Thursday, 26 March 2015
Wednesday, 25 March 2015
SELF MEDICATING
More now than ever, with the stresses and strains of modern day life there needs to be a dramatic shift in mainstream thinking towards: better nutrition, more exercise/movement, positive thinking and meditation/mindfulness. Doing this would improve people's immune systems and uplift general well-being. Sadly many people are searching for happiness and stress relief in the wrong places and it is having a detrimental effect on our society’s physical and mental health.
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Self-medication is away to seek comfort from uncomfortable feelings – physical
or emotional. Food, caffeine,
cigarettes, fizzy drinks, alcohol, pain killers, T.V., work, shopping,
gambling, porn, sex and drugs are all common forms of self-medicating. They
vary in severity but anyone of them in excess will have negative effect on the
body/mind. They all give a short term high or escape from physical or
emotional discomfort. But the positive effects are short lived and often can
leave the person feeling very flat and empty and the original discomfort in the
body can become more sever. Thus creating a need to find something else to ‘perk
them up’ e.g. more food, more alcohol, another bet etc. It is a mistake not acknowledge the true
cause of the discomfort in the first place.
Physical and emotional pain are the body’s red light warning signals – if
you continue to drive around in your body for long enough without addressing the
warning signals the discomfort will eventually show up as sickness.
The long term, physical and mental symptoms from ‘self-medicating’ can arise in
many forms such as: insomnia, constipation, weight gain/loss, sore knees,
headaches, skin disorders, pre/diabetes, thyroid problems, high blood
pressure, IBS, immune system disorders, depression or anxiety.
Then people seek help from their doctor hoping for an instant fix in the
form of a 'magic pill', cream or operation. Prescribed medicines can help
to manage the symptoms of the illness, but do not address the underlying
reasons that caused the emotions/symptoms in the first
place. If the root cause is not discovered and they continue
mistreating their bodies they can be sure that further health
problems will crop up in the future. And in no time they will be back at
the doctor looking for answers.
So if the ‘red light is flashing’ or you can feel you are not ‘running’ quite right, pull over and take some time to evaluate what is going on in your life. Take a step back from yourself and think about: how you have been fuelling yourself? Is your water topped up? Have you over filled the oil?
When you are honest with yourself, you may decide it is time
to ditch the self-medication and tackle the root of the problems.
Tips for changing self-medication habits
-Drink lots of water to flush toxins out of your cells.
-Eat nutritious food to boost your brain and fuel your body.-Develop a daily habit of mindful relaxation/meditation
(start with just 5 minutes). There are lots of free clips on you Tube or download a meditation App onto your phone or simply set an alarm clock for 5 minutes and just try to relax and turn off the ‘little voice in your head’ for a while.
-Keep an eye on your inner voice, keep it positive- dismiss any negative chitter chatter
-Move ... go for a walk/jog or go for a swim or a bike ride.
-Spend some time in the fresh air or day light if possible.
-Get a good night’s sleep, turn off your computer/phone /tablet etc. an hour before you plan to sleep, read a book or have a bath.
-Take a mini nap around lunch if you can, even 5 min with your eyes shut. This will give your brain a little break.
-Spend quality time around positive people and people you love
-Try to laugh each day – watch some comedy!
-Cut down of the caffeine/alcohol/processed sugar/chocolate - they are all stimulants and will make you feel worse in the long run, when abused.
Avoid trying to cover up the emotional and physical problems with self-medication. In the long, if neglected the problems will just snowball. Don’t wait until you are really sick to make positive changes, make them today!
If you have any questions or want to contact me email me at -
foodmoodhealthhappiness@gmail.com
-Cut down of the caffeine/alcohol/processed sugar/chocolate - they are all stimulants and will make you feel worse in the long run, when abused.
Avoid trying to cover up the emotional and physical problems with self-medication. In the long, if neglected the problems will just snowball. Don’t wait until you are really sick to make positive changes, make them today!
