“I am anxious about everything…if my husband is late, if my son has a fever, if nobody is attending the call… I can’t figure out why I worry so much”

Anxiety is normal but it becomes a disorder and a problem when the anxiety and worry become excessive, exaggerated and uncontrollable in normal everyday situations. Everything that comes across in life is seen with fear, worry and apprehension. Many of us do not need a reason to be worried. Even a small harmless traffic block can make a lot many of us anxious and worried for a while. Nevertheless, anxiety is necessary as it motivates and alerts one into action in times of danger. It is just a response to stress and you don’t have to be worried about being worried occasionally.

GAD

When your worry remains the same even after the situation and you cannot relax, you probably have a disorder. If you tend to anticipate about events which are unlike to happen and cannot find piece of mind you have GAD. People with GAD complain that they keep on worrying about something or another and that they cannot remember relaxing. They cannot wait for a loved one patiently who is probably late due to a traffic block without thinking of the worst. They are further stressed by simple real life situations and experience nervousness, edginess, sleep disturbances, headaches, trembling, twitching, irritability, frustration, and inability to concentrate. They also feel tired and restless. GAD is chronic and may persist for several months. It may co-exist with IBS and make matters worse for the sufferer. Having IBS would cause nausea, gas troubles, dizziness, lack of appetite and the like. In short, it highly reverses the normal life of an individual.

Your Options

Psychotherapy is generally recommended for GAD. They may also be backed up by medications like antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs. They control your worries and provide sedation. But they are soothing and hence addictive. Psychotherapy includes counseling, cognitive-behavioral therapy and other talk-therapies. Hence cognitive-behavioral therapy is a highly advised for GAD.

Cognitive therapy essentially deal with the thinking and believing process. With this, we train our mind to change the though process and pattern from what we have been doing. We condition our mind to think healthily, realistically and positively so that the symptoms of the disease vanish. Behavioral therapy focuses on what we do. It helps to reduce or stop the undesired behavior associated with the disorder. We learn to relax at the time of anxiety and agitation and use deep breathing techniques to counteract the symptoms. We learn to be calm and de-stressed.

Cope With It Positively

You can lead a normal and happy life with GAD. However, it is up to you to talk to a therapist or a counselor to learn some relaxation techniques to sooth yourself and your IBS. Stress reducing techniques like deep-breathing or visualization, music therapy can ease IBS and unnecessary worries.

• Regular exercise
• Tight sleep
• Healthy diet

A mental health professional may also suggest certain self help techniques to reduce your agony. You can try self-talk, jotting down your worries and so on. It is also important to prepare yourself for stressful events in life so that you do not panic or startle.

For this topic I didn’t have to go out searching for examples when I am here myself.

Motion sickness was perhaps congenital for me. In my childhood, I would be nauseated in a 15 minute road journey and would create a racket for my parents. Some cousins accused my ‘psychology’ and told me that if I think “I won’t vomit” I won’t. I had to grow up and travel a lot to become more resistant to journeys but still my acidic stomach would occasionally give me away. After so many years now I know what keeps me away from nausea and vomiting (motion sickness).

• A good night’s sleep before any journey.
• No overeating the day before.
• No empty stomach in the morning. Take a light breakfast and my usual tablet for motion sickness.
• Cool air in the vehicle.
• Lots of candies.

I have always been on a low morale because of my motion sickness. When everybody is enjoying the journey I would be sticking to the window seat, controlling my breath and with my hands crossed. When I got married I had to go through difficult times while making those obligatory long journeys. I would break down as nausea is more traumatic than vomiting itself. I would eat pieces of ginger, smell lemons, skip meals, hoard plastic bags and what not!

Motion Sickness (Kinetosis)

Motion sickness refers to the dizziness, fatigue, nausea and vomiting one may have during one’s travel by air, water or land. The sense of movement is received by the brain through the signals sent by the inner ears, eyes, muscles and joints. When there is a mismatch in the signals received by the brain you get sick. Your eyes or other parts of the body may not find yourself moving but your head and the inner ears feel it, then you are in trouble.

Where you sit can make a difference. The front seat of a car, forward cars of a train, upper deck on a boat or wing seats in a plane may give you a smoother ride. Looking out into the distance - instead of trying to read or look at something in the vehicle - can also help.

• Road journeys- Avoid heavy meal and drinking before travel.
• Be prepared to travel. No need of any anxiety or fear. Traveling is an exciting experience.
• Sitting in the front seat helps people with motion sickness as the front seat moves less than the back one. If it is a train, then get into the forward cars. Sit in the direction of the travel in a window seat.
• If you feel that your head movements make you feel dizzy or sick, rest your head on the head rest. Keep it still and avoid looking at the scenery outside or fast moving objects around. Forget videos until the journey is over. No reading too.
• Avoid coffee and strong spicy foods before any journey.
• Get good ventilation. Switch on your A/C.
• Consult your doctor for anti-vomiting or anti-nausea medications.
• Air journeys- Find a seat near the wings. Direct the air vent flow to your face to help ventilation.
• Do not take salty foods or dairy products prior to travel. Eat foods high in carbohydrates and preferably low in calories.
• Boat journeys- occupying a seat in the front or middle of the ship or on the upper deck can make a difference.
• If you are seated below the deck keep their eyes closed and concentrate on something nice and interesting. Engaging in a conversation can help.
• Passengers on the deck should fix their eyes on the horizon or visible land ahead.

