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Finally, on PTSD back from Iraq: “Thank you for your service.”
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The Power of Oregano Oil and the Battlefield inside.
After my try with Garlic, I took over my daily hours job and for the side story, my gum disease got even worse. Next visit at the dentist will be in one month and a half. Yuk!
The challenge is to get to 18th may in a good health condition and a big smile. You know, I have been through antibiotics, and perhaps developed an allergy, or whatever. Now, I found this miracle oil and I will go to the matterass with it and bacterias.
If you wonder what’s the matter with writing about gums, in this blog, well, I have started having diseases when I actually was stressed out, and bleeding gums became chronical since. Despite the statistiques say that Paradontite happens to 60 per cent of people, I feel still like it is my fault. And it acutally is. Stress can impact your immunitary system and that lead to many disfunctional illnesses that you can’t even imagine.
Awareness starts from understanding that our lifestyle and our health are strictly related. Habits and hygiene, as well. Of course, I quitted smoking. And I am keeping on oil pulling more times a day. Never more without my coconut oil.
Now, back to infections and bacterias … let me share with you the amazing benefits of this powerful oregano oil. Careful if you are pregnant and check out for the use and how not to use. Natural remedies with essential oils are not a urban legend. But I won’t say do it your self, and go all the way. This remedy is only a way to get safe to your rendez vous with a professional. Gums infections can be very dangerous and reach out to heart attack if blood carry mean bacterias, ok?
If you want to share your experiences or tips about oregano oil, please, don’t hesitate and leave a comment below. Merci, I would really appreciate it.
ps. after five days I’ve been to the doctor, it was getting very bad. Ok, oregano oil for next time. Perhaps! Also, D Vitamin deficiency is a real problem here in parisian area, because of almost zero sunshine all over the year.
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HSP retreat for therapists in California. You can register here.
First time, I’ve heard of HSP, it was thank’s to my inmate penpal who was and still is struggling with depression, and following a psychoterapy during his journey in Chino, CA.
By the way, today he’s getting pretty better, since he got a job, as inmate, in the “local” library.
Since then, not only I’m aware of being HSP, but of course I am supporting Elaine Aron’s activity, by subscribing to her mailing list, on the HSPerson.com and here you get her message for the first retreat for HSP therapists, which I find a great opportunity to spread out her validation of HSP around the world. If you live in California, and you know any therapists who might be interested in this retreat, please, forward or reblog. I appreciate it.
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Dear HSPs,
This is for the therapists among you — a quick message about a retreat for you because of the April 1st “Early Bird” price. I will send an email for all, with a blog, in a few weeks.
Warmly,
Elaine
HIGHLY SENSITIVE THERAPIST RETREAT
An educational and restorative experience, organized by Beth Dawson and April Snow, to learn more about yourself as a Sensitive Person, discover ways to thrive in your work and connect with other Highly Sensitive Therapists (HSTs).
Speakers include Dr. Elaine Aron and other HSTs discussing topics such as self-compassion, perfectionism, and using our Superpowers to build our businesses. Created specifically with the needs of HSTs in mind, the retreat includes single-occupancy rooms, all meals, access to nature, yoga classes, CEs and more.
Early-Bird Registration is open through 4/1!
For more information and to register visit: http://www.hstretreat.com/http://www.hstretreat.com/#hst
About Elaine Aron, …
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The Pursuit of Happiness vs Search of Meaning.
When I started to look for my purpose, I was recovering from occupational burn out, and PTSD ( except I didn’t understand it ). My doctor played a mentor’s role in the story and he pushed me to my life questioning. Before that, I was completely unaware and in so-called hamster wheel.
In february 2016, I lost a camerade, at work, for a stroke, at 7 am. He was, apparently, quarelling with his manager when he fell down on the ground. They brought him to the hospital by a first aid helicopter, but it was too late. A stroke requires fast help, and perhaps, unhappily, it was not the case. When I arrived in the morning, I passed by the direction office, and heard the executive director preparing his speech for the team talk.
