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BodyTalk - article link from The Telegraph January 2009

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/alternativemedicine/7044474/BodyTalk-Could-a-new-therapy-be-the-answer-to-all-your-aches-and-pains.html

 

for your nearest BodyTalk practitioner bodytalksurrey@hotmail.co.uk

 

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MEDITATION FOR DEPRESSION

Imagine you could cure depression with a therapy that was more effective and long-lasting than expensive drugs, and which did not have any side effects. These are the claims being made for a form of Buddhist meditation.

Last week, psychologists from the University of Exeter published a study into "mindfulness-based cognitive therapy" (MBCT), finding it to be better than drugs or counselling for depression. Four months after starting, three quarters of the patients felt well enough to stop taking antidepressants.


MBCT marries Eastern meditation with Western cognitive therapy. Patients are taught the simple technique over eight sessions and then practise it at home for 30 minutes a day. Professor Willem Kuyken, whose team at the Mood Disorders Centre of the University of Exeter carried out the research, says: "Anti-depressants are widely used by people who suffer from depression and that's because they tend to work. While they're very effective in helping reduce the symptoms of depression, when people come off them they are particularly vulnerable to relapse. For many people, MBCT seems to prevent that relapse. It could be an alternative to long-term antidepressant medication."

MBCT was developed in the mid-Nineties by psychologists at the universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Toronto to help stabilise patients' moods during and after use of antidepressants. About half of patients relapse into depression – even if they continue taking the medication. One common reason for a relapse is when a normal period of sadness turns into obsessive brooding.

"Brooding is a key feature of depression," says Mark Williams, professor of clinical psychology at the University of Oxford and leader of the team that developed MBCT. "In mentally healthy people, sad thoughts pass quite quickly but in people who suffer from depression they don't. MBCT tackles brooding and teaches people to be more compassionate to themselves and others."

The MBCT technique is simple, and revolves around ''mindfulness meditation''. In this, you sit with your eyes closed and focus on your breathing. (See box for details). Concentrating on the rhythm of the breath helps produce a feeling of detachment. The idea is that you come to realise that thoughts come and go of their own accord, and that your conscious self is distinct from your thoughts. This realisation is encouraged by gentle question-and-answer sessions modelled on those in cognitive therapy.

In the University of Exeter study, funded by the Medical Research Council, 47 per cent of patients with long-term depression suffered a relapse; the figure was 60 per cent among those taking medication alone. Other studies, including two published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, had comparable outcomes. As a result, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has recommended MBCT since 2004. But NHS availability is still patchy. Many sufferers seek private treatment, with courses at Buddhist centres costing around £120.

"One of the key features of depression is that it hijacks your attention," says Prof Williams. "We all tend to bring to the forefront of our minds the thoughts and feelings that reflect our current mood. If you are sad, depressed or anxious, then you tend to remember the bad things that have happened to you and not the good. This drives you into a downward spiral that leads from sadness into a deeper depression. MBCT prevents and breaks that spiral."

1. Sit upright in a straight-backed chair, with your spine about an inch from the back of the chair, and your feet flat on the floor.

2. Close your eyes. Use your mind to watch your breath as it flows in and out. Observe your sensations without judgement. Do not try to alter your breathing.

3. After a while your mind will wander. Gently bring your attention back to your breath. The act of realising that your mind has wandered – and bringing your attention back – is the key thing.

4. Your mind will eventually become calm.

5. Repeat every day for 20–30 minutes.

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Reiki and Pregnancy

• Posted by Diana Summerford on January 26, 2010 at 2:30pm

 

As a Medium and Reiki Master, I give a lot of significance to dreams. I know that our guides will sometimes use our dreams as a method of communication to us. We don’t always listen in a waking state, so they have to use any way they can to communicate and I kept having dreams of being pregnant. I knew that was not possible, and I started questioning them. After the 4th dream, I ask my guides what in the world they had to tell me, enough was enough. The answer came loud and clear, Pregnant with Possibilities! Really, really, all these dreams for that?? Yes REALLY! I still was not sure exactly what that meant so I ask them to bring me the people that I could help, and the story begins there.

A client of mine, Laura was pregnant. She was a very special client because during a reading months before I could feel a new child coming in soon. Soon, as in I felt like she could already be pregnant and I told her that. The next day she took a pregnancy test that had a faint positive, therefore she did not trust it. A few days later she took another test that came back with an emphatic positive! Talk about a huge sigh of relief on my part.
In the beginning of her pregnancy I approached her about doing Reiki toward the end and possibly during labor. She agreed to be my guinea pig after I told her about my other experiences with Reiki during labor. A few months later, at the end of her pregnancy, I see her posting on a networking site about how uncomfortable she is so I again reached out reminding her of the agreement we had made.
We made an appointment for the next week and I went to her house. At this time she was about 38 1/2 weeks, very pregnant and very uncomfortable. She was having hip pain, restless nights and difficulty moving around in general. We did Reiki for about an hour and afterward she felt wonderful! She couldn’t believe that she could walk without pain.
The day before her due date I went back over for another treatment. About 40 minutes into the treatment, she started having contractions. Laura thought they were Braxton Hicks since they didn’t hurt. Instinct told me that this could be the real thing.
So she called her husband, went to the doctor and I went home to wait......
A few hours later she called to tell me she was on her way to the hospital. When I got there I found a smiling mother and father to be walking the halls. Laura again commented that she could not believe she was really in labor because she was in no pain.
Several hours later, after a full day of Reiki, her water was broken and she delivered a healthy happy baby girl with minimal pain and 5 pushes!

