The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.

~Buddha
(Hindu Prince Gautama Siddharta the founder of Buddhism, 563-483 B.C.)

I am a worrier. I know that often times… ok maybe most times I am worrying about things that really don’t matter to the grand scheme of things. I’ve always been this way, but I work hard at trying to calm those nerves now because I have realized how much energy it takes to be worried all the time.

Everyone worries, but doesn’t it seem like women worry more than men do, or maybe worry about more things? Research has shown that women have lower levels of a brain chemical that influences anxiety. Having less of the chemical, an enzyme called COMT, appears to make a person more anxious and highly strung. This would be expected to make them more anxiety-prone. The NIAAA research found that women scored higher than men in psychological tests which used harm avoidance as a measurement of anxiety.

Regardless of whether or not we actually do worry more than men, it’s still an issue that many of us deal with every day. The average person (men included) spends about 5% of each waking day–about 48 minutes–worrying about one thing or another. The most common sources of worry for Americans are family and relationships, jobs and school, health and finances. Sound familiar? Worry can lead to poor sleep in many cases, with resulting fatigue, restlessness and irritability. But it’s the psychological toll that’s usually most devastating. Worrying all the time can also make it difficult for you to concentrate, cause some nasty headaches and effect your ability to resolve problems… the very thing that could induce more worry!

So, how do we break the habit? I think the first step is just acknowledging that we are worrying too much. Start paying more attention when you catch yourself worrying. What is it your concerned about? Can you resolve it? If you can, then take steps to resolve it and get it off your plate (easier said than done sometimes, I know). If you can’t resolve it, release it. A good friend of mine reminds me that “you can’t control people, places or things”. He’s right, so if you find yourself worrying about what another person is thinking or feeling for example, remind yourself that it’s not your job to worry about the things that you can’t control and let it go!

I would also recommend finding time each day to decompress and release those things that build up in our minds each day. Many times it’s those things we worry about. Write about them, read a book that will calm your nerves, or just listen to some music. Try creating a sacred space for this daily decompression. My previous post on stress also has some good tips on relieving tension; stress and worry are often two sides of the same coin.

Still need some help? Check out this book, “Women Who Worry Too Much” by Holly Hazlett-Stevens. The book addresses the fundamentals of worry: what it is, how it differs from anxiety, and how it can develop into a chronic state of mind. The book also offers strategies for overcoming worry.

Think about what you’re worrying about and ask yourself if it will matter next month, or next year. Chances are it might not even matter tomorrow! I will leave you with one of my grandfather’s favorite saying’s:

Today is the tomorrow we worried about yesterday.

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Every woman should have sacred space in her home for retreat. It should be a place for you to meditate, read a book, sleep, journal or anything that helps you to recharge when you’re feeling overworked. Preferably, this space would be off-limits to others in the house so that it always feels like your own energy.

Your sacred space can be anywhere you have room. It can be a spare bedroom, or a corner of your own bedroom that is isolated with fabric or other “barriers”. It can even be an empty closet! The important thing is that you are comfortable in that space. Once you’ve picked your spot, clear everything out. Everything. You want to start from scratch. Think about what the room’s primary function will be. Will you use it to read or to meditate? To listen to music or write in a journal? What you plan to do with your sacred space will determine a lot about what you will include in your design. The design will help create the proper energy for you to relax, heal and recharge.

When creating your sacred space remember to take into account color, texture, scent, and lighting; all of which will play a big part in how you feel in the space. Here are some tips:

• The color palette you choose should be one that is calming, soothing and recharging for you. Most often, the cool colors (blues and greens) are considered to be the most calming, but I believe that individuals are drawn to certain colors for a reason. My preference for my sacred space has always been deep warm colors; a dark (non-stimulating) red with a light brown for instance. If you can put some paint on the walls, do it! If not, consider hanging or draping fabric along the walls to change the color of the space around you.
• Add lots of accents to create the kinds of texture that you want. Some fluffy pillows that accentuate your color palette; fabrics on the walls and furniture will bring depth. Add some “special things” to personalize your space. For me, I’ve always added Buddha’s to my space, but it should be personal for you. Maybe it’s a picture of an island you stayed on five summer’s ago, or a noodle necklace your 4-year made you!
• Scent can be an extremely powerful additional to your space. Anyone schooled in aromatherapy knows how much it can do not just for mood for for overall health. I’m a big essential oil fan, and the right scent can help you to achieve that rested and recharge feeling from your sacred space. Here’s a link to some additional information on essential oils for well-being and their multitude of uses and benefits. You’ll want to use particular oils for particular things, but my mainstay is always pure lavender with either sandalwood or a citrus oil blended with it. Adding essential oils to your space can be very easy. You can add it in the form of incense or an aromatherapy burner. You can water it down into a spray bottle and mist it throughout the room, or add it to borax powder (sprinkle on the carpet and vacuum). Experiment with different scents to find one that makes you feel divine.
• Lighting will be somewhat variable depending on your intended activities, but candles are I think the best mood enhancer on the planet! If you must have a lamp or other bright light source for reading or writing, buy a small swatch of fabric that can be draped over the lamp shade for times when you want to soften the mood.
• One other addition that many people love is a noise machine… it brings the sounds of the ocean or a rainstorm to your space that many people love for meditation.

