Anxious or Depressed? Acupuncture Can Help!

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  If you suffer from anxiety, depression, have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder or other psychiatric disorder - don't despair.  Although in some cases, you MUST stay on your medication, regular weekly acupuncture treatments can help you emerge from that 'dark hole' a
nd put you back into a healthy place of mind, body and spirit.  Regular acupuncture treatments can also help with the side effects of many antipsychotic drugs (anxiety, dry mouth, lack of sex drive, weight gain).  If you or someone you care for has mental health issues, call or email my office to schedule an appointment.  I have many years experience dealing with such cases and can help.  917-701-7581  k@kmondesire.com

The Thanksgiving Parrot - A Fun Repost

A friend sent this to me yesterday and I thought it would be fun to pass it on:

A young man named John received a parrot as a gift. The parrot had a bad attitude and an even worse vocabulary. Every word out of the bird's mouth was rude, obnoxious and laced with profanity. John tried and tried to change the bird's attitude by consistently saying only polite words, playing soft music and anything else he could think of to "clean up" the bird's vocabulary.

Finally, John was fed up and he yelled at the parrot. The parrot yelled back. John shook the parrot and the parrot got angrier and even ruder. John, in desperation, threw up his hands, grabbed the bird and put him in the freezer. For a few minutes the parrot squawked and kicked and screamed. Then suddenly there was total quiet. Not a peep was heard for over a minute.
Fearing that he'd hurt the parrot, John quickly opened the door to the freezer. The parrot calmly stepped out onto John's outstretched arms and said "I believe I may have offended you with my rude language and actions. I'm sincerely remorseful for my inappropriate transgressions and I fully intend to do everything I can to correct my rude and unforgivable behavior."
John was stunned at the change in the bird's attitude. As he was about to ask the parrot what had made such a dramatic change in his behavior, the bird continued, "May I ask what the turkey did?"

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day: Wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving!!! Don't eat too much...it's not healthy for you!

Acupuncture Stand Alone Therapy For Mild And Moderate Depression

A large percentage of my clients seek my professional services to treat their mild or moderate depression. In certain cases, where appropriate, I work with the patient's psychiatrists and psychologists to ensure that the patient has been tested for neurological disorders and ensure that a western medical diagnosis has been determined.  I am quite often asked what it is I do that transforms many of these patients from a medicated and depressed state into persons who have begun to live their lives fully. In many cases, they have been able to reduce or eliminate their medications with their psychiatrist's blessings.  The key to treatment is this:  I look at the whole person.  I do not focus solely on the dis-ease.  I listen to what the lifestyle and habits are of the person....sleep, diet, exercise, sexuality, professional status, previous illnesses, familial medical and psychiatric history.  For certain diagnoses where there are neurological imbalances, it is necessary for the patient to remain on medication.  In these cases, acupuncture can reduce or eliminate the side effects of such medications (anxiety, insomnia, low libido, etc).  But for almost every case of mild or moderate depression, the Chinese medical practitioner looks at the body's emotions as being in disharmony. The seven emotions  (joy, anger, worry, contemplation, grief, fear and shock) each relate to a specific organ of the body. When these energetic imbalaces of the meridians related to the organs and their emotions are regulated, the patient will respond accordingly.  For example, bouts of anger and rage can be sedated and controlled by treating the Liver and Heart meridians.   Hyper-excitability and other inappropriate behavior can be controlled or eliminated by treating the combined meridians of various organs.  All this is based on tongue and pulse examination and diagnosis.  In Chinese medicine, there are 18 pulse positions that we diagnose that tell us much about the patient's condition.  Tongue diagnosis gives us a plethora of information of systemic functions.  It's not hocus pocus.  It is the motis operandum utilized for over 3,000 years in the history of Traditional Chinese Medicine.  Many of my patients keep up with their treatments on a regular basis well after they have removed themselves from their 'black holes'.  They are drug free and living their lives fully and with gusto.

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  Treating persons who have been diagnosed with depression takes listening and compassion, but also requires that the practitioner not enable the patient's condition further by being overly sympathetic.  These people need positive input, but also realistic and objective therapy.  If you or someone you care for is suffering from the 'blues' or depression, call or email my office.  Start your journey out of  'the black hole' today.

Melatonin...What's Its Function?

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  Melatonin helps build bones and reduces bone loss.  It supports hair growth, promotes immune response, regulates circadian rhythyms in the brain, slows contractions in the stomach and intestines, and increases the release of digestive enzymes.

Acupuncture for Anxiety and Depression

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  Acupuncture is very effective in the treatment of anxiety and depression.  If you are experiencing GAD or depression, try a calming acupuncture session.  I work with your therapists and psychiatrists to ensure that the level of your meds do not increase and in most cases, we work as a team to lower the levels of your medication....acupuncture - it's THAT good!

Sleep Deprivation Can Be Hazardous To Your Health

The Journal of the AMA (American Medical Association) has stated that persons who only sleep 4 hours per night for just one week produced 1/2 the anti-flu antibodies compared to subjects who achieved 7 1/2 to 8 1/2 hours of sleep each evening.  Ladies...want to look good?  Get some sleep.  Sleep deprivation is a major cause for flabby elasticity of skin, lack of moisture and turgor of the skin, and exaggerates fine lines and wrinkles.  Less than 5 hours of sleep per evening can lead to that 'spare tire' around your middle....not very attractive either.  Let's not forget that when we're groggy during the day, we tend to trip, fall and bump into objects moreso than if we were completely alert.

