Now used in UK hospitals to help cancer patients colour visualization, also called “colour breathing”, is a form of healing meditation in which you imagine yourself inhaling and exhaling colours. It should be practice together with a positive affirmation concerning the colour you are visualizing.
Before you begin this exercise, know that what you visualize you create. Simply holding a picture of a colour in your mind’s eye creates that colour. Although you may use external objects, such as fabric, candles or images of colours to perform this healing exercise, know that even without such external objects, you can create any colour you choose in your mind’s eye.
As you ask for healing, know that your intention to allow your body to magnetise whatever “vibration” of colour it needs will reinforce the healing that you ask for.
Find somewhere comfortable to sit or lie down and relax. Keep your breathing deep, regular, and calm. Breathe rhythmically from twelve to eighteen times a minute. If possible, use the colour of the spectrum or its nearest equivalent. Imagine the self engulfed by a white light that enters through the head (the crown chakra) from the cosmos down to the extremities and floods the entire organism from within and from without. Keep this image for two minutes.
Imagine yourself surrounded by intense light of the colour you choose. Be aware of the healing properties of the light. Red, yellow and orange, whichever one is used, is visualized as being drawn up from the earth through the soles of the feet to the various organs. The length of time for visualizing the red part of the spectrum is two minutes.
Blue, violet, and indigo should be visualised as coming down from the atmosphere as vertical rays into the crown chakra to the various organs. The length of time for visualizing colours in the blue part of the spectrum is three to four minutes.
Green should be visualised as coming into the navel on the horizontal plane. The length of time for visualizing the colour green is one minute in a waving motion upward from the umbilical cord and one minute downward from the umbilical cord, but always on a horizontal plane.
As you breathe in, imagine that you are inhaling this colour, and follow it as it spreads from your lungs to your solar plexus and then throughout your body as discussed for each colour.
As you breathe out, imagine that you are exhaling the complementary colour. Now mentally bathe the body and allow the entire self to be engulfed in a white light for two minutes.
Colour Cards and Affirmations
Your response to colour is greatly enhanced if can focus on the colour you require and the easiest way is by looking at a coloured piece of card that you can buy from stationers or craft shops, the bigger the better from A4 through to A1 which you can hang from the wall.
Colour affirmations that you make up your self also reinforce a positive frame of mind by means of self-suggestion and are easy to make up yourself. Simply identify the keywords you want from your colour choices and simply say something like I want the strength of red or I want the peace and calm of blue.
© Trevor Mayes is a qualified colour therapist and proprietor of <a href="http://www.colour-counselling-therapy-healing.com"><b>Colour Counselling Therapy Healing</b></a> which specialises in online diagnostic colour therapy and healing gemstones which is particularly suitable for stress relates issues. His interests are shamanism, the Runes, music, photography, growing vegetables, biking, mountaineering, sailing and canoe surfing.
March 25, 2008 | Posted in
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What is diabetes? Diabetes is a disease caused by a lack of insulin (a hormone) in the human body. Insulin is needed by the body to metabolize (breakdown) the sugar that we eat. When insulin is not available the sugar levels in the body can rise to extremely high levels which can cause diseases of various body parts like the kidneys, eyes, nerves, hearts etc. There are two types of diabetes. Type 1 diabetes develops when the body can’t produce the natural hormone insulin. If left untreated, symptoms include excessive thirst, passing excessive urine and weight loss.
Symptoms of Type 1 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes only takes a few weeks to develop. The initial symptoms include:
⢠Increased production of urine (polyuria)
⢠Excessive thirst (polydipsia)
⢠Tiredness
⢠Loss of weight
If type 1diabetes isn’t treated at this stage, the body begins to produce chemicals called ketones. This is because it tries to use energy sources other than glucose. The ketones build up in the bloodstream, leading to a condition called diabetic ketoacidosis. Diabetic ketoacidosis causes additional symptoms, including:
⢠Vomiting
⢠Stomach pain
⢠Rapid & shallow breathing
⢠Increased pulse rate
⢠Sleepiness
Without treatment, diabetic ketoacidosis can lead to coma and, eventually, death.