If you have any questions or want to contact me email me at -
foodmoodhealthhappiness@gmail.com
Friday, 20 March 2015
Tuesday, 17 March 2015
Meditation Part 2 - Meditation a habit (How to meditate for beginners)
Making meditation a ‘habit’
So you are aware of all the benefits of meditation and you are ready to try to try to make it part of your daily routine.......
When you first begin to try to meditate the body and mind may put up some resistance to
your new habit. (Even after meditating regularly for two
years, I still have days when I procrastinate about meditating but I gently remind
myself of all the positives and just do it.) The body likes routine and the ‘norm’ and may
fight you when you try to introduce something new. When you started to smoke you didn't
automatically like it, you had to keep smoking again and again for it to become
second nature. When you first started to
read or write you couldn’t do it right away you had to practice again and
again, making plenty of mistakes along the way....but now for many people
reading and writing come very easily. It
is the same with meditation, you will have to try to like it at first. You may feel like you are getting it wrong, or
you might forget to do it the odd time, but if you keep in mind all the
benefits you will find it more and more natural.
Practicing meditation is just like breathing. While working we breathe, while sleeping we breathe, while sitting down we breathe… Why do we have time to breathe? Because we see the importance of the breath, we can always find time to breathe. In the same way, if we see the importance of meditation practice we will find the time to practice. Ajahn Chah
I have found that meditating first thing every day works best for me. If I leave it until later in the day it is
often easily swept aside as insignificant.
Meditation doesn’t have the same pull as a quick five min on Face book
of You Tube. Some people like to meditate
on the train to work, some do it at lunch time, some do it last thing before
they go to sleep, some even do it on the toilet! It doesn’t really matter when or where you
meditate, just as long as you do it.
Tip: You can try attaching your meditation to one of your daily habits that you have already established, such as cleaning your teeth. E.g. Before you clean your teeth do your five minutes of meditation. Or do it first thing when your alarm goes off, set your alarm for five minutes and sit on the edge of the bed or on the bed under the covers.
I am not a
meditation expert but I have found an effective simple way to meditate that works for me and it may work for you too!
One way you
can begin to meditate:
First you are going to train your body and brain to
know that meditation is something beneficial.
To do this you can start your meditation by reading or reciting a short positive
statement or affirmation which is like a short story to explain over and over
again to yourself why it is worth your time and effort to develop this new meditation
habit.
This is the affirmation I use. You can also use it or use as a template/guideline
to write your own meaningful affirmations/statement about why you want to meditate.
My meditation affirmation /statement
This
is time for me. This is my five minutes of peace.
There
are 1440 minutes in the day I can take five/ten minutes to help me to become a
better version of me
I
deserve a little peace every day, I owe it to myself.
This
is my time to stop and be still.
I
know I will benefit from this short time of calm.
Meditation
will help me think clearly and be calmer.
It will help me stay focused on the things in my life that are truly
meaningful and aligned with my long term goals and success.
I
enjoy this break from the business of everyday life. Sometimes
my body and mind put up a fight against meditation but I ignore the resistance
and reinforce my meditation habit. Every
day I meditate it gets a little easier.
I
know that when I meditate my mind will bring up thoughts and feelings,
I know
this is normal. I just let the thought pass. I don’t get engaged with any
chitter chatter in my mind.
I can’t get this wrong -
just by doing it I am getting it right.
I release any judgement of myself, others and my meditation practice.
I release any judgement of myself, others and my meditation practice.
If you are unsure what to write/say email me any questions and I’d be happy to help! foodmoodhealthhappiness@gmail.com
Then set your
intention for the meditation. This is just a short statement about what you
want to gain from this practice e.g. My intention for this meditation is to: feel more peaceful, get rid of my headache, feel refreshed and energised, be more patient with my children etc.
(Maybe just chose one thing to focus on.)
