Insomnia Options

[Annie]

My daughter has real problems getting asleep before midnight and more often than not she cannot sleep til 2-3 in the morning. The doctor wanted to give her sleeping pills, I am not going to let her take any. There sure must be a reason for this, sleeping pills will solve nothing. I got some new Magnesium supplement from the health food store, I am trying that one out. We tried all possible natural supplements for sleep, none worked. I am very upset, because she is really tense and grumpy all the time - this lack of sleep is not healthy for the nervous system.

I am wondering whether somebody has any suggestions? I would try everything really. This sproblems are always worse during the exam time, assignment writing time, during stress in general

Thanks
Marianna

[Heather Sharada]

Marianna have you thought about her consulting a Homoeopath - this type of thing can be treated very successfuly with the right remedy - it needs a consultation to work that out as all sorts of characteristics are needed.

[Annie]

Yes Heather, I just got that suggestion today in the health food store from the lady who had the same problem. She offered me some homeopathic remedy available from the store but she thinks we need a stronger potency of something that starts with Ge....can-t remember. She said the same thing you told me. I am giving it a go if you too believe that could help. I just need to spot a good homeopath...

Marianna

[Bosco]

Have you considered that your daughter may have an underlying anxiety of some sort? I am a firm believer that no potion, remedy or medicine will cure or fix symptoms of underlying problems, they just mask the original problem. It certainly sounds like a general anxiety issue, she might have something bothering her that is unresolved???

[Annie]

Have you considered that your daughter may have an underlying anxiety of some sort? I am a firm believer that no potion, remedy or medicine will cure or fix symptoms of underlying problems, they just mask the original problem. It certainly sounds like a general anxiety issue, she might have something bothering her that is unresolved???

Yes, you are perfectly right, I actually know that she has unresolved issues, we both know where the problems are coming from (I have a degree in psychology and she studies psychology too). However, undertsanding does not always brings healing. Constructive thinking helps though and without me being able to help her to certain extent she would be much worse.

I also know that diet and the level of vitamins, minerals and hormons in the organism can make the problems worse, especially when we have genetical predisposition to react to our environment and circumstances in a certan way. I try to make sure we do everything right.

The situation is extremely complex here - my 24 year old son had a bad sporting accident 5 years ago that left him with severe brain injury. I would not go into details, but I took 2 years off work and my studies and devoted all my energies for his rehabilitation. Leaving him with medical professionals was not an options, he would have never become as healthy as he is now.

He is physically well, but his behavior was extremely challenging for a while, he physically attacked my daughters so they both had to move out. After a year of being away, my youngest daughter moved back last year, she felt too lonely away from the family. My son is still short fused, even though significantly better - but my daughter is not safe to stay with him alone in the house. This is why I cannot work full time, and this is where my daughter's anxiety problems are coming from. It would be good to change the environment but she wants to be home, we were always very close as a family, she suffered badly when she was by herself even though I was with her every day several times...no win situation. We cannot run away from my son, and he cannot do more than he does about his behavior because this is how an injured brain works. I love them and understand them both, and they both try hard to overcome these challenges. We will get there...

I thought I could get some new ideas here that we might try, I do not know how homeopathic remedies work but it does not mean I should not try them. I like to try everything. I bought from US a special mashine that calms the nervous system by using the combination of light and sound (manipulates the brain frequencies). That works really well for her as long as she is not too stressed. We have also worked out that she does not tolerate coffein. If she has coffee or coke any time during the day, she can forget about sleeping. So there are things we can still do to control the problem.

Thanks for your patience to read this, I guess I feel overwhelmed myself somethimes. I just want them all to be happy and healthy. Our cats continually help my kids a LOT, LOT in coping...

Marianna

[Heather Sharada]

Marianna if you get a good Homoeopath your son could also be treated......for his whole state - there are some very good remedies for Never Been Well Since......whatever the incident was - Homoeopathy does not mask the symptoms - it helps to bring the body back into order by offering it a similar picture.

