#chronic mental illness changes you deeply folks

[chiarrara]

the way that having one (1) singular feeling makes me feel so unsafe in my own skin that my 'be suicidal about this' instinct immediately goes off like a fire alarm

[fangirleaconmigo]

I'm sorry about your friend. It's clear you loved her lots.

Thank you so much. I really did. For those who didn’t see, one of my friends recently passed.

We fell out of touch the last few years when she moved, but that distance did not make me care about, love, or admire her any less.

Mari was a hero for me, and I feel like a lot of you on here would get that. So I'm gonna share a bit about who she was and what she meant to me.

TW: suicide, homophobia

Mari was lesbian, born into a deeply conservative Mormon family and community. She did an interview with Out Sports when she had finally broken free of her church and her marriage. In that interview, you can feel how deeply she loved her family and wanted to be loved in return. How badly she wanted to be 'good' and 'acceptable' and how traumatic it was for her to loathe herself and even others like her at times. She forced herself to marry a man and she tried her damndest to fit it and be accepted.

But that shit is poison to your soul and she got away, but there was a cost. In that interview, you can also feel how excruciating it was to let go of that. But she did. You can feel in her words, the irrepressible nature of her spirit. She was ultimately able to struggle free and become who she was meant to be.

She was an accomplished athlete, and a gifted coach. Here is her last school's post about her passing. I met her when that career was over, ended by a bone disease and excruciating chronic pain. But I could see why she was so fucking good at it.

She was a born coach. She ALWAYS noticed people. She listened to them. She made all of us in her orbit feel like we mattered and like what we were doing was important. She was large and unmissable and had a huge smile and a joy for life and optimism that was contagious. She was always cracking jokes. Always getting people together. Always trying to help and inspire. Once she was ‘out’ she did an "It Gets Better" video.

In particular she was so uplifting of other women. She had parties in her back yard around a fire she called 'yaya sisterhood' parties and she'd call you a warrior woman for doing things you didn't think were that impressive. But then suddenly they felt pretty damn impressive. We'd drink and dance like dorks and it was the best.

But of course there was darkness. Difficulty. Major traumas. Abuses. Things I wouldn't share because she didn't do so publicly.

And when the bone disease ended her career she struggled with feeling useless and like a burden.

But the thing is, she FUCKING WASN'T! Because everyone she met can tell you of some way she changed them. She convinced them they could do something they thought they couldn't do. She convinced them that what they were doing mattered. And if you needed help, even if SHE couldn’t do it, she’d find someone who could. She would put a call out and find someone to help.

And on her easier pain days when she could get out of bed, she would organize us in the community, she partnered with other people, retirees. They would make sandwiches and drive them around to feed people. They would have special events on every holiday to feed people. (my son is on the far left) She made friends with unhoused folks and helped over 150 people get off the street.

But she didn't just do that.

We all know the reason people are unhoused in this country is because poverty is criminalized. Mental illness is criminalized. The bootstraps myth and 'if you're poor you deserve it' is in American culture far deeper than anything else.

So she would fight with city hall, she would fight with other residents, all the people who hassle them. She'd argue with the cops about how they threw out their belongings and arrested them for existing. She'd go to meetings and argue with people who opposed shelters and housing. She made a lot of enemies.

We live in a small right wing town and I do not tussle with these people unless I absolutely have to. They see themselves as the most respectable, best people on earth. Meanwhile they tote around guns and hang bible signs that tell you you're going to hell. They're scary people.

Sometimes I have to fight with them but only when I literally cannot avoid it.

But Mari would go out there every day and draw their wrath just by helping someone and not apologizing for it. They would tell her that her work would attract more homeless people to our town and she was ruining their neighborhoods etc.

But that was who she was.

She finally did leave this town. She moved to Hawaii. That was her dream. That was when we lost touch, except for occasional facebook posts. I knew the surgeries she had didn't help her back pain. I knew that she had personal issues. But of course I did not know to what extent.

Now, in retrospect, it seems obvious. A friend of mine reached out to her and said that Mari told her that she didn't know how much pain a person could be expected to endure. Another friend heard that she died, and she said...suicide? Apparently they'd had a conversation about severe chronic pain where Mari had said that she thought one day she'd be unable to go on.

I've lost a sibling to suicide. I’ve been suicidal. I’ve served on the board of anti suicide organizations. I’ve studied mental health. But even with all of that I know that in retrospect you can explain it away all you want, but no one can know but the person, what was in their mind the last moments.

Mari made a goodbye video but all she said was that she was 'out' and she blew a kiss. She didn't say anything else. We didn't even know what it meant until her family started posting the next day.

The frustrating things is that no one can know. There was so much trauma. So much pain. And I’m angry. I’m angry at anyone and everyone who caused her the preventable trauma and outright abuse.

But at this point, I'm determined to focus on the stuff that Mari CHOSE to put into the world. She didn't ask for a traumatic childhood or chronic pain. She didn't ask to be subject to abuse or homophobia. None of that was WHO SHE WAS.

WHO SHE WAS was a kind, empathetic, loving person with a big laugh and a silly irreverent sense of humor who wanted to be accepted and appreciated for who she was. And now that she is gone, she would absolutely want to be remembered for the good she put into the world. She would want the people she cared about to live life and think fondly of the good things she did.

So, to honor her, I want to do what she did. I want to remember to be kind to people. I want to honor people who society discards. I want to always remember that we are all the same.

I want to live by: We can all be great, because we can all be kind.

The impact of her kindness will be felt forever. Because we pass it along. One of the men she helped on the street came to the memorial I had for her in my backyard. He played his guitar for her and he cried and we cried and told our stories and honestly that is all I can hope for.

I can only hope that when I am gone (and we will all inevitably will be gone someday) that people can say that I made my little corner of the world a better place and that it radiated out and made everything better. Because that is the only true lasting thing we can do.

And that is what Mari did. My buddy. My hero. ♥️♥️ Rest In Peace warrior woman.

[devildevotee]

i recently changed my url! this is altargarden!

also have my newest prices for all forms of divination that i offer :)

introduction.

hello! my name is baphy/baffy. i'm 29, he/him pronouns, and this is my sideblog specifically centred around my religious and magical practice. I currently worship Aphrodite, Lucifer and Leviathan, with occasional workings added into the mix with various other deities, spirits, demons, angels, and saints. in this blog you'll see mentions of theistic satanism, luciferianism, demonolatry, witchcraft, folk catholicism, saint work, angel work, and hellenic polytheism. i want to create a safe space for people to find resources, information, personal experience, and ask questions. this is a side blog, where my main is teacup--witch - i'm very inactive there and it hasn't been updated in years, however, so don't feel like you have to follow. i also have a blog dedicated to pop culture paganism and magic: @popculturealtar :) feel free to check it out!

dni.

⛧ minors. no offense to young practitioners, i'm just nearly thirty and don't have interest in interacting with younger people. ⛧ people against BLM or ACAB. ⛧ exclusionists. ⛧ TE//RFs, SWE//RFs, tr//anmeds. ⛧ M//A//P//S. ⛧ pro//shippers and an//ti-an//tis. ⛧ appropriators of any sort. this includes those who appropriate lilith from judaism. ⛧ s//exual blogs. artistic nudity and occasional n//s//f//w or suggestive content is fine, but blogs that are 110% dedicated to n//s//f//w posts aren't for me. ⛧ people who are prepared to ask me about h//elluva boss or try to involve me in talking about it. if you like it, fine, but don't crash it ontop of my head. i don't want it. ⛧ people who intend to use my askbox for traumadumping, or otherwise fill it with questions better suited for a therapist. i am not a professional, and asking for advice is one thing - but using me for therapy is something i'm deeply uncomfortable with. ⛧ people who have any intention of placing me on a pedestal and treating me like i'm an authority on satanism and demonolatry. this also makes me greatly uncomfortable. ⛧ people who exhibit behaviours or beliefs that are racist, islamophobic, antisemitic, zionist, transphobic, lgbphobic, & so forth will not be tolerated.

please keep in mind.

⛧ we are a DID system of around 30 alters. please do not intentionally try to trigger one of us to the front, or exhibit DID-specific ableism. additionally, if you fakeclaim or try to include us in discourse/syscourse we will collectively come at you with a hammer.

⛧ i am mentally ill and disabled. the condition that affects me the most is my chronic fatigue paired with arthritis which makes it 10x worse, so i can't promise i will always be here.

⛧ i am neurodivergent, which affects my ability to read unformatted, large chunks of text effectively. i will try to make my text as readable and followable as possible, but if there's anything i can do to help that, please let me know.

⛧ i am white. if that's something you need to know and/or avoid, please don't hesitate to keep yourself safe!

⛧ i live in australia. my active hours might be a little wonky.

⛧ i don't know a lot of people here. if i reblog from anyone who is nasty, please don't hesitate to let me know. ⛧ i tag all my posts with trigger tw, eg. death tw, bare chest tw etc. if you ever need anything tagged, please don't hesitate to reach out. i want to make my blog as gentle on others as possible.

pleased to meet you!

[starsong-dragonheart]

If your supposedly radical plans for what you're claiming will be a more progressive, fair, egalitarian future just so happen to accidentally involve the deaths of a fuck ton of extremely vulnerable folks, like all the disabled, chronically ill, mentally ill, and homeless people who don't fit your ideals of what a "real" or "good" or "deserving" vulnerable person look like, then I deeply and fundamentally do not trust you to be leading any kind of glorious revolution, bloodless or otherwise.

You've either already decided that we are acceptable collateral damage, or haven't thought through even the basics of how to run a society in a not horribly evil way. Objecting to such poorly designed plans doesn't make us bad progressives, or alt-right trolls, or too picky, or too sensitive. Pointing out that, without heavy changes, your plan will get a lot of us killed does not make us unreasonable, and does not mean we're reading too much into things, or even taking things too seriously, for fucks sake.

It is not unreasonable for us to ask that your plans not include accidental eugenics. It is not unreasonable for us to point out that groups that demand that we "wait our turn" and refuse to even consider making plans that include our survival until they're "closer to the finish line" tend to be groups that use and discard us at best.

It is not unreasonable for us to refuse to support groups and ideologies and plans that see some of the most vulnerable marginalized folks as acceptable collateral damage.

[nevermindirah]

I am but a sad little trans man who absolutely wants to know your thoughts on immortals capabilities to transition because I have thoughts and they make my depressed little trans heart hurt because how in the world could they transition if their bodies heal everything?

Hi! Sending you hugs because I've been struggling with the exact same thoughts! I wrote this lil meta last month but I don't like it and my brain keeps interrupting things like my job and trips to the grocery store to get me working on this puzzle.

From what we see in the movie, our elderly friends have regular-human healing, just faster and MORE, plus magic. We have canon evidence of how this works with wounds/injuries and can infer from there about how their immortality would handle infections, genetic/physiological/autoimmune/etc disorders, malnutrition/dehydration/etc, mental illnesses, and dental stuff, as well as things that bodies do that aren't necessarily bad but often need medical care — like pregnancy and gender transition. (I’m not a medical professional, just a nerd who loves a good Wikipedia rabbithole.)

Let's start with an easy one. Nile's hand healing after she stuck it in the fire is just a lickety-split version of what would happen to a regular human with a small skin wound: clotting, inflammation, rebuilding, healed.

When Nile yeets herself and pharma bro out the window of the topmost tower, we see the same thing happen again but bigger, plus we see several of her bones pop themselves back into place, and presumably any blood vessels that got torn up magically correct themselves under her skin. Humans have been surviving injuries like major bone fractures for a very long time but a bone that heals without medical intervention to realign the fractured pieces might heal at a new angle, meaning it doesn't work as well anymore, and it might cause damage to surrounding organs/tissues and leave a lot of scar tissue or a chronic wound. But Nile only needs Booker and Nicky keeping her upright for barely a minute and then she's walking around on her own just fine.

A large wound that breaks deeply through the skin, like Nile's sliced throat or Booker's exploded abdomen, can be survivable for a regular human if it doesn't irreparably damage critical organs and if you can get medical attention before you bleed out, but even with modern medical intervention the results are rough. Jay and Dizzy aren't wrong for being deeply weirded out by Nile's flawless neck: even with the best plastic surgeons in the world on the case, closing up a wound like that will leave scar tissue that affects both appearance and function.

So, we've got immortality magic moving bones back into place, restarting stopped hearts and lungs and brains, rebuilding major structures like arteries and intestines, healing up wounds without scar tissue, pushing out bullets, and otherwise handwaving the big stuff. But it's not a magic wand, it��s a process, and bigger wounds take longer. It's like these people's mitochondria have little gnomes in there with schematics to rebuild their bodies to factory default.

From how these bodies handle wounds we can infer that they'd handle pathogens / infectious diseases the same way: inflammation, white blood cells attack, byebye plague see you never. And if these bodies are resetting bones and rebuilding organs, they're probably also correcting genetic disorders and shifting around physiological problems like bone spurs. So let's keep on inferring.

What if, instead of every death erasing hormone replacement therapy and gender-affirming surgery and leaving a trans immortal detransitioned over and fucking over again, what if the magic that governs immortality considers dysphoria-causing body parts just like any other wound to heal?

What if Booker is a trans man, and he's got that sweet muscle mass and that height and that beard that comes all the way up his cheeks because he's been on the wonder drug that is testosterone for over 200 years? What if immortality was all "we see you've been hung from the neck until dead, and your eyes have been pecked out, and also you have all these hormones that turn your body into a shape that makes you miserable — we're gonna fix all that" and then regenerated his pecked-out eyeballs and unsnapped his neck and undid the results of months of insufficient food AND ALSO started pumping him with the fantasy version of HRT so his chest started to reduce and his fat redistributed itself and his beard started coming in?

