Update On Professor Jay Tee Sleep Well CD

If you read my other blog post, you'll see me talking about why I picked up this hypnotherapy CD.  Last night, was my second time listening to the Sleep Well CD with Professor Jay Tee as I went to bed.  It was a different experience than the first night.

The first night, I was very tired from doing a lot of outside physical work, so maybe the experience was shaded by that.  However, last night I need to note that I had some Easter candy shortly before bed, so the sugar may not have been the best thing to do.  Yep - I had sugar candy right before bedtime.  *blush*

However, I noticed that I heard more of the audio tracks and speaking than I heard the night before.  Yet, the CD ended quickly, so I think I went way out.  I do remember hearing that I should stop the player and take the headphones off.

When I did that, I was able to drift back off to sleep.  My body felt warm, like a nice afternoon nap in the sun.  I felt physically more relaxed and my body was much less tense.

The only thing I noticed is that I woke up a few times staring into the darkness of the night.  My eyes and brain started to kick up thinking about all kinds of things.  At that moment, I focused on my breathing a little and was able to fall back to sleep.

It was not a night like the first where I slept through the entire night, but I did not at least have to get up and wait for myself to get sleepy.  I was able to sleep for the most part and stay in bed.  That is an improvement.

Waking up this morning, my body felt less tense and much more relaxed.  I feel a greater peace and calmness today.  So all-in-all, I probably didn't help myself eating the candy right before bed, but I was still able to get a pretty good night's sleep.  Waking up feeling better and more calm is a big improvement for me.

I'm going to keep working on this and I will keep writing some blog posts to share my experiences.  I like how Professor Jay Tee has the right inflections and speed of what he says at least for me personally.  I feel like I can easily follow along with him, rather than trying to decipher what it is that I'm supposed to do.

For now, I will keep working with it.

Stay tuned for more!

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2017 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

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Sleep Well Hypnosis with Professor Jay Tee

After weeks and weeks of sleepless fiascos in the night, I finally decided to try something that I hoped would help.  I actually just saw this downloadable version of hypnosis that I could do and try on myself.  It was from Professor Jay Tee.

I had seen him tweet many times and while I looked at some of his website, I ran across this product.  So, last night, I downloaded it and put it to use.

Before I share how it went, I want to describe a little about my current sleep situation.  For some time, I've been struggling to sleep through a night.  I'll fall asleep for an hour or two, and then my eyes open wide as if to say, we're up - why aren't you?  I would have to come out for a couple of hours and read or play some games, just to get myself sleepy and to the point where I felt like falling asleep.

If I grew completely exhausted, my body would sleep more during the night, but then the following night or two, I'd be right back where I was struggling to sleep through a night.

I tried all the things that had worked for me from melatonin to other deep breathing exercises.  I tried some adrenal fatigue caplets I had.  All of them would give me a little relief, but not really give me a full night's worth of sleep.

One thing to note is that I have done Unified Therapy in the past on a regular basis but due to circumstances beyond my control, this has not been an option lately.  I'm sure some issues and memories are messing around in the old gear box of my brain.  Even the stress level has been elevated for me lately because of life and I know that impacts everything biologically.

I wasn't sure what would happen when I downloaded this.  I figured, if nothing else - I'd hopefully have a little more peaceful night.  I loaded it on to my ipod and put it on play as I went to bed.

The only thing that confuses me is that the background part of it seemed loud while his talking seemed soft.  I know in his instructions, he said to not worry about this because if you strain to hear it, you're using the conscious side of your brain.  I believe that is how he stated it.  If you just let go and not worry about that, your subconscious picks it up.  So that was the awkward part to me and something I don't fully understand.

I found myself drifting off pretty quickly and that's the last I remember.  In fact, I don't believe I got up once during the night for anything.  About an hour after I started it, I don't know if it was at the end of the playlist or what, but I woke up sort of like a surprise.  At that moment, I didn't hear anything playing and so I figured it was done.  That was about all I remember for the night.