You can keep motion sickness away by putting a candy in your mouth or by biting at a dry soda crackers. Ginger or peppermint works a great deal. Some prefer carrying some ginger ale along which can serve thirst and motion sickness.

-Aparna K V

Tags: yoga, alternative medicine, therapeutic, native remedies, ayurvedic

Although in Europe and the U.S. cinnamon is most often associated with sweet dishes, it has broad culinary uses. For example, in India, cinnamon is never used with desserts, but is the main ingredient in curries.

Cinnamon is the bark of three bushy evergreen trees of the laurel (Lauraceae) family. The most fragrant and delicate cinnamon is obtained from the Cinnamomum zeylanicum tree native to Sri Lanka (which used to be called ‘Ceylon’), the western coast of India (known as the Malabar coast), and Burma. Zeylanicum cinnamon is sometimes called ‘true cinnamon’ and ‘old fashioned cinnamon.’ But the ‘true’ part was just advertising copy for the Dutch East India Company’s 17th century monopoly.

The 1997 Commission E on Phytotherapy and Herbal Substances of the German Federal Institute for Drugs recommends Cinnamon ‘For loss of appetite, dyspeptic complaints such as mild, spastic condition of the gastrointestinal tract, bloating, flatulence.’ It is chiefly used to assist and flavor other drugs, being helpful in diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and to relieve flatulence. The oil is a powerful germicide, but being very irritant is rarely used in medicine for this purpose. It is a strong local stimulant, sometimes prescribed in gastro-dynia, flatulent colic, and gastric debility.

It is found that a mixture of Honey and Cinnamon cures most of the diseases. Honey is produced in most of the countries of the world. Ayurvedic as well as Yunani medicine have been using honey as a vital medicine for centuries. Scientists of today also accept honey as a very effective medicine for all kinds of diseases. Honey can be used without any side effects for any kind of diseases. Today’s science says that even though honey is sweet, if taken in the right dosage as a medicine, it does not harm diabetic patients.

Honey and cinnamon mixtures are researched to be effective in a myriad of therapeutic conditions. These are enumerated below:

HEART DISEASES: Make a paste of honey and cinnamon powder, apply on bread, chapati, or other bread, instead of jelly and jam and eat it regularly for breakfast. It reduces the cholesterol in the arteries and saves the patient from heart attack. Also those who already had an attack, if they do this process daily, they are kept miles away from the next attack.

Regular use of the above process relieves loss of breath and strengthens the heartbeat. In America and Canada, various nursing homes have treated patients successfully and have found that as age the arteries and veins lose their flexibility and get clogged; honey and cinnamon revitalizes the arteries and veins.

INSECT BITES: Take one part honey to two parts of lukewarm water and add a small teaspoon of cinnamon powder, make a paste and massage it on the itching part of the body slowly. It is noticed that the pain recedes within a minute or two.

ARTHRITIS: Arthritis patients may take daily, morning and night, one cup of hot water with two spoons of honey and one small teaspoon of cinnamon powder. If taken regularly even chronic arthritis can be cured.

In a recent research conducted at the Copenhagen University, it was found that when the doctors treated their patients with a mixture of one tablespoon Honey and half teaspoon Cinnamon powder before breakfast, they found that within a week out of the 200 people so treated practically 73 patients were totally relieved of pain and within a month, mostly all the patients who could not walk or move around because of arthritis started walking without pain.

HAIR LOSS: Those suffering from hair loss or baldness, may apply a paste of hot olive oil, one tablespoon of honey, one teaspoon of cinnamon powder before bath and keep it for approx. 15 min. and then wash the hair. It was found to be effective even if kept on for 5 minutes.

BLADDER INFECTIONS: Take two tablespoons of cinnamon powder and one teaspoon of honey in a glass of lukewarm water and drink it. It destroys the germs in the bladder.

TOOTHACHE: Make a paste of one teaspoon of cinnamon powder and five teaspoons of honey and apply on the aching tooth. This may be applied 3 times a day till the tooth stops aching.

CHOLESTEROL: Two tablespoons of honey and three teaspoons of Cinnamon Powder
mixed in 16 ounces of tea water, given to a cholesterol patient, was found to
reduce the level of cholesterol in the blood by 10% within 2 hours. As mentioned for arthritic patients, if taken 3 times a day, any Chronic cholesterol is cured. As per information received in the said journal, pure honey taken with food daily relieves complaints of cholesterol.

COLDS: Those suffering from common or severe colds should take one tablespoon lukewarm honey with 1/4 spoon cinnamon powder daily for 3 days. This process will cure most chronic cough, cold and clear the sinuses.

INFERTILITY: Yunani and Ayurvedic Medicine have been using honey for thousands of years to strengthen the semen of men. If impotent men regularly take two tablespoon of honey before going to sleep, their problem will be solved.

In China, Japan and Far-East countries, women, who do not conceive and need to strengthen the uterus, have been taking cinnamon powder for centuries. Women who cannot conceive may take a pinch of cinnamon powder in half teaspoon of honey and apply it on the gums frequently throughout the day, so that it slowly mixes with the saliva and enters the body.

A couple in Maryland, USA, had no children for 14 years and had lost hope of having a child of their own. When told about this process, husband and wife started taking honey and cinnamon as stated above; the wife conceived after a few months and had twins at full term.

UPSET STOMACH: Honey taken with cinnamon powder cures stomachache and also clears stomach ulcers from the root.