I don't want to whine, but I am having a difficult time. I am in process of finding a biofeedback place to go. I am continuing whole foods(I have been eating that way for 20 years) and I am taking the ginger juice, I just started tai chi and I pray more often. I actually have been on this road to health for many years. Its been slow but I have made progress. Recently I woke up with my old symptom of difficulty breathing and I was soooo upset with myself! Depression came zooming in and old suicidal tendency came back(obviously I survived this long...). I know that I was born on the poor end of the bell curve of health, but you would think after 20 years of working on my health I would either be better or dead! I can not imaging doing this for the rest of my life. I have read soooo many book and even went to the find the author. I have done sooooo many things that promised so much. I do get some relief, but here I still am looking for help. I know I still need to begin the all important "twice a day skilled relaxation". I am really hoping that after I learn to do it and do it long enough that I will not still need to be looking! Oh geeez, I am just going on and on!!! It feels like the end of the rope, and its frazzled. I know I just need to hold on a little longer.... Sounds so dramatic, sorry, Iam sooo tired. I really do believe that its not what you put into your body that heals you, its whats in you already that makes you whole again. Its tough to connect with sometimes. Any insight and support is so greatfullly appreciated and accepted. Thanks.
In Reply to: Struggling posted by B 12 Terri on May 10, 1998 at 03:48:22:
Terri,
A point of Walt's that I often appreciate is the way he describes the results of the combination of diet, exercise, and skilled relaxation. The benefits are not added, but multiplied, he says, like using an exponent in math. It is WELLNESS TO THE THIRD POWER, which means if you give each part the value of three, you are not getting 3+3+3, but 3x3x3.
If you eat well, you get three points. If you also exercise, you get 9 (3x3=9). If you add skilled relaxation, you get 27!! (3x9=27) (the higher the number, the better your health)
The point is you have been eating well, and that is wonderful, but it's only three points. Tai chi may actually count for both exercise and meditation, though the exercise part is mild and getting to an alpha or theta state I don’t know about. You are absolutely doing the right thing in getting to a bio-feedback expert to evaluate your relaxation. If you are exercising enough to discharge stress, then adding the skilled relaxation will be three times as effective than otherwise. (It’ll ring your bell curve for you!) Perhaps it will even make it possible for you to increase your exercise.
I can relate to the ongoing, unrelenting depression that just grinds you down, and I sympathize with you. I had to use an antidepressant medication for a time to lift myself enough to carry on with what I needed to do to help myself. I know what a monster it can be! Thinking doesn’t help, just do what you need to do. It’ll work.
Jim
PS - As a teacher, I have never given much credence to the Bell Curve anyway. In the case of education, it is the Bell Curve of intellectual achievement rather than health, but it’s all a crock! There are too many other meanings in life, and a host of other gifts bestowed on each of us by God to get hung up on one data-defined definition. Who is to say what the determining factors of one’s life are? Perhaps the so called Bell Curve will dwindle behind you like another day X-ed off your calendar.
In Reply to: Struggling posted by B 12 Terri on May 10, 1998 at 03:48:22:
Dear Terri,
I know how you feel. I feel that way too, but I am slowly improving.
I need to add the exercise into my daily regimin too and check out the biofeedback to make sure my daily meditation is being done most efficiently.
I read that BREATHING exercise were found to be the most effective with tightness in the chest and I also think that massage has helped my tightness. I found a great massage therapist. I do the breathing exercises in the Stress and Relaxation Workbook recommended by Dr. Stoll.
Good luck,
pamela
In Reply to: Struggling posted by B 12 Terri on May 10, 1998 at 03:48:22:
Terri: I"m going through much the same thing myself. Please take a look at Dr. Stoll's answer to my post under "extreme hives" below. I'm a martial artist so I can tell you something about tai chi. It can be an amazing tool for physical fitness, meditation and health, depending on what you put into it. Choose a form and a teacher that emphasizes the physical aspects, at least at first. If it's done correctly you should feel you've had a great workout. Specifically, breath control is important; you should enjoy that and the benefits are obvious. But it wasn't enough, at least for me. I'm now meditating 20 minutes in the morning, 30 minutes in the afternoon, and 20 minutes in the evening and I'm feeling great. Ideally you want to bring the resources you learn in these periods into the other 23 hours of your day. People should also be aware of the excellent hypnosis cassettes on the market. One of my current favorites is "Perfect Health" from Learning Strategies, Corp. I can come up with a telephone # if you like. It's plain to me now that the skilled relaxation, whatever method you choose, is the most important part of the equation. Best of Luck!
In Reply to: Struggling posted by B 12 Terri on May 10, 1998 at 03:48:22:
Dear B 12 Terri,
Remember the wellness rule: of the 3 things that make up wellness, the one any individual needs the most is almost always the last one that person finally incorporates into his/her program.
What trouble are you having finding the biofeedback checker?
Walt
P.S. Even conventional medicine is finally being dragged, kicking & screaming, into the 21st century. See the major article in the 5/11/98 issue of the New York magazine by Henry Dreher: "Recite Your Mantra and Call Me in the Morning".
In Reply to: Re: Struggling posted by DP on May 10, 1998 at 20:09:20:
Dear DP,
Tai Chi is wonderful for a large % of people. The reason I recommend the workbook I do (for beginners) is that nothing works for everyone.
I DO appreciate your bringing up Tai Chi, however, since it is not mentioned often enough on this BB. I hope someone like you, who is knowledgable about Tai Chi, will continue to offer Tai Chi as something worthwhile to consider for appropriate conditions presented here on this bb.
Namaste` Walt
Walt
In Reply to: Re: Struggling posted by Pamela J on May 10, 1998 at 15:05:34:
Hi again Pamela, the hardest part for me is my neck and throat.It is so tight and lumpy that it is hard to lay down to sleep(and still breath), and difficult to swallow. Some days are better than others. The biofeedback ass. still has not called me back, hence my post for referral. Take care. Terri