When I woke up this morning, I realized I had slept through the night which is a first for me.  Maybe it was because I was completely exhausted from the previous day or maybe it was the Sleep Well Hypnosis with Professor Jay Tee.  I'm inclined to believe it was the Sleep Well Hypnosis.

I'll be trying this again and will post updates as I go.  I know that if you don't get regular sleep, it really messes with the mind and body.  Pretty soon, exhaustion seems normal and without that rest and repair function at night, there is great harm biologically that happens.  Your mind doesn't defrag as well without adequate sleep.

So, stay tuned for updates.  I will definitely try this again and see what happens.  No, I'm not paid to say any of this.  This is just a review of something I'm trying in as an objective way as I can possibly do it.

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2017 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

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Sleepless Nights Of Trauma

It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it leaves me feeling discarded as roadkill by the side of the road.  I've now entered another period of sleepless nights of trauma.  The body memories that show up and the never ending thoughts that fill my waking hours are like monsters lying in wait.

It varies from night to night.  Some nights I sleep okay and other nights I can barely convince my eyes to close for an extended period of time.  Some nights, partial images connect one to another.  At other times, the images have no connecting logic, but they become flash frames in my mind.

I beg the thoughts to go away.  I beg them to find another home.  Sleep is what I want.  Sleep is what I desire.  Yet, they traumatize me as if I'm a puppet being controlled.  They hound me as if the night will never end.  I wake up feeling exhausted, but somehow trying to function in a day.

I have no answers to the sleepless nights of trauma.  I try everything and nothing works.  I hope for a better night, but its like never winning the lottery.  I long to be able to convince my eyes to just close and sleep.

While I realize from past experience that there is something lurking before me in the sleepless nights, I nevertheless hate traveling through the trauma and horrors.  I don't know how anyone could enjoy this and I can barely realize that this too shall past.

Each morning is another day.  Each night is another chance to sleep.  Will this be fulfilled or will I yet encounter another horror filled moment wishing that it will not repeat into another sleepless night.

I thought I would include a link back to a very recent blog post dealing a little with this subject. It was called Body Memories Wake Me Up At Night.

Question Of The Day
Do you have body memories that wake you up at night?  Leave a comment and let me know what experiences you go through if you do.

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2016 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

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Phantom Voices At Night In My Sleep

I'm not crazy.  I'm not one of those people that are un-grounded.  I'm not one of those people that others roll their eyes at.  Yet, at times there are strange things that happen in my life that I cannot fully explain.

No, I don't try to make up explanation and give the normal woo woo gobbledygook that others say.  What you read here on this blog is what happens and nothing more.  I'm careful about going into never never land and creating a story.  I don't think that is useful to anyone.

Just like I shared in a past blog post about Phantom Doorbell Ringing, I never thought in a million years that others experienced this.  In fact it has shocked me to no end, just how many other people resonated with that blog post.  In fact, when I first wrote that, I thought I was crazy for posting it to my blog.

Lately, I've been going through all kinds of difficult situations in life.  Its been tough.  I feel all alone in this world at times.  I feel confused, lost, and struggling hard to keep my footing on this path.  Yet, I know there has to be more and that's what keeps me going.  Don't ask me how I know because I could not even begin to explain it.

Last night though, I had one of those moments that woke me up.  Actually, it startled me awake.  I don't get those too often, but it was some voice saying loud enough, "hey there".  It wasn't anyone yelling, but the voice was just loud enough you could not mistake hearing what it said.  It was not a voice I recognized or was familiar.

What this means is beyond me.  I have no clue.  It makes absolutely no sense just like hearing the phantom doorbell ringing or the music that plays from a different dimension.  It makes no sense.

I'm posting this online because maybe others have heard voices like this.  I swear, it was just as if someone was standing close to me and talking to me.  In some ways, I think it creeps me out.

In my mind, there are many things that we don't understand.  Some may want to make up believable explanations, but often those just don't quite add up for me.  I apologize if that offends anyone, but its the way I see things.

Hearing phantom voices at night is strange to me.  I know its happened in the past and usually associated with a nightmare.  This one though doesn't seem to be associated with anything in particular.

