Lifestyle Blog - Page 9 of 16 - The Heart of Wellness

How To Help Yourself Heal

On September 25, 2019

In Anxiety & Depression, Chronic Pain, Emotional Health, Lifestyle Blog, Physical Health, Stress Management

Do you rely just on your doctor’s opinions and recommendations or do you seek out alternative methods to assist in your healthcare decisions? Since you are reading this blog post, I assume that you are open to hearing other ways available to help in the healing process besides just prescriptions and doctor visits. Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot of wisdom you can get from seeing a doctor and many healing benefits in prescription medicine too. From my experience, I think it’s best to have a blend of both traditional and alternative methods to address your healthcare needs. Today, I am sharing different ways to participate in your own healing and healthcare as discussed in the NIWH course presented by Dr. Bernie Siegel. There is so much more to healing than just taking medicine. See if you can find these steps helpful in your own situation.

Action Steps Towards Healing

Be a responsive participant
Ask a lot of questions of your healthcare team
Refuse being a victim
Change your attitude or change the situation
Develop good coping skills
Have a good sense of humor
Decide to be happy
Connect to plants, animals and people

Allow for intimate relationships
Increase your oxytocin (happy hormone) with hugs
Increase your immune function with laughter
Express your anger appropriately
Learn to say no
Learn to nourish yourself on all levels
Lose track of time- play!
Speak up for yourself appropriately
Remember life is a series of new beginnings

Siegel, B. Living With NIWH media course. Retrieved from http://ww.classroom.wholepersonhealthcare.org

There are many ways that you can participate in your own health care and healing. It is important to clear up any negative thought patterns, be grateful every day for what you have and surround yourself with caring people and loving pets. Know that you have control of your lifestyle habits and have the ability to change them for the better.

Be proactive with your doctors and be informed of all possible treatments both from the medical and alternative care fields. Loving yourself and others is a weapon and will protect you from chronic disease. Don’t take yourself too seriously, laugh every day, and be young at heart. Expressing your feelings has a major impact on your health.

Holding anger or fear in your body will affect your immune system and prevent it from functioning at its best. Participate in social events and have a network of positive caring people in your life who support you. Eat a healthy diet the majority of the time. Do what makes you happy and live your own life without having to please others. Allow other people to love you for who you are. Engage in activities that make you feel young and do those things with people you respect, love and trust. LIVE 🙂

xoxo

Jill DeMasi is a Lifestyle Blogger, Licensed Massage Therapist and a Certified Wellness Coach with a passion for helping others manage Stress, Chronic Pain, and Anxiety. Learn more about her journey and wellness practice that offers natural solutions to stress at www.AtTheHeartofWellness.com.

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Look On The Bright Side

By Jill Ciampi

On September 18, 2019

In Anxiety & Depression, Chronic Pain, Emotional Health, Lifestyle Blog, Physical Health, Spiritual Health, Stress Management

At times, we all tend to think too much about what’s wrong with us, what’s not working in our lives, how we don’t feel well and what we are missing out on because of our illness or disability. Did you ever think about the other side… the bright side? It is not easy when you don’t feel well or are feeling defeated by your lack of health and wellness. I can tell you that I don’t much like being around positive people sometimes they really annoy me to be honest! I want to tell you about part 4 of the NIWH course I took with Dr. Bernie Siegel. It is eye opening, and as always, a positive boost for those of us who can’t seem to get out of our own way and are stuck in negative thought patterns. Take a look and challenge yourself to consider the following benefits that can come out of not feeling well.

10 Positive Benefits of Illness

* Greater self awareness– you may become more in touch with your mind and body and start to realize that what you do and say and how you live does have an impact on your physical health.

* Experience personal truths– illness may help you to figure out what’s important to you and what is a waste of your time.

* Transcendent experience of pain– feeling pain puts things into perspective and helps you to be grateful for your health.

* Confront fear and death– it helps you to face your fears of death and maybe realize you haven’t really been living life as you could be.

* Address personal needs– sometimes it takes an illness to make someone take better care of themselves and make their health a priority.

* Creates opportunity to say no to what you do not want in your life and yes to what you do.

* Explore spiritual and world view– makes you focus on what you believe spiritually and perhaps become closer to God and feel more at peace.

* Flee from disease to health- may help you to know that you have control over your health and can make lifestyle changes to improve your chances of living a long healthy life.

* Experience the futility of sickness– being vulnerable is a good way to teach us that life is precious and not to take advantage of it.

* Learn to do what makes you happy– don’t let others have power over your decisions and learn that you can do what you want and make your own destiny.

Siegel, B. Living With NIWH media course. Retrieved from http://ww.classroom.wholepersonhealthcare.org

My top three from the above list that I work on:

* Being vulnerable to others to help me in my times of need (not easy for me!)

* Getting closer to God to lean on for support and comfort and continuing to have faith that I will get better.

* Trying to live in the moments I do feel good and being grateful for all that God has blessed me with. Please comment below and let me know what you will work on.

