Mental Health Matters

Please see my new blog site for more exciting posts

Anxiety and depression are two of the most common mental health issues worldwide.

Just as anxiety tends to disrupt routines, getting into a routine can lower anxiety. Routines allow us to be more efficient, to spend less time thinking or worrying about what needs to be done and more time just doing it. This then opens up time to relax and better enjoy our lives.

Did you know that your body is so finely tuned into a circadian rhythm that there are particular times of the day when it is better to eat, sleep and be productive? Chinese medicine sets out a guide to healthy living by living in tune with your body’s rhythms and cycles.  There are recognised two-hour periods throughout the day when qi (energy) is at its peak in each organ system and can help us think more clearly, digest better and sleep more deeply.  Creating a routine that follows this system can make life feel more predictable and provide a sense of order and control, this reduces stress and anxiety and can help you become more productive as you go with the flow of your body clock.  To find out more about how your body clock works come along to my Flow Well, Stress Less seminar that I hold regularly throughout the year. 

Chinese medicine works holistically, recognising the mind-body connection and treating the whole person – body, mind, emotions and spirit. The intention in treatment is to correct any physical imbalances that might allow your anxiety to continue.  As research continues, acupuncture is gradually being proven to be a legitimate treatment for anxiety and depression as well as many other illnesses. Research has shown that acupuncture can help ease anxiety by acting on areas of the brain known to reduce sensitivity to pain and stress, as well as promoting relaxation and deactivating the ‘analytical’ brain, which is responsible for anxiety and worry.

In a comprehensive literature review appearing in CNS Neuroscience and Therapeutics, it was proven that acupuncture is comparable to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), which psychologists commonly use to treat anxiety.  Results of another experimental study on acupuncture in patients with minor depressive episodes and generalized anxiety indicated that acupuncture leads to a significant clinical improvement as well as to a remarkable reduction in anxiety symptoms.

Acupuncture generally gives immediate results of relaxation. Feelings of anxiety tend to reduce within 24 hours of treatment and with regular treatments your sense of relaxation will last longer and longer.  Often there are other health issues that contribute to your anxiety and Acupuncture can also address these issues to help reduce your anxiety.

Acupuncture provides many benefits that are important to those living with anxiety:

• Re-balancing the body’s parasympathetic (rest and digest) and sympathetic (fight and flight) nervous system
• Reducing stress hormones in the body such as cortisol and epinephrine
• Reducing tension and promoting deep relaxation of the body
• Calming the mind and body and so improving emotional wellbeing

Chinese medicine recognises that different people require different treatments, even when suffering from the same condition. As it is a holistic medicine treatments often include acupuncture, herbs, diet and  life-style counselling. Due to the often complex interplay of both mental and physical symptoms it is also recommended that you complement your acupuncture treatments with a psychological therapy of some description.

The experience of having acupuncture is pleasant, relaxing and energizing and each treatment is tailored directly to your personal needs. Once the initial weekly treatment course is completed an ongoing wellness program of perhaps monthly treatments have been found to be of great benefit. So find your local practitioner and take another step along your road to well being today as mental health really does matter.

New Year, New You

Please see my new blog site for more exciting posts

New Year’s Eve is often a time for reflecting on our past, deciding where we want to head in the coming year and then making resolutions in order to achieve these goals.  Without a direction we often wander aimlessly through the year and then wonder why we haven’t accomplished anything as the year draws to a close.

The top resolutions that people often adopt, and then quickly abandon, include Lose weight; Get Fit; Cut back on alcohol; Quit smoking; Get more sleep; Enjoy life more; Spend time with family and friends; Learn something new; Volunteer; Travel and Get organized. Apparently less than half of those who make resolutions are still on target by mid year so here are some tips to help you stay on track this year including how acupuncture and my workshops (Detox to great health; Think well, feel well; Eat well, be well; and Flow well, stress less) can help you achieve many of these goals and more.