Homoeopathy uses the law of similars to encourage the individual to heal itself. Personally I had a paralysis which prevented me from working for 6 years but with time and the aid of good homoeopaths who looked at the whole picture of "me" and prescribed a remedy that would match that I was able to recover.

I really do think you should give it a try. Homoeopathy also works best where there are mental and emotional symptoms in the "picture of the person".

There is a list of practitioners who are Registered with the Australian Homoeopathic Association but if you are interested I can give you the name of a very interesting one that I attend who also uses a computer programme...pm me if you want that contact - she is in Chelsea.

Marianna I must say your story was also very interesting - funny how we don't get to know each other that well although we talk every day often.

[Annie]

Thanks Heather, I will PM you I do not like to choose naturopaths randomly. Our Chinese herbalist is in Preston, the one that specialises in diet is in Shepparton (the one that looks after my son), so I do not mind to travel for a really good service.

Yes, we do not know each other well because we chat about our cats all the time - we know each other cats' better, LOL. It's good in a way, because that keeps our minds off other problems.

I am sure everybody has been challenged by life in one way or other, I do not think any human person lives without problems. I am also a big optimist, who never dwells on anything. Instead of wasting my energies on getting depressed and lethargic, I always search for possibilities - for what can I do to improve the situation.

When my son got injured the doctors told me that he would be in a vegetable state for the rest of his life, for 2 days they thought he was brain dead. What they said never got to me, I kept fighting for him by all means and I was NOT even depressed or upset I kept thinking about things I could do for him and that kept me optimistic. I was with him 24 hours in the hospitals for 6 wks - in few ocassions that actually saved his LIFE, because the nurses had no time to look after him properly. I never left him with them, and he was out in 6 wks what was a real miracle given the fact that he was fully paralised at the start and in real vegetable state. I was told that his fast recovery was due to our constant presence at the hospital...he was back on his bike 3 months after the accident and back to school in 8 months time, he is at the uni in Melbourne studying environmental engineering - we proved the doctors wrong...and I never allowed them to give him ANY medication.

Anyway, it is still hard, there are many things to fix yet. I am getting for him from US a special meditation program that uses sound technology to manipulate the brain waves - the program changes every 6 months and the whole thing takes 8 years to finish. It creates new neural pathways between the right and left hemisphere which improves general well being also does a lot of good. There is a huge research behind this technology. Without it my son would have been completely lost - it fixed his fatique, sleep problems, concentration difficulties, memory, and depression. This one would be good for my daughter, but she hates it, because it is too 'boring' sitting one hour and listening to the same thing every day...kids.

I will take them both to that homeopath, I refuse to touch drugs unless it is absolutely necessary.

Marianna

[Doreen]

Marianna, I wish you good luck with the Homeopath, and in helping both your son and your daughter. Good on you for being so loving and caring, you have obviously worked wonders for your son. I wish I could help you with the current problem with your daughter, and the only suggestion I can offer is warm milk. I know it sounds too simple, but my mother has suffered from Depression for 7 years and has a terrible time sleeping. She takes sleeping pills every night, and even that doesn't work sometimes. The one thing that seems to help her is to drink a glass of warm milk (on top of her sleeping pills). It might be worth a try.

[sarahconley]

Lavender is really good in helping people relax and promotes sleep (also good for headaches). You can also buy "sleep blends" in oils. Maybe she could try using it in a bath to try and relax herself before going to bed. I used to watchkeep and found the constant changes in my sleep routine really messed with my body. I ended up becoming quiet ill because I ended up run down. I used to be an aircraft controller so my stress levels were high, and I couldn't shut my mind off when going to bed. I also used to come off watch and have a meal and then try to go to bed. Not good! I have also seen a homeopath and a dietician and it has done wonders for me. Good luck to your daughter with her uni, exams are coming up which probably isn't helping her at the moment either. I am doing my psychology degree at the moment aswell, so she has my sympathy! Sounds like those children of yours are very lucky to have a Mum like you Marianna.

