Adult Acne Linked to Stress

Dermatologists are reporting being "busier than ever" despite consumers pulling back on non-essential services such as liposuction and botox injections.

The source of their increased business: Adult acne, eczema, and warts. These are all hits from the immune system, and all come from the fact that the nervous system and hormone systems work together.

Stressful incidents set off a rise in cortisol that causes a breakout, and now that so many citizens are continually stressed, their bodies are producing more and more.

Doctors recommend over the counter products with salicylic acid or glycolic acid or cortisone products. If those don't work, try benzoyl peroxide. A cortisone injection at a dermatologist's office can help get you through a time when looks are most important - such as a job interview or public appearance.

Meanwhile, some doctors are recommending stress relieving measures such as yoga and meditation or strenuous physical activity like racquetball or weight lifting.

Personally, when I feel stress creeping up, I take a 3-pronged approach. I get outdoors - either to walk or work in the yard. Pulling weeds is definitely a de-stress exercise for me!

Next I engage in negative-energy releasing exercises such as "Big sigh, look up" that I learned from a tape set called "Manifesting Your Life" from Nightingale Conant.

Then, in addition, I turn to Bach Flower Essences, which serve to balance energies without the harmful side-effect of drugs. The product Feel5ive is specially formulated for stressful situations and extreme nervousness. You can take it every day, or when you know you're going into a stress situation.

My system must work, because people often ask me how I can remain so calm and centered when others around me seem to be falling apart.

Stress relief: How to let go of anger or guilt

Do you have something on your mind that you just can't let go of - or you feel like it just won't let go of you?

Say there's someone who is annoying you so much that you can hardly keep your mouth closed. But you know if you say anything you'll do damage to a relationship you treasure.

Say you've done something you feel ashamed of - a big thing or a little thing, but it keeps eating at you.

Say you're completely angry with someone you dearly love - so angry that if you try to talk about it you know you'll say more than you mean and really hurt that person.

Say you're just mad at the world and yourself because you've taken on too many holiday projects and you feel worn out and unappreciated. You're doing what everyone else wants done and none of what you want to do, but you're committed because you said yes one too many times.

Here's a simple solution that you won't believe until you try it. It's called "Write and Burn."

Go into a room by yourself and write it all down. Holler, yell, curse, say every nasty thing you want to say - to yourself or to them. Write down how you really feel about the situation and don't leave anything out. Keep writing until you feel like you've said it all.

Then, stick the letter and a book of matches in your pocket and go somewhere that you can burn the thing. And burn it.

You will be amazed at the relief you'll feel. It's as if the burden lifts - you've said it all, gotten it all out in the open, and you can think about other things again.

If you live where you can't possibly burn the letter, there's an alternative that works almost as well.

Say it all in an email. After you write it, read it one more time, and then delete the whole thing. Be sure not to put a name in the send line - you wouldn't want to accidentally send these private thoughts out into cyberspace!

Stress-relief through Meditation - for non-meditators

When you think of meditation do you think of someone sitting cross-legged on the floor making strange noises?

Plenty of people do - but you don't have to do that to get the benefits. Meditation is simply the act of clearing your mind and letting your body release tension - in other words, a great way to banish stress and optimize your natural health!

I'm sure the meditation purists will disagree with me - but that's OK. They can call this exercise something else and it won't bother me a bit. So here's the story...

Years ago I used to try meditating - with no results. No matter how I tried I couldn't sit there and visualize blank paper. When I tried, my mind kept saying "blank paper, blank paper." It was useless. And, even when all alone, I couldn't bring myself to make those strange noises. It felt silly. I was more tense from trying than I was from not trying.

Then I bought a couple of tape sets that brought things into focus. Using two methods together I could do it - and it felt wonderful!

The first set taught me to visualize numbers. Here's how that worked: Beginning with "3" visualize the number while saying it, 3 times. At the same time as you're doing this, inhale deeply and let the air out while saying "3, 3, 3" (I'll admit that I had to learn to breathe correctly before I could do it.)

Then do the same for 2 and 1. Then, after a few deep breaths and mentally saying "relax" the next step is to continue breathing deeply and count backwards from 10 to 1. Then think "relax" again a few times and let go with all your muscles.

That part was hard at first also - because the first tapes I had taught me to begin the relaxation process with my feet and work my way up to my head. The method that worked for me was to begin with the scalp, then the facial muscles, then neck, shoulders, chest, back, etc - ending with the feet. I learned that from a later tape.

By consciously releasing and feeling the relaxation in each part of your body, your thoughts are naturally taken away from whatever else is going on in your life and focused on your feeling.

When you become totally relaxed, just sit there and "feel" it. Enjoy the feeling of your body sinking into the chair, your hands laying relaxed, your feet at rest. If a stray thought tries to wander in, just visualize it being pushed aside and go on with "feeling."

You might stay for 5 minutes, or 25. Do whatever feels right and good.

