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NATURAL THERAPIES FOR INSOMNIA: SPIRITUAL HEALING

admin — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 16:19:39 +0000

Spiritual healing, with its calming and uplifting effects on mind and body, can be extremely helpful with insomnia. It is also compatible with any other treatment you may be having, whether physical or psychological. Healing is numerically by far the largest of the natural therapies, with around 8,000 healer members in the Confederation of Healing Organizations, and probably as many outside it.

Some people are wary of healing because it is not fully explicable, and because of its supernatural associations. However, it is probably a perfectly natural human ability, which is beginning to come into its own. Today many doctors, as well as alternative practitioners, recognize that human beings consist of more than the visible, tangible physical body. Healing works primarily on the energy system, thus simultaneously treating mental, emotional and physical problems.

The Confederation of Healing Organizations, founded in the early 1980s, has done much to change the image of healers and make it more acceptable to the medical profession. The CHO is an umbrella organization for a number of different healing groups; although they have somewhat different philosophies and explanations for healing, its members are bound by a common code of conduct. The CHO aims to work in cooperation with the medical profession, and is conducting trials into the results of healing, supervised by medical experts. It has also encouraged the setting up of proper healer training courses.

Healers hold a variety of beliefs, and belong to all kinds of religious denominations, or none. There should be nothing weird about a healing session, provided you don’t fall into the hands of a charlatan — unfortunately there are a few around. While many healers are spiritualists and regard their gifts as being assisted by spirit helpers, this is by no means always the case. These days, the power of healing is often explained in terms of the body’s energy system, rather than in terms of spirits.

What is common to almost every healer is the belief in a cosmic or divine energy which is totally benign and loving. Healers see themselves as channels for this energy, which is transferred to patients through their hands (or by thought, in the case of distant healing). Imbalances caused by emotional trauma, and physical and nutritional stress, appear first within the energy field, before becoming consolidated in bodily symptoms. So it is in the energy field that healing starts. The transference of healing energy restores harmony to mind, body and spirit — hence the term ’spiritual healing’.

A healing session can last from 20 minutes to an hour. The healer will usually chat with you first, and then ask you to sit or lie down; you don’t have to remove any clothing. Many of them work almost purely in the energy field around the body, in which they can sense areas where there are problems. Others will lay their hands directly on painful areas, often relieving pain very rapidly. Many combine the two techniques.

Results are rarely instant or miraculous. The time it will take to bring about a cure or improvement depends very much on the condition of the individual patients and how long they have had their problem. Although faith is not necessary, patients can aid the healing process by being receptive and open minded. Some people feel the energy flowing from the healer as a hot or cold current, or a pleasant tingling. It is not necessary to feel anything, however, for healing to take effect.

Healing is usually a very relaxing experience; some people go to sleep during a session, and many sleep extra well afterwards. Patients often leave a session feeling emotionally and spiritually uplifted. Healers can also provide regular support for people going through difficult times, and help them to build up their own inner resources. Sometimes during a healing session patients find themselves crying, releasing pent-up stress or grief.

Many healers have clairvoyant or strongly intuitive gifts, which can help them to pinpoint the causes of people’s problems. Many, too, are excellent intuitive counsellors, and healer training courses increasingly emphasize the development of counselling skills. It is important, they say, to heal not only the physical but the emotional/spiritual causes of illness. A number of them encourage patients to take part in the release of past stresses, through visualization, meditation, and forgiveness.

Some use aids like colour therapy (either projecting colour mentally, or using coloured lamps), gems and crystals, sound and even movement. Some call themselves ‘etheric healers’ or ’subtle energy healers’. And an increasing number of practitioners in other natural therapies also have healing gifts which can add a whole extra dimension to their treatment, whether or not they announce this fact. A number of these belong to the Association of Therapeutic Healers, listed below.

One woman began seeing a healer specifically for her insomnia, which had been extremely severe for several years; she was only sleeping for two or three hours a night. She had a number of emotional problems and, having decided to sort herself out, was also seeing a psychotherapist. Initially she found herself sleeping much better for two or three nights following each weekly healing session; as time went on, these two or three nights extended into seven nights a week.

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Anti-Depressants/Sleeping Aid

NATURAL THERAPIES FOR INSOMNIA: SHIATSU

admin — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 16:17:26 +0000

Shiatsu, also called acupressure, is a form of oriental massage developed in Japan at the beginning of the twentieth century. It is based on the same principles as acupuncture, but uses the hands, fingers, knuckles and even elbows to stimulate the acupuncture points and rebalance the meridians. Practitioners also use the breath, breathing from the hara, the energy centre in the abdominal area, to direct energy into their hands.

Like acupuncture, Shiatsu helps to rebalance the body’s energy system, relieving aches and pains, tension and stress. Ideally it is used to maintain health and vitality, rather than for curing disease, although in Japan, when practised by experienced practitioners, it can be as effective as acupuncture and medical herbalism.

Self-help

A Shiatsu practitioner may show you how to self-massage the points that will help you relax and improve your sleep. If you have someone to practise with, you can learn some self-help techniques from books, but if you have a medical condition, do not use it as a substitute for proper treatment. There is a form of self-shiatsu called Do-In; look out for evening classes or weekend workshops.

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Anti-Depressants/Sleeping Aid

ANXIETY DISORDERS/WORKING THROUGH THE RECOVERY: BACK TO BASICS

admin — Mon, 18 May 2009 08:23:24 +0000

Understanding setbacks

Setbacks are unavoidable. In fact, the more we have the better! Each setback teaches us more about ourselves and our disorder, and strengthens and refines our management skills. To work through to recovery we need to understand why setbacks happen.

