How Killing ANTs Can Improve Your Health

We talk a lot about physical health and detoxification here, but what about toxic thoughts, and their effect on your health? Your thoughts have tremendous power. They can inspire fear and prevent you from taking action. They can ruin your day. They can harm relationships. Thoughts can make you self destructive, or even cause you to harm others. But they can also help you achieve your goals, make new friends and enjoy a rewarding, fun, and healthy life. In fact, more and more studies are finding that your thoughts also strongly influence your physical health! Yes, your thoughts have this much power – if you give it to them.

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Unfortunately it seems to be human nature that some of the most pervasive types of thoughts are ANTs. This is a lovely acronym for "Automatic Negative Thoughts." They’re those negative thoughts that seem to pop up and ruin a perfectly good day. Here are some examples of ANTs.

1. You turn in a project. The feedback is 99% positive. However, instead of focusing on the positive comments you dwell on the one negative comment.

2. Your friend/spouse/co-worker is in a bad mood. You take it personally and feel as if you must have done something to cause that bad mood.

3. You leave the house and wonder if you remembered to lock the back door. All day long you can’t help but feel like when you get home all of your belongings will have been stolen and your home destroyed.

4. Your pants feel tight when you get dressed in the morning. You thus think thoughts like, “I’m so fat,” or “I’ll never lose weight, I’m a failure.”

These are all examples of ANTs. You didn’t intentionally invite them into your mind and yet there they are. They’re also examples of types of ANTs: personalizing, catastrophe, emotional reasoning and so on.

So how do you stop these unwanted and unhelpful thoughts?

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#1. The first step is to recognize them. Becoming aware of your thoughts is tricky. Practice and patience are required. Consider setting your watch alarm to notify you every hour or two throughout your day. When the alarm beeps, stop and pay attention to your thoughts. Practice this for a day or two. Learn to become aware of your thoughts. (This is the same basic technique taught by Will Bowen in A Complaint Free World - an excellent book to read if you have problems with ANTs!)

#2. With awareness comes power. Once you learn to become aware of your thoughts you can then change them. There are many ways to accomplish this, such as:

• Replace a negative thought with a positive one or an affirmation.

For example, you think you’ve left the back door open and your stuff is going to be stolen. Replace that thought with, “I take good care of my home. I trust that I remembered to lock the door. Everything will be just fine.”

• Analyze the reason why you’re having a negative thought. Ask yourself if the thought is true. If so, why do you believe it to be true?

• Accept the thought and let it go. Accept that negative thoughts come into our mind. Take mental note of the thought and then let it go. You might create a visualization to let go of the ANT. An easy visualization is to imagine the thought actually is an ant and stomp on it. Then you can walk away and leave the ant behind. A more peaceful visualization, if you’re opposed to killing bugs, might be to place the negative thought in a balloon. Imagine releasing the balloon up into the sky.

Above all else, don’t judge yourself for having negative thoughts. Simply learn to become aware of them, realize their falsehood and let them go. You will find a more peaceful, happy state of mind, and with a less toxic mind comes a less toxic, healthier body as well!

Using Natural Autumn Scents to Reduce Stress

Stress seems to be an all too common theme in today’s households - there’s simply no way to completely avoid it. After a busy summer, you may be looking forward to a chance to slow down and recuperate a bit. Tapping into your sense of smell using natural ingredients instead of bringing chemicals into your home is a great way to reduce stress.

Apple pie (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

How often does a certain smell bring back fond memories of a place or time; the smell of warm baked cookies or a scent that reminds you of a loving home? The science of using scents to promote good health is called aromatherapy and it’s a much safer option than using caffeine or drugs. Here are some autumn scents to you reduce stress.

Cinnamon – With the temperatures dropping, you may think more about baking. One scent that is often used in fall baking is cinnamon. The smell of a fresh baked apple pie does more than get your mouth watering. Cinnamon has been proven in scientific studies to improve attention and memory.

Peppermint – Along with cinnamon, peppermint is another aroma that has been proven to increase alertness. It helps maintain mental performance when doing the same activity for a long period of time. Peppermint has also been shown to reduce road rage and therefore may be good to keep in your vehicle if you travel a lot.

Vanilla extract (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Vanilla – Another baking scent that is believed to relieve stress is vanilla. Pour a little vanilla extract into a small pan filled with water. Place it on the stove and allow it to simmer for a while. The scent of vanilla will spread throughout the home leaving everyone a little less stressed. Keep an eye on the water level to ensure it doesn’t go dry.

Lavender – One of the most often used scents in aromatherapy, particularly to handle stress, is lavender. This is due to the relaxing properties in the essential oil. Lavender can be used as an additive to bathwater, used dry in bowls on end tables and even spritzed on sheets for a restful night’s sleep.

Sandalwood – Sandalwood oil has a long history of being used as a traditional medicine. Its sweet, rich woody smell is known for reducing stress and soothing the mind and body. While sandalwood can be found in many products such as cosmetics and perfumes, a few drops of this great smelling essential oil can instill a sense of peace like nothing else.

