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Migraine Headaches And Chronic Pain: Essential Oil Of Lavender, A Natural Remedy
If you suffer migraines or chronic headaches, you are not alone. In fact, you are in good company. A migraine is only one type of headache. In the United States alone, 24 million people suffer with migraines with 75% of them being women. Another, powerful statistic: 1 out of 13 people over the age of 15 wake up with a morning headache. Women are twice as likely to experience depression and/or anxiety disorders as men. If you experience depression or anxiety, you are twice as likely to wake up with a headache. Depression and chronic pain go hand in hand. All of these statements point to the fact that millions of men and even more women in the United States endure headaches, chronic pain, depression, anxiety and sleep disorders. It is simply distressing to read these facts. We are suffering both physically and emotionally with pain and moods that take away the joy of daily living. As a woman with fibromyalgia, I have made it a personal project to learn about herbal therapies to help myself manage my own headaches and chronic pain. As a nurse, I feel compelled to share alternative therapies that can ease the pain of migraine and help us manage the stress of daily living that triggers migraine headaches, muscle aches and depression. What choices do we have other than prescriptions and over the counter medication to treat migraine headaches and chronic pain? Essential oils and aromatherapy offer a great deal of comfort for migraine sufferers. The most familiar herbal fragrances of all, lavender, naturally soothes the mind and body. If you wake up with headaches or suffer with migraines, the sweet aroma of lavender is a safe, natural way to relax muscle tension and ease migraine pain. Because depression is often associated with chronic pain and headaches, lavender's natural ability to lift mild depression makes this essential oil valuable to your mental as well as physical health. Lavender as an alternative herbal remedy Lavender can be used for headaches, migraines and sore muscle relief. Lavender eases joint stiffness and helps us cope with chronic pain. Interestingly enough, lavender has antiseptic qualities and even repels insects naturally. Lavender is one of the only 2 essential oils that can be used directly on skin with no dilution! Simply apply a few drops of essential lavender oil to your temples when you start to feel tension around your head, neck or shoulders. Migraine suffers may experience an aura that signals a migraine. Essential oil of lavender may not prevent the actual onset of the migraine but it can help you relax your muscles and emotional tension that could trigger the migraine pain. Lavender and easing migraine pain A lavender eye pillow is recommended for the relaxing, soothing aromatherapy qualities of the lavender. Lavender promotes relaxation and more restorative sleep. Studies in hospitals and nursing homes found that patients exposed to the scent of lavender fell asleep faster, deeper and longer. Flax seed mixed with the lavender help the eye pillow to rest across the brow, eyes, cheekbones and temples with gentle weight that blocks out light while applying pressure to ease the headache pain. Flax seed reducing inflammation and helps reduce puffiness around the eyes. A lavender eye pillow with flax seed can be warmed for tension headaches or chilled for migraine headache. Rather than fall asleep in the throes of a migraine, start to relax by laying in cool quiet darkness with a few drops of essential oil of lavender on your pillow case and an eye pillow in place. The cool pressure of the eye pillow mixed with relaxing properties of lavender could help bring on both migraine relief and restorative sleep. Lavender and workplace stress The use of lavender in the workplace may help you handle workplace stress, relax under pressure and focus better. Lavender is one of the essential oils tested in studies which showed that the participants relaxed with lavender aromatherapy and were more focused to solve problems and although slower with math computations, fewer errors were noted. A sprig of lavender, bowl of potpourri or essential oil drops of lavender applied near warmth will help you relax, focus and be more productive in the workplace. If you work in a hectic environment that doesn't give you an office then a lavender body mist or small vial of lavender's essential oil that you can keep in your pocket may just do the trick! Lavender and depression Lavender is not a cure or treatment for depression BUT we have discovered that pain, poor sleep, anxiety and chronic pain are associated with depression. Lavender brings a natural relaxed state that helps us cope better with life's aggravations. Studies have shown that in healthy non-depressed individuals, the aroma of lavender does have the ability to gently elevate our