Stay tuned for next weeks post discussing the last part of the Living with Illness course and discover helpful tips on how we can be a part of our own healing process. Much love to you always!

xoxo

Jill DeMasi is a Lifestyle Blogger, Licensed Massage Therapist and a Certified Wellness Coach with a passion for helping others manage Stress, Chronic Pain, and Anxiety. Learn more about her journey and wellness practice that offers natural solutions to stress at www.AtTheHeartofWellness.com.

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Give Up or Fight

By Jill Ciampi

On September 11, 2019

In Anxiety & Depression, Chronic Pain, Emotional Health, Lifestyle Blog, Stress Management

When faced with a serious illness you have a choice to give up and die or fight and give yourself a new lease on life. Let’s continue to explore what I learned in my NIWH course, Living With Illness, presented by Dr. Bernie Siegel. Dr. Siegel has countless stories of patients who were given death sentences from doctors only to turn around and live far past what they were supposed to. This is because many of them chose at that time they were not ready to die and made the decision to go out and live and enjoy their life. Giving birth to a new self is powerful in helping a sick person heal and survive an illness.

How To Fight the Battle

* Live in the moment and forget about the past. Don’t let the past have any effect on the present and future. Stay away from negative people who are unsupportive and unloving. You have a choice who to hang around so keep the positive caring people around and remove people from your life who are toxic even if they are family or close friends.

* Be like water.. take the form that is most beneficial to your life as it is needed. Water is constantly changing and has the ability to transform into different states. Chose to be open and loving, gentle with yourself and others.

* Caring about yourself and others changes your body chemistry by reducing adrenal output. Serving others is proven to reduce stress physiologically and psychologically. It’s a great feeling when you help someone and you feel worthwhile making a difference in someone else’s life. It also takes the focus off you so you are far less likely to concentrate on your illness.

* Laugher decreases cortisol production and increases thymus gland function. Laughing improves your immune system function and instantly changes your attitude and makes you feel lighter and more positive. Norman Cousins attributed laughter to healing his chronic disease by exposing himself to things that made him laugh every day like comedies and other humorous things.

* Focus on stress reduction especially during an illness because it will positively affect your immunity and the ability of your body to fight off illness. A more relaxed mind and body does help in healing both physically and emotionally. We are capable of altering our physiology with our thoughts and our bodies respond by making healthy changes. I offer a 6 week coaching program all about stress management if you ever need some extra help!

* Love thyself- most important of all is love, be kind to yourself and love and accept who you are. This has an effect on health and healing. Love is powerful and being capable of loving yourself attracts good health, energy and positive people into your life.

Siegel, B. Living With NIWH media course. Retrieved from http://www.classroom.wholepersonhealthcare.org

It is a struggle to feel good enough to try some days but I know that consistently being mindful of these positive practices does help tremendously. If you are going through a tough time right now dealing with an illness, try at least one of these tips and focus on the positive. And don’t feel bad if there are some days where you just can’t do it. It always helps to enlist someone you trust to remind you of the positive stuff. Believe me, I know it’s not easy but it does help to take your mind off your pain and suffering. Comment and let me know what works for you and what you struggle with most. Until next time, enjoy every moment you are still alive 🙂

xoxo

Jill DeMasi is a Lifestyle Blogger, Licensed Massage Therapist and a Certified Wellness Coach with a passion for helping others manage Stress, Chronic Pain, and Anxiety. Learn more about her journey and wellness practice that offers natural solutions to stress at www.AtTheHeartofWellness.com.

Subscribe to my Lifestyle Blog!

Tips to Combat Anxiety While Traveling

By Jill Ciampi

On August 14, 2019

In Anxiety & Depression, Chronic Pain, Emotional Health, Environmental Health, Lifestyle Blog, Physical Health, Spiritual Health, Stress Management

Just returned from a quick trip to Myrtle Beach in South Carolina with my boyfriend. Traveling always intensifies my anxiety although I love to see new places and enjoy going on vacation. I have been fortunate enough to be able to travel over the years but have not yet been to my dream place… Italy. In the meantime, I do my best to get away a couple times per year to an island or somewhere in the United States. There is so much to see right here in our beautiful USA!

Anyone who has Anxiety knows how you can feel about traveling. I put a lot of pressure on myself to have enough energy and to feel good on vacation. There are a lot of anticipatory anxious feelings about leaving home and going to an unknown place. Here’s just a sampling of the thoughts that go through my head… will I feel good enough to participate in activities, am I going to have any pain, what am I going to eat that’s not going to bother my stomach, am I going to be social enough, happy enough and not moody, will I have any anxiety attacks while on vacation and in front of other people? And hundreds of other thoughts. Who knows what I am talking about? It can be truly exhausting.

In the past, I have felt pretty good on vacations. Just being in a different environment and not having the daily responsibilities to worry about lowers my stress level quite a bit. It seems to depend on my emotional state and the circumstances in my life. The hope is to just have a small break from the chronic pain and low energy levels I feel most days. Unfortunately, I did not feel good for most of this trip to South Carolina. I tried not to let this get me down. But it was hard not to especially since I waited so long for a get away. There was a desperate need to get away from daily living and chores like laundry, cleaning the kids rooms and house and also my work. I needed a change a pace and scenery and alone time with my partner in life.

