Natural Health Alternative Blog

Would it surprise any of you to know that the number one fear among adults is public speaking? It’s true! To know just how great a fear this is, consider that people rank this fear above fear of maiming or even death.

The above is one example of anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorder is actually a blanket term to describe many types of anxiety disorders such as generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder (example above), obsessive compulsive disorder, phobias, post traumatic stress disorder, separation anxiety and panic disorder.

With anxiety disorder, the sufferer experiences anxiety – the negative emotional state related to a perceived threat or uncontrollable situation and fear – the physiological and/or emotional response said threat.

One in ten people suffer from anxiety disorder with phobias – irrational fears or real or perceived threats being the most common.

For many, this condition is present in childhood, however for some, it is triggered in adulthood. The cause can be congenital (from birth) or environmental (emotional or physical trauma). This disorder is often worse during times of stress.

Symptoms include heart palpitations, sweating, difficulty breathing, nausea, diarrhea, trembling, persistent worry, headache, muscle tension, nervousness, restlessness, fatigue, exhaustion and over time, hypertension (high blood pressure). Many of these symptoms incorporate panic attacks which many think are heart attacks because of the similarity to heart attack symptoms.

Additionally, over sixty percent of anxiety disorder sufferers also suffer from depression. This is generally a combo effect. Persistent fear and anxiety can lead to a depressed state.

Many find their sleep patterns interrupted by anxiety – trouble sleeping due to constant worry or fear or more often, waking in the wee hours and being unable to return to sleep due to anxiety.

For many, the fear can be debilitating, interrupting day to day living. Many become shut-ins, trying desperately to control some aspect of his/her life.

Many often make it worse by not seeking help because they fear being labeled “crazy,” when in fact, these symptoms – no matter how unhealthy – are a way for the body/mind to attempt to deal with the anxiety and fear.

Many fear medications which are overwhelmingly prescribed by doctors as a quick fix. While these medications do work for some, they have side effects – many of them dangerous.

Over time, anxiety disorder is more than just troublesome to one’s mental state – it can also lead to health issues like high blood pressure, which can in turn, lead to heart disease, stroke and other health disorder.

Additionally, erectile dysfunction or ED is highly reported by men as a side effect of anxiety disorder for a couple of reasons. Some fear having a panic attack during sex. For others, the fear of achieving and/or maintaining an erection can cause panic.

These are only a couple of examples of conditions caused by anxiety. I would go so far as to say pretty much all diseases I’ve dealt with are partly caused by anxiety and part of the solution is to relax and gain inner peace.

If anxiety is affecting your blood pressure or causing ED, I highly recommend both my High Blood Pressure program and my Erectile Dysfunction program, respectively. They consist of easy to do breathing and relaxation exercises which have shown amazing results!

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I’ve been planning on writing this article for some time but I just keep losing interest. OK, just kidding. But how many of you want to achieve something big or small and just don’t seem to be able to get started?

I am a naturally high-energy person who, once an idea hits me, has trouble letting go of the idea until some sort of creation comes to fruition. Whether that be researching and writing an article, creating a new health program or taking a vacation.

I realize that I am on the other end of the spectrum when it comes to motivation. Many of my friends, family and clients, however, often experience a lack of motivation when it comes to achieving a dream no matter how big or small.

How many of you have wanted to complete that novel that’s been popping into your head for years? How many of you want to train for and complete a marathon? How many of you simply want to clean your house?

Have you ever sat down and tried to list the reasons why your motivation is so lacking? Let’s face it. Procrastination is easy and doesn’t need help in the excuse department.

Often times, we won’t do something positive just because it’s the right thing to do. We wait until we fear a negative impact of not doing the right thing. Let’s take something seemingly as easy as cleaning the house.

Isn’t it interesting how one’s house “suddenly” becomes dirty when we find out we’re having company? Or, even if we realize the house is in need of cleaning, motivation doesn’t strike until we learn of impending guests. Then, motivation comes on in a fury!

This can be applied to a healthy lifestyle. There are some of us who eat well, exercise regularly, get the proper amount of sleep and don’t drink to excess or do drugs, simply because we want to be healthy.

For many though, just like finishing that novel or taking out the trash, motivation to improve our health only comes when it becomes a necessity.

For example, it’s often not until one is diagnosed with high blood pressure and prescribed medication with awful side effects that one takes the initiative to exercise and eat better.

This can also be said of lifestyle induced health issues like type II diabetes, obesity, smoking related health issues and alcohol and drug related issues.

No matter how much we hear over the years that we are affecting our health by our negative choices, it’s not until we have been diagnosed with an actual problem that we seek to better our lives.

The best course of action is to make a plan for change, set a date and TELL someone. Having someone take an interest and ask you about your progress is highly motivating to stay on the path to good health.

I also encourage you to try one of my all natural programs such as my High Blood Pressure program or my Weight Loss Breeze program. The results are amazing! Make a plan and order today!

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Living in a land that offers plenty; plenty of food, transportation, entertainment, and easy access to the electronic age leaves a burning question for me. What are we lacking if so many things are so easy to obtain?

