The Alzheimer’s Association Helpline is toll-free number that you can call 24/7 to get information. 1-800-848-7097. You may also access it online at the above link. In dealing with a loved one who may have this debilitating brain disease, you don’t have to be alone. Mental health counseling is recommended for caregiver support, but simply getting more information is a place to start!
Schwartz is a psychotherapist in Colorado who works in somatic therapy. She, like myself, realizes that the body cannot be separated from the mind and vice versa. Separating the two is only a communication device to be able to discuss some aspect of thought or physicality. Here she explains the 6 Rs of neuro-psychotherapy, a term that points to the fact that the brain is neuroplastic and can be physically changed through various behaviors we can personally regulate to be healthier and therefore happier.
Aromatherapy and essential oils
Original Swiss Aromatics produces the highest quality essential oils I’ve found. When in an uncomfortable state of mind, I’ll use a drop of frankincense or eucalyptus oil on the tip of my nose or in a diffuser to help shift to a more peaceful state. Beats eating a bag of potato chips to achieve equanimity! Simply visiting its website is a healing experience.
This handy Remedy Chooser helps you choose the right Bach Flower remedies. In the ’20s and ’30s, Welsh homeopathic researcher and physician Dr. Edward Bach discovered a system of 38 flower tinctures that help alleviate a person’s particular type of anxiety. These inexpensive remedies work by energetically shifting core emotional issues causing disease symptoms. Still produced from local plants at Dr. Bach’s home in Mount Vernon, England, they are sold in over 66 countries. I found them very useful in my own healing and recommend them as a calming support to psychotherapy—a side-effect-free adjunct or alternative to costly psycho-pharmaceuticals with their unhealthy side effects.
So glad cannabis is now legal is Washington State! Now objective research can be done to demonstrate its positive and negative effects and, hopefully, synthesize healing compounds out of it. There are over 400 compounds in cannabis in its raw form. Some good, some bad. Most people know one joint is equal to five cigarettes in causing cancer, but now we can start having serious conversations about negative social and mental health effects for individuals their families. Check my How I Work page for more information.
Center for Science in the Public Interest
Based in Washington, the CSPI has been at the forefront of major challenges to the food industry since its founding in 1971. Loads of good info about the dangers of ingesting highly-processed food-like commodities.
Complex Traumatic Stress Disorder
Lily Hope Lucario is a cPTSD specialist with a website filled with great resources for people with this mental disorder. Many people do not understand the many ways they carry damage from childhood into their adult lives making their lives less than satisfying and often just downright miserable particularly in the area of relationship.
In the US alone, more than 15 million people report abusing prescription drugs, more than the combined number who report abusing cocaine, hallucinogens, inhalants and heroin. Part of DrugDangers.com’s mission is to spread awareness about this devastating issue. The website offers free information about drugs and medical products that can cause serious addiction, injury, or even death.
The Buddha was the first cognitive behavioral therapist. When he walked around teaching people how not to psycho-emotionally suffer 2500 years ago, no one understood what he was doing. A religion grew up around his practices and philosophies because they alleviated so much suffering. Dr. Jack Kornfield is an American clinical psychologist who teaches Buddhist psychology. The tried and true methods on his website can help you feel better quickly. Check out some of them here. You’ll be amazed by their gentle simplicity and effectiveness.
If you have a spiritual bent, or even if you don’t, Benedictine Sister Joan’s website is packed with wisdom and inspiration on how to live a very human and humane life. I love to sip the nectar of her wisdom when I’m feeling the effects of stress. It’s another gentle antidote to anxiety.
International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology
Many folks do not realize that silver amalgam fillings are half mercury which is more toxic than lead or arsenic. They’re not something you want in your mouth if you are trying maintain a healthy brain. The IAOMT dentists use materials and procedures that are healthier for their patients and the environment. You may contact the IAOMT for a dentist near you.