One of the great things about these scents is you can create your own massage oil. Simply add a drop or two of the essential oil into non-scented carrying oil such as almond oil. Gently shake the bottle to blend and then set it aside in a cool, dark place until you’re ready for a massage. What could be better than a soothing scent and a nice massage?

And of course, as we discussed Tuesday, the smell of fresh air in the fall is not only healthy, but is also a great stress reliever!  Get outside and smell the lovely autumn leaves, the scent of the rain, and the health-giving freshness of the fall air.

It is amazing how scents can affect us. When you’re feeling stressed and need to relax, consider using one of these common natural scents during the fall or any time of the year.

Top 7 Tips to Reduce School-Related Stress Naturally

At school we learn to read, write and do math. But it’s not always easy. School can also be a source of stress. If this is true in your child's life, try some of these tips.

It is a common misconception that you have to be an adult to experience stress. Stress is our reaction to situations in life that create anxiety or pressure, and it can happen at any age.

Stress at school is not just academic, however. Kids have to maintain their studies while participating in school activities, sports, working and nurturing friendships. It can be a tough load if you don’t know how to handle it. Many adults don’t have to juggle that much on a daily basis!

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Tips to Help Your Kids Manage Stress Naturally

1. Stay organized – From the beginning of the school year, make sure that your child is staying on top of their homework and other assignments. Keep a separate notebook for each class so nothing gets lost or misplaced.

2. Start early – If your child has a project due in three weeks, waiting until the last week could pose a time crunch, especially if other assignments are also due around that time. If you teach your kids to work on the project early while they have time, you can address any obstacles they might face and help them finish early. This can reduce the amount of worry your child has to deal with.

3. Study a little each day – One common way that many kids study is cramming. Sure, you will have all of your knowledge in your head for the exam but it will evaporate afterwards. That just means it will be harder to study for the next test if it builds on the information he or she has already learned. Instead, advise your child to read over their notes each night so that the information is still fresh in their mind.

4. Talk to your child – When kids get stressed it helps to get them talking. Voicing your concerns allows others to offer suggestions for solving them. Armed with solutions, your child can better cope with whatever comes their way throughout the day. You can also build good habits of communication in your children, which will serve them well throughout their lives.

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5. Get a good night’s sleep – Sleep is a hard task for many students. With all of their activities, sleep time is usually cut short. Over time, lack of sleep can increase stress levels by decreasing concentration and memory retention. Try to set a specific bedtime each night so that they get at least eight to ten hours of sleep.

6. Enlist the help of others – If your child is having trouble in a subject, find a tutor. Getting help at the beginning can avoid homework and exam stress.

7. Limit after-school activities – Colleges want to see well-rounded applicants, but too many activities can be counterproductive, causing stress, lack of sleep, and lowered academic performance. Choose a couple of things that your child enjoys and concentrate on increasing participation and taking advantage of leadership opportunities in that activity instead of increasing the number of activities.

School can be just as stressful as work in the adult world. These tips will help your child avoid stress during the school year, without resulting to drugs which can damage a growing child's system, and they are also great learned skills that they can use throughout adulthood as well.

Say Goodbye to Stress With These Superfoods

Life has a way of getting the best of us some days. Whether it’s working too many hours, shuffling your kids all over town for their activities, taking care of your household, or dealing with personal or family matters, stress can take its toll on you physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. But there are simple steps you can take to combat stress, starting with the foods you eat.

Beets and asparagus on a plate. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Avoiding caffeine and alcohol is a good start when life’s particularly stressful. Stimulants and depressants like these can both zap your energy and rob you of the fuel you need to successfully cope with tension. Sugary foods should also be avoided as well, as they cause your blood sugar levels to spike then dip rapidly, which can in turn make your energy levels spike and dip at the same rate.

However, there are a number of superfoods that can provide you with the energy and nutrition your body needs to keep stress in check.

Asparagus, which is high in folic acid, can help level out your moods. Folic acid and vitamin B are key players in producing serotonin, a chemical that gets you into a good mood.

And though we may hear negative things regarding red meat, it’s actually a wise dinner option for a stressed-out family. Beef’s high levels of iron, zinc and B vitamins not only help get you into a good mood, but help you stay there as well. Your local butcher can help you select lean cuts for the healthiest options

Almonds are also an awesome choice when it comes to arming yourself against stress. They’re high in magnesium, zinc, as well as vitamins B2, C, and E and unsaturated fats, all which are great warriors against free radicals, which have been shown to cause cancers and heart disease. Many other nuts, such as walnuts, cashews, and Brazil nuts are also very helpful, and provide your brain with much needed Omega-3 fatty acids, which help calm stress and have other positive effects as well.

And here's my favorite - sushi! If you like sushi, it's a great stress-relieving food. Fresh fish, along with nutrient-packed Nori (seaweed), provide lots of Omega-3's, vitamins, and other minerals. When combined with the fresh and spicy flavors of wasabi, soy sauce, and other fresh vegetables, sushi provides a fun, tasty departure from that "same old" food, and can leave you feeling refreshed, energized, and relaxed.

Try some of these foods today, and say sayonara to your stress - naturally!