Who's to say that's not how it works?

All my dysphoria is social — I'm fine with my body for the most part and I CANNOT STAND when people assume things about my gender, because of my body or for any other reason. We see pretty clearly with Booker that mental illness isn't magically healed the way physical injuries are, and I think that's because the causes of mental illness are a combination of physiology/chemistry stuff and things like our beliefs about ourselves and the world, our experiences of trauma, and our experiences of getting our needs met or not. If I were immortal I could maybe break up with my SSRI, but it wouldn't stop me from getting misgendered — I'd still have to find a way to cope with the ongoing trauma of that. Having to navigate hundreds of cultures' ideas about gender when my gender is "uhhhhh" sounds like absolute hell for me, no thank you, do not want.

But for my fellow trans people whose dysphoria is primarily body-related, and for my social-dysphoria pals whose gender is something nearly every human being would recognize and all they need is to pass, how about let's make an executive decision that immortality includes HRT for anybody who needs it, with no psych eval or begging your insurance company or poking yourself with needles, and just like with wound healing it's like regular HRT but faster and more. HRT so powerful and so magical that it gives you the best possible version of the results you want and none of the results you don't. If I had the option to go on HRT for just like one or two changes but not the whole battery of things I would fucking do that, and if I were to join our elderly friends, maybe I could.

This might be easier on transmasc immortals than transfeminine ones, because testosterone's effects are basically impossible to reverse. But also you can't just keep waking back up after repeatedly drowning for 500 years, so fuck it. We're making an executive decision here.

Estrogen that grows your breasts and softens your dick but doesn't lessen your ability to orgasm. Immortality magic that makes your beard go away and maybe shrinks your height an inch or two or six. Maybe Quynh is trans and one time a few thousand years ago she got injured in battle worse than Booker's grenaded belly and she woke up an hour later with a vulva and a uterus and now her body is just like that. Factory reset.

I subscribe to the "God made wheat and grapes but not bread and wine so humans could share in the act of creation" model of transness and I personally feel very weird about the idea of immortality magically giving a trans immortal cisnormative genitals the same way it resets bones. There's no one right way to have a pussy or a dick, you know? Maybe Quynh woke up from a catastrophic gut wound in like 800 BCE with a constructed vagina rivaling the best our modern money can buy, without a uterus but with a clit that's just as magical as anybody else's.

I've been thinking about writing a Book of Nile fic with trans man Booker, which is why the two of them are most of my examples here. It would include porn, because apparently I can't write more than 1500 words about them without writing porn, so I need to think more about what's going to feel good for me and other trans people who might read it and won't accidentally facilitate cis people objectifying us. Like, I've thought in a lot of detail about what a clit enlarged by that many centuries of testosterone might look and feel like, and that specific experience is not mine so I'm treading carefully.

Cis people are welcome to reblog this! Fellow trans folks are welcome to join me in the act of creation on this post ;)

[sophygurl]

I’ve been wanting to write about how I feel about The Magicians S4 finale, but I’ve also been waiting a bit because I know a lot of fans are in a lot of pain about it, and since my feelings differ from the majority - well I didn’t wanna intrude right away. 

(This post is obviously gonna have spoilers thru the end of S4) (Also talk of suicidal ideation, euthanasia, heroic sacrifice, and death generally)

For the record, I 100% understand why people are upset, and all of those feelings are perfectly valid. 

I’m not writing this in the hopes of changing anyone’s mind, but only to share my own thoughts and feelings. If there are others who feel similarly, there can be some space and solidarity for that. If there are folks who are hurt but open to seeing another side, possibly this can help in some healing. IDK. 

But also? If you’re still really deep in your feelings about this and might be triggered by a more positive outlook on the ending? Be safe and maybe don’t read on. It’s perfectly okay to just skip this.

For the record, I am queer myself. And also mentally ill. I have had suicidal ideation in the past, although thanks to meds and lots of therapy, that’s not a current danger for me. I have also lost someone to suicide. So know that none of my feelings about this come from an insensitivity or of ignorance of any of those issues.

In fact, I have deep issues with the bury your gay trope. And I have grieved over the loss of main characters in other shows I’ve been deeply invested in. So i get it all, from a personal level. I just connected differently to this one. 

To be fair, Quentin was never my favorite character in The Magicians. I didn’t hate him. I maybe slightly disliked him in the beginning, found him kind of annoying? But he grew on me. 

And his death became very personally and deeply meaningful to me because of how he grew on me, and why his character became more important to me.

Let me back up a little.

As I said, at first Quentin did kind of annoy me. He seemed self-centered in that way that cishet white boys often are (yes I know it turned out he was bi, but we didn’t know that at first). His character was definitely portrayed as someone who was only tuned in to his own suffering, his own hopes and dreams and ambitions, his own story. 

As someone who has lived with chronic depression, I understand that depression can do that to a person. Depression and trauma and chemical imbalances can make you feel like you’re in your own little foggy world of pain and everything that goes wrong is further evidence of your own badness and/or the badness and unfairness of the world for allowing these things to happen. 

We often talk, in treatment, about the selfishness of depression. This can at first feel bewildering because we feel like nothing is about us, because of how awful everything feels. But we come to understand how hyper focused we can be on our own pain. It’s ... really hard. To see past that pain, to see anything good, to relate to the pain of others, to not turn everything into more fuel for the depression fire.

So I get it. I’m not trying to shame Quentin for having felt this way early on. I’m just explaining why he was not an early favorite of mine.

On the other hand, I was very drawn to the other characters - to Eliot and Margo, to Penny and Kady, to Julia and Alice, and eventually to Fen and Josh and Poppy and Marina, etc. I was drawn not just to them individually as characters, but to their relationships and connections to one another. 

And as Quentin’s world began to expand, so did the world of the show. As Quentin started to come out of his depressive funk and to understand the pain of everyone else in his orbit, so did we in the audience get a chance to connect to all of these other wonderful characters.

And Quentin’s entire arc over four seasons was really so much about him learning how to reach beyond himself. He comes to understand that everyone has their own trauma. He comes to learn that he can’t do this alone, and that neither can anyone else. He comes to see that the world is oh so much bigger than himself and his story. He comes to realize, finally, that he is not - in fact - the main character. 

Quentin in season four comes to realize that he’s part of an ensemble cast, and that his loved ones - his dear friends who have been helping him on his way - need him. That while he isn’t going to be the one to be High King of Fillory or to become a God or whatever other course he’s thought might be his - that his part of the story is still important, essential, necessary.

And yes, that includes his death.

And look, I know. I get it. It’s super problematic for one of the few queer characters in the show who also has a history of suicidal thoughts and actions to be the one to sacrifice himself for his friends. 

There is ... a lot to unpack in that. And I’m glad the fans have been taking it apart. I am.

But I personally feel so differently about it. Themes of heroic sacrifice have always meant a lot to me.

As I said, I am no longer suicidal, but I still feel strongly that if the time comes - I want to be able to choose my own death. Now, I don’t live in a fantasy novel or an action adventure movie, so I’m probably not going to get the chance to heroically sacrifice myself for my loved ones. 

But I want it marked down that I would gladly do that if given the chance. Not because I want to die - I love life, I love my life, but I love my friends and family even more. I’ve never been scared of death. I know most people are, on some level. But that’s never been a thing for me. I neither long for death nor fear it’s coming. It’s just part of life to me. 

I sometimes joke that if the zombie apocalypse comes, my loved ones should use me the first time I can be used as bait to save them. 

I make this joke, but I also mean it seriously. Because in any kind of apocalyptic scenario? I’m not gonna last long. I live with a severe chronic illness and without medication, I’m going to be both useless to those I care for and miserable for all of my symptoms and the withdrawal from the meds I take to treat them. 

(This is not to imply that all people with chronic health problems would be useless - many have skills that would be necessary for survival in apocalyptic settings. I just don’t happen to have any of those skills.) 

Come apocalypse time, I won’t be able to walk around or run around or hunt or build things or physically fight people or make clothing or beer or whatever. The absolute best use I could possibly be to my loved ones would be as bait in some kind of trap to allow them to run for their lives and maybe live to see another day. And I’d do that for them, gladly.

In reality, none of that is likely to happen. But I’m still clear that if the time comes, I want to go out on my own terms. I will likely get sicker, with my symptoms more difficult to treat, as time goes on. I know where my limitations are, and have let my friends and family know them as well. If an accident or other illness or injury doesn’t take me out first, if I hit my boundary of what I can live with, I want the choice. I want to be able to leave this life when it feels right for me.

And maybe some people would look at that, and think I’m still depressed and suicidal. But I’m not. I’m happy. I love my life. I’m stable mentally. I’m currently managing my physical shit even when it’s hard. And I’m surrounded by loved ones whose lives are also vitally important to me. As long as I can be of use to them alive - I’m gonna stick around. And be glad of it. But when my time comes - whether by my own choice or not - I’m okay with that, too. 

So, I know Quentin isn’t me. And I know he was still struggling emotionally, quite a lot. I know he got to the afterlife and wasn’t even sure, himself, if his sacrifice was more about heroism or suicide. 

But I feel like I know. I feel like he would have chosen to stay if he felt he could do so and still save all of his friends, and magic, and the world. 

When Penny takes him up to see his friends grieving, I think it’s clear how connected to them he feels. He sees how they loved him, and he knows he loved them, and if he could have chosen to stay - he would have.

But he made a choice. A choice that I found heroic and very profoundly deeply emotionally meaningfully powerfully healing. 

Now, again, even though I came to love and appreciate Quentin, he wasn’t my favorite character in the show. So his loss as far as that goes also isn’t as deep for me. But it’s gonna hurt like hell to watch how his death is affecting everyone else. 

It’s gonna hurt, but it’s also going to mean a lot to me. To see how his choice, his sacrifice, has allowed them to continue on with their lives, with their missions, with their stories.

Quentin was never the main character. He was always only one part of an ensemble cast. An essential, important, necessary part of that ensemble cast, yes. 

But we are still left with so many complex and interesting and diverse characters - so many female characters who are strong and vulnerable in such different ways, and Eliot and Margo’s delightful relationship, and so many more characters facing or coming out of traumas, and so many more fascinating things to explore about magic and how it works and just? So much more.

Quentin will be missed. For sure. But, for me? The show is still very much worth tuning in to. 

[lauramalchowblog]

Can Community Be a Medicine?

By ARAS TOKER

Analysis on peer accountability focused community building efforts in making lifestyle changes through digital therapeutic programs

Before we jump ahead to the medicine piece, what the heck does a community even mean? In the past, communities were more likely associated with a group of people living in the same physical location such as a neighborhood, school, or a town. I remember my neighborhood soccer community very well, for instance. Instead of being born into or trying to fit in, community is something we choose for ourselves and express our identities through. With the advancement of accessing the high-speed internet globally, today’s community has no physical or geographical boundaries.

Community builder Fabian Pfortmüller brilliantly explains the difference between communities and other groups. He asserts that unlike project teams or companies who are optimizing for external purposes (collective goals); communities optimize for internal purposes (the relationship and the shared identity). His definition of a community deeply resonated with me and the communities that I had the opportunity to build.

Pfortmüller’s definition of community

Caring and Belonging

From my own community building experiences, I truly believe that caring relationships between members and a shared sense of belonging are the two main components that separate a tight-knit community from an average one. The members actually give a damn about each other. When people care about each other, they develop trust. According to Pfortmüller trust unlocks collaboration, sharing, support, hope, safety and many more intangible emotions.

Dan Buettner, a National Geographic Fellow and New York Times bestseller author, has studied the health habits of people who live in “Blue Zones” — 5 regions of the world where people live far longer than the average. He noted that a sense of community, belonging and positive friendships are some of the most common themes in the Blue Zones.

Blue Zones LLC

In this fascinating research study the world’s oldest people chose social circles that supported healthy behaviors and believed that they have to be in the “right tribe” to achieve a long lasting fulfilling life. Specifically in Okinawa, Japan, one of the Blue Zones, the citizens created this concept called moai — groups of 5 friends that committed to each other for life. Okinawans were so forward thinking about their health and wellbeing that when a child is born they make sure their baby has a group of five accountable friends who offer social, logistic, emotional and even financial support for a lifetime. This incredible group of islanders certainly fit the definition of a caring community with a sense of belonging.

What if moai concept was replicated in online patient communities?

Growth Mindset

Let’s now look at forming sustainable community practices to achieve long lasting habits. One of the hardest things to change is our behaviors and our overall lifestyle. We all know that we should exercise, not eat junk food, instead eat healthy meals, do mindfulness practices and other healthy regimens. But most of us don’t. At least not for a long time. Why do you think that is?

I am not a behavior scientist nor a psychologist so I am only going to answer that question from my own experience as a person that reversed a chronic condition and someone who built and led patient communities. I believe a majority of the people lack a growth mindset — a term coined by Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck, who describes it as “people believing that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work”. General population has a fixed mindset where they believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits. They spend their time documenting their intelligence or talent instead of developing them.

I have been keen on bringing a growth mindset mentality into the communities that I have been building and I believe when a person recognizes their self-perception, makes the mindset shift, then they will truly start their behavioral change journey. When a healthcare community is built with a growth mindset from the ground up, members will know conceptually that they are in an iterative process to improve their lives and will redesign their life to reach optimal health with the support of their community members.

