Acorn Health Blog

By Anne Marie Allen Reflexologist, Reiki Practitioner & Massage Therapist

If you have anxiety, you’ll know how debilitating it is and how it can totally take over your life, and being told not to worry about it or it’ll be fine really doesn’t help.

Anxiety can be so crippling that it’s the only thing on your mind 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It can interfere with your sleep, social plans and take over your life.

If you have anxiety you may feel:

• Panic

• Palpitations

• Sweating

• Worried about being judged, embarrassed or ridiculed

• Over thinking

• Self-conscious

• Fixated about everyday events

• Unrealistic excessive worry with little or no reason

• Uneasiness

• Sleep problems

• Shortness of breath

• Tense muscles

• Dry mouth

• Not feeling calm

• Dizziness

• Dry mouth

It can be hard to get across and explain to friends and family the weight and depth of how your feeling.

Therapies such as reflexology can help using pressure on reflex points such as adrenal glands, brain, pineal, pituitary can help relieve anxiety. I often do reflexology with clients who suffer with anxiety in varying degrees, and they always feel the benefits after a having this treatment. If you can’t access reflexology, here are a few tips to try at home:

1. Distract yourself – When you’re feeling anxious you just wish your head had an off button so you can turn the thoughts off for a little while…Well that’s tip number one, do anything to distract yourself: gardening, read, a puzzle, go to the cinema, surround yourself with friends, do anything and just get out of your head for a while.

2. Exercise – Start a new exercise, this has a two-fold effect meaning concentrating on the steps in a Zumba class or the poses in a yoga class helps you to stop thinking of anything else anxiety based and the endorphins help you to feel good too.

3. Super Mood Boosting Foods – Check your diet to ensure that it’s not too full of processed foods or caffeine and then up your intake of nuts, soy, milk, yoghurt especially live, dark green leafies, dark orange vegetables, soup, legumes, citrus, wheatgerm, berries.

4. Meditate – Meditation research has found it helpful for relieving anxiety even five or ten minutes a day can help.

5. Balance – I’ve used reiki a lot with anxiety and it often provides welcome relief,. When you have a reiki treatment your whole mind, body and spirit are balanced along with your chakras and any blocked or stagnant energy is released leaving you feeling lighter, clearer and more like you. If you’re not trained in reiki you can try a reiki treatment with your local practitioner. If you find it beneficial you may like to learn how to do reiki yourself.

6. Aromatherapy – Bergamot essential oil is wonderfully calming and relaxing and is often used to help anxiety and depression, to use it at home you can add it to your oil burner, sprinkle it on a tissue or add it to your bath.

If your interested in trying reflexology, reiki or in purchasing some bergamot essential oil contact me at Acorn Natural Health Centre on 01773 687 349 or book online at acornnaturalhealth.co.uk

By Jadwiga James – Homeopath
& Herbalist, Access Bars
practitioner

Dealing with death of a loved one is never easy, and one of the most difficult and heart-wrenching experiences is the loss of a child, whether it’s through miscarriage, stillbirth, illness or an accident.

Grief is a complex and confusing process, involving a whole array of different and conflicting emotions. We are told that there are 6 stages of grief:

• Shock and denial

• Pain and guilt

• Anger and bargaining

• Depression

• Reconstruction

• Acceptance and hope

But the truth is that grief is such a personal experience, that it cannot be classified nor put within any time frames. Each bereaved person carries a completely unique story. Although some of us might be sharing the same circumstances, their scope and impact on each one’s life can vary dramatically and will depend on a whole range of different factors.

It’s very important to be able to open up to someone about what you are dealing with but, ultimately, grief is a very lonely state. Some people find dealing with loss so difficult that they cut themselves from it completely, whilst others become stuck… paralysed by grief and devastation, becoming incapacitated and unable to carry on living a life they knew before. Some people are not willing to ask for help and want to deal with loss on their own. They might feel that doing anything to lessen their heartache lies on par with betrayal of the memory of their loved one. In the end, we are rarely the same people after grief.