What I realized is that I just need to be grateful for the opportunity to get away and reset. We have had an intense couple of years and were not able to do much of what we wanted. So self care is high on the list for the rest of this year! My expectations are always high when I vacation for some reason. I was disappointed that I didn’t feel my best and that I had to take antibiotics which always make me feel more anxious and moody and really flares my IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome). Anyone else experience issues when you travel? I know I am not alone in this. Maybe it will help if I share some tips of what I do to keep my anxiety at bay while traveling.

Tips to Combat Anxiety While Traveling

Lower your expectations. Part of anxiety are those nagging anticipatory thoughts that build up in your head that are not true and most likely will never happen. Mind over matter (the use of willpower to overcome physical problems) is a powerful anti-anxiety tool and it works! Train yourself to replace those negative thoughts with positive ones. It takes practice!!

Be prepared. Have a plan for yourself if you feel anxious. Whatever works for you. Make sure to have that essential oil, your vitamins and prescription meds, Tums, your meditation app and so on.

Tell whoever you are traveling with your feelings and express your emotions. More than half the time, once you talk about your anxious feelings they will go away. Hopefully you have a supportive partner to travel with and talk to!

Distract yourself. Usually when we are involved in an activity we don’t have time for those anxious thoughts to overwhelm us. Keep yourself busy and just enjoy the time you are away. Remember to breathe!

Stay off electronics. Too much screen time increases anxiety. Put your electronics away and take in what is around you. I promise you will notice a lot more in nature and your surroundings if your head isn’t buried in a device. It will also improve your relationships and deepen your connections.

Try not to stray too far from what you normally eat or drink. It is no fun being hungover or having digestive issues when you are not at home. Enjoy some extra treats but don’t overindulge!

Traveling is amazing but can be stressful so try to find the good in everything and enjoy the break from everyday life. Comment with some of your own tips for traveling with Anxiety. Enjoy the journey and not the destination!

xoxo

Jill DeMasi is a Lifestyle Blogger, Licensed Massage Therapist and a Certified Wellness Coach with a passion for helping others manage Stress, Chronic Pain, and Anxiety. Learn more about her journey and wellness practice that offers natural solutions to stress at www.AtTheHeartofWellness.com.

Subscribe to my Lifestyle Blog!

7 Ways to Be Happy & Healthy

By Jill Ciampi

On August 1, 2019

In Anxiety & Depression, Chronic Pain, Emotional Health, Lifestyle Blog, Stress Management

Feeling happy and healthy is a goal we all have. Sometimes it isn’t always easy to know how to achieve these goals. However, there are certain factors that can help you reach them!

Today I am sharing Part 2 of what I learned from Dr. Bernie Siegel in The National Institute of Whole Health (NIWH) media course called Living With Illness. Click here for the first post on Insights of Illness & Disease. Here are some of his insights on factors that may affect our health and happiness.

Factors Affecting Health & Happiness

Understand that everyone is wounded

Experiencing suffering is beneficial because it helps us to have compassion and empathy for others. Hopefully, we always learn a lesson in our suffering and how it can lead to positive outcomes. Don’t judge anyone because you don’t know what they are going through.

Accept your own mortality but do not be afraid of death

Understand that we will all die sometime but don’t focus on it or be afraid of it. Live your life and enjoy it while you still can!

Choose to be happy even in the face of crisis

Be content with what you have and live in the moment. If you are faced with illness- try to see the silver lining and what the lesson may be from it.

See abundance instead of lack

Look for the positive in things and people and be grateful for everything in your life. Remind yourself of what you do have and appreciate it. Gratitude is POWERFUL!

A Few More to Consider

Remain kid like

Always try to get back to that little kid inside you and don’t take life so seriously. Remember the innocence of a little child and the pure joy they experience in the little insignificant things. I LOVE this one!!!

Keep your sense of humor

Laughter instantly changes your body chemistry in a healthy way and has been proven over and over to have a healing effect. Hands down one of my top ways to unwind. LAUGH every day!!

You decide how you want to live and when you want to die

No one can tell you what to do or how to feel. You have control over your decisions and also how to live your life. The mind is a powerful weapon and is sensitive to negative and positive thoughts. So choose wisely!

Siegel, B. (20) Living With Illness NIWH media course. Retrieved from http://www.classroom.wholepersonhealthcare.org

Find Your Happy

Find some ways today to make yourself happy. Leave some comments on your thoughts on what affects health and happiness. I am heading down to South Carolina for some rest and relaxation so I will be back to writing in a couple of weeks. Enjoy the first couple of weeks of August!

xoxo

Jill DeMasi is a Lifestyle Blogger, Licensed Massage Therapist, and a Certified Wellness Coach with a passion for helping others manage Stress, Chronic Pain, and Anxiety. Learn more about her journey and wellness practice that offers natural solutions to stress at www.AtTheHeartofWellness.com.