Community as Medicine

The power of a vibrant, generous, and a caring community with a growth mindset is empowering for its members.

I believe community can be medicine and should be treated as medicine for the folks that are struggling with chronic physical and mental conditions.

Part of the growth mindset and further developing ourselves we have to have a mindset shift on how conventional medicine, by itself, is not enough to get us healthy. Instead, we should realize that our body is interconnected and treat the root cause of our conditions, not just the symptoms.

This is a special time to be in health tech because there are so many incredible digital therapeutic companies that are leading the way on prescribing medicine digitally. As a healthcare entrepreneur and someone who has worked with digital therapeutic startups I have always believed in the power of utilizing community as a source of support, enthusiasm and empowerment. I am passionate about experimenting the dynamics of the community (the human connection) on how it can lead to better care and health outcomes.

Community -> Adherence Layer

Many of the digital health interventions focus on having a credible expert — a registered dietitian, licensed therapist, certified health coach etc. — to be the main point of contact for their patients to liaise with. Many of these interventions are tech-based and self-guided so we certainly need a human touch to assure that the program is viable and they can reach out to their “coach” at any time through in-app communication. I’m all for coaching and it is a necessary human touch resource.

Despite the potential of digital interventions, concerns remain regarding users’ engagement, as low engagement is associated with low adherence rates, high attrition, and suboptimal exposure to the intervention, according to a consortium research study.

If we can’t solve the engagement and adherence problem I don’t think we’ll have a sustainable digital therapeutic solution.

A “coach” will be a great guidance to patients and will address barriers to help people manage their chronic conditions. Though, to solve the engagement problem I believe the missing piece in this behavioral change engine is the community layer that will offer accountability amongst peers and will keep each other committed to make sustainable lifestyle changes. Only a handful of digital therapeutics companies have a proper community that is actively working on keeping patients engaged and accountable via their peers.

Andrea Tummons on Unsplash

Peer Accountability

It is more powerful and sticky to have an accountability partner that has a similar condition like you, checking on you to see if you are still onboard. It is different than a “coach” pinging you through a push notification. Imagine you had a rough day feeling burned out and you don’t feel the energy to work out even though your “coach” reminded you earlier that it is part of your routine.

In the same scenario, now picture yourself where you get a text from your accountability peer — someone with a similar condition you were matched with in the beginning of the program — asked you if you have kept your commitment of working out today. You asked her whether she has kept hers and she said yes. At that very moment, you are more likely to shift your mindset, begin your workout and keep your commitment to her and to yourself. That’s the natural human psychology that has been observed with many other successful accountability partnership led organizations, Alcoholic Anonymous (AA) being the oldest and the most recognized one.

Measuring Hypothesis

Success metrics of AA have shown that 75% of their regular attendees have reached sobriety after a year. Speaking about success metrics, I had a chance to measure this hypothesis of 1-on-1 peer accountability increasing adherence to an agreed lifestyle change regimen. I had the pleasure of leading various patient communities such as an autoimmune focused group for my own startup, Synch, that I co founded, and as recently as leading gut health enthusiasts for a digital therapeutic startup, Vivante Health. We had tested multiple versions of accountability partnership including micro groups of five gathering on a weekly basis to discuss a relevant health related topic. Remember the moais from Okinawa? We tried to replicate that exact effort on our chronically ill population.

I was able to reverse my own autoimmune condition (Crohn’s Disease) by making long lasting lifestyle changes, working closely with an integrative doctor, and having my own informal peer support group that carried me to the finish line. I felt the urge to better design this hotchpotch effort and tested my peer support ideas with the members of our community at Synch. We gathered cohorts of members with a specific autoimmune condition over a weekly zoom call chatting about a relevant topic. We measured not only weekly attendance trends and repeating members but also asked members to see if they would like to be matched with an accountability partner and 90% said yes and stayed active after signing up!

A Successful Experiment

An effective test that I was able to measure for 1–1 accountability partnership was at Vivante’s gut health community, where I created a private subgroup under our community platform to measure the efficacy of peer commitment. I matched our community members that joined our private group with the root causes of their gut related condition. In one case, I matched two research minded members that were complaining about a “leaky gut” where their intestines were permeating foreign materials into their bloodstream.

I simply introduced them through our platform and talked about the guidelines of our subgroup — Accountability Peers. Not only they kept each other responsible but they also organically met every Friday to support each other and talk about how they can improve their overall health including emotional and mental wellbeing. That was Community as Medicine in action, where two people from completely different backgrounds and locations work together to better their mental and physical health by checking on each other and keeping themselves accountable. Just like centennials did in Blue Zones.

“Community can exert a measurable and ongoing influence on your health behaviors in a way that a diet never can”

Daniel Buettner, NatGeo Fellow, Founder of Blue Zones

Accountability 2.0 — Doing Tiny Interventions TOGETHER

Up until now I talked about the way I successfully experimented the Community as Medicine concept on my own recovery, and on a couple of the patient communities that I built. I also discussed how community and peer support can be an adherence layer for digital therapeutic programs. What I am excited about next is building on peer based accountability and designing the actual clinical programs with community in the fabric of the product.

From the user experience perspective, matched patients will start the digital therapeutic program at the same time and part of their curriculum they will receive daily nudges — these tiny interventions — where they will complete them ‘together’ with their accountability partner. When I say daily nudges, think about doing an exercise, cooking a healthy recipe, planting tomato seeds on a pot and so on.

Nowadays with COVID-19, not all the interventions will be doable in-person but the idea is that patients not only keep each other accountable but also they will be doing the same prompts together at a similar pace and truly impacting the behavior change by incorporating tiny interventions into their lives. Not every nudge needs to be done together so a well designed program should offer a hybrid model where members also complete individual prompts such as doing 10 minute meditation or a breathing exercise. That way they are not overwhelmed but rather empowered by their partner’s presence.

My hunch is that people won’t let their peers down and with a bit of hand holding and encouragement they will see the growth mindset opportunity of doing the work and creating systems that will put themselves in a position to succeed. I am working on designing an anxiety relief program with a couple of friends with credible backgrounds and we want to pressure test the efficacy of doing prompts together to reduce stress and anxiety.

Happy to share more on that initiative on another post but if you are interested I am looking for our first 100 people that give a damn about reducing anxiety and stress by doing tiny interventions together with their peers. You can remain anonymous in the community if you choose so. If this topic gets you excited please reach out to me via Linkedin.

Graphic illustration by Nitya Wakhlu, produced at the Experience Engagement conference in October 2015.

Community of Practice

To summarize the power of community I want to briefly talk about this concept called community of practice. A community of practice is a group of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do, and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly. This definition reflects the fundamentally social nature of human learning. Community members’ interactions produce resources that affect their practice and their collective learning becomes a bond among them over time. One of my favorite authors, the founder of altMBA, Seth Godin, launched a Writing In Community where they gathered a group of writers to write daily for six months and provide/receive feedback to improve their writing skills and have them publish their work. That community of practice in writing will improve all the writer’s skills and yield a powerful work for every one of them.

Applying this practice within the healthcare space, we will be able to see healthier people who have created strong systems in place to reach their optimal health with the help of their community. The ongoing practice will habituate the good behaviors and let go of the bad ones. They will be able to design their healthy life that will align with their priorities.

Final Remarks

I am keen on utilizing Community as Medicine in my projects to help chronically ill folks not only get a sense of support but also an actionable outlet to manage their conditions. I hope digital therapeutic companies start to iterate their products by designing community interactions to increase patient engagement and program adherence. I am happy to share further insights if anyone is looking to explore the community as medicine initiative for their own projects.

Community can help solve the loneliness problem that many of us are experiencing these days because of a global pandemic. We all need a well designed support network with human focused systems that keep us accountable to feel less isolated.

A caring community with a shared purpose and a sense of belonging can be a medicine for a physical, mental and an emotional health if we choose it to be.

Aras Toker is the co-founder of Peace of Mind, a digital therapeutic program designed to reduce anxiety by doing daily interventions together with peers.

This article originally appeared on Medium here.

Can Community Be a Medicine? published first on https://venabeahan.tumblr.com

[kristinsimmons]

Can Community Be a Medicine?

By ARAS TOKER

Analysis on peer accountability focused community building efforts in making lifestyle changes through digital therapeutic programs

Before we jump ahead to the medicine piece, what the heck does a community even mean? In the past, communities were more likely associated with a group of people living in the same physical location such as a neighborhood, school, or a town. I remember my neighborhood soccer community very well, for instance. Instead of being born into or trying to fit in, community is something we choose for ourselves and express our identities through. With the advancement of accessing the high-speed internet globally, today’s community has no physical or geographical boundaries.

Community builder Fabian Pfortmüller brilliantly explains the difference between communities and other groups. He asserts that unlike project teams or companies who are optimizing for external purposes (collective goals); communities optimize for internal purposes (the relationship and the shared identity). His definition of a community deeply resonated with me and the communities that I had the opportunity to build.

Pfortmüller’s definition of community

Caring and Belonging

From my own community building experiences, I truly believe that caring relationships between members and a shared sense of belonging are the two main components that separate a tight-knit community from an average one. The members actually give a damn about each other. When people care about each other, they develop trust. According to Pfortmüller trust unlocks collaboration, sharing, support, hope, safety and many more intangible emotions.

Dan Buettner, a National Geographic Fellow and New York Times bestseller author, has studied the health habits of people who live in “Blue Zones” — 5 regions of the world where people live far longer than the average. He noted that a sense of community, belonging and positive friendships are some of the most common themes in the Blue Zones.

Blue Zones LLC

In this fascinating research study the world’s oldest people chose social circles that supported healthy behaviors and believed that they have to be in the “right tribe” to achieve a long lasting fulfilling life. Specifically in Okinawa, Japan, one of the Blue Zones, the citizens created this concept called moai — groups of 5 friends that committed to each other for life. Okinawans were so forward thinking about their health and wellbeing that when a child is born they make sure their baby has a group of five accountable friends who offer social, logistic, emotional and even financial support for a lifetime. This incredible group of islanders certainly fit the definition of a caring community with a sense of belonging.

What if moai concept was replicated in online patient communities?

Growth Mindset

Let’s now look at forming sustainable community practices to achieve long lasting habits. One of the hardest things to change is our behaviors and our overall lifestyle. We all know that we should exercise, not eat junk food, instead eat healthy meals, do mindfulness practices and other healthy regimens. But most of us don’t. At least not for a long time. Why do you think that is?

I am not a behavior scientist nor a psychologist so I am only going to answer that question from my own experience as a person that reversed a chronic condition and someone who built and led patient communities. I believe a majority of the people lack a growth mindset — a term coined by Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck, who describes it as “people believing that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work”. General population has a fixed mindset where they believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits. They spend their time documenting their intelligence or talent instead of developing them.

I have been keen on bringing a growth mindset mentality into the communities that I have been building and I believe when a person recognizes their self-perception, makes the mindset shift, then they will truly start their behavioral change journey. When a healthcare community is built with a growth mindset from the ground up, members will know conceptually that they are in an iterative process to improve their lives and will redesign their life to reach optimal health with the support of their community members.

Community as Medicine

The power of a vibrant, generous, and a caring community with a growth mindset is empowering for its members.

I believe community can be medicine and should be treated as medicine for the folks that are struggling with chronic physical and mental conditions.

Part of the growth mindset and further developing ourselves we have to have a mindset shift on how conventional medicine, by itself, is not enough to get us healthy. Instead, we should realize that our body is interconnected and treat the root cause of our conditions, not just the symptoms.

This is a special time to be in health tech because there are so many incredible digital therapeutic companies that are leading the way on prescribing medicine digitally. As a healthcare entrepreneur and someone who has worked with digital therapeutic startups I have always believed in the power of utilizing community as a source of support, enthusiasm and empowerment. I am passionate about experimenting the dynamics of the community (the human connection) on how it can lead to better care and health outcomes.

Community -> Adherence Layer

Many of the digital health interventions focus on having a credible expert — a registered dietitian, licensed therapist, certified health coach etc. — to be the main point of contact for their patients to liaise with. Many of these interventions are tech-based and self-guided so we certainly need a human touch to assure that the program is viable and they can reach out to their “coach” at any time through in-app communication. I’m all for coaching and it is a necessary human touch resource.

Despite the potential of digital interventions, concerns remain regarding users’ engagement, as low engagement is associated with low adherence rates, high attrition, and suboptimal exposure to the intervention, according to a consortium research study.

If we can’t solve the engagement and adherence problem I don’t think we’ll have a sustainable digital therapeutic solution.

A “coach” will be a great guidance to patients and will address barriers to help people manage their chronic conditions. Though, to solve the engagement problem I believe the missing piece in this behavioral change engine is the community layer that will offer accountability amongst peers and will keep each other committed to make sustainable lifestyle changes. Only a handful of digital therapeutics companies have a proper community that is actively working on keeping patients engaged and accountable via their peers.

Andrea Tummons on Unsplash

Peer Accountability

It is more powerful and sticky to have an accountability partner that has a similar condition like you, checking on you to see if you are still onboard. It is different than a “coach” pinging you through a push notification. Imagine you had a rough day feeling burned out and you don’t feel the energy to work out even though your “coach” reminded you earlier that it is part of your routine.

In the same scenario, now picture yourself where you get a text from your accountability peer — someone with a similar condition you were matched with in the beginning of the program — asked you if you have kept your commitment of working out today. You asked her whether she has kept hers and she said yes. At that very moment, you are more likely to shift your mindset, begin your workout and keep your commitment to her and to yourself. That’s the natural human psychology that has been observed with many other successful accountability partnership led organizations, Alcoholic Anonymous (AA) being the oldest and the most recognized one.