How can homeopathy help?

In choosing a remedy for grief, a homeopath takes into account the person’s experiences and their reactions to them. Being of belief that the mind, body and emotions are interconnected, homeopath looks for specific pattern hiding behind the suffering, the very thing that makes the person’s experience so individual to him.

As homeopathy has been around for over 200 years, its remedies have an equally long history of practical and clinical verification. Thanks to the sheer volume of their usage, some of the preparations became widely-known for their specifically useful action when it comes to dealing with effects of grief, shock and trauma.

The most commonly prescribed homeopathic remedies for dealing with grief and loss are:

Aconite: a remedy for shock; not only for those who experience the loss themselves but for those who may have bore a witness to it, e.g. the nursing staff. Aconite is most useful when a person suffering loss becomes convinced of approaching death, experiences panic attacks and palpitations. It’s a sudden and active response. Aconite can be considered as a first-line remedy.

Calcarea Carbonica: a remedy for over-identifying with the deceased; people needing Calcarea Carbonica are very easily affected by tragic stories, might start imagining what it’s like to be dead and become either easily startled and oversensitive or suffer from dullness and confusion of thoughts as a result.

Ignatia Amara: a remedy for recent grief or grief which is felt with the same intensity despite the passage of time; people needing Ignatia might suffer from sudden, uncontrollable bouts of tears, laughter, anger and despair, all of which are very intense in their character; very commonly there is a sensation of a ball stuck in their throat as well as frequent sighing and yawning.

Natrum Muriaticum: a remedy for chronic effects of grief which was never allowed to be expressed fully; it’s a very common occurrence that people need to cut-short their time of bereavement on account of work or family commitments, which can result in semi-permanent state of unresolved feelings; the grief becomes like a secret wound which needs to remain hidden from others and never shared, thus people needing Natrum Muriaticum are very often closed emotionally and find it difficult to cry, especially in front of others.

Phosphoric Acid: a remedy for burn-out after a death of a loved one; people needing Phosphoric Acid might experience hair loss as a result of grief as well as complete apathy, emptiness and physical, as well as mental, exhaustion.

Staphysagria: a remedy for unexpressed grief with feelings of anger; especially suited for when the loss involved further surgical intervention which might have aroused feelings of having been violated; people benefiting from Staphysagria very often blame themselves for what has happened.

Homeopathy doesn’t interfere with bereavement. It will not prevent anyone from experiencing or processing the pain and loss in a balanced and healthy way. It can simply aid in release of emotions and ensure one does not become stuck in any part of the grieving process, whilst providing support in dealing with it in a gentler and more conscious manner. Homeopathic remedies are non-toxic, don’t cause any adverse side-effects and can be taken on their own as well as a part of any other type of treatment; there is no age limit to their usage, which makes them safe to use in every stage of life.

My name is Jadwiga James and I offer a free 15/20 minute consultation either over the phone or in person at Acorn Natural Health Centre. Please get in touch to find out more.

By Sally-Anne Marler – Intuitive Card Reader & Angelic Reiki Practitioner

There has been lots of talk about Empaths and Energy Vampires recently – some of the top specialists on this subject include Dr Christiane Northrup and Judith Orloff to name a few. So what do these terms refer to and what do they mean?

Essentially it’s all about energy! How your energy can be affected by other people, situations, events – even certain foods, drinks (especially caffeine and alcohol).

Some people that fit into the empath category may have been called overly-sensitive or highly sensitive by others. These people have natural empathy for others, but what makes someone an empath – is that they can usually feel the feelings of others, or at least pick up on them to some degree. This isn’t about taking on social cues and reading non-verbal communication. It’s about being able to tell what someone is really feeling (usually by feeling it themselves through a felt-sense)…behind the mask, the facial expresssions and the words they are using.

