tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88143537242484121922024-03-05T08:37:23.527+00:00Healthwarriortravels through holistic health, wellbeing and hypnotherapyAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08261206262611651455noreply@blogger.comBlogger82125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814353724248412192.post-67158950706499273632017-02-24T19:43:00.001+00:002017-02-24T19:48:39.251+00:00Working with dissociation; some surprising symptoms and their resolutionIn the course of my work some things still manage to surprise me. Today I was working with a lovely client who has endured years of chronic fatigue as a result of traumatic dissociation (but who was unaware exactly what was the issue - she just knew she failed to connect with her life somehow). This lady is a delight to work with (as are all my clients really), but she has a very particular way of releasing the pent up energy that has been spent keeping her emotions locked in. <br />
<br />
In one of our first sessions as we went through the process of trauma transformation (using a mixture of EFT, EMDR and havening) we got to the point of discharge of an old belief system and its stored energy and she said she felt like shaking. I have come across this <strong>discharge response</strong> before, both in clinic and in my research (particularly the work of Peter Levine*) and luckily was not perturbed by this comment. I suggested she get up and indeed 'shake it all off' which she proceeded to do. The next few days were remarkable for this lady; previously unable to concentrate on things she succeeded in playing the piano for the first time in years and spent an hour making something in needlework. It was a remarkably quick turnaround. But more was to come...<br />
<br />
In another session we were discussing the myriad symptoms of traumatic dissociation including tinnitus, vertigo and ear wax build up and pain. I told her a story of my own problems with my ears, and we got around to discussing how she might move forward. I explained about using Levine's shower techniques where you direct the spray to parts of your body whilst saying 'this is my arm, this is my chest, etc.' Sounds wacky if you don't understand dissociation, but effectively the brain refuses to acknowledge parts of your body if they were involved in some traumatic event in your past. This can be mild like tinnitus where blood supply to the nerve is restricted, or it can be severe as in depersonalisation. My client at this point had an 'ah-ha' moment and told me the story of how, until she had a number of sessions of massage in her thirties, she had never been able to draw anything on the middle of a piece of paper, they always ended up on the left only. This is a classic example of dissociating the right side of your body (represented here by the visual field in the brain). This was her brain's response to an overwhelming trauma at some point in her childhood where she effectively 'cut off' the right side of her sensory perception. The right side of the brain also happens to be the side of creativity and play so I suggested this might be the reason why she had given up all the things she loved to do.<br />
<br />
I do massage as part of treatment with some clients, others have a mixture of EMDR, EFT and havening. I chose the appropriate technique for different people. I have noticed that <strong>connection with the body</strong> <strong>is the most important precursor to recovery</strong>. But whatever way you do it, the results of release are phenomenal; you gain joyful appreciation, connection to yourself and others, a deep peace that you haven't felt since you were tiny (hopefully). I have witnessed this time and time again with clients- and because I am a HSP - Highly Sensitive Person (see the work of Elaine Aron) I can <em>feel </em>the change in that person that I am working with. Another lady I worked with recently seemed to visibly 'drop' into herself at one point; I swear I felt it happen. I commented - 'you just seemed to arrive back into your body' and she opened her eyes and said that is what she felt had happened also. She has been so much better since then.<br />
<br />
The one thing that enables me to do this important work of trauma recovery is to witness people making progress - usually bit by bit (too quick and the change is overwhelming and the threat response is activated)- but sometimes as I've described above it can be remarkably quick. And, when, as today I have 2 clients who are able to sit with me and describe feeling real joy in their lives for the first time since childhood, more energy, and a sense of purpose I know that my work is done. We are all 'work in progress' but with the right tools and person it becomes SO much easier.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08261206262611651455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814353724248412192.post-89228111332824168902017-02-01T18:57:00.001+00:002017-02-01T18:57:10.981+00:00Attachment - the impact on therapy and the client- therapist relationship.<br />
On Saturday I went to a workshop with Carolyn Spring of the PODS group - Positive Outcomes for Dissociative Survivors<br />
<br />
The workshop was on 'working with Relational Trauma' which included some really useful insights into working with people who have had poor attachment experiences in their childhood. Attuned response from the mother (or other caregiver) changes the baby's brain because it interrupts the flow of stress hormones and helps the baby produce oxytocin and serotonin (the feel-good hormones). What do we mean by attuned? Well the mother understands her baby's needs and responds appropriately. This will usually happen within the first 6 - 9 months and set the pattern for the rest of that baby's life. When it is absent or sporadic, the baby's brain is changed; having less receptors for the feel-good hormones and less connections between the developing front brain (cortex) and the survival brain (brainstem, cerebellum and limbic system). The baby becomes an adult who can have disordered behaviour stemming from inaccurate beliefs about themselves.<br />
<br />
I've blogged already about the differences between organised and disorganised attachment strategies (see here) but what was interesting about this particular workshop was the impact it has on therapy and the relationship with the therapist.<br />
we are talking about relational trauma after all- these people were not born this way but learnt how to survive in families in which the primary relationships were not secure. the main feeling in these situations is lack of safety and it is therefore something that the therapist must ensure is present in all dealings with the client.<br />
But more than this there are pitfalls that I know I have fallen into before that occur because the 3 main strategies that I see (insecure-avoidant AV who become 'Dismissing' in adult life), insecure-ambivalent (AM become preoccupied) and disorganised (DIS become unresolved) have very particular failings that will carry through in the beliefs of that person into adulthood. And they have interactions with our attachment styles too<br />
<br />
Now, it is a well-known fact that most therapist and clients are NOT the secure style so I will leave that condition out of my matrix. <br />
<u>Peer Relationships</u><br />
AV and AM tend to be attracted to one another but have difficult communication; AV will close down when under threat emotionally while AM will tend to want to 'have it out then and there' and will chase the AV which closes them down further. AM then feels AV is ignoring them or blocking them out and a destructive cycle ensues.<br />
<u>Therapeutic relationship</u><br />
As AV clients will tend to intellectualise (they are more thinking than feeling) the style of therapy should emphasise their thoughts more in language and not collude in ignoring their feelings by mirroring emotional control. Boundaries need to be kept soft and one needs to metaphorically and in some cases physically STEP FORWARD in the therapy. Get enthusiastic about their successful negotiation of getting their needs met to help build reliance on others. Allow some self-disclosure that builds trust and shows how emotions can be survived when dealt with well.<br />
.AM clients tend to be all feeling; they will rush to tell you everything straight away with much feeling of overwhelm. We need to praise their successes as this builds resilience.<br />
Both styles were adaptive at the time of their inception but have become maladaptive in adult life. The therapist acts to build secure attachment over time with consistency and support.<br />
<br />
Everyone needs to know that they are not at the mercy of their history - there is hope for recovery. This is my life's work and I am very proud to say I have helped many people achieve release and mastery of their lives.<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08261206262611651455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814353724248412192.post-43106804916658840362017-01-10T18:03:00.001+00:002017-01-10T18:03:08.190+00:00Smoothies to delight you!Everyone is doing juicing and smoothies it seems so I thought I'd add a few recipes plus a few suggestions for supplements to add to those. My main belief is that they should taste yummy and be full of nutrients. No point forcing yourself to drink things that are unpleasant! I have my own breakfast cereal too which I've included in the recipes. <br />
<div data-block="true" data-editor="8r7ct" data-offset-key="8jn52-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="8jn52-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="8jn52-0-0"><span data-text="true"></span></span> </div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="8jn52-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="8jn52-0-0"><span data-text="true"><strong>Tricia's breakfast booster:</strong></span></span></div>
</div>
<div data-block="true" data-editor="8r7ct" data-offset-key="5odj6-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5odj6-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="5odj6-0-0"><span data-text="true">1 cup organic oats</span></span></div>
</div>
<div data-block="true" data-editor="8r7ct" data-offset-key="2u52g-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="2u52g-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="2u52g-0-0"><span data-text="true">1 tspn pumpkin seeds*</span></span></div>
</div>
<div data-block="true" data-editor="8r7ct" data-offset-key="6p1lh-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="6p1lh-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="6p1lh-0-0"><span data-text="true">1 tspn sunflower seeds*</span></span></div>
</div>
<div data-block="true" data-editor="8r7ct" data-offset-key="avlu8-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="avlu8-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="avlu8-0-0"><span data-text="true">1 tbspn chia seeds*</span></span></div>
</div>
<div data-block="true" data-editor="8r7ct" data-offset-key="ags5s-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="ags5s-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="ags5s-0-0"><span data-text="true">1 tspn ground flax seeds*</span></span></div>
</div>
<div data-block="true" data-editor="8r7ct" data-offset-key="1mpse-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="1mpse-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="1mpse-0-0"><span data-text="true">a few organic cranberries</span></span></div>
</div>
<div data-block="true" data-editor="8r7ct" data-offset-key="510ch-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="510ch-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="510ch-0-0"><span data-text="true">3-4 brazil nuts ground with 1 large date</span></span></div>
</div>
<div data-block="true" data-editor="8r7ct" data-offset-key="4rv6d-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="4rv6d-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="4rv6d-0-0"><span data-text="true">a few hazenuts</span></span></div>
</div>
<div data-block="true" data-editor="8r7ct" data-offset-key="bi7p7-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="bi7p7-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="bi7p7-0-0"><span data-text="true">some coconut flakes and dessicated coconut to taste</span></span></div>
</div>
<div data-block="true" data-editor="8r7ct" data-offset-key="b6aic-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="b6aic-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="b6aic-0-0"><span data-text="true">7-10 almonds ground and with water added for almond milk</span></span></div>
</div>
<div data-block="true" data-editor="8r7ct" data-offset-key="ed6sp-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="ed6sp-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="ed6sp-0-0"><span data-text="true">1/2 tspn raw cacao powder</span></span></div>
</div>
<div data-block="true" data-editor="8r7ct" data-offset-key="5s6nn-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5s6nn-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="5s6nn-0-0"><span data-text="true">1 tspn maca or lacuma powder</span></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5s6nn-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="5s6nn-0-0"><span data-text="true">* these amounts are roughly right. I tend to make up a batch and just add the 'almond milk' concoction fresh each day.</span></span></div>
</div>
<div data-block="true" data-editor="8r7ct" data-offset-key="ecq2i-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="ecq2i-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="ecq2i-0-0"><span data-text="true">leave it to soak for 20 mins before eating. it's delicious and fills you up!</span></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="ecq2i-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="ecq2i-0-0"><span data-text="true"></span></span> </div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="ecq2i-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="ecq2i-0-0"><span data-text="true"><strong>Annette's New year Breakfast on the go Smoothie:</strong></span></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="ecq2i-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="ecq2i-0-0"><span data-text="true">Half a carrot
</span></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="ecq2i-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="ecq2i-0-0"><span data-text="true">1 Small handful of kale</span></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="ecq2i-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="ecq2i-0-0"><span data-text="true">1 apple
</span></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="ecq2i-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="ecq2i-0-0"><span data-text="true">1 Handful of fresh pineapple chunks</span></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="ecq2i-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="ecq2i-0-0"><span data-text="true">4 teaspoons of ground almonds( for protein and keep me full)
</span></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="ecq2i-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="ecq2i-0-0"><span data-text="true">1/4 pint coconut water
</span></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="ecq2i-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="ecq2i-0-0"><span data-text="true">Topped up Mineral water to the load line on the blender cup( which is just under 1/2 pint)
</span></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="ecq2i-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="ecq2i-0-0"><span data-text="true">Table spoon fresh chopped coriander (good for cleansing the blood )</span></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="ecq2i-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="ecq2i-0-0"><span data-text="true">1 inch chunk of cucumber.
