The Stress Factor, Natural Ways To Stay Calm

Is stress ruining your life?

I hope you like the new photo of me. It is the one that is going to be used in my pending book so you have a sneak preview.

Well, I know all about stress, been there, (actually I am still there, unfortunately) done that, have written the book! My book is now at the publishers. I had a telephone conference call with my graphic and interior book designers last Thursday (from the US), so it is now well in hand. I have to start again on my website and was wondering why I was having so much trouble until my friend told me that the system I was using was not very good. She is going to help me so...hang in there folks!

I have a whole chapter on stress in my book (you can read all about the contents in my November post). Depression, stress, anxiety, panic all have some symptoms the same and you can be better informed as to which bracket you belong in because you don't have to wonder, as I had to. You get to read of ways in which you can help yourself, and what I did also.

It is well documented that anti-depressants do very little to help stress, anxiety or panic and my research has also shown this to be true, borne out also by speaking to various people, first hand.

My own doctor was being very good, knowing that I was taking natural remedies to stop any depression that may surface whilst also acknowledging the fact that an assessment showed that I did not need anti-depressants and neither did I want to. The jury is still out on why exactly he suddenly prescribed these tablets out of the blue, at my last appointment with him - this is yet to be established.

You can check out the signs for depression in my previous post 'Anti-depressants - Do you really need them' (Feb 6th) If you have at least 5 of the 9 signs then anti-depressants would benefit you. I don't really have even 1 of the symptoms so I rest my case on that one.

So let's try some natural remedies because unless you have major depression you really do not need anti-depressants. I have stressed time and time again that you must never just stop taking any medication that you have been prescribed as you need to come off them very slowly.

For a start, never skip breakfast as it is vital for a healthy metabolism and energy. If you really cannot face it at least grab a banana which is packed full of energising B vitamins and nutrients that not only support the nervous sytem but is also soothing for the gut.

I always put fruit on my breakfast cereal so you can add a banana to porridge for slow-release energy with the calming properties of oats. You can top up your B vit's by putting fish on your lunchtime menu. I have a banana every day to keep me going. They are also said to help with sleep.

Everyone knows that too much coffee is not good for you as it can cause the 'jitters', tea is a better choice, and chamomile is an even better one to help soothe both body and mind.

Antioxidant foods can also help relieve the effects of stress, which makes the body use up more essential vitamins and lowers immunity. Along with fruit and veg, this gives a perfect excuse for indulging in some antioxidant rich dark chocolate.

I extoll the virtues of dark chocolate in my book and the fact that I partake of a variety which has 85% cocoa solids - the higher the cocoa solids, the better it is for you. You actually only need a couple of squares for it's antioxidant qualities and I have just half of a small 25g bar (that's willpower for you).

I take St John's Wort to help prevent any depression and also a little known vitamin called Rhodiola rosea which is a great energiser, mood lifter and fatigue fighter.

To help irritability and edginess - try Weleda's Avena Sativa Comp Drops - made from oats, valerian (which I take 1hr before bedtime), and passion flower. I confess that before I had just read about this, I had never heard of it - another one for me to try.

To relieve anxiety - try Lemon Balm tablets - another I had not even heard of until this minute, although I do have some lemon balm aromatherapy oil (another mood lifter). My book goes into detail of the many oils that can also help your mood and various other ailments.

Vaporising essential oils can help keep you sweet partly because when inhaled, the vapours go straight to the brain's limbic system - the part associated with emotions - and may also trigger the release of feel-good chemicals and memories.

Try 'Rosemary' - to kick start your brain back into life

'Chamomile' - which has sedative properties,

'Geranium' - is calming and mood boosting

'Jasmine' - can lift anxiety

'Neroli' - has calming and has antidepressant properties

'Orange' - eases anxiety

'Cinnamon - useful for depression and fatigue

'Lavender' - good old fashioned standy - try 6 drops in your bath to soothe away the day's stresses

For a quick fix if you are feeling like a 'coiled spring' (and I do have some of this which I keep forgetting to use) - 'Rescue Remedy', you can buy this in a dropper bottle or pastilles (a new one on me - again)

If you feel a stress attack is imminent - breathe! By this I mean deep breathing - and again, I go into detail on this in my book. I have found though that it is a waste of time trying to do a deep breathing exercise when you are stressed, anxious or panicky as it is like 'shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted'.