Once you’ve added all the necessary ingredients to your sacred space, the only things that will be missing is you! Begin to set aside some time each day to be in your space. It doesn’t have to be hours (even 15 minutes can be a miracle if you’re a mother!); any amount of time as long as it’s daily will be a good start. As you begin to take advantage of it’s benefits, you’ll find yourself making time to be there more often. And again, try to keep others out of your space… it’s sacred for crying out loud!!!

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With the new HPV vaccine in the midst of controversy, I thought I would put in my two cents. First let’s get to the nitty-gritty of what cervical cancer is and where it comes from. Click on the link below if you would like more information.

Cervical cancer is caused by certain types of a common virus called HPV or human papillomavirus. The disease involves abnormal and uncontrolled growth of the cells that make up the cervix. There are more than 100 types of the virus. Most are low risk types and do not cause cervical cancer. High risk (cancer-causing) types‚ however‚ can cause the development of abnormal cells that can lead to cancer of the cervix. Contrary to what many people think‚ cervical cancer is not a hereditary condition. In fact‚ scientists have proved that it’s caused by certain types of a virus called the human papillomavirus or HPV.

Approximately 20 million people are currently infected with HPV. It is highly transmittable and often carries no symptoms or warning signs, making it very easy to inadvertently pass along to someone else. At least 50 percent of sexually active men and women acquire genital HPV infection at some point in their lives. By age 50, at least 80 percent of women will have acquired genital HPV infection. About 6.2 million Americans get a new genital HPV infection each year.

In the last year, a new vaccine for HPV was released. It is designed for women between the ages of 9 and 26, and does not protect against all forms of HPV. It does, however, protect from the types that are known to cause cervical cancer. HPV is in fact responsible for roughly 90% of all cervical cancer indicents; 10,000 women in the US are diagnosed annually in the US, and rougly 4,000 women lose their lives each year to the cancer.

Now, I don’t know about you, but if I had a daughter, I would want her to get this vaccine- I would want my child protected. So, what’s all the fuss about? Opponents of this vaccine suggest that vaccinating a young girl for HPV will give her the idea that she can run around and have unprotected sex anytime she feels like it. This is ridiculous! You’re going to deny protection from a deadly cancer because you are worried about your child “getting the wrong idea?”… Yikes.

First, I would hope that every young daughter is talked to about early pregnancy and about far more serious transmitted diseases, such as HIV. Along with this I assume every good parent discusses with their child the idea of making good choices in life. That said, I highly doubt that your daughter is going to be sitting around making a decision about having sex based on the possibility of getting cervical cancer later in life, especially if you’ve educated her about it.

Another thing to consider is the idea that this virus is only going to be transmitted because of a “poor choices”. Many people can carry the virus for years and never know they have it because of the lack of symptoms. This is true especially for men, and up until recently there hasn’t been a proper test available to even check for it! Some cases of HPV aren’t even spread through sexual contact at all!

I would agree that the vaccine doesn’t necessarily need to be mandatory, after all it’s not a highly contagious disease like measles or whooping cough, but it should definitely be offered and recommended to all mother’s and daughters. Vaccinating your child against something that is a known cause of cervical cancer should require no debate at all in my mind. Assuming you’ve done all that you can to educate your daughter about sex and the dangers, than her choice will be made regardless of the threat of cervical cancer.

Go to the HPV Vaccine Site for more information about the vaccine and where you can get it. This site also has good information about a new test that is offered. Many of us may be past the age for this vaccine to be of use to us, but we can still make a difference for our daughters.

