Late on Bills? Stay Positive

by: continuum wellness - November 1st, 2011   Filed under: healthy mind, stress, wellness Add Comment

Mortgage delinquency associated with mental health impairments and lack of access to health-related resources             

A national study released today in the American Journal of Public Health found that mortgage delinquency increased the risk of declines in health, particularly depressive symptoms, in Americans over the age of 50; mental health impairments were exacerbated by the lack of sufficient access to health-relevant resources.

Researchers investigated whether mortgage delinquency was associated with decreases in health and access to health-relevant resources over a two-year period in a nationally representative cohort of Americans older than 50 years.

In 2008, 2,474 participants reported whether they had fallen behind on mortgage payments since 2006. They compared changes in health, including any incidence of elevated depressive symptoms and major declines in self-rated health, as well as monitored changes in access to health-relevant resources, such as food and prescription medications. Compared with nondelinquent homeowners, the mortgage-delinquent group developed elevated depressive symptoms, food insecurity and cost-related nonadherence with prescription medications.

The study’s authors said, “The rise in mortgage defaults may have important public health implications that could ultimately prove costly to affected individuals, employers, the health care system, and society…Our results also suggest that the housing crisis may be exacerbating health disparities because lower-income and minority homeowners were at higher risk than other homeowners for mortgage default.”

[From: “Mortgage Delinquency and Changes in Access to Health Resources and Depressive Symptoms in a Nationally Representative Cohort of American Older than 50 years.” Contact: Bill Seiler, Media Relations, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, bseiler@umm.edu or 410-328-8919].

Be Happy with You

by: continuum wellness - July 14th, 2011   Filed under: depression, healing, healthy mind, inspiration, self-care, spirit, spirituality, stress, thoughts, wellness Add Comment

The majority of folks have heard the phrase, “be happy with yourself.”  Not new, right? Well, but are you?  Happiness  always seems to be just the corner.  It is on the plate for sure, but always seems to be the next course.  How often do we put something else on the plate for the next bite?

How are You Delaying Your Happiness?

Typical happiness delays include:

    I’ll be happy after I finish my degree,

      after I get a job,
      after I get a raise,
      after I “find myself“,
      after I have children,
      after the children are grown,
      when I lose weight,
      after I get that man or woman,
      after I move and so it goes, on and on…

    Until. 
    Until the day you stop. Stop trying to be amazing, unique, fabulous, special or any other “ego” supporting word you choose. The truth is, happiness is not something you have to earn or deserve. It is your birthright.
    Claim it.
    And don’t allow or permit anyone to take it from you.

    Cheers,

    Catherine

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Meditation Music

by: continuum wellness - November 28th, 2010   Filed under: healthy mind, meditation 1 Comment

A lovely version of Green Tara’s mantra. Enjoy.

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Mindfulness Meditation Can Benefit Youth

by: continuum wellness - September 22nd, 2010   Filed under: adolescents, healing, Health, healthy mind, stress Add Comment

Mindfulness meditation increases well-being in adolescent boys

‘Mindfulness’, the process of learning to become more aware of our ongoing experiences, increases well-being in adolescent boys, a new study reports.

Researchers from the University of Cambridge analyzed 155 boys from two independent UK schools, Tonbridge and Hampton, before and after a four-week crash course in mindfulness. After the trial period, the 14 and 15 year-old boys were found to have increased well-being, defined as the combination of feeling good (including positive emotions such as happiness, contentment, interest and affection) and functioning well.

Professor Felicia Huppert of the Well-being Institute at the University of Cambridge said: “More and more we are realising the importance of supporting the overall mental health of children. Our study demonstrates that this type of training improves well-being in adolescents and that the more they practice, the greater the benefits. Importantly, many of the students genuinely enjoyed the exercises and said they intended to continue them – a good sign that many children would be receptive to this type of intervention.

“Another significant aspect of this study is that adolescents who suffered from higher levels of anxiety were the ones who benefitted most from the training.”

For the experiment, students in six classes were trained in mindful awareness – mindfulness. Mindfulness is a ‘way of paying attention. It means consciously bringing awareness to our experience, in the present moment, without making judgements about it’*. Students in the five control classes attended their normal religious studies lessons.

The training consisted of four 40 minute classes, one per week, which presented the principles and practice of mindfulness. The classes covered the concepts of awareness and acceptance, and taught the schoolboys such things as how to practice bodily awareness by noticing where they were in contact with their chairs or the floor, paying attention to their breathing, and noticing all the sensations involved in walking.

The students were also asked to practice outside the classroom and were encouraged to listen to a CD or mp3 file for eight minutes a day. These exercises are intended to improve concentration and reduce stress.

