Journal More, Worry Less

Keeping a journal helps clarify your thoughts, get solutions.



Health care professionals have long praised the benefits that keeping a journal has on one’s mental health. And it can certainly be proven that journaling or recording one’s life experiences is an aid to self-development and self-awareness, since it records information about one’s innermost feelings and ideas.

In fact, much has been written about the benefits of keeping a journal, including:

• · Journaling helps clarify goals and dreams
• · Journaling helps quiet the mind; it provides you with the ability to focus on anything you want
• · Journaling provides you with “ME” time, time alone with nothing but yourself and your thoughts
• · Journaling provides a private arena to say and feel whatever you wish
• · Journaling provides a written account of where you’ve come from and where you’re going
• · Journaling helps with stress reduction – things don’t seem to bother you as much once they are written down
• · Journaling helps provide a written account of your personal history, something to look back on
• · Journaling can be done any way you choose, daily, randomly, when the spirit moves you, whenever; there are no rules, no musts
• · Journaling helps you speak what’s in your mind and in your heart
• · Journaling is a form a self-expression

Many use the excuse, “I don’t have the time to journal!” Try it for a few minutes a day for a month. See how it makes you feel. Many people admit that they don’t know how they lived without their journals after a month’s time. It becomes a valuable resource, a pleasurable pastime, and a trusted friend to process situations and maintain our emotional balance.

 

 

Safety of Vitamins Confirmed

The use of supplements is increasing without serious adverse reactions.

Safety of Vitamins Confirmed
　

It is estimated that approximately half of the US adult population takes dietary supplements. Alvin C. Bronstein, from the American Association of Poison Control Centers (Virginia, USA), and colleagues analyzed reports of poison-related encounters by 2.3 million Americans. Whereas analgesics were involved in 11.5% of human exposures, and sedatives (including sleeping pills and antipsychotic drugs) were involved in 6% of cases, the researchers report that zero deaths were linked to the consumption of vitamins. In particular, the team notes zero deaths from any B vitamins, zero deaths from vitamin D, and zero deaths from the antioxidant vitamins A, C, and E.

Exercise – A Natural High! 


Running, cycling, swimming are all great ways to increase endorphin production and feel better natrually.

Want to feel good on a regular basis and just be “high” on life? Then exercise! Exercise releases endorphins in the brain. What are endorphins? They’re the body’s own natural painkillers that produce feelings of euphoria. Not only are they free, but they’re available without a prescription. But be warned: they are habit forming!

Scientists accidentally discovered the “feel good” benefits of endorphins when they conducted studies on drug addiction in the 1970s. They found that the brain produced chemicals that far exceed the strength of opium, morphine or even heroin.

The body releases endorphins during stressful periods and in response to regular physical activity. It’s why someone involved in a life-threatening accident doesn’t feel any pain. In addition, many athletes claim to feel “great” after a particularly strenuous workout session. These can be explained by the effects of these natural brain chemicals. In fact, many who participate in regular exercise programs become “addicted” to it because of the natural high they experience.

Running, cycling and swimming are all known to release feel-good endorphins. If you suffer from depression, are stressed out or just want to feel better, exercise. Take a walk or jog around a local park, jump on a treadmill, lift some weights, do some Pilates, throw on a workout DVD – anything to get yourself moving. Stay with it long enough and you too will become addicted!



If you are unsure about what exercise you can do, make an appointment with Lisa, our fitness trainer, and she will guide you through what is good for you. 954-9591

Stress Management - New Series



You won't know if you've attained a goal
if you haven't written it down.



What makes 3% of the population successful, 30% moderately successful and the other 67% just exist? Well, according to Harvard Business School researchers, the 3% who are successful have concrete goals that they’ve written down. The 30% who are moderately successful have some type of plan. But the remaining 60% are merely accepting life as it’s dished out to them.

There are many reasons (excuses?) why people avoid setting goals: not enough time, no clear idea of what they want, fear of success, fear of failure, others’ expectations of them and lack of focus. Ironic, since feelings of powerlessness and the inability to control outcomes cause us the most stress. Setting goals could help.

It’s important to write down your goals. Don’t leave them as vague feelings in your head! Each goal must be personal and clearly stated. You cannot be successful if you are not sure what you want. Nor will you ever know if you’ve attained it! This will only cause more frustration.