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2016 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

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022816

Neuroscience In The News On Feb 29

These are articles that I found of interest relating to news about Neuroscience.  In this issue, I have highlighted articles about all-nighters and negative consequences, some of the neuroscience myths that are debunked and a glowing red tool to help in brain mapping.

Please check out the article links below and feel free to comment with other information related to these subjects.  I enjoy learning as much as I can about the brain and passing this information on to everyone else that shares these passions.

This is for the week beginning February 29, 2016.

Please come back each week and hopefully I will have some more highlights.  Feel free to share with me ones that you have found and I may highlight those as well.

Feel free to check out the highlighted articles from February 22, 2016

All-Nighters Have Negative Consequences

Dr. Lydic explained that it was only recently that the great power of sleep to alter human physiology and biology was understood.

"You need sleep,” Lydic said. “Without sleep, you die.”

Sleep disorders, Lydic said, have high comorbidity with other diseases and disorders. He listed diabetes, stroke, anxiety, hypertension and other disorders as conditions whose likelihood increases with the presence of a sleep disorder.

Article Link:

• Study Proves All-Nighters Can Have Negative Consequences
• Dr. Ralph Lydic, University Of Tennessee

Four Neuromyths Debunked

Many “neuromyths” are rampant in our classrooms, and research suggests that people are often seduced by neuroscientific explanations, even if these are not accurate or even relevant. Research also shows that explanations accompanied by images of the brain also persuade people to believe in their validity, however random the illustration.

Article Link:

• Four Neuromyths That Are Still Prevalent In Schools - Debunked
• By Bradley Busch, Psychologist

Glowing Red Tool For Brain Mapping

University of Alberta chemists have built a molecule that will shed new light on brain disease research — red, flashing light, specifically.

Combining proteins from red-glowing coral and the sac-like sea squirt, PhD student Ahmed Abdelfattah constructed a new tool called FlicR1 for scientists to see messages move through brain tissue.

Article Link:

• Chemists Build Glowing Red Tool For Brain Mapping
• University Of Alberta, PhD Student - Ahmed Abdelfattah

Neuroscience In The News On Feb 22

These are articles that I found of interest relating to news about Neuroscience.  In this issue, I have highlighted articles about human behavior and the brain, moral decision making, sleep and memory, and how mothers pass on a brain wired for depression.  Please check out the article links below and feel free to comment with other information related to these subjects.  I enjoy learning as much as I can about the brain and passing this information on to everyone else that shares these passions.

This is for the week beginning February 22, 2016.

Please come back each week and hopefully I will have some more highlights.  Feel free to share with me ones that you have found and I may highlight those as well.

Collapse Of Freud and Marx On Cognitive Science

Perhaps Wolfe’s most astute observation was cultural: how the collapse of Freud and Marx had pushed people into using the language of cognitive science for explanations of human behavior. He also noticed that the link between the actual science and the conclusions people drew from it were often tenuous, and his article foreshadowed an explosion of dubious media stories about brain centers for infidelity, neural circuits for political orientation, and chemical imbalances for mental illness.

Article Link:

• Neuroscience And The Premature Death Of The Soul
• By Vaughn Bell

Intention and Permissiability in Moral Decision Making

The ability to distinguish between the effects an agent intended versus those that were side-effects are critical in general for social cognition  and  in  particular  for  assigning  responsibility and assessing moral permissibility. Our goal here is to understand these processes in computational terms.

Article Link:

• Interference of Intention and Permissibility In Moral Decision Making
• Max Kleiman-Weiner, Tobias Gerstenberg, Sydney Levine, Joshua B. Tenebaum

Best To Sleep On It

The new discoveries, made by researchers from Bristol's Centre for Synaptic Plasticity, provide further evidence for the benefits of a good night's sleep. Patterns of brain activity that occur during the day are replayed at fast-forward speed during sleep.  Replay of brain activity during sleep is dependent on the emotional state of the person when they are learning.