He was calling, on the phone, for all the team staff and occupational doctor, in order to announce that R. my brit camerade, aged 43, was lying in a hospital bed, waiting to cut his hoxygene off. They were just waiting for his parents to come from the UK. He left 4 children and a wife. Sure, you first wonder how it would be like if you were at his place. The fact is that in the early morning, at wake up, 6h45 am, I did my routine mindfulness meditation, and I remember addressing my Self to “above” to submit my service into something bigger than my ego, and my own will. If you see what I mean. We often ask and beg for what we want for us and we never put our selves in a humbling position.
“Don’t ask what your Life can do for you, but what you can do for your Life“.
As soon as I stepped into the corridor of the management office, I had the gut feeling that I got my answer or, at least, for just that day. No more excuses, I needed to talk.
So, for the very first time, fearless, I crossed over the door of my executive director, in order to speak out loud and we finally had a powerful, understanding, conversation. He was in dispair, it was his third loss in a few months, and right after the november attacks, which had such an impact on our workplace, and our spirit. To minimize, my manager tried to tell me that all of us have personal situations which put our health in danger. Work issues wasn’t concerned. Invisible wounds and stress disorders cannot be taken seriously – at a work environement – as a proof of stroke, heart attack or any other health disease, because if you survive, there is a clause of confidentiality. They keep it as a secret. You’d better not talk about. That’s how people get depressive and suicidal, what the hell.
“They say that your purpose is what you struggle with.”
So, the promise I have made to my Self, in that dark upsetting morning, was precisely to take responsability for Me and My own Life. To be honest, from 2015 to 2017, I’ve been writing a memoir in my mother language, that I have tried to get published, but no one showed up unless ahaha! some editing publisher from Rome who complimented me and, as offer, asked me 1500 euros to get my work published. Never mind. What’s the main purpose of all this writing, I wondered, if not healing and sharing?
***
In her book “The Power of Meaning,” Emily Esfahani Smith rounds up the latest research — and the stories of fascinating people she interviewed — to argue that the search for meaning is far more fulfilling than the pursuit of personal happiness.
Our culture is obsessed with happiness. Even though we devote vast amounts of time and resources trying to be happier, many of us feel aimless and alienated nonetheless. With depression and loneliness trending upward for decades and the suicide rate rising around the world — recently reaching a 30-year high in the United States — it’s clear that something is wrong. In recent years, social scientists have been trying to understand what exactly the problem is. What they’ve found is striking. What predicts the rising tide of despair sweeping across society is not a lack of happiness. It’s a lack of something else — a lack of having meaning in life. In fact, chasing and valuing happiness, the way our culture encourages us to do, can actually make people unhappy.
This set Smith on a journey to understand what constitutes a meaningful life. After extensive research and reporting, she came to see that there are four pillars of a meaningful life — and she lays them out in her TED Talk. Ultimately, she discovered that the search for meaning is far more fulfilling than the pursuit of personal happiness — and we all have the power to build more meaning in our lives.
With courtesy of Ted Talk’s Ideas worth spreading
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PTSD and Gene Kelly’s Lost Wartime Star Turn.
Since a young Italian girl, the impact of the aftermath of WWI and WWII, into music and cinema took my attention. It goes without saying, that also justifies why I am running this website in english, British and American cultures still have a huge influence on the Italian mood.
Something that was so evident, for example, was the massive musicals after WWII. Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds and Fred Astaire were the leading Hollywood stars of a joyful, but yet moving and educational movie making. They were made to convey a message of hope and spirit up lifting after misery, loss and grief.
Today wars are dispatched all over the world, and governements name them “Peace Missions to bring democracy“. Words are important, they give a meaning to thoughts. Modern wars are lasting fifteen years? Ok, I will keep my thought silent for respect to deployed, right? But my reflection goes to music then. Which impact do these ‘missions’ have on our social and civil environement, today? None.