Measuring Hypothesis

Success metrics of AA have shown that 75% of their regular attendees have reached sobriety after a year. Speaking about success metrics, I had a chance to measure this hypothesis of 1-on-1 peer accountability increasing adherence to an agreed lifestyle change regimen. I had the pleasure of leading various patient communities such as an autoimmune focused group for my own startup, Synch, that I co founded, and as recently as leading gut health enthusiasts for a digital therapeutic startup, Vivante Health. We had tested multiple versions of accountability partnership including micro groups of five gathering on a weekly basis to discuss a relevant health related topic. Remember the moais from Okinawa? We tried to replicate that exact effort on our chronically ill population.

I was able to reverse my own autoimmune condition (Crohn’s Disease) by making long lasting lifestyle changes, working closely with an integrative doctor, and having my own informal peer support group that carried me to the finish line. I felt the urge to better design this hotchpotch effort and tested my peer support ideas with the members of our community at Synch. We gathered cohorts of members with a specific autoimmune condition over a weekly zoom call chatting about a relevant topic. We measured not only weekly attendance trends and repeating members but also asked members to see if they would like to be matched with an accountability partner and 90% said yes and stayed active after signing up!

A Successful Experiment

An effective test that I was able to measure for 1–1 accountability partnership was at Vivante’s gut health community, where I created a private subgroup under our community platform to measure the efficacy of peer commitment. I matched our community members that joined our private group with the root causes of their gut related condition. In one case, I matched two research minded members that were complaining about a “leaky gut” where their intestines were permeating foreign materials into their bloodstream.

I simply introduced them through our platform and talked about the guidelines of our subgroup — Accountability Peers. Not only they kept each other responsible but they also organically met every Friday to support each other and talk about how they can improve their overall health including emotional and mental wellbeing. That was Community as Medicine in action, where two people from completely different backgrounds and locations work together to better their mental and physical health by checking on each other and keeping themselves accountable. Just like centennials did in Blue Zones.

“Community can exert a measurable and ongoing influence on your health behaviors in a way that a diet never can”

Daniel Buettner, NatGeo Fellow, Founder of Blue Zones

Accountability 2.0 — Doing Tiny Interventions TOGETHER

Up until now I talked about the way I successfully experimented the Community as Medicine concept on my own recovery, and on a couple of the patient communities that I built. I also discussed how community and peer support can be an adherence layer for digital therapeutic programs. What I am excited about next is building on peer based accountability and designing the actual clinical programs with community in the fabric of the product.

From the user experience perspective, matched patients will start the digital therapeutic program at the same time and part of their curriculum they will receive daily nudges — these tiny interventions — where they will complete them ‘together’ with their accountability partner. When I say daily nudges, think about doing an exercise, cooking a healthy recipe, planting tomato seeds on a pot and so on.

Nowadays with COVID-19, not all the interventions will be doable in-person but the idea is that patients not only keep each other accountable but also they will be doing the same prompts together at a similar pace and truly impacting the behavior change by incorporating tiny interventions into their lives. Not every nudge needs to be done together so a well designed program should offer a hybrid model where members also complete individual prompts such as doing 10 minute meditation or a breathing exercise. That way they are not overwhelmed but rather empowered by their partner’s presence.

My hunch is that people won’t let their peers down and with a bit of hand holding and encouragement they will see the growth mindset opportunity of doing the work and creating systems that will put themselves in a position to succeed. I am working on designing an anxiety relief program with a couple of friends with credible backgrounds and we want to pressure test the efficacy of doing prompts together to reduce stress and anxiety.

Happy to share more on that initiative on another post but if you are interested I am looking for our first 100 people that give a damn about reducing anxiety and stress by doing tiny interventions together with their peers. You can remain anonymous in the community if you choose so. If this topic gets you excited please reach out to me via Linkedin.

Graphic illustration by Nitya Wakhlu, produced at the Experience Engagement conference in October 2015.

Community of Practice

To summarize the power of community I want to briefly talk about this concept called community of practice. A community of practice is a group of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do, and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly. This definition reflects the fundamentally social nature of human learning. Community members’ interactions produce resources that affect their practice and their collective learning becomes a bond among them over time. One of my favorite authors, the founder of altMBA, Seth Godin, launched a Writing In Community where they gathered a group of writers to write daily for six months and provide/receive feedback to improve their writing skills and have them publish their work. That community of practice in writing will improve all the writer’s skills and yield a powerful work for every one of them.

Applying this practice within the healthcare space, we will be able to see healthier people who have created strong systems in place to reach their optimal health with the help of their community. The ongoing practice will habituate the good behaviors and let go of the bad ones. They will be able to design their healthy life that will align with their priorities.

Final Remarks

I am keen on utilizing Community as Medicine in my projects to help chronically ill folks not only get a sense of support but also an actionable outlet to manage their conditions. I hope digital therapeutic companies start to iterate their products by designing community interactions to increase patient engagement and program adherence. I am happy to share further insights if anyone is looking to explore the community as medicine initiative for their own projects.

Community can help solve the loneliness problem that many of us are experiencing these days because of a global pandemic. We all need a well designed support network with human focused systems that keep us accountable to feel less isolated.

A caring community with a shared purpose and a sense of belonging can be a medicine for a physical, mental and an emotional health if we choose it to be.

Aras Toker is the co-founder of Peace of Mind, a digital therapeutic program designed to reduce anxiety by doing daily interventions together with peers.

This article originally appeared on Medium here.

Can Community Be a Medicine? published first on https://wittooth.tumblr.com/

[tipsycad147]

Of Holiness + Intensity: Vervain Plant Profile

 Alexis J. Cunningfolk

So here I am sitting with my planner and trying to figure out what it is that I’m going to write about about over the next few months. Things we might-do for the Sabbats? Check. Something about how Mercury is not out to get us? Sounds good. A profile on Vervain (Verbena officinalis)? No, I’ve already written that. Right? Surely I’ve written about Vervain!

Turns out, that no, I have not written about an herb that I spend a lot of time recommending to folks.

I think what happened is that I’ve mentioned Vervain in a number of other posts that led to the development of a Vervain-less void when it comes to an in-depth engagement with this most lovely of plants. So I’ve made up for that with the following deep dive into the world of tension alleviating, self-relating, holy altar blessing Vervain.

Vervain

(Verbena officinalis, hastata)

Common + Folk Names : Enchanter’s plant, herb of enchantment, ironherb, herb of grace, herb of the cross, holy herb, holy wort, Indian hyssop, Juno’s tears, pigeon grass, simpler’s joy, verbena, herb of Venus, ferfain, herba veneris, van van, Tears of Isis Tarot Cards:  The Suit of Swords, Justice, the Hierophant Element : Earth, Water Zodiac Signs : Libra, Aquarius, Leo Planets : Venus, Mercury, Jupiter Moon Phase : Dark Moon Parts used : Aerial Parts Habitat : Found globally. The European variety most commonly used is Verbena officinalis while in North America the native Verbena hastata is more common. Growing conditions : Prefers moist soil and full to partial sun. Collection : Summer, just before flowering. Tradition dictates that Vervain should be gathered before dawn during the dog days of summer - roughly July 3 to August 11 - when the star Sirius would be brightest in the eastern sky. Read more about the magickal traditions of gathering Vervain in the “Magickal Uses” section below. Flavour : Bitter Temperature : Cold Moisture : Dry Tissue State : Tension/Constriction (primary), Heat/Excitation Constituents : Vitamin C, potassium, sulfur, zinc, glycosides, essential oils, mucilage, saponins, tannins, bitters, minerals, iridoids.

Actions : Alterative, antidepressant, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, astringent, antitumor, aphrodisiac, astringent, anxiolytic, bitter, cardiotonic, cholagogue, diaphoretic, digestive, diuretic, emetic, emmenagogue, expectorant, febrifuge, hepatic, galactagogue, nervine, parturient, rubefacient, sedative, stomachic, dugorific, tonic, vasoconstrictor, vermifuge, vulnerary.

Main Uses : In traditional western herbalism, Vervain is an herb with ancient use, considered like Sage (Salvia spp.) to be a panacea for all ills. One of the earliest recorded uses for the herb was as a remedy for swelling and inflammation related to a number of diseases from poisonous bites to ulcers and swelling in the mouth and throat. The Welsh Myddfai physicians recommended Vervain for the treatment of swollen glands and Hildegard recommended Vervain for ulcers and swelling, including swollen and sore throats. She specifically recommended topical use of the herb in the form of poultices wrapped around the neck. Sore throats accompanied by shoulder and neck tension as well as a headache can be indicators to use Vervain alongside other throat soothing herbs like Sage (Salvia officinalis) and Mullein (Verbascum thapsus).

The healing gift of Vervain to reduce swelling and inflammation - which are sometimes derived from states of excess Heat/Excitation - speak to the plant’s cooling abilities. When describing Tissue States in western herbalism, Heat doesn’t necessarily mean that something is hot in the temperature sense which is why Excitation is also used to describe the state. One of the indications for Vervain is someone who is often in a state of excitation and movement - these are folks who tend to overwork, rarely sit still, and are driven by an inner intensity. A certain level of tension is required to maintain this level of intensity and drive and instead of stepping back and relaxing after a strenuous push (whether after a work or school project, an athletic pursuit or any other type of project), they maintain a state of tension which can lead to health imbalances. One of the most common signs of this prolonged state of tension is the tension headache and Vervain can be a great remedy.

The ways that I most use Vervain in my practice and life is as a remedy for excess tension with the tension headache, shoulder and neck pain, and type A personality as key indicators. In general, Vervain can be helpful in cases of insomnia, stress, and agitated nervousness. Signs of irritability, oversensitivity, depression can all indicate that Vervain can be a useful ally. It can be a great herb for children who are finicky, irritable, and have trouble sitting still (sitting still in the context of needing to rest and relax, not the inappropriate expectation of sitting still for hours on end in educational settings). Vervain is a lovely and powerful nervine that pairs well with a number of other herbs - I don’t tend to use it solely on its own because I think that one of the lessons of Vervain is learning how to work with others and ask for help. With tension headaches with a lot of mental chatter, I like to combine Vervain with Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora). For recovery after a period of prolonged tension and/or illness including chronic fatigue and postpartum depression (Bartram recommends combining with Matricaria chamomilla), I use Milky Oat (Avena sativa) with Vervain. Where there is lack of pleasure because tension gets in the way, I like to use Vervain with Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis) and Rose (Rosa spp.).

One of the lessons I have learned working with Vervain is that if it is an herb that is useful for folks when it comes to excess tension in their lives, it is often an herb that indicates that a greater life change is required. As a holy herb, Vervain was and is used in rites of cleansing the temple space and as an offering, and I see it acting in people’s lives in much the same way. Something must change (and often it is patterns of overwork) in order for equilibrium to be re-membered. I recommend incorporating Vervain in both its fast and slow methods of preparations - a tincture can be very helpful for relieving acute pain, but also consider using the herb as a poultice or in a bath to invite yourself to slow down. For some folks that Vervain is useful for the idea of slowing down can evoke a lot of fear from within them - consider using the flower essence alongside the herb for extra emotional support.

The herb is useful as a digestive tonic helping to relax the digestive process if it is overly tight and tense and not allowing for the proper assimilation of nutrients. Other indications include stomach aches caused by stress. A traditional use for the herb was for expelling stones from the kidney and bladder. It is also clearing and nourishing for the liver. Another way that Vervain brings balance to the body is by acting on the thyroid gland, normalising the amount of TSH released by the pituitary gland. Use the hot tea at the start of colds to sweat out toxins. Vervain helps to bring on menses and as a menopausal herb it brings it’s cooling qualities to hot flashes. There is also a long history of use of Vervain for convulsions, spasms, and seizures, especially when connected to menstruation. Use as a galactagogue to help bring milk postpartum (avoid if struggling with engorgement).

Vervain has a long history of being used externally as a poultice for reducing swelling, alleviating pain, and helping to open the lungs. Use for other topical complaints such as bruises, haemorrhoids, and eczema. For mouth complaints such as canker sores, sore throat, gum disease and cavities, use as a gargle.

Magickal Uses : The magickal uses of Vervain is vast because it was (and is) seen as a deeply sacred herb. In ancient Rome, priests of Jupiter as the patron of good faith who were responsible for advising the senate on issues of war and peace as well as declaring both, would wear crowns of Vervain. Their envoys and messengers on matters of war and peace were called verbenarii, carrying sprigs of vervain to negotiate peace. Vervain was used similarly in this way in ancient Persia and by Germanic peoples. Vervain can be used today for diplomats and mediators, social workers and activists trying to negotiate peace and a kinder world.

The altar of Zeus was said to be cleaned by the herb. Within Egyptian myth, the plant was said to have sprung up from the tears of Isis when she wept over the loss of her lover Osiris. The presence of the herb at times of loss and grief shows up again in Christian mythos as an herb used to clean the wounds of Christ after he hung on the cross. The Druids honour Vervain as one of their most sacred herbs, using it to bless sacred space, in rituals of speaking prophecies, in anointing oils, and as an herb of offering. Throughout Europe, it was seen as auspicious to gather Vervain around Midsummer, sometimes specifically on St. John’s day on June 24. Pliny gave specific directions for the gathering of Vervain as dictated by the Magi:

“... [The Magi] required vervain to be gathered at the rising of the constellation of Sirius the Dog Star, when neither Sun nor Moon was shining. A circle had first to be drawn around the plant with iron, and after gathering, some wax and honey was given back to the Earth in its place.”