Forty years ago, I was suffering profoundly during a snow storm so deep I could only see a vague outline of my Toyota Corolla. Not one speck of its orange-red paint was visible beneath the white glittering mound. I had very recently lost my job and my husband. Self-recriminating grief pounded in my heart, was my very blood. Confined to an armchair—since I couldn’t make it to the corner for a six pack—I sat staring out the window at my obliterated world when a saying of Goldberg’s came to mind. “Keep writing. You are swimming across a deep blue lake with a soul of your own making.” I did have a pen and a yellow pad. That afternoon, at age 31, I wrote my first poem and will always feel she saved my life. Check out this introduction to writing video on her website. She may help you too.
Neurofeedback is another way to help your brain recover from all kinds of trauma. I tried it for my C-PTSD and my husband tried it for his ADHD. In both cases, it helped. My husband became more present and focused and I became less anxious. I’m not saying it is a silver bullet, but it was one more way to become more calm and present. There is a practitioner in LaConner named Kara Stamback at 360.708.8169. The above link gives you information about how it works.
Psyche is an online magazine and newsletter that brings top-notch mental health instructions to your inbox weekly. This article about breathing is just one of its many excellent selections. Oxygen is primary to good health. Everything about your life will be healthier and, therefore, happier if you learn to breathe in an optimum way. Take a deep breath and go for the gold!
Hope this doesn’t sound too odd to you, but I find the study of quantum physics comforting. In this world, there are thousands of really bright, highly-educated scientists studying the nature of the universe attempting to answer the question of why do (every)things behave as they do? If string theory is correct, it explains how the universe is constructed. From the way beyond macro to the way beyond micro. It engages my brain bootstrapping me up from lower order personal problems and frees my mind to more objectively solve these problems from a point of view of, well, non emotional reactivity. It gives me insight into the mind of god, whatever that might be… Try it sometime. Prepare to be astounded by reality!
This twenty-minute video of Master Young doing qigong (chee gung) makes it easy to do yourself by following along. Slow paced and gentle, it is uplifting, calming and energizing all at the same time!
Sounds True is a self-help teachings recording company. On its website, you can find many thousands of wonderful CDs and podcasts to learn about yourself and how to feel better. This one-hour podcast shares a remarkable teacher’s discoveries about how the physical effects of trauma are passed down through our DNA for several generations.
Ms. Brach is a consummate Buddhist teacher. This little video discusses why suffering is caused by our inability to be here now.
Ralph De La Rosa gifts us with free 15-minute guided mediation that is just perfect for THOSE days.
Tsubaki Grand Shrine of America
Another thing I do for my mental health is visit Tsubaki Shrine to participate in ancient Shinto ceremonies that follow the cycle of the seasons. The purpose of the ceremonies is to celebrate Great Nature, energetically purify oneself and receive new Ki (life force). Feeling one is one with all life on earth is profoundly healing. Tsubaki America is a branch of Tsubaki O Kami Yashiro in Mie Prefecture, in Japan, one of the oldest Jinja Shinto shrines with a history of over 2,000 years. Contact Reverend Lawrence Barrish, gugi of Tsubaki America at kannushi@tsubakishrine.org to obtain more information.
Homeopathy is one of close to a dozen types of medicine around the world that can bring relief to those who suffer physically and mentally. In the US, the heavily-funded, politically-backed allopathic medical/pharmaceutical industry represented by the AMA has discredited other forms of medicine for its own gain. However, in other nations, western, eastern and the third world, homeopathic doctors and their remedies enjoy great respect and are scientifically proven to work with efficacy well beyond psychosomatic percentages without side effects. The queen of England’s personal physician is a homeopath, not an allopath. If you have a broken leg or a cancerous tumor, get thee to an allopath quickly, but for nonemergency such as anxiety and other emotional disorders, homeopathy is very helpful, curative and nonaddictive. When choosing any form of remedy, it is important to choose a manufacturer with the highest standards, experience and reputation. Uriel, a US company which adheres to the principals of anthroposophical medicine, is one. Its liver support remedy is most likely one reason I’m alive and completely well today five years after being diagnosed with liver cancer.