As an example, our threshold to stress may now be at level zero. Practising our management skills will raise our threshold to stress to level one. We then experience our first breakthrough— we feel no fear or anxiety. This brings a complete clarity of thought and a total sense of freedom. Any stress higher than level one will be enough to start the whole vicious cycle again. Inevitably, this happens and we have a setback.

It is not so much the stress itself which causes the setback as how we think about it. When a stress is higher than our threshold, we automatically slip back into our old way of thinking. Anxiety and attacks follow. We become so caught up in it that we are not even aware that we have fallen back into the cycle. Only when we become aware of it can we do something about it.

Identifying the stress will show why the setback has happened. Whatever the stress is, it will be higher than we can tolerate at this point. If we are working from zero, identification is not difficult, as the normal day-to-day stress will trigger the automatic cycle of thinking.

When we become aware of why it has happened, the next step is to resolve any issues relating to the stress and to let the setback happen. Our threshold to stress will continue to rise as long as we continue with management skills. We will then reach level two. Any stress higher than level two will trigger a set back. Again we go through the principles outlined above. This is when we need to have patience. This is the working-through process.

Steps in the working-through process:

• Isolate the stress/es

• Be aware of how we are thinking about them

• Resolve any issues relating to the stress

• Let go of anxiety-producing thoughts

• Let the setback happen

• Continue with meditation

• Continue to work with our thinking

If we are working from level zero, the first breakthrough usually only lasts for about an hour as the daily stress will trigger the automatic way of thinking. With continued practice of the above, our threshold to stress will continue to rise. We will begin to experience days and then weeks of clarity and freedom. When we have a setback after these periods, everything does seem much worse and more hopeless. It isn’t. Only the comparison between these two ways of being makes it appear so. We will reach the point where there are no more setbacks. Clarity of thought and the sense of freedom will then become our automatic way of thinking and feeling.

If we are not sure why we are having a setback, we can write a list of everything that is currently happening in our life. There may be family problems, a difficult financial or work situation, children home on school holidays. There can be many reasons.

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ÑHILDREN’S SLEEP PROBLEMS/BUILDING THE BASICS: SLEEP ASSOCIATION

admin — Mon, 18 May 2009 08:01:24 +0000

The conditions present while going to sleep are called “sleep associations” They are the things, events, people, and anything else that might surround induce sleep.

We all tend to look forward to, and even depend on, the same, or a a similar set of sleep conditions being there for us each time we want l asleep. These are different and personal for each of us. They usually ir things like a dark room, a favorite side of the bed, or that special pillow.

Sleep associations help us get to sleep. Routines and rituals ã important part of most people’s lives—but nowhere are they more common, and more important, than when they center around sleep. They seem to help bridge the gap between day and night, wakeful activity and the unknowns of sleep. Even as adults—logical, rational, and usually wanting more sleep—we go through certain steps to be sure everything is “right” for sleep.

I can’t go to sleep without reading for a while.

I set a glass of water on the nightstand, plump up my pillow, check the alarm twice, and then relax.

Children learn to go to sleep in the conditions that their parents set up.

They learn to expect that old blanket, the night light, the music box, or their special pillow.

Kevin was always rocked to sleep. We made sure that he was fast asleep when we laid him down; otherwise he would cry. If he woke up later, he would cry until we rocked him again.

Since adults are generally in charge of their own lives, they are, theoretically, also in charge of their own sleeping conditions. Imagine what would happen if they were not. Suppose that the parent noted above, when awakened by a windstorm, was all out of water—or, worse yet, discovered someone had hidden her alarm clock. How could she possibly get back to sleep worrying that she might not wake up on time?

Children often find themselves in such frustrating situations. They wake during the night to find that the conditions they went to sleep with somehow changed during the night.

Remember that arousals are a normal part of sleep cycles—a time when we check to be sure everything is as it should be before we fall back to sleep. How lonely a child who has fallen asleep at the breast must feel to discover that it is no longer nearby! The bed must certainly feel less comfortable than Daddy’s arms or the rocking chair. Certainly calling out or crying is a logical, understandable, reaction—an attempt to regain the conditions favorable to sleep.

Difficulty falling asleep and frequent waking are common sleep problems. They may be connected. When a child cannot get to sleep, he will also not be able to get back to sleep. His sleep associations can be the root of it all. Even if you do not suspect this to be your child’s problem, it is important to look at it. Developing independent sleep associations is also a preventive measure.

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COMMON CAUSES OF ANXIETY: SEXUAL CAUSES OF TENSION

admin — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 08:35:18 +0000

Sexual Causes of Tension-At the present time there is a tendency to lay great emphasis on sex, and the tensions of both young and old are often ascribed to some disharmony in their sex life without due consideration of other factors. This line of approach is particularly common with the amateur psychologist. In evaluating the situation it is well for us to realize that sexual conflicts are in fact a very important cause of anxiety, but that conflicts in other areas are also important, and that anxiety often results from a summation of stresses arising from various problems.

There is another factor which makes it difficult to assess the significance of sexual troubles as a cause of anxiety. People have a tendency to give socially acceptable explanations for things. A man is working hard at his office; there are many difficult problems, and he has to work late at night. He will readily tell you this is the cause of his anxiety, and in a way it is true enough; but he does not readily discuss the tension he feels as a result of his being involved with his secretary. The patient often gives these false explanations quite knowingly for the simple reason that he is too ashamed to admit the real cause to the doctor. In other cases, the patient is too ashamed to admit the true cause even to himself. In these circumstances he believes that he is speaking the truth when he gives the socially acceptable reason as the cause of his trouble.

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