Movies …very good for action which guys are keen on, and then videogames. Outburst of violence which lead fragile minds to no sense. True story, I was driving through a Normandy highway, visiting Omaha, and Sainte-Mère-Eglise, when my ex boyfriend (for a reason) told me excited as a cow “Look at that, I have already been there!!!” “What you mean?” “Yes, I fell out an helicopter with my riflegun and shot all those fu*kers around on these plains.” He was serious, and seriously damaged on his cells brain. This is it. Parisian region, and especially suburbs, are made of young vulnerable minds lost in a combat videogame. What’s the purpose? None.
Before there was PTSD there was shell shock and combat fatigue and Gene Kelly’s Combat Fatigue Irritability.
by Michael Sappol
Before there was PTSD there was shell shock and combat fatigue and Gene Kelly’s Combat Fatigue Irritability.
Combat Fatigue Irritability was made during World War II as a “naval training film” (although, unlike most military training films, there is very little training going on in this film). First screened in 1945, it was probably only shown to two select groups: men who were being treated in military facilities for what was then called “combat fatigue” (a category that eventually gave rise to our term, “post-traumatic stress disorder“); and to health professionals who treated such men. It was a “restricted” film, only for military viewing. After the war it was forgotten. It has never received any attention from film historians, and very little from fans (a few of whom did know of it but never got to see it). It is missing from the Gene Kelly…
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The happiness track. Vets welcome back.
How to deal with PTSD without medications.
Give meditation a try.
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The PTSD Beautiful Trauma Project.
The PTSD Beautiful Trauma Project was born in France, in 2018, after 3 years from terrorist attacks to the “Charlie Hebdo Magazine” Board Office. Despite not being an activist, neither politically, nor labour councillor, I felt soon concerned and, in fact, I was. They say that, if you want to grow and evolve, in a lifetime, you get what you need, and not what you want. This was my case.
After multiple and unfortunate events, in Paris suburbs (2015), I woke up from burn out one mild day in mid-September, and I finally began my journey with struggling with PTSD as trauma survivor.
The social, both personal and professional, context I have been through this Parisian terror season, not only put me in a diseased mental health condition, but also forced me to a life-changing transformation. Understanding, first, talking and taking actions, in the aftermath, were the only way to move forward.
Today, although, my work position is still in progress, as well as my emotional, physical and psychological state, my Body/Mind Health and Wellbeing are developing and improving one day at time. Panic attacks are over. Anger is a best friend of mine. Finally, I could find my purpose, and stick into my big dreams and life goals.
One side, the technique of Self-Discovery, thanks to the professional help of a kind lady, from the Occupational Psychologist Service, led me to a process of looking at my own identity, and therefore finding my True Self (Empathic and Highly Sensitive). On another side, my personal journey with PTSD recover was a chance to explore my potential, gifts and spiritual Path.
What could I ask more from a tragic event, and a chaos state of mind, other than survival? This project and my present life driving’s force speak out loud.
A couple of valuable aims will be sharing my personal tips about coping with PTSD, and ultimately, co-creating a community around Mental Health awareness, as well as Common Values.
Motto: What goes around comes around
We are all related.
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What’s PTSD?
If you agree, we – as human beings – were born to be a whole, balanced, and strongindividuals. Greek philosophers, and physicians, say that the natural state of things is calm and, sophrology – the science that studies the Consciousness – promotes body, mind and spirit harmony (SOS = free from diseases, balances. PHREN = diaphragm, emotional heart and by extension, spirit, conscience. LOGOS = Science, study, speech).
So, naturally, PTSD occur as a consequence of a lack of it. The fact is that you don’t realize at which cost, until your life becomes a mess, when you finally admit that something has broken, and you need help to fix it. It can be a physical wound, or invisible, when it concerns heart and soul, or if you are blessed enough, as brits would say, both.
Before 2015, I used to practice Yoga, once a week, basically to keep healthy, in a good shape and mood, it was relaxing, and I could fully stretch my body, especially my neck, happily turning 40.
After the 2015 events (january and november), I got completely unbalanced, both emotionally, and physically, put on weight, panic attacks, anger outbursts, no way to do my job anymore, like dealing with typical visitors problem solving (e.g. lost baggages, fully booked restaurants,..), or simply baring mood swings of my bipolar colleague. As soon as someone started crying or yelling for any reason, my self defense felt in danger (“that freeze, fly or fight thing”).