moods. Whether you are currently suffering with depression or simply feeling down, remember that your physician is the best person to discuss treatment medical for depression. Taking herbal tea baths and burning lavender candles are a part of taking care of ourselves that does not require a prescription or cost a great deal of money. Lavender infused bath and body products provide a natural stress reducer that can lift mild depression and clear our minds so we can work through problems more effectively. Lavender and insomnia Restorative sleep is a must for everyone. Struggling with insomnia or frequent waking during the night does nothing but aggravate us the next day! The scent of lavender promotes relaxation and helps you sleep better overall. Studies in hospitals and nursing homes found that patients exposed to the scent of lavender fell asleep faster, deeper and longer. Poor sleep is one known cause of morning headaches and can trigger migraine headaches. Grinding your teeth, muscle tension especially around the face and neck are common causes of morning headaches. Keeping a small bowl of lavender in your bedroom and light misting of bed linens will help you relax before you fall asleep. Lavender and anxiety Generalized anxiety disorder is an increasing problem for millions of Americans. Anxiety and depression plagues us as we struggle to cope with life's challenges. It's commonly known that anxiety expresses itself with racing thoughts and a pounding heartbeat but one of the first signs of anxiety is the inability to think clearly. Mental stress that leads to anxiety will make our minds cloudy and solving life's problems becomes a mountain of anxiety. Possible causes, triggers of headaches and chronic pain poor sleep At first glance of possible triggers for headaches, it's no wonder millions suffer with migraines, headaches, depression and chronic pain. eat healthy drink 8-10 glasses of water each day explore natural ways to alleviate hormone imbalances monitor your blood pressure to make sure your headaches aren't a symptom of high blood pressure talk to your doctor about feelings of depression and anxiety each day, find time to do something special for yourself go for a fifteen minute walk light a candle write in a journal spend time with friends surround yourself with such relaxing scents as lavender to ward off headaches and chronic pain The scent of lavender has tendency to slow down our minds and bodies. We relax. Our brain responds positively to lavender. We are soothed. Simply surrounding our senses with lavender can help us cope with life's nagging problems. Lavender helps us sleep better at night and relax under pressure in the work place. Relaxing before you fall asleep can prevent you from waking up with a morning headache. Essential oil of lavender and lying in a dark cool room with a chilled eye pillow can ease migraine pain. Your boss getting you frazzled? Overwhelmed by the daily grind? Fighting chronic depression? Sense a migraine coming on? Got an ache in your shoulders and a stiff neck from sitting at a computer all day? Stop thinking that suffering with migraines and headaches is simply a part of life. Start taking care of yourself every day in ways that make you feel calm and prepared to ENJOY life! Fill your life with lavender and other essential oils that can create a sense of well-being not found in traditional medicine. Learn how to manage your migraines and chronic headaches before they start to control you. Infuse lavender in your life to ease migraine headaches, depression, insomnia, anxiety and chronic pain naturally! Tammy Ames, RN BSN is the owner of Work at Home Connections http://www.wahmconnections.com - online marketing and ezine publishing resource site for work at home families. Working full-time from home, Tammy is also a consultant for Lavender Love http://www.wahmconnections.com/lavenderlove.htm - offering hand mixed organic lavender products including natural skin care products, eye pillows, body scrubs and essential oils for aromatherapy and organic comforts to ease the aches and pains of daily living.
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Alternative Medicine 4000 Year Old Secrets of Green Tea The Chinese have known about the medicinal benefits of green tea for over 4,000 years. But recent studies are just starting to unlock these ancient secrets of green tea. Pa-Kua Feng Shui Basics FENG SHUI BASICS Your Body is a Map of Your Consciousness Everything begins with your consciousness. Everything that happens in your life, and everything that happens in your body, begins with something happening in your consciousness. Understanding Massage Therapy We've all heard of massage and many of us have even experienced it, in one form or another. By a masseuse who happened to be an armature, loved one or professional. If the person knew what they were doing, you came away feeling like a million bucks. But what is massage, really! Taking