Month: March 2019

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PAIN – PAIN, GO AWAY!

Everyone complains of pain from time to time, whether it’s a headache, a sprain or something more serious due to surgery or a chronic illness. But what exactly is pain?

It is described as “physical suffering or discomfort caused by illness or injury”.  It is synonymous with suffering, agony, affliction, torture, torment, discomfort or soreness.

Everyone has their own level of pain they are able to endure at any given time. Pain levels, however, are subjective and everyone interprets them differently. Pain is measured on a scale of 0-10 with 0 being no pain, and 10 being the worst pain you’ve ever experienced.

Since everyone has their own perception of the severity of pain, the way they deal with it varies as well.  Treatments can vary from a cold or hot compress to some peppermint oil, and from 2 Advil to something stronger that has been physician prescribed.

Prescription pain meds such as oxycodone (Oxycontin) and hydrocodone (Vicodin) are in a class of drugs known as opioids. They’re typically used to treat severe pain after surgery, and sometimes to treat chronic pain. Although these drugs have benefits for a narrow margin of the population, they come with many risks factors as well, including addiction.  

Risks and benefits

  • Opioids are powerful pain medications that block messages of pain to the brain, as well as decrease the body’s perception of discomfort.
  • Opioids can create a feeling of euphoria.
  • They can be useful for a short time following a surgery.
  • Some side effects include nausea, itching, drowsiness or constipation.
  • They can be used for long term illnesses, such as cancer.
  • Long term pain relief is debatable because pain relief is not sustained.
  • More serios side effects include bowel distention, falls, delayed reaction time and slow breathing.

It has been determined that taking opioids for four weeks or longer can put you at risk for dependence and sometimes for addiction. Being dependent on opioids means your brain has become accustomed to having them.  When you stop taking opioids, however, it may cause withdrawal symptoms such as sweating, chills, vomiting, diarrhea, and/or depression. Addiction is different though and considered a mental health disorder characterized by compulsive use and preoccupation with the drug.

Symptoms of Opioid addiction:

  • Sudden changes in weight
  • Withdrawing from activities/obligations
  • Mood swings – aggression or irritability
  • Lethargy or fatigue
  • Depression
  • Changes in social circles
  • Insomnia – difficulty sleeping
  • Financial difficulties
  • Lying and/or stealing
  • Nausea or vomiting
  • Red eyes OR pinned pupils
  • Sweating
  • Cravings for OR unable to stop taking opioids
  • Experiencing withdrawal symptoms – as listed above

Is this medication right for you?

You’ve read the benefits and risks, as well as the symptoms of addiction to opioids.  Due to the recent addiction epidemic, thankfully, many changes have been made in the screening process prior to prescribing opioids to patients.  But, please be aware of the facts and statistics:

Staggering statistics regarding opioids:

Statistics from the CDC, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the United States (US) Department of Health and Human Services reveal the serious nature of the problem. 

1. In 2016, health care providers across the US wrote more than 214 million prescriptions for opioid pain medication—a rate of 66.5 prescriptions per 100 people.

2. As many as 1 in 5 people receive prescription opioids long-term for non-cancer pain in primary care settings.

3. More than 11 million people abused prescription opioids in 2016.

4. Every day, more than 1,000 people are treated in emergency departments for misusing prescription opioids.

5. More than 40% of all US opioid overdose deaths in 2016 involved a prescription opioid.

6. Drug overdoses claimed the lives of nearly 64,000 Americans in 2016. Nearly two-thirds of these deaths (66%) involved a prescription or illicit opioid. 

7. The CDC estimates the total economic burden of prescription opioid misuse in the US is $78.5 billion a year, including the costs of health care, lost productivity, addiction treatment, and criminal justice involvement.