[Annie]

Marianna, I wish you good luck with the Homeopath, and in helping both your son and your daughter. Good on you for being so loving and caring, you have obviously worked wonders for your son. I wish I could help you with the current problem with your daughter, and the only suggestion I can offer is warm milk. I know it sounds too simple, but my mother has suffered from Depression for 7 years and has a terrible time sleeping. She takes sleeping pills every night, and even that doesn't work sometimes. The one thing that seems to help her is to drink a glass of warm milk (on top of her sleeping pills). It might be worth a try.

Doreen, thanks for sharing! I know about warm milk but Agatha is intolerant of dairy products and the only way she drinks rice/oat and soy milk is in the form of smoothies I make for her every morning.

My mother and mother and law both suffered from major depression, I know what it looks like. They both used sleeping pills every night.

Agatha does not act depressed though, she has LOTS of quality friends everywhere most of them are from church and they were friends since primary school, but she has friends from work and uni too. She is very extraverted and a happy, easygoing girl despite all the adversities. She does not smoke,drink or takes drugs does not go around with boys. She loves shopping, quality cloths and everything that's pretty, she also does regular excercise. A depressed person does not act like her. She also dislike nightclubs, so she is home by 11 pm latest whenever she goes out. I believe her sleep problems are physiological, Insomnia is not always the result of depression but often is the sign of neurological disorder, dietary defficiency especially lack of Magnesium and iron.

She has a genetically weak nervous system, that's clear. The question is now how to deal with it . i will try the homeopath, I bought a good Magnesium supplement and have changed her diet few moths ago (she eats organik food now, no take aways and no junk, no soft drinks, no wheat...)The new diet and iron supplement helped a lot in fixing her fatique, a Chinese herbalist helps her with skin condition (which is result of poor liver function). I am a full time mother and busier than when the kids were young!

Marianna

[Annie]

Lavender is really good in helping people relax and promotes sleep (also good for headaches). You can also buy "sleep blends" in oils. Maybe she could try using it in a bath to try and relax herself before going to bed. I used to watchkeep and found the constant changes in my sleep routine really messed with my body. I ended up becoming quiet ill because I ended up run down.  I used to be an aircraft controller so my stress levels were high, and I couldn't shut my mind off when going to bed. I also used to come off watch and have a meal and then try to go to bed. Not good! I have also seen a homeopath and a dietician and it has done wonders for me. Good luck to your daughter with her uni, exams are coming up which probably isn't helping her at the moment either. I am doing my psychology degree at the moment aswell, so she has my sympathy! Sounds like those children of yours are very lucky to have a Mum like you Marianna.

Sarah thank you! This was really helpful too. Agatha worked in Melbourne during the holidays which was the start of all the sleep disturbances - her boss made her work 12 hour shifts, she got home after 9 pm and had to get up at 5 am...she became run down too and ill before she quit. She liked the people she worked with so much that she did not want to leave the job, also she likes to persevere despite hardships, she thinks when you start a job you must not give it up when it becomes tough. She does not have the experience yet and does not know when she really has to stop in the very best interest of her health. The change in her diet helped a lot - I am glad to hear it helped you too. Now I have to meet the homeopath who Heather knows.

If you ever need any help with uni work please feel free to contact me, I am happy to help you out. I am helping Agatha too with her uni work.

I am just a mother like every other mother - doing my very best. My kids are just lucky that I have the necessary knowledge and life experience to help them. When my son was in the hospital other mothers with the same experience phoned me to support me and they told me that I had to stay with my son 24 hours a day if I did not want him to be hurt more than he already was. So I have learned from other moms too.

Marianna

[Heather Sharada]

Marianna Homoeopathy treats the core disturbance in a persons psyche and also the inherited pre-disposition to be a certain way - I have a good feeling that it will help your daughter.....she has enough reasons for an aetiology......NBWS (Never Been Well Since) just as your son does.