Control of Your Health & Well-being Taking Control of Your Health & Well-being by Georgianna Donadio D.C., M.Sc., Ph.D. Do you ever wonder why, in spite of all your good intentions, you just cannot seem to take control over your health and wellness the way you really want to? The answer to that question can be found in the words of Albert Einstein, who reminded us "you cannot correct a problem with the same thinking that created it". In other words, you cannot change old behaviors without new information. The Institute of Medicine recently published a study that indicates ninety million Americans are "health illiterate", which means we do not know how to interpret or use health information to control or improve our health, or prevent chronic disease. Data compiled previously identified, "lack of information as the number one root cause of death". Understanding that there exists a cause and effect relationship between what we know and how we behave, we need a model of integrating this important information to change the behaviors that lead to chronic disease. According to a 7-year, 1996, Harvard Medical School study, approximately 70% of all cancers are preventable through lifestyle changes. Furthermore, our diseases and conditions are primarily a result of stress, food, environment, attitude, emotions or beliefs that keep us in behaviors that lead to illness. Which invites the question, are weconsciously choosing to be unhealthy, or do we just not understand sufficiently the relationship between what we think, how we behave, what we put into our bodies and how we keep ourselves well or make ourselves sick? In a world exploding with health information, especially on the internet, we are caught in the dilemma of having abundant amounts of information, without a context through which we can understand and utilize this information in a way that is appropriate for our own unique personal health needs. There is, however, good news - making its way into the mainstream of health care is an integrated model of health information and educationthat provides a "whole picture of health" perspective, allowing each of us to discern and create our own unique approach to taking charge of our health and well-being. Whole Health Education, developed over the past 28 years, in cooperation with Boston physicians, nurses and educators, is an approach to understanding the cause and effect our behaviors and choices have on our state of health. Demystifying the five major factors that influence how sick or well we become, Whole Health Education provides a perspective on human anatomy and physiology, bio-chemistry, psycho-social, environmental and spiritual aspects which allows for an authentic understanding of what we need know to resolve chronic health problems or to stay healthy. Integrating evidence-based information with the wisdom of various spiritual teachings and a whole-person overview of behavioral options, Whole Health Education offers each of us a tool for personal health management by providing personalized health information that explains the physical, emotional, nutritional, environmental and spiritual aspects of a health concern.For example, Mature Onset Diabetes affects approximately 18.2 million Americans and is the leading health concern in our culture today. As all chronic conditions are, Mature Onset Diabetes is a multi-dimensional disease state and the unique Whole Health perspective, can facilitate the restoration of health for those with chronic diseases such as diabetes. Physical/Structural What happens on a physical and structural level with Mature Onset Diabetes? The specialized beta cells of the pancreas, which produce insulin, become incapable of producing adequate amounts of the critically necessary secretion. This happens over a period of years and can begin in our bodies, over time, by eating large amounts of insulin-provoking foods. These insulin provocateurs, which are sugars and starches in the form of complex carbohydrates, require the pancreas to produce more insulin so that the sugars can be carried over the cell membranes to all parts of the body. Serious disturbances occur when we do not have enough insulin to carry the sugar over the cell membranes. Insulin hooks onto the sugar molecule and acts like a lock and key mechanism to bring that sugar into the cellwhich is then used in the energy cycle of cell metabolism. The nervous system, brain and the lungs cannot function without the proper metabolism of sugars. Emotional/Social Just as diabetes is a lack of nourishment on a chemical/nutritional level, so is it a lack of emotional nourishment on an emotional/mental level. It relates to the "feel good" nourishment component of your body. What do we know about carbohydrates and serotonin? Carbohydrates provoke the production of serotonin. Serotonin is a neuro-transmitter that produces a feeling of well-being. There is a direct relationship between what our