Do you believe that your body can heal naturally? Even in the unpleasant circumstances where we hurt ourselves, our body knows that it needs to be healed. Our body knows what to do. For example, if we cut ourselves in the arm, cells in our body work in order to heal the cut and replace it with another layer of skin.

For other people, and probably to you too, this is not possible yet. Or, it doesn’t make any sense to you. You probably have more trust in pharmaceuticals products than the thing I will be talking about. But trust, it is more than a possibility.

The natural healing process helped me heal. I already told you in my last blog that I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis years ago. But the natural way helped me healed. There are a lot of things you can do to assist your body in the process. It’s not just your body that needs to do the hard work right? You also have to be conscious and cautious during the process.

One of the best things in natural healing is that you don’t ha...

Thirteen years ago, I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. Just like everyone else who had been diagnosed with an illness, I went into a denial phase. I did not understand why it was happening to me. I was scared because it was the first time that something happened to my body and I did not know what to do with it. The doctors told me that I have an autoimmune disorder. It is a condition wherein my own body attacks itself. The cause of it remained unknown, and the doctors said that not even my diet is the reason of the disorder. There was really something going on in my body that I couldn’t understand.

That experience frustrated me. My family’s history of health related issues were alarming. For example, my grandfather had bowel cancer and my great grandmother died of colon cancer. I was afraid that I might be the next. You can say that in situations like that, fear is the most frequent reaction. Who wouldn’t fear losing their life right? I had two young children at that time and ...

We are all health conscious especially that we are bombarded with a lot of pressure. Work, house chores, financial problems and others make us more susceptible to health issues. These pressures, unknowingly, decreases our body’s capability to fight off diseases. To avoid getting sick, we should be aware of the things that our body can and can’t do. We all know that without proper diet and nutrition, our body can’t function well enough to be healthy. How many times did we get sick and diagnosed with discouraging illnesses? How many times did our body fail us because we failed in taking care of it? There’s possibly a lot of times in the list. Being sick is very tedious. You can’t control your body, there are too many don’ts and do’s and too many things to take. It’s not you who’s going to be affected by it, it’s your whole family. While you spend your time worrying when can you go back to normal phase of your life, your family’s also thinking how to take care of you and what things to do...

Admit it; there are points in our lives that we take our health for granted. We eat what we what and disregard the negative effects it might bring to our body. When our health’s fine, we do what we want to do because we are not sick yet. But I hope that we are now in the point of our lives where we are conscious human being.

Why should we be conscious of our health state? Why shouldn’t we take our health and lifestyle for granted? The main reason obviously, is to live longer and live happily. When you become conscious, you start eating nutritious food for your optimal health. You also exercise every morning even for few minutes.

If you are not yet in a state of being health conscious, how conscious are you of your diet? When you eat, do you think of the food’s contents? Do you also think of exercising every day? What aspects of your health are you concerned about? If you are not yet well aware of the things that might happen to you when you excessively do things or do nothing at all,...

Work-Related Stress from Unclear Expectations:
How to Handle It

One common cause of work-related stress is unclear expectations. The best solution for this dilemma is clear communication. So how do you have a productive conversation about expectations with your boss or project manager?

First, convey your concern with a conversation starter like this: “I’m not sure I understand what your expectations are about this project, and I want to make sure I deliver what you want. Here are my thoughts. (Share your thoughts using “I statements”.)

Second, ask, “What are your thoughts?”

Third, and this step is critical: Listen to the response. If you are not ready to listen, then you are not ready to have the conversation. Make sure your heart and mind are open to suggestions.

And finally, check that you are understanding what is being conveyed. You might say, “So it sounds like you would like me to ______________________________. Is that correct?” Continue asking clarifying questions and re...

Say ‘Goodbye’ to

“Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda”

Have you ever caught yourself thinking, “I haven’t done enough,” or “I should’ve tried harder,” or “If only I could have done it differently.”? This is self-imposed stress. It happens when our self-talk is full of the word should. “I should have called my sister today. I should have studied math flash cards with my daughter today. I wish I would not have been impatient with my spouse. I should not have been so critical today. I should have seen that coming.”

The voices sometime swirl around our head and can be never ending. It’s like they are standing on our shoulder and shouting into our ear -- things like, “A caring friend would . . .” or “A good employee would . . .” or “You should . . .”

Here’s the best solution I know for this: Tell those voices that there’s no room in the inn. Stop listening to that critical voice. Self-imposed stress can be the most debilitating of all. It saps us of energy, it deflates our ego, and it causes ou...

“To Do List” or “Ta Da List”?

There are many reasons for work-related stress, but the primary reason that most people have work related stress is that they don’t feel appreciated for the work they do. While we can’t change others into the appreciative, encouraging people we’d like them to be, we can appreciate and encourage ourselves and others.

Too often, we get to the end of the day and look at our To Do List with disappointment over the things we failed to cross off the list. This can be quite discouraging. Instead, how about making a Ta Da List? It would include not only the items you did manage to cross off the To Do list, but also some of the other things you need to give yourself credit for. Sometimes these “non-tasks” get overlooked. For example, did you treat an annoying coworker with respect, even though you were frustrated? Ta Da! Good for you! Did you speak up in a meeting, even though you were feeling hesitant? Ta Da! Good for you! Did you keep your cool in a traffic j...

When You Can’t Change It, Change the Way You See It

     One type of stress none of us can avoid is Environmental Stress. Environmental stress is the stress that you can do absolutely nothing about. This includes things like the weather, traffic, and getting stuck in the slowest line at the post office.

•      Since we can do nothing about environmental stressors, an effective way to deal with them is to let go of the hold they have on us and reframe the experience.

     One way to do that is to reframe a stressful situation and see it with a perspective of gratitude. For example, instead of being overwhelmed by piles of laundry, you can say to yourself, “I’m so fortunate to have all these clothes to wear.” Or when you are stuck in the slowest line at the grocery store, you can look at your cart full of food and remember to be grateful that you can buy what you need and want (chocolate cookies anyone?).

      You can choose to do practical things to reduce your stress....

Stress: Choosing What to Tackle and What to Release

When facing a stressful time, it can be very helpful to categorize and prioritize the things that are causing your stress. There are two critical questions to ask yourself when doing this:

• In this situation, is it a high priority or a low priority?
• Is it easy to change or difficult to change?

When you ask yourself the two questions (high priority or low priority, able to change or difficult to change?) you can determine where it’s best to put your time and energy.

Not every issue or situation is worth the attention we give it; sometimes we stress over things that really don’t matter, or things we can’t change. Use these questions to help you decide which problems deserve your attention and which ones don’t, and spend your energy accordingly.

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Stress and Relationships: How to Navigate the Tough Stuff

         Have you ever been guilty of taking your stress out on someone like your kids or spouse? Has someone you live with been able to sense your stress before you get completely through the door at the end of the day?

          It’s quite natural for stress from one area of our life to seep into other areas. When you are feeling stress in other areas of your life and it is affecting your relationships, try doing a “pre-emptive strike.” Before your frustration starts to bubble over, have an honest talk with the people closest to you. Let them know that you’re facing a stressful period. Reassure them that it is not about them, but about another issue you’re facing. (Unless, of course, it is about them, but that’s a different message.)

The talk may go something like this:

          “I’m anticipating a lot of stress over the next two weeks at work. My boss has asked me to complete a project on a short deadline, and I’m...