The first set of tapes I had recommended coming back out of this state deliberately - The method is to count back up to 5 while telling yourself "At the count of 5 I will open my eyes and be fully alert, rested, and feeling better than I felt before." Say it when you begin, then at 3, then a variation of it at 5 - when you do open your eyes.

I used to suffer from not being able to fall asleep at night. My mind was always racing ahead to what needed to be done tomorrow or worrying over what I didn't accomplish today. So I did this at bedtime and changed the ending - I told myself that when I opened my eyes I'd be very sleepy and would go to bed and fall asleep quickly - that I would sleep well and wake rested. And yes, it worked.

Banishing stress from your mind and body will go a long way to keeping you healthy - so if you're thinking you don't have time for this because you have so many duties to your work and your family, re-think that position.

You're far more valuable to all of them when you feel good. Not only will you get more done, you'll be a lot more fun to be around.

The hectic Christmas season is a good time to let go of stress, so why not try this right now?

Bach Flowers and the mind-body connection

For a long time now doctors have been talking about stress and high blood pressure - but they usually talk about type A executives, driving themselves beyond their endurance to succeed more and more.

Well, the rest of us have stress too. It just isn't quite so visible.

And finally, doctors are realizing that stress can do more to our bodies than cause high blood pressure. It can cause an overall degeneration of many body parts, because after all, those parts are all connected!

Bach Flower Essences can help rebalance our energies to remove that stress and make the ups and downs in our lives easier to manage.

Dr. Bach, of course, talked about how our spiritual self affects our physical self. He believed there could be no true physical healing without emotional and vibrational healing. I personally believe that's why some people who "should" be well continue to be ill, while others with challenging injuries can heal quickly.

Bach Flowers can be preventative medicine - treating emotional upheaval before it takes a toll on our bodies. And they can be healing medicine, working in concert with traditional medicine to allow bodies to recover. Either way, because it's both inexpensive and totally harmless, I think using Bach Flower Essences is an intelligent approach to health care.

If you're interested in trying this natural approach to wellness, here's another book that could help you understand and choose the correct essences: Illustrated Handbook of the Bach Flower Remedies


You'll find Bach Flower Essences in many places around the web, but for fast service and the best prices I've seen, I recommend Feel Bach! More important, they use the same formula that Dr. Bach perfected back in the 30's, while many other manufacturers have chosen to use a cheaper method.

Note: For a selection of books that cover everything from using Bach Flowers for stress to treating pets, just type "bach flower remedies" into the Buy.com search box at the top of this page.

Yours for stress-free, joyful holidays,
Marte

Tomorrow: Meditation

Bach Flower Essences - to greet the Christmas season with joy

Do you know about Bach Flower Essences? They could help you enjoy the Christmas season this year.

The use of plants for healing dates back to Biblical times, so there's nothing new about knowing that plants are beneficial. But in the 1930's Dr. Edward Bach identified 38 different plants whose flowers affected not just physical well-being, but emotional well being.

Since modern science has no way to measure and quantify emotional vibration, no scientific explanation exists for why Bach Flower Essences work. But that doesn't matter to the millions of people who use them.

We all know that Christmas brings anxiety to many. Often it's the pressure of too much to do, and expecting too much of our own ability to do it all. Sometimes it's the dread of facing critical family members - and sometimes it's being that critical family member. Sometimes its overwhelming loneliness.

These are all emotional conditions tied to energy and our inner vibrations - and Bach Flowers can help bring things back into sync. The great part is that they're completely natural - there are no harmful side effects, no drug interactions, no worries about who can or cannot use them.

For generalized anxiety, many use a product called Feel5ive - it's Dr. Bach's original calmative formula to be used in times of stress. This is good for facing an important interview, visiting the dentist, taking an airplane ride, etc. It's also a great formula to use for pets under stress.

Treating other emotional situations requires a study of the 38 Bach Flower Essences and their qualities. Some rely on Bach Flower practitioners to help them choose the essences, while others do their own research. Feel Bach! offers a good explanation of each essence on their website, and will send you a quick reference brochure upon request.

If you'd like to learn more, I highly recommend the book I keep handy:
Bach Flower Therapy: Theory and Practice

Tomorrow we'll talk about the mind-body connection. Stay tuned...

Natural, healthy stress relief

To improve your overall well-being and banish stressful feelings, a new report recommends singing. Yep, top of your lungs joyful song!

The report went on to say that there was some importance in knowing all the words to the song - but I have to wonder if that was an opinion rather than a fact. I say that because I hardly ever know all the words to any song, but get great stress relief by singing along to a really rockin' tune.

Better yet - dance! My email holds 4 or 5 great tunes that friends have sent over the years. If I let myself get down in the dumps I click over to one of them and get up and dance with myself.

The dogs look at me like I've lost it - but that's OK.

The Christmas season is here - and if it gets you down, try singing and dancing. You'll feel better both mentally and physically.