Oct 06 2012

Eating Disorder Treatment: Physiological Causes of Eating Disorders – Vol. 145, April 19, 2012

Do These Jeans...

Eating Disorder Treatment (Title: Do These Jeans… Photo credit: Suzy Forcella)

Over the years that I have been working with eating disorders it has been obvious that these clients have a very poor idea of how detect the normal bodily cues such as when they are hungry or full, have inability to sense their weight, as well as not having a clear idea of what their own goals are deferring to others to tell them what they ought to be doing.

There is a part of the brain known as the insula which is found deep inside the folds of the brain near the ears. It cultivates the internal state allowing for the self-awareness and emotional experiences which when combined with the external information of the body give one a realistic idea of how they look to others with being self-aware.

In the anorexic and bulimic it is this part of the brain that isn’t functioning normally. When most people feel hungry the insula is activated allowing them to sense that they need to eat. It is also true for the anorexic and bulimic that when they look in the mirror they see themselves as much heavier than the reflection is telling them. Again, the insula is unresponsive because of a low blood flowing to that part of the brain causing this abnormal response creating what is known as body dysmorphia. With anorexics all areas of interoception are involved. This is why an emaciated anorexic will look into the mirror and see herself as over weight. People with body dysmorphic disorder may have visual-processing abnormalities that distort what they see. Combined with the issues of low interoception a poor body image results according to Susanne Ryina in Scientific American Mind, April/May 2008,

If you have this issue you can increase your internal sense by practicing some form of mindfulness, staying in the present moment. Many studies in the past decade have found that by using mindfulness training the symptoms will decrease while increasing your quality of life. Yoga, which focuses you on breathing has also been found to be helpful.

Hypnosis is a wonderful way to be in the present moment even if you use it just to “trance out” feeling the wonderfully relaxed feelings one can experience while in that altered state.

If you are experiencing any issues with eating disorders with the new reports of middle aged women coming forward still battling this sometimes deadly disease, please give me a call to see if you would be a candidate to this work with to help you clear this issue from your life for good. If you are in a frail situation you will be guided to receive the medical help you require before working on the emotional foundations to a quality of life worth living. My clients with eating disorders have found that they no longer have the thoughts or behaviors of someone with the disorder some of them going back over six years now.

To begin your journey into health and well being please go to:

http://dawningvisions.com/what-are-eating-disorder-effects-and-how-to-create-a-successful-recovery-for-bulimia-and-anorexia/

There you will find out more about my services and be lead to a free download of the MP3 I created for eating disorders based on the in person sessions that I do.

If you have any questions regarding this issue or the work please feel free to call me. I am pleased to make myself available to answer all your questions. Please give me a call. My phone number is on every page of this website on the right hand side.

Note: If you would like to find out more about the insula of the brain and the problems that its dysfunction can have please read more in the article Inside the Wrong Body: A little-known sense that monitors how we feel inside can go awry, potentially distorting our body image by Carrie Arnold, Scientific American Mind, May/June 2012

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Oct 06 2012

Suffering from lack of sleep? Here’s a list of natural sleep aids to get the rest you need

sleep

sleep (Photo credit: Sean MacEntee)

Vol. 169, Oct. 6, 2012

Are you sick of tossing and turning unable to get any sleep? Do you think that you will never sleep again? Starting tonight you can get some better sleep awakening feeling rested tomorrow by following these suggestions.

First get in touch with anything that may be on your mind. Many times the reason that someone is not getting enough sleep is because they aren’t dealing with the difficult things, those things they don’t want to handle. Do those things and your mind will be cleared for some restful sleep.

One way to get in touch with these things that you may not even realize you are not putting off is to right before you go to sleep at night ask your unconscious mind to tell you in the morning what it is that you are not doing that if you did it, your sense of calm would come back. In the morning write these things down.

If you know what the problem is but have no idea in how to resolve it go ahead and do the same thing. Right before falling off to sleep ask your unconscious mind to come up with a solution to your problem within an hour of awakening. You may be amazed to find that you have the answer to your problem.