</span></span></div>
</div>
<div data-block="true" data-editor="8r7ct" data-offset-key="dla4-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="dla4-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="dla4-0-0"><span data-text="true">
</span></span></div>
</div>
<div data-block="true" data-editor="8r7ct" data-offset-key="57tnh-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="57tnh-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="57tnh-0-0"><span data-text="true">Here's some from cyptoplan a not-for-profit supplement supplier who I work with:</span></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="57tnh-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="57tnh-0-0"><span data-text="true"></span></span> </div>
</div>
<div data-block="true" data-editor="8r7ct" data-offset-key="d70jl-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="d70jl-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="d70jl-0-0"><span data-text="true"><strong>Deconstructed Black Forest Gateau (Serves 1, as a meal)</strong></span></span></div>
</div>
<div data-block="true" data-editor="8r7ct" data-offset-key="8uc8m-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="8uc8m-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="8uc8m-0-0"><span data-text="true">20 whole almonds (preferably soaked overnight)</span></span></div>
</div>
<div data-block="true" data-editor="8r7ct" data-offset-key="e3p3e-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="e3p3e-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="e3p3e-0-0"><span data-text="true">10 cherries</span></span></div>
</div>
<div data-block="true" data-editor="8r7ct" data-offset-key="7ch0d-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="7ch0d-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="7ch0d-0-0"><span data-text="true">100 ml coconut cream</span></span></div>
</div>
<div data-block="true" data-editor="8r7ct" data-offset-key="5oerr-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5oerr-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="5oerr-0-0"><span data-text="true">100 ml filtered water</span></span></div>
</div>
<div data-block="true" data-editor="8r7ct" data-offset-key="cfhla-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="cfhla-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="cfhla-0-0"><span data-text="true">2 teaspoons of cacao powder</span></span></div>
</div>
<div data-block="true" data-editor="8r7ct" data-offset-key="fson6-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="fson6-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="fson6-0-0"><span data-text="true">
</span></span></div>
</div>
<div data-block="true" data-editor="8r7ct" data-offset-key="bv374-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="bv374-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="bv374-0-0"><span data-text="true"><strong>Beetroot Brain Boost (Serves 1, as a meal)</strong></span></span></div>
</div>
<div data-block="true" data-editor="8r7ct" data-offset-key="d6e6n-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="d6e6n-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="d6e6n-0-0"><span data-text="true">1 red beetroot</span></span></div>
</div>
<div data-block="true" data-editor="8r7ct" data-offset-key="9tvmv-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="9tvmv-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="9tvmv-0-0"><span data-text="true">5 walnuts (preferably soaked overnight)</span></span></div>
</div>
<div data-block="true" data-editor="8r7ct" data-offset-key="a1d35-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a1d35-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="a1d35-0-0"><span data-text="true">40g of blueberries</span></span></div>
</div>
<div data-block="true" data-editor="8r7ct" data-offset-key="qiv7-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="qiv7-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="qiv7-0-0"><span data-text="true">40g of raspberries</span></span></div>
</div>
<div data-block="true" data-editor="8r7ct" data-offset-key="fuonb-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="fuonb-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="fuonb-0-0"><span data-text="true">½ avocado</span></span></div>
</div>
<div data-block="true" data-editor="8r7ct" data-offset-key="8510h-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="8510h-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="8510h-0-0"><span data-text="true">300ml of filtered water</span></span></div>
</div>
<div data-block="true" data-editor="8r7ct" data-offset-key="40o7l-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="40o7l-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="40o7l-0-0"><span data-text="true">
</span></span></div>
</div>
<div data-block="true" data-editor="8r7ct" data-offset-key="3afae-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="3afae-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="3afae-0-0"><span data-text="true"><strong>Cocoa and berry smoothie (Serves 1, as a meal)</strong></span></span></div>
</div>
<div data-block="true" data-editor="8r7ct" data-offset-key="dedko-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="dedko-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="dedko-0-0"><span data-text="true">½ avocado</span></span></div>
</div>
<div data-block="true" data-editor="8r7ct" data-offset-key="a0q41-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a0q41-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="a0q41-0-0"><span data-text="true">Tablespoon raw cacao (or unsweetened cocoa)</span></span></div>
</div>
<div data-block="true" data-editor="8r7ct" data-offset-key="l2ua-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="l2ua-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="l2ua-0-0"><span data-text="true">1 desert spoon mixed seeds</span></span></div>
</div>
<div data-block="true" data-editor="8r7ct" data-offset-key="97n6f-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="97n6f-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="97n6f-0-0"><span data-text="true">Handful berries (eg raspberries or blueberries, frozen is fine)</span></span></div>
</div>
<div data-block="true" data-editor="8r7ct" data-offset-key="atbpp-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="atbpp-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="atbpp-0-0"><span data-text="true">Handful of spinach</span></span></div>
</div>
<div data-block="true" data-editor="8r7ct" data-offset-key="444c1-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="444c1-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="444c1-0-0"><span data-text="true">1 desert spoon olive oil or teaspoon coconut oil</span></span></div>
</div>
<div data-block="true" data-editor="8r7ct" data-offset-key="3lmi7-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="3lmi7-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="3lmi7-0-0"><span data-text="true">Juice 1 lemon or lime</span></span></div>
</div>
<div data-block="true" data-editor="8r7ct" data-offset-key="7rpo5-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="7rpo5-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="7rpo5-0-0"><span data-text="true">Piece of fresh ginger</span></span></div>
</div>
<div data-block="true" data-editor="8r7ct" data-offset-key="1he7o-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="1he7o-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="1he7o-0-0"><span data-text="true">100ml Coconut or Almond milk</span></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="1he7o-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="1he7o-0-0"><span data-text="true"></span></span> </div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="1he7o-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="1he7o-0-0"><span data-text="true">Enjoy people!</span></span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08261206262611651455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814353724248412192.post-24316996723929246122016-09-01T21:37:00.000+01:002016-09-01T21:37:15.799+01:00The hidden dangers of GMO'sYou've no doubt heard of the fact that genetically modified organisms (mostly bacterial DNA) have been incorporated into some food crops in order to make them resistant to herbicide. The idea behind this technology was to enable farmers to spray their fields with glyphosate based herbicides which would then only kill the weeds and not the crop. This sounds all well and good on the surface. But there is a terrible cost to us which is only just beginning to surface as our understanding of what goes on inside our gut becomes more well-known.<br />
<br />
We are a community of micro-organisms. They reside on our skin, and inside our guts. They constantly breed, metabolise (providing us with a host of organic chemicals like vitamins and neurotransmitters) and most importantly for this discussion interchange their DNA with ours. Now if you put foreign DNA into these bugs (as happens with GMO's) they begin to interchange with our DNA. We start to get leaky gut symptoms as our mechanisms for regulating the opening of spaces between the gut 'skin' or epithelium are largely controlled by the metabolites of our gut flora and the interaction with food molecules.<br />
In other words when you start messing with our food you cause irrevocable changes to our own DNA and cellular functioning. Hence we start to get sick.<br />
<br />
Sickness of workers in developing countries where GMO's were largely trialled first pointed to the problem. Their kidneys began to fail due to the build of toxins which they were unable to get rid of as glyphosate, the active ingredient of Roundup, chelates (binds) minerals in their bodies and prevents absorption. Now it is beginning to be felt in western nations, particularly the US. However, such are the vested interests of the pharma/agribusiness monopoly, you are unlikely to hear about it in national newspapers or magazines.<br />
<br />
When our gut flora are imbalanced we cannot absorb our food properly, we are undefended against attack by pathogens (bad bugs). and our mental health suffers as most of the neurochemicals in our brains are made in our guts. The rise in depression, anxiety, obesity (due to unregulated eating), and a whole host of chronic illnesses like autism, auto-immune conditions, are linked to this problem.<br />
The best solution is to eat organic, non GMO food. And heal your gut with a proper protocol of nutrient rich food and supplements. De-toxify with support for your liver, sunshine (for Vitamin D), sleep and infra-red saunas. I'll be covering that in another post.. This isn't a luxury, it's vital if you want to live a happy, healthy life to old age.<br />
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The leading researcher of this field, Dr Jeffrey Bland, has called it 'completely irresponsible' to let people eat GMO foods as the pollution of the gene pool through cross-fertilisation is permanently contaminated for all future generations, See his book <strong>Genetic Roulette</strong> and his website responsibletechnology.org. I think even he understates the case here. <em>This is a ticking time bomb; our longterm survival as a species is at stake</em>!<br />
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This is an extract from the soon to be published book 'The <strong>World within; how your gut bacteria make you who you are'</strong>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08261206262611651455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814353724248412192.post-47409560767466496082016-07-22T12:48:00.002+01:002016-07-22T12:48:47.096+01:00The importance of Lymph on brain function<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" id="id_579205689128d2354321176">
Listening to a video and reading the article by Dr John Douillard about the importance of the lymphatic system on our health. I think this is probably the issue I had recently. I thought it was something else entirely. but it matches what was happening to me - and you have lymph nodes just above the gut which is where I swelled up.<br />
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This article also highlights the importance of the brain's '<strong>glymphatic</strong>' <strong>system</strong>, (lymph vessels around the glial cells) only recently discovered, which drains toxins out of the brain at night - hence the im<span class="text_exposed_show">portance of sleep to our overall wellbeing and avoidance of dementia.</span><br />
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Does anyone remember Margaret Thatcher famously only slept 4 hours a night? - and you know how she ended her days.. Probably the same was true of President Ronald Reagan. He also got dementia.<br /> <br />
Sleep on your side for best drainage - and try to get 6 - 8 hours.</div>
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I shall be talking about this amongst many other fascinating subjects in my next book 'The world within - how your microbiome makes you who you are' due out 2017.<br />
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See here for more <a data-mce-href="http://lifespa.com/domino-effect-of-neglecting-your-lymphatic-system/?utm_source=article&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=lymphcare&inf_contact_key=59771ec86a35e12469d15a2c9fbe89987358328fdf1d55c3c5768709a2e38111" href="http://lifespa.com/domino-effect-of-neglecting-your-lymphatic-system/?utm_source=article&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=lymphcare&inf_contact_key=59771ec86a35e12469d15a2c9fbe89987358328fdf1d55c3c5768709a2e38111" target="_blank">details</a> on this issue.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08261206262611651455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814353724248412192.post-42395323422430580782016-07-07T11:01:00.001+01:002016-07-07T11:07:04.779+01:00Frozen shoulder - the double burden<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Frozen shoulder is something that I come across often in my practice. In my initial training as a massage therapist we were taught it was an unexplainable condition that came on suddenly, mostly in women of middle years and would last 1 - 2 years and disappear as suddenly. This intrigued me. How could a condition just disappear?<br />
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It is characterised by an inability to move the arm out from the body more than a few inches before intense pain is felt. usually when it first comes on it is noticed in the act of difficulty moving behind the body (as in doing up the bra in women). As it progresses movement will become increasingly limited and painful. What lies behind this symptomology? Is it a trapped nerve, or fascia - and if so how does it spontaneously resolve? What can a physical therapist do to help alleviate? These are some of the questions that have been troubling me.<br />
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In my subsequent study and practice of mindbody medicine, there appears to be a more logical explanation. If any of you have come across the work of Peter Levine, author of 'Waking the Tiger' (1) you will know that the mind and body work to keep the organism safe in times of danger or trauma. But, unlike the rest of the animal kingdom, we often do not discharge this energy after a brush with danger. The instinct to shake is often suppressed as we are told to 'pull ourselves together' or have a stiff drink. But in fact this normal body movement is necessary to remove the energy of the stress response from out of the muscles and if we don't do it, or can't do it we can get 'stuck' in an unresolved mobilisation to stress.<br />
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Now it is a fact that muscles move in concert with one another. Any movement needs the controlled response of two sets of muscles- the agonist and the antagonist. It is also true that emotions play a part in mobilising this response. Say for instance you are involved in a car crash and you go to move your hands up to protect yourself but they are held by the seatbelt. your instinct is thwarted. your life or the threat of injury has undoubtedly been saved but there may be a lingering response in your brain which is not discharged. It appears that this may be what lies behind such conditions as frozen shoulder. As Peter Levine himself states "the motor expression of two intense instinctual responses creates a conflict and results in frozen states... the energy bound in inhibited (thwarted) responses is so powerful that it can cause an extreme bracing that often has profound effects" (2, P196). <br />
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But it's not only extreme trauma like accidents or shell-shock under war conditions that create stress in the body. I have already written extensively about 'everyday trauma' of common events like poor parenting, bullying, surgery, etc in my recent book (3). These stimulate our stress responses too. And it may be that when this is not cleared from the mind body of the person that conditions like frozen shoulder, or sciatica represent those undischarged muscular and nervous responses to threat. <br />
