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Wishing You All the Best This Year!

Are you tired of feeling like your insides are on fire, night after night? Do you struggle with heartburn, bloating, and discomfort that never seems to end? If so, you may be one of the millions of people worldwide who suffer from acid reflux. But fear not! There is hope for relief, and it comes in the form of hypnosis and other natural techniques. Acid reflux, also known as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), occurs when stomach acid flows back up into the esophagus, causing painful symptoms. While medication can provide temporary relief, there are many holistic approaches that can offer long-term solutions without the side effects of drugs. One such approach is hypnosis. Hypnosis is a state of focused relaxation and heightened suggestibility that can help your mind overcome negative thought patterns and behaviors that contribute to acid reflux. By accessing this state through guided meditation or working with a trained hypnotherapist, you can learn to manage stress and anxiety, which are common triggers for acid reflux. Additionally, hypnosis can help you change your relationship with food by reducing cravings for trigger foods and increasing your awareness of hunger and fullness cues. But hypnosis isn't the only technique that can bring relief. Here are some other natural methods that have been shown to reduce acid reflux symptoms: 1. Mindful eating: Eating slowly, savoring your food, and paying attention to your body's signals can help prevent overeating and reduce acid reflux. 2. Avoid trigger foods: Common trigger foods include citrus fruits, tomatoes, chocolate, spicy foods, and fatty or fried foods. Keeping a food diary can help you identify which foods trigger your symptoms. 3. Raise the head of your bed: Elevating the head of your bed by 6-8 inches can help prevent stomach acid from flowing back up into the esophagus while you sleep. 4. Manage stress: Stress can exacerbate acid reflux symptoms. Practicing yoga, meditation, or deep breathing exercises can help you manage stress and promote relaxation. 5. Lose weight: Excess weight can put pressure on the stomach, causing acid reflux. Maintaining a healthy weight through diet and exercise can help alleviate symptoms. 6. Quit smoking: Smoking can weaken the muscles in the lower esophagus, making it easier for stomach acid to flow back up into the esophagus. Quitting smoking can help improve symptoms. 7. Limit alcohol consumption: Alcohol can relax the lower esophageal sphincter, allowing stomach acid to flow back up into the esophagus. Drinking in moderation or avoiding alcohol altogether can help reduce symptoms. In conclusion, acid reflux doesn't have to control your life. With the help of hypnosis and other natural techniques, you can unlock relief from the discomfort and pain of acid reflux. So take the first step today and explore these holistic approaches to find the solution that works best for you. Remember, it's all about finding balance and taking care of yourself - mind, body, and spirit. If you would like assistance with reducing acid reflux and stress, or if you would like to quit smoking, lose weight, or limit cravings, please reach out to us. Please talk to your doctor concerning any medical issues or symptoms. Hypnosis can in many cases work extremely well, but I always recommend keeping your doctor informed.