body is doing chemically and how we feel emotionally. When we crave or build our diet around carbohydrates, this can be a way of "self-medicating" our emotional needs by eating carbohydrates to provoke insulin production. Sugar problems can affect us emotionally. Let's say you have a pancreas that is not working properly. What can happen somatic/psychically from the pancreas to the brain? If we are feeling the ups and downs of hypoglycemia, and its biochemical/neurological symptoms, it may undermine our sense of security, self esteem, and produce anxiety and fear. What is the emotional component of diabetes and the pancreas? Often, it can be a poor sense of self-esteem and a fear of not being "good enough" or not belonging. These feelings, medicated by the serotonin foods, can lead us to not look deeply enough into what is causing our health concerns and allow the feeling/feeding cycle to continue. Chemical/Nutritional On the nutritional side, the treatment for people with Mature Onset Diabetes is to decrease the stress on the pancreas by making changes in their diet -- decrease starches and sugars and decrease calories. Eat less, eat right. What kind of a diet would be best for preventing Mature Onset Diabetes? Vegetables, vegetables, and vegetables combined with lean proteins such as fish, chicken, water, a little fruit and a little fat. In a hypoglycemic situation, it is wise not to eat grain or sugar, but sprouted grain bread, and other substitutes can be healthy and satisfying. Because hormones are chemicals, diabetes and hypoglycemia are both hormonal-based problems. What we know about the hormone system is that it works as a balanced interdependent system. Diabetes is an endocrine-related, systemic problem. With a systemic problem like diabetes, you have a body system problem--you do not just have a condition by itself. It is known that the pancreas is related, through hormone interaction, to the adrenals, and the adrenals are in turn related to the reproductive system. It is known that these glands are related through hormone interactions to the pituitary and the pituitary is related to the thyroid gland, the thyroid is related to the thymus, and the thymus is related to the immune system. Environmental/Internal & External The environment that we work in, live in, walk through, live near -- how does that environment have an impact on the way that we feel and the way we feel about ourselves? How do we learn to trust in the order of the universe? By behaviors that come from trusting the order inside ourselves. We do this by setting boundaries -- codes of conduct of how we are going to behave, eat, work exercise and live. If we don't violate our own boundaries, we are less likely to let anybody else violate our boundaries. We have to start with ourselves. Our experience of victimization can begin with our own self-victimizing behavior. Spiritual/World View A Hindu Vendata truth is that "the whole world is one family". It is said that there is only one disease, the disease of separateness, separating oneself from the awareness that we are one living organism. Competition creates isolation. The spiritual challenge presented by hypoglycemia and diabetes appears to be involved with over- or under-valuing the self: judgment of self and then others. Where are we in the process of getting to the truth that we are all equally important? The drama created by a one-up or one-down dynamic that we may allow to be part of our experience can lead to psychophysiology and the behavioral issues which can contribute to and create Mature Onset Diabetes.Whole Health Education can transform our experience of taking care of ourselves. It can provide an understanding of our health concerns and conditions from this multi-dimensional perspective that makes sense in a way we can utilize the information directly and in a meaningful way. In addition, having the information provided in a mindful, respectful way that invites each of us to discern what we know about our health and condition, how to choose to resolve the problem and what kind of care we choose to have, allows each of us to experience whole-person health care through whole health information. Then, WE become the center of our health and healing process, rather than the doctors or practitioners we go to for guidance. Far Infrared Sauna Technology Comes of Age What exactly is infrared, or radiant heat? No need to worry - it has nothing to do with either ultraviolet radiation (which gives you a sunburn and damages your skin) or atomic radiation (the kind from a nuclear bomb). Prevent Disease By Thinking Differently Than Experts Did you know that all physicians and medical researchers have been indoctrinated with a flawed model of thinking dating to the 17th century? What Is A Holistic Practitioner? Holistic Practitioners are holistic healing professionals with a gift in one or more areas of healing. From bodyworkers to homeopaths to