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  Get some sleep.  Turn off the television and the noise in your head.  If you have a problem with sleep, call or email the office today and make an appointment.  Acupuncture and herbal formulas are well-known to successfully treat all types of insomnia.

Acupuncture Can Take The Heat Out Of Your Head

I have many patients in my practice who are on a variety of anti-anxiety/anit-depressants.  One of the side effects of these drugs is a feeling of tremendous heat rushing to the head accompanied by terrific body sweats.  Acupuncture is known to alleviate all these symptoms related to these drugs; just as we can reduce hot flashes resultant from menopause, chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  If you are suffering from the side effects of anti-depressants/anti-anxiety drugs and just can't stand that feeling of heat rushing to your head and the body sweats that accompany the heat, come in for an acupuncture treatment.  You'll relax, cool down and calm down - the drug free way!

The Times Are Stressful

Worldwide media seems to be flooding all our senses lately with the gloom and doom of world market economic downslides.  The stress that this geoeconomic condition puts upon so many people causes blood pressure to rise, tempers to flare, autoimmune conditions to resurface, and many other maladies.

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  Feeling stressed out over the global economic condition?  Are the world's events making you physically and mentally ill?  Make an appointment today for a de-stressing acupuncture session.  Your blood pressure will stabilize, your acid reflux and ulcerative colitis will subside and you will have an overall feeling of peace...without doping yourself on drugs.  Happy Friday everyone!  Stay tuned for more healthy tips on Monday.

Tips For Improving Your Emotional Health

We wake up, go to work, attend school, or mind the kids, get to the gym, fulfill social obligations we don't necessarily want to attend, deal with very stressful situations from time to time...after a while, our lifestyles can contribute to the degeneration of our immune systems.  Ill health, depression and a loss of self esteem can manifest from the pressures we place upon ourselves on a daily basis.  So, how do we achieve good emotional health?  Sure, you can go pay a shrink $400 an hour -  that might or might not make you feel better and that's vacation money for you or another boat for the shrink. There are free and easy steps  we can all take to achieve the same results.  Here are a few:

Learn to say NO. Very often, we say 'yes' to many obligations when we really mean 'no'.  All that 'it's ok' that you leave on the way up the stairs is all the frustration and resentment you will eventually have to pick up and deal with on the way down the stairs.  If you don't feel comfortable saying the word 'NO', then try this phrase:  "thank you, but that just doesn't work for me".  PERIOD.  That's all you need to say.  If people don't like it, that's just too bad.  Let' them get used to the fact that you have an opinion and that you count first!
Keep Your Real Friends and Eliminate False Relationships.  It is far better to have one true friend than 10 'fair weather' friends.  Your true friend(s) are the people who are always there for you, no matter how old you are, where you live or what the circumstance is.  Your real friends will tell you when you're wrong and help you straighten up your messes.  They will also be there for you when 'stuff' happens in life and help you emotionally deal with all life's challenges.  So, get rid of the 'dead beats' and simplify your relationships.
READ!   So often, I hear of people who have illnesses or situations in life; if they would just educate themselves as much as they can about the condition or situation, they could take control of their emotional and physical well being, as well as their socio-economic condition.  In this age of free information online and computer access at your local library, ignorance is no excuse.
Exercise.  Regular exercise releases natural endorphins in the body which help reduce stress and agitation.  Your body will feel better because of the increased blood and oxygen circulation.  You will look better and feel better; this in turn will lead to a much higher self esteem and a sense of empowerment.
Have More Sex.  When you're hungry, you eat.  When you're thirsty, you drink.  When you're tired, you sleep.  When your hormones need stimulation, you should have some sex.  Regular sexual intercourse not only is good for one's hormones, it reduces stress and also gives a person a better sense of self.
Find a Hobby and Stick to It.  Whether it's needlepoint or hang gliding, find and develop a hobby that makes you happy.  Embrace the activity.  The more you participate in your favorite past time, the better you will become.  This leads to an emotional 'high' and a better sense of self esteem.
Engage in a Healthy Nutritional Plan.  Eat, drink, and be merry, but do all of it in moderation.  You don't have to drink the whole bottle of wine, you can have one or two glasses and still enjoy the beverage.  You don't have to eat everything on the plate.  You can eat half and take a 'doggie bag' home; enjoying another wonderful meal from your dinner out is cheaper and very satisfying - especially on those days when you don't have time to cook!  You will feel better physically and sleep better when you engage in a proper nutritional plan.
Practice Yoga, Tai Chi or Meditation.  Life is a balance of Yang and Yin.  The gym and every other activity we engage in are mostly Yang energy driven.  Reign in the energy and balance your life by engaging in a Yin and rejuvenating activity such as yoga, tai chi or simple meditation time.  You will find peace of mind, calm, serenity and will be better able to deal with any stressful situation that comes your way.
Make a "TO DO" List.  Greatness and achievement on any level does not come by luck or haphazard activity...it comes from a plan.  Every week, make a list of tasks, events and things you'd like to do.  Prioritize the list and modify it as the week progresses.  As you complete a task or event, check it off your list.  The feeling of accomplishment will help with your self esteem and motivate you to keep up with list making...it really does help with focus.
Sleep!  Sleep is just so necessary for the circulation, the nervous system, weight loss and overall homeostasis.  Sleep deprivation is one method of torture used on prisoners worldwide....now, why would you want to inflict self-imposed torture upon yourself????

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day: practice and engage in all of the above as best you can.  You will be surprised what a difference a few easy and free steps can make for your overall emotional state of mind and your self esteem!