It is best not to have the computer or television going. This is because of the glow from the screens of the machines also interfere with being able to get your brain waves into the alpha and delta states that allow for appropriate sleep.

Here are a few easy things that you can do to ensure better sleep.

3 Hours before sleeping:

Stop eating to allow your digestive system to do its job.

Stop drinking any alcoholic beverages, This is important because though alcohol is a sedative, it interferes with the depth of sleep one gets not allowing for the rapid eye movement part of the sleep cycle. When people miss this part of the sleep cycle they tend to awaken feeling a bit groggy.

Stop drinking any caffeinated beverages including any sort of cola and especially Mountain Dew which will stimulate your system interfering with your sleep.

Stop any form of exercise 3 hours before sleep.

So what should you be doing right before sleeping?

A warm bath or shower is always good to relax yourself.

Reading a good book

Listening to some calming music

If these things ideas are not working it would be a great idea to have yourself checked out by a sleep specialist. There are many physiological reasons that one may not be getting enough sleep. Sleep apnea where one is not breathing correctly is one and restless leg would be another.

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Sep 23 2012

Centering Yourself into A Meditative, Hypnotic State – Vol. 101, May 5, 2011

Given the inflation that we are experiencing these days, coupled with the high unemployment rates, it seems that it would be appropriate to give you all a way to manage the stress that these outside conditions can cause. So, today I am going to teach you something that will very easily and quickly get you feeling centered and about as relaxed as you could ever desire to be. I learned this technique by a business coach, Max Simon, the son of David Simon, who is Deepak Chopra’s partner. Max works with people like me, who are in the business of health and and coaching, desiring to move beyond just having a practice. He teaches us how to add products and services to increase our reach and our income doing what we love. I have also engaged in two other trainings with other business coaches whose programs I am doing at the same time. I feel very much as if I were back in school, this time to learn the business of doing business, something that many practitioners such as myself never learn in our professional training. Continue reading

Sep 23 2012

Journaling: A Great Way To Clear Your Mind, Lengthen Your Life and Bring in Miracles – Vol. 167, Sept. 22, 2012

Writing

Writing (Photo credit: jjpacres)

There was a study in 1996 that was done with patients with asthma and rheumatoid arthritis who after writing about the most stressful event of their lives, experienced a decrease in symptoms.

In my practice I work with many clients who have had emotional issues come up that have blocked them from feeling happy, content, or even worthy of love. I share with each of them the manner in which I have found daily journarling has helped me to clear the negative feelings that I may have had. Even more profoundly I have found answers to the questions of how to get done that which I wanted to do and didn’t really know how to accomplish before doing the writing.

It is a simple practice to do. One person who is always spoken of regarding journaling is the Morning Pages mentioned in “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron, She tells people to set aside 10 minutes each morning to write without a thought as to the spelling or grammar. Just write whatever comes to mind. The interesting thing about this process from the aspect of being a hypnotist is that this is actually known as “automatic writing”, a form of writing that allows one to access one’s unconscious mind, the part of you that accesses the answers one needs to solve any problems.

One can do journaling in many different ways.

1) Decide on if you would like to do it as Ms. Cameron suggest in the morning or  if you  would rather do it at the end of the day. I personally do it at both times.

2) Go ahead and purchase a journal or notebook to write in. It is best if you write your journal by hand because of the way the movement of the hand across the paper releases deeper self-expression than doing this on the computer. Legibility doesn’t matter. The ideas are what matter. You will remember the “aha” moments that come through doing the process.

3) Next go ahead and write until there is nothing more for you to express. You will know when that time has arrived. There just won’t be any more to write.

4) Notice the calmness that comes over you as you let go of any negative issues while bringing about solutions to overcome any situation that may be creating some angst in  your life.

5) Act on any of the ideas that come through and you will be amazed at what you
can overcome and create for your life.