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Now days it’s a whole lot easier to find organic foods. I remember when I used to have to go to my local natural food store to get anything, but now my local chain grocery store typically has a good assortment of organic foods. To maximize my grocery budget, I have learned to be selective about what I buy organic and what I feel I can slide on. Certain foods require more pesticides to enable growers to produce more consumable (and sellable) product while others are fairly resistant to insects and disease on their own. In my mind, there is no doubt that we consume WAY too many chemicals when we eat, so I think buying organic is something we should all being doing for ourselves and our long-term health.

WebMD has a great article debating the benefits of organic food vs. the cost for buying them. It lists foods that are worth the extra expense of organic and foods that aren’t. This article is great in that it points out why informing yourself can save you a lot of money in the long run. Their list is pretty good, but I would add that when you buy produce, think about how you eat that particular item. When you consume the whole fruit, such as a strawberry, you’re eating all the pesticides that came with it to the store (and strawberries along with the rest on the WebMD list require LOTS of pesticides to keep them from being eaten which is why they’re so much worse than others). But think about a watermelon. You don’t eat the exterior of the fruit, which is going to be primarily where all the pesticides are located. For that reason, buying things like melons, bananas, and citrus fruits in non-organic form isn’t so bad. Another good tip that I would reiterate here is to remove outer layers of leafy greens and to peel vegetables before you eat them (such as carrots). I typically try to always buy organic meet, but not just because of pesticide chemicals. I am seriously turned off by the thought of eating a chicken that has been pumped full of hormones so that he would be “ready” to eat in half the time. Yuck!

As always, I think the underlying message here is educate yourself. Decide what foods you eat that are worth paying extra for to get them organic. This comes into play if you think about what things your family eats in large quantities. Got a bunch of milk-guzzling kids living at home? Consider the hormones and other chemicals in regular milk and look at other options at your local grocery store. Chances are they have an assortment of hormone-free organic milk, soy milk and other things available to choose from. My family has just recently made the switch from Soy to Almond Milk. YUM!!!

Still want to save yourself some extra money? Pay attention to prices. I find that while I may be able to buy the same things at my local grocery store, the local whole foods store is much cheaper. Then the only question is whether it’s worth shopping at two different stores to save money. Most the time for me it is.

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There’s good stress (eustress) and there’s bad stress. Eustress comes from things that are fun and exciting, like running a marathon or meeting an important deadline at work. The critical thing about eustress is that it is a temporary state. Bad stress is typically not temporary and includes things like chronic worrying about finances, a relationship, your job or your health.

Stress can trigger the body’s response to perceived threat or danger, the Fight-or-Flight response. During this reaction, hormones like adrenalin and cortisol are released. These hormones are responsible for speeding the heart rate, slowing digestion, shunting blood flow to major muscle groups, and changing various other autonomic nervous functions. They give the body a burst of energy and strength. This response to stress was initially meant to enable us to physically fight or run away when faced with danger, but now it’s activated in situations where neither response is appropriate, like during a stressful day at work or a disagreement with our significant others. When the perceived threat is gone, systems are designed to return to normal, but in our times of chronic stress this often doesn’t happen. Eventually this chronic state causes damage to the body. Here are 10 health issues that can be caused by chronic stress in our lives.

• Chronic headaches
• Weakened immune system
• depression
• anxiety
• sexual dysfunction
• heart disease
• ulcers
• obesity
• hyperthyroidism
  
• diabetes

No one wants to be chronically stressed out; it’s never something we intend. But it is an issue for nearly everyone. It’s easy for stress to take over, and even harder to get rid of it once it’s in our lives. All the health issues described above are reason enough to learn some stress management techniques, but there’s one other reason that beating stress is important. Chronic stress makes life just plain exhausting! A better quality- more relaxed- life will shine through in everything you do; from raising your kids to performing well in your career field. And if you look at your life, you may find that there are several aspects of your day that aren’t worth getting stressed out about! Think about traffic during your morning commute. It’s there and there’s little you can do about it, so allowing it to stress you out and potentially effect your health is not worth it!

Zen Habits has a great post on how to eliminate stress from your life. I think this is a great place to start! My preferred stress management tool is walking. When things get too hectic (as they often do), I find that a walk at the park or a hike in the mountains is just what I need to release some of my worry/stress. I also think that Eustress can be very effective at stress-busting if used correctly. Not all techniques are right for everyone, so the important thing is to experiment with some ideas until you find one that suits your personality and your stress level. And next time you find yourself peaked with stress, remember this:

 

Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are.
~Chinese Proverb

 

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