Stress Management

Foods to Help Reduce Anxiety: So Many Problems Start in the Gut!

June 30, 2019 by Joi Leave a Comment

A number of years ago, my oldest daughter and I both had to give up wheat and gluten entirely, for health reasons. In addition to cutting out certain foods, we also added a great number of healthy foods to our diets. Partly because we needed food to replace all the food we’d now be missing out on, but mostly because when you feel terrible, it serves as a wake up call. Life is a beautiful, beautiful thing and we want to feel our best while enjoying it. For our bodies to perform their best, we have to stop giving them junk and give them good food. Healthy food.

While I wasn’t terribly surprised when the digestive problems cleared up, I was surprised by a few other improvements (more energy, more “give-a-darn,” etc.) Many people, after adopting healthier eating (which, obviously, doesn’t always include having to give up wheat or gluten), rave and rave about the “unexpected” benefits. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read and heard testimonies such as, “Sure, the lost weight is nice, but the best thing is I FEEL better than I have in years. I have my life back!”

Come on, it doesn’t get any better than that.

More and more experts have figured out something that has gone unnoticed for years – there is a direct correlation between what we eat and not only how healthy we are but also HOW WE FEEL. Our emotions, anxieties, moods… they’re all as tied into what we eat as our waistlines.

The gorgeous infographic, below, from Snap Kitchen, tells how different (delicious!) foods can actually help with anxiety. Most people who live with anxiety look for healthy, easy, natural ways to deal and cope. It’s hard to get much healthier, easier, or natural than food. If you’re all too familiar with anxiety, try adding the following foods to your diet.

You may find more benefits than you ever hoped for!

Click for a larger version of the infographic…

Infographic Source: Snap Kitchen

The Fascinating World of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy: Benefits Beyond Belief!

January 23, 2019 by Joi 2 Comments

Sweet Orange and Eucalyptus Essential Oils

Admittedly, I can often be “late to the party.” I’ve always blamed this phenomenon on being an only child. When you live in your own little world, sometimes news travels in (and out, at times) slowly.

Truth is, sometimes it trickles in.

Whatever the reasons, people all around me (literally… as in my own family, but more about her in a minute) have been using, loving, and swearing by essential oils for months upon months and I am just now really jumping on board.

Only child or not, a debilitating headache that isn’t responding to either Ibuprofen OR hot showers will leave you searching for relief. Here’s where my essential oil expert daughter comes into play.

My youngest daughter, Stephany, has been a HUGE believer in and user of essential oils and aromatherapy for years, now. I knew this and appreciated a few of them – such as lavender (my favorite scent) and citrus (very close second). I’ve known the beauty of lavender long before the phrase “essential oils” came into play. However, whenever she talked about peppermint for pain relief or eucalyptus for congestion, I don’t know, I guess I thought, “Well, it clearly works for her, but I’m sure it wouldn’t work for me.”

Then came the headache from the inner circle of hell, and I found myself willing to find out!

Peppermint Essential Oil

I told her about the headache and she gave me a bottle of Peppermint Essential Oil and a “carrier oil.” She uses Jojoba Oil as her “carrier oil.”

What’s a carrier oil? Sounds mysterious, doesn’t it? It is simply an unscented base oil that you add a few drops of essential oil to before applying it. Steph uses Jojoba Oil she buys off of Amazon. I found Avocado Oil at Meijer that I’ve used. Some people use coconut oil – although I’d think the scent would combine with the essential oil’s aroma and be an issue.

Back to the evil headache. I added a few drops of the peppermint essential oil to the Jojoba oil and rubbed it directly on my forehead. Playing the role of Doubting Thomas, I wasn’t actually expecting much (if any) relief, so I didn’t actually “time” how long it took for relief to come. If I were to guess, however, it was less than five minutes.

The pain literally faded away and a headache that had hounded me for hours was a thing of the past.

She had my undivided attention at this point.

It turns out, Peppermint Essential Oil has a very strong, proven history with alleviating pain. Since the headache experience, I’ve used it on everything from neck tension to leg cramps.

It never lets me down. I have no idea what magic it has up its oily sleeve and, frankly, I don’t care – it brings relief without doubling down on Ibuprofen and that’s all I could ask for.

Recently, while shopping at Meijer and I went to their essential oil section. This essential oil convert loaded up on several – as well as the avocado base or carrier oil.