In february 2016, I was diagnosed obviously inadequate to my position, until today.
For the short storytime, I knew panic and fear on a terrorist attack at workplace and PTSD soon started with insomnia, poor emotional intelligence like Hulk’s syndrome, inability to put words on my own feelings, anxiety and fear of going crazy, exhaustion and chronique fatigue disease, after sleep burn out, tremors (mouth, legs, hands), tachycardia, and memory loss, just to mention a few. Others symptoms you can’t just describe, like a sort of electrochemical pinching in your veins, especially in legs, or warmth flames in the back, which give you the right sense of burning inside.
“A short circuit of your soul.”
It goes without saying, my health was severely damaged, as you know stress is quite dangerous for neurons, once they are gone, they don’t regenerate, so you start aging earlier, that’s also why, today, it’s not so rare to see stress effects in people who suffer Alzheimer’s syndrom much younger than 60, or stroke and heartattack victims.
By the way, I lost three colleagues between 27 and 43, in 5 months, does it count for stress disorders statistiques? Of course, it doesn’t, except if you can prove it. And you can’t. Occupational joke between Medicine and Managament states that it’s confidential.
During my journey, back from burn out, I have been told several times that this is the illness of the strong. And this is one of the main reasons why I feel a proud trauma survivor, today. Of course, you have to consider a deep cleaning of your personal life, as well as a full transformation of your jobcareer and lifestyle.
You can’t figure out coping with PTSD and holding on the same life schedule than before trauma. It involves stop overthinking, letting go, and modulating negative emotional responses compared with the healthy controls.
“You need some yoga in your life.”
Yoga practice really made a difference for me. It brought “justice” to my body and mind, especially since I am doing it regularly, almost everyday.
Check out Ted Nevins’s story “a soldier’s surprising journey to becoming a yogi” on the following: Warrior Spirit Retreat
Thanks to a welsh penpal, and army brit, nicknamed Salad Dodger, my attention was caught by an association for Combat Stress, and reading an article I was quite shocked, because some of my burn out symptoms were perfectly matching with war vets PTSD, after battlefield.
This study led me to another article written from the american journalist, Sebastian Junger, published by Vanity Fair, who experienced PTSD on his way back from Afghanistan, where he spent 15 months on a mission with a Battle Company.
“Sometimes, we ask ourselves if we can save the vets, I think the real question is if we can save ourselves.”
To resume up, PTSD symptoms can be:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Dissociation
- Flashbacks
- Nightmares
- Irritability and outbursts of anger
- Suicidal thoughts and suicide
- Alcohol misuse and dependence
- Sexual problems and confusion about sexuality
Other effects:
- Eating disorders
- Self-injury and self-harming behaviour
- Transient psychotic episodes
- Borderline Personality Disorder
- Dissociative Identity Disorder
- Somatisation – Emotional distress experienced as physical pain
- Increased rates of physical conditions like heart disease and cancer
- Homelessness Re-victimisation Prostitution
- Criminal behaviour (including, for a small minority, sexual offences)
- Low self-esteem
- Lack of confidence
- Sleep problems
- Parenting problems
- Relationship problems
- Trust issues
via What’s PTSD?
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Radiate peace. Yoga time.
When is your fave moment in a day to take time for your Self? Here you find a video from my (not so) personal coach, since at least one year now. With courtesy of Michelle Goldwin from LA, California. Since last stress peak, I’ve actually started feeling more balanced, focused, flexible and in a better mood after starting being regular. Before, I thought that it was simply not possible for me, finding the time. Thank’s to this nice lady, I can vary any time, and stick into my progress, when I feel like. Does it sound like a spot? It actually is. But it’s for free, as it is following and subscribing to this You Tube Channel.
One of the purposes of this blog, it is to give away without asking for any bills. Let’s start from yoga practice. It’s free, but it doesn’t mean it is not working. The harder you work, the quicker you get the results.
Yoga means no agenda. Forget “quicker”. Relax and get moving, slowly but surely.
You’ll tell me.
