Natural Healers' Association
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Energy Medicine falls under the Natural Healers Association.
Established in February 1999, the Natural Healers Association, was founded by Dr H. Zungu, Katharine Lee Kruger and Chris Rall in Johannesburg . This national organization was registered as a Non Profit Organization on 22 May 2003 by the Department of Social Development.
NHA aims to widen the window of opportunity to influence the development of healing legislation in South Africa to recognize the spiritual elements of International Traditional, Indigenous, Spiritual, Energy and Natural Healing Methods. By obtaining Government Recognition members will be able to provide a more cost effective and efficient healthcare service for all South Africans and others. |
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Triggers of ill-health
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Antidepressants
When it comes to the use of antidepressant medication, Dr. Oz is still in somewhat of an allopathic mode—the idea that for nearly every disease or symptom there is a pill that will likely cure it. The conventional approach to treating depression is to prescribe an antidepressant (or two). I firmly believe that antidepressants do more harm than good in most cases of depression.
Dr. Oz seeks to apply natural alternatives like St. John's, SAMe, or tryptophan in lieu of more hazardous antidepressants, but while such supplements are certainly safer, and sometimes effective, you're still not treating the underlying cause of depression. Some will argue that if you're low in serotonin, you might benefit from some tryptophan. But while this may indeed help, you're still not addressing the reason for why you're low in serotonin. There are reasons for that, and once you eliminate the root cause, you won't have to take pills of any kind... I think it's really crucial to address these underlying issues.
As for antidepressants, there's startling evidence and countless research studies that strongly suggest antidepressant drugs simply do not work. Meanwhile, every year, psychiatric drugs kill an estimated 42,000 people—that's an astounding 12,000 more people than commit suicide due to depression
Rooting Out the Causes of Depression
There are a number of very powerful strategies to address depression. One that has been proven more effective than antidepressants in a number of studies is exercise. Exercise not only relieves depressive symptoms but also appears to prevent them from recurring. Unfortunately, since no one is going to be making tens of billions of dollars on encouraging you to exercise, it has not received the amount of funding for studies that antidepressant drugs have received. However when the studies are performed, exercise continually comes out on top, demonstrating benefits above and beyond what antidepressant drugs can achieve.
Three key mechanisms appear to be that exercise:
1. Improves insulin receptor sensitivity
2. Regulates serotonin and norepinephrine, two key neurotransmitters in your brain, and
3. "Switches on" genes that increase your brain levels of galanin, a neurotransmitter that helps lessen your body's stress response
Your diet is another key factor that must be addressed. There are well-documented studies showing that animal-based omega-3 fat (DHA) is very useful. I'm a firm believer in krill oil, which is far more effectively absorbed than fish oil. You also want to make sure to optimize your diet, meaning removing sugars, grains and processed foods, and replacing them with healthy fats. Why is your diet so important for your emotional and mental health?
The Gut-Brain Connection that Can Help Explain Many Cases of Depression
One of the reasons that dietary changes work is because it helps alter your gut flora in very beneficial ways. The beneficial bacteria in your gut have a profound influence on your health, including your mental health. They produce substances that your body needs. And, your gut actually produces more serotonin than your brain does!
Your gut is frequently referred to as 'the second brain,' and when you consider the fact that the gut-brain connection is recognized as a basic tenet of physiology and medicine, and that there's no shortage of evidence of gastrointestinal involvement in a variety of neurological diseases, it's easy to see how the balance of gut bacteria can play a significant role in your psychology and behavior as well. With this in mind, it should also be crystal clear that nourishing your gut flora is extremely important, from cradle to grave, because in a very real sense you have two brains, one inside your skull and one in your gut, and each needs its own vital nourishment.
Last but certainly not least, is finding a skilled psychotherapist who can help you work through some of the contributing emotional challenges. But optimizing your physiology with the physical approaches mentioned is probably the best marriage of an approach that has a high likelihood of success.
Read more at http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/01/04/dr-mercola-on-the-dr-oz-show.aspx?e_cid=20120104_DNL_art_1 |
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Triggers of ill-health
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The 20-second dip
Not every painful event leaves an emotion scar. Specific processes need to occur for this to happen, and these depend on your brain-wave activity during the original event
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Read more... [The 20-second dip]
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The two-year loss-to-symptom syndrome |
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Triggers of ill-health
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The two-year loss-to-symptom syndrome
How does all this information relate to chronic illness? A combination of all these processes - 20-second dips, unconscious decisions, the RAS (Reticular Activating System) – creates a phenomenon called the ‘two year loss to symptom’ syndrome.
This syndrome refers to the widespread finding that in most chronic immune based diseases, there is a significant event involving loss about 18 months to two years before symptoms begin to develop.
This has been found in a wide range of chronic diseases, including cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, diabetes Type 1, inflammatory bowel disease and multiple sclerosis.
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Read more... [The two-year loss-to-symptom syndrome]
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How you view sadness predicts depression relapse |
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Triggers of ill-health
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It is very common that a person recovering from depression or coming off anti-depressants will experience some feelings of sadness. A new study sheds some light on whether or not that feeling of sadness will balloon into a depression relapse or just be a passing emotion. This study evaluated patients who were formerly depressed and those not depressed. The participants viewed sad and neutral film clips while undergoing imaging of their brains. They were then followed for depression relapse over the next 18 months. Those who relapsed into depression were those who activated brain regions dealing with excessive rumination and processing regarding the sadness. In other words, they tended to dwell on it. |
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 16 August 2011 21:53 |
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Read more... [How you view sadness predicts depression relapse]
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How we remember traumatic events |
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Triggers of ill-health
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ScienceDaily (Oct. 29, 2008) — Neuroscientists at The University of Queensland have discovered a new way to explain how emotional events can sometimes lead to disturbing long term memories. In evolutionary terms, the brain's ability to remember a fear or trauma response has been crucial to our long term survival. However, in the modern world, when a similar type of fear response is triggered by a traumatic event such as being in combat; being exposed to abuse or being involved a major car accident, we do not want to repeatedly re-experience the episode, in vivid detail, for the rest of our lives. During studies of the almond-shaped part of the brain called the amygdala – a region associated with processing emotions – Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) scientists have uncovered a cellular mechanism underlying the formation of emotional memories, which occurs in the presence of a well known stress hormone. Read more: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081028103111.htm
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Last Updated on Monday, 15 August 2011 19:46 |
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How the brain gives special resonance to emotional memories |
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Triggers of ill-health
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ScienceDaily (June 10, 2004) — DURHAM, N.C. -- If the emotional memory of a traumatic car accident or the thrill of first love are remembered with a special resonance, it is because they engage different brain structures than do normal memories, Duke University researchers have discovered. Their new study provides clear evidence from humans that the brain's emotional center, called the amygdala, interacts with memory-related brain regions during the formation of emotional memories, perhaps to give such memories their indelible emotional resonance. The researchers said their basic insights could contribute to understanding of the role that the neural mechanisms underlying emotional memory formation play in post traumatic stress disorder and depression. Read more: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/06/040610081107.htm |
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Last Updated on Monday, 15 August 2011 19:46 |
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