I got really stressed racing to my doctor's appointment as there were various hold-ups on the way. My chest was knocking and I sat there for 10mins solid doing deep breathing exercises. This was not helped by the fact that despite me being his first appointment of the afternoon I was still kept waiting for over 10 mins. It took me some time to 'still my beating chest'. It's not even as though he tried to help me, just sat there waiting for me to calm down.

So - take a few minutes to inhale, slowly and deeply from the bottom of the rib cage, then equally slowly - breathe out. The out breath is when muscles relax, so when exhaling, imagine tension leaving with it. Repeat three times then breathe normally. You can do this anytime and anywhere.

I wonder if you are like me and have prolonged tension. You get a pain in the neck, shoulders, jaw. back or gut. Try to relax the muscles, take ten minutes to lie flat in comfy clothing, with eyes closed. Begin by breathing slowly in and out. Then starting at the feet, tense to the count of ten - then relax, allowing the muscles to become limp. Work your way one by one up the body's muscles, not forgetting the jaw, and finish with your forehead and scalp. Once relaxed, enjoy a few moments before slowly opening your eyes.

Chill-out heaven - try it for yourself and see.

Hangover cure - if you must drink, but you know it's not good for you! - check out my post 'Depression and Alcohol' (15 Feb).

Our grannies swore by onions! and they were right. Onions speed up the removal of toxins (including alchohol - which is a toxin by the way) - from the liver. Try fresh onion soup for lunch after a night of overindulgence. It is also well known for easing coughs and colds.

So, don't stress - there are lots of things you can do to help yourself.

Don't forget you can click the link to sign up to get notifications of updates to my blog straight into your inbox. It will not cost you anything and you will not be spammed. You won't want to miss the link to my book 'The Truth About Depression and How You Can Beat It' as soon as it goes 'live'.

'til next time

Bonnie

'The Truth About Depression and How You Can Beat It'.

Are you planning to, or have you written your own book. I can highly recommend my own publishers, click on the link below:

Is Your Doctor Making You Feel Worse?

Has respect been lacking?

First, an update on my book! (The Truth About Depression and How You Can Beat It)

It has been so frustrating trying to get my book out to you. I am still trying to get my website up and running and I have to wait until 12 March for a telephone conference call with my graphic artist. It will then possibly be 3-4 months until the book is in physical form. So I must plod on relentlessly with getting my website done so you can immediately download the PDF version (all ready and waiting to go). This has already been uploaded onto my site so all I have to do now is link it to a payment button, so hopefully I won't keep you waiting too long now.

You can read all about it in my November Post

Your patience has been appreciated - it will be worth waiting for.

Right, back to it. I went to an appointment at my doctor's surgery recently and because I was seeing a registrar (a newly qualified doctor finishing off training), was handed a questionnaire to fill in after the appointment. There were questions on it such as 'did the doctor listen to your story' 'did they spend too much time looking at their computer screen' etc.,

The questions got me thinking about previous appointments at the surgery, over the years and after completing the questionnaire I thought it would be a good idea if you could have the chance to fill one in after seeing the regular doctors. I say this because if I had the chance to do this, there would be certain areas that, in my opinion, were not being adequately executed.

It could be that some doctors may become complacent over the years and through habit, some may even lose sight of the patients needs and even develop an offhand manner, not realising the effect it may have on their patients. They may not even realize that they are doing it.

For example. I know of people who are so put off by their doctor's attitudes towards them that they simply will not go to one, even when they are ill. I think this is atrocious. I have even had to persuade two people to go to a doctor and even made an appointment for one of them because they looked so ill. I have even known of 4 people who will not even entertain the idea of seeing one particular doctor!

A common complaint seems to be that doctors may appear too aloof. Obviously they need to keep a professional 'air of detachment' to a certain extent, but surely the odd smile of welcome to put you at your ease would not go amiss. This would go a long way to make you feel comfortable instead of making for a possibly difficult appointment. You may even come out not having said what you wanted to about the reason for you being there.

Controversial? yes it is, but I am convinced this is a very common occurence.

I am sure that each country has some sort of Health Constitution, covering patients rights. I recently looked up our own (UK) National Health Document and if you are in the UK you will be very interested in this. NHS Constitution : Department of Health - Health care (click to view)

People just seem to accept the fact that they have come out of their doctors surgery feeling upset with no suitable resolution and maybe even vowing not to go back again. You do have a right to a duty of care and a right to give feeback (good or bad) to your doctor, who should be treating you with respect, dignity and compassion.