One example of how this worked in my own life was my desire to get to Israel a few years ago. At the time I felt the need to get over there to meet my extended family. I also was going through a difficult physical health issue at the time and needed time away from my day-to-day life to process what was going on with me. I focused my writing for a couple of months on how to get myself over there without the funds to do it on my own. The answer came up in who I could contact who may be willing to help me make the trip. In the end that person did indeed help me to meet the relatives that he had found over there. He thought it was important for me not only to go over there to meet my relatives, he wanted me to be able to spend a few months there, become a part of the culture really having the full experience. He also realized that the trip would allow me to heal, something that I hadn’t really focused on myself.

If you are willing to really do this you too can bring some miracles into your life.

 

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Sep 16 2012

Hypnosis Can Clear Traumas

Vol. 47, February 2007

When people are victims of trauma they are already in a state close to hypnosis as they are unable to escape the fearful thoughts that are running through their minds. It makes sense to use this same state to help them to free themselves of these painful memories thus over coming their fears and recover their lives.

Many of the clients that have come in to see me with presenting problems that looked like over eating, alcoholism, depression, anger, fear, etc. went back to traumas that they suffered during their childhoods. Continue reading

Sep 16 2012

10 Signs of workplace harassment and the 8 things you can do about it.

Workplace harassment

Workplace harassment

Vol. 166, Sept. 16, 2012

The numbers of people being targeted by workplace bullying are exploding according to the Workplace Bullying Institute’s report “Effectiveness of Bullied Target Resolution Strategies, April, 2012”. According to their research 58% of the 1,604 employees surveyed say they are being bullied currently and 39% said they have been bullied. Of those being bullied 79.2% are women and 20.8% are male. Interestingly enough 62.8% of those doing the bullying are female and 37.2% were male. Regardless of what was done to stop the mistreatment 54% of all respondents said that the interventions were ineffective with the bullying continuing. Forty-one percent of women targeted for bullying quit and another 25% were terminated which includes those who were forced out of their jobs. Sadly the effectiveness of telling a boss or going to human resources was as ineffective as doing nothing stopping the bullying 3% of the time. Sadly 75% of those being bullied are of higher rank, 18% are of the same rank and 7% are of a lesser rank.

The largest part of the problem is that unless you are the one being targeted it is difficult to realize. This is a terrible situation for employees to be put into sinking them into a very low emotional state decreasing the job performance, killing moral at work and worse of all creating health issues such as: cardiovascular problems, an impaired immune system, debilitating anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. This means higher absenteeism. Forty-five percent of those being bullied suffer some sort stress related health problem. Bullying is a larger problem than sexual harassment.

For the company it means difficulty with moral and recruitment as word gets around that people are leaving in droves. Less workplace commitment along with increased workers’ comp claims increase cost to companies.

How do you know if you are being bullied? 10 Signs You are being bullied from Forbes Magazine:

1) You will feel anxious, maybe feeling like throwing up the night before your workweek starts.

2) Being constantly criticized by your boss or co-worker despite your history of competence at your job.

3 )Many instances where the bully is frequently yelling at you or insulting and humiliating you in front of others.

4 )Your boss or co-worker constantly refers to prior mistakes of yours without and constructive reason.

5) Spreading destructive gossip and lies about you.

6) You feel singled out by your boss or co-workers by having your desk moved or not being invited to meetings or even lunch.

7) All your time off is being spent on mental health days or your days off feeling lifeless or your family members showing frustration with you obsessing about work.

8) Having your work sabotaged by changing the rules, or performing task not critical to your success.

9) A boss that is changing your schedule knowing that it will conflict with your out of work activities making your life more difficult.

10) Your boss or co-worker stealing credit for your work

The first thing you need to do is stay calm because the bully is looking to get a reaction from you. Document the actions that the bully is taking against you so you can report it. If the bully is really impacting you negatively tell them that you have no interest in interacting with them and that they are on a strictly work based relationship.

For your own mental health journal about your feelings to get them out. Spend time with people who love and care about you. Focus you attention on them. And by all means, do those things that bring you joy and contentment. Tell you co-workers bosses and human resources your story while managing your emotions.