Let me know how you get on.

[Bosco]

Homoeopathy does not mask the symptoms - it helps to bring the body back into order by offering it a similar picture.

I beg to differ - homeopathy like anything you stick down you throat is a compound that produces certain effects. Psychological wellbeing is not produced by taking supplements or medicine though I agree it (homeopathy) like western medicine does have its place. It can like other medicines help to establish a certain stability whcih can help people to weather out the storm, but I dont believe it cures these problems - resolution here is the key. Homeopathy will help to make the situation manageable.

Marianna, I certainly hope you have some success, you have a complicated situation, and you obviously love your children very very much. Make sure you take care of you too :)

Jan-Lee

[Heather Sharada]

Jann-Lee I give my opinion from the postion of being a qualified Homoeopath with 16 years experience in classical practice. ( I trained in London over 4 years on a full time course and ran a practice there for a number of years. ) I promise you that Homoeopathy in the hands of a good classical practitioner does not suppress but brings into consciousness the core disturbance that need to be addressed and at the same time gives the energy to address it.

Mental and emotional symptoms are the highest and most important components or characteristics in locating the core underlying disturbance.

In Australia it is true that Homoeopathy in the hands of a Medical Doctor will be used the same as orthodox medicine - take this for that - but in a skilled practitioners hands it treats the whole person not symptoms and also at a very deep level. A good practitioner will individualise each patient so that persons who are seeming to have the same problem will be treated with different remedies.

I am not sure it should be called a compound - the remedies are single remedies and have been diluted and succussed to raise the energy but dilute the compound so that after 12 succussions there are no molecules left....only vibrant energy and this is administered through mucous membranes in the mouth usually - so no need to even swallow.

In a personal case I experienced a major stress collapse which meant I was paralysed and was unable to work for 6 years and it was Homoeopathy that was the major restorative that bought me back to health and got me interested in studying it.....it was a very interesting personal journey of discovery.

Another very helpful treatment that works on the subtle level is Cranial Osteopathy and it is possible that Marianna's son may require some of that on the road to complete recovery of his brain injury.

Isn't it wonderful there is no monopoly on health treatment.......and Marianna I agree with Jann-Lee not to leave yourself out of this healing equation.

[Annie]

Jan-Lee before my son's accident I had exactly the same opinion about homeopathy, osteopathy, and medication as you do. It is interesting how changing life circumstances challenge some of our core beliefs. Norbert's accident has sure challenged me on many different levels. I was willing to do absolutely everything for him, because I wanted to stop his suffering. The chemical inbalance and neurological damages affected him emotionally, psychologically and physiologically and it was scary to know that the medical science could not do anything about it. The doctors and drugs had their place while he was in coma and dependent on life support, without that he would not had the chance. But that was about it what they could do.

When due to chemical imbalance Norbert became depressed to the point that he lost interest in absolutely everything and could not leave the bed (and that depression had nothing to do with his circumstances at that time, nothing was there to resolve, it was a physiological thing) - the antidepressant he got fixed the levels of Serotonin in brain BUT the doctor told me it had absolutely no side effects and that was not true.

I monitored him, I hated antidepressants and did not want him to stay on it longer than it was absolutely necessary. The side effect of the drug was - extreme aggression. Just what a person with brain injury does not need.

After few months he became scary - the doctor wanted to give him a stronger dose, I got worried I had the feeling that there was somethin wrong with the drug. One of my friends E-mailed me about that particular drug, it was on TV how dangerous it was , some young people committed suicide, others killed the whole family only few days after they started taking it...

I was furious, so angry with the doctor! I could have easily taken him to the court for misleading us and for irresponsibility. He was lucky that I do not believe in making money by using others' mistakes - I do not believe in taking people to the court otherwise it could have cost him a fortune!