Having type 1 diabetes increases your risk for many serious complications. Some complications of type 1 diabetes include: heart disease (cardiovascular disease), blindness (retinopathy), nerve damage (neuropathy), and kidney damage (nephropathy). All patients need to be regularly screened for these complications to prevent long term damage.
People with diabetes type 1 need to:
⢠check blood sugar levels a few times a day by testing a small blood sample
⢠give themselves insulin injections, or use an insulin pump
⢠eat a balanced, healthy diet and pay special attention to the amounts of sugars and starches in the food they eat and the timing of their meals (carbohydrate tracking)
⢠get regular exercise to help control blood sugar levels and help avoid some of the long-term health problems that diabetes can cause, like heart disease
⢠work closely with their doctor and diabetes health care team to help achieve the best possible control of their diabetes and be monitored for signs of diabetes complications and other health problems
Treating type 1 diabetes
Type 1 is treated with insulin replacement therapy â” usually by injection or insulin pump, dietary control, typically including carbohydrate tracking, and careful monitoring of blood glucose levels using Glucose meters. Oral medicines generally do not have much role to play in treating this disease since there is virtually no insulin production in this disease. For more information visit http://www.simplyanswer.com offers the much needed information and support to its user. Post your question freely and get the assistance of medical experts online.
Vinay Gupta is an experienced writer who is writing for <a href="http://www.simplyanswer.com">Ask For Medical Consultation</a> and <a href="http://www.simplyanswer.com/type1_diabetes.php">Type 1 Diabetes</a> for the website http://www.simplyanswer.com since long time.
March 22, 2008 | Posted in
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Diabetes can be prevented or, in some cases, delay the start of diabetes by taking charge before it advances from what is known as the pre-diabetic stage to being a full-blown illness. Pre-diabetes refers to the stage where you have higher-than-normal blood glucose, but not high enough to be classified as diabetes. Pre-diabetes can lead to type 2 diabetes if nothing is done to overturn the condition. A recent study called the Diabetes Prevention Program indicates that persons with pre-diabetes can stop type 2 diabetes from beginning, by increasing their physical activity and changing their eating habits.
Changing eating habits and beginning an exercise program has been proven to be an effective method of preventing the growth of pre-diabetes. Pre-diabetes can be reversed that is, sugar levels can be returned to normal with medication, diet, and exercise, meaning you can do something to ward off imminent, full-blown diabetes. What exactly is pre-diabetes? It is the sign to developing type 2 diabetes and refers to higher than usual glucose in the blood.
It is important to know that pre-diabetes can lead to type 2 diabetes, if left untreated. Fortunately, a recent study has shown that moderate exercise and a change to healthier ways of eating can help prevent pre-diabetes and possibly diabetes itself. Age also plays a role, as the older you are, the more likely you are to develop pre-diabetes
People whose ethic background includes African, Native American, Latino, and Asian are particularly prone to developing diabetes. If you belong to one of these groups and are older than forty-five, it would be a good idea to get tested for pre-diabetes or diabetes.
Doctors can tell if you are pre-diabetic by performing two standard tests, the results of these tests will verify whether you have pre-diabetes, type 2 diabetes, or if you are diabetes-free.
The test is normally done in the morning, and the patient is advised not to consume anything after 10 PM the previous night, you will then have the glucose tolerance test to measure your blood glucose level after an overnight fast, your blood glucose levels are then checked two hours later, if the range is between 140 and 199 mg/dL (milligrams per deciliter), you will be considered pre-diabetic. These levels are also a sign that you may develop type 2 diabetes soon after.
If your test is positively as having pre-diabetes, it is essential to take annual tests so that you catch developed diabetes in its early stages. Early diagnosis is truly the easiest way to get the disease under control before too much harm has been done to vital organs.