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What can we do then as therapists - or sufferers ourselves to help discharge and heal? Well, there are many ways but all of them involved becoming more aware of the body and helping to tune in (interoception) to the movements our body is trying to make. With frozen shoulder it is suggested to make the small movement you can make without pain extremely slowly while concentrating on what your body is telling you. with gentle encouragement you are often able to increase the range of movement when you discover what messages are being sent to the muscles which are stimulating both the agonist and the antagonist at the same time to lock the range of motion. Go even slower and do it again. The answers will often come spontaneously as a wave of shaking, crying or sweating relief - the is I sympathetic activation and shows you that your body is releasing. obviously for some people this happens spontaneously within 1 - 2 years. but to be able to do this yourself means you don't have to suffer so long.<br />
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Peter describes these techniques in much more detail in his books - but for now I leave you with one thought. As an example of how this ant/agonistic muscle stimulation happens - people who jump from burning building often break their legs before they hit the ground (or the net) due to the simultaneous in tense contraction of the leg muscles putting intolerable strain on the leg ,bones! (2, p198). Food for thought how smaller but perhaps more chronic stresses, especially in a helpless situation may change the brain to lock the body in a protective response cycle. This, I believe explains frozen shoulder than any other explanation I know of. And it may explain too, why women suffer far more from this than men. helplessness is a state characterised by childhood but also by some women (and men of course) in their adult lives. A bullying boss, husband or just the intense suffering caused by living in a world that does not support or encourage you can be enough. Food for thought indeed.<br />
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Copyright Patrica Worby 2016. www.patriciaworby.co.uk and www.alchemytherapies.co.uk<br />
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<ol>
<li>Levine, Peter (1997). <em>Waking the Tiger</em>. North Atlantic Books.</li>
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<ol>
<li>Levine, Peter (2010). In an Unspoken Voice; How the Body releases Trauma and Restores Goodness. North Atlantic Books</li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li>Worby, Patricia (2015). The Scar that Won't Heal; Stress, Trauma and Emotion in Chronic Disease. CreateSpace.</li>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08261206262611651455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814353724248412192.post-60963818074796114602016-03-18T12:05:00.000+00:002016-07-07T11:10:14.999+01:00The Neuroscience of Being 'Us' - Part 2 How threat and unresolved emotion changes the brain<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Interactions between the cortex (frontal lobe) and limbic system; the anterior cingulate and insula</h3>
(Part 2 of a 2 part series see <a href="http://patriciaworby.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-neuroscience-of-being-us-cortex-and.html" target="_blank">here for part 1)</a><br />
There is another important part of the mid-brain (adjacent to the amygdala) that has a function in registering threat and helping to lay the foundations of trauma. It’s called the Anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and is important as a filtering system. It is another part of the brain that is functionally degraded as a result of trauma. It possesses structures called <strong>spindle cells</strong> which wrap around the nerve bundle of fibres linking the left to the right sides of the brain. These connections between left and right may be very important for how emotions are integrated and the meaning made of the emotional events in our lives– and it may be key to why techniques such as EMDR which stimulate better integration allow re-wiring to occur .<br />
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The <strong>Anterior Cingulate Cortex ACC </strong>is primarily involved in fear conditioning as it normally inhibits the amygdala, which as we know is the primary area for threat encoding. However, it also appears to play a role in emotionality, selective attention, and certain social functions, including emotional attachments and parenting, as well as generation of the concept of the self in relation to society. It is my contention that this is the part of the brain that fails in attachment disorder, and other more chronic relational trauma disorders. I have particularly noticed that the sense of self is often highly distorted, even in very outwardly functional people. They operate despite their own self-loathing to become very respected/hard-working/ achieving people but when questioned they cannot see that anything they have done has any worth. If you press them they will acknowledge grudgingly that it might have value but they do not feel that emotionally, it is more of an intellectual awareness. The ACC might be the part of the brain that we bring ‘online’ in trauma treatment, as when we do EMDR. We rewire the responses by a process of extinguishing the conditioned response of self-hating or limiting. I will discuss this within the tools section.<br />
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The <strong>insula</strong> (another part of the cortex just behind the PFC) is an area that helps interpret incoming sensation, rating it dangerous or not. It is highly involved in our subjective experience of pain, for example, and can become active just by imagining pain as well as in more pleasant experiences like music appreciation. It monitors incoming signals from the body (particularly the physiological experience of emotions like sadness, fear, anger, etc) and combines this information with the limbic system and brainstem to generate appropriate responses. As we will see later, when the signals get scrambled by unresolved emotional memory, stress is able to overwrite any inhibitory stimulus and most incoming signals are interpreted as painful, dangerous or life-threatening, causing all sorts of chronic pain and stress-related diseases.<br />
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Left and right sides; the Corpus callosum connection</h4>
Despite the fact that the cortical structures are split into left and right hemispheres, the brain remains undivided at the level of the lower reptilian brain structures - sometimes referred to as the ‘subcortical bridge’ In treatment, the client and therapist may also be able to capitalise on this. Nonverbal information, including “unconscious or preconscious codes, nuances we can never attach a name to,” cross most readily (Austin, 1999) . Using somatic experience as an entry point in therapy and maintaining mindful awareness of the body may facilitate information processing by enhancing information transfer between the hemispheres. This is what is aimed for in clinical hypnotherapy intervention by engaging the imaginative right hemisphere. However, there is controversy in hypnotherapy as to the nature of hypnosis as we have already shown with regard to whether it is a state separate from normal everyday experience or not. This was developed further by the great hypnotherapist and psychologist Pierre Janet.<br />
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We have already intimated that in subjects with PTSD and other lesser traumatically encoded states, the amygdala may become hyperactive towards “a generalisation of the fear response” or conversely underactive which “may allow continued functioning in situations characterized by ongoing threat” such as that experienced by a child who is under threat from their caregiver. That this may be in part to do with the alteration in function of the left and right hemispheres and specifically their inter-communication is an ongoing debate with psychotherapy.<br />
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This is an extract from my book The Scar the Won't Heal - available now on <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Scar-that-wont-Heal-Unresolved/dp/1517558921/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1454355852&sr=8-1&keywords=Patricia+Worby" target="_blank">amazon</a>. In the next instalment I look at Interactions between the cortex and the limbic system.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08261206262611651455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814353724248412192.post-87650198034745396432016-03-18T11:43:00.001+00:002016-07-07T11:08:36.242+01:00The Neuroscience of Being 'Us';Part 1 The cortex and emotion<div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;">
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The region of the brain called the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is really what defines us as human; it is crucial for how we pay attention, it enables us to put things in the ‘front of our mind’ and hold them in awareness. It is the basis of our moral system and capacity for empathy. Studies of people who have suffered injury to the PFC show us that it is an important brain area for creating our ‘map of the world’ i.e. the mental representation of our outer experience. Various different parts of the cortex have specific functions:</div>
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The Pre-Frontal Cortex (PFC) regions in the two hemispheres</h4>
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The Medial Pre-frontal Cortex (MPFC) is the integration centre involved in coordinating left and right sides with direct connections to the amygdala in the limbic system. This part is involved in our sense of curiosity and awareness and is the part that we target in therapy particularly for dissociated clients who have lost connection with their bodily self. It is activated during mindfulness meditation, mindful awareness or psychotherapy.</div>
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The Dorso-lateral Pre-frontal cortex (DPFC) is the site of our short-term or working memory and has no direct connection with the limbic system. It is the last bit to develop in the human and often the first to go with ageing. We’ve all had the experience of walking into a room and forgetting why we went there – this is a failure of this part of the brain to hold the requisite information for long enough for us to commit it to longer term memory.</div>
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The Right Orbital Pre-frontal cortex (ROPFC) (so called because it is directly behind the right orbit of the eye) is most specifically concerned with emotions and arousal regulation as it has good connections with the limbic system and can inhibit activation (this is important in trauma therapy). It develops early in life and is the social centre of the brain, which, if given support and trusting relationships in those early years, becomes more capable of regulating emotion but it depends on good parental attachment (Shore, 2007) . It becomes our 'soothing centre' if promoted by secure attachment. Self-soothing or auto-regulation is very important for subsequent adult emotional regulation. If childhood experience failed to develop this part of the brain a pattern of dysregulated ‘up and down’ or entirely absent emotions results. Our prisons are full of such people where auto-regulation has never been learnt successfully.</div>
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Through its links with the limbic system, and the immune system (via regulating levels of cortisol in the HPA axis), the PFC acts as the interface between mind and body and so is implicated in such medically unexplained conditions such as fibromyalgia, whiplash or pelvic pain. These could be construed as the body’s way of expressing emotions through pain; this is termed somatisation. Defined as feeling emotions through the body rather than as feelings, these issues are common in people “in whom emotion is undifferentiated and unregulated” (Shore) . In other words they can’t tell one emotion from another and they may find it difficult to put words to feelings; memories may also be completely dissociated from feelings. This is common after trauma – particularly attachment trauma. The brain gets confused as to what the input represents and may conflate pain with the emotional pain of betrayal/abandonment – they share many of the same pathways.</div>
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I met one such person who was on a training course with me. He described some awful events that happened in his childhood without emotion of any kind. He was suffering from this condition, termed <strong>alexithymia, </strong>(an inability to describe emotions with words) which could be seen as a failure of the ROPFC. Somatisation is not a commonly understood concept in conventional medicine although, in fact, it lies at the base of many of the chronic pain syndromes I am exploring in this book. It is a direct example of how poor relationships and unexpressed emotions make us ill.</div>
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The cortex is known to go ‘offline’ in the aftermath of trauma which may explain the sudden switches from hyper to hypo arousal of conditions such as PTSD and other trauma related conditions. As the cortex is normally the modulator of experience, helping to bring logic and a ‘wider view’ its failure to inhibit the limbic system prevents such fine tuning of curiosity and reason. In trauma work we often talk about ‘getting curious’ as the antidote to these limbic states. We need to engage people in what happens when they think a certain thought or act a certain way, enabling them to tune in to their body states – something that they may have actively blocked from childhood onwards. When they begin to look at their reactions as symptoms (i.e. “I've been triggered and this is my survival brain in charge”) and not from an underlying pathology (i.e. I’m mad, bad or weak), they begin to see how extraordinary the human brain is and their curiosity (MFPC-mediated) is aroused . This is a direct antidote to the dissociation and emotional dampening that many people suffer after a traumatic experience. It is the direct target of intervention, whether by linking the two sides of the cortex as in EMDR or by hypnotherapy and CBT whereby we engage the imagination and the thinking brain respectively. We cover these therapies in more detail in my website. Suffice to say no-one need suffer permanently; these states can be reversed as the brain is plastic (neuroplasticity).</div>
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This is an extract from my book The Scar the Won't Heal - available now on <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Scar-that-wont-Heal-Unresolved/dp/1517558921/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1454355852&sr=8-1&keywords=Patricia+Worby" target="_blank">amazon</a>. In the next instalment I look at Interactions between the cortex and the limbic system.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08261206262611651455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814353724248412192.post-88821963843277249032016-03-11T12:48:00.000+00:002016-03-11T12:48:28.394+00:00Fibromyalgia - a mindbody phenomenonI read a really good update on Fibro today by an experienced bodyworker (fascial work is his thing). Find it <a data-mce-href="http://www.jingmassage.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/StevenGoldstein.pdf" href="http://www.jingmassage.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/StevenGoldstein.pdf">here</a>. The criteria for diagnosis may have changed (which is a good thing as it used to pretty much ignore the gut and other symptoms to focus exclusively on the trigger point pain pattern. This would exclude some people for whom the condition hasn't fully expressed itself yet.<br />
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My understanding of Fibro is elucidated in my book The Scar that Won't heal - I think it's a mindbody phenomenon brought on my stress, nutrient depletion and hormonal dys-regulation that ultimately affects the mitochondria so they can't produce enough energy. In that is shares much in common with chronic fatigue. But in fibro the body expresses this as poor muscle and connective tissue function so that pain and tightness dominate other symptoms. Lactic acid formed from anaerobic respiration in the tissues causes pain and then the nervous system becomes sensitised to pain so that even non-painful stimulus becomes painful. This brain pain is called <strong>central amplification</strong> and is a theory proposed by Prof Daniel Clauw which I support. There have been other interesting theories like problem with the small blood vessels of the hand which fail to divert blood to the periphery (hands and feet) properly and another about problems with the heart (POTS). All of these I think are secondary to the stress response (from trauma).<br />
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Why is fascia involved? Well fascia is the bodystocking that transmits force throughout the body and it reads subconscious processes in the limbic system, which , if they are activated in a stress response, causes everything to go tight and restricted. It's a fascinating mind-body link which few people outside the body work profession are looking at. In my holistic practice, I use both bodywork and emotional release to help resolve these subconscious tensions. We are not saying everyone can recover completely only that there is much relief to be had and some people DO recover. It is my believe it is possible for everyone but you have to approach the hidden emotional part of your brain and not everyone is willing and not all practitioners are able. We need a new model of the mind and body as interlinked in order to tackle these new phenomena.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08261206262611651455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814353724248412192.post-14505741100802344252016-03-03T18:19:00.000+00:002016-03-12T11:26:52.582+00:00The microbiome may be the answer to life, the universe and everything.Oh my goodness this was a marvellous summit (just finished) which I plugged on my website and on twitter.<br />
