It's About Time to Shift Our Thinking
By Dr. Gene Clerkin
The beginning of our conversation started like it usually does with small talk and questions like, “What's new?” “How's business?” and How's the weather been?” Somewhere along the line though, the conversation with my dad turned to the dismal state of affairs in the world today.
We agreed about the many dysfunctions that have come about in our modern world including overuse of medications, toxicity of the environment and genetic altering of the food supply. He felt it was a result of people turning away from God, while I attributed it to a general lack of connection to our hearts. One could argue they're one in the same.
I got the feeling he felt it was a hopeless case. While I might tend to agree with him on some level, I've also notice a slight upward shift in this downward trend.
More and more people are contacting the Center for Holistic Health looking for a different approach to their health and an alternative methodology to their way of thinking about life. They are beginning to see that most of the symptoms and ailments they experience are the body's call for a change. They're just not always exactly sure how or what changes are needed.
I've even seen a shift in the medical community, as well. In fact, I recently got to know a couple of local medical doctors who understand the limitations of traditions Western medical practices, especially when it comes to stress and lifestyle practices.
Since I'm often asked if I know a medical doctor who is open to alternative and holistic ideas, I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce these medical practitioners.
A few months ago I received a call from Dr. Nicholas Beaulieu. It seems we shared a mutual client whose wife told Dr. Nick about some stress reducing breathing techniques he learned at the Center for Holistic Health. After meeting with him, I learned he had a background in transcendental meditation. He said that about thirty to forty percent of the people he sees in his office have stress and anxiety related conditions that require something other than a Western medical approach.
The feeling I got from Dr. Nick, as his patients call him, was that he had genuine concern for his patient's well being, and that he encourages them to find true solutions to their symptoms. Dr. Beaulieu practices at Highland Urgent Care / Family Care located at 920 Ponce de Leon Ave. and can be reached at 404-815-1957.
Close to the same time I met Dr. Beaulieu I received a postcard from another medical doctor named Maiysha Clairborne. Her practice name, “Mind Body Spirit Family Medicine,” caught my attention, so I contacted her and set up a meeting. Dr. Clairborne is a very charming and genuine person. She has dedicated herself to learning many different alternative healing techniques so that she can serve her patients in the best possible manor. She completely understands the need for a major shift in the current medical model in order to increase the quality of patient care. Dr. Clairborne can be reached at 678-205-0491
Is It Sadness or Depression?
By Andrea Schrage, MA, LPC, CMT
Why is it that most people feel familiar with Depression? Why is it that if you start talking about taking anti-depressants that people come out of the woodwork to tell you about their experience on meds? One of the pieces in the puzzle is that people do not know how to distinguish sadness from “feeling depressed”.
To give you a generalized idea of the succession from sadness to depression, it can often look like this:
- You have an emotion
- You do not know how to attend to it or choose to not attend to it
- The feelings get stuffed down via ignoring it or covering it in a addictive pattern
- You feel depressed
This is a simplification to help you see all the steps that happen before the depression sets in. Often what happens in this process is that there is a lot of grief that is not getting tended to. When this happens the world can feel unsafe and people tend to start protecting by shutting down their emotions. The blessing and curse in how our bodies work is that when you shut down one emotion, they all tend to get shut down. The curse is that if you don't want to feel sad then you limit your ability to feel joy. The blessing is that if you don't feel joy, it may cause you to look for the problem and then heal it.
To help clarify more we can look at “symptoms” of sadness and of depression.
Sadness can come in the form of:
- Tears
- A feeling in the throat, heart, or chest
- It may come in waves that peak and then lessen
- It is temporary
- It is usually related to an event, even if it is an old event
Depression can come in the form of:
- Feeling tired all the time
- Not finding joy in things that you used to find joy in
- A negative outlook on most things
- On-going sadness without an obvious cause
- Changes in eating patterns
- Disconnecting from others
- Difficulty getting up and going in the morning
- A lack of emotions
- A change in sleep patterns
- Hopelessness
Most of us did not learn to properly attend to emotions, we are taught to analyze, ignore, and cover up any emotions that we have. What is surprising for most of us is that we are just as scared to feel real joy and success as we are of feeling sadness and pain. This fact is usually left unnoticed, but it anchors in our system of wanting to avoid emotions. If you can start separating your feelings out, you can tend to them, which will allow you more power and consciousness about the choices that you make in your life.
Ways to start dealing with emotions are through writing, mindfulness, releasing them through the physical body, or through therapy. As you do this practice over time, you retrain your system to not fall into habitual depressive patterns. You will also learn to tolerate feelings and you will begin to pick up on the early cues that you are heading towards a depressive episode. If feelings are overwhelming for you or if you have a history of trauma, then please seek support through professional help.