Exercise can return blood sugar levels to normal ranges. Preventing or delaying the onset of diabetes is your responsibility; make the lifestyle changes needed to improve your health today.
Thirty minutes of reasonable activity joined with weight loss is recommended by the American Diabetes Association as the best way of minimizing the risk of becoming pre-diabetic. Even if you are not in the grouping of people that are more subject to pre-diabetes or diabetes itself, appropriate health care and physical activity are very important regardless.
Controlling your health is dependent on the changes you make in your daily way of life. While avoiding serious illness is one motivation to having a physical lifestyle, in general good health and long-lasting mobility are two other good incentives.
Lionel Estridge, publisher of the free "1 Health" newsletter: http://www.lionel1.com/pain_relief/
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March 21, 2008 | Posted in
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Anyone who has ever had a panic attack knows how life stopping these events can feel. A panic attack can seriously hurt your quality of life by causing you become terrified of a repeat episode. This terror is just another negative side effect of panic attacks, and you should learn to think of it as such so that you can get on with your life without the constant fear of a panic attack hanging over your head. Worrying about having a panic attack all the time might even cause you to trigger panic attacks later.
Panic attacks feel a lot like heart attacks. A panic attack might cause your heart to race, and it might cause you to become short of breath. You might find that you feel dizzy or light headed, and they are characterized with the feeling of life or death importance. It is not uncommon to believe that you are dying or about to die when you are having a panic attack. Fortunately for sufferers, they are usually not of a long duration, and will stop when they have run their course, usually a few minutes, or when the cause of the panic is removed.
If you are terrified that you might have another panic attack, you may just end up cutting yourself off from everything in order to avoid having another. You might hide from the world, or otherwise separate yourself from the friends and family who might otherwise be able to help you. If this sounds familiar to you, then you need to consider seeking professional help to empower you to dispel the threat of panic attacks that hangs over your head.
You may also be able to help yourself by avoiding the situations that cause you to have your panic attacks in the first place. One of the biggest causes of panic attacks is stress, and if you are constantly in stressful situation, then you will be at a much higher risk for panic attacks in the future. This stress is not necessarily the stress that comes over a few days over a particular event; panic attacks are triggered by constant stress over a period of months or sometimes even longer. This stress is often too much for people to bear, and even if we do not realize that, our bodies do, and they rebel.
Panic attacks can also be caused by certain situations. If you get a panic attack every time you are running late, or stuck in traffic, or going over a bridge, then you need to make sure to avoid those situations to prevent these same events from triggering more panic attacks in the future. You can take a different route to work, leave early, and avoid roads that you know will be snarled with traffic or even head to a local place for dinner after work before facing the drive home.
If you practice avoiding panic attacks and chart where you were, what you were doing, and how you felt immediately prior to each panic attack, then you can use this information to avoid the things that trigger you. You may be able to save yourself a lot of trouble with your mental and even your physical health later down the road.
Panic attacks do not just feel remarkably like heart attacks; recent studies have linked experiencing panic attacks with an increased likelihood of actually having a heart attack later. Keep your odds low and keep your stress levels down to avoid panic attacks and to remain as healthy as possible. No one likes to suffer, and panic attacks certainly fall into the category of suffering.
If you are at risk for panic attacks or you have had them in the past, then you should examine the past causes of your panic attacks so that you can help yourself to avoid similar situations in the future. You should also get in contact with your doctor to find out if you may need medication or therapy to help you take charge of your life and get away from the panic attacks. It can be difficult to determine exactly the best means of preventing panic attacks, but you may get better results when pairing the practice of avoiding triggers with medication to help you feel calmer. A therapist can also help you learn mental tricks to help you ride through the panic attacks without completely losing your cool the next time you feel one coming on.