Next sit or
lie down in a comfortable position, somewhere quiet or put
your head phones on to block out the distractions around you.
Set your
timer or alarm for five minutes
(Or start a five minute meditation
you have found on the internet/ YouTube or mobile phone app)
Link to a 5 minute piece of music .https://youtu.be/UfkT9m9NQpg http://www.wideopenroadwellness.com/meditation-timers.html
(Some people like to have music on when they meditate and others find it off-putting.)
Close your
eyes or chose a
spot on the wall to focus on.
Rest your hands on your knees or somewhere they are
comfortable.
Then begin
to relax-
Screw up your face then relax - letting go of any
tension held in your face.
Stretch your neck by moving your head from side to
side and nodding up and down.
Roll your shoulders back and down making space
between your ears and shoulders.
Make a tight fist with and then shake out my
fingers like you are shaking water off them.
Next make
three big sighs (take a big
breath in your nose and let it out your mouth with a sigh ‘aaahhhh’) - this
helps you to relax or even yawn- this is a good sign!
Then just
focus your attention on your breath - just
breathe normally and relax.
-Some people like to focus on actual words when
they breathe e.g., breathing in peace and breathing out stress or breathe in
love and out with the hate. (Breathe in something positive you would like to
feel and breathe out an emotion or feeling that you are trying to get rid of)
-Other people like to imagine breathing in pure
white light and breathing out dirty smoggy, grey air. It depends on the way your brain works. (If you like to think with colours breathe in
a ‘happy colour’ like bright purple and breathe out a ‘sad colour’ like a dirty
green. This is very individual and just
depends on how your brain is wired.
-Other people like to count their breaths. (Sometimes
I try to count backwards from 100 because it reduces other thoughts coming into
my head.)
-Or you can count as you breathe in e.g. "1,
2" and then count as you let your breath go "3, 4, 5".
(There are literally hundreds of different ways of meditation
but these are just a couple of simple techniques you can use easily. You might want to try different ones until
you find one that suits you. The thing
to keep in mind is that you can’t do it wrong. If you are doing it at all then that is great!
And you will reap the benefits.)
Keep
focusing on your breath until your
timer goes off.
You will find that your mind wanders off and you
start to think about all sorts of random things, especially when it isn’t used
to having a little bit of quiet. When
your thoughts come into your mind just let them go again, try not to get
involved in the chitter chatter. Gently remind
yourself you can deal with all these thoughts later and that now is just time
to be quiet.
That is all there is to meditation,
it’s not really
complicated at all!
The 5 minutes
for 5 weeks challenge
-Try to
commit to just five minute every day for five weeks.
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| Photo credit : Instant Humour |
(This works out at almost 3 hours of meditation -175min
in total!)
-After five weeks you can decide if your new habit
is something you wish to continue.
-You can build up your meditation time slowly if
you feel you can do a little longer maybe do seven weeks of seven minutes, then
ten weeks of ten minutes and so on. You
just move on in your own time and do what feels good for you.
-If you stay with five minutes a day and
consistently hit your target this will be great but if you initially set
unrealistic targets for yourself you are more likely to quit.
- Over time your mind will become clearer and
meditation may become easier.
-Mediation is never quite the same. Some days it is easier to still the mind than
others and some days your ‘monkey mind’ runs wild for the whole time- this is just
as it is – you don’t need to analyse or judge it.
I hope you enjoyed reading my
meditation blog and consider taking on the
5 minutes for 5 weeks meditation challenge
I would love to know how you get on and will
support you all the way!
Thank you for taking the time
to read this, and hope it will benefit you in some way
In my next blog 'Meditation Part 3' I will share
my personal journey into meditation and examine why meditation isn’t a bigger part of mainstream, Western culture.
