They may be trembling with fear and they may be frozen to the spot. Excellent. I rang back 15min later and the child was making his way around the rink with his mates, smile on his face and having a great time! What a turn around! Thank you Gelsemium! Gelsemium is traditionally used in Homeopathy to support the symptoms mentioned here. As always Homeopathy treats the individual not the disease. Even if you use the 'fear of falling' as a metaphor for fear of failing or possible disaster it can be used to manage the symptoms of anticipatory anxiety. They may include those extra trips to the toilet to urinate, a 'freezing-up' like stage fright, and trembling. I'm also thinking of dogs that are going to the vet! As soon as they realise they become a trembling mess that you can't get out of the car for love nor money! Often they pee on the spot-yuck! I'm also thinking of people right before job interviews...difficult for the most confident person. Do you freeze up during an interview and run a trench between you and the toilet prior to the appointment? What a very useful remedy! Keep it in mind... Love and laughter til next time... Sarah  **Homeopathy is a traditional medicine. It may be used in conjunction with other medicines. For any ongoing chronic condition, it is important to be assessed or examined by your healthcare professional or specialist. Always seek medical advice in emergencies.
 Grief. It's a big bottomless pit that feels like you are in free fall when you are unceremoniously dumped in it. The further down you go the less likely it seems you will be able claw your way back to the top. My own memories of deep, deep grief are black...I know it sounds ridiculous but they just aren't there. Instead it is just black. The loss of a loved one, the end of a relationship, moving, a change of circumstance, saying good bye...all lead to some sort of grief. It is a natural response and a normal emotion. I'm not going to tell you Homeopathy can stop the pain or Bowen will numb you. I won't mention nutrition as most people grieving are completely unaware of what they are eating even if they remember. But all have a place to help you move through the grief in a healthy way. Grief belongs to the individual and is different for everyone. As you stand at the edge of that bottomless pit, ready to fall in and be enveloped please know that as you spiral in it is possible to spiral out.  The first time I consciously remember the free fall was horrendous. I couldn't leave the house and could barely get out of bed. The deep sobbing lasted weeks and came on doing the simplest of things. I wouldn't even say I was functioning at that time. It just seemed endless...Of course it wasn't but it took me so long to move out of that deep stage of grief, I wondered if I would ever feel ok again. The next time grief struck I had homeopathics and my experience was different. Grief with homeopathics was still painful but I wasn't stuck there. I was totally enveloped by it, I wallowed in it but never did I feel stuck. I moved through the grief but never did I feel it was taken away from me. It was like finding a ledge in that bottomless pit to hang out on for a while to catch my breath and work out what to do next. I had my share of sleepless nights but when I did sleep it was restful. After a short time I was sleeping deeply and restfully through the night. I definitely feel that I faired well through an exceptionally traumatic and challenging time. It's not that the pain went. It was that I could deal with it better. My top two favourite Homeopathics for grief are Ignatia and Pulsatilla although there are plenty of others! These remedies are traditionally used to support an individual through a time of grief. If you are unable to move it please seek out professional help from your chosen health care provider. Ignatia (aka ignatia amara)- this is generally used to manage the initial stage of grief. The inconsolable weeping and shock that can occur. The grief may also cause inappropriate responses such as laughter at something serious or tears at something funny. Pulsatilla- also a teary remedy but these folks will crave, and be better for, consolation. They will need to have others around and be much better outside. Their moods will be quite changeable. Had I been aware of the full benefits of Bowen at the time I would of jumped at the opportunity to have a Bowen session. There are specific moves that can be used to support the grief but the biggest benefit in terms of grief is putting the body back into rest and repair mode. It works on settling the nervous system which is something that the grieving person will hugely benefit from. Bowen will give the grieving person time out from the world. It is hard to deal with grief and hard to know what is part of the normal process and what is not. As a society we seem turned off to grief and this makes navigating it even harder. Counsellors and psychologists are awesome allies to get you through as well so please, please pick up the phone. A GP can organise a mental health plan so you can get a few counselling session free. I've added a few organisations below that do phone or online counselling as well. If it is all too much go and see your GP. Homeopathics and Bowen can both be used in conjunction with any conventional treatments and medications. The solution can be many fold it doesn't need to be exclusive! http://griefline.org.au/beta/pages/12 http://www.sands.org.au/find-support https://www.lifeline.org.au/Get-Help/ Disclaimer: Homeopathy is a traditional medicine.The TGA considers Homeopathy a low risk medicine. It may be used in conjunction with other medicines. For any ongoing chronic condition, it is important to be assessed or examined by your healthcare professional or specialist. Information given here is in no way intended to take the place of advice from your chosen healthcare professional or specialist. Any examples given from the authors life do not indicate that the remedy in question will work for everyone in every instance. They are used solely to illustrate the use the medicine in a practical situation. Always seek medical advice in emergencies. References
http://www.naturalmedicine.net.nz/homeopathy/homeopathy-for-grief-and-emotional-trauma/ http://www.britishhomeopathic.org/bha-charity/how-we-can-help/conditions-a-z/grief/ http://vitalitymagazine.com/article/homeopathic-medicine-for-sadness-grief-and-depression/ |
AuthorHello, hello! Welcome to my blog. I'm Sarah the creator of Simply Healing. Archives
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