Well, this was the only time I let Norbert take medication. I weaned him off the pills and that is when I heard about Centerpointe research institute and their brain research. I put all my hopes in that special meditation program - I have ordered it and Norbert is on it ever since.

Within 2 weeks he was out of depression (he has not taken any medication since), he had lots of energy, he did not need more than 6 hours sleep and his fatique has gone. Medically impossible for a person with severe brain injury!

This program actually does what you say - brings up issues and resolves them slowly. That is why it takes so many years to complete the program. It saved his life I can say that with confidence. It is just sad that Agatha does not want to do it, it is really boring sitting there for 1 hour and listening to the same noise (rain) every day.

The good thing about this program is that it brings deep issues on the surface, even those from the subconscious mind and resolves them. This is a very uncomfortable experience, because you deal with inner resistance and stress too, but it works at lest.

When you go to a psychologist they bring up some issues, retraumatise you and leave you more distressed than you were before because they cannot possibly bring to resolution. so psychologists are not much more helpful that the drugs are. This is why I refused to do my postgraduate studies in that field. Psychologists are just like doctors.

I have put all my beliefs aside and visited several different naturopaths with Norbert- all of them have helped him a LOT. Whenever some new issue came up, I looked for an alternative solution and listened to people. That is what has actually helped my son. Last year when he was back to the rehabilitation center for assessment the neurosurger was stunned - she said his recovery was extraordinary...most of his emotional and psychological problems were due to imbalances in his brain and body, we had to change his diet and introduce some natural supplements into his daily diet. There is no one way to follow, we have to try several different methods because too many issues are here to address.

Agatha is the same - her condition is very complex and it is not just the matter of bringing things up from subconscious mind but there is much more that has to be done. I fully understand your point, because as I said 6 years ago I would argue the same point - so I can tell that you care (thank you for that). You just do not have the experience I have or Heather has or many others have who were challenged by circumstances. This is why I tried to explain to you what I have experienced.

I am sorry to bore you to death, there is so much to say, this is the very first time that I can actually talk about these issues and get listened to, get understood and receive help as well. I felt so alone all these years of fighting my son's brain injury.

I am genuinely thankful to you Jan-Lee for wanting to help, I appreciate your positive intention.

I do not know where I get the strength from to deal with this high level stress condition, but I do. It is maybe because I have no energy to care about myself and I have no time to think too much. I am not depressed, not tired and I feel perfectly fine. My mind is busy all the time, LOL.

And the cats are around me/us always - I think they absorb all the negative energy...honestly. My husband said this evening that JJ the Burmese has a very, very calming effect on him when he picks him up. Thai is complteley opposite - he energises you and makes you happy....each cat has effect on us and I believe they take a good care of us in return for all the love they get. God bless every cat!

Marianna

[Annie]

Heather, it is weird, I was just given the detailes of an excellent practinioner who does cranial osteopathy - and he works with brain injuries mainly! My daughter's best friend's fiance studies chiropractice in NZ and he came across some excellent experts in the field, he suggested me this osteopath. I am planning to visit him during the school holidays.

I will visit the homeopath with Agatha and Norbert as well - I have a very good feeling about it. I usually do not err when I listen to my intuition.

Thanks a lot Heather, I truly appreciate your help, I will let you all know how we went, in case someone else need to learn from the experience.

I have used homeopathic remedies in the past on my cats according to your instructions with 100% success.

Marianna

[Bosco]

Of course you want to do everything Marianna and it is wonderful to see you trying everything available. You obviously care a great deal :) There are a number of writings suggesting that cats are good for the soul and help to reduce specifically both anger and fear - I hold this belief for myself as well :)

I also dont like antidepressants you wont get any arguments from me there.

I am also qualified in health. I am a registered nurse have been for nearly 10 years, was a qualified social worker before that who majored in psychology for many many years dealing specifically with brain injured patients and have also nearly completed my medical degree. I grew up in a house of doctors and medicine has been my life. I guess I have a more physiological and if you will more scientific approach to underlying physical problems inlcuding organic and aquired brain injury diseases. It is also important to note that medical pratitioners, good ones also treat their patients wholistically, not just symptoms as most would like to believe. There are a whole other breed of doctors out there who treat wholistically and I am one of them.


