A Rainy Day – Slowing Down, Taking Care Of Yourself

As I am writing this post, it is raining. It is an ongoing, hard rain, and it is windy. I have opened the patio door so I can hear the rain more clearly. I like the sound a lot. I watch the drops, or the rush of the water on the ground. It is raining so hard, that there is puddling on the ground. I am very happy that I put a drain in my backyard several years ago. The water now empties at the very bottom of the retaining wall, and is no longer a threat of pushing the retaining wall over with its great force, as it did before I put in the drain. The water still does pool, but it eventually goes down the drain.

(When you read this post, it will probably be sunny and clear skies, our usual San Diego weather.)

Staying Put

I like rainy days. In a way, when it rains, it makes me slow down, a bit. Not rushing out to do some errands or go somewhere, but rather just stay put.

Staying put. Slowing down. Not operating from a kind of energy that is “I have to get this done or that done”, almost like in a frenzy. Instead, taking time, slowing down, listening to myself, and taking care of me.

Taking Care Of Oneself

Taking care of oneself. I wrote about this in my last post, primarily in regards to the flu. Taking care of oneself is something that we can do all the time, not just during the flu season, nor when we are stressed, nor during the holiday season, nor when it is a rainy day, but all the time.

Taking care of ourselves shows up in some many ways. I could list some of them, but you know which ones are specific to you. I think really ultimately, it comes down to respecting ourselves, listening to ourselves, and seeing what we need and want.

Putting a drain in my backyard was taking care of myself.

Homeopathy To Heal

I am happy to see that some of my patients experience homeopathic care as an important part of their health and well being care. They may also be under treatment using western medicine, nutritional and vitamin care, chiropractic treatments, counseling/therapy, herbal medicine, and massage, to name a few healing modalities. Homeopathy has become a very added component of their taking care of themselves.

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If I can be of help in regards to taking care of yourself or a loved one, I invite you to contact me here or through my website, www.homeopathytoheal.com

Wishing you all a wonderful holiday season. Take good care of yourself.

 

Taking Care Of Yourself When You Are Taking Care Of Someone Else

I wrote a post about caregivers awhile ago. You can read that post here. I want to continue to write on this topic – taking care of yourself when you are taking care of a loved one.

When taking care of someone, we may very often put our own needs aside. We may say I don’t need to have down time, or sleep as much, or eat a good meal, or go for a walk, or ask for help. How can I ask for help, if I am the one who is the helper?

Caregivers

Caregivers are:

• Mothers of new born babies, young children, teenagers, young adults.
• Adult children taking care of their parents.
• A partner taking care of their sick partner.
• A family member (aunt, brother, niece, grandparent, uncle) taking care of another family member.
• A father taking care of his children.
• A parent – father or mother – financially being supportive of their family.
• A friend who offers help and assistance
• A health care practitioner who cares, listens and helps people.
• An educator.

Basically a care giver is anyone who is caring for another person. Care giving is not only in helping someone with their physical needs, but also helping them emotionally, financially, with their education, feeling responsible for them, and more.

As a care giver, it is really important to take care of yourself. And so very often we put ourselves on the back burner. It is giving a hand to ourselves, as well as our loved one.

On A Personal Note

For me it is hard to hear or see when someone I love is in pain, doesn’t sleep well, doesn’t like what is happening in their life, is hurting physically or emotionally, is not getting their needs met, is stressed out about their life, or is falling down, literally. I want to help them immediately. I want to make it all better for them, even wanting the situation to go away completely.

Most of the time, I can’t really do this. I can’t make it all better, right away. At these times, I need to acknowledge and honor myself, my needs, my feelings, my responses, and say “it is okay that I feel this way”. And then move forward, to do what I need to do for my loved one, and for myself. And sometimes, for the loved one, it is just being with them, being there, and not really doing anything.

Taking Care Of Yourself

There may be activities or daily practices that you enjoy and help you in your life. Some of these could be taking a walk, being in nature, meditating, doing a creative activity, gardening, having a good cry, venting to someone, receiving a hug, talking to a close friend or therapist, seeing a good movie, taking a break, getting as much sleep as you can, having a massage, treating yourself to a good meal,having a good piece of chocolate and more.

Homeopathy can also be of help. If you are in a situation that is a prolonged care taking situation, and is difficult for you, you may want to see a homeopath for help. It will not just be help for a physical issue, but for what this situation means to you. We all have our own sensitivities, and very often when there is a stressful situation, our sensitivities are exasperated and come to the fore, expressed or manifested in physical symptoms, emotional responses, or just not feeling well.

When we are healthy, we are in a better place to handle the different situations that life brings to us. We are still affected by the situation and respond to them. But we are able to right ourselves, and know that we need to do the things that help ourselves, such as saying, I need to take a break, I need a day off, I need to ask for help. In the long run, this helps our loved ones as well.

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Whatever kind of care giving you are doing, I invite you to contact me if you would like some help. Either contact me here through this blog or through my website www.homeopathytoheal.com.

 

 

 

More To -“A Woman’s Cycle”

I want to add to last week’s blog post A WOMAN’S CYCLE.

There is this cycle that I talk about, the menstrual cycle, but there is also the cycle of life – the cycle of living. I am specifically referring to the roles and the relationships that women have in their lives. Daughter, friend, partner, girlfriend, wife, co – worker, colleague, lover, mentor, mother, aunt, niece, cousin, grandmother, citizen, teammate, self and more.