Do you know someone who is struggling with a significant pain problem? Encourage them to talk to a health care professional about safe ways to manage it.  A few alternative options may include, but are not limited to:

  • Massage
  • Energy work – The Emotion Code, Reiki, Pranic Healing
  • Essential Oils
  • Physical Therapy
  • Meditation
  • Yoga
  • Sound Healing
  • Hypnotherapy

Many of these techniques have been used for thousands of years to manage health and wellness with great success and without any side effects.  Noted improvement can be made in overall well-being to include pain relief, mobility, sleep quality, stress level, self-awareness and self-confidence. It appears that healing the body from the inside out and at the root cause of the problem has many long-term and long-lasting benefits that go way beyond just the physical that are worth looking into.

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Is It Luck or Coincidence?

Have you ever looked around and noticed that some people seem to have all the luck?  Everything always seems to go right for them.  On the flipside, if it wasn’t for bad luck, the other people wouldn’t have any luck at all?  How does that happen?  What are the people with good luck doing so differently than everyone else?   Is it luck or is it coincidence?  Luck is the idea that defines the experience of notably positive, negative or improbable events.  We wish people good luck all the time when they are faced with a difficult task or situation, or we blame it on bad luck when things don’t go exactly as we had planned.

A coincidence, on the other hand,  is described as an occasion when two or more things happen at the same time, especially in a way that is unexpected or unlikely, or the unlikely fact of such things happening at the same time.  We’ve all bumped into a friend at a time or place that we least expected to. Or found that perfect parking place right by the entrance during a rain storm.  Whether large or small, coincidences seem to pop up all the time in our lives.  But, is there really such a thing as a coincidence?  Albert Einstein says, “A coincidence is a small miracle when God chooses to remain anonymous.”

Have you ever stopped to think about where you focus your attention and energy on a daily, or even an hourly basis?  Consciously focusing on and maintaining a moment by moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, sensations and our surrounding environment is what we call being mindful.  Being mindful of our thoughts and what we are projecting outwardly is the first step to improving our overall health, happiness and abundance.   Negative thoughts will attract more negative into our life.  On the other hand, if we are making a conscious effort to be grateful for everything, we will attract more positive.  Whether we need and desire a healthier physical body, a happier, loving relationship and/or financial abundance, projecting positive thoughts will help you manifest your dreams.

“Thoughts become things, … choose the good ones,” says Mike Dooley.  In other words, when we focus on something for an extended period of time, or visualize a desired outcome, we cause the Universe to align to bring those exact things – our needs, wishes or desires in our direction.  Can we dare to say that we are all creators of our own destinies?  Our most dominant thoughts and energies will certainly manifest into reality.  Everyday encounters are rarely an accident. There are many things in our lives that are outside of our control, but our reality is largely the result of our thoughts, unconscious wants and energies manifesting into the physical.

“Coincidence is the language of the stars. For something to happen, so many forces must to be put in action. When you see signs or coincidences, the Universe is talking to you,” says Coehlo

The point is that everything you attract into your life – every person, every object, and every experience –has all been drawn into your reality by none other than YOU. Your own unique vibrational frequency.  What you are attracting into your life, is matching up with the energetic frequency you are projecting. If you’re not happy with the events in your life, try making a consistent conscious effort to change your thoughts to align with your goals and dreams. 

Everything in the Universe is made up of energy and has its own vibrational frequency, including our thoughts and emotions.  In addition to being mindful of our thoughts and making adjustments as needed, let’s contemplate the possibility of releasing trapped negative emotions from past traumatic events.  This is possible with a technique called The Emotion Code.  When we are not able to process the emotion/s at the time of the trauma, they become trapped and stored in our body, brining our overall vibrational frequency to an unhealthy level.  As we begin to release the negative emotions, our frequency begins to rise.  Health, happiness and abundance on every level soon follow.

Three easy steps to attract abundance into your life:

  • Being Mindful and Grateful – Always
  • Meditate with Visualize – Daily
  • Release negative emotions with The Emotion Code – Elevate your vibrational frequency and create overall abundance.