Psychologically speaking and from my own serious experiences I dont agree with quick fix solutions like remedies or even western medicine (believe it or not) and have always found the way to inner sanctity os resolution - I am not talking about ABI or organic brain disease here.

So we agree to disagree...lol..... :)

[Annie]

Jan-Lee I am so happy to hear that you have this big experience in the field that I am interested in. That's a great, because we can have interesting conversations in the future too! I am always interested in what others have to say,

I know what you mean by being scientifically oriented - I am the same myself. Whatever I accept I like to understand the scientific side of it and I always look for the research findings first. I research everything before I take it on board. Especially when in has to do with Norbert - I have to be VERY careful because he has an injured brain and there is no room for mistakes.

I smiled when you said you do not believe in quick fix solutions - I do not believe in them either, BUT that belief of mine has been challenged too several times in last few years. I was at a 5 day counselling seminar in Canberra few years ago - psychologist from USA who has Phd in Family therapy trained us in a very new method of freeing people from different problems just within one 1 hour session. There was a young lady from QLD who came with her psychiatrist and husband and was willing to be counselled in front of us for 2 consecutive days...she had severe psychological disturbances, her psychiatrist could not work with her, every memory that was brought up pushed her into abreaction and she had to be hpspitalised. This man from US sat with her for 1 hour, awful memories were resurfacing yet she stayed calm and resolved them on the spot. That was the first time I have seen problem resolution within a session only. I was puzzled.

I could use the technique on my kids but I am their mother and I cannot stay objective, I am anxious of what I will hear and that I will not be able to keep my emotions out of the way. I wish I could take them to that psychologist though.

What this psychologist sais is that our stressful experiences (especially from childhood) leave some false beliefs and 'footprints' in the brain. This is permanent and cannot be removed with any other way but just with the person's own deeper self - the inner mind he called that.

So what's imprinted in the brain and often suppressed into subconscious mind - affects the person's functioning. Whenever something 'reminds' the brain on that bad experience, the person reacts. Like my Agatha - she was very frightened several times when Norbert yelled at her and run after her, now every time somebody starts yelling at her it pushes that "button" in her brain and she has anxiety attack even though she is not in danger. One of my clients was badly abused as a child: no one can hold her wrist now, because she has a severe panic attack. Even a gentle and loving touch to her wrist triggers the memories of something very bad that happened to her in the past.

The solution is to get the person relaxed and allow the inner mind to search for the real root of the problem, find it, experience the emotions again and let the person's inner mind do the job of removing it from there...healing happens immediately, instantly! The procedure can be very complex, you deal with resistance,' multiple personalities' that guard those memories from resurfacing so extremely good skills are required, but it works really well. Some universities in USA are researching these methods in last few years, and I know that some psychiatrists, social workers and psychologists experiment with the method here in Australia as well. I took Agatha to one of them for several sessions, but she was not skillful enough and just retraumatised my daughter and could not lead her to resolution, so Agatha said NEVER AGAIN she wants to see any psychologist.
Anyway what I am saying is that, qucik fix is somethimes possible too.

This new brain technology that my son uses does the same thing that I expalined above, it does the trick by using sound technology to remove from the brain all those 'footprints' from the past that have been imprinted there under stressful experiences. It's a very interesting thing that is the result of 20 years of brain research. If you visit the centerpointe research institute web site you can read the scientific background and they also explain very scientifically what this method does to your brain. The process pushes the stress tolerance limit up, so you need more and more to overreact under stress, your buttons do not get pushed as qucikly any more, and this is what I see happening with my son and he sais too that he needs a lot more now to overreact. Still, he is very easily triggered by my daughter's anger towards him - there is something in his brain/mind that get seriously pushed when Agatha is rejecting towards him.