Eucalyptus Essential Oil

Fast forward a few months – I came down with my annual cold (he arrives with his nasty attitude every year between January 1 -January 10). Being an “extra” kind of gal, I ALWAYS get bronchitis at the end of my cold. I have no idea if it’s because I have asthma or if I’m just terribly lucky, but without fail – it happens each and every year, dating back to when I was in Elementary School.

I’m nothing if not consistent.

When my chest was insanely congested, I would rub a little Eucalyptus oil (along with the Avocado Oil) directly on my chest. The relief was amazing. However, the BEST way I put the Eucalyptus Oil to work was (naturally at the advice of Steph) by adding a few drops directly on the floor of the shower. While taking a warm shower, the Eucalyptus surrounds you and clears your chest, head, or anything else that might need it!

I’m in the process of giving Self Help Daily a much-needed overhaul – more about that in the next post. I will be adding a great deal of information about essential oils and aromatherapy. In fact, I’ve created a new category for each. There is simply too much natural-healing to be enjoyed and experienced with essential oils to ignore them any longer.

I’m reading and researching like a college student in search of passing grades when it comes to essential oils and I’ll be sharing everything I come across here on the self help blog. I’m excited to see just how many miracles these oils can bring about. (Naturally I’m being very liberal with the word miracles here…. a cured headache has that effect on me.)

Sweet Orange Essential Oil

Steph gifted me with more essential oils for Christmas – my beloved lavender, eucalyptus, and one that was very new to me: Sweet Orange Essential Oil. One of the first things I thought of when I saw it was cleaning. I love, love, love cleaning products with a citrus scent. It can be tough to find orange-scented cleaners, though. Sweet Orange Essential Oil makes it easy to add a fresh, feel-good aroma to any cleaning solution. Just add a few drops and you’re good to go.

Having said that, I actually have a different favorite way to use Sweet Orange Essential Oil. I call it my wake-up call. On mornings where it’s particularly hard to get up and get going, I simply sniff my orange essential oil.

And, yes, I realize how weird that may sound.

However, since it never fails to give me the get up and go that I’m lacking, I’ll just keep on sniffing!

Many people report that doing so can also lift your mood. Sweet Orange essential oil has also been linked to a stronger immune system.

Hmm.. maybe that could help me end my annual cold/bronchitis event.

See this page – Sweet Orange Essential Oil – for a great deal of information about this particular oil.

Lavender Essential Oil and Aromatherapy

Lavender Oil is another one of my favorites and one that anyone… absolutely anyone… could and would benefit from. It’s all about RELAXATION (sorry for the all caps treatment, but relaxation is something I get excited about).

My favorite way to buy Lavender Oil is in spray bottles. It makes it easier to spray onto your pillows and/or favorite blankets of throws.

Heck, I’ve even sprayed it on my pajamas before.

There’s simply something beautifully relaxing about the scent of lavender. If you’ve never tried it, I hope you will asap. It is magical.

Aromatherapy and Essential Oil Diffusers

Essential Oil Diffusers, like the LiteMist Ultrasonic Diffuser are very popular and for a great reason. They put aromatherapy to work for you, without you having to do much more than pour and plug. A diffuser would be a great way to take advantage of lavender, eucalyptus, and sweet orange essential oils.

Though my favorite way to use eucalyptus oil will always be in the shower. It’s just outrageously effective. Just be sure not to use too much. You’ll feel like you stepped into an alternate universe – one with cough syrup for oxygen.

I’ll be adding a lot more information about essential oils and aromatherapy to the website. I have my face buried in two books at the moment, taking notes like my life depends on it.

~ Joi (“Joy”)

Where to Buy Essential Oils and Carrier or Base Oils:

Many department stores now carry a good selection of essential oils and even carrier oils. However, from my own experience, the best quality oils are found online.

Essential Oils on Amazon

Carrier Oils for Essential Oils on Amazon

Physical, Emotional, and Mental Benefits of the Recolor App: It’s More Than Just FUN!

August 2, 2017 by Joi 4 Comments

Beautiful Music Lover

I’ve been wanting to tell you about one of my favorite new apps for a long time now. However…. as is so my way… I’ve been waiting for today, National Coloring Book Day.

Yes, my brain does work like that….

The app is the Recolor App and I love it with all of my being. I have the app on both my iPad and my iPhone. I really have no idea how I ever got along without it and am anxious for you to get your fingers on the free app and fall in love too.

Recolor is a beautifully creative and high-quality coloring book on mobile, including +1100 gorgeous art illustrations. It’s as easy as possible to figure out – you won’t even need a teenager to explain it to you.