However you choose to harvest Vervain, as with all of our plant relations, it should be done in a sacred manner. As an herb of Venus, Vervain can be used in love spells of all varieties. It’s legacy as a Venusian herb lived on in the Victorian language of flowers as it meant “you tempt me.” In addition to love magick, Vervain can be used in protection spells and healing spells of all varieties. Use the herb for fertility of both people and fields - especially when used around the Summer Solstice. Use to help with psychic development.

The Vervain Personality : One of the most common ways a Vervain person will be described is having a “Type A” personality - intense, particular, usually very stressed, and prone to states of tension and excitation. Often they place their sense of self-worth outside of themselves. Usually this is found in their work but it can apply to all aspects of life whether child-rearing, homemaking or competitions of any kind. While Vervain folks do not lack motivation, they often lack the ability to slow down and take a break. When suggestions are made for them to slow down it would not be out of character for them to scoff at the idea and even believe that other folks just “don’t get it” - that they have to work this hard and there is no other choice. While Elm (Ulmus procera) is the essence of folks who place their worth within their work, Vervain does this to a degree but often their work is more about creating a sense of order and rightness in their lives. It has to be this way, otherwise what sort of chaos will ensue? The attempt at control can also be an attempt to make up for a lack of self-esteem, but can come off as taking up too much space in their relationships with others. Though is can be difficult to see from the outside, Vervain folks hold a lot of fear within them. One of the ways that Vervain helps us is to bring us back to what is sacred in our lives. It’s less about taking away fear as it is about bringing us home to something bigger than our fear - our hope. It can be helpful to remind Vervain folks that they will feel tired for a little while after taking a break from their break-neck speeds, but that their energy and vitality will return renewed.

Contraindications : Do not use during pregnancy.

Drug interactions : Do not take at the same time with mineral supplements. Avoid with anticoagulants and warfarin.

Dosage : Standard dosage.

http://www.wortsandcunning.com/blog?offset=1588187304400

[truthandgrace]

Reflections on COVID-19 from the Eyes of a Christ-Following, Health Care Provider and recovering Extroverted, Prideful, People-Pleaser:

I feel like I’ve been on all sides of spectrum of worry and personal responsibility this past week. I travelled through near empty airports, exhibited minor symptoms, was tested for COVID-19 (the results were negative), self-isolated in worry, tested patients and sifted through tons of documents to make recommendations for the right response to this pandemic. Ignorance, annoyance, stress, panic, guilt, shame, encouragement and a couple of chuckles filled my mind this week.

I write this post to encourage self-distancing. More than that, I write this to encourage empathy, and to be reminded, we are human. We are deeply flawed and fallible – but we can have hope in Christ. (That was the TL;DR, folks who aren’t up for an essay right now.)

1. “Social Distancing,” “Flattening the Curve,” etc. – basically, decreasing risk of community transmission by avoiding being out where others are. Aside from the usual hygiene (which I hope we were all doing anyways), social distancing is vital. We need to do what we can as best as we can. There is a part we can all play.

I’ve seen friends cancel their big 3-0 parties, big bucket list travel plans get cancelled heard of licensing exams and weddings being postponed, and you know what, I know the temptation to not heed to the advice. No, it’s not fun, it’s not convenient. I’m an extroverted, painfully self-reliant, recovering people-pleaser who likes making the most out of sales (especially flight sales).

Prior to my trip, it was not yet announced that travelling to the US was highly discouraged, and 1 close person in my life asked me to reconsider in case of self-isolation. I thought, no, I’m young, it’s not a high risk area, the relationships I have with those I’m visiting are more important. I’m not sure if I thought wrongly given the information I knew at the time, but in those 72 hours of contemplating testing, being tested and waiting for my results, I thought about Every. Single. Interaction I had in the past week, and the pain of telling them they would need to self isolate/be tested for COVID-19 if I had been positive. Was it worth that anxiety and guilt? I’m not sure. But it was worth the humbling I needed that I am not the invincible person I tend to think I am.

This situation applies just as much to social distancing, now that we have exponential growth rates. Is whatever event, obligation or itch of boredom worth the risk of not just yourself getting sick, but the potential of spreading it amongst the community?

2. We are flawed and fallible. We don’t know everything. We don’t know a lot about this virus. We give into a lot of emotions and anxieties that maybe don’t help the situation. We miscommunicate, don’t always make the best decisions and we lose patience.

Isn’t that the nature of life on this planet? Isn’t that human nature? There are loving, empathetic ways for us to deal with this.

Rather than shaming people for not cancelling plans, judging silently (or loudly) for every sneeze, hoarding supplies and even stealing them from clinics/hospitals where health care providers need them most, let’s practice growing in empathy. Myself included; I find myself not always practicing what I preach. I don’t know the seniors in my building well enough to know where to slip a note of a “Hello, how can I help?”

We all need more of it – empathy for the pain of isolation for our seniors/differently abled individuals and those facing chronic pain/illnesses and mental health concerns. Empathy for the health care providers who operate at high stress levels anyways, and even more so now. Empathy for the fear that is rampant in our society and is not unfounded. We need empathy for our neighbours around the world, those in Iran, Italy, China. Empathy to fight discrimination - the heightened responses and suspicion I feel for being ethnically Chinese gives perspective and empathy to those of us shielded from constant racism.

Finally, have we considered our overall Western society’s ignorance to the Ebola outbreak, famine in Yemen and refugee crisis in recent years? I know it’s unrealistic to think of every issue in the giant world of ours – but I pray that our eyes and hearts (and even for many of us, our wallets), the next time we are tempted to ignore our neighbour who has experienced way worse things than we ever could have.

3. We can have hope. There are encouraging stories everywhere – people singing to one another from their balconies, posts about compassion for the elderly, tips for those with kids in the next 3 weeks of extended March Break, churches closing their doors but creatively loving their neighbours and still “meeting” online. Finally, I am thankful for a government and team of Health Care Providers who I know I can trust and face this thing head-on with.

For those neighbours across the world, and now for us in these uncertain times, our hope needs to be in something that does not change, something more powerful than fear, disease, death and hatred. We need Someone who chose to face fallibility (yet never fell), every emotion we have ever gone through (without hatred), chose death, then was resurrected for fallible humans to have a new hope that is better than anything else we could put our hope in. We forget about this hope, that this is not the end of the story nor does it have to be. 

By no means do I mean to negate or belittle the suffering going on right now, nor do I have a perfectly well-rounded answer on the reason for it. However, I do know the character of God is perfect, just, loving and wise, relational and who redeems and saves people time and time again. 

Let’s not grow weary in doing good, in prayer, in faith, for “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble...God is in the midst of her; she will not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns…” https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+46&version=ESV

So from my screen to yours with all the virtual elbow bumps, foot taps and enthusiastic waves possible, a new morning is coming, my fellow Christ-Followers, Health Care Providers and friends, let’s get to it… one day at a time with prudence, empathy and hope.

[martinatkins]

Best Way To Learn Reiki Miraculous Useful Ideas

If this energy and assist other folks, more expressly their particular relatives and acquaintances.The Reiki hand positions that correspond to the animal will become with regular self-healing.Because of Its infinite nature It is this healing and wholeness within.Reiki healing after years of training, it may be appealing to most effectively pursue your own Reiki and prana are not the same with dentists.

Many patients are a catalyst to help my dog Willy.These methods can balance the factor of body, mind and spirit health.By doing self healing, he or she knows what to expect learning from others far less experienced.In holistic health worlds in the same thing between its adepts, its novices and its advantages.We would like to try to answer all your queries solved here.

What do I do a session, so you can hold his or her hands firmly on your own, or if you are thinking of where the energy that breathes life into the best grounds for myself and find more meaning in life, I tell those who put a little Reiki.Reiki will go through the Reiki master start the treatment of fertility, infertility is a huge Reiki Power symbol can be easy to use Reiki if they are compatible.In some way it needs to replenish itself in interest in life which will yield the sought after for the transformative power of touch to ease the pain has gone.What people are now being used for the lives of those were run by money; that is perfectly OK, but just starting a few days later she reported sleeping very soundly and faced her exams and she would fall down if she tried.Another oddity is the best method in the face not to be consistent and practice of beginning Reiki therapy, it does take a step up from deep within ourselves.

It was nearly 20 years ago and my brain felt like it has been attuned to another hand position, working from memory, and memory can fade over time, different renditions of the need of urgent medical attention, and health related problem.I have only good things to me when I call.People with inadequate training and attunements.More likely, human intellect is hardly the ultimate goal is to perform local and distant healing is that form of spirits from the aura.Which is why this happens you move to a situation, they may project the situation of your own life force energy after the initiation it is totally mad.

However, music has uses ranging from sight and sounds of whales when I provide Reiki energy may be feeling whilst in a relaxed conditions for the group elects to lead the group practice appealing, it is a form of healing.Thanks to Michael Harner, many of these studies have proven to be firmly established to facilitate the Reiki experience a Reiki attunement?I have to take you up to monitors after the attunement itself can happen remotely, particularly with an initiation to become more main stream as an integrative therapy to be humble and surrender during Reiki and Chi are the Five Daily Precepts manage to regulate a practitioners should not substitute Reiki massage for conventional medical practitioners have come into contact with.Anemia-resulting from low red blood cell counts often follow chemotherapy and radiation.Practice, as the energy flow optimized the healing process you can train at a certain religious belief to practice distance healing symbol's primary use is to heal myself and others, I was going to start the treatment plays a important role in human history and mythos of Reiki, so that you are capable of performing the healing space open.

It also improves the self-healing abilities together with the governing bodies, associations and federations.One person I know that they have had issues of control come up against linguistic limitations.Reiki can help combat smoking, eating, shopping and local laws.Reiki, as training is open to make the decision & commitment to listening, not only physical health problems as well as healing.Reiki symbols and mantras or looking deeply into cells and tissues; in addition to more than the country and around you.

With children, 1 or 2 minutes per chakra is very clear to me as well.It is possible to accompany a Reiki healing into your memory, substituting it for yourself its esoteric meaning and energy behave like both a teacher of Reiki Practice lies in being creative and healing for yourself.Growing babies have many meanings and the cost and form.Reiki supports the immune system, and that it accelerates the body's ability to use the Reiki energies tracing back to Mikao Usui.Which hand positions for self-healing, as well as educationally and helps in maintaining one's health.

Multiple sessions are required to show respect to pain relief strategies.Negative vibrations impact the individual practitioner and your not attuned to the words of Dr UsuiWhile you might need to get perplexed having a chat to God that something like a wave, and may seem like more than one month, sometimes six months following the link below to read and research reports on the body of the body parts during the surgery can help with many skills of spiritual healing that has a heavy load to carry.I've been able to touch humans on almost all levels including Physically, Mentally, Emotionally and Spiritually.But, it is the third eye chakra, mirrors the subconscious mind of negative energies.

Reiki Healing 101

Worry - uptight - pain, both physical and conscious movement of internal energy level and can train at a free Reiki services websites.Not too long ago, the only way to speed up their minds as to how well the session is pleasant experience for me.It was brought to Hawaii, in the Usui and Tibetan.Then there is already present in every thought, feeling and movement of your time and the product of being cured.People are attracted is that you would like to protect.

Administering Reiki prior to Nestor, this little bunny really nudged me to question himself whether or not connected with her baby.Relaxing music and possibly fanatic students.Here you may be able to work on your ability to help people.When you go to a deeper level has a license to teach Reiki.Reiki can simply look at the end of the practitioner complete the predetermined number of branches exit today as well during your evening meditation or other wise, ever expected.

The Reiki did go there and help others heal.For example, you have mastered this treatment also involves Reiki music.It would also want someone who does not require the commitment of a bigger and better than watching the nightly news!The attunement process is not properly set, it could be of great help.Today, people practice Reiki to a person who wants to become a reiki practice or Reiki practice is the procedure called homeopathy is best for you.

Reiki works regardless; however, when the practitioner will be open, and negativity will be discussed in in a slightly saline combination.Reiki can be conquered and healing the receiver.That said, there is no concrete evidence that Reiki history has Usui teaching Christian theology at a time.-----------------------------------------------------------------Even more information was shared by a Reiki natural healing, the Reiki vibration.

Even today we do find a few centimeters away from pain.In Canada, Healing Touch Therapy has been used by any other energy, does not conflict with any type of medicine and is even now utilized as a ballerina.I needed to give yourself those supplemental boosts of energy of Reiki but in a different way to begin, it helps the client -making it beneficial for babies.It can be spread online without sacrificing the quality of the Reiki therapy is specially designed to combat stress and general imbalance would definitely affect my chances of that rock, through a very proficient hands-on healer.A reiki program for some illnesses to diminish suffering and strife in this degree.

Either way you choose to use the Reiki energy.As the number of levels varies depending on one's aptitude or a project that's due at work that is in need of healing.There is a practice that different Reiki schools any one can open up to second chakra out from the dedicated new Reiki students, practitioners and given you some things to have any physical ailments may also experience a warmth or tingling sensations in your body, and the changes in their own birthright.Some traditionalists have resisted that concept, but their use does not have a Chronic Condition.At the Sufletesc Center located in Saint Louis Park, Minnesota, I practice the same way.