You make resolutions for a reason; if you didn’t think you would benefit from them then you wouldn’t be resolving to attempt them. All of these resolutions are interrelated, as is all of life. If you start with one you may just find that you’ll be accomplishing them all. Book into my workshops today and you can not only show your commitment to your resolutions but you can also tick off your resolution to Learn something new.

Having spent most of December and January indulging in festivities detoxing is a great way to begin cleaning out the old and making room for the new. My first workshop of the year, Detox to great health (Feb 22, 2014), is all about cleansing your mind, body and spirit. It is about healthy eating, healthy thinking and healthy action and it is a great first step to addressing a number of your top resolutions.

Let us have a closer look at your resolution to Lose weight.  First of all the word “Diet” is based on the Latin word ‘Diaeta’ meaning “a manner of living; a way of life” so if you really want to lose weight then it might be a good idea to review all aspects of your lifestyle in addition to what you are eating because there really is no such thing as a quick fix that won’t quickly undo. Working sustainably and setting reasonable goals is the best way to attain and maintain your optimal weight. Acupuncture can help you lose weight by improving your digestion and your metabolism and my Eat Well, Be Well workshop (April 26, 2014) will help untangle a lot of the confusion around healthy eating as well as revealing other lifestyle changes, like getting more sleep, that will help you get to your optimal weight more easily. A lack of sleep has been linked to a greater risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes.  Sleep really is more beneficial to your health than you might realize. If you have trouble with sleep then acupuncture can be of great benefit as it has a long tradition of treating insomnia successfully.

Losing weight will require that you cut back on alcohol, it is packed with calories and when mixed with other drinks, such as soft drinks, the calories can really add up. There may be some health benefits to drinking small amounts of alcohol but the definition of small can vary widely.  Drinking in excess affects the brain’s neurotransmitters and can increase the risk of depression, memory loss, or even seizures. Chronic heavy drinking boosts your risk of liver and heart disease, hypertension, stroke, and mental deterioration, and even cancers of the mouth, throat, liver, and breast. So taper off on the drinking once the festive season draws to a close and then follow with a course of acupuncture to help your liver recuperate.

Losing weight will also require that you add exercise into your lifestyle which will help you get fit.  Regular exercise has been associated with so many health benefits, in addition to helping achieve and maintain weight loss it increases longevity, enhances mood, lowers blood pressure, and even improves arthritis. In short, exercise keeps you healthy and makes you look and feel better.

While you are losing weight, getting fit and cutting back on alcohol you might just find that your resolution to quit smoking starts to kick into action.  Many people are social smokers so if you are drinking less you will you able to smoke less. As you start to get fit you will notice the impact that smoking is having on your lungs which will further motivate you to quit. On average, smokers try about four times before they quit for good. You can use acupuncture to help reduce cravings and alleviate withdrawal symptoms such as irritability, anxiety and difficulty concentrating. There are enormous health benefits to quitting and you will save money so start enjoying the rest of your smoke-free life today!

So far we have covered 5 resolutions, all working together, that you can now integrated into your lifestyle – Lose weight, Get fit, Cut back on alcohol, Quit smoking and Get more sleep.

While you are Getting more sleep to lose weight (having learned in Flow well, stress less (May 24, 2014) to go to bed around 10.30pm and wake 8 hours later at 6.30am for optimal rest and recuperation) you will find that your energy levels are improving so it will be easier to Enjoy life more and that will give you less reason to Smoke and Drink which will then help you Get fit and Lose weight. See how it is all fitting together?

Chronic stress can increase your risk of, or even worsen, insomnia, depression, obesity, heart disease, and more.  Given our hectic, stressful lifestyles of long working hours, little sleep, no exercise, poor diet, and not spending enough time with family and friends is it any wonder that “enjoying life more” has become a popular resolution. It’s an important step to a happier and healthier you! Regular acupuncture treatments are a great way to bring balance back to your body, mind and soul.  Think Well, Feel Well (March 29, 2014) is a great way to discover how your thoughts, feelings and beliefs impact your health and well being at a physical level and how to heal your body by making friends with your emotions. After all, attitude really does matter.