If things are getting out of hand and your employer seems to condone this sort of negative behavior the best response may be to leave your job for your own health and sanity.

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Sep 08 2012

Wake Up Doc! You May Be Killing your Patients By Not Hearing them! – Vol. 165, Sept. 8, 2012

I wonder how many of you who have a mental health history needing health care for a physiological problem have been treated like a child. That mental health diagnosis getting in the way of the treatment you may need because the doctor sitting in front of you can’t see your “whole self” – all that is seen is the psych history.
The sad truth is that it is very difficult to get an unbiased diagnosis when one has a psych history even when one has a an infection, broken bone and hardest of all fighting fatigue which can be caused by a multitude of issues from sleep apnea, to malnourishment from being unable to metabolize the nutrients from the foods you are eating, conditions that cause a lot of physical pain, to dealing with a loss of some sort. Too many doctors think it is all in your head and it many times is not.

You know that you are a victim of this poor treatment when you are finding yourself complaining of the same symptoms over and over again from never finding the “cause” of your problem.

As a patient if you feel more frustrated than when you came in, with more prescriptions than causes to your problem, you need to change doctors.

If your doc says “let’s try this” without any scientific testing to back up their ideas, you are being used as a human guinea pig. Change doctors.

If your doc is unwilling to send you for the scans that are necessary to see what is going on inside you, especially with ongoing pain, you need to change doctors.

If your doctor tells you that “nobody died of lack of sleep” and that is one of your main symptoms, you are in trouble. Your doc is taking it to lightly – Ambien IS NOT the answer! Change doctors.

If you seem to know more than your doc about what is going on with you, change doctors.

If your doctor doesn’t ask you if you have a history of drug addiction before giving your a prescription change doctors.

If you undergo a surgery and your doctor gives you over a 100 pills of addictive opiates to help with the pain, change doctors.

These are the complaints that I hear over and over again from my clients when they are looking for treatment from their medical providers. Unfortunately more times than I would like to admit, their doctors don’t take them seriously and in some cases it has caused their patients to find themselves in precarious positions.

Several have found themselves unwittingly addicted to narcotics after surgeries. Some have been unable to find out why it is that they are always tired – not depressed, just tired all of the time making it difficult to make it through their work day. Others have never been given the requisite testing or scans to find out what may be at the cause of the problem just handing over prescriptions without any thought as to what the long term consequences may be for the patient.

By far the worst is when a normal child or teen is seen as over active is placed on medications to sedate them when a conversation to find out what the real issue is would have gone a long way to clearing up the problem.

Hormones are the basis of your body being able to function. When one hormone is out of balance, it throws of the balance of other hormones creating the symptoms that are dragging down your quality of life. Few doctors really understand the science of hormones which is sad. It is probably the first place to look if you are feeling fatigued and out of sorts over a very long period and there are no other obvious causes.

One needs to check out precursor hormones which are the building blocks to the common hormones doctors check for to see what the deal is such as pregnenolone and DHEA are the precursor hormones for the sex hormones.

Food allergies and sensitivities can create great damage to the gut which is where the immune system does the majority of its work. Unfortunately many doctors fail to test for these issues as well.

Proper nutrition is the number one thing that you can do to take care of your health. If your doctor is not willing to speak to you about this, change doctors.

It is so much easier in the 7 ½ minute appointment for the doctor to stare at the computer and hand you a prescription. Ask yourself if this is the sort of treatment that you are willing to settle for.

If you have been diagnosed with a mental health issue it is a good idea to start over with a new doctor who is better able to see the “whole you” to form an unbiased diagnosis.

Don’t let insurance hassles and money issues be a reason to not get appropriate health care. See a functional or integrative doctor who will see you as a “whole person.” As you know without good health life is really not worth living. Many of these treatments that integrative (holistic practitioners) treat may not be covered under your health insurance regardless of how much you are already spending on it. Go ahead and have the work done anyway so that you can reclaim your life.

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