An Energy Vampire – is someone who can leave Empaths feeling tired, drained, overwhelmed, or even a little bit sad for no apparent reason. They often have narcissistic tendancies, can be very good manipulators but charmers on the outside. They tend to blame everyone else for everything, have gaslighting behaviours (making you question yourself, your choices, what really happened etc). They can only see how something affects them – and so have very little empathy.

The danger is when you get a relationship dynamic between an Empath and Energy Vampire. More so for the Empath for obvious reasons. Being in one of these relationships long-term can have detrimental affects to your mental and emotional health.

I have many clients that fall into the Empath category. Their energy is greatly affected by the energy vampire – I’ve been in this situation several times myself as an empath and know only too well how dangerous it is. I work with clients to help them feel a bit clearer, lighter and stronger energy wise.

Here are the top 5 signs you’re an Empath:

1. You know that you can pick up on other people’s feelings and may either internalise this as your own feelings or suddenly notice a change in your mood around certain people.

2. Being around a lot of people at the same time leaves you feeling tired and overwhelmed. This might mean you tend to avoid big social get togethers.

3. You may have developed an intolerance to certain food groups and be more sensitive to things like caffeine or alcohol. Your immune system will have taken a hit and it can manifest in this way. If this is the case, always seek medical advice in the first instance.

4. You’re intuitive. You have a sense of knowing, or you may have a strong gut feeling about certain things. You might be highly visual or can just feel really in tune with your guides/angels/the universe.

5. You’re a giver. Let’s be honest, being on the receiving end of anything isn’t really your strong suit is it. You find it easier to give because you want to help and sometimes feel like you don’t deserve to receive. Asking for help, taking a compliment or being open to new and exciting opportunities may be hard for you.

I hope you’ve found this useful and if you have any questions please feel free to get in touch with me: sally-anne@thecreativeyou.co.uk. I offer intuitive readings and angelic reiki to help you gain the insight, guidance and support you need going forwards.

Sending you much love from my heart to yours.
Sally x

By Anne Marie Allen Reflexologist, Reiki Practitioner & Massage Therapist

Cold weather and heating means most of us can feel our skin getting dryer, this can make our skin look dull and feel tight, other signs of your skin becoming dry can include:

– Fine lines

– Cracks appearing

– Rough feeling and looking skin

– Itching

– Tightness

– Dull looking

– Redness

– Peeling or flaking

Luckily we don’t have to put up with it, a few simple changes to our daily routine can make all the difference:

1. Drinking more water, car heaters, house fires and radiators are drying your skin out, drinking more water helps skin to stay plump and beautiful.

2. It’s tempting on a cold day to have a hot shower or bath but try opting for a warm bath instead as hot water drys skin out.

3. Moisturise during the day and at night, a few times a week – treat yourself to a really intensive moisturiser overnight. My bathroom cabinet must haves are Neal’s Yard Wild Rose Beauty Balm and Rosehip oil they smell beautiful and are both super moisturising. I apply one of these just before bed and leave it on all night, in the morning my skin is super soft, it’s well worth investing in.

4. Essential fatty acids found in nuts, fish and flaxseeds are a great way to keep skin hydrated, looking plump and young. Flaxseeds are a great choice to sprinkle in smoothies and on yoghurts – it’s not got much taste so it blends in beautifully with your food without taking the taste away.

5. Exfoliate, excess dead skin cells prevent moisture from sinking in properly. Exfoliating once or twice a week then moisturise immediately after to see softer, smoother skin.

6. Waters not the only way to hydrate your skin – water rich foods such as watermelon, celery, apples, oranges, kiwi, tomatoes, cucumber will help to keep skin hydrated and with the antioxidants contained inside these foods they’ll help to protect your cells from damage too so it’s a win win situation!

7. Regular facials which include exfoliation, steaming and face masks can help to keep your skin hydrated, nourished, clear and younger looking.

I offer holistic facials using Neal’s Yard Products, please feel free to book in for one of these facials, helping your dry skin by giving it the hydration it needs.