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Back in 2010 when I studied Nutritional medicine the information I gleaned was that basically an imbalance in the gut was at the basis of all health and disease. But we were still unclear how this worked. Now we know!<br />
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The trillions of gut bacteria outnumber you by 10 to1!. And genetically speaking they outnumber your genes by 100 to 1.. Now we know why a human being can operate with about the same number of genes as an earthworm!. I kid you not. An earthworm has around 20,000 and we have around 24,000. This I called the human genome paradox and it seems the answer is in the genes of all the bacteria inside us.<br />
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Now, get this. If they are out of balance, and lacking in diversity (due to toxicity, stress, poor food choices, etc) you can never be healthy in mind or body. We are witnessing an epidemic of chronic disease right now that modern medicine struggles to deal with. It seems that because they have only just begun to realise the importance they aren't really tackling the right thing. For instance did you know that most of your neurotransmitters are not made in your brain but by the bacteria in your gut. So they could offer the solution to mental ill-health like depression and anxiety too.<br />
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This webinar over 10 days covered everything about the microbiome; what it is (an intricate ecosystem of bacteria, fungi and viruses in your gut), its importance, and how to optimise it. one of the subjects they were talking about was fermenting vegetables - a subject I'm very passionate about as it's something we can all do from home. I hope to start in the next few weeks and will be updating you with my progress.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08261206262611651455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814353724248412192.post-18503597476666239082016-02-09T12:22:00.000+00:002016-02-09T12:31:32.456+00:00Slow cooking<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span data-offset-key="erv27-0-0"><span data-text="true">Forget juicing - it's so 2015!! Get yourself a slow cooker! - it's a fab little thing... slow cooked food (particularly meats on the bone) allow us to heal the gut lining which improves everything from allergies, skin conditions, inflammation (arthritis, heart disease, anxiety, etc). I'm not joking... the gut flora balance is key to everything we are and do. My next book 'The World Within' will be on this. </span></span><span data-offset-key="erv27-0-0"><span data-text="true">The evidence is overwhelming that we are all progressively becoming more and more imbalanced - due to toxins, high carb diet (which our bodies are not designed to handle -see below), lack of breast feeding and high rates of Caesarian births (which fail to innoculate the new-born), stress, anti-biotics and anti-bacterial products (which kill everything good and bad).</span></span><br />
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<span data-offset-key="erv27-0-0"><span data-text="true">As a demi-vegetarian (strict veggie from 21 - 34), I was surprised when I started to get ill with allergies, skin conditions, anxiety and joint pain (all manifestations of inflammation in the body). I thought vegetarianism was the answer but it didn't suit me completely - though please note I'm not saying one should eat loads of meat - this is obviously environmentally unsustainable AND unhealthy. The main thing is - vegetarians in Western countries tend to rely more on carbohydrates to fill up when they lack protein and fat; for me this was cheese, grains (rice, bread, pasta) so my diet was anything but healthy. Carbs promote inflammation - particularly processed ones by increasing production of inflammatory chemicals called cytokines. This in turn sets up an inflammatory cycle in the body, unbalances our gut flora, increases our blood sugar promoting diabetes and Alzheimers to name but two chronic conditions. Check out <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Grain-Brain-Surprising-Brains-Killers/dp/1444791907/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1455019311&sr=8-1&keywords=david+perlmutter+grain+brain" target="_blank">Grain Brain by Dr David Perlmutter</a> for the full story on this.</span></span><br />
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ss&ref=ss_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=alchethera-21&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=1444791907&asins=1444791907&linkId=&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
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<span data-offset-key="erv27-0-0"><span data-text="true">Now I have done the research and it appears that slow cooked meats on the bone may be the key to healing the gaps between the cells in our guts (leaky gut syndrome) which afflicts so many. See the GAPS diet here. This was a shock to me as I assumed that vegetables were the way forward; juicing of course uses this idea. However, although most of us certainly could do with increasing our vegetable intake massively, we do need the gelatin from collagen provided by slow cooking on the bone. It increases the intake of essential minerals and important amino acids tyrosine, proline and glycine helping to close the gaps of leaky gut. However there are some important variations in the protocol when you're following a truly GAPS diet; see <a href="http://www.biodynamicwellness.com/stock-vs-broth-confused/" target="_blank">here</a> for more information.</span></span><br />
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So for now, keep an eye out for news of the <a href="http://microbiomemedicinesummit.com/" target="_blank">Microbiome</a> <a href="http://microbiomemedicinesummit.com/" target="_blank">Medicine</a><a href="http://microbiomemedicinesummit.com/" target="_blank"> Summit</a> happening from Feb 29th to March 7th. Here's where you'll really learn of the importance of the gut in health. It can't be overestimated. I'll be publishing more details on my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/PatriciaWorbyAlchemyTherapies/?ref=hl" target="_blank">Facebook page for Alchemy therapies.</a><br />
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<span data-offset-key="erv27-0-0"><span data-text="true"></span></span><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08261206262611651455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814353724248412192.post-75889307307394044512016-02-01T20:07:00.000+00:002016-03-18T11:45:19.605+00:00More on trauma, attunement and attachment<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14.1px; left: 80.42px; top: 191.06px;">
<em>Trauma changes the way we are wired. And its effects can be lifelong.</em> Particularly attachment trauma from our earliest experience of attachment to our parents.</div>
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As recent research has discovered, the brain is “hard-wired to connect to other minds, to create </div>
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images of others’ intentional states, affective (emotional) expressions, and bodily states of </div>
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arousal” via a set of specialised neurons in the brain called mirror neurons. They are the basis of empathy and emotional resonance with others. These neurons allow us to interpret the world </div>
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around us by anticipating the actions of others by studying their facial expressions and bodily </div>
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movement. Young children will instinctively make eye contact with their mother to communicate, </div>
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well before they have verbal language. The mother’s attunement to this mutual dance of eye and </div>
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facial expression is absolutely vital in landscaping the infant brain to regulate arousal (i.e. calming </div>
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the child in the face of distressing stimuli) and thus ensuring empathy between them. If a child is not </div>
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soothed, and therefore doesn’t learn to self-sooth in the childhood years, they are likely to switch </div>
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between states of hyper- and hypo-arousal at the least stimulus without warning.</div>
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Imagine then if the mother is distracted, conflicted, in pain, or depressed. This fine-tuning, which</div>
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directly drives the neural development of her infant’s brain is distorted, fractured and sometimes </div>
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destroyed. In fact, as infant brain maturation is based on this “emotional interaction between mother and child, a negative maternal response will elicit a state of shame/withdrawal, characterized by a shift from sympathetic to parasympathetic arousal” producing a typical dissociation or freeze response which many never be recovered. This pattern of shame will result in inadequate development of coping strategies by the child, and contribute to problems with character expression and brain development. Normal development may actually be inhibited by excessive elicitation of shame, rendering these infants more vulnerable” to further trauma by relatively innocuous events. <br />
Shame becomes the default position for children with this experience. <br />
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The future implications for that child, especially if not remediated by the mother or another </div>
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caregiver later, are lifelong. The child is sensitised to emotional stimuli, finds it difficult to find </div>
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emotional resonance with others and may withdraw or act out its distress in ways that the parents </div>
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find hard to deal with. As the child then grows and interacts with other children and adults their </div>
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inability to self-soothe will create more trauma as their actions are misinterpreted by others and they </div>
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become further subject to painful experiences of rejection. Many of my clients describe this process </div>
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of having been misunderstood at home and then bullied at school – a double whammy of emotional </div>
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pain which keeps them locked into a stress response, their brain failing to break its cycle of fight, </div>
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flight and freeze.</div>
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It’s not that most parents are deliberately abusive (although some are); it is often more a </div>
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systematic failure to connect with their child and create a harmonious living situation (as my </div>
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experience clearly demonstrates). The child grows up knowing this, but it is a wordless knowing, </div>
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doubly baffling as no-one talks about it, and in some cases you are given the opposite message </div>
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‘you don’t know how lucky you are’, etc. Unbelievably, some very cruel parents do</div>
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tell their children of their disappointment ‘I wish I’d never had you’, ‘you ruined my life’, etc but in the main it is an unspoken message of failure. A child is unable to make sense of this duality, and, being a magical thinker, believes they are the cause. </div>
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The child then develops strategies to overcome this by desperately trying to please the parent, </div>
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such as being the ‘good one’, burying their feelings and sometimes even becoming the parent </div>
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themselves. They develop certain habitual behavioural patterns that become fixed responses to </div>
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emotionally charged situations. Thus, if, as an adult they are similarly threatened (e.g. by a bully at </div>
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work for example), their responses are conditioned by this early experience to those of a child. They </div>
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will have no idea of this of course, because their thinking brain has constructed a very reasonable, <br />
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logical argument for why they feel the way they do (rationalisation) that does not see the response as a conditioned memory - it feels like the current situation that is the problem.. For example, the boss is just ‘a monster’ or the partner in the relationship is ‘impossible’ - 'they made me feel that way'. It’s the other person’s fault because you cannot conceive that you are triggering automatic conditioned responses to similar experiences in your past.</div>
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. </div>
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Thus, without your conscious awareness, you have contributed to the situation, as you have acted </div>
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in ways that conform to your map of the world governed by your emotional landscape and it is </div>
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difficult to perceive otherwise. In subtle ways even your choice of partner may even be dictated by </div>
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this; often you are attracted to people who have the same experience of trauma but the opposite </div>
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coping strategy6. For instance a couple I worked with both had difficult relationships with their </div>
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mothers which left them feeling worthless, but for the man this made him angry and volatile when </div>
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confronted, and for his partner her approach was to be the ‘good one’ and acquiesce her needs to </div>
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please others. They often struggled to be understood within the relationship as each would trigger </div>
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the other into these stereotyped behaviours. By being able to witness these behaviours rather than </div>
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get caught up in them, they had a chance to break the old habits and reveal their true selves to </div>
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each other. </div>
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This is an extract from my book The Scar the Won't Heal - available now on <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Scar-that-wont-Heal-Unresolved/dp/1517558921/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1454355852&sr=8-1&keywords=Patricia+Worby" target="_blank">amazon</a>. In the next instalment I will look at how this results in different attachment strategies in the child and later the adult..</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08261206262611651455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814353724248412192.post-6591413024058650702016-01-06T11:30:00.000+00:002016-01-06T11:32:39.157+00:00Connection and the Heart - the science<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb7aEkFBTusZHn9hk2BiYioz1J8iVsWoeDYpa_olriis5xc2aZ6mg35TrAmfEmInTw3iTihpxk19RCGhALLLrPaNSuNjwpN4Coqwj4qkaA-Qbs2CNg31btA7ni8eOwfpgtdbtImU9wn_U/s200/Heart.jpg" width="150" /><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We have long known that the heart is an
intuitive organ – we understand that things are ‘heartfelt’, and a broken heart
is what we feel if we are very sad. These colloquial terms are not just random,
they express what we have always known, that the heart with its has a central
importance to health and wellbeing, and often senses things <i>before the brain
</i>(McCraty, 2004)<a href="file:///C:/Users/Patricia/Documents/Business/PhD/thesisworking.docx" name="_ednref1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><i><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[i]</span></b></span><!--[endif]--></span></i></span></a>.