All participants completed a short series of online questionnaires before and after the mindfulness project. The questionnaires measured the effect of the training on changes in mindful awareness, resilience (the ability to modify responses to changing situations) and psychological well-being.

The researchers found that although it was a short programme, the students who participated in the mindfulness training had increased levels of well-being which were proportional to the amount of time the students spent practicing their new skills.

Professor Huppert continued: “We believe that the effects of mindfulness training can enhance well-being in a number of ways. If you practice being in the present, you can increase positive feelings by savouring pleasurable on-going experiences. Additionally, calming the mind and observing experiences with curiosity and acceptance not only reduces stress but helps with attention control and emotion regulation – skills which are valuable both inside and outside the classroom.”

The success of this initial study has recently led to the creation of an exciting 8 week mindfulness curriculum for schools in both the state and private sectors. This new curriculum, which includes games and video clips, should have even greater benefits.

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For further information, visit here

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Approaches to Healing Jealousy

by: continuum wellness - August 19th, 2009   Filed under: alternative medicine, healing, healing philosophy, Health, health beliefs, health care, healthy mind, Homeopathy, integrative medicine, self-care, self-healing, teens, thoughts, wellness, women, women's health 2 Comments

by Catherine Carter

“Everybody likes you.” “I wanted that.” These thoughts led a teen to write what could be called hateful and spiteful notes in her diary of fellow classmates. She thought it was private. No one would ever know. And no one did until the fateful day that someone found the secret book and made it very public. Her secrets were now out in the open.

So what is jealousy?
Jealousy
foolish and irresistible
Meaning: (Webster)
Suspicious fear or apprehension; painful apprehension of rivalship in cases nearly affecting one’s happiness. Uneasy through fear that good will, interest, affection or the like, regarded as belonging to one’s self is transferred to another; pained by suspicions of preference given to another.
Synonyms: suspicious; anxious; envious

In the Complete Repertory, the rubric: Ailments from jealousy, lists 65 remedies. Among some of the remedies listed are Apis (honeybee), Lachesis (Bushmaster Snake) and Platina (Platinum metallicum). As you can see just from the three listed remedies, homeopathic remedies come from the natural world around us. What is important to understand is that the young lady’s jealousy was a reflection of some lack of inner peace. The cause we do not know and we are offering any type of diagnosis.

Homeopathy focuses on healing the person,their unique way of being in the world. By identifying similar substances in nature that can produce a similar pattern one is able to heal internally. Homeopathy is quite helpful in balancing emotions.

Emotions are powerful forces. Ignored the energy often remains blocked and can lead to physical ailments or further emotional problems.

Flower Essences such as the Bach Flower remedies are also very helpful for emotional balancing. The Bach Flower essences recognize 38 conditions which are aligned to the following seven headings:
For Fear
For Uncertainty
For Insufficient Interest in Present Circumstances
For Loneliness
For Those Over-Sensitive to Influences and Ideas
For Despondency and Despair
For Overcare for the Welfare of Others.
Dr. Edward Bach discovered the remedies through an intuitive process, while in the English countryside. The Bach flower essences focus on Type Remedies which relate to a personality pattern and the Helping Remedies which help to resolve transient mood of the psyche. For more information on the Bach Flower Essences click, here. And here is a questionnaire, you can explore.

One does not have to be undone by the thought pattern labeled as ‘jealousy.’ See it as a sign that you simply need some healing. Ultimately you are not your thoughts.

There are many ways that one can heal emotional states that will lead one to ultimately balance and fulfillment.

“Resentment of someone’s good will serve as a barrier to one’s own growth.”

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www.continuumwellness.org

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Enter the “Polypill” to reduce heart problems, hbp and stroke

by: continuum wellness - March 30th, 2009   Filed under: adverse events, alternative medicine, baby boomers, behavior, cholesterol, complementary medicine, healing, healing philosophy, Health, health beliefs, health benefits of food, health care, healthy body, healthy eating, healthy mind, heart, heart attack, holistic, holistic medicine, integrative medicine, kindness, medications, medicine, men, prescription drugs, self-care, self-healing, thoughts, tips, wellness, Western diet, women, women's health Add Comment

The “miracle” of modern medicine has led to bizarre side effects such as a treatment for restless legs, that has caused compulsive gambling. A medicine for Parkinson’s has a similar problem for some. Sleep drugs that cause people to stumble out of their home and drive. Fertility drugs that lead to multiple births. Hallucinations are a “rare” side effect of some ADHD medications. These are the considered a-typical, but the typical side effects are no fun either.

Help for High Blood Pressure

Enter the Polypill.  Researchers want to create a pill a 3 in one that can reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke and high blood pressure in one.  article here
Truth is it has been created or should I say they have been. When we eat whole foods, contained therein is a synergistic blend of vitamins, proteins, amino acids, flavonoids, solar and lunar energy and maybe even (hopefully) love from the gardener. We cannot get this from a pill.