I will quote passages from our own Constitution in the hope that this article will persuade you to visit a doctor if you have been put off in the past. You do have the right to see any doctor you want so do not have to stick to just the one. You will not be 'troubling him' - it is his job so please do not put your health at risk by ignoring any problems.

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NHS CONSTITUTION (passage extracts) Doctors are representatives of the NHS. I think it would be helpful for them all to re-aquaint themselves with the document!

NHS 'It has a duty to each and every individual that it serves and must respect their human rights'

NHS 'high quality care that is safe, effective and focussed on patient experience'

RESPECT, CONSENT & CONFIDENTIALITY

'You have the right to be treated with dignity and respect, in accordance with your human rights'

'You have the right to accept or refuse treatment that is offered to you, and not to be given any physical examination or treatment unless you have given valid consent'.

'You have the right to be given information about your proposed treatment in advance, including any significant risks and any alternative treatments which may be available.....'

'You have the right of access to your own health records.These will always be used to manage your treatment in your best interests'

'You have the right to express a preference for using a particular doctor within your GP practice and for the practice to try and comply'

'You have the right to make choices about your NHS care and to information to support these choices. The options available to you will develop over time and depend on your individual needs'

'....to inform you about the healthcare services available to you, locally and nationally (pledge) and to offer you easily accessible, reliable and relevant information to enable you to participate fully in your own healthcare decisions and to support you in making choices'

INVOLVEMENT IN YOUR HEALTHCARE AND IN THE NHS

You have the right to be involved in discussions and decisions about your healthcare, and to be given information to enable you to do this.

COMPLAINT & REDRESS

'You have the right to have any complaint you make about NHS services dealt with efficiently and to have it properly investigated'.

'You have the right to know the outcome of any investigation into your complaint'

'You have the right to take your complaint to the independent Health Service Ombudsman, if you are not satisfied with the way your complaint has been dealt with by the NHS'.

'You have the right to make a claim for judicial review if you think you have been directly affected by an unlawful act or decision of an NHS body'.

'You have the right to compensation where you have been harmed by negligent treatment'.

The NHS also commits:

'to ensure you are treated with courtesy and you receive appropriate support throughout the handling of a complaint; and the fact that you have complained will not adversely affect your future treatment (pledge); '

'when mistakes happen, to acknowledge them, apologise, explain what went wrong and put things right quickly and effectively (pledge); and to ensure that the organisation learns lessons from complaints and claims and uses these to improve NHS services (pledge)'.

PATIENTS AND THE PUBLIC - RESPONSIBILITY

'You should give feedback – both positive and negative – about the treatment and care you have received, including any adverse reactions you may have had'.

'to be open with patients, their families, carers or representatives, including if anything goes wrong; welcoming and listening to feedback and addressing concerns promptly and in a spirit of co-operation. You should contribute to a climate where the truth can be heard and the reporting of, and learning from, errors is encouraged; and to view the services you provide from the standpoint of a patient, and involve patients',

NHS VALUES

Respect and dignity. 'We value each person as an individual, respect their aspirations and commitments in life, and seek to understand their priorities, needs, abilities and limits. We take what others have to say seriously. We are honest about our point of view and what we can and cannot do.'

Commitment to quality of care. 'We earn the trust placed in us by insisting on quality and striving to get the basics right every time: '

'We welcome feedback, learn from our mistakes and build on our successes.'

Compassion. 'We respond with humanity and kindness to each person’s pain, distress, anxiety or need. We search for the things we can do, however small, to give comfort and relieve suffering. We find time for those we serve and work alongside. We do not wait to be asked, because we care'.

Improving lives. 'We strive to improve health and well-being and people’s experiences of the NHS.'

'We value excellence and professionalism wherever we find it – in the everyday things that make people’s lives better as much as in clinical practice, service improvements and innovation.'

Working together for patients. 'We put patients first in everything we do, by reaching out to staff, patients, carers, families, communities, and professionals outside the NHS'.

'We put the needs of patients and communities before organisational boundaries'.

We accept that some people need more help.

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I hope this has been helpful to you. If it helps just one of you who are too scared to repeat a visit to the doctor because of a bad experience - then it will be worth it.

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To date, I have had 132 visits to this blog despite the fact that I have not actively marketed it! Many are from search engines all around the world (check my stats). You can 'subscribe' to my blog, or become my first 'follower' - see list on the right of this post.

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Are you planning to, or have you written, your own book? Then I can highly recommend my own publisher. Click on the link below:

'til next time

Bonnie

The Truth About Depression and How You Can Beat It