Indeed, “the heart has its own intrinsic nervous system that operates and
processes information independently of the brain or nervous system”<a href="file:///C:/Users/Patricia/Documents/Business/PhD/thesisworking.docx" name="_ednref2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>.
This is what enables a heart transplant to work before the vagus nerve is fully
functional. It is also an <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">endocrine
organ</b> producing <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">oxytocin</b>, the
bonding hormone with others. Its electromagnetic field is huge and is largely
responsible for allowing us to attune to other people (or not!).</span></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">It is an organ
of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">coherence</b>; when its
electromagnetic rhythm is in harmony with others we feel at ease and at peace
with the world. This is the desired outcome of all meditative endeavours and is
an essential pre-requisite to fully achieve health and wellbeing. The origin of
coherence is in the heart and its connection with the brain however; specifically
the <strong>amygdala</strong> which it innervates via its <b>afferent</b> (towards the brain)
nerves. When these two are in harmony you feel at ease with yourself, motivated
and authentic in thought and deed. You can see therefore another instance of
the mind-body connection in operation that we are only now beginning to
ascertain.</span><br />
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<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Did you know there is an easy way to measure your heart coherence? It's called HRV (heart Rate Variability) and it<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> used to be something you could only measure
when hooked up to a specialised electrocardiogram (ECG) machine but happily
this is now made a lot easier by simple free ‘apps’ that you can download onto
your smartphone or tablet. They work by reading the blood flow in your finger through
holding it against the camera light. I have used the most readily available
free one, HeartMonitor and, although I cannot vouch for its accuracy compared
to a professional machine, as a relative tool for marking your stress levels it
is brilliant as you can take different measurements at different times in your
life. For instance, I measured mine after a stressful day at work (where my day
is not my own but I am subject to the deadlines and priorities of others)
compared to a day at my clinic with my clients. The differences were startling
– a 50% difference. HRV is <span class="fontbold">a powerful, objective and
non-invasive tool to measure your body’s finely tuned hormonal, behavioural
responses to the day to day stresses. I urge many of my clients to begin
noticing theirs and seeing if, by consciously focusing on the screen output, to
alter it. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a useful biofeedback
tool which sets the stage for tuning in to the body’s response; you alter the output
by ‘focusing’ on trying to make the waves increase in amplitude (height) and
become more regular.</span> This is biofeedback in action.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><em>This is an extract from my book Stress and the Mindbody connection available now on Amazon </em>See <a href="http://amzn.to/1LvadiB" target="_blank">here</a> to purchase copies (digital or paperback) <em>. I am a practicing therapist who offers mindbody therapy and trauma transformation here; </em><a href="http://www.alchemytherapies.co.uk/"><em>www.alchemytherapies.co.uk</em></a></span></span>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/Patricia/Documents/Business/PhD/thesisworking.docx" name="_edn1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><sup><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[i]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></span></sup></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">
McCraty, et al (2004). Electrophysiological evidence of intuition: part 1. The
surprising role of the heart</span><a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15025887" title="Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.)."><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">J. Altern Complement Med</span></i><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">.</span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">
Feb;<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">10</i>(1):133-43.</span></div>
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<div id="edn2" style="mso-element: endnote;">
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/Patricia/Documents/Business/PhD/thesisworking.docx" name="_edn2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Salem
Mohammed Omar, Prof. The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Heart, Mind and
Spirit</i>accessed at https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/pdf/Heart,%20Mind%20and%20Spirit%20%20Mohamed%20Salem.pdf</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08261206262611651455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814353724248412192.post-40866972699518658152016-01-01T12:44:00.001+00:002016-01-01T13:02:06.355+00:00Happy New Year - findng joy through understanding Human Needs PsychologyHappy New Year to you all.<br />
Spending a quiet day on the sofa nursing a cold taking the opportunity to rest. Now, having a cold on the first day of 2016 seems a bit unfortunate as I pride myself on keeping well - especially as I am in the business of helping others with their health issues! But I realise of course that I must rest and restore myself by not rushing around today but keeping warm, taking Echinacea (a powerful immune stimulus), and loosening my grip on my need to <em>do</em> something.<br />
<br />
I have long struggled with this issue and I know that a lot of my clients do also - the need to be a Human Doing - where we get our self worth from our achievements in the external world - the 'doings' rather than making changes internally. Indeed if you want to achieve lasting change in your life (and New Year is a good time to commit to that - whether it be weight loss, a better relationship or a more satisfying work life for instance) then you need to look at what your current behaviours are doing for you in terms of satisfying the basic human needs. Anthony Robbins and Chloe Madanes talk of the 6 Human Needs:<br />
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You can see that the most basic ones are lower down the triangle. I would maybe disagree with some of the terminology; I would call certainty safety for instance. We all need to feel safe and free from pain. Uncertainty I would call 'variety' and this one has led me to end relationships so is very key for me. Significance I have already talked about and led me to the work I now do I think. But some of these things are in competition with eachother - we cannot always have love and connection when we feel unsafe, and certainty and uncertainty are in precarious balance usually. If we get our significance from our job or relationship and then we lose it, this can lead to much suffering until we find a way to generate this for ourselves again. For growth to occur we need to all these pillars in place in the right proportions for us. You see that it is a hierarchy (much like Maslow's triangle).</div>
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But most of us have never examined what our behaviours give us in these terms. For instance, does over-eating give us certainty? In many ways it does. Better than the difficulties of relating to others, as it is a reliable way of seeing comfort - even if it damages us in the process... When we see that what we are really seeking is to feel joy in our lives, but it is our behaviour based on an unconscious belief that is driving us, we can choose to do something differently. Our self-worth comes from our unspoken beliefs about ourselves - and mine was certainly unhealthy and led me to overwork and ultimately illness.</div>
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So, today, I thank my illness for the insight it gave me and the will do it differently now . I will rest and restore today. Wishing you all the best for 2016.</div>
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p.s for more information about this work see the <a href="http://robbinsmadanes.com/" target="_blank">RobbinsMadanes</a> website and also my other blogs on the theories of the Human Givens Institute which uses the Maslow hierarchy and has developed them.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08261206262611651455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814353724248412192.post-9809766804552974062015-12-21T17:50:00.001+00:002017-03-03T11:50:07.086+00:00How to self-publish a work of non-fiction; pitfalls and handy tips<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvVbeH_pE77k-lyiucQkaiQq2Kof2Y_JlyLz3-VXW_61DzxhGUWmyiEMC1hD0gLcv7RI4W-PIhuAopkWo_D8GhNTe54xMAY4NJXu5U2mGsgmv8hMnr8huQebRJyVKTXiYjz35icQDn3pM/s1600/bookcoveramazon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvVbeH_pE77k-lyiucQkaiQq2Kof2Y_JlyLz3-VXW_61DzxhGUWmyiEMC1hD0gLcv7RI4W-PIhuAopkWo_D8GhNTe54xMAY4NJXu5U2mGsgmv8hMnr8huQebRJyVKTXiYjz35icQDn3pM/s320/bookcoveramazon.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
This year 2015 is the year I wrote my first book - a work of non-fiction entitled Stress, Trauma and Unresolved Emotion in Chronic Disease. It was, to my knowledge, the first time that someone has addressed the biochemistry, physiology and psychology together in one book reflecting my personal interests. I started research formally last September, and completed a 'how to write a book course' which , although giving me some useful tips, turned out to be a bit out of date and more geared towards those who want to get a publisher, whereas I wanted to self-publish as I knew I could get it out quicker.<br />
<ol>
<li>Writing the manuscript<br />I used Word which I know is not what professional writers use, but once you set up a Styles template makes producing an index (aka Table of contents or TOC) much, much easier. You can also move parts of your document around by looking in Outline view so you don't have to scroll through thousands of words.<br /><br />I was told that around 30 - 70,000 words was ideal - in the end mine was over 80,000 but as it was quite technical in places and needed a lot of explanation I deemed that ok. There is an important payoff between length and cost so this is important.</li>
<li>Proof reading<br />I got a friend who specialises in this to do the proof-reading - don't attempt to do it yourself as you will not notice errors. Even after this was done there were still some that escaped so I would say get it proof-read professionally and then maybe read by someone you trust to see if they understand it and it makes sense.They can also point out anything that they notice that may have been missed.</li>
<li>Kindle version<br />I then went on to the Kindle self-publishing website and found a template which enabled me to copy and paste into which made the kindle pages the right size (6" x 9")is industry standard and paginated accordingly. After that it was simple to check the layout and make any necessary changes using their tools.</li>
<li>Print version<br />For the print version I knew I'd have to do a lot more work; I chose to use CreateSpace which is an amazon company dedicated to self-publishing print to order books. Now, some of you may grown but it has been invaluable in the help they give you and the easy interface with amazon, which, after all is the biggest bookseller in the world. I did some research on alternatives, which work out slightly cheaper per print copy but then you had to pay more up front print costs which, since I had no idea how many I'd want, seemed not a good idea. The point after all, is not to have to order loads of books that you then have to store. Print to order is exactly what it says. They're only printed when someone orders a book and then you get your royalty payments accordingly.<br /><br />This proved to be quite tricky and took almost as long as the proof-reading as the system has to be re-published too each time you make an alteration to the text. So<strong> make sure your manuscript is finalised before publishing to the online tool</strong>.</li>
<li>Images<br />These proved very tricky indeed - getting royalty free images is vital so either your own or ones which are clearly marked as such. you may need to search for these online and check. Also size is an issue here as in order to print well, some of the images I'd used in my kindle edition were not good enough for the printed version as the resolution must be much higher for print than for the web. In the end where I couldn't find a better quality image I had to reduce the size of the images - and keep re--publishing an proofing til the online tool accepted my version (it has some inbuilt checks here).</li>
<li>Printing<br />The issue of colour or black and white is crucial - I wanted a colour print but it turned out that the cost to make a profit would have meant the retail cost to the buyer would have to be around £25 - not likely to sell well for a first-time author no-one has heard of!! So I chose to go for a colour cover (using my own artwork and again their handy design tools) and a b/w interior. It's come out fine, very clear and although I would have preferred colour of course, it still makes sense as the greyscale is quite well-defined for some of the more complex diagrams that require you to map to a key.<br /><br />Anyhow when I had to judge what a good sale price would be and determined £5.99 for a Kindle version £7.99 for a 300 printed page book was ok (actally this is cheap but as an unknown author I didn't want to price myself out the market). Each author needs to make this choice for themselves. you will also need to judge whether you want to give Kindle unlimimted rights to the digital version which gives you more royalties but means you can't advertise it anywhere else e.g another bookseller or on your own website. you can reassess this after 90 days and change your mind.</li>
</ol>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08261206262611651455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814353724248412192.post-77835044544192964432015-12-18T14:02:00.002+00:002015-12-18T14:04:08.623+00:00The gut brain - strangely true<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: "cambria";"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><img height="194" src="https://www1.imperial.ac.uk/resources/D417E5AF-52E7-4883-812F-4B9097B72D6C/gutbrainbig.png" width="200" /></span>The gut
is not just the site of your digestion it is also a key
part of your immune system and the site of a good deal of the information
relayed to and from your brain. It has even been called the ‘second brain’ or <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">‘enteric brain’</i> as it contains 100
million neurons i.e. more neurons than the spinal cord or peripheral nervous
system</span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_Ref413051895"><span style="font-family: "cambria";"> combined</span></a><a href="file:///C:/Users/Patricia/Documents/Business/PhD/thesisworking.docx" name="_ednref1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 105%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: blue;">[i]</span></span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "cambria";">.
