self care

Natural Treatments for Insomnia

March 20, 2023

Insomnia can be a very difficult and frustrating problem, and it can have a significant impact on your health. Many people think that prescription medications or over-the-counter sleep aids are the only methods available to manage insomnia, but there are several natural treatments that can help.

What Causes Insomnia

Primary Insomnia is referred to when there is no underlying cause.

Sometimes there is an underlying cause such as a general health condition, anxiety, depression or sleep disorder. This is diagnosed as secondary insomnia.

Insomnia may be made worse by:

poor sleep habits (sleep hygiene)
substances including caffeine, nicotine, alcohol and other drugs
stress caused by work, financial problems, relationship issues or grief
medical issues, in particular conditions causing pain, hormone changes (e.g. hot flushes and night sweats during menopause , and breathing, urinary or digestive problems
mental health problems — insomnia can be a symptom of anxiety, depression, rumination or other disorders
sleep disorders, including obstructive sleep apnoea, circadian rhythm disorders caused by irregular sleep patterns, restless leg syndrome and periodic limb movement
life stage — elderly people are more likely to have insomnia
shift work— people who work different shifts often do not sleep as well as those who work set hours during the day

Why Is Insomnia a Problem?

Insomnia is a health risk and if left unmanaged can cause:

increased risk of hypertension (high blood pressure)
diabetes
obesity
depression
stroke
heart attack
poor decision making
irritability
mental illness

Management of Insomnia

The cause of insomnia will be diagnosed by your health professional or doctor. The management will depend largely on the cause. For instance obstructive sleep apnoea is a cause of insomnia. Your doctor may refer you to a Sleep Disorder Clinic. There you will be assessed and may be advised to have a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure machine (CPAP) to assist your breathing. This helps you to get a good nights sleep by managing your sleep apnoea.

Are There Natural Options?

There are, thankfully, quite a few natural methods for dealing with insomnia. Many people find relief in herbal remedies, lifestyle adjustments, and exercise. Once you’ve checked with your health care provider about possible medical causes for your insomnia, you might try some of these natural treatments for insomnia.

Herbal Remedies

Herbal teas and supplements are said to be a gentle and effective way of inducing sleep. Herbs with a reputation for inducing sleep include the following:

Chamomile – This is a long-held remedy for sleeplessness that is exacerbated by nervousness and anxiety. Drinking a cup of chamomile tea in the evenings before bed may be all you need – but it can have a slight diuretic effect, so drinking a cup an hour or so before bed might work better. You may also find it beneficial to drink it throughout the day, hot or cold, or mixed with other beverages.
Valerian Root – It makes an unpleasant tea, but many people have had significant success with taking valerian root capsules. Valerian is a natural sedative.
Lemon Balm – In contrast to valerian, lemon balm tastes very good and makes a lemony tea. Like chamomile, drinking a cup in the evenings may help promote sleep. You could mix it with chamomile tea as well.

Lifestyle Changes

Insomnia can sometimes be managed by making adjustments to your lifestyle. Here are some ideas.

Exercise Regularly

This is one of the best ways to get your body into balance and help you relax at night. Plan to exercise a couple of hours before you go to bed.

Cut Out Caffiene

Drinking coffee is very addictive. It is a stimulant as well as a social norm. Next time you are out with friends for a coffee try a herbal tea instead. You still get the social aspect however are reducing your coffee intake.

Smoking

Those who smoke cigarettes tend to have more sleep problems than non-smokers.

Diet

Make changes in your diet to reduce sugar, artificial colours and flavours and preservatives. These substances can cause hyperactivity and mood imbalances.

Practicing self care prior to sleep can help eliminate the stressors from your day. Choose what makes you feel relaxed for instance having a warm bath, hot shower or meditating. This will help you to relax your mind as well as you body. Very often we go to bed and we are physically tired from the days work and activities however we find that our brain activity is still high (going a million miles and hour). We are thinking constantly about work, family or financial problems to name a few. If you find this is happening you might need to have a book to read or relaxing music to listen to.

Self Compassion and Insomnia

Treat yourself as kindly as you can. You’re worth it.

When you are going to sleep are you constantly finding you self critize. Are you saying to yourself “why cant I sleep, why cant I solve this problem, if I were a better parent, friend etc” then you will have difficulty getting to sleep.

Learn to be self compassionate which is turning compassion inward. Be kind and understanding rather than harshly self-critical. Give yourself encouragement rather than being cold and judgmental if you have had a difficult day at work, with your family or when challenges and difficulty arise.

Practice meditation and use these skills when you need them. The meditation below is by Kirstin Neff. Kirstin is a renouned speaker and founder of Self Compassion. Check out Kirstins website for more meditation exercises. https://self-compassion.org/

Research is finding that having a good restful sleep is a major contributor to good health and balanced lifestyle. Talk to a Health Professional or your Family Doctor if you or a family member are having difficulty sleeping and you have tried to manage his by yourself implementing strategies such as above.

Tips on How to Practice Self Love

January 16, 2023

Practicing self-love can be a great way to boost your self-esteem and help you to lead a more fulfilling and meaningful life. There are many ways to practice self love, such as taking time to do something you enjoy, being mindful of your thoughts and feelings, and spending time with people who make you feel good. It’s important to remember that self love is not about vanity or pride, but rather about being kind and patient with yourself.

It’s also important to practice self love even when things don’t go your way, as it can help you stay motivated and confident.