Craig Elliott is a freelance writer who writes about mental health topics including <a href="http://www.CareLink-svs.org">Depression Treatment | Depression Anxiety</a>
March 17, 2008 | Posted in
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People who are mentally ill also seem to be chronically afraid of hospitals, or at least seem to want to avoid medical attention in a hospital setting. Looking at it from the perspective of someone who is confused or otherwise mentally unstable, the sterile and instrument-laden halls of a hospital are indeed terrifying, and can even be considered “creepy” by a person who is not suffering from a mental condition.
Mentally ill people do not want to come to a hospital, and they do not want to seek treatment, making it difficult to get that treatment to them. This is why mobile psychiatric rehabilitation units have been established. Mobile psychiatric rehabilitation is designed to help people who are suffering from a mental illness regain or maintain the skills that will help them function in society, allowing them the comfort and security of being treated in an individualized fashion by a caring person in their own homes.
The mobile psychiatric rehabilitation program is individualized to each person, with a specialist conducting an assessment of each person to whom the mobile psychiatric rehabilitation unit is assigned. They work with the mentally ill individual to determine their strengths, and their personal and community resources. From there they work to determine a plan of service to help outline the tasks and goals of the individual. Both the patient and the representative have tasks between each visit to make progress toward these goals.
The mobile psychiatric rehabilitation units are tailored to meet the wants as well as the needs of each individual. They can meet an individual in their own home, at their school, their work, or even in their neighborhood. These services are short term and are goal oriented, allowing people, through their own personal choice and at their own speed, to develop the skills and the support that they need to become self-sufficient and to have a more satisfying life.
Mobile psychiatric rehabilitation can help to allow a person to manage their own home through the acquisition of new skills such as budgeting, nutrition, and other self-care skills, as well as skills in areas such as the use of public transportation. Mobile psychiatric rehabilitation can help to teach mentally ill individuals or mentally deficient individuals to use their time more productively, both in the community and at home, and can help them to manage mental health issues like their medications.
Mentally ill people can also benefit from mobile psychiatric rehabilitation to help them use community resources such as employment specialists, advocacy groups, program participant groups, and other community support to their advantage. They will learn how to enjoy and make use of the love and support of their family, friends, and community, even co-workers, and will work on their ability to coordinate their care between their service providers and their support systems at or near home.
Mobile psychiatric rehabilitation focuses not on medicating or treating mentally ill patients, but on helping individuals medicate themselves and assisting them in managing their own diseases so that they can live out their lives as best as they can. A mentally ill individual could make use of mobile psychiatric rehabilitation to learn how to live on their own and how to use the features available to them, from busses and trains to employment specialists.
People working with mobile psychiatric rehabilitation can learn how to utilize their co-workers as a support system, and about how to reach out for the help that they need in managing their everyday life. The mobile psychiatric rehabilitation programs can also help people to learn about their own homes and lives, allowing them to learn about things such as budgets so that they can become even more independent.
It feels good to work with a friendly person to reach a goal that you personally have set. Whether your goal is to learn how to get to work all by yourself or how to buy groceries or clean your own house. Mobile psychiatric rehabilitation is a wonderful service for the mentally ill, and can help people who might otherwise fall apart to get on their feet and learn to move forward, perhaps for the first time in their lives.
Mobile psychiatric rehabilitation is for anyone who is a functional mentally ill person. This program, if it is available in your area, can help you or a loved one learn to make use of their functional capacity to live independently.
Megan Hazel is a freelance writer who writes about mental health topics including <a href="http://www.CareLink-svs.org">Community Support Services | Depression Anxiety Treatment</b>
March 17, 2008 | Posted in
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Mental illness is not just an affliction that you are born with; mental illnesses can develop over time, whether as something that was predestined to occur or as an illness that develops over time. While some mental illnesses are certainly not generally found in young people, like Alzheimer’s disease, others such as depression can strike as early as childhood and mental illnesses like ADHD, though over diagnosed, does affect many children and adults.