Article Link:

• Best To Sleep On It:  Brain Activity Patterns During Sleep Consolidate Memory
• University Of Bristol Research Team

Mothers May Pass On Wired Brain For Depression

Mothers may pass on vulnerability to depression in much the same way they give their daughters green eyes or curly hair – girls might inherit a brain structure that’s predisposed to mood disorders, a small U.S. study suggests.  Previous behavioral health studies have pointed to a strong link between psychiatric problems in mothers and similar mood disorders in their daughters, Hoeft and colleagues note in The Journal of Neuroscience.

Article Link:

• Mothers May Pass Daughters A Brain Wired For Depression
• Dr. Fumiko Hoeft of the University Of California, San Francisco 

Dreams Keep Me Awake

Maybe I am sleeping more at night than I realize.  It just seems lately and especially last night that my dreams were keeping me awake.  I can't be certain because it is hard to watch ourselves at night and I think even though we feel like we don't sleep, I have a feeling we do sleep some.

Regardless it seems, these dreams keep me awake.  It wasn't that these were frightening or scary or turned into a nightmare.  Yet, they were about a subject that I would rather not have ruining the hours I can sleep.  It is bad enough in the daytime, but at night, please I beg you dreams, let me sleep.

After some events that I keep seeing come to happen, the dream takes off going to all these childhood homes and places where various events happened.  There are vivid details that I'm not going to share in public, but it is like my only connection to what my memory truly remembers.

I am careful with my memory on these events because I know how things can get twisted and turned around.  Memory is not a linear timeline of every little detail.  Memory is one that drops little bits of facts here and there among the neural system from what I understand.  So, I'm extremely careful with memories and I don't get to entrenched in the smallest details.

Just like last night though on this subject, dreams keep me awake.  It seemed like the details were very true and helped fill in some of the doubts and missing pieces I long for in my life.  I don't think my mind was creating those events as they seemed to just match and feel right.

At least it wasn't a nightmare like I once had.  Although I know that moments like last night can lead to those horrors, I am vigilant and on high alert.  I can only hope that it will just let loose and let me be, not take me under like in times past.

Maybe it is my mind further processing what has happened and if that is so, then these dreams can keep me awake.  If not, then I would kindly request of my mind to please let me sleep peacefully at night.

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Blog Post And Images (c) 12/30/15 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

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Stress Leads To Body Issues

Having a biological system that keeps pumping out stress hormones to deal with real or imagined threats leads to physical problems: sleep disturbances, headaches, unexplained pain, oversensitivity to touch or sound.

The Body Keeps The Score by Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk

The Healing Beauty Of This Ocean Place

It was a little too chilly for the beach, but the beauty of this location in NC is one I've loved for many years.  It was an area where I would often pour my heart into words on a paper.  It was where I would often cry the tears of healing a painful past.  It was the place I would go and wake up to the sunrise when I couldn't sleep.  It was where I felt safe enough to go and be with my thoughts when they made no sense.  It was my place.  It was big enough and powerful enough to help me find my way forward.

This one little spot on a beach in North Carolina was just that perfect spot.  There was a sandy beach where I could warm in the sun.  There were big giant rocks that I could climb down on and sit there all alone.  It was these places that helped me process all that I needed to work through in my life.

Flu - Cold Season And Rest

This is the third part in this series about the cold and flu season.  Please visit the first series, Flu - Cold Season And Mind Body Healing and part 2, Flu And Cold Season And Nutrition.   Reading these first two parts in this series will help you to understand today's blog post much better.

Stress and trauma and nutrition are not the only things that impacts the health of our body.  Getting adequate rest and sleep are essential for our body to function at maximum efficiency.  All too often in our life, we view rest as something we may or may not do on a yearly vacation and we see sleep as something we have to fit into our day.

In many ways we have the emphasis on rest and sleep backwards in our life.  Instead of making it a priority, we try to fit it into our busy schedules, if we happen to get the chance.  We don't see it as a necessity, rather we see it as something that you could do every now and then.  Our bodies require sleep and rest to function.  It is a time when our cells rejuvenate themselves and our mind defrag the stressful and busy moments of our day.