We may often put someone before ourselves, taking care of them, making sure they are alright, and perhaps, not taking care of ourselves as best as we could. Or we may not listen to what we feel and know would be the right thing for ourselves, or for a loved one. For example:

• A woman who has a young family. She experiences headaches that often come before her period starts. The headaches could be related to her menstrual cycle. She just lives with the headaches, doing the best she can. By taking care of herself, she will be taking care of her family.
• A woman who really is the foundation for her entire family members – children,     grandchildren, husband, the people she works with, and her friends. When she doesn’t feel well, she is still taking care of others, becoming worn out and sick.
• A woman who has menstrual difficulties, but feels there isn’t the time, or maybe the money, to spend on herself. Her children have health issues, and she needs to spend the time and the money on them.
• A young career woman who is very successful and hard working, does not particularly like her job. She has this ongoing health concern that is not getting any better.
• A woman who is very involved with her family and her business. She often feels run down and tired, needing to take the time to rest, the time to refuel, so she can continue to be all that she is to others.
• A woman who has a concern about her child. He is having difficulties in school. She intuitively knows that he needs some help, homeopathy perhaps, but because of time, of other people’s opinions she may not pursue what she feels will be healing for her son.
• A young mother who doesn’t feel well during her period, uses an over the counter medication to help her through it. This helps her, for this particular time. When she has her period again, the same feelings of not being well occur. The over the counter treatment is not a long lasting healing.

Put The Oxygen Mask On You First

We always hear when we are on an airplane that those who are traveling with young children need to put their oxygen mask on themselves first, before putting it on the child.  This applies here, but we don’t do it so readily. I think it is hard for women to think of themselves first, and to care for themselves, first. I know when my two sons were young, I would say I wasn’t even on the list, the list of things to do and to take care of. And I have to admit, my two grown sons still come first before me.

Experiencing A Shift

For some of the stories I write about here, the women may be better once there is a change to their situations. But we don’t often change our lives just like that. When there is a healing of the physical, the emotional, or the mental complaint, there is also a shift in the person. They begin to look at their lives and themselves differently. It is as though, they are looking from a different angle or with a different set of eyes. Their reality has now changed. Then, they can make changes in their lives, such as: taking time for themselves, changing jobs, doing work that they love, leaving a marriage or a relationship that is abusive, being open to more positive relationships with others, speaking up, listening to their intuition, and more. This is what a healing with homeopathy can do.

Healing With Homeopathy

I invite you to take care of yourselves. I would be happy to talk to you, about YOU. Either contact me here on this blog or through my website www.homeopathytoheal.com. I have a 15+ minute complimentary Get Acquainted Call.

 

 

 

Caregivers: They Also Need Care And Help – Homeopathy Heals

A mother of a patient of mine, asked me about her grandmother, who is taking care of her husband, the grandfather, almost solely. She does have help during the day, but she is the sole person at night. She is anxious and has had a stiff neck. She is in her late 80’s, and is an independent type of person, although her husband has taken care of a lot of things during their marriage, she now needs to take care of more things than she has in the past. My patient (I will call her this) was asking if homeopathy could be of help for her grandmother.

My usual response is yes, come in and let’s see what is bothering you. Unfortunately for this grandmother, it is not feasible for her to come in to see me at this time.

Helping The Situation

As a possibility for help, my patient has picked up an over the counter combination homeopathic remedy. I think it is Calms. It contains very low potencies of five to six different homeopathic remedies. It seems to be helping, somewhat. This is not what I use, or how I work. This may help to a certain level, palliating and easing for a period of time, but not healing deeply.

I would say that in our lives we go through stressful situations. Taking care of a loved one who is sick or less able to care for themselves, can be very taxing to the caregiver. In these kinds of situations, there are some things that won’t change, but the way we look at the situation may change, the way we respond to the situation may change, and the way we accept the situation may change. Homeopathy helps with this. Yes, the Calms tablets are helping this grandmother, but the homeopathic remedy that is similar to what she is experiencing and responding to would be better.

We Do The Best We Can

Most of us do the best that we can, with what we have. I like to be positive. We may be stuck in fear, stuck in concerns about finances, or stuck in a relationship that isn’t positive or supporting. I think we do the best we can with what we have. The homeopathic remedy doesn’t change the situation, but it changes or shifts us within, helping us on all levels – physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. We then can do what we need to do. In this situation, with the grandmother taking care of herself, she is also taking care of her husband.

The grandmother has support from her granddaughter, my patient. For caregivers, having someone to talk to, having someone who listens and gives space, going out and doing activities they enjoy, and having someone relieve them from time to time are all important.

My hope is that this grandmother does do well with the over the counter homeopathic combination, and possibly decides to see me, or another homeopath. I find that when I meet with patients, in addition to understanding their suffering and giving them the homeopathic remedy that is similar to them and is healing, that I am there as a support person, as an educator, as a resource, and as a sounding board.

It is a cliché, but true, to take care of someone else, one’s needs to take care of one’s self, first and always. The example we hear so much is that of a parent needing to put on their own oxygen mask first, and then put an oxygen mask on their child. This grandmother taking care of herself will benefit the care of her husband.

Let’s Talk

I would be happy to talk with anyone who is a caregiver, for a child, a spouse/partner, a loved friend or family member, and is feeling that they need to take care of themselves too. I have a 15+ minute complimentary Get Acquainted Call. Please contact me here or through my website www.homeopathytoheal.com