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Why this misunderstood illness is NOT in your mind
20th February 2009
• How to ease pain with a mulled wine ingredient
• Why SAD isn't in your mind
• A natural cure for the winter blues
I'll start with a quick point about my Good Life Letter about toothache (on the 8th February)...
Unfortunate phrasing on my part meant that some people worried that I was recommending that you DRINK salt water.
Please don't!
I actually meant that you should gargle with salt water. But if you've got mouth or throat pain you should give it a go, because it really works.
One reader who tried my gargling tip found instant relief:
“I would like to thank you for this newsletter, which gave advice on how to deal with toothache by using salt water. At the time I read it, I was suffering with agonising toothache. I have followed your advice and I'm immediately feeling better. It also worked in getting rid of a sore throat.”
And after that email another reader sent me a fantastic tip for toothache...
How to ease pain with a
mulled wine ingredient
“These days I use a Clove straight from the jar chewed a couple of times to soften and break it up a little, then jam it between the gum and the cheek and forget it. The results are very swift. I've used it with an abcess, extractions... It has even allowed me to get to sleep when otherwise the severe pain would have kept me awake all night.”
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So if you have cloves left over from your wine mulling at Christmas, here's a good use for them.
Someone else also emailed me about cloves, but instead recommended clove oil:
“The normal dosage is lightly rubbing with a clean finger or cotton wool bud on the affected tooth just twice a day but i think it can be used as often as you need.”
And talking of emails from readers...
Why this illness is NOT in your mind
I got a lovely message from someone in response to a Good Life Letter I wrote a YEAR ago about seasonal affective disorder (SAD).
“I was very grateful for the SAD letter you sent out in January last year which you called The Curse of the Winter Blues. I would like to suggest that you send it out every year for all the new readers you accumulate in between Januarys.”
Well, rather than send it out again, I'll repeat some of my tips and add some NEW advice that should help you feel happier this winter.
To recap quickly...
Seasonal Affective Disorder is a type of winter depression that affects about 500,000 people every year, from September to April. The months of December, January and February tend to be the worst.
It can be unbearable for sufferers. In some cases, it can have a devastating effect. You literally cannot function.
So is this all just a state of mind? Just a case of winter blues?
Surprisingly, NO...
S.A.D. is triggered by a chemical imbalance caused by lack of sunlight.
This imbalance takes places in the hypothalamus - a section of the brain just behind the eyes. This section helps to control the pituitary gland, which in turn controls the thyroid, adrenal glands and sexual organs.
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And, as if that wasn't enough, the hypothalamus also helps control appetite and weight, sleep, body temperature and emotions.
So when the hypothalamus is mucked about with, your body can feel extremely off-centre, and can make the act of “keeping up appearances” very hard indeed...
People who suffer from S.A.D. may feel like shutting the world away. And if they do have to deal with people, they can be irritable and snappy. They become tense and stressed, they find it hard to stay awake, they tend to crave carbohydrates and sweets...
In short, they suffer from a full-blown depression which can all-too-easily be written off as a general low feeling that most of us feel when January comes, when work and school starts up again, and when things slowly get back to normal.
But there are ways to fight it...
How to turn S.A.D. into H.A.P.P.Y without turning to drugs
Vitamin D is also a major weapon against depression. And guess what - a fair proportion of our Vitamin D production comes from sunshine. So during the winter months, your Vitamin D levels are likely to be struggling, so up your intake by eating oily fish and eggs.
In the rare moments between the rain clouds, try and nip out for a brisk walk. Picture a destination and walk there and back at a pace that makes you a little breathless and gets your heart pumping. If you're unsure of how much exercise you should take, have a chat with your doctor.
Mustard Flower essences are used in holistic therapies to battle despair and anxiety - and judging by a few sites I've seen it's at its most popular during the dark and gloomy days of winter. Mustard flowers also form part of Dr Bach's famous Flower Remedies.
The Good Lifer who emailed me about this tried Dr Bach's remedy with success:
“Although a total believer in essential oils, I had never tried Dr Bach's Flower Remedies before. I decided to tackle the sleep first (while taking helpful |
exercise to go shopping rather than staying indoors on a cold, wet and grey day) and bought Dr Bach's Rescue Night. It has helped without a doubt and I feel much better today.”
She also came up with some extra tips to add to my advice. I'm sure she won't mind me listing them here.
• Recognise the symptoms and act quickly to counteract them.
• Fight it, don't give in - start by giving yourself one small easy job to do to get the day going.
• Wear something you like which is also cheerful and keeps you warm.
• Turn the heating down - don't create a fug in the house.
• Do something, no matter how small, that will make you feel you haven't wasted the day. Try and make it something that clears a space as it will clear one in your head.
• If it's a grey day, don't sit indoors on your own. Go out where there are people e.g. shopping, or contact a good friend.
• If the sun comes out, go out. Also open some windows.
• Accumulate things you want to read and things you enjoy doing for the days you stay in (e.g. making something, repairing something, hanging a picture, cooking)
• If you have a bus pass, use it. Visit new places, near or far - a change of scene is a tonic.
All good stuff. As always, I love to hear feedback, and while I can't give one to one medical advice, these emails help me guide my research and pick my topics.
Yours, as ever
Ray Collins
The Good Life Letter
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