Since my son is on this "holosync' program he is suprisingly insightful and started asking questions about deeper, spiritual things. He asks and listens and he is already on the inner journey of discovering meaning of life and he also tries hard to understand his own behavior and the roots of his reactions. He is much better in working on his emotions than he ever was, I have discussions with hime EVERY single day as he always wants to understand something. This also helps a great deal - it's called Cognitive Behavior Therapy what I am doing with him.

I must admit that I too have great reservations towards homeopathy, but I am willing to give it a go - my beliefs MIGHT be challenged again! Heather told me that somethimes it takes time for the remedies to work, not to worry if the changes are not immediate.

I do not want to make you change your mind about what you believe in-do not get me wrong-I just wanted to share some of my direct experience. I am very much the person who questions everything. " I see it- I believe it". I can see where you are coming from and there is a lot of truth in what you are saying, I enjoy listening to you Jan-Lee.

This semester I am doing a very interesting unit that actually compares the social and medical perspectives and it fully supports my reservation towards medical professionals - the way they approach and treat people. What they tried to do to my son was ridiculous - and I am talking to a lady at the moment who had brain injury 13 years ago when she was 20 years old and she said the same. Except her parents did not know how to help her and she has gone through years of 'rehabilitation' that almost killed her.

One of my clients suffered badly because of the nurses who treated her wrongly for a whole year. One day she asked me about my opinion - well within 2 weeks her bedsore has completely gone (it was there for 18 months and would not improve), I was there when the head nurse visited, she could not believe what she saw, she said it was medically impossible what has happened. All we used was 100% Aloe Vera gel and I gave her one of my Paraliminal CDs called "Perfect health" and told her to focus on strenghtening her immune system...MIRACLE happened. The CD actually uses the power of the inner mind to fix the health problem - the session is 20 minutes long and is led by an US professional and uses also sound technology...there you go. It was a very qucik fix that suprised me too!

Marianna

[Heather Sharada]

As I have stated - there is no monopoly on health care - thank goodness......and I am happy to agree to disagree.

Marianna already I have seen a picture with your daughter from the information that you have provided that indicates a remedy called Aconite.

This remedy has nervous excitement as the key note characteristic coupled with violent fear of death and is usually indicated when someone has a trauma that they felt was going to lead to their death..... even at a 30 potency taken regularly it would probably help her a lot but if you are going to see the person I referred you too - I spoke with her last night and told her you might contact her - it is probably better to wait.

The lovely thing about Homoeopathy is that it is an art as well as a science and although the same principles are used of law of similars - like curing like - it is possible for different practitionrs to work in different ways and achieve the same end result.

I have several other qualifications myself - including Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) and also am a qualified nurse and did some psychology modules when I was doing my Uni Degree in Education.

It sounds like the work you saw done in the seminar contained NLP techniques - maybe get some Richard Bandler NLP books and have a read. NLP is the study of the process of human behaviour - not so much the content.

[Annie]

Heather, I truly enjoy listening to people who have education in health and who know what they are talking about.

You got me excited with NLP, because Paul Shele has actually a complex degree that icludes NLP and I bought his set of Paraliminal Cds - one of them was "Perfect Health' that my helped my client so fast, she also gave up smiking within a week just by listening to the "smoke free" Cd - she could not leave smoking for 30 years, her family could not believe she actually stopped now...its' all in the mind...I also bought Pauls' Photoreading course, ones the semester is over I am going to study that one. All these new brain technology is based on serious research that includes psychology...

I am definitely taking Agatha to that homeopath, I already told her about it and she is happy - she just does not want to hear about doctors and psychologists, LOL...when she started having problems with her skin the doctor and the specialist gave her cortison cream. No way on earth I would allow that on her skin! I found this excellent chinese herbalist in Preston and she told us - the underlying cause is poorliver function. She gave Agathat 2 herbs and I have borrowed the Liver Cleansing diet book from the uni library and changed her diet. When she started taking the herbs her skin has improved almost overnight ...