Healing The Itchy Hand Rash, Day 10

Healing The Itchy
Hand Rash, Day 10

For background on this post, please begin at the blog post on November 6, 2011 (Healing The Itchy Hand Rash, Intro).


From My Personal Journal on October 20, 2011

Another Night Of Torture


Last night was torture again as I tried to fall asleep.  Instead of muscle tension as in the night before, it was major heartburn and nausea.  I doubt it was anything I ate although that makes no sense.  Once I got to sleep, I slept pretty well the rest of the night.


I can see a marked improvement in the rash today.  The swelling of my hand has lessened, the itch and burning is not as bad.  The redness and blotches or pimples are still there to some degree.  However, seeing an improvement for the first time in over a week is reassuring.  It is difficult to experience this and it takes great amounts of strength and courage to make it through a day.

Healing The Itchy Hand Rash, Day 9

Healing The Itchy Hand
Rash, Day 9

For background on this post, please begin at the blog post on November 6, 2011 (Healing The Itchy Hand Rash, Intro).


From My Personal Journal on October 19, 2011

Difficult Night


Difficult night last night trying to get to sleep.  It is very hard finding a position to sleep in.  On top of that, as I laid down and attempted to sleep, the tension in my neck, shoulders and back turned into intense pain.  It became extremely challenging for me to relax and fall asleep.

At some point in the middle of the night, I saw an extremely bright light and heard some strange noise I had never heard before.  I sat straight up in bed from being startled.

Wake Up Feeling Refreshed

Do you go to bed at night, only to wake up in the morning feeling like you need more sleep? Do you feel worn out through your day, lacking energy because you did not get a good night's sleep?

Using some very relaxing ambient music sounds at night may just help you sleep a little better. Here is an article of mine that was just published on Street Articles.com.

Title: Wake Up Feeling Refreshed With These Music To Sleep To Tips
Link: StreetArticles.com
Author: Don Shetterly
Date: August 5, 2011

If you would like to download some wonderful relaxing ocean wave sounds, check out my latest CD available on iTunes ($1.99) and Amazon ($0.99 cents)

Ocean Wave Sounds For Sleep

Here's an article that I wrote and was published on Street Articles.com about how I use my ocean waves CD for sleep.

Article: Ocean Wave Sounds When I Can't Sleep (pub, August 4, 2011)

Tips For Sleep

For many people, going to sleep can be difficult. Here is an article I wrote on another site about tips to go to sleep. Some good information!

The article is on Street Articles.com

Link: How To Go To Sleep - Try These Tips by Don Shetterly

Reference Site: Sleep Sounds Ocean Waves.com

White Noise and Ocean Waves

Recently, I released a CD called "Relaxing Ocean Wave Sounds". This is a CD of ocean waves that I captured. While a friend of mine immediately said "white noise" when they heard this CD, after some research, it might not be strictly defined as white noise.

However, I have been playing this CD at night and it really helps me relax and sleep while it cancels out the background noises. I have often used various white noise CD's when I was traveling to help me sleep to mask the noises of people talking in a hallway or doors slamming.

I was playing the ocean waves CD yesterday while working in my office, and my orange cat was so relaxed. At first he wasn't sure of the sounds but it didn't take him long to come over and lay down next to me. Yes, I do realize that cats can really zone out but my cat was beyond what he normally is when he is relaxed. It had a strong effect on him.

The term white noise comes from a reference to white light. In either white noise or white light, white refers to the full spectrum of sound or visible wave lengths. The key point here being that it is the full spectrum.


It is the equal distribution of light or sound waves or a noise that is produced by combining all possible tones or frequencies together. White noise generally is a soothing and relaxing sound that blocks out unwanted sounds or background noises.

In addition to white noise, there is pink noise. Pink noise is defined as pleasant sounds that are relaxing and fill the mind with unstimulating distractions much like white noise. However, with pink noise, it does not cover the full spectrum of sound frequencies and so it does not mask background noise as well as white noise.