For more questions about this process you can reach me at:
404-818-6114 or email me at AndreaSchrage@KarunaCounseling.com
www.KarunaCounseling.com
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Don't Knock Skin Care - The Largest Organ, The Least Suspected
By Dr. Maiysha Clairborne
In our increasing awareness of health and wellness, we have placed so much emphasis on what we put in our bodies that we often neglect to pay attention to what we put on our bodies. The importance of skin care is underrated. It is often thought of as a luxury. However studies are proving that we need to pay much closer attention to what we put on skin. Ingredients like 1, 4 Dioxane and 14 Quarterium are harmful ingredients found to be present (in doses “undetectable” levels to the FDA) in many over the counter products. Even many products that claim to be “natural” or “botanical” are being found to contain these and more harmful ingredients. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) lists several very common and widely used products that contain these and many other harmful ingredients in small doses.
Why is it so important that these ingredients are in our personal care products if they are in such small levels that they are undetectable to the FDA? Imagine that you are taking a very small dose of arsenic (contained in rat poison) daily. This substance builds in the body as a toxin and is not properly eliminated. Eventually, the organ systems (liver, kidney) become overwhelmed and the body shuts down. Such is the same with putting nano-doses of toxin onto our skin. The skin is the largest organ of the body and absorbs whatever we come in contact with readily. Repeated exposure to the skin is the equivalent to repeated ingestion of toxic chemicals. It is no coincidence that illnesses such as chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia and breast cancer are on the rise and occurring in females younger and younger. Whereas we know from research that there is a strong genetic component to breast cancer, we are now seeing many women less than 35 years of age acquiring breast cancer and with no family history. Where is this coming from? Likely from daily exposures to toxins put on the skin and used in the home.
So what are these components? Here is a brief summary of just a few of the harmful ingredients contained in over the counter personal care products and cosmetics.
- 1,4-Dioxane is a petroleum-derived contaminant considered a probable human carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and a clear-cut animal carcinogen by the National Toxicology Program. It is also on California 's Proposition 65 list of chemicals known or suspected by the state to cause cancer or birth defects. Because it is a contaminant produced during manufacturing, the FDA does not require it to be listed as an ingredient on product labels.
- Phthalates are a group of synthetic chemicals that have been linked to reproductive damage. They are present in flexible polyvinyl chloride plastic (PVC), cosmetics, and other consumer items. PVC represents the largest use of phthalates, occupying 90% of global plasticizer production. In PVC, phthalates are added to impart flexibility. In cosmetics, phthalates are often added to provide flexibility, impart an oily “moisturizing” film, and help dissolve and fix other ingredients. In addition, phthalates serve as solvents in fragrances and as denaturants in alcohols. The problem with phthalates is that they have been shown in animal studies to cause reproductive problems in males such as birth defects, feminization in males, increase risk for testicular cancer, hypogonadia and undescended testes. Phthalates have been shown to be secreted in human breast milk. In other animal studies, toxicity to liver, heart and blood was demonstrated.
- Quaternium-15 is a preservative found in many cosmetics and industrial substances that releases formaldehyde. It can be found in numerous sources, including but not limited to: mascara, eyeliner, moisturizer, lotion, shampoo, conditioner, nail polish, personal lubricants, soaps, body wash, baby lotion or shampoo, facial cleanser, tanning oil, self-tanning cream, sunscreen, powder, shaving products, ointments, personal wipes or cleansers, wipes, paper, inks, paints, polishes, waxes and industrial lubricants. Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen (cancer causing agen) and quaternium-15 in addition is a skin sensitizer and tends to cause contact dermatitis.
- Petroleum Distillates are prohibited for use in cosmetics in the European Union. Petroleum distillates are a possible human carcinogen and may contain harmful impurities or form toxic breakdown products.
These are just a few of the harmful ingredients that we are putting on our skin daily.
To view a more in depth list visit www.ewg.com or http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/
You may also visit www.safecosmetics.org to view a list of companies who have signed the compact for safe cosmetics.
Dr. Maiysha Clairborne is an American Board Certified Family Physician and founder of Mind Body Spirit Wellness. She completed her medical degree at Morehouse School of Medicine and did her residency in Family Medicine at Florida Hospital in Orlando , FL. Post residency, she has completed her certificate trainings in acupuncture with The Academy of Pain Research Acupuncture program in San Francisco as well as the International Academy of Medical Acupuncture. Mind Body Spirit focuses on creating and preserving mental, physical, and spiritual balance in order to promote and maintain optimal health through their integrative approach to medicine. Their therapies combine traditional western practices with natural alternative therapies. These include the use of either acupuncture, herbal medicine, homeopathy, energy medicine, and nutrition therapy. Dr. Clairborne has made it her mission to go beyond just providing medical care. It is her calling to provide specific education on living a healthy lifestyle to people of all ages through community education and workshops as well as personal in home consultations. She integrates eastern and western practices not only in her medical practice but in her own personal life as well serving as an example to her community.