I Really Hate Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is a complicated holiday for couples who are dealing with chronic illness or pain. It's supposed to be a day of champagne bubbles and dinners at romantic restaurants, chocolate and sweet kisses.

But what if alcohol and chocolate aggravate your symptoms and pain keeps you from being able to sit for too long, especially in a restaurant? How can you celebrate Valentine's Day with your sweetie? Do you even want to or do you prefer to let it slide by as just another day?

I was feeling rather bleak that my pain picked Valentine's Day to spike. Instead of cuddling with my partner, I was curled around a heating pad and focusing on all the things we would not do that day. And when I get in that state of tunnel vision, it's hard for me to extract myself.

Richard pointed out that even if we sat of the couch, side-by-side with the heating pad and the TV remote control, we were still being together. In some ways, without all the imposed artificiality of hearts and flowers removed, we could focus on what was truly important - not the symbols, but our love and tenacity.

He could switch channels while I switched temperature settings, and know that we have abiding love, and don't need Hallmark cards to prove it.

So I hope you all find your way to appreciate love for each other, on Valentine's Day, and any other day you choose.

Using Reiki to benefit health.

I think at this time my health may benefit from Reiki and I intend to find a therapist who may be able to help me.

One of the greatest Reiki healing health benefits is stress reduction and relaxation, which triggers the bodies natural healing abilities, and improves and maintains health. Reiki healing is a natural therapy that gently balances life energies and brings health and well being to the recipient.

This simple, non-invasive healing system works with the Higher Self of the Receiver to promote health and well being of the entire physical, emotional and psychic body. Therefore it is truly a system of attaining and promoting wholeness of Mind, Body and Spirit.



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Finally, an Article about the Caregiver

No news to most of us who either are the caregiver and know how powerful and endearing and demanding a role that is, or are the ill partner who witnesses the caregiver's fatigue. But this article in the New York Times articulates well how vital it is, especially for health professionals, to pay some attention to the caregiver.

Offering Care for the Caregiver

"......For all our assertions about the importance of caring in what we do, doctors as a profession have been slow to recognize family members and loved ones who care for patients at home. These “family caregivers” do work that is complex, physically challenging and critical to a patient’s overall well-being, like dressing wounds, dispensing medication, and feeding, bathing and dressing those who can no longer do so themselves.

Many of these caregiving tasks were once the purview of doctors and nurses, a central component of the “caring professions.” But over the past century, as these duties increasingly fell to individuals with little or no training, doctors and even some nurses began to confer less importance, and status, to the work of caregiving.

It comes as no surprise, then, that physicians now rarely, if ever, learn about what a family caregiver or health care aide must do unless they are faced with caring for their own loved ones. We doctors don’t know or aren’t always fully aware of what it takes to care for a patient after we leave the room......"

"........“Normally everyone is always focused on the patient, patient autonomy and the patient’s wishes in terms of the ethical standpoint,” said Dr. Virginia L. Hood, chairwoman of the Ethics, Professionalism and Human Rights Committee of the American College of Physicians and one of the paper’s authors. “But family caregivers are an important part of the health care team, too. We need to value these caregivers better, think about their needs and consider how they are central to the patient’s care, not just someone who happens to be pushing the wheelchair.”

Of particular importance is understanding how the work of caregiving can also give rise to a new set of medical issues: those of the caregiver....."

Can essential oils help my health?

There are many natural ways that my health could benefit from conditions such as high blood pressure, raised cholesterol levels and anxiety. One such way is with the use of essential oils. Aromatherapy is an ancient art which uses aromatic plant essences to create the essential oils that have many natural health benefits.


Aromatic herbs have been used for thousands of years for the healing and treatment of various illness and disease. More recently, with the resurgence of interest in natural health and complementary medicines, aromatherapy has become increasingly popular.

For example, essential oils that can be beneficial in massage for people suffering from high blood pressure could be clary sage, lavender, marjoram, mellisa and ylang ylang.

Raised cholesterol levels may be helped by using cinnamon essential oil.

Anxiety can be helped by blending bergamot, cedarwood, chamomile, frankincense, geranium, mandarin, marjaram, sandalwood and ylang ylang.

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Nature's Power Of Natural Healing, Health And Wellness By Wellness Coach & Holistic Health Practitioner - Diane McLaren CCIr, RNCP is a highly regarded Practitioner, Coach, Natural Healer and Trainer with over 25 years of experience in the alternative health care field.

Grand Rounds is Up

Check out Grand Rounds, a collection of health care blog posts, at Musings of a Distractible Mind.

Review of Natural cures.com

The website Natural cures is a great place to find information about natural health and natural therapy. It is an alternative health site, and is "the ultimate place to get information you need to know, and the answers to the questions you have about health nutrition and natural remedies."

Natural cures can help with all kinds of conditions such as high blood pressure, how to lower your cholesterol in a natural way and other common ailments.

The most interesting section I found was to be able to find a natural cure for every single disease and illness, which with regard to my health was very useful.

Visit Natural cures and see how they can help to find a natural treatment for your particular illness and disease.

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Ailing Couples One-Up each Other

From an article on MSNBC about the competition and shortened fuses that can happen when both partners in a couple fall ill with the flu. As I read it I couldn't help but think of all of us who don't get over our illness in a couple of weeks. We have to continuously craft new ways of relating to our partner, and to ourselves.

It's an interesting read -- Sniffle Wars: Ailing Couples One-Up each Other

"When a partner falls ill, empathy can have an expiration date. And in relationships that are taxed or struggling to begin with, it comes sooner rather than later."