addressing stress

10 ways to address the stresses of the times . . . for better and for worse [UPDATED]

Last night, I was sitting around with some friends and one woman mentioned that she suddenly had an outbreak of psoriasis, a nasty itchy, scaly skin problem. She wanted to know if there were natural treatments instead of the steroids and immune suppressant drugs doctors usually prescribe. So, I whipped out my trusty iPhone and … Read more

stress cascade

Thyroid and adrenals: The Stress Cascade

If you’re a regular reader, you know I talk a lot about stress. We all have it, and in our modern life, where we are almost always plugged in, it is becoming increasingly difficult to break the toxic stress cycle that can have profoundly negative effects on your health.  Largely, I’ve talked about natural ways … Read more

hypothyroidism

Stress Can Contribute to Hypothyroidism

Are you stressed? I’m sure most of you said, “Oh, yeah!” If you said you’re not stressed, I’d probably cock my eyebrow at you or assume you are a Zen master. Stress is a part of our every day lives. It’s unavoidable. It’s not a question of whether we have stress, but how we cope … Read more

benefits of silence

Why Your Brain Craves Silence and How to Actually Find It

We tend to think of noise as something we hear. Traffic. Television. Conversations in the background. But there is another kind of noise that follows us all day. Notifications. Scrolling. Mental checklists. Constant input that never really stops. Even in quiet rooms, the mind is rarely still. This kind of ongoing stimulation may feel normal, … Read more

adrenal fatigue

Adrenal fatigue can mess up your life

Feeling like your life is one big drag? Are the vagaries of everyday life gotten you down? No. This isn’t an article about depression. It’s about something else that might be dragging you down: Adrenal fatigue can be dragging you down. You might not even know it, but here’s a hint: Relentless stress can put … Read more

holiday stress

Holiday Stress Can Mess With Your Brain

Stress messes with your brain all the time. Science confirms that: 75% of all visits to primary physicians are for complaints that have stress as an underlying cause. Emotional stress, when unrelieved, raises levels of the stress hormone cortisol and adrenaline, elevates hormones and brain chemicals throughout your body and becomes physical as well as … Read more

solutions for summer stress

5 Solutions for Summer Stress

Summer—is it your time of languid summer days floating on a tube down the river or balmy evenings listening to the tree frogs – or are you exhausted from endless guest, barbecues, family crisis and any manner of stress inducers? I’ll have to admit that this summer, most often I fall into the latter category. … Read more