Marianna

[Bosco]

Ah Marianna, I wasnt talking about the quick fix you get from counselling - that I do agree with....lol!!!

I have seen and heard the counselling tecniques you are talking about, and yes in the right hands they are very effective - I have seen them in action and do wish there more skilled practitioners of these techniques here.

Yes I am definately glad there isnt a monopoly, and more pleased that we all have a choice. I prefer the medical approach, I get to see the actual physiology of the disease or process and I also get to see in my minds eye a picture of the problem, physiological and because of my extensive training psychological as well, I get both sides of the picture and I prefer it that way, :)

[Annie]

Yea, science is exciting isn't it? Humans are very complex too - there is no one way to understand how we function.

Even naturopaths MUST have a good understanding of medicine and human anatomy. Without a really good training in psychology, nobody should touch anything that involves emotions/mental health.

Our Chinese herbalist studied pharmacology too beside anatomy, she is very well equipped with knowledge and she is trained in many areas - but she has those hands of gold, she took one of my neighbours off heavy antipsychotic drugs (the lady had Bipolar disorder) within one year. She knows every drug that the doctors prescribe - she actually works with doctors very often, and I like this a lot about her. She gives a place to Western medicine too and appreciates science...

Jan Lee, I truly appreciate your input and genuine willingness to help. I appreciate the fact that you took time to talk to me/us. I do not mind if we disagree in some things, that's really OK. The truth is very relative, depends how you approach what. I have learned my lessons -many times when I was 100% sure that I was right I soon discovered that I was actually wrong! Therefore I like to discuss things that interest me without taking it personal when there is a disagreement.

I cannot have enough of this blue-white Brittish cat on your signature...this cat is absolutely beautiful, reminds me on my ex stud boy who I adored so much. Big teddy bear with such a calm expression!

Marianna

[Bosco]

Thats great, because I like this sort of discussion too and part of being challenged is to learn new things and to learn to appreciate other peoples point of view :) Theres nothing personal in it :)

To be perfectly honest I am really gald to see you try other things, too many people reach for the antidepressants and antispychs - you might gather I loathe these medications - and they are handed out all too easily as far as I am concerned!

My blue and white boy is a neuter who was rehomed with the most gorgeous family in Sydney a few months ago - I had a terrible time parting with him and I still miss him so much :(

[Annie]

Thanks Jan-Lee!

I do like to try new things out but still - I do it really carefully not without thinking and just listening to others. I am passionate about science, I always was, andI always try to understand everything from scientific point of view. I never stop reading scientific literature as well as about natural medicine and alternative therapies. I have a very good knowledge about brain physiology, psychology, anatomy(I studied anatomy for one year), and human mind so it is not hard to decide what I want to try and what does not make sense. When you know a lot it is easier to think creatively.

Yes, I too like listening to others - you said it very well: that's one of the ways to learn new things and strech our minds.

Thank goodness that Zoe gave us this non cat related forum, because talking about cats only does not bring us as close as these human , non cats discussions.

Ironically enough, this is the first place where I was understood - noone told me here that Agatha should just "grow up" and be nice to Norbert, that she just has to learn to accept that Norbert was injured.Or that Norbert is playing up...I stopped talking to people real fast about my difficulties because they just did not understand that Agatha was too young to cope with chages (it was extremely hard even for us adults) and she copes the best she can and that Norbert did not need a "strong hand" to punish him but understanding and love and support to overcome his struggles: he knew anyway that what he was doing was wrong, but as he said, he could not control it. Of course not, his brain was in the way. Agatha stopped talking to her frtiends too about her anxieties and grief for teh same reason - she was just criticized and never understood. I am the only person who she can talk to, because I do understand her...

It feels really good that I was understood here - for the first time really! Thanks you all.

Jan-Lee I look forward chatting with you in the future,

Marianna