Young adults can suffer from a wide range of mental illnesses, and are more commonly afflicted for the first time than any other age group because of their rapidly developing brains and the many new circumstances to which they are exposed to during their late teens and early twenties. Young adults are not necessarily particularly vulnerable; however, whatever mental illnesses they were possibly born with are more likely to come out of dormancy at this point in their lives.
Schizophrenia is one mental illness that often strikes for the first time in young adults. Individuals may suffer moodiness or paranoia, which can both be potentially recognized by a loved one and reported to the individual’s physician. Other warning signs might include the young adult hearing voices or seeing things that are not there. Schizophrenic individuals may also experience apathy or lack of emotions and might become worse at social functions. They may also begin to have trouble concentrating or following directions and completing tasks, and their memories might suffer. Schizophrenic patients also almost always begin feeling depressed before their symptoms degenerate.
Depression is another mental illness that is very common in young adults. It is characterized by feelings of extreme helplessness, hopelessness, and is not nearly the same thing as “feeling blue” or being “down”. Depression is a serious mental condition that affects millions of Americans, and can cause suicidal thoughts as well as over, or under-eating, over, or under-sleeping, and a change in moods. Depression is not something that people can just “get over” or “snap out of”, and may in fact require medication or therapy or a combination of both before the individual begins to see a lifting of their symptoms. The symptoms of depression can come and go, and are similar but slightly different from the symptoms of bipolar disorder.
Bipolar disorder, which is also known as manic depression, can be managed with medication. It is characterized with intense manic or “high” periods in which the individual becomes overly enthusiastic or optimistic and may begin tasks or plans that are not feasible. These high periods are followed by crashes and intense “lows”, which can involve sleeping all day, feeling hopeless, suicide attempts, and other symptoms shared with depression.
ADHD is more of a disorder than a disease as it does not often seriously impair a young adult’s ability to function normally in society, however it is possible for a young adult to have ADHD that does affect their ability to hold a job or otherwise function individually. This disorder often involves an inability to focus, being easily distracted, and similar kinds of symptoms. It may be made apparent in forgetfulness that is almost chronic or in an inability to hold still, and also with a hyper-focus on certain activities.
The diagnosis of a mental illness should be left to medical professionals; however it is often up to the family and loved ones of the affected young adult to recognize the symptoms before the individual can get treatment. Many mentally ill individuals do not know that they are suffering, or do not wish for various reasons related to their illness to seek treatment on their own.
People who love anyone affected by the above mentioned mental illnesses and by other mental illnesses should make a list of the specific symptoms that they see so that they can present these symptoms to a mental health specialist. Symptoms that you should look out for include changes in sleeping and eating patters, weight gain or loss, changes in personality, an inability to function normally, paranoia, aggression, and other unusual behavior. Even a feeling that something is “off” with a loved one might warrant extra attention or even investigation to help them get help with their mental illness.
No matter what symptoms are displayed, no diagnosis can be made until the individual who is suffering is taken to a doctor. A person taken to the hospital by police is likely to be treated and released quickly without enough attention paid to their actual needs. It is up to the family and loved ones of young adults affected by mental illness to get them help.
Craig Elliott is a freelance writer who writes about mental health topics including <a href="http://www.CareLink-svs.org">Depression Treatment | Depression Anxiety</a>
March 17, 2008 | Posted in
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What is diabetes?
There are two types of diabetes.Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes, and more than 85 â” 90 % diabetics in the US fall in this category. Type 2 diabetes is associated with insulin resistance and obesity and is fast becoming an epidemic in the entire world. In type 2 diabetes, either the body does not produce enough insulin or the cells ignore the insulin. Insulin is necessary for the body to be able to use glucose for energy.
Diabetes is a metabolic disease caused by a lack of insulin (a hormone) in the human body. Insulin is needed by the body to metabolize (breakdown) the sugar that we eat. When insulin is not available the sugar levels in the body can rise to extremely high levels which can cause diseases of various body parts like the kidneys, eyes, nerves, hearts etc.