There are many purposes and uses for white noise. White noise is great for sleep (insomnia), concentration, reading a book or just relaxing. It is often a help to those that suffer from tinnitus (ringing in the ears). White noise is also being used in offices to help cancel out background conversations from people working in adjacent cubicles or offices.

When I recorded the Relaxing Ocean Wave Sounds CD, I wanted to get the full dynamics of the sounds I heard on the beach. I did notice that while I relaxed on the beach, it seemed as if time stood still. Although there are many CD’s out there with the sound of ocean waves, many of them do not really capture the true experience and present an environment that connects the mind and body together.


Sources Of Information:
1) Wikipedia - White Noise
2) Hubpages.com - Do White Noise Machines Help You Sleep?


To Purchase "Relaxing Ocean Wave Sounds" CD
-- iTunes
-- Amazon
-- Napster
-- Rhapsody

For More Information on Don Shetterly's Music
http://www.donshetterly.com






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Blog Post & Images (c) 7/16/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

If any part of this post is used or shared, a link back to this site is required.
http://mindbodythoughts.blogspot.com/
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Relaxing Ocean Wave Sounds For Sleep, Massage, Relaxation, Healing, Spa

Imagine it is a warm sunny afternoon on the beach, with the sun shining down and a light ocean breeze blowing against you. At random times, birds go flying by as if they are effortlessly drifting along. As you relax on a beach towel, listen to the waves come in and go out, as the rhythm lulls you into a deep relaxed and meditative state. Spend some time and wake up feeling refreshed, renewed, and at peace within yourself.

Relaxing Ocean Wave Sounds is a CD of ocean waves that was recorded at Canaveral National Seashore in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. It was recorded on the summer solstice at morning low tide (June 21, 2011).

The CD has very dynamic and full ocean wave sounds that will lull you to sleep, help you relax, meditate, or are just ideal for massage, the spa or any other relaxing and healing environment you wish to create.

Available now on iTunes, Rhapsody and Napster and Amazon.

The CD is 69 minutes in length (a 1 track single) and can be purchased on itunes for $1.99 or Rhapsody, Napster and Amazon for 99 cents.

It is available for mp3 download on these sites and the physical CD on Amazon will be coming soon.

I hope everyone enjoys the CD and I look forward to seeing the reviews online at the various download sites.

CD Title: Relaxing Ocean Wave Sounds For Sleep, Massage, Relaxation, Healing, Spa
UPC: 859706360099
Artist: Don Shetterly

For More Information
http://www.donshetterly.com

Pain Hurts Because I Slept Wrong

How often do you say, “I slept wrong or moved wrong,” as a way to explain pain you wake up with or experience during your day? If you do, then you are much like me and many others who misplace the source of pain. You can go on blaming unrelated things for the pain that hurts but it won’t get you very far.

Last night, I had a dream where I was violently attacking someone that caused me great harm in my life. It is actually a person that I don’t think much about these days. In this dream, I was victorious and felt a sense that I conquered this person.

When I got ready to wake up, I noticed that my shoulders and upper back were in some intense pain. It was pain that was “fearful” and so intense that I was tempted to take a pain killing medication.

While I could make excuses for my pain and reasons I hurt, I can clearly see the connection between the dream and the painful state I woke up in. I could freak out and head for pain med city or I could allow the connection in my mind. If I stay with the thoughts, feelings or emotions, then I will move through it, much like I am doing already. If I add slight mind – body connected movement to it, the pain and hurt will dissipate much quicker.

We often fool ourselves about the source of pain in our body. We fail to stop and check what is going on at that moment or right before it started. Usually what is going on in our life shows up in our body. If we stop and notice it, we can do so much healing in our life and learn the lessons that our body is trying to teach us. If we choose to head to the medicine cabinet, for pain pills we’ll only delay the opportunity for greater awareness and learning in our life.

Further Reading:
1) The Power Of Your Mind (Blog Post 2/11/10)
2) Embrace The Pain (Blog Post 1/28/11)



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Blog Post & Images (c) 5/14/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

If any part of this post is used or shared, a link back to this site is required.
http://mindbodythoughts.blogspot.com/
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Parents Warned of Energy Drinks

When I saw this CNN Health Article, Pediatricians, Parents Warned On Energy Drink Dangers, I thought it was a good one to post on the blog. So much of our country does not fully understand what is good for us to consume and in what quantities. We constantly indulge in things that are not necessarily the best for us. Energy drinks are one such example.