What could we be lacking when cars, busses, fast food, movie theatres and golf courses are everywhere. How have human connections been impacted? I’m not referring to a 30 second conversation when ordering a meal with the waiter, or even a longer “relationship” with the person who is selling us a car.

I have to wonder in what ways our familial and close community ties have been impacted and if so, has that also made any difference in our health?

Fortunately, there are a number of specialized researchers out there who apparently ponder some of these same questions – and have the means and desire to find out some answers as well.

“The Roseto Effect” is a fascinating study conducted by psychiatrists amongst an Italian-American community in Pennsylvania in a town called Roseto. This study spanned over 30 years starting in the 1950’s involving this group of immigrants who were very poor but shared many of the same eating habits as neighboring areas.

In short, the study found that these people had longer life spans and were overall much healthier than their neighboring counterparts. This was true in spite of the aforementioned risk factors including smoking and lack of regular exercise.

The conclusion was not that this group of people was somehow genetically gifted – as future generations began to decline health wise. Rather, it was determined that initially while they maintained their very tight links to their families and community they also maintained good health. Over time, they started taking on the same self contained habits of the outer lying areas, and in essence acquired the same poor health issues.

Close personal connections, especially feelings of love and perhaps caretaking directly and positively affect our health even when habits traditionally considered bad for us are still present. This is further supported by something I philosophized on in a previous article relating to how pets lead to these same feelings of love and in return positively affect our health.

We do not have to be part of a large family to inject ourselves into a community. We may just have to be a little more creative and open in order to acquire the sense of community. Watching a movie can be great entertainment, but it is a very solitary activity which requires no interaction with anyone else.

On the other hand, discussing a movie, book and personal values with others does create a connection. Asking the waiter where he or she is from or going to school etc. rather than just inquiring about today’s special also initiates closer personal ties.

Being self entertained can still be good and force some internal reflection in understanding who we are as people. But denying these very important family or community ties will ultimately shorten our lives unless we tend to them the way we might tend to our cars insuring they are clean and running properly.

I always encourage a healthy lifestyle that includes nutritious meals and physical exercise. But I also strongly encourage all of us to treat our personal relationships with the importance of needing food to sustain life.

I am pleased to share my all natural alternative health programs as well. All programs involve easy to implement exercises and can be done with someone you love who might be struggling with certain health issues. You can check them out on my blog located on the right hand side.

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Anyone who knows me at all or has read many of my articles knows that as passionate as I am about good health, I am equally intrigued and enamored by the power and sensitivities of animals. In fact, my Hypertension No More Program was inspired by the horse training methods I observed and have used with my own horses.

Growing up on a farm gave me plenty of opportunity to observe and even compare the socialization of animals to human beings. Please don’t misunderstand. I love humans. In fact, I love being one. But I am envious in many ways of the purely genuine nature of the animal world.

As I’ve mentioned in the past, when animals feel something, they simply express it. They don’t try to cover up feelings of pain or anger in order to avoid embarrassment. I suppose they are much like the way we as humans started off in early development.

As babies, we cried when we were hungry or needed a diaper change. We laughed right out loud (no matter where we happened to be) if something struck us as funny. We also didn’t worry about appearing smart, witty or physically attractive to others. At least I’ve never observed a baby trying to figure out if a certain undershirt shows too much back fat or belly overhang.

Something else you don’t tend to find in these two realms (babies and animals) is stress related health problems. While they can certainly be born with certain conditions, relating health problems back to stress for them is unlikely (except when the adult humans create it.)

What makes animals even more amazing is that not only do they tend to be able to fend off health problems related to anxiety but the effect can even be contagious. Interaction with pets is known to actually decrease blood pressure, cholesterol and triglyceride levels in humans.

Studies have compared non pet owners of similar weight, diet and other habits including smoking or drinking to those with pets. Those with pets had a much higher survival rate after enduring hospitalization due to heart problems.

At least part of the benefit (in the case of those with active pets) may be that the exercise level for pet owners is consistent. I’ve known many people who claim they would not get any exercise at all if not for walking their dogs.

Animals are also known to dramatically decrease depression in humans, especially in the elderly. Pets allow us to have a connection to someone – even when we are not able to leave the home due to mobility issues or other constraints. Here again, studies have shown that those with pets in their homes experience fewer health problems and require fewer doctor’s appointments for minor health ailments.

More fascinating still are people reporting animals that were able to sense or even predict certain health related episodes such as the onset of a seizure in their human care taker. It’s no accident that dogs and even other animals are trained to assist people with health conditions.

While regressing back to infancy in our professional or day to day lives may not be the best option for adults for a number of reasons, take note of what a crying or laughing baby is actually conveying. It may seem they are placed there just to annoy you on a plane or grocery store, but they are actually communicating in the most honest way possible.

And on those evenings when you would really prefer to watch television than walk the dog, remember the health benefits you are actually getting with very little effort.

I also encourage you to explore my all natural programs for everything from snoring to reducing hypertension. Combining these easy, healthy exercises with the benefits your animals offer, you’ll likely extend your life.

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