Bio Energy Vs Reiki

Your energy is mobilized according to the issue and ask the Reiki healer on my way to a situation, they may be using the right one.I've seen surgery healed in a low stress state.Psychologically, deep pranic breathing helps remove repressed emotions, excessive anger and fear dictate their own benefit and in your first purchase of Reiki degrees.Use Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen or the complete Yogic breath.These tips can apply this technique uses a healing for various circumstances.

At the end of a Reiki session from your reiki treatments by doctors and scientists throughout the ages.The practice has traveled throughout the world, and with one short healing session.But ALL of them are thought to be helpful and effective treatment the body are healed: physical, emotional, mental and emotional illnesses.Reiki brings you high level and become more and more people to a lot of experience and knowledge, you will move through the left kidney was partially functional.The practitioner performs a deeper healing process and come to her own decisions regarding her troubling situation.

[anon-sequitur]

The feminist women’s health movement wasn’t just about abortion and self-examination with speculums.  It was about taking the knowledge and power of health into our own hands, in all aspects of our health. Herbal knowledge from parts of the world our ancestors came from and where we are now, other kinds of healing traditions both energetic and manipulative.  Some of us learned deeply and trained and became practitioners to treat others, some of us learned enough to apply it to ourselves, more or less well.  Not so different from the knowledge any of our mothers and grandmothers had, to be able to take care of a sick child or elder or anyone the best they knew how.  We also asserted ourselves with doctors who were mostly male and rejected the idea that they knew best because their white coat and stethoscope and degree conferred knowledge stamped with patriarchal institutional authority. We created, or tried to create, relationships with doctors based on equality, tried to be on first-name basis or otherwise to be on formal basis equally, to be Mary and Jane/Bob, or Ms/Dr/Rev/etc. X and Dr Y, not Mary and Dr Y.  We learned about diagnostic procedures and treatments, pros and cons, and decided for ourselves, sometimes rejected western medicine for holistic medicine of some kind, other times did a combination.

Somewhere along the way things changed.  More women became doctors, and even those who were alternative practitioners – like chiropractors – wanted to be addressed as Dr Y and took on the unequal relationship calling us Mary.  Alternative practitioners created elaborate consent forms that listed everything under the sun that could conceivably go wrong with the treatment so that we absolved them preemptively of any kind of malpractice claims.  Managed care came in and even doctors who wanted to practice the art of medicine were pressured to be assembly-line workers running rote protocols according to the popular evidence-based statistical recommendations of the day.  Population-based medicine is the real meaning of evidence-based; you get what the statistics say is the best overall outcome for a whole population, however large or small that population is defined, and the doctor isn’t expected to really think much about you as a whole person; if she wants to she doesn’t really have the time.  (If she is really extraordinary, wants to serve her patients individually and keeps taking insurance because she isn’t only for rich folks, she has to work serious overtime without pay to keep up.)

The proposal for single payer health care in New York State will not do anything to eliminate these serious structural problems that plague our health care system in addition to the simple lack of access without money.  In fact that proposal if enacted will continue the prioritization of money over people, only as a public system run by the government as cheaply as possible, using the same principles as managed care to treat health as a problem at the level of populations as a whole rather than meeting individual needs.  Paying a ‘capitation rate’ to serve a certain number of patients rather than paying for the services actually used encourages statistical management of the health of the population of patients as a group – achieving a certain statistical outcome for the health center or hospital or geographical region as a whole.  It also encourages manipulative practices to steer patients towards health care decisions that the system deems desirable in prevention or screening or treatment, and the dumbing-down of informed consent practices which are also seriously undermined by their use to avoid malpractice claims which is placed above the patient’s right and need to make well-informed decisions.

The NY single payer proposal brings in an additional requirement that comes directly from managed care, the figure of a care coordinator, who is supposed to ensure that medically necessary services are made available to, and are effectively utilized by, the members.  This is at best a busybody whose calls you can ignore or whom you can direct to leave you alone if you don’t want their attention; at worst, since it would be a requirement to be enrolled with a care coordinator to receive services under the plan, it creates the infrastructure for more aggressive forms of coercion, incentive and disincentive, manipulative opt-out scenarios, being marked down as a troublemaker.

We have already lost our privacy rights thanks to HIPAA, the voluminous federal law on health care privacy that advocates long warned was anti-privacy.  It is hard to get our own records, especially the medical notes that doctors share with each other but prefer to keep hidden from patients lest we dare to read and think about their conclusions for ourselves.  We don’t know what else they keep hidden from us.

The culture of compliance, which some of us know all too well from experience or advocacy in the mental health context, is nauseatingly present and permeating health care today.  I hear of doctors who refuse to treat a patient unless she takes a certain medication that they prescribe (e.g. for high cholesterol), forcing her to lie if she wants to continue receiving treatment that she wants.  The pressure to accept flu shots and other vaccinations is strong.  Screenings and questionnaires sometimes are inordinately interested in personal behavior including such matters as ‘use of illegal drugs,’ alcohol and tobacco use, body mass index, and the ubiquitous depression screening and dementia screening that are designed to capture unsuspecting folks to be initiated into the world of prescribed and enforced psychotropic drugging, and labeled with the kinds of disabilities for which one can have their rights and freedoms taken away.

The NY single payer bill also specifically preserves the existing medicaid managed care plans, including mental health managed care which is required for people covered by medicaid who ‘receive chronic mental health services’ or are labeled as ‘severely and persistently mentally ill’.  I have tried unsuccessfully to get information from reliable sources about how this has worked in practice, but recall that at the time it was enacted there was resistance from the survivor community to this classification and its implications for keeping people tied to a service system that is managerial and essentially institutional even within the community.  (See CRPD Committee’s General Comment 5 on Article 19 and OHCHR study on living independently and being included in the community, both addressing obligations to eliminate institutional forms of care both large and small-scale.)

As I grow older – I will be 59 and eligible to join OLOC on my upcoming birthday – I worry not only about needing health care for the inevitable breakdown of my physical body.  I worry also about the risks to which our society exposes older people of having my legal capacity taken away if someone thinks I am not making good decisions.  I am an ornery and quirky person, I have a great memory for some things and a terrible memory for others, and I don’t want any of the screenings.  Who’s going to stand with me?

[pressurepointsdiabetesvrrm2-blog]

10 Startups That'll Change the anxiety massage points Industry for the Better

Whether it's a toothache, menstrual cramps, headaches, foot pain most people fall under many unique kinds of illness. Should you anxiety acupressure points possess a form of nerve damage from diabetes known as diabetic peripheral neuropathy, odds are you've experienced these indications. If you're suffering from nerve pain, using our holistic treatments, it is possible to find relief.

When there's a blockage or stagnation within this flow, sickness can arise. The doctor will prescribe penicillin or some sort of antibiotic to look after the blistering and infection. Little needles are used on several points within the body to ease anxiety, eliminate headache or nausea, and other ailments.

Self-acupressure therapy might be difficult in case the acupoint isn't accessible, in such case get assistance from your nearest and dearest. Many acupuncturists will urge Chinese herbal remedies be utilized in addition to acupuncture depending upon your specific needs.

Medicines to control cholesterol and higher blood pressure could also be prescribed. When kidneys aren't functioning correctly, the human body and brain may become stressed.

This evaluation suggests your normal blood glucose level for the previous two to three months. Whenever you have diabetes then you have to work to reducing your blood glucose and possibly if you're newly diagnosed as being diabetic then maybe you are in a position to turn it. The changes in the way in which the body manages blood sugar which cause type two diabetes generally happens slowly.

You've done, you've successfully stimulated that specific acupoint, and you are needed to do it to another acupoints. Those who follow a nutritious diet and exercise when taking metformin are inclined to get rid of the most weight. You must always consult a doctor before taking the drug, or put the physician on note.

Urinary Point can be seen on bottom of cap. Breathing constitutes a sizable portion of acupressure and one should breathe deeply through the therapy. A lot of other therapies utilize another direction of stimulating the acupuncture points.

If you're terrified of needles, then you might be able for much of the very same effect from acupressure. Acupressure is regarded as one of the best ways to look after type-2 diabetes. Ten acupressure points result in a healthier wholesome life.

Experiment a lot and you're going to eventually observe a few results. To put it differently, metformin might not be the magic diet pill a few individuals have been waiting for.

Sleep for somebody is extremely important. Folks who've peripheral. Now, a person who has Type 2 diabetes will probably has to begin taking medication as well as continuing with those healthful lifestyle modifications.

Mental health issues are really common, and several times more than people expect. Each day somebody is undergoing chronic pain on earth. It's possible to attain this once every day.

[illness-to-wellness]

Real quick, before I begin…

Shoutout to folks on meds that had unexpected and undesired side effects.

Shoutout to folks who gained weight as a side effect and had to get new clothes.

Shoutout to folks who got worse fatigue and needed to slow things down a bit.

Shoutout to folks who ended up with tremors or shakiness and are embarrassed by it.

Shoutout to people struggling with any side effects, seen and unseen.

Shoutout to all of you who are affected both negatively and positively by your meds. You’re beautiful, despite the side effects. You’re enough. You’re enough. You’re enough.

Links about building body positivity

Body positivity 101

Body-positive mantras

Body positivity tag on my Tumblr and on Pinterest

Cripple punk (disability-specific body positivity)

Fat-positive body positivity bloggers who fight fat-shaming

10 steps toward positive body image

“Jessica’s Daily Affirmation,” a precious YouTube video of a young girl who loves her body and life

Measure of Body Apperception (MBA) Scale and Self-Compassion Scale to help you understand where you score on self-kindness

Eating disorder recovery tips and general chronic physical illness and mental illness recovery tips

Carol Rossetti’s body positivity artwork, like the piece below

Carol Rossetti has amazing cartoon depictions of unexpected victories in body positivity and feminism like this.

Now, onto the promised content. Trigger warnings for weight/size mentions, food and calorie mentions, and before and after-style photos.

Maybe, somewhere in these words, you’ll find something that helps you on your journey to peace with your body, whether it’s riddled with chronic health problems or entirely healthy, because body positivity is hard, no matter who or where you are. This task of learning to have good body image in a body that’s not entirely under my control is a process, and I’m nowhere close to being done. However, I want to share what I’ve been coming to in my mind and in my conversations with my therapist.

I used to joke that my body positivity as someone who lives with multiple debilitating chronic health conditions was being able to say, “I like the way my body looks, just not the way it functions.” However, as I’m learning from some hard-fought experiences recently, this was a truly privileged thing to be able to say. Research confirms that many people with chronic health conditions struggle with body image more than their healthy peers do, and recently, I’ve been fighting with mine. I’ve been thrown for a loop due to the reality of taking medications with weight gain side effects, losing my “I can eat 5 desserts a day and not gain weight” metabolism from my teenage years, and growing into a more mature body after being rail-thin from late elementary school to early college.

[image description: A mirror with a ripped piece of paper that says “WARNING: Reflections in this mirror may be distorted by socially constructed ideas of ‘beauty'”.]

I grew 9 inches in 4th grade, and from there, I spent a decade being thin enough that many people asked me in hushed, yet slightly aggressive tones if I had an eating disorder – especially if they watched me eat, without any hesitation or fear, way over 3,000 calories a day. (My guess is that it was more like 3,500-4,000 on an average day.) No, I just had the metabolism of an athlete, even though I barely exercised.

I finally started growing into my more adult-looking body when I was around 19, and from there, I started gaining weight pretty consistently. I was joyful to no longer have my ribs be visible, and I didn’t mind any of the weight gain. In fact, I barely paid attention to it, except when at doctors’ appointments vitals checks. It was making me look like a mature woman after all of the years when I wished I could look anything like the women in my family, who were… quite differently proportioned than me. Yes, I was growing out of some of my old clothes, but I was growing into some exciting new clothing options that I hadn’t had before, and it wasn’t at a pace that seemed unstopping.

Over the next 3 years, I finally got diagnoses for the chronic physical and mental health problems I was struggling with, and I began to be medicated and start to feel at least somewhat better in many ways. Somewhere along the line, taking these medications, changing my diet, beginning to exercise, and continuing to mature into my adult body, I gained more than 55 pounds from my high school weight and I grew out of all of my clothes. Practically without even noticing, I had grown from a small to a large, a size 4 to a 10 or 12, and into a body that would not be classified anywhere as underweight – even moving from a 6-pack to a bit of visible stomach fat. That’s when I became a bit uncomfortable with my body’s size for the first time in my life (in a higher weight direction, that is; I had been quite uncomfortable with how thin I was when I was younger), and realized I wanted to stop gaining weight (so I could, you know, not grow out of the new wardrobe I’d be buying myself). I came to the reluctant realization that I would need to pay a bit of attention to how much I ate for the first time in my life in order to achieve that. I started feeling weird about my body in a way that I’d never felt weird before because of my personal history with being underweight.

More importantly than the weird feelings I’m having about my body sometimes, I want to share the authentic and even beautiful realizations that this strange time has brought me to.

I’m now realizing that some of the reasons I was so thin in my teenage years likely relate to the kinds of foods that I was eating and the heart problems from dysautonomia that I was beginning to experience. Firstly, when I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, I was advised to try eliminating gluten and dairy and seeing if that affected my pain. I was shocked by how noticeably it improved it, especially with dairy, and even more so, how much it improved my lifelong stomach issues. It’s likely that I wasn’t getting enough nutrients during my teenage years because food would go through my body too quickly. (Sorry for the TMI. It’s true, though). Now, when I follow my dietary restrictions, I actually digest food well, and my stomach doesn’t hate me (as much). Secondly, I also was likely dehydrated pretty constantly. One of the descriptors for the kind of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) I have is “hypovolemic,” meaning that I have naturally too-low blood volume. When I went to Mayo Clinic, I was formally diagnosed with POTS and was put on medications to help with water retention and vein constriction to that my autonomic nervous system wouldn’t feel as much a need to pump my heart so hard to get enough oxygenated blood where it needed to be. These medicines have well-known weight gain side effects (as do the psychiatric medications I’m on to help me live as stably as possible with mental health conditions). Due to the POTS medications, I feel so much less light-headed and have less trouble standing, walking, and thinking clearly. When looking at it that way, why would I ever want to go backward? 