It is responsible in no small part for how you feel; your mental state, mood
and health. For instance, 95% of the feel-good chemical serotonin in your body
is found in your gut. This fact has been suggested as the reason why many
mental diseases have correlates in the gut e.g. autism and depression often
have gut symptoms associated with them. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: "cambria";">Vitally,
via the roughly 100 trillion bacteria that it contains</span><a href="file:///C:/Users/Patricia/Documents/Business/PhD/thesisworking.docx" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 105%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: blue;">[1]</span></span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "cambria";">,
called the gut <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">microbiome</i>, it
contains enough bacterial DNA to produce a vast array of the metabolic products
(vitamins, neurotransmitters, enzymes, and signaling proteins called
neuropeptides) that our body needs to function. It has been said the human
being is simply a highly evolved, complex host for bacteria In fact,
evolution has shown us that bacteria have often been instrumental to the
development of the organism, as they have developed in symbiosis with us</span><a href="file:///C:/Users/Patricia/Documents/Business/PhD/thesisworking.docx" name="_ednref2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 105%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: blue;">[ii]</span></span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "cambria";">.
Babies born via Caesarian section often have poor gut function as they have not
been properly inoculated with their mother’s gut flora via a vaginal birth</span><a href="file:///C:/Users/Patricia/Documents/Business/PhD/thesisworking.docx" name="_ednref3" style="mso-endnote-id: edn3;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 105%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: blue;">[iii]</span></span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "cambria";">.
This may cause the children to have more allergies and health issues than
children born normally, including mental health problems. Given the increasing
use of C-section in hospitals, and the likelihood of deficiencies being passed
on from<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>that child when she too has
baby, this has health implications for us as a society not just as individuals.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: "cambria";">The
importance of the gut in general health is often ignored. Nutrition is mostly
ignored when you engage with conventional medicine. How often has your doctor
asked you about your diet when discussing your mental<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>– or even your physical - health</span><a href="file:///C:/Users/Patricia/Documents/Business/PhD/thesisworking.docx" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 105%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: blue;">[2]</span></span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "cambria";">?
Having a good balance of gut flora is vital – I am not looking at purely
psychological factors here as I am only too aware that the balance of your gut
microbes is crucial to your mental functioning. Your gut microbiome balance is
vital to functioning. Unfortunately as your microbes get more out of balance,
your digestion becomes poorer, you intake less vital nutrients and your gut
gets further depleted and imbalanced. Opportunistic bacteria and resident
yeasts begin to take hold. Symptoms are gas, bloating, itchy, flaky skin,
cravings for sweet foods, and ‘foggy’ brain. You can see it is a cycle: poorer
digestion – less nutrients and higher yeasts – poorer digestion.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoCaption" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "cambria";">Figure
1 Digestive tract and immunity</span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUSfhSLWYfWdvsdS3XJFR1qCdLsB8DOW1cGeEKPzuuGoXX7SKnKQ4KXkfeUeQDLDYTOqTsWS3UBY25rjfRTvvQ3VdIjWGwxYhI5B0AzjaHJ5XwdTcT8Cy2i-JLJCbUgderSRisk34KpOQ/s1600/candida.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUSfhSLWYfWdvsdS3XJFR1qCdLsB8DOW1cGeEKPzuuGoXX7SKnKQ4KXkfeUeQDLDYTOqTsWS3UBY25rjfRTvvQ3VdIjWGwxYhI5B0AzjaHJ5XwdTcT8Cy2i-JLJCbUgderSRisk34KpOQ/s320/candida.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoCaption" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "cambria";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "cambria";"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Let’s
look at one example of how this works. The gut is one of the most important
sites of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>your immune system – the gut
wall is, after all, a form of modified skin and as such is an entry point of
pathological microbes (i.e. the unfriendly type!). Hence it’s not surprising
that the most evolutionarily ancient immune function (called the ‘innate immune
system’), is based here. It is the essential non-specific first-line defence to
invasion controlled by the release of inflammatory molecules called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">cytokines. </i>These are<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></span><span lang="EN-US">peptides (small proteins) produced in the
body</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> which control
inflammation. Continuous stimulation by bacterial structural cell wall sugars
called lipo-polysaccharides activate the immune system to be in a state of
constant alert, helping to keep it activated. Bacteria keep us primed!<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria";"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The
release of cytokines is controlled by the balance of these polysaccharides and
it helps the body maintain its immunity and, via their or its interaction with
the stress response, even its normal sleep pattern (they are involved with the
transition to </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Patricia/Documents/Business/PhD/thesisworking.docx"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-themecolor: text1;">Rapid Eye Movement</span></a> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">sleep from non-REM sleep). This
is important for dreaming and restful sleep. So, the balance of your gut flora
influences your immunity and the quality of your sleep; therefore both directly
and indirectly affecting your health using bi-products of their metabolism.
This leads to the perhaps surprising conclusion that bacteria are essential to
our physical wellbeing. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: "cambria";">However,
they also govern the balance in your mood and anxiety levels via the serotonin
and other neurotransmitter levels they produce. Surprisingly most of the
serotonin in your body is found in your gut. This is why when we increase
levels via anti-depressants (the SSRIs like Prozac reduce re-uptake) you often
get gut problems as a side-effect; oo much serotonin is just as much of a
problem. So gut flora are vital for mental health too.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria";"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Another
factor influenced by your gut bacteria is the permeability of your gut. With a
standard western diet (also called the ‘standard American diet’ <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(SAD) in the US), your ‘bad’ bacteria are
encouraged to overgrow which can cause the cells in your gut to become ‘leaky’
i.e. the gaps between the cells instead of having ‘tight junctions’ as normal,
develop gaps. </span><span lang="EN-US">If you were unlucky enough to have
childhood infections and were then prescribed extensive antibiotics these can
affect gut flora for life too and exacerbate the problem. Antibiotics are non-selective
about which bacteria they kill – the same is true of ‘anti-bacterial’ handwashes
which are highly damaging to the gut.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: "cambria";">Toxic bacterial
overgrowth can encourage auto-immunity as undigested protein fragments
(peptides) and toxins are able to penetrate through the gut wall causing the
body to react with an immune response to food as if it were an invader. The
cells in the gut are meant to be a semi-permeable barrier, finely controlled so
as to only allow certain things in. When this control fails by the cells being
permanently open, the barrier is broken and disease may result. Excessive
permeability has been implicated in such definitive auto-immune conditions as
diverse as coeliac disease, multiple sclerosis and chronic fatigue syndromes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: "cambria";">So,
leaky gut syndrome is a precursor to many diseases as the gut is key in
regulating so many bodily functions. In addition to the direct effects on
immunity and inflammation, there are more factors in gut functioning that
impinge on your health. The short-chain fatty acids (breakdown products of
indigestible carbohydrate in your diet produced by your gut bacteria) are <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">epigenetic </i>regulators</span><a href="file:///C:/Users/Patricia/Documents/Business/PhD/thesisworking.docx" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 105%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: blue;">[3]</span></span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "cambria";">;
that is they help to control what genes are expressed in the cells. These epigenetic
effects of the gut flora help to explain why each of us reacts differently to
our environment – since each of us has an individual gut flora we have a unique
response to the external environment. Those with a healthy gut not only have a
healthier immune system but digestion and metabolism work better, with more
nutrient availability, more accurate genetic regulation and intercellular
communication. It can’t be overstated how important this is for brain function,
especially in the area of pain response.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 105%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Although
we are all familiar with the idea of ‘gut feelings as a source of information,
we are seldom aware how vital the gut is in central nervous system (CNS)
function. The enteric (gut) brain really does exist and it is just as important
as the brain in your head. Stress (whether conscious and acute, or unconscious
and chronic) alters the balance of your gut flora via the release of hormones
like adrenaline and cortisol (from the adrenals) and cytokines produced by
bacteria. The self-regulating system is sent haywire and the results are <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">systemic (</i>i.e. throughout your body<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">)</i>. These findings are so important, the
study of these interactions now has its own field </span>
<br />
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br /></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
This is an extract from my book Stress, Trauma and Unresolved Emotion in Chronic Disease.</div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
</div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
See <a href="http://amzn.to/1LvadiB" target="_blank">here</a> to purchase copies (digital or paperback) </div>
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<br />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/Patricia/Documents/Business/PhD/thesisworking.docx" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 105%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: blue;">[1]</span></span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: x-small;">10 times the amount of cells in your body!
The combined gut flora has been called the ‘third brain’. Gut and brain start
off as the same tissue embryologically. They then differentiate into central and
enteric nervous systems. The enteric nerve cells are considered part of the
autonomic nervous system in some newer definitions, see polyvagal theory later
in the book. Brain, Gut, Microbes; First Second and Third brain.</span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/Patricia/Documents/Business/PhD/thesisworking.docx" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 105%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: blue;">[2]</span></span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: x-small;">
While writing this book I had a free GP health check organised by the NHS. The
nurse did not physically assess me (apart from to weigh me and take a blood
test). She asked a little about my diet and exercise but it was very general
and no advice was given to reverse my hormone imbalance.. What an opportunity
missed to educate people about health.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/Patricia/Documents/Business/PhD/thesisworking.docx" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 105%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: blue;">[3]</span></span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: x-small;">
‘Above genetics’. It means there is another layer of control above what DNA you
have. It is a very exciting development in biology. See the </span><a href="file:///C:/Users/Patricia/Documents/Business/PhD/thesisworking.docx"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "arial"; font-size: x-small;">epigenetics</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: x-small;"> section for more information.</span></div>
</div>
<br />
<div style="mso-element: endnote-list;">
<!--[if !supportEndnotes]--><br />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<br />
<div id="edn1" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/Patricia/Documents/Business/PhD/thesisworking.docx" name="_edn1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 105%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: blue;">[i]</span></span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: x-small;">Hadhazy,
Adam.(2010). Think Twice: How the Gut's "Second Brain" Influences
Mood and Well-Being. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Scientific American</i>.
February 12</span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn2" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/Patricia/Documents/Business/PhD/thesisworking.docx" name="_edn2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 105%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: blue;">[ii]</span></span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: x-small;">
Yatsunenko, et al. (2012). Human gut microbiome viewed across age and
geography. <i>Nature</i>, <i>48 6</i>(7402), 222–227. doi:10.1038/nature11053</span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn3" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/Patricia/Documents/Business/PhD/thesisworking.docx" name="_edn3" style="mso-endnote-id: edn3;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 105%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: blue;">[iii]</span></span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><a href="http://midwifethinking.com/2014/01/15/the-human-microbiome-considerations-for-pregnancy-birth-and-early-mothering/"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: x-small;">The Human
Microbiome: considerations for pregnancy, birth and early mothering</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: x-small;">.