Below are a couple of benefits to this creative and fun app.

Ice Cream Cone: Some Images are Simple, While Others Are More Complex

RELAXATION: Fun Way to Relax and Unwind

People, crazily enough, seem to think that if you work from home you are a stranger to stressful days. When I encounter such mindsets (depending upon the day I’m having at the time), I either laugh or fight to contain a plethora of words that’d make my mom blush.

Regardless of your vocation – lawyer, writer, housewife, teacher, blogger, salesman, stay-at-home mom, businesswoman, nurse, office manager…. you know what a stressful day looks like, what it sounds like, and what it feels like. Basically, if you’re a human, you’re intimate with stress.

One of the best ways to deal with stress is to unwind and to get your mind as far away from the stress as possible. The Recolor app allows you to do just that by “escaping” into a fun world where your biggest concern is whether to make a cat orange, black, or white or whether you want to create a lake scene that depicts the lake during the day or evening.

Ahhhh… just thinking about this creative world makes me feel peaceful.

A “Mandala”

MENTAL FITNESS: Get in Touch With Your Creative Side

As you may know, I have a mental fitness blog (Out of Bounds) where I share tips for staying mentally sharp, preventing Alzheimer’s and Dementia, battling anxiety and stress, etc. I do untold amounts of research for my mental fitness blog (as well as each of my blogs, of course.). The top experts in the field of mental health recommend “exercising” your creativity as well as your memorization and critical thinking skills. Yet the creative aspect is one many people ignore. A lot of people will eat the foods necessary for brain health, read thought-provoking books, and even make sure they learn how to do new skills or educate themselves in new areas.

While each of these areas are excellent… make that very excellent… if they’re ignoring exercising their creativity, they aren’t doing all they can for their brain’s health. Your brain craves the opportunity to be creative as much as it craves the opportunity to learn new things.

Adult coloring books (physical or virtual) are a fun and excellent way to provide this creativity your brain desires. The “mandalas” (one is pictured above) can be especially mentally-stimulating. If you decide to make a certain shape a certain color, it’s kind of stimulating, mentally and creatively, to sort through the “puzzle” to find all the similar shapes.

It’s also very stimulating, creatively, to decide on harmonizing colors. Choosing a color scheme is one of my favorite things about the app.

COPE WITH ANXIETY: Entertaining Way to Keep Your Hands and Minds Busy

While I, personally, do now struggle with anxiety, I have read a great deal about the fight many people face with it. In fact, I have several members in my family who deal with anxiety and the many colorful ways it manifests itself.

One of the fastest, simplest, and most beneficial ways to cope with anxiety is simply to occupy your hands and your minds. When you do so, it gives the “nervous energy” that’s buzzing around your head a place to go! It’s as though you usher them into the art room and close the door behind them.

Don’t worry about them, though, they’ll be far too busy having fun to worry about the door being closed.

There’s simply a lot to be said for spending time with an activity that’s all about colors, beauty, creativity, and good old-fashioned fun. You can share your creations with others in the Recolor Community, or you can simply use it as your own personal space to unwind and experience adult recess.

Physical Benefits

No, coloring in a great coloring app isn’t going to burn enough calories to qualify as physical fitness (unless, of course, you color while on a treadmill or stationary bike – which are excellent ideas actually), but when you look at the benefits named above, you have all you need to know about the physical benefits. Where our minds and hearts (emotions) go, our physical bodies follow. When we’re under stress, dealing with anxiety, or not stimulating our minds enough, our physical health suffers.

By the same token, when we’re taking care of these other areas, our physical health responds favorably.

You might even find yourself snacking less at night (especially if you’re one who snacks as a result of stress or anxiety), which most definitely is physically beneficial.

I hope you’ll check out the Recolor App – you’re going to love it. It’s free, fun*, and… trust me… fabulous!

* It’s free to download and you receive new “free” images to color daily. There is an option to pay for access to far more pictures, colors, and effects but I personally have never done so. It simply isn’t necessary, unless you just can’t get enough of the fun!

An Image I Haven’t Colored… Yet!

More About Recolor

Each image, when clicked, fills your screen. You’re presented with a palette of colors to choose from. You scroll at the bottom to find more. Above the image, you’ll see an option (looks like a finger swiping) that allows you to “sweep” the color across an image as opposed to filling one small area at a time. You can easily undo a color if it no longer suits you… then promptly find one that does.