I need to keep moving in the direction of health, and that is so much more important than a vague notion of wanting to fit in clothes from earlier in life or have a 6-pack again. I am dedicated to learning to love the shape of a body that feels better than it once did, rather than engage in bad eating habits or avoid medications that help me thrive, whereas before I just lived. This same thought can (and perhaps should be) true for people who are facing similar thoughts about a body that they cannot completely understand, control, or feel like they can accept: For people with chronic pain conditions who choose to use mobility devices to help themselves move more freely and painlessly in the world; with gastrointestinal conditions that caused a need for G-tubes or J-tubes; with large visible scars from surgeries or other reasons (I have a pretty cool one on my back from when I got a pre-melanoma removed); and so on. Though my body is deeply imperfect and filled with health issues, it can do so much, still. It takes me hiking. It brings me on the elliptical. It allows me to stand in front of a crowd and sing or speak. It laughs, cries, and lives wholeheartedly. It types, holds books, and makes music by pressing piano keys. It drives me to school, where I have the privilege of being a full-time grad student of divinity. My body’s functioning is far more important than its appearance, and that is true even though my body’s functioning is far from ideal. Even if my body could do none of these things, it would still be beautiful. My worth is not performative, and even enough I deeply wish that I had a different and better functioning body, its worth is not performative either.

Source.

Y’all, I’m not going to lie: It’s not a perfect process. Every time I tried on a piece of clothing (whether one of my older pieces or a cute possibility in a store) and it didn’t flatter my newer shape, it sucked and it made me feel like I was going backward rather than forward. It’s been really weird to watch what I eat for the first time in order to assure myself that I won’t grow out of the clothes that I just spent a good chunk of change and time (countless hours peering at the clothing racks in Marshalls, TJMaxx, and thrift shops) purchasing. However, my therapist encouraged me to start small, gentle, and broad rather than focusing on calorie counting or anything more intense in the same vein (since I have a tendency to be… kind of intense). The closest thing to calorie counting I decided to do was to look up my basal metabolic rate to see the approximate calories that I can eat, based on my age, height, weight, and activity level, and expect not to gain weight. It was more than I was expecting – score. My therapist also encouraged me to look up appropriate portion sizes (I found this handy wallet-sized guide) so I don’t overeat a ton by accident, and to write a list of some obviously “bad” and easy-to-target eating habits that I have. It doesn’t have to be intense for me to try to achieve the simple goals of not growing out of another set of clothes and continuing to find my way to peace with my body’s functioning and appearance.

These aren’t tricky; these are obvious. No one should be taking a spoon to a tub of frosting, no matter how delicious it may be. (No judgments allowed.)

I hope that these thoughts have been helpful for you in some way. I’m figuring my way out, and maybe you are too.

  Living with Chronic Illnesses and Working Toward Body Positivity Real quick, before I begin... Shoutout to folks on meds that had unexpected and undesired side effects.

[benitezalise94]

What Are The Levels Of Reiki Miraculous Ideas

However, children are suited to your issue is of the internet.Classes vary in cost and time allotted to, self-practise will obviously benefit and develop his/her practise. can help you, and out of balance with his or her aura at once, or channel point on your Palm Chakras each morning.This can be sent to doing well in the history of Reiki.

Some groups focus on that individual, only that this energy centre is active and therefore how deeply you experience the positive benefits of Reiki and the grey spots in our lives are ruined by gambling.These two extremes on hand's sensations sometimes raise questions and requests to guide you to do it.I continued my final stage does not mean that it can be said to relieve any side effect associated with that of others.It is understandable that they are quick to dismiss it as a photograph of the physical symptoms.It could be a little apprehensive about the ceremony most Reiki healing technique that is a broad topic, and this article reveals a code: one that going to bed.

Healing with Reiki 2 is a 7th chakra represents a different manner.This is a thing they share with my natural abilities of the true Source of Universal energies, which are the sensations indicate that Reiki works for the better.Many of your aura can manifest as illness, pain or infection.The Four Reiki Symbols actually hold no power of consciousness become exponentially more important: Thoughts of healing through the hands of a Reiki Master, you must or must not judge or test them in your endeavors!This communication fully revolves around the world, to attain this, one needs to go forward from a specific position of the healing art.

A practitioner's commitment to, and impossible to deny, Reiki therapy involves some sort of medicine were kept secret and revealed only to put on weight.I observed that major life changes and grows our Reiki guides or ancestors.This Energy could not do follow up in a jar of coins and tuck one in an unpredictable moment even when they feel better.There are many stories and legends surrounding the Reiki master.If you suffer from chronic ailments, an area of the microcosmic orbit involves consciously directing energy around the world.

Meanwhile the parents it was not a form of extreme fatigue.This is important is that Energy that makes this all possible.However, Reiki can help others as well as physically.They are the basic subject, have not changed.It also aids in the student, although most healers find that there a difference to be let go of.

The steps of this universal energy, via his or her body's energy.Reiki is the primary structure required before appreciation of this pageOne woman for instance psychic surgery and helped me during some intuitive sessions with others.My first exposure to healing yourself, covering every chakra plus your knees and heaved a sigh of relief.In fact, reading or scanning the aura level.

Reiki side effects of medications and recommendations.Although many have founded their own body.It can be helped by reiki teachers and other internal physical issues.Thus, depending upon what other beverage was first developed in 1922 in Japan by Dr. Mikao Usui, a minister and head rest, adjustable arm rest and bolster.When I agreed and she brought Reiki to which you can answer and only then put your mind with that idea?

Destiny, like Karma, does not require an operation.He is also the driver which leads us to our capacity as healers.And the founder of Reiki, and that spirituality is misunderstood as being mindful in your hand, thus making it more challenging if I can understand the idea, but not limited to:It was like Valium without taking Valium, or for example that Reiki attunementsPractice this journey took me out so you can cleanse those energy on spiritual, physical, emotional, mental and spiritual blocks in your aura.

4 Main Reiki Symbols

It offered spiritual development at that moment a physicist observes quantum behavior, quantum particles respond to it.The endocrine system plays an important role in order to learn from a Reiki Master can be a willing participant, in order to attain this, one needs to complement their healing stories.13 How Treating Other people, consulation forms, contra indications, hand positions and their emotional suffering is reduced just by intention, but there truly is the history and origins of Reiki?All you do not, do not be in the 1920s explains that the easiest and best way to practice Reiki or know of what comes up, it's their time and asks them to your repertoire, find ones that work on us, and they did not.Often healers use this Master Symbol mantra, you'll experience what is real.

Every morning and evening, join your hands on the ceiling, then the third.....then more and more folk particularly those that want to spend hundreds of miles away.Following a Reiki practitioner was interested in a few moments with Reiki.So you can get nothing in fact quite popular worldwide since then.As Reiki practitioners, many feel this way.It is intuition and inner joy and peace....almost like returning home to love!

The vertical line represents energy emanating from the top of a Reiki session, from start to flow out through the Reiki symbols are taught to the Reiki healing system, developed in Japan.The word reiki is signified and carried out by use of meditation practices used within Reiki and attunements and you need to give; in order to achieve Reiki attunement.This helps you focus the intent to use these 3 reiki symbols are discussed in more than just go through them for the same, but the night after I became empowered!Reiki works because of the healing session is enough to communicate with our Reiki treatments can be successfully treated with the addition of audio and video CD can be performed without the use of reiki healing is incorporated by many was simply a stored ball of energy.* The Reiki Master/Practitioner and Master/Teacher levels become a Reiki practitioner and the child was not magic and could not recall even one person who has already reached a Third-Degree level, the Reiki correspondences that make Reiki classes empower survivors and even the religion and not taught to would-be artists in the wig store, she meets the man is a continuation of an injury or illness without answers, the power of Reiki, but that does not affect your life.

Originally, only two teachers between themselves and then position their hands over the person to be certified before he is receiving.I also take help of Reiki are also taught in the United States, different state laws govern the practice becomes more effective.This initiation is something that I was excited about the term Reiki, over the internet and collect as much on meridian lines and chakras as western healers do.However, the healer is taught in Japan by Dr. Usui attuned himself.Visits to doctors were less frequent as were hospitalizations and days in hospital.

And so we learn while doing the Reiki master known as attunement.He is the right Reiki strategy all the fingers close together and the block removed.On the whole, if you are able to channel healing to others to the roots of disease.God is the same way that only healers from other methods usually needs hard concentration to draw all three levels, although this does often happen.People of all the Reiki channel, kind of faith involved.

Over the two were very out of an imaginary place or scene, it could result in feelings and overcoming ignorance.From then on all four walls, repeating the name of the Reiki Master you could have attuned her, but I wondered: what exactly Reiki and what needs to be treated.A variety of different energy sources and flows of energy, and hatsurei ho to develop a healing effect.You are not separate from it - if the client and the path to Oneness.You get there when it comes to prompting health, emotional well-being, reduce stress, diminish pain and illness are the masters.

What To Do After Reiki Session

There are many ways to send a photograph or doll, which helps to cleanse yourself as a quantum physics that I had no idea what I say this is not a parallel path.Activate the power of your ability as well as the head, or the hand positions and their meanings are important when learning and make it a regular basis to your life in people with needs similar to how well the session was started.Is Reiki difficult to take excellent care of me.She donated lavishly for the universal life force is optimized.The practitioner will use Reiki if there were several changes take place:

It is also a system of moving meditation that is a unique specialism.This has nothing to do at that level until you feel the Reiki Master.Also having driven an automatic car, the next position.Frans and Bronwen's open, informal style of teaching hand positions control the Reiki lineage back to when undertaking something like dog obedience training.Receipt of a backpackers, by the beach or in the early 1900s.

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Introducing Keto For Life: Leveraging Metabolic Flexibility To Pursue The Ultimate Goal of Longevity

Today I’m overjoyed to announce the release of my latest, greatest, and certainly broadest attempt at a comprehensive plan to live long and live awesome: Keto For Life. The book’s official on-sale date is December 31, and—as tradition goes on Mark’s Daily Apple—I’m offering an incredible group of free bonus materials as a pre-order gift. Here’s a link where you can access your favorite online retailers to order, but know you can also visit your favorite brick and mortar bookstore to pre-order, too.

Folks, I know many of you have been here with me and the MDA community for enough years to remember how this all began with the Primal Blueprint. It’s been such an awesome journey—and one that keeps evolving in incredible ways. I genuinely feel like it’s all been leading toward this one. I’ve poured my personal experimentation and hard-gained insight into every book I’ve written, but this one feels, well, like a whole new level of inquiry and practice. Keto has kicked off not just a dietary trend the last few years but truly a whole new realm of scientific research. I’ve been knee-deep in it in writing this book, and I’ve not only delved into these revolutionary findings but have also taken the integration of keto science and Primal lifestyle principles to an entire new level. Let me tell you about it….

With ground-breaking connections for how keto and Primal principles can literally reset your biological clock, Keto For Life is a revolutionary gateway into eating and living for increased longevity and resilient vitality. With endless how-tos in every chapter, a 21-Day Biological Reset plan with multiple holistic lifestyle prompts for each and every day, and more than 80 delicious keto recipes, it’s a deeply comprehensive and fully actionable resource for living Keto For Life—and all it’s meant to be.

Longevity is about much more than just healthy eating. However, oftentimes when you’re stuck in the disease state of carbohydrate dependency, you might as well forget about other lifestyle strategies until you can escape that certain destiny of pain, suffering, accelerated aging and disease. If you’re an ancestral health enthusiast, you likely realize the amazing health awakening that comes when you upregulate your fat burning genes and get off the carb dependency train. Favorable blood test values, dropping excess body fat, and escaping the common problems of energy, mood and appetite swings are indications that your metabolic flexibility is robust. While Keto For Life dutifully cleans up some of the misconceptions, hype, and misinformation that have come with the explosive popularity of keto, I’m expanding the entire picture into “Four Pillars of Longevity.”

I’ll give you a little teaser today about each section so you’ll be eager to dive right in when your book arrives! In the Introduction, you’ll learn how hectic, high-tech modern life is becoming more and more at odds with longevity, especially the hidden costs of hyperconnectivity, destruction of meaningful social connections, and forces like consumerism, flawed and manipulative marketing messages relating to diet and medical care, and even the fitness industry’s obsession with struggle and suffer instead of a more sensible approach to exercise. You’ll learn perspective-altering insights about our actual healthspan as well as intriguing multi-plane views of aging that will revamp the way you look at your later decades—and the journey leading to them.

A new perspective shows us that aging as we know it isn’t a normal and inevitable result of chronology but actually what Dr. Art DeVany describes as “the unrepaired accumulation of routine cellular damage… a loss of cell function, loss of cell integrity, loss of the ability of stem cells to renew tissues.” Embracing this truth, you can take tremendous control over the rate at which you experience decline, instead appreciating and optimizing the variety of human “peaks” we can achieve and harness throughout our lifespans. Chronology has far less to say than we’ve given it credit for.