January 2015 http://midwifethinking.com/2014/01/15</span></div>
</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08261206262611651455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814353724248412192.post-62992784397678156642015-11-08T17:11:00.000+00:002015-11-08T17:11:27.095+00:00Bowlby's Attachment theory, trauma and scientific dogmaWas very honoured to attend a lecture yesterday organised by the Hampshire Association of Counselling and Psychotherapists (HACP) featuring Sir Richard Bowlby the son of the eminent psychiatrist and researcher who, together with Mary Ainsworth, developed attachment theory of human development. I cover the significance of this theory in my new <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=PAtricia+Worby" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">book</a> but it was great to hear it 'from the horses mouth' so to speak via his son. It's interesting that his theory was so radical at the time (and very contrary to the current understandings of human mind of his supervisor and senior colleagues) that he almost failed to pass his psychiatry exams! Until then it was though that any behavioural problems with children were due entirely to failings in the brain of that child rather than as a direct response to their environment (and specifically their bond with mother). It was a radical departure to suggest that the infant brain was affected in its development by the degree of attachment to the mother (and later the father).<br />
<br />
Mary Ainsworth, (who, typically, is often missed out in the official record), developed a practical test called the <span id="goog_2001227620"></span><a href="http://www.psychology.sunysb.edu/attachment/online/inge_origins.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">'Strange Situati<span id="goog_2001227616"></span><span id="goog_2001227617"></span>on' <span id="goog_2001227621"></span></a>to monitor the behaviour of very young children (typically less than a year old) when a stranger enters the room, and later the mother leaves. They identified 2 distinct patterns (later expanded) - securely and insecurely attached. We watched videos of these experiments and close-ups of the children's faces which would search their mothers eyes for clues to whether this was safe or unsafe. Children who are securely attached (i.e. have bonded with their mother who is attuned to their needs) will seek close proximity and refuse to be comforted by a stranger. Those insecurely attached will dissociate (show by a wide eyed look of pain but numbing) and play disconsolately with their toys instead and show no relief when mother comes back. It is a telling moment because these bonds and their behavioural adaptations remain with us for life.<br />
<br />
We can become avoidant of close relationships because we are not sure we will be rewarded/comforted or clingy where we feel imminent abandonment so ask for constant reassurance.<br />
I was so interested to see the neurological consequences are being considered finally.<br />
<br />
In the afternoon Richard presented the results of a pilot study conducted by another researcher Jane Sherwood who has proposed that early trauma across the generations of the maternal line may predispose to Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and dementia generally. It was fascinating stuff. She's written a book called 'In the shadow of Loss'. Richard was careful to say there were flaws in the study as it was small and privately funded but nevertheless with 120 participants and a clear pattern of association, not to be dismissed. Indeed I think we may be able to point to a method of transmission. Mitochondrial DNA is passed from the maternal line and is intimately linked with the cell danger response when stress (environmental including attachment trauma) is present. This switches off the efficient energy production cycle of the mito's into a low energy pathway. We know that AD results in protein tangle accumulation in the brain but not everyone who has these gets the disease. Could it be that trauma is at the heart of this disease too.?<br />
<br />
Richard was clearly in the shadow of his father but sensibly has decided to dedicate his life to further promulgating his ideas while not taking any money for doing so (remarkably his career has been designing racing cars!). So we were privileged to hear the latest research and without having a/ travel to London or b/ pay a fortune. Thank you Sir Richard and the <a href="http://www.hacp.co.uk/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HACP</a>.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08261206262611651455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814353724248412192.post-53338145856831975222015-10-21T20:06:00.001+01:002016-01-01T12:58:18.327+00:00Human Givens<div>
Read an article written by the Human Givens originators Ivan Tyrell and Joe Griffin on depression - was really interesting - I realised 3 of my human needs are not being met right now with the problems I've been having with my clinic not being watertight (= secure) despite being busy:</div>
<ul>
<li>Security - safe territory in the home (read home AND work here)</li>
<li>Volition - a sense of autonomy and control over what is happening (I have no control whatsoever - unless it's over my response)</li>
<li>Competence - a sense of achievement (although met in other ways i.e. professionally I feel really incompetent when it comes to looking after the building. I can't solve it and I spend all day and night worrying about it.</li>
</ul>
So, my sleep is permeated by awful dreams which leave me exhausted. Human Givens have a theory for this too which is that dreaming is a necessary discharge of the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) in order to balance what has been denied during the day. Too much REM sleep and not enough slow wave which is responsible to restoring the immune system and cellular health. How interesting.. That explains why I wake exhausted and still 'wired' despite loads of dream sleep.<br />
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They have developed an 'expectation theory of dreaming; "dreams, as we shall see, is nature’s way of metaphorically discharging the autonomic nervous system (ANS) of accumulated expectations we got worked up about during the day and did not deactivate by taking action in the real world. Emotions, we know are both motivators to DO something (from the verb emovare 'to move') and our greatest intuitive connection to our own truth. The problem is when they get stuck, as in depression, and we feel powerless to change them, our innate needs are not being met and the ANS gets set into fight, flight or freeze which sends us into a downward spiral of rumination and fear. This is the essence of depression and anxiety and it explains why it feels so physical; there are very few physiological processes that aren't affected by the ANS: immunity, metabolism and digestion being just some.<br />
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In some ways the Human Givens ideas are very much in parallel with my own that I detail in my book: Stress, Trauma and unresolved emotion in Chronic Disease. But my approach is probably more geared towards the body than this purely psychological framework would have it.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08261206262611651455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814353724248412192.post-218667945299222312015-10-07T09:08:00.001+01:002015-10-07T09:14:14.001+01:00Great British Bake off - a multicultural phenomenonWell we're nearing the final of this incredibly popular TV show.. how to explain it's popularity? Sure, it's a competition and the nerves are jangling as you watch the highs and lows of the various challenges. But, I think, more appealing, is the ability of 'ordinary' people (albeit superb bakers) to raise themselves and their art week after week with humour and emotional honesty. Of course, it's great TV, and edited no doubt to keep us hooked, but I for one think it's done more for tolerance and understanding of what it means to be an immigrant to this country (2 of the 3 remaining have families from other countries) including a British born Muslim woman who wears a headscarf and a 'hearthrob' man of Indian extraction.<br />
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Here's the phenomenon - we can identify with people as people regardless of race and see their common humanity - through the medium of cakes! Riveting stuff.<br />
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<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-34423035">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-34423035</a>..<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08261206262611651455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814353724248412192.post-48403980530561347802015-09-25T22:02:00.000+01:002015-09-25T22:02:02.634+01:00The scar that won't healToday is a very important day. It's the day after I uploaded my book to Kindle - a year's work and a very intense year it's been. Not only did it take a year's writing to get the 85K words, but then there's the proofing (thanks to the stalwart efforts of a friend), references and booklists to compile, getting someone to write the forward and so on. The book was actually written about 2 months ago but all the rest took a long time to complete.<br />
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During this time of writing and fretting, I've also been struggling with some personal issues which has entailed me getting quite anxious in a way that hasn't occurred since my last bout of depression 15 years ago. Initially all was going well but sometime around August my clinic (which is a conservatory at the back of my house) developed a leak. After heavy rain a stain would slowly make its way from the corner of the room and fill the air with the smell of damp plaster until it dried out again with the sun. Now, under normal conditions I would just call in the builder who erected it and demand reparations. But he is not to be found.. And I have no written guarantee despite months of requesting it. Beware a builder who can't/won't respond to your requests for things in writing!<br />
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So I called in another builder who has painstakingly worked backwards from the most likely cause to the least, repairing and making 'good' various badly done bits from flashing to the roof. After each repair comes the hope, then dashed after the next rainstorm. Finally this last weekend I admitted to myself my reaction has been so extreme, that I need therapy. I can't sleep when rain is due, my guts churn, my chest feels tight. I can't sit still, or eat for worry - and it feels like a personal attack when that stain comes back time after time..<br />
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So, of course it's no co-incidence then that my book is called <a href="http://amzn.to/1MKyKjD" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Scar the won't Heal; Stress Trauma and Unresolved Emotion in Chronic Disease'</a>. Perhaps in the writing of it, I have touched upon some of my most painful memories, including the death of my father at 19. In EMDR (Eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing) therapy this week, it was this that came up. My feelings of abandonment when he died, and that I was somehow responsible. How strange! I know logically this isn't true but my emotional brain believes it, and the issue of fixing the leak has become a cipher for what I couldn't achieve 30 years ago. I had no control then and I have none now. And both things seem to threaten my sense of self in a way that sounds ridiculous but nevertheless that's how my body is reading it.<br />
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So, it's really been a case of 'healer heal thyself' and I have tried to see this time as an important reminder of how illogical emotional memory formation is and how it affects us in later life if triggered. Which is exactly what my book is about - and how this can translate into anxiety, depression and chronic pain, IBS, TMJ, etc. So the universe has given me another swift kick up the backside to look at myself and deal with my stuff so I am in a better position to help others deal with theirs. Onwards people. Oh and please god I get the leak mended soon. Driving me crazy. Literally.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08261206262611651455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814353724248412192.post-29155079670513204102015-08-10T08:46:00.003+01:002015-08-10T13:21:03.271+01:00Highly Sensitive People and BusinessAs I've nearly finished reading the Highly Sensitive Person by Elaine Aron (and what a great book it is!) I thought I'd put my thoughts down about how this relates to me (definitely an HSP) and those of us who are working as therapists, counsellors, health workers, etc. It seems to me that most of us are that category of easily over-aroused people who therefore prefer to be our own boss, having quiet time away from the hubbub, and avoiding the strident dominant types who tend to run corporations and, increasingly these days, public life (including service sector and local government, education, etc), According to Elaine, about 20% of people are born this way, and the only way they can survive and thrive is to create an environment that fits this personality style. Well, I seem to have done that.<br />
Working with clients is a very introspective process, but as we need people it is also a chance to contribute and make a difference in life without the over-stimulation that high pressure sales, or self-promotion that entails.<br />
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However the downside to this I've found is though we're very good at the therapy bit, we're less confident around marketing and promotion which we largely leave to others or completely. Hence there are a lot of us out there seeing maybe 3-10 clients a week, making do. If, like me you're also running a small therapy business then maybe you'll recognise the following scenario: <br />
You know you're rubbish at the marketing. you want more clients but you hope they'll just come to you. You see an ad for 'how to market your therapy business/ conquer social media/ find your inner salesperson and you sign up. you do the study for a while, you apply a few of the ideas (which are usually sound) but, because they put you in the uncomfortable position of being 'out there' selling yourself, you soon lapse and fall back into your own routine. Another course wasted. And of course there is no shortage of courses...<br />
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It seems to me that there are lots of 'A-type' driven people out there selling courses for how to be more like them to those of us sensitives who know we can't do it. After my last course (about the 8th!) I vowed to do no more. It's not that I don't think it's a good idea to focus more on marketing myself. I just struggle because it's not 'me'. It feels all wrong. I try but it comes over as inauthentic and that's how I am perceived. So, I've decided I'm not going to do it their way. I'm going to write a book, do my PhD and develop myself steadily, with focus but no rush. It saddens me to think there's so many of us therapists out there doing good work but most of us feel inadequate in some way cos were not out there selling our latest juicing package or social media marketing techniques. And yet, we do ok. Truth to tell, we don't want to be seeing 40 clients a week like the courses tell us we should be. We want to do what we do but not to overstimulate ourselves with sales targets and radio interviews and accolades. I say that knowing that there are some therapists out there who do and good luck to them. I see them making great headway, helping more people, that's great. But I have to accept who I am, not because I don't want to get better or improve my lot, but I don't want to do it their way. I want to do it mine. Slow but steady.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08261206262611651455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814353724248412192.post-77927359511992021052015-07-31T17:53:00.003+01:002017-03-03T11:38:25.400+00:00My Book nearly completed and musings on Virgina Woolf, Amy Winehouse and the nature of trauma.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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As I near the completion of my soon-to-be-published book 'The scar that won't heal'; healing everyday trauma and unresolved emotion', I realise I have learnt to notice the effects of trauma so well that I can spot it in the stories or lives of others. Yesterday watching the new BBC series 'Life in Squares' about the Bloomsbury Group, it suddenly occurred to me that the reason that the writer Virginia Woolf suffered from such debilitating depression was maybe due to a traumatic incident in childhood. Nothing in the series indicated that fact. It was purely from the evidence of her early struggles with mental illness, the triggering of severe relapses by the death of her parents (which I read about subsequently) and something about the strict Victorian upbringing which the series so clearly shows, which stultified the two women.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjVoUzlsRsWtgR5OGBRzdD1lXl80T9PFEnfj0ioCiFrXKpclobby1OWgYqWJX5xtrugDx5P_Kwh4sGQlP3v-j29CsrJVYXjGNu0ttCQBQYhmCyNOSYCMsw50-Fp13NrYyV_iMvhv2a1BU/s1600/Virginia_Woolf_1927.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjVoUzlsRsWtgR5OGBRzdD1lXl80T9PFEnfj0ioCiFrXKpclobby1OWgYqWJX5xtrugDx5P_Kwh4sGQlP3v-j29CsrJVYXjGNu0ttCQBQYhmCyNOSYCMsw50-Fp13NrYyV_iMvhv2a1BU/s320/Virginia_Woolf_1927.jpg" width="217" /></a>The Victorians were notorious for their sexually strict morals (outwardly) and the therefore unfortunate fact that many children were sexually abused in secret. What differs then of course was that no-one dare talk about it - Freud when he first declared that much of the neurosis he saw was due to sexual abuse of his clients as children scandalised Viennese society and he was forced to retract the idea and declare instead that these were children's fantasies (after all doesn't every child want to have sex with their parents??). Sadly these ideas were universally accepted as he was so influential no-one dared to disagree for many years. Even in the 1970's a standard psychiatric textbook declared incest to be so rare as to be unimportant and in any case had no significant effect on the child!* Today after the Jimmy Saville enquiry and the grooming of children in major UK cities we know differently..<br />