In addition to a great variety of colors, you can also choose an “effect” for your image. The free ones are Shadow, Wall, Crumbled Paper, and Art Paper. They’ve also come out with “Filters” for your image – kind of like instagram filters.

There are so many delicious options!

One final note – I love the diversity this app showcases. The individuals available to color cover various races and sexes. It’s just another thing this app gets “right.”

TIP: If you find a picture that was especially fun to color, go back and “edit” the picture by coloring it all over again. See the beautiful music lover at the top of the post? She has worn red, orange, gold, and purple. While she was stunning in each, she and I both decided that purple was her color. Makes her smile stand out, don’t you think?

Check out the Recolor App today.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a coffee picture to color…

The Health Benefits of Art Therapy

June 15, 2017 by Joi Leave a Comment

Source: Partselect.com

Art Therapy takes the beautifully relaxing practice of “visualization” to a whole new level. There is simply something deliciously relaxing and destressing about art therapy, especially when colors are involved. That’s why adult coloring books (like the wonderful Whatever is Lovely, I recently reviewed on Out of Bounds) are so popular. After a stressful day or event, there’s something almost magical about curling up in your favorite chair and escaping into a world of colors and imagery.

This magic can also be experienced with an app (what can’t be these days, right?). Search for “Recolor” in the iTunes App Store (it’s free) – it’s AMAZING!

About a week ago…

I had an especially nasty bout with bronchitis.
A kitten in the family broke her leg and had to have surgery.
My favorite baseball team seemed to completely forget how to win.

…. each night, I would practically RUN to my chair (iPad in hand) and open my Recolor app. Whether it was a village, castle, or fat cat riding a moped, losing myself in colors and creativity restored my breathing (in spite of the bronchitis!), calm, and peace of mind.

Does Art Therapy solve all the problems in the “real world?” Of course not. What it DOES is better equip you to stay in the moment, breathe through the moment, and outlast the moment.

I hope you’ll explore adult coloring books, art therapy books, doodling on your own notebook, and/or the Recolor app. Relaxation is just a rainbow of colors away.

Adult Coloring Book Reviews on Self Help Daily:

Adult Coloring Book Review: “Wonderland”

Adult Coloring Books: Because Creativity Isn’t Just for Kids!

~ Joi (“Joy”)

12 Surprising Ways Clutter is Ruining Your Life

May 22, 2017 by Joi Leave a Comment

Have you ever cleared out an area of your house, car, or garage and felt instantly lighter, happier, and freer?! It never fails, when we buckle down and get rid of extra clutter, we automatically feel better. The act of sorting through things and hauling them off isn’t, itself, always a joy… but the effects certainly are!

I work from home and, for whatever reasons, my office works pace gets cluttered faster than a 16 year old boy’s car. Or room… or locker… As an avid reader who’s always in the middle of at least 4 books, there are (understandably) mountains of books everywhere you look. I hoard pens… my own as well as my family member’s… so there are overcrowded pen holders on my desk AND shelves.

I’m forever cutting out newspaper and magazine articles when doing research for one of my 8 blogs and naturally there are at least 5 bottles of nail polish in the vicinity of all times.

Whenever things get too cluttery (one of my favorite made-up words), I honestly have trouble concentrating. I find myself looking at the mess and thinking..

What is it with me and pens anyway??
Ooooh, that’s a great shade of pink… I need to do my nails…
I can’t believe Emily (oldest daughter) found me this adorable little Hawk Girl figurine.
Why isn’t there a Hawk Girl movie for crying out loud?
Wonder if Michael misses his pens yet.
This “World’s Best Mom” plaque from Brittany is just too sweet…
Ha! The fat cat figurine from Steph cracks me up… I need to re-situate him, he’s crooked.
Why is re-situate a hyphened word, why not just allow it to be resituate?
What IS it with me and pens…

You know, everything BUT work that needs to be done. Clutter is like that. It’s ridiculously distracting. But there’s actually more to it than that. It doesn’t just look bad… it IS bad.

The last thing any of us want or need in our life is extra stress, yet that’s what clutter brings into our lives – bonus stress.

The great infographic below will tell you just how much damage clutter is doing to you – inside as well as outside. While you’re enjoying the infographic, I’m going to clean out my pen holders.

Yes… all four of them. They’re starting to annoy Hawk Girl.

Credit: MakeSpace.com

Foods to Help Reduce Anxiety: So Many Problems Start in the Gut!