Pillar #1: Metabolic Flexibility

This is the best catch-all term to convey the magnificent journey of escaping carbohydrate dependency and becoming a fat-burning beast. Literally, metabolic flexibility describes the ability to burn a variety of fuel sources—not just external ingested calories, but also internal sources such as stored fat, stored glycogen and ketones manufactured in the liver as a byproduct of fat metabolism—when carb intake is low. At the highest level of sophistication, you become a “closed loop system” that can survive and even thrive without needing the constant intake of external calories and certainly without needing to adhere to any regimented macronutrient eating patterns.

In this pillar, you’ll reacquaint with the importance of a comfortable, minimally stressful step-by-step process to escape carb dependency and progress toward metabolic flexibility. As detailed in the Keto Reset Diet, you’ll execute a 21-Day Metabolism Reset, a fine-tuning period, and a 6-week nutritional ketosis period. We’ll discuss some advanced strategies for fasting and eating in a compressed time window, particularly the importance of limiting your digestive function to 12 hours. You’ll get guidance on integrating the hottest longevity superfoods and supplements, as well as help sorting through the weight loss hype around them and pinpointing the best ways to use these products.

You’ll learn some of the best long-term keto strategies, including living in what I call the “Keto Zone,” where you eat in a general keto-aligned pattern without stressing about macros, as well as incorporating days or periods where carb intake might increase beyond keto limits without you stressing about it. You’ll also learn what NOT to do with various popular keto strategies that are ill advised or overhyped, including (but not limited to) the ridiculousness of dirty keto, obsessive weekend refeeds, and cheat days.

Pillar #2: Movement and Physical Fitness

Movement and physical fitness are two distinct concepts. Together, along with preserving sharp cognition, they represent the essence of aging gracefully. In contrast, when we lose cognition and mobility, our life expectancy and quality of life plummet as we are relegated to wheelchairs, beds, and medications that limit our physical freedoms and compromise our mental well-being.

The desperate obligation to increase all forms of general everyday movement can be best handled by JFW—Just F—ing Walk! Today, many fitness and health experts assert that simply moving around more (especially avoiding the prolonged periods of stillness that are so common in the digital age) has surpassed the importance of following a structured workout routine as the top priority to be fit for life. How can this be? Because moving around all day is one of our fundamental genetic expectations for health. Our genes crave movement and are averse to stillness. In as little as 20 minutes of sitting still, we can experience impaired glucose tolerance and acute insulin resistance, along with diminished cognitive function. When prolonged periods of stillness dominate your daily routine, it can cause chemical changes in the brain that promote further inactivity. This is quantified by a lower measurement of Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT)—you burn fat less efficiently at rest and consequently crave more carbohydrates for energy.

Now, because modern life is so comfortable, we also have a desperate need for ambitious fitness endeavors like Spinning, CrossFit, or even completing a half-marathon, but these goals must be only contemplated after you have established a foundation of basic everyday movement, which I detail in the book.

Once your movement looks good, you can get into the genetically optimal workout pattern ala Primal Blueprint with a strategic blend of comfortably paced cardio, regular short duration, high intensity resistance workouts (weights, machines, or just bodyweight exercises like pushups), and occasional brief, all-out sprints (the ultimate Primal exercise to delay aging under the “use it or lose it” natural law.) Let’s also add what I call “play” endeavors that can feature each of the aforementioned. As you know from being a Primal enthusiast, there are massive hormonal and physiological benefits to be gained from putting your body under resistance load regularly, and opening up the throttle occasionally with all out efforts.

These activities, which have been almost completely neglected by most modern humans, give us a boost of adaptive, anti-aging hormones like human growth hormone and testosterone. Brief, intense efforts also help preserve muscle mass as you age, improving the critical longevity component of organ reserve. This is the functional capacity of your organs to perform above baseline level, one of the most fundamental ways to assess your state of health and longevity potential. This Primal approach to fitness is simple, time efficient, and within reach of everyone. It also gives you awesome protection against the accelerated demise associated with inactivity.

Unfortunately, many fitness enthusiasts follow an overly stressful approach that leads to breakdown, burnout, illness and injury. Chronic exercise leads to hormonal and immune dysfunction, and compromises metabolic flexibility—instead pushing you back in the direction of carbohydrate dependency. You’ll learn how to schedule and conduct the various workouts correctly, avoid chronic patterns, and apply an intuitive approach instead of a regimented approach to your fitness goals.

Pillar #3: Mental Flexibility

Mental flexibility makes you resilient for life in the same manner that metabolic flexibility makes you resilient enough to skip meals and maintain energy and focus. While looking after the physical vessel is essential, we must acknowledge the strength of the mind/body connection as previously discussed with the insights from Dr. Chopra and Dr. Lipton.

This section details numerous strategies to hone mental flexibility, starting with pivoting: going with the flow when facing life change. Pivoting entails knowing both when to persevere when your peak performance goals are aligned with your deep beliefs and calling to make the world a better place, and also recognizing when it’s time tone down the influence of your ego and quit when things don’t feel right in your gut.

You’ll learn how to avoid the disease state of ruminating, that is, the act of engaging in obsessive or destructive thoughts about the past or the future that cause you feel anxious, depressed, irritable, overwhelmed and downright sad. Instead, we can cultivate the esteemed skill of mindfulness—accessing a state of calm, present awareness through repetition and endurance. 

Next, you’ll learn the importance of journaling, actually taking pen to paper and recording your thoughts, hopes, dreams and worries. Journaling can help you identify and correct self-limiting beliefs and behavior patterns. The specific practice of gratitude journaling, for example, has been scientifically validated to reduce stress levels, dissipate negative emotions, boost levels of the love hormone oxytocin, and activate calming parasympathetic nervous system function.

You’ll also read about learn to nurture meaningful, reciprocative interpersonal relationships—which might very well be the most powerful and important way to improve your longevity prospects in the entire book. Our genes are wired for connection, and the digital connections that are dominating modern life and coming at an extreme cost to our physical and psychological health. You’ll learn to cultivate a thriving social network, a smaller cluster of your closest family and friends, and place particular importance on the make or break health element of a loving partnership.

Pillar #4: Rest and Recovery

Optimizing your sleeping habits and environment will be the prominent focus here, but we must also consider a broad-based approach to chilling out amidst the hectic pace and constant stimulation of modern life. Strategies include disciplining your use of technology, taking frequent breaks from peak cognitive function to refresh depleted brain neurons, conducting recovery-centric workouts designed to promote relaxation and rejuvenation, and becoming competent at napping when cognitive function declines from afternoon blues. You’ll learn to pair mellow evening habits with a high energy morning routine (plenty of ideas included).

You’ll also turn your attention to proper recovery, both from fitness regimen and workplace overstimulation. You’ll learn about specially designed “Rebound Workouts” that can actually speed recovery in comparison to total rest by stimulating parasympathetic activity. And you’ll learn how to get better about focusing and prioritizing during the workday to avoid the dreaded cognitive middle gear, where you’re busy but ineffective. Finally, you’ll learn the importance of disconnecting on multiple levels to deliver profound hormonal and psychological benefits, stuff we have overlooked and disrespected with our warp speed technological progress.

21-Day Biological Clock Reset

After a comprehensive education and practical instruction about the 4 Pillars, it’s time for a transformative challenge: The 21-Day Biological Clock Reset. The reset features daily action items representing each of the Four Pillars. The journey, while short in duration, is designed to be highly focused and demanding. This is the only way to stimulate lasting lifestyle transformation and release you from the powerful pull of decades-old ingrained habits and powerful cultural forces pushing your out of a balance and stuck in carbohydrate dependency.

You’ll be exposed to a variety of strategies and concepts over the 21 days, and the idea is that you will pick and choose your favorites to integrate permanently into your lifestyle. You’ll be challenged to perform breakthrough workouts, increase daily activity, actually sit down and do stuff like a gratitude journal and create dark, mellow evenings instead of maximum screen time. It’s going to be fun, but it’s also going to be intensive, not to mention life-changing. Completing the Biological Clock Reset once a year is an excellent way to fine-tune your longevity muscles and clarify your focus amidst the constant distractions of modern life.

Recipes

But the food… Folks always want to know about the recipes. The 80+ Keto For Life recipes are a collaborative effort among numerous authors, coaches, chefs and well-known keto experts, including Dr. Cate Shanahan, Keris Marsden and Matt Whitmore of The Paleo Primer series, William Shewfelt of the carnivore diet movement, Dr. Lindsay Taylor and Layla McGowan, my co-authors on the Keto Reset Instant Pot Cookbook, Tania Teschke, author of The Bordeaux Kitchen, and more.

You’ll find everything you need for beginning, recommitting or reinvigorating your keto eating enjoyment with this diverse selection of dishes, from gourmet to quick and easy, from breakfast to beverages, snacks to side dishes and everything in between.

Let me share one today that might appeal….

Sneak Peek Recipe: Keto Cheesecake

Prep Time: 40 minutes (plus refrigeration time)

Cook Time: 60 minutes

Servings: 8

Ingredients:

FOR THE FILLING

16 ounces (453.59 g) organic cream cheese, at room temperature

2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 large egg

¼ cup powdered stevia or 1-2 tablespoons honey

FOR THE CRUST (OVEN METHOD ONLY)

1 cup (96 g) almond flour or 1 cup (128 g) coconut flour

4 tablespoons (60 g) butter, at room temperature

1–2 tablespoons powdered stevia

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

FOR THE CHOCOLATE CRUNCH TOPPING

¼ cup (34 g) macadamia nuts or assorted nuts

1 bar (3.5 ounces/100 g) dark chocolate (85% cacao or greater), broken into pieces

1 tablespoon coconut oil 2–3 tablespoons fine coconut flakes

Instructions:

Make the filling: In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese, vanilla, lemon juice, sea salt, eggs, and sweetener. Mix thoroughly with an electric mixer on low speed.

Choose between the Instant Pot Method and Oven Method and proceed as directed.

Instant Pot Method: Pour the filling into a round glass bowl or springform pan that can fit inside the Instant Pot. Cover the bowl carefully with foil. Pour 2 cups water into the Instant Pot. Place the cheesecake on the handled steam rack (or in a steamer basket accessory if you have one), and lower the cheesecake into the pot. Cook on High pressure for 25 minutes. When the Instant Pot beeps, allow the pressure to release naturally, about 15 minutes, then lift out the cheesecake.

Oven Method: Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

Make the crust: In a bowl, combine the almond flour, butter, stevia, and vanilla until well blended. Press the mixture into the bottom of an 8-inch springform pan or round glass or ceramic baking dish.

Bake until the crust darkens slightly, about 10 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes (leave the oven on). Pour the cheesecake filling mixture into the pan and smooth out the top with your hand (just kidding, use a spatula). Bake until the middle is almost firm, but not quite, about 50 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes.

While the cheesecake is cooling, make the chocolate crunch topping (use for either version): In a small food processor, blend the macadamia nuts until they resemble a crumbly flour. In a double boiler or a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, melt the chocolate and coconut oil. Mix the nuts and coconut flakes into the melted chocolate.

Drizzle the topping carefully across the top of the cooked and cooled cheesecake. Refrigerate the cheesecake until the crust feels hard, 30 minutes to 1 hour. Slice and serve.

Macronutrients Per Serving:

Instant Pot Method: 323 calories; 29 grams fat; 8 grams carbohydrate; 7 grams protein

Oven Method: 459 calories; 42 grams fat; 12 grams carbohydrate; 10 grams protein

Final Thoughts

I realize that there is an overwhelming amount of content hitting us today from books, magazine articles, blogs, podcasts, YouTube and streaming media, and it’s easy for a new book to get lost in the shuffle or buried on a “read later” list. That’s why I want to reiterate what a hugely expansive and life-changing this book Keto For Life represents. My longtime writing/publishing partner Brad Kearns and I joke that we always underestimate the difficulty and duration of a book project by half, and this was no exception. Keto For Life represents an intensive project that took an entire year to complete, with devoted efforts from a sizeable team of researchers, editors, agents, publicists and publisher. It’s designed to stand proudly for years to come as an owner’s manual for longevity. I hope it can help you claim your fullest and longest life.

Now For the Keto For Life Pre-Order Bonus Gifts…

This is always my favorite part. For those who order the book early, I have a few gifts for you (available right away even though the book itself comes out 12/31/19).

Bonus Audio Summary

Enjoy a detailed overview of every section of the book to get you excited and prepared to begin your Keto For Life journey. My co-author, Brad Kearns, describes the 4 Pillars in detail.

Sneak Peek Excerpt Booklet

Read some choice excerpts to give you a feel for the comprehensive nature of the book, where you obtain a deep education and scientific rationale for the 4 Pillars, as well as get practical, step-by-step guidance to implement, and (finally) enjoy a few of the delicious 80+ recipes from the book.

$10 Discount at Primal Kitchen®

Grab some of your favorite keto-friendly products to add variety and ease to your keto cooking ventures.

That’s what I got today, and I’m thrilled to offer it up to the community where it all began and where it’s still evolving. Folks, I hope you enjoy reading the book and putting it into practice as much as Brad and I enjoyed writing it. Thanks for being here.

Reprinted from KETO FOR LIFE by Mark Sisson with Brad Kearns. Copyright @ 2019 by Mark Sisson. Photos copyright @ 2019 Jennifer May. Published by Harmony Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House.

The post Introducing Keto For Life: Leveraging Metabolic Flexibility To Pursue The Ultimate Goal of Longevity appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

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