The Paleo Approach
Feb.5.2015

My husband sent me this blog article to read on stress. I’ll have to admit it stressed me out just to read someone else’s battle with stress. I believe that’s called codependency when you take on other people’s issues. Nonetheless, I read through the article and it was highly insightful on how someone else, specifically, Dr. Sarah Ballantyne – The Paleo Mom, handles stress. She is real and down to earth with her struggles. I can relate how hard it is to manage working from home, arranging the kid’s activities, my daily scheduling and so on an so on.

I’ll admit I don’t eat the paleo way but this article gave me hope and maybe I should pay more attention to the things I eat and put in my body. I don’t get sick very often thanks to my super immune system but I know diet can play a big part in your immune system. The part that hit home hard with me was her battle with depression and thyroidism. I struggle daily with those.

I just wanted to say thank you to The Paleo Mom for being so down to earth and sharing her stories and battles. It makes life a little easier knowing you’re not alone. Now – off to check out her books on Amazon!

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Severe depression linked with brain inflammation AND New oils for PTSD
Jan.29.2015

I found this interesting article today about severe depression linked with inflammation of the brain. You can read it in full here. I wonder if I should start taking NSAID’s on a regular basis? But that doesn’t sound healthy either. However, if I’m not responsive to anti-depressants but still take them, it sounds a lot easier to pop an ibuprofen and ditch all the other expensive drugs. But that leads to a whole other issue of long-term effects of anti-inflammatory drugs. Seems I can’t win yet. Still waiting for a miracle.

In other news, Young Living released a new oil combo for treating PTSD. This is BIG news. There is an article how it has helped a man who has been a Vietnam veteran for the past 45 years. Read the full article here. The Young Living combination of Freedom, AromaSleep, Inner Harmony, Valor, Divine Release, Joy, Transformation and T.R. Care. There are full instructions here. If this speaks to you, let me know. You can sign up under me for only $150 to get started. My website is http://www.youngliving.org/ins0mnia and my member ID is 2270261.

Categories: Depression, Life, Young Living Oils Tags: , , , ,
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Don’t tell me I’m hormonal! Acne, Oleic and Lanoleic oils
Jan.22.2015

I’ve been having a crazy terrible time with my face breaking out lately. Usually I can blame the normal hormonal acne, but this time I think I have an idea why I’ve had an unusually harder time. A few weeks back, I was reading rave reviews on Dr. Bronner’s Magic soap. I was interested in making my own face wash. So I talked to a lady at the local Sprouts and she loved the stuff too so I was sold. I bought the lavender scent because well, I like lavender. The ingredients (if you can find them on the bottle – poor graphic designer who had to do this label) listed are: Water, Organic Coconut Oil*, Potassium Hydroxide**, Lavandin Extract, Organic Olive Oil*, Organic Hemp Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Lavender Extract, Citric Acid, Tocopherol * CERTIFIED FAIR TRADE INGREDIENT ** None remains after saponifying oils into soap and glycerin.

I began washing my face with straight-up Dr. Bronners soap, no dilution, no nothing. Full force oil-cleansing method – let’s do this. It smelled great and felt great. Then about a week later I started getting terrible acne so I made a “Blemish Buster” oil blend from my Young Living oils and started using that (recipe below). It did start helping but I was still breaking out. I didn’t know what the deal was. I was furious. (Which if you’re interested in Young Living Oils, I highly recommend you become a wholesale member and start using the heck out of them – they are SO AWESOME! Here’s my link to sign up and my member number is 2270261 – end of quick marketing plug!)

So this was my exact Google search: “What kind of carrier oils are better for acne?”

And this is what I found out: If you have acne-prone skin, you need to use an oil that is naturally higher in lanoleic acid and lower in oleic acid. Say WHAT? Great, thanks but what the heck does that mean? Well this nice lady, Dawn Michelle, from her blog called Minimalist Beauty broke it down by oil. So if you have oily skin like me, you would want to use a base cleansing oil from this list:
Safflower Oil (Organic)—Oleic–8-30%  Linoleic–68-85%
Black Seed Oil—Oleic–22.6%  Linoleic–55.6%
Hemp Seed Oil—Oleic–10.71%  Linoleic–56.48%
Evening Primrose Oil—Oleic–8.4%  Linoleic–72.6%
Pumpkin Seed Oil—Oleic–23.3%  Linoleic–57.2%
Rosehip Seed Oil—Oleic–13.9%  Linoleic–44.1%
Grape Seed Oil (Organic)—Oleic–16.2%  Linoleic–70.6%
Soybean Oil—Oleic–22.72%  Linoleic–52.97%
Wheat Germ Oil—Oleic–12.1%  Linoleic–58.4%
(Please note that wheat germ oil is one of the highest ranking oils on the comedogenic list so results may vary using this oil.)

While EVOO and coconut oil are great for other people with normal or dry skin, I need to change my method and QUICK! So after my next trial, I will update you (I’m sure you’ll be dying to find out). For now, Dr. Bronner will have to be a hand cleanser.

Oh, and if you’re interested in my blemish buster oils recipe, here it is:
5 drops Melaleuca Alternifolia (tea tree oil)
5 drops lavender oil
3 drops rosemary oil
2 drops lemon oil
Fill the rest of the 5ml bottle with carrier oil (I am using Jojoba oil but am about to switch to possibly grapeseed or evening primrose oil).
Dab on 3-4 drops at night.

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10 things to do everyday for depression
Jan.18.2015

A big thank you to Therese Borchard, author of Beyond Blue: Surviving Depression & Anxiety and The Pocket Therapist: An Emotional Survival Guide for writing the article on things to do for depression. I am going to sum up her 10 items below but for the full article, please visit her original post here.

To help beat depression, 10 things to do everyday are:
1. Swim
2. Record your “joys”
3. List your accomplishments
4. Laugh
5. Meditate
6. Take DHA and vitamins
7. Drink a power smoothie
8. Avoid sugar and grains
9. Use a sun lamp
10. Pray

Categories: Life Tags:
Battling Depression
Jan.16.2015

Some of you may or may not know that I have major depressive disorder (at least that’s what clinical tests tell me). And this is something I have battled with my entire life. Don’t worry, I’m not going to go crazy all of you or anything and I’m constantly being treated and evaluated on a monthly basis.

However, there is a lot about depression that people don’t know or understand because they have never dealt with it or lived with someone who has it. And many people, including myself, can fake happiness so that others won’t notice. Signs and symptoms of my depression include:

1. Withdrawl from daily activities and friends
2. Extreme fatigue and tiredness
3. Lack of self-confidence which often can lead to lack of self-care
4. A constant overwhelmed feeling
5. A general sadness
6. Feeling no purpose in life and having no drive
7. Lack of goals
8. Unable to make future plans
9. Negative self-talk of “you’re not good enough,” “just give up”
10. Last but not least, suicidal thoughts

So, please, if you see someone who has any of these signs, don’t ignore them. Ask them how they are really doing. Check up on them often. If they aren’t your friend but know someone who is, ask that person to check up on them. Most likely, people with depression will not reach out to others.

Whew, that was a hard one to get out but now it’s out on the interwebs for the world to know. And I’m okay with that.

 

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