Enjoying life will probably see you spending more time with family and friends, going for walks, playing tennis, swimming at the beach and getting fit. Research suggests people with strong social ties live longer than those who don’t.  In fact, a lack of social bonds can damage your health as much as alcohol abuse and smoking, and even more than obesity and lack of exercise, a 2010 study in the journal PLoS Medicine suggests.  With all that extra energy you may even consider Volunteering to help out those less fortunate. We tend to think our own bliss relies on bettering ourselves, but our happiness also increases when we help others.

Sometimes it is hard to break a habit while you are in the routine of the rat race so Travelling, even if just heading to the mountains or along the coast for the weekend (chose a destination in nature rather than a big city), will help you tap into life as an adventure, and that is a great time to make changes in your life without having to do anything too bold or dramatic.

Getting organized is about reducing the clutter in your life, both internally and externally, so you can find peace.  Book into all 4 workshops (get 10% off) and buy yourself a course of 10 acupuncture treatments (buy 9 and get 1 free) and you will be organized for a year of following through on your resolutions, relaxing, re energizing, relieving pain and living a fabulous year.

Happy New Year everyone!

Cycles of Life

Please see my new blog site for more exciting posts

Living in harmony with the four seasons is one of the best ways  to nourish yourself.  With the arrival of Spring we see a blossoming of new life, an awakening after the quiet of winter. Spring is the beginning of a new cycle; a seasonal cycle within which we see reflected aspects of our birth, growth and development. The seasons are similarly reflected in our daily cycle – we awaken in the morning as new blossoms in spring, our activities gather momentum towards the summer noon and the autumn afternoon then wanes into the quiet of the winter evening time. The waxing and waning of our daily energy reminds us of the waxing and waning of the lunar cycle, another cycle of impact on our lives, especially in the lives of women.

Within the framework of Oriental medicine one often hears the terms yin and yang. Yin corresponds to the female energy of receptivity and to the quiet energy of winter, a time of potential that we see burst forth in the spring. The new moon is considered a yin time and corresponds to ovulation, the most receptive time of the month when conception is possible. Yang corresponds to the dynamic energy of summer, a time full of activity and an energy similar to that felt during the full moon. At this time energy has gathered internally as well as externally and when this energy flows appropriately so the menstrual blood will flow without incidence. However, with the gathering of so much energy there is the possibility of inappropriate movement that results in many of the menstrual problems that we now consider to be a normal part our
monthly cycle. Just because it has become the norm does not mean that it is a normal or healthy way to be.

A healthy menstrual cycle is approx 28 ± 4 days (including 5 days menstruation). A normal period is not too heavy nor too light, it is painless with no clots, begins clearly, heavier for the 1st day or so, and then wanes to end clearly. Only  observation of the lunar cycle should indicate the arrival your period: not the various signs and symptoms of Pre Menstrual Syndrome. These are an indication of some level of imbalance within your body. Early, delayed or irregular cycles are similarly a sign of imbalance.

Oriental Medicine, by a combination of acupuncture and herbs, can easily address these imbalances. It often takes  around 3 menstrual cycles to set right but progress is noticeable during this time particularly through the sympto-thermal charts used to monitor basal body temperature changes together with all other signs and symptoms that arise during the month. Once the menstrual cycle is regulated many other cycles fall into place more easily including
fertility or natural contraception. Oriental Medicine can also supports women through the various stages of pregnancy and is beneficial for post-natal support as well as nurturing the healthy growth and development of babies and children.

Further to our monthly cycles, Oriental medicine recognises a larger cycle within women’s lives. This is know as the cycle of seven and according to this cycle a woman should begin her menstrual cycle around the age of 14 years and complete her cycle, enter menopause, around 49 years of age. Precocious, or early onset of puberty, or delayed puberty can be addressed with acupuncture and herbs, as can many of the discomforts that arise on entering menopause.