Laura was kind enough to write a review of her experience and I have included it below:

I had a wonderful experience giving birth because of Diana and I wanted to share with you all in case you are looking for a little extra help giving birth, are concerned your baby isn't in position, or just want some extra care to your baby before he or she is born.

Diana came to my house to perform some Reiki on me a day before my due date to make sure things were looking good, that the baby was still in position, and that both the baby and my body knew what they were supposed to do to give birth. After an hour of the Reiki, I began to have contractions that were painless and all under seven minutes apart. This was shocking to me as I had no indication I was anywhere close to giving birth besides how close my due date was. Very few Braxton Hicks, no pain for a few weeks, etc. When Diana was performing Reiki, they were closer than when she took a break. I could not believe I could be in labor as I had no pain at all, but Diana convinced me to call my OB. I went in, my Dr. told me to walk around for a bit and call if I got any pain. I did, and about 1.5 hours later, I had a bit of back pain. I was told to go to the hospital, where they checked me out, saw that I had progressed in the past couple of hours, and admitted me.

Diana came to see me in the hospital right away, continuing to perform Reiki on me. My pain at this point was minimal. I felt it, but it was manageable and easy to endure. I decided to get an epidural just in case things got worse (mostly because I'm a chicken!), and she made sure that this didn't slow down my progression. My water was broken not much later by the OB, and within a half hour, with Reiki still being performed, I went from 5 cm and not effaced to 10 cm and totally effaced. During this time I had more pain even through the epidural, but it was manageable. Diana was great at taking me to a great place mentally that I could picture very well, which was surprising to me because I'm not very good at visualizing things normally. She then left right before I needed to push. My delivery was very easy, taking about 5 sets of 3 pushes each before my daughter was born.

This was a totally different experience than my previous birth, which was painful, confusing, and included lots of drugs and three hours of pushing. I know it was all because of Diana. She was able to put me into labor as well as help with my pain management and progression. I credit her with an easy labor and delivery. If any of you are worried about your baby's position, looking for an easier birth, or would like some help with pain management, you should consider Diana. She is fabulous!

On a separate note, she also has helped me in other ways. She came by the week before I gave birth and did Reiki on an issue area on my breast that was acting up. I had mastitis in that one place three times when I was breastfeeding DS, and I could already feel it clogging up with all my colostrum (which I produced a ton of). She zapped it, and I have not had any weird feelings or problems there since. Diana also was the one who told me I was pregnant during one of her spooky nights. I was totally shocked because I had been off birth control for only a couple of weeks and had not really been trying. And best of all, she knew the temperment of DD from the beginning of my pregnancy. DS was a very fussy and difficult baby for me, and I was quite concerned DD would be that way too. But Diana knew that she'd be calm and more easy going, and she was totally correct. It's been three weeks now, and DD is calm, a good sleeper, and overall an easy baby.

In conclusion, I cannot recommend her enough!

For more about me, please visit my website @ www.dianasummerford.webs.com and my blog at www.diana-summerford.blogspot.com

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Massage for Sickle Cell Disease

13/08/2009

Massage is now being used extensively for physical as well as psychological benefits. To help publicise these benefits researchers from the at Nationwide Children's Hospital have published their ‘Journal of Paediatric Psychology’ that illustrates how effective massage has been in the areas of  physical medicine, rehabilitation and with organ transplants patients.
 
The journal especially highlights the effectiveness of massage in dealing with depression, pain and anxiety experienced in children who had Sickle Cell Disease.
 
Sickle Cell Disease is a genetic disorder affecting the red blood cells, altering their shape and texture. The children’s hospital used massage and encouraged the children’s’ parents to also provide a massage service to the children. They trained 18 parents of children with Sickle Cell Disease in the art of massage using trained massage therapists. The results say Kathleen Lemanek, PhD, and Mark Ranalli, MD were very successful as the children experienced a reduction in pain, depression and anxiety after being massaged by their parents.

Dr. Ranalli, who is a doctor in Haematology, Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplant, said "Massage is an inexpensive and easy way to manage pain, which is a big part of having Sickle Cell Disease." He further elaborated on the benefits by revealing the alternative to massage. He said "Pain management for Sickle Cell Disease typically includes hydration, nonsteriodal anti-inflammatory drugs and narcotics. Massage as a pain management technique can relax the muscles, increase circulation and help medication take a more effective route."
 
Paediatric psychologist from Nationwide Children's Hospital, Dr. Lemanek, issued some cautions regarding the blanket use of massage, saying "It's important to note that massage may not be right for all patients with Sickle Cell Disease or even patients who may suffer from chronic pain," and that "You have to consider personal characteristic and comfort levels of both the parents and child first before determining if massage is right."

 Dr. Lemanek, who is an Ohio State University College of Medicine faculty member said, "Even though parents' anxiety levels were increased, parents from the study said they would continue to use massage as a pain management tool." He said this baring in mind that "When your kids are in pain, despite medication, and parents feel hopeless like they have exhausted all options, massage can help them feel in control of the disease. When your child looks at you in pain, massage gives you the opportunity to do something to actively try and help.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/160546.php

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