Recent studies have shown that energy drinks can cause major health problems in children and young adults. Many of the energy drinks contain high amounts of caffeine and other stimulants. According to the Poison Control Center, there were 5448 caffeine overdoses reported in 2007. It has been reported in the Journal of Pediatrics that energy drinks could be especially dangerous to children with ADHD, diabetes, sleep disturbances and eating disorders.

There is much more in this article that you can read and hopefully many people will at least wake up a little. If we stress our bodies and our minds with substances that are not meant to consume in these quantities, it will have an effect on our lives at some point. Even if it is not immediate, the body can only take so much before the breakers are tripped. We as a country have a long way to go to really understanding what good health and good nutrition is all about.

For Further Reading:
1) CNN Health, Peatricians, Parents Warned On Energy Drink Dangers
2) Confusion - Symptoms Of Stress, Part 9



Blog Post & Images (c) 2/19/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

Stop The Itching

If you've followed this blog for some time, you will know that I experienced a very rough time of rashes and itching. For further reading, please visit the links below of some my experiences through this ordeal.

For the most part, most of the itching has stopped. However, from time to time, it does sneak back up and cause a lot of discomfort for me. Lately, it has done that and while I have learned a lot about it and went into the fear of it, the anxiety still attacks me. When it attacks, it is hard for me to keep things in perspective.

In order to hopefully help others that are dealing with severe itching that does not seem to go away, I wanted to share a couple of the things that I am doing.

First of all, there is most likely an underlying emotional or stress response that is connected to the itching. Even though it may appear in physical form, one has to look much deeper than the outward physical signs that you see.

Trying to not freak out when the itching starts is a good first step but one that I know is so difficult to do. For anyone that has ever had some itching, see how long you can ignore it. I'm sure it won't be long before you'll be digging your fingers into it. It is a common reaction for us to scratch an itch. But trying not to freak out and go into the hysterics of it is a good start to dealing with the itching and getting it to stop.

Another major thing that needs to be worked on is dealing with stress, trauma and anxiety that is coming up. If you are ignoring these things, they will find a way out and often itching is one way that they will do this. Working on deep release of trauma and relaxation will help to start working through these things.

For me though, when the itching does start in, I've learned that there is one way I can get it to lessen. I'm not sure if it will work this way on everyone but each person needs to find their own way that works. I'm very connected to my body and I sense a lot. But here is what I do to help lessen the itching when it gets cranked up.

On an area of my body somewhat adjacent to where the itching is taking place, I take my hand and slowly and ever so lightly rub over a part of my body where there is no itching at that moment. It is a very light touch where you are maybe touching the hairs on your body but that is as close as you get. It is so gentle and soothing. The speed of your hand movement is very slow and sedative. Your goal is to connect with the slow movement of your hand and feel all of it. Give it time for your mind to connect to what it feels like on your body as you move your hands around in this fashion. You might give yourself a few minute or two rests in between your movements.

Hopefully what you'll notice in a few minutes is that it helps sedate yourself and it helps your mind connect with an area that isn't itching. You are not ignoring the itching but you are giving yourself another message - another option to feel something different. When i've done this, I don't necessarily feel the sedation immediately but once I stop and let myself just absorb what I did, than the sedation begins to set in.

If the itching comes at night which it often does, and if I do this procedure, usually I can fall back to sleep. It has taken me a little time to figure out how to do this on myself but I just kept experimenting with it because out of desperation, I had to find a way of giving myself some relief. Keep trying and expirimenting on things that work for yourself because there is usually a key to finding some relief from the itching. We just have to search for it!


1) Into The Itching, Through The Pain

2) Itching Skin And Oatmeal Bath

3) Sleeping With Night Sweats And Fears



*For more articles, check out the Mind Body Thoughts Blog