Run This Way

Instead of running from nature, run to nature. Nurture yourself with learning how to live in balance. It’s free. It’s the healthiest choice for yourself and the planet. Give it a try. Polypill? Try basking in the sun, or hugging a dear friend, cook yourself a meal with a big dose of love in it…you’ll be glad you did, for benefits no Polypill could ever provide.

At Continuum Wellness we offer homeopathic care and wellness coaching to promote wholeness, health and well-being.

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Children seriously affected when a parent suffers from depression

by: continuum wellness - March 9th, 2009   Filed under: adolescents, children, depression, family, healing, Health, healthy mind, men, mind and body, women, women's health Add Comment

The article below outlines some of the challenges that are thrust on a child when a parent is sad or depressed. Homeopathic care (with a qualified homeopath) can offer solutions to those seeking an alternative to allopathic care. Homeopathy is of help for the entire family and as the article below suggests, health services must help the whole family. Visit our site, continuumwellness.org and contact us for more information.

Children seriously affected when a parent suffers from depression

Life is hard for the children of a parent suffering from depression. Children take on an enormous amount of responsibility for the ill parent and for other family members. It is therefore important for the health services to be aware of this and have support functions in place for the whole family, and not just for the person who is ill. This is the conclusion of a thesis from the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

Registered Nurse Britt Hedman Ahlström has examined the way in which family life is affected when a parent is suffering from depression. Nine families, including ten children and young adults between the ages of 5 and 26, and eleven parents were included in the study.

The results show how the family’s daily life changes and becomes more complicated when a parent is suffering from depression. Uncertainty about what is happening has an effect on the daily life of the entire family. Depression also means that the parent becomes tired and exhausted, which then affects and weighs heavily on the children’s daily life. Depression changes the relationship between a parent and his/her children, since they no longer communicate with each other as they used to. Family interplay and reciprocity decrease. The depressed parent withdraws from the family, and the children feel that they have been left to themselves.

Daily family life becomes unfamiliar to the children

The family members try their utmost, both as individuals and together, to cope with the situation, so that daily life can be restored to a more manageable level. The children take responsibility for both the depressed parent, siblings and themselves, when they notice that the parent cannot cope.

“The toughest burden of responsibility that children take on is ensuring that the depressed parent doesn’t commit suicide. So children take on an extremely heavy responsibility by monitoring and keeping an eye on the depressed parent,” says Britt Hedman Ahlström.

For children, the parent’s depression means both a sense of responsibility and a feeling of loneliness The feelings of responsibility and loneliness include a striving and yearning for reciprocity with the parent, and for things to return to a state of normality.

“Even if the depression goes away for a time, the family is never entirely free from anxiety over it coming back. This means that there is a prolonged period of suffering associated with depression,” says Britt Hedman Ahlström.

Health services must help the whole family

Involving the entire family when a parent becomes ill is important, both for the children and the parents. It is essential to have a well-defined level of guaranteed care on how, when and from whom the families will get support. Psychiatric healthcare personnel meet people suffering from depression at an early stage, and therefore have the opportunity to focus the care on the family, in order to together identify ways of helping the family get through the depression.

“We need a new approach within the health services, in which the focus is on the family’s own perspective when a parent is suffering from depression. It’s vital to be aware of the whole family’s needs in terms of help and support, and not just those of the person who is ill. It’s particularly important to be aware of the children’s situation. Research can therefore focus on how to develop various ways of providing families with care and support, and introduce them into the existing organisation, as well as evaluating the consequences for the whole family, the parents and the children,” says Britt Hedman Ahlström.

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Rice-Nut Patties Recipe

by: continuum wellness - March 3rd, 2009   Filed under: Health, healthy mind, nuts, recipes, wellness 2 Comments

Here is a vegan/vegetarian main dish recipe that can be used as the centerpiece for a meal or sandwiches.

2 cups cooked rice (I use brown rice, short grain or basmati)
1 cup of bread crumbs
3/4 cup of soy milk
1/2 teaspoon sage or marjoram
4 tablespoons of chopped onion
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 cup chopped walnuts
salt (can be left out, or substitue tamari)

Saute onions, seasoning and oil in skillet or small sauce pan. Add milk and salt. Bring to a boil, then pour over the crumbs. Let stand for 10 minutes. Add nuts, mix in the steamed rice. Form into small patties and brown.