Many people with type 2 diabetes have no symptoms, and it is often discovered accidentally after routine medical check ups or when you are being screened for something else.
If present, the symptoms might include:
⢠increased production of urine
⢠unusual thirst
⢠tiredness
⢠loss of weight
Type 2 diabetes develops when the body becomes resistant to insulin. This happens when the body’s tissues (eg muscle), do not fully respond to insulin and so cannot make use of the glucose in the blood for energy. The pancreas responds by producing more insulin. In addition the liver, where glucose is stored, releases more glucose to try to increase the amount available. Eventually the pancreas becomes less able to produce enough insulin and the tissues become more resistant to insulin. As a result, blood glucose levels slowly start to rise.
Unlike Type 1 diabetes, there is little tendency toward ketoacidosis in Type 2 diabetes, though it is not unknown. One effect that can occur is nonketonic hyperglycemia which also quite dangerous, though it must be treated very differently.
Diabetes mellitus type 2 is a chronic, progressive disease that has no clearly established cure. There are two main goals of treatment of the disease:
1. reduction of mortality and concomitant morbidity (from assorted diabetic complications)
2. preservation of quality of life
Type 2 is initially treated by adjustment in diet and exercise, and by weight loss, especially in obese patients.
There are several drugs available for type 2 diabetics — most are unsuitable or even dangerous for use by type 1 diabetics. Metformin and second-generation sulfonylureas are the preferred choices for most with type 2. If antidiabetic drugs fails, insulin therapy may be necessary – usually in addition to oral medication therapy – to maintain normal glucose levels. Type 2 diabetes is serious, but people with diabetes can live long, healthy, happy lives.
For more information about diabetes types 2 visit http://www.simplyanswer.com and get the assistance of medical experts online.
Vinay Gupta is an experienced writer who is writing for <a href="http://www.simplyanswer.com">Ask For Doctor Online</a> and <a href="http://www.simplyanswer.com/type2_diabetes.php">Type 2 Diabetes</a> for the website http://www.simplyanswer.com since long time.
March 14, 2008 | Posted in
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For nearly two decades, Dr. Sam Robbins has been passionate about the human body and mind. He believes that a person's mental outlook plays a very important role in their overall health and well-being. His areas of expertise include nutrition, exercise physiology, natural hormone re-balancing of the body and what he refers to as "real world" medical knowledge. He has dramatically changed client's health and mental well-being, allowing them to look and feel years younger. Find out how at http://www.hflsolutions.com.
March 11, 2008 | Posted in
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Like all other types of cancer, mesothelioma is incurable. Although doctors and scientists have made a great deal of progress for diagnosing and treating these malignancies, there is still no current way to completely get rid of it.
When a group of cells mutates uncontrollably and starts invading and killing healthy cells, this is called cancer. In certain areas of the body where cells reproduce rapidly there tends to be a greater chance of risk because one cancer cell can multiply exponentially in a very quick period of time. Most cancers are caused by external stimuli and mesothelioma is no different. Mesothelioma cancer is caused by exposure to carcinogens such as asbestos.
The affected areas from mesothelioma cancer are the lining of the internal organs in the body. Because of the location of the infected cells, mesothelioma does not respond well to conventional treatments unlike most other forms of cancer. In addition, there are no blatant symptoms of the disease, so doctors cannot properly diagnose the illness until it’s significantly advanced. Because of these factors, the effectiveness of many conventional treatments are limited.
When treating mesothelioma, doctors use several treatment options. Surgery, radiation treatments and chemotherapy have been traditional options for slowing the growth of cancerous cells. Doctors dealing with mesothelioma have to plan an innovative method of attack to combat this condition. New treatments like angiogenesis, photodynamic and gene therapy hold new hope for victims of mesothelioma everywhere. Depending on the state and location of the cancer, doctors will choose the best course of action for the circumstances. If it’s discovered early enough, doctors can prolong the life of the victim, but sadly cannot cure the disease.
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March 7, 2008 | Posted in
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