Dr. Joseph Mercola of the Optimal Wellness Center outside of Chicago offers these suggestions for setting and achieving goals: 

• Decide on the exact goal you want to achieve
• Write it down clearly and in as much detail as possible
• Set a deadline to achieve the goal, with measurable steps if it is a large one
• Make a list of all that you need to do in order to achieve the goal
• Put all those “action” steps in order, by priority and sequence
• Take immediate action on the most important item in your list
• Do something each day towards attaining your goal

Goal setting doesn’t have to be time consuming or elaborate. In fact, the simpler, the better. The point is, you’ll never get to where you want to go if you don’t have a clear sense of where you are headed. It’s just that simple – so get started!

Endometriosis

Resolving back pain may also improve nerve supply
to reproductive organs, improving fertility.

At first, it may appear to be coincidental. You are having trouble becoming pregnant and you also have a problem with low back pain. Are they related? Can low back pain actually be a factor? The answer to the first question may be "yes," while the answer to the second question is more along the lines of, "The cause of your infertility may also be the cause your lower back pain."

Many women have problems conceiving because of a condition known as endometriosis. In fact, endometriosis is the cause for 30-40% of female infertility. This condition occurs when uterine tissue, known as endometrium, attaches itself to tissue and organs outside the uterus, including other reproductive organs, the bladder and the gastrointestinal tract. While the primary symptom of endometriosis is painful menstruation, back pain may result as well.

Obviously, it is imperative for you to see a health care professional when either one or both of these conditions are present. If your diagnosis is endometriosis, chiropractic care may reduce much of the pain and discomfort associated with it. In addition, several chiropractic case studies have documented cases in which infertile women have become pregnant after starting chiropractic care.

No such thing as SUPER mom!

Give up the idea that you have to be a super woman,
and you will enjoy life much more!

Most mothers today tend to wear many hats in addition to their “Mom” uniform – wife, sister, daughter, employee, boss, volunteer, scout leader, club member, taxi driver, etc. Sometimes life can be overwhelming and very few women are skilled in the art of just saying “NO!” The “Super Mom” syndrome is very real, and it takes its toll on women in terms of physical and emotional stress. (Two of the causes of subluxation).  

These are just a few reasons why every mom needs to dump the idea that she can be a “Super Mom”: 

1. There is no such thing as a perfect anybody. It just can’t be done.  Trying to be perfect  in every facet of your life is pure folly.
2. It is exhausting and overwhelming to think that you can be all things to all people.  Besides that, it’s an impossible goal.
3. Children need their mother to meet their needs, not everyone else’s.
4.  A “super mom” never lives in the joy of the moment; she is always looking at what she has to do next.
5. Unrealistic expectations that we set for ourselves, and fail to achieve, lead to stress, anxiety and depression. Stress causes many diseases that can kill; anxiety and depression rob us of our health and overall wellbeing.

If more women took the time to nurture themselves and their close relationships with family and friends, instead of trying to do it all perfectly, more women would lead happy and purposeful lives. No one is perfect - or meant to be! If you realize that, you’ll start to have a lot more fun. Being a mom is about being, not just doing!

Kissed by the SUN

That health glow isn't all that healthy!

Millions of people visit tanning salons in order to keep that year-round “kissed by the sun” glow. What many of them fail to realize is that “glow” may someday cause malignant melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer.

Is this fake idea of health worth the risk?

Tanning salons promote their services by claiming that their beds emit UVA rays rather than the potentially more harmful UVB rays. However, a 15-20 minute session in a tanning bed equals an entire day of outdoor tanning and UVA rays can be just as damaging to the skin and to the immune system as UVB rays. In fact, the UVA rays emitted from a tanning bed lamp are three times as powerful as those from direct sunlight!

What are some of the more serious long-term effects of UVA exposure? They include:

• Eye damage
• Immune system changes
• Wrinkles and premature aging of the skin
• Cataracts
• Sun spots/pigmentation changes on skin
• Skin cancer

Although anyone who is exposed to UVA rays may be at risk, some are at greater risk, particularly those who have blond, light brown or red hair, those with fair skin, those who burn easily, those who have blue, green or gray eyes, and those who often burn before tanning.

Women, and especially teenage girls frequent tanning salons more often than their male counterparts, making them more vulnerable to the increased risks and damaging effects of UVA exposure.

Research suggests that exposure to the sun is essential to good health. Clearly, tanning booths and exposure to unnaturally high levels of ultraviolet light can compromise your health and later on, your appearance!