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Children are profoundly affected by such experiences, as well as lesser traumas such as being unloved or betrayed and the result, when their brains are still forming, is permanent dysfunction from subconsciously triggered traumatic memory. And, as my book makes clear this has very real physical results; dizziness (fainting), tinnitus, depression, migraines, panic attacks, irritable bowel syndrome and so on. These effects are real and they could be the basis of much mental and physical suffering including bipolar disorder which Virginia is believed to have suffered from.<br />
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I was incredibly saddened but also vindicated to read that she and her sister Vanessa, had indeed been abused by their half brothers, George and Gerald Duckworth, as she recalled in an essay ' A sketch of the Past' written in 1939. Could our current understanding of traumatic memory have saved her if she lived today?<br />
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Would Amy Winehouse be dead if she'd had trauma treatment rather than standard addiction detox therapy (the eponymous 'rehab' of her famous song). This relies on abstinence which deals with the <em>effects</em> of addiction but not the <em>cause</em>. As soon as the stress builds up again, the cravings return. Although she did not have abuse in her past, she most definitely had trauma - the divorce of her parents when she was 9, was, to a highly sensitive child, hugely significant. And then, in later life, her father wasn't able to provide the boundaries she so needed. Add to that meeting a similar addictive, traumatised partner, and her death was assured. Trauma is no respecter of talent.<br />
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But would she and all the other people who have these hidden scars be healed now? To be honest it's unclear whether this information has filtered down to mental health professionals, or certainly primary care where most people first report mental health issues. There is still much work to be done. I hope in writing my book, which details much of the science behind the stress response and how it relates to traumatic memory, will help elucidate this information to a sceptical public and other professionals. The science is there. It just hasn't been joined up sufficiently yet to be understandable within a specialised, fragmented medical model. I hope to redress that balance.<br />
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* Bessel van der Kolk, one of the worlds' leading figures in the study of trauma, read us an extract from the manual as part of my trauma training. It was mind-blowing.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08261206262611651455noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814353724248412192.post-26045748057083520802015-07-21T16:45:00.001+01:002015-07-21T16:45:14.067+01:00Why whole grains may not be good for you after all<h2>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The problem with Grains <img align="middle" alt="Image result for grain picture" border="0" class="iuth" height="132" name="imgthumb7" src="data:image/jpeg;base64,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" style="margin: -4px 0px 0px;" title="http://www.foodsubs.com/FGGrains.html" width="147" /></span></h2>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For many years I have believed that whole grains were part of a healthy diet and have swapped my processed cereal breakfast for an oat-based one I made myself with nuts and seeds that I added.. however I note my teeth are not in great health (and where the teeth are going the bones soon follow). I have had to have a root canal filling and the enamel is chipping. Recently I read an article that explained the problem.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Certain whole grains (especially oatmeal) contain a molecule called phytate that inhibits mineral uptake - it binds Phosphorous in a form that we then cannot use, Calcium which we need for healthy bones is then leached from the body and we get bone loss - unless we have enough Vitamin D and other fat -soluble vitamins.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">High-phytate diets result in other mineral deficiencies too; Zinc, Magnesium and Iron are all inhibited. This would explain why my iron levels are low even though I eat a wholefoods diet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Solutions</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So what can we do? Well firstly we need to soak or sprout the grains first and if you are not prepared to do this then you need to swap a grain-based breakfast to one based on animal fats like egg and butter - it is interesting that absorbable calcium from bone broths and raw dairy products, and vitamin D from certain animal fats, can reduce the adverse effects of phytic acid. Get yourself a slow cooker to make your meals with meat on the bone.. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Add Vitamin C to your diet to help iron absorption. Research shows that adding ascorbic acid significantly counteracted the effect s of phytic acid in wheat. Green leafy vegetable are best but of course if your gut is compromised you may have difficulty absorbing them. Once cooked they tend to lose most of their vitamin and mineral content so the best thing to do is to juice raw greens.. Adding Vitamin A and beta -carotene from coloured veg is also good - so add beets and/or carrots to your juice/blend..</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why now?</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why are we only now having this problem? Well it seems that humans do not produce enough phytase to safely consume large quantities of high-phytate foods on a regular basis because our gut flora are compromised (due to toxicity, spraying of foods, poor diets etc). We need them to produce the enzyme that digests phytates; <strong>phytase</strong> which makes the phosphorus available and reduces the mineral depleting qualities of the molecule.. One species of good bacteria in particular seems to help more than others; probiotic lactobacilli and other species of the endogenous digestive microflora can produce phytase.<sup> </sup>Thus, humans who have good intestinal flora will have an easier time with foods containing phytic acid. Increased production of phytase by the gut microflora explains why some volunteers can adjust to a high-phytate diet. Sprouting activates phytase, thus reducing phytic acid.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We need to sprout and soak our grains and eat more animal fats! Almost opposite to the advice we have been given for years. So eat your butter and yoghurt (which is semi-fermented making the milk less allergy inducing). If you eat meat, cook it slowly it on the bone and not frying in polyunsaturated oils - (vegetable oils). Use coconut oil, or olive oil. And, juice all you can.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For more information see </span><a href="http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/living-with-phytic-acid/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/living-with-phytic-acid/</span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08261206262611651455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814353724248412192.post-18033590089574205492015-06-12T17:40:00.000+01:002015-06-12T17:56:59.680+01:00Mental health in the news2 main stories in the news this morning highlight the huge differences in the way mental health is treated compared to physical health in the Western Medical model.<br />
The first concerns the German co-pilot <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/11/secrecy-law-stopped-doctors-reporting-germanwings-co-pilot-as-unfit-to-fly" target="_blank">Andreas Lubitz</a> who deliberately crashed a plane with 150 people on board. He apparently saw over 40 doctors in the two years leading to the crash, with clearly no-one able to help him. It is a sad testament to medicine that we fail someone who so clearly was crying out for help. We may have saved so many lives if he had been...<br />
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The second story is about how the NHS treats mental health with the story that A&E staff are failing to treat and condemning people who harm themselves. I can understand this as in the past I would have been the same. But after training in trauma therapy extensively I now recognise the drivers of cutting and self-harming acts - and why people are driven to do them. They are calming for people whose nervous systems are so geared to threat that cutting actually down-regulates (reduces) that threat by changing the hormone system balance. Most 'normal' people find that hard to understand (though we regularly engage in similar but less violent acts of numbing like shopping, drinking, TV watching, perfectionism and over-work). It just seems that our ignorance is costing lives as when the people who should know about this i.e professional health care workers, do not and treat people as time-wasters and malingerers. <br />
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/jun/12/ae-staff-attitudes-to-patients-in-mental-health-crisis-often-shocking">http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/jun/12/ae-staff-attitudes-to-patients-in-mental-health-crisis-often-shocking</a><br />
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Mental health is woefully underfunded and ignored. Where provision is provided it is patchy and far too often relies on inadequate pseudo-diagnostic criteria like ADHD and now a whole raft of new disorders based on certain displayed character traits (see the latest psychiatrists' manual the DSM-V for the full horror of these unproven, poorly researched 'diseases'). These categories tell us nothing about what is going on for the person with these symptoms - they are based on a system that rewards a diagnosis with insurance payout. They have nothing to do with what is really behind themMost of the problems we see in Western society are a result of spiritual disconnection, nutritional depletion and a poor understanding of how memory and trauma are encoded and treated.<br />
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As I meet more and more ordinary people who exhibit signs of mental distress - and these are the functioning ones, I begin to see this is the tip of the iceberg. We are so far from living health, joyful lives and our culture encourages disconnection via envy, money grabbing, celebrity culture, etc. We need to recognise we all need love and connection, and that includes self-love as well as that from others. We need to be recognised above all, for who we are as individuals and have loving, supporting relationships. This cannot be prescribed unfortunately, but when someone falls out of their ability to cope as many do, they need a caring and understanding health service that offers more than crisis support. The model of trauma resolution that I use allows people to recognise that their symptoms are a desperate attempt by the mindbody to keep them safe, even though it has become untenable in their adult lives it needs to be acknowledges where they have been, and how strong they are to have survived. We need to promote understanding of the inherent goodness and healing ability of people, not treat them as abhorrent weaklings whose problems need to be dismissed, medicated and covered up. There are answers out there, there are amazing new treatments not yet available on the NHS but they all require a totally new approach to health and healing which is self-acknowledging and driven. I look forward to the day when suffering such as this is a thing of the past.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08261206262611651455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8814353724248412192.post-44598786047515010932015-04-16T12:49:00.004+01:002015-04-16T12:49:56.175+01:00Why is nutrition considered 'alternative medicine'?Watched the first of this <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b05rdgtp/inside-harley-street-1-make-me-better" target="_blank">BBC series</a> last night on I-player.<br />
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It looks at the range of private medicine on offer in Harley Street. It was interesting watching the doctors justifying working privately (some of them worked in the NHS and all of them were trained there). I have no problem with private medicine per se - it's that the standards are so much higher but it's not available for all. The same problem with private education of course.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg9QqMX9tj2CsF-e0nh5gzQwaSoU5z8dTcuclvlAi_yK-QGOsqhAjqh4_BFSUG0pA-1Np7CTjmOm1R_wL0DsxQqnJZM7KPsintjS6XzN_YLo5pG8F6_RGaU8Y7UHkO_zJRijpVJ04ZVHw/s1600/x.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg9QqMX9tj2CsF-e0nh5gzQwaSoU5z8dTcuclvlAi_yK-QGOsqhAjqh4_BFSUG0pA-1Np7CTjmOm1R_wL0DsxQqnJZM7KPsintjS6XzN_YLo5pG8F6_RGaU8Y7UHkO_zJRijpVJ04ZVHw/s1600/x.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a><br />
My main issue though was with the fact that despite mentioning the large numbers of alternative practitioners who work in Harley street the programme failed to highlight any of them and instead focussed on the same narrow 'conventional' medical treatment plans including a lot of high tech chemotherapy and surgical interventions. And all were male interestingly.<br />
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It's the same old same old as far as I'm concerned.. no mention of what any of these people could do to help their treatment with lifestyle and diet changes, no mention of stress or inflammation as contributors to the conditions shown. All seemed to believe in the magic bullet approach. One woman, who had underdone chemo and a lumpectomy was told 'that's all the cancer out of your body - you are now cancer-free!' Which of course was very emotional for her as she'd gone through months of hell with losing her hair and all the worry and fear of cancer. It seems churlish to point out that there is always cancer in your body, but a healthy immune system keeps it in check. There was no attempt to give her any advice on nutritional changes she could make to make sure it stayed that way. And her family's response was quite dysfunctional - as a student psychologist I looked on in incredulity as they seemed to depend on her to stay well, clinging on to the notion of her survival like it was <em>their </em>life that was at stake. There's a story in that family of previous trauma for sure..<br />
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One lad came from Kuwait to be told he had a pituitary tumour that was threatening to take away his sight. No comment on the fact he was obese and needed to look at the role of excess weight in causing cancer. Surgery was the only thing on offer.<br />
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It was all so depressing.. I DO have a lot of respect for the skill of the surgeons and the wonderful technology that we now have at our disposal (if we have the money it seems). Also, I understand people want to have their pain taken away. But our approach now in the west is so disempowering of the individual. It takes away everything that we can do to <em>help ourselves.</em> And it makes vast profits for the biomedical industry it supports.<br />
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<em>Why oh why is something as basic as nutrition considered alternative? </em>It makes no sense to me.<br />
Just yesterday I was advising a client on dietary changes she can make to help her acid reflux. Very common in women, particularly over the age of 50 as the hydrochloric acid in your stomach decreases which opens up the valve to the oesophagus causing reflux, amongst other things. The problem usually isn't too much acid as you will be told by the doctor. It's the opposite. I recommend this article to read on the subject by the reliably good and evidence-based <a href="http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/04/28/acid-reflux-ulcer-treatment.aspx" target="_blank">Doctor Mercola</a>. So, you end up being prescribed drugs that reduce your HCl further and... hey presto.. it get's worse.. It beggars belief really. Anyhow if any of you out there in bloggerville are interested then please see my links and my <a href="http://www.alchemytherapies.co.uk/" target="_blank">website</a> (and social media links). I try to keep it positive, but sometimes.. Grrrrr...<br />
There I've finished now.<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08261206262611651455noreply@blogger.com0