Get Active Now One of the best things you can do if you are feeling stressed out do is go for a nice walk, a good run, or perform some aerobics. Even though you may feel like vegging out in front of the TV to relax, exercise is a very good way for releasing mood-boosting chemicals like endorphins and anandamide. These chemicals can be quite effective in lowering anxiety and can increase your mental wellbeing. Of course, exercise and positive activities are also good for taking your mind off problems and it helps you to get better sleep at night, and getting better sleep is a great way of helping to reduce stress. Get In The Moment It should be noted that if you are not fully present in the moment, you are unlikely to fully benefit from relaxation techniques. Mindfulness is a technique of being in the moment. You can start with simply focusing on your breathing for a few minutes. If an irritating or distracting thought comes up, simply let that thought know that you are focusing on your breathing and then return back to that focus. Repetition is key with these techniques. You are actually training your mind to value stress reduction patterns instead of stress. If watching a funny movie, listening to your favorite music, be in the moment. Taking a nice walk, be in the moment. Have A Laugh Laughter can have wonderful therapeutic effects. Laughter therapy and laughter yoga classes are becoming more popular for boosting health and mood. Studies show that even the anticipation of laughter can help us to relax by lifting our spirits and reducing stress levels in the body. Watch funny cartoons, movies or TV shows. Find funny entertainment on YouTube. Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases production of immune cells and antibodies allowing you to also fight infection and heal faster. A 30 minute laugh break can help, or go for a full 90 minute funny movie. One of my favorite funny movies is the 1972 classic, What's Up, Doc? Listen To Music Listening to our favorite music usually puts us in a good mood. Many studies have found that music can be wonderful for reducing stress. In fact, studies have indicated that music can even lower extreme levels of stress. Imagine just chilling out to some of your favorite music for awhile. You can listen to relaxing music, but it really is best to go with whatever type of music you feel enhances your mood. For a double boost of stress relief, try listening to your favorite music music while walking or working out. Chocolate Chocolate is a great calming food to enjoy and it's so tasty. Chocolate is high in magnesium, which helps reduce stress, and it contains anandamide, a neurotransmitter that can give you a peaceful feeling. It also has high levels of phenylethylamine, which has positive effects on mood, increases attention and activity, and has been shown to relieve depression in many people. High quality chocolate with a low sugar content is best. Get a Hug, or enjoy time with your Pet Getting a hug is a proven mood enhancer. Physical contact has been found to raise levels of oxytocin and lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol. This puts us in a more relaxed frame of mind. Owning a pet has also been linked to lowered stress levels and some pets love to be hugged. In their own way, pets can give you that special hug feeling. Stay tuned for part two!

In these unprecedented times, learning stress relief techniques can help your outlook and can also assist in maintaining a healthier immune system. Perhaps it's time for a reminder that stress can diminish your immune system and leave you more vulnerable. Effectively reducing stress requires dedication and repetition. Practicing Mindfulness Meditation, Progressive Muscle Relaxation, or Autogenic Training can be a huge asset. These are simple and effective methods of relieving stress if done properly and they can also assist you in sleeping better. Yoga, meditation and self hypnosis can also be amazing for revealing stress. Aerobics and getting good sleep is very important as well. You can search YouTube for Mindfulness Meditation, Progressive Muscle Relaxation, and Autogenic Training. Find the method that resonates with you and start implementing stress relief today. I will be happy to walk you through the basic techniques with a phone session if you would like. These methods are easy and can be very effective! It helps to look at these stress relief techniques as a new, holistic way of life. Choose one or two and stick with it. Humor can also help. Find something funny to watch! One of my favorite stress relief shows is Rabbids Invasion.

The practice of letting go of acquired stress patterns is dependent upon repetition and positive determination. Stress patterns are acquired over the years, usually without realizing that these patterns are forming. Releasing such patterns can be achieved to a very helpful degree by using any number of stress relief techniques and sticking to it. Find a system you like and practice. Practice often. My Stress Relief Oracle Cards offer different ways to achieve stress relief with various fun methods. You don't have to actually purchase the cards. Just go to the link and choose a stress relief method that appeals to you. Then practice!

Wishing you the very best for this Holiday Season and the New Years! Remember, you can find wonderful stress relief techniques on this blog. If you need a little extra stress busting, just contact me.

I teach Mindfulness and a Stress Relief Art technique in Charlotte, so I found this article very interesting. https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6539852431264665601

Just about all of us have what we would consider "bad days" and "bad weeks" now and then. Life happens. Believe me, with recent storm damage to part of my house that is currently on the market and dealing with an insurance company not wanting to pay, I could let myself be very stressful. However, I know enough about the mind and about states of mind to know that I could go ahead and just let myself get overwhelmed, OR, I could use remarkable techniques to allow me to be mostly stress free and deal with situations with a logical frame of mind, as this is the most effective way to take care of those things in life that need taking care of. Stress is a killer. I am not talking about those little urges of motivation, I am talking about excessive worry that eats away at mind and body. Whichever technique you use to defeat stress, make sure that you use those techniques diligently. Your success depends on it. On my blog I share stress reduction techniques for you to use. You can also call me directly and I will share fantastic stress relief information over the phone. I encourage everyone to beat the stress monster! #clt #cltstress #stress