Rampant Stress, and then the Melt-down
Rampant Stress, and then the Melt-down
It seemed like we were all as stressed as possible and then the housing market, Wall St., the Banks, and, just about everyone else, failed. As if we weren’t dealing with enough already!!! So here we are, biting our nails to the quick, quavering in our boots, afraid to even read the newspaper! What to do?
In teaching Stress Management for Kaiser for 5 years, I have found, the simplest way into a relaxation mode, is through the breath. Simple, but not easy. The tendency when we are quavering in our boots, etc. is to shut down breathing, and go into panic attack mode. Certainly counterproductive! The new concept in Stress Management is to suggest that everyone take 5 minutes out of every hour to do nothing. On the face of it, an innocuous idea, but what about bosses and kids and things like that? How do we take 5 minutes every hour to do nothing, when we are getting paid for those 5 minutes’es? Do we close the door (if we have one) and hope that he/she won’t come in? Do we tell them in advance what we are going to do? What a quandary.
A start might be to suggest an experiment. How about a week of a schedule like that – if productivity doesn’t increase, the experiment will terminate immediately.
Now, to remember to do it. How about setting the timer on a watch or computer to go off every 55 minutes, leaving you in Nirvana for the last 5?
And, what about kids? If they are of age, you can tell them not to disturb you (as my friend Judy says) “unless there is blood”, and, a lot of it. Establish a signal, as this is going on every hour, on the hour; remember the old necktie on the doorknob?
OK, now, that has been established, at least for a week. What happens when you sit for your 5 minutes? Your mind has been racing for the last 55, why would it stop now? It won’t, of course, but this short period gives your mind a breather to just exist, without expectation. How about just watching your thoughts zoom through? The mind, in a way, is like a random number generator. It will just throw up thoughts, especially when nothing is going on. To occupy it, if watching, but not engaging thoughts, isn’t your cup of tea, how about staring at the wall (a blank one), or closing your eyes (even better) and observing your breath. You could even do a patterned breathing, counting the in and out breaths (i.e. 6 counts in, 6 counts out) so they lengthen as much as possible. This is, of course, just an experiment. But if the results are what the TM (Transcendental Meditation) people experienced in their studies, you will note a decrease in your blood pressure, breathing rate, muscle tension, heart rate, etc., etc., all the parameters of stress. So, how about it? It is only February. New Year’s resolutions may have worn off a while ago, but maybe that new year energy has enough of a last gasp to carry you through a new experiment. Try it, you might like it!!
And to Assist You
Stress is a personal experience based on a perceived threat from outside ourselves or from within, mediated by the adrenals. There are several herbs that are used to help with adrenal support and, therefore, stress. Lately I have been using them a lot more with people. They range in form: tincture, capsule, tablet, combined with vitamins/minerals, glandular, protomorphogen, etc. And, they range in type: Adaptogens, Nervine tonics, sedatives, hormonal, Ayurvedic, etc. And, they are prescribed through: history, questionnaire and laboratory evaluation. Stress hormones can be evaluated in tandem with other hormones or by themselves. We are finding a lot more people these days who are depressed, having blood sugar imbalance symptoms (either hypoglycemia or Diabetes) or having a much worse experience in menopause, because of their stress levels, for instance. If you are interested in pursuing a medicinal approach to stress management, along with your 5 minute hiatus, please call me to discuss the possibilities – 925-603-7300. I would love to assist you.
Medical Mission to Kathmandu
Some of you already know I am leaving for Kathmandu, Nepal on a medical mission later this spring. I will be gone for two weeks altogether, with 8 days actually spent treating patients in Patan (just south of Kathmandu) and Bhaktipur (about 18 km. away). I will be there under the auspices of a new organization called Naturopaths International (http://www.naturopathsinternational.org/). NI’s aim is to provide and promote emotional, mental and physical healing for those afflicted by any trauma, such as – domestic violence, addictions, depression/anxiety, chronic pain, – or natural disasters. For four days we will be at the Saathi clinic (www.Saathi.org) treating victims of violence, mostly homeopathically. And for another four days we will be at Sarita Shrestha’s (Ayurvedic doctor and Nepal attending physician) hospital (http://www.saritashrestha.org/nepal.html) in Bhaktipur.
Naturopaths International has two clinics in Arizona where the doctors currently treat victims of domestic violence. They are also setting up community education and outdoor programs, as well.
I am very excited about this new adventure. I will be having at least one fund raiser sometime before I leave, both to help defray my costs, and to support the efforts of Naturopaths International. I will give you all the details, coming up soon. I envision offering, essentially, spa services for an afternoon, like massage, chiropractic or naturopathic consult/treatment, a yoga class, feng shui or colorist consult, and others to be worked out. Please stay tuned…
In the meantime, if you have the yen, I/we would love any kind of donations you might be inclined to make. Please send donations to Naturopath’s International, 1100 N. San Francisco St, Suite F, in Flagstaff, AZ 86001, in my name.
Thank you very much!!!
Valentine’s Day and Spring
I hope you had a wonderful Valentine’s Day. This year has already gone way faster than I ever would have thought possible!! I just took down my Christmas wreath over the weekend and still have a lot of vestiges around my home/office. At least we can’t complain about not having enough rain. It seems to be making up for lost time, in spades.
And spring is here, as well. What a lovely time of year. I am looking at my gardener’s catalogs thinking this might just be the year to have a vegetable garden. I was going to take out the grass in anticipation of water rationing this summer anyway. And my vacation this year is in Kathmandu! I figured I would be home a lot and could use fresh veggies from the backyard. Anyone care to join me in a ‘dirty hands club’?
I wish you all a wonderful spring time experience. Try not to get too soggy!
Ellen Potthoff, D.C., N.D.