*Note: this is a very forgiving recipe. You can add a tablespoon of peanut butter which adds a flavor boost and increases nutritional content. Nutritional yeast will also enhance the flavor.
modified from The Back to Eden Cookbook

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Homeopathy and Acupuncture Beneficial

by: continuum wellness - February 18th, 2009   Filed under: alternative medicine, complementary medicine, health care, healthy mind, holistic medicine, Homeopathy, integrative medicine Add Comment

Homeopathy, acupuncture and reflexology are among a range of complementary and alternative therapies a new trial concludes should be provided on the NHS.

The major new Government-funded study found there would be a range of benefits to patients in providing access to complementary and alternative medicine, and that the treatments could even save the health service money.

As many as 81% of patients receiving the treatments on referral from their GP reported improvements in their physical health, and 79% in their mental health. (article continues, here)

Key Findings
• 81% of patients reported improvement in their physical health, 79% in their mental health.
• 84% of patients directly linked improvements in their health and wellbeing to the complementary treatment.
• 62% of patients were suffering less pain, with 55% said they had been able to reduce their use of painkillers.
• 64% of patients in employment said they took less time off work after treatment.
• Half of GPs reported prescribing less medication for chronic or acute patients during the trial.
• In 65% of cases, GPs reported a health improvement.

Source: Evaluation of Government-funded pilot project in Northern Ireland, carried out by Social & Market Research (SMR)

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Homeopathy, Children and Life, A Deeper Look

by: continuum wellness - January 1st, 2009   Filed under: alternative medicine, children, complementary medicine, healing, healing philosophy, Health, health beliefs, healthy mind, Homeopathy, life, mind and body, stress, thoughts Add Comment

What I love about this article below is that it captures succinctly a number of key points of homeopathic philosophy.  For example, that you are not your illness.  That the origins of a ‘disease’ that you are experiencing *today* may have ancestral roots.  But whatever the cause of the problem it has something to do with inter-relationships of things in your world, your life and how it effected you.  I don’t have the name of the author, but the article appeared in “The Daily Mirror” 12/25/08, an Indian paper.  And read the Arsenicum case in the article, so cool.

A person is not simply a disease. Instead they are the totality of their physical and psychological characteristics. This totality is a dynamic and evolving system. In Homeopathy we recognize that our whole entire being is influenced not only by infections and day to day stresses but also our environment and our emotions and that of those around us.

In the case of children we can clearly see a link in the stresses surrounding their births and even conception going onto having a bearing in their “total health.”  In some cases this will be revealed by the child’s inability to gain weight, to sleep well or a recurring ear infection, craving certain foods and so on. Instead of looking within ourselves and the shadow side of our behavior and emotions we look for the quick fix to patch our children back to “health” with antibiotics and vitamins. This is not a true cure. We need to always consider the root cause. And more often than not it has its roots in the realm of emotions. Sometimes it is an emotion of an ancestor that we carry with us and keep reliving it.   Remember that all experiences we have leave an energetic imprint on us.

This brings me to a case I read of when a mother came to visit a Homeopath with her son who always woke up at 3 am. The mother had frontal sinusitis. The child seemed very agitated and in contrast the mother was calm and dressed all in black. Of course like most modern mothers she claimed her pregnancy was problem free and how much she had achieved during her pregnancy, but her child was presenting with much agitation and sleep issues. So the homeopath has to dig a little deeper to find out what had been going on during her pregnancy. Many months later the mother recalled that she watched the assassination of President Sadat on the television when she was pregnant. This apparently really shocked her and she was also able to recall that ever since then the baby moved around so much in her stomach. She put it down to him just being active and all boy! But through the Homeopathic lens of understanding we are able to see that this negative image was transferred to the unborn baby while in utero. The Homeopath prescribed a few doses of Arsenicum Albumen for the indication of the fear of death. The boy began to sleep through the night and became much calmer.

In today’s world a pregnant woman is exposed to so much negativity on a daily basis. For example, take the 24 hour news channels that allow us to relive disturbing and traumatic events on demand. We absorb these images and emotions and make it part of our psyche.  We have moved very far away from the days when pregnant women were revered and placed in calming and beautiful surroundings in order to imbibe feelings of harmony and joy to their children. Today even a child’ birth is scheduled in most parts of the developed world. Very little is left to the natural rhythms of the Universe. We have to find a middle path, a path on which we can enjoy the benefits of the modern world but not let it destroy our spirit.

In our busy world we seem to have forgotten that our physical body and our emotions are inextricably linked. In order to truly put our lives back in balance we need to look a little deeper than the superficial symptoms. We need to truly look at the dis-ease in our being.  In order to ascertain the fundamental cause of disease and then treat what needs to be cured it takes some self reflection. All the stresses of our day to day life impact our vital force.  In treating children we see how strong their vital force is and through Homeopathy you can maintain this vitality and enhance it.

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