'Tis The Season to be Sniffling and Stress, Achoo! Achoo! Achoo! A Choo, Choo, Choo!

Hello Angels,

Truth is, the Holidays are joyful, BUT also stressful. There is no wonder the stress of the holidays brings out many holiday grinches, when a whopping 50% of us are suffering from depression and/or anxiety. According to Julia Ross, Americas are a 100%, yes One Hundred Percent more depressed today, than our ancestors were 100 years ago. Why is this? and what can we do about it?

For starters, we can ditch the junk from the boxes, and eat real whole foods.  Diets have been deteriorating since 1965... 1965 was when processed food companies began distribution. Since then, B6 levels have dramatically decreased and depression and anxiety have increased.

By 1990, Americas were deficient in 13 nutrients! We were cutting out that scary ass fat, consuming highly addictive sweeteners (since 1970s) including corn syrup which is double the sweetness of gluclose= double the addiction.  Our carb intake increased, and so, we became malnourished, depressed, and fat.

The first system of malnutrition is a breakdown of our emotions. We have what is called "false" moods.  In other words, we are grouchy, depressed, and anxious for hardly any external reason.

Here are some things we can do to increase our happiness and decrease depression and anxiety:

1.) Make a food-mood journal.  Record how you feel before and after you eat something.  Does it give you energy? Does it make you tired? Chances are you will find most things from a box will drain your energy, when fresh vegetables, fruits, and whole grains will increase your energy.

2.) Experiment with an elimination diet to see if you have any food sensitivities (How does gluten make you feel? Dairy? Soy?)

3.) Prevent hypo-glycemia (mood swings due to blood sugar fluctuation).

• Eat good fats (think avocado, olive oil, flax seed, chia seeds, salmon and other fatty fish (if you eat fish). 
• Increase the number of meals you eat

4.)Exercise to increase the release of endorphins- the pain killers and comfort chemicals in our brain

5.) Take a good multi vitamin + vitamin C and vitamin D3

6.) Decrease, or better yet, eliminate caffeine intake

7.) Meditate, read here why meditation is so beneficial on the brain (like sex!)

So, what if you are like me, and you do these things ALL THE TIME, and yet still anxiety comes knocking at your door at the most unexpected time? It happened to me Sunday night, my trigger? We were out to dinner and I left my gluten free pasta at home.  Seriously not a big deal, but because I had underlying stressors (budgeting for our wedding, blowing my savings on the two tires I popped in a pot hole the night before, and then planning for my crack down on school lunches), this small event triggered a small anxiety attack.

Unfortunately, it took me a few days to do something about it.  I was still meditating every morning, working out, sleeping, and eating right... but I needed more.  It didn't hit me until Tuesday morning, when I thought about how I felt Sunday, and then how I woke up at 4am, wide awake and super jittery for hours. So, I made a concoction of Bach Relax Serum and Ignatia 200ck in a water bottle.  I sipped it often throughout the day, and felt so much better by midday!

When you are stressed, your body releases cortisol, and therefore your immune system is vulnerable and can be weakened.  In my opinion, this is natures way of telling us to slow down and rest.  By Wednesday night I had a cold, which put me to bed early.  I woke up the next morning with the intention of going to work, but my body was so achy, my head was pounding, and I was terribly sniffly, so I called out sick, took some Umcka, and went back to bed.

I slept for an extra 4 1/2 hrs.... When I finally woke up, this is what I did to naturally ease this nasty cold:

• Sipped on Throat Comfort tea with lemon and raw honey
• Made 32 oz of green juice, drank 16 oz then and saved 1/2 for later: 1 cucumber, 1 green apple, 1/2 lemon, 3 stems of broccoli, a bunch of kale stems, 4 stems of celery
• Throughout the day I sipped on a concoction of Adrenal drops + Pulsatilla in a bottle of water
• and I snuggled up on the couch and indulged in a very long movie! (Any idea how long the 3rd Lord of The Rings is? I do..)

Hours later, I felt much better than I did in the morning, without taking any medication.

I used to take DayQuil, run through my day feeling as if I was on speed, come home and take NyQuil to knock me into sleep mode... and the cold would come back within weeks... every time.

It is nice to know that my homeopathic remedies do a better job of healing, without the nasty chemicals and side effects. I healed my body without causing harm by using those nasty medications... I healed my body naturally for both my cold and my anxiety :) Oh, and I didn't become a zombie chocked up on meds, instead I wrote this blog post!

Every time I get sick, I am reminded to listen to my body. Our bodies do not lie, sometimes we need rest.

So, with the holiday season upon us, remember to rest your little noggin and to listen to your body. If you do feel off, experiment with some of my natural remedy suggestions rather than the conventional medicine...You will never go back.

Do you have an natural remedies you would like to share?

Xox with lots of self-care, rest, and increased health <3