hypnotherapists, the term holistic practitioner has become one that is often challenging to describe or understand. Hopefully this article will provide you with some clarity on what a holistic practitioner is and how to find one that meets your individual needs. Natural Remedy for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder - ADHD Attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a complex neurobehavioral disorder of higher brain functioning. ADHD is common among the disorders that get affected in childhood and adolescence. ADHD is a disorder of numerous contradictions. We can find different abilities in ADHD affected children resembling some children are very hyperactive, whereas others are quiet and under active.It is estimated that Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is affecting 3-9% of school-age children. St Johns Wort: The Magickal Herb It was customary in Britain and Europe on St John's Eve (June 23), to gather certain herbs, such as St John's wort, vervain, trefoil and rue, all of which were believed to have magical properties. St John's wort (Hypericum perforatum) does, in fact, have scientifically proven anti-depressant qualities. Drinks were brewed from it to cure madness, sciatica, epilepsy and paralysis. The salve made from the herb cured wounds from spears and swords - or, so it is said. Muget Des Bois: A Healing Victory Known by its other name as Lily of the Valley or May Lily, muget des bois is an English plant used commonly as a perfume. Since the discovery of its virtues in aromatherapy, the use of muget des bois for healing has been increasingly widespread. Gout Pain Relief With Cherry Power - How To Ease Pain By Eating Fruit We can all learn something new every day! And good doctors are constantly alert to learning from all of their patients. It takes a lot to surprise me after twenty years in medicine but - I hold my hand up - this is a new one! Hypnotherapy and How it Can Help Hypnotherapy is the process of using hypnosis to unlock the capacity of the unconscious mind to bring about therapeutic changes by modifying deeply-held assumptions, fears and misconceptions. Wild Medicine and Tansy Cakes It started with the Tansy cakes. I had to ask myself 'Why would anyone eat anything so utterly disgusting in taste'? Chrysanthemum Vulgare is a common perennial in the British Isles and the name Tansy is said to be derived from the Greek 'athansia', meaning 'immortal'. Reasons suggested for this include the fact that the dried flower lasts forever or that it has a medicinal quality contributing to long life. Looking back to Greek literature, Tansy was given by the Gods to Ganymede to make him immortal. In the language of flowers the gift of Tansy means 'Rejected address' - " I am not interested in you". Its strange taste, not unlike the smell of 'mothballs' might have something to do with this. Back Pain, Joint Pain, Knee Pain, Arthritis and a Host of Other Pain Ailments You Never Have To Suff "The smallest pain in our little finger gives us more concern than the destruction of millions of our fellow beings." William Hazlitt [1778-1830. British Essayist] As The Primary Care Giver for an Alzheimer's Patient, How Can I Get a Break? Taking care of a loved one who has Alzheimer's is a huge responsibility and very time consuming. It can bring a lot of stress, frustration and more. You devote all your time to your loved one and not have time for yourself anymore. You always wonder: when can I take a break from her? It is not an easy decision, but sometimes it has to be made for your own well being. What Is Reiki? Reiki is an ancient form of energy healing in which a properly attuned Reiki Practitioner serves as a conduit for Universal Life Force (or ReiKi). The Reiki practitioner opens them self up as a conduit for a semi-sentient energy summoned from a higher source to facilitate healing or correct a person's aura. The Reiki Practitioner is not a healer per se but the energy moves through them to work with the recipient's higher will in correcting imbalances and treating situations from the core causal point rather than the effect. This is thought to have a beneficial effect on the body, mind, and spirit, emotional and in Indian systems - the chakra system. Heres Hope for Parkinsons Disease Frank's 85 year-old father was in advanced stages of Parkinson's. Back Pain and Pain in Other Extremities: If Nothing Else Has Worked, Try Doing Visualizations (*In this group are included pain in the back, neck, shoulder, arm, elbow, wrist, hand, hip, leg, knee, ankle, foot, and other extremities.) Secrets Of Aromatherapy Part I - Physical Remedies Aromatherapy can be used to relieve the discomfort of a wide range of minor physical complaints including burns, colds, flu, sinus problems, cold sores, eczema, headache, indigestion, menopause, menstrual irregularities, muscle aches, nausea and toothaches.
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