If you want to receive my new
blog subscribe to the blog or drop me an email and I will set up an blog group
emailing list. Or if you have any topics you
would like me to cover or any questions I can help you with…drop me a line…
Live healthily, live happily .......Ruth @ FMHH
Live healthily, live happily .......Ruth @ FMHH
Meditation: Part 1 - A ‘life changing pill’
There is a life changing pill………………
The side effects of this pill:
·
Boosts your immune system, helping you
to fight of colds, flus and bugs.
·
Gives you an energy lift - think of it
as a caffeine free energy hit!
·
Can help with weigh loss.
·
Helps with stress related pain like
headaches, muscle aches.
·
Helps you sleep better at night.
·
Can help auto immune symptoms, and
hormonal problems.
·
Lower your blood pressure and help with
other stress related illnesses.
·
Reduces anxiety, enabling you to manage
stressful situations more easily.
·
Helps you think with clarity and
concentration, reducing the mental fog.
·
Improves your memory skills - (since
meditating regularly for a few years I can remember things like phone numbers
and bank card details)
·
Makes you feel happier and more stable.
·
Improves your intuition and imagination
- when you have space from mental chatter you make room to tune into life and
be creative. It is surprising how many
good ideas I get while meditating or just after!
·
Improves your patience - helping you to
be calmer in stressful situations.
·
Helps to create space in your mind to
actually answer some of the questions you have about your life. A little bit like the way you get great ideas
and answers to your problems when you are sitting on the toilet, or taking a
bath or shower. For your mind to be
effective it needs to be relaxed and calm.
·
Helps you to focus on the positive
things in your life.
·
Reduces your need to use alcohol,
cigarettes and other prescription and non-prescription drugs.
·
Can help with other additive behaviours
like eating disorders, gambling and porn.
If I offered you a pill that could help
you with all these things,
I think a lot of people would say-
'How
much?' and ‘Where can I get it from?’
What does
this ‘life changing pill’ cost?
Only five or ten minutes a day
(Remember there are 1440 minutes in the day so I guess you could fit it in!)
This life changing pill is meditation!
We hear about the positive effects of meditation
but it hasn’t become fully integrated into the social mainstream yet. It is still viewed as a bit ‘out there’, a
bit ‘hippyish’ or a just a bit weird. I
want to help everyone to realise that meditation is simple and do-able. And that you can tap into this free source of
stress relief and calmness on a daily basis. You don’t need any special
equipment to meditate and it is something you can do almost anywhere.
“Meditation is the ultimate mobile device; you can use it anywhere, anytime,
unobtrusively.”
Sharon
Salzberg
You need to burn incense or look at candle
You have to chant mantras or make funny noises.
You need to be in a room full of other ‘odd’ chanting people.
Meditation is religious.
You have to sit there for an hour to gain any benefit.
To do it ‘right’ you should will have a totally clear mind, free of any thoughts
The meditation ‘habit’
Excuses
I often hear people say "Oh I can’t meditate,
I’m too busy." or "I can’t meditate I can’t sit still" or ‘I
don’t need to meditate’. 
I heard a
quote that basically said: ‘The
people that think they don’t have
time to meditate are the people that need to meditate the most.’ The same goes for people who are on the go
all day long, who never sit still and always busy themselves with
something. They are the ones who will
benefit from the clam, stillness and peace of meditation the most. Everyone can benefit from the positive
effects of meditation somehow. Sadly it
often takes a break down or a negative event in our lives for us to seek out
meditation. I feel that if everyone
meditated regularly then people would be less likely to reach breaking point
and would be able to handle stressful situations with more ease.
Why wait until you are broken
and your batteries are flat to start meditating?
What are your excuses?........Start today!
Thank you for taking the time
to read this, and hope it will benefit you in some way
If you want to receive my new
blog subscribe to the blog or drop me an email and I will set up an blog group
email. Or if you have any topics you
would like me to cover or any questions I can help you with…drop me a line…
Live healthily, live happily Ruth @ FMHH
Foodmoodhealthhappiness@gmail.com
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