Here are some Tips on How to Practice Self Love

Acknowledge your accomplishments, no matter how small.
Celebrate your successes and recognise your hard work.
Talk to yourself with kindness and compassion.
Avoid negative self-talk and focus on your positive qualities and strengths.
Take care of your physical and mental health.
Eat healthy meals, get enough exercise and sleep.
Practice relaxation or mindfulness techniques to reduce stress.
Spend time doing activities you enjoy. This could include reading, taking a walk, or listening to your favorite music.
Connect with other people.
Find people who appreciate and support you and build meaningful relationships.
Avoid comparing yourself to others.
Everyone is unique and has different experiences, so focus on your own journey.
Prioritize yourself.
Make time for things that are important to you.
Make sure you take breaks and relax from work and other stressful activities.

By practicing self-love, you can become more confident and content with yourself and your life.

Self Help Strategies

November 23, 2022

Needing to implement self help ideas into your live infers that you may be unwell, struggling with life challenges or not functioning to your full capacity. We are constantly teaching our children self help strategies to encourage their independence and to equip them with the skills they need to function as adults. We often forget that, even as adults there are times in our lives we need to do a check on our own well being and apply some Self Help strategies.

Being a parent, friend, professional or whatever responsibilities you have can cause you to have times when you may feel less able to cope.

In these situations, it is a good idea to have self-help strategies to focus on to enable you to maintain a maximum level of functioning.

Why Self Help

Helping yourself is a great way to maintain optimum wellness and health. In our day to day lives we can struggle with challenges the cause stress. If we don’t address the effect these challenges have on us we can, without being aware of it get into a situation where we are not coping and we become angry, frustrated, irritable or even physically or mentally unwell.

A way to explain this would be above and below the line thinking. The diagram below illustrated what this is and the effect above and below the line thinking can have on our day to day functioning.

The line signifies a choice between how you thoughtfully respond to a situation or automatically react. Stress can have an instant effect on where you are “operating”. If unchecked you could be below the line for the majority of time and not even realise it.

Operating above the line is open and positive. It’s about ownership, accountability and responsibility.
Operating below the line is closed and negative. It’s about denial, excuses, defensiveness and blame.

This entry was posted on March 12, 2012 by anitadickons and tagged business.

If you identify you are thinking below the line possibly causing you to become irritable, frustrated or anxious, it is then using some self help strategies may be of benefit to you.

What are Self Help Strategies

Self Help and Self Care Strategies seem to be interchangeable. The important thing is to recognise you are starting to have challenges and do something about it.

Refer to my post https://jilliesblog.com/self-care/

There are several Self Help books available that give suggestions and tips on how to self help.

*Unf*ck Yourself* is the handbook for the resigned and defeated,
a manifesto for real-life change and unleashing your true potential.

For some people it is listening to music, going for walks or watching movies, others maybe seeking help from friends or family.

It’s very easy to find information you don’t already know. It’s much more challenging to apply it successfully to your life. Change is scary to most people, implementing changes and improving your lifestyle is very rewarding.

Suggestions for Self Help Strategies

Take Action

Ask yourself how you can apply the information to your life. Many self-help materials are very theoretical. They have great ideas, but it’s not always clear on how to apply them to your life. As you are reading, listening, or thinking, ask yourself how you can use the information to enhance your life.

Create poster and have it on the fridge, it could be your signs of overwhelm or what to do when you notice you are feeling a particular emotion, fearful, angry, lonely. Create a poster as illustrated.

Create a Routine

Develop a self-help routine just like you would a workout routine. Make applying the information you learn a regular occurrence.

Start slowly and you will build habits that get you results. You may require professional help to get yo started.

Most of us know how to solve the majority of our most pressing issues. We just can’t figure out how to get ourselves to take action consistently.

New habits are a challenge to establish. Taking 2 steps forward and one step back is not unusual, the important thing is to start and from this you will gain experience and realise that there are other options than running the treadmill you are currently on.

In the end, success is about using your time wisely each day. You can’t help but get great results if you perform effective actions over and over.

Goal Setting – Start Slowly

Focus on making small changes. Set SMART goals https://jilliesblog.com/setting-smart-goals/ witch are achievable.

Basically Self Help is the first step in taking control of your life and recognising when and if you need to implement minor or major changes to live to your full potential.

I would be interested in knowing how you go!

Self Care

February 18, 2022

Self Care is an increasingly common topic. Implementing self care strategies into our daily routine means we are taking responsibility for our emotional, physical and mental health.

Self-care enables us to establish and maintain a healthy relationship with ourselves. We cannot be an awesome wife, mother, friend, carer, proficient at our jobs and manage whatever else we have on our plate if we don’t self care.

Practice self care to prevent burnout and to refill your tank to be on top of your game.

What You Need to Know about Self Care

Everything you need for self care is within you right now, you are enough
Self Care does not mean you are “broken” its means looking after yourself and prioritising your needs
Self Care means being the center of your own life
Self Care is soul food, you can give to others when you give to yourself
Self Care is not being selfish, it is a necessity for your growth
Self Care is individualised, it is not one size fits all
Your Self Care routine occurs within the cultural and social context of your life
Self Care is dynamic and fluid, be flexible to accommodate changes in your life
We are all worthy of Self Care, it is not something we have to earn
Self Care is not about your behaviour it is a mindset to be integrated into your everyday routine
Self Care is not meant to be complex it is meant to compliment you

Self Care is not a One Size Fits All!

Self care is about looking after you, there are copious amounts of articles on the Internet defining what self-care is, how to go about it and giving you tips! These are great tips however managing your own self care is not be a “one size fits all” approach. Choose what suits you taking into consideration your time constraints, what your current needs are and the resources you have available.

Check out Setting SMART Goals post for tips on setting your goals.

The list above contains examples of self care strategies. I am sure you will have favourites, or if this is new to you find a suitable strategy on the self care list.