Energy Vampires are Among Us…

 Donna Eden to the Rescue

by Jen Springer

Anxiety therapy can come in so many ways. One of my favorite is energy medicine pioneer Donna Eden.

Let’s say you were at the grocery store on a busy Saturday. After shopping, you get into your car and you feel just drained, your brain is scrambled, and you’re feeling anxious. You’ve been zapped! Now what?

Here’s your Natural Anxiety Therapy Tip:

When this happens to you, take a few minutes by yourself. Go to the restroom, outside, your car, a bedroom – wherever you can have a few minutes of uninterrupted time to focus on yourself. Now do this exercise from my favorite energy guru Donna Eden:

Anytime you feel anxious, overwhelmed, or just plain “not right” this simple exercise would be great to do. This is anxiety therapy on the go! I’ve used it before I lecture, when I’m attending classes, during times of anxiousness or panic, or even after talking to someone who has stressed me out.

One of my other secrets is to use an essential oil blend called Valor. Before I do the exercise in the video, I will put a few drops on my palms and take four or five deep belly breaths. Then I’ll rub the residual oil on my ears and neck. This specific blend helps me feel centered and less anxious. Then I proceed to do the exercise from the video.

It helps to do the protection exercise in the Zip Up post and the one mentioned above daily as a part of your natural anxiety therapy program. Don’t forget Young Living’s Valor!
Watch the video again, then do the Wayne Cook. Tell me how you feel on Facebook.

Jen Springer is a Holistic Nutrition Expert who currently serves 10,000 clients.  Her approach to health is refreshing and out of the box, yet makes so much sense.  Through her entertaining and informative webinars, blog posts, and personal recovery program Let’s Get Physical: Anxiety is NOT All in Your Head, her clients quickly get results even though  they’ve spent years of chasing for answers. Jen has been a health educator and practitioner for the last 10 years.

Protect Yourself with Donna Eden’s Zip Up

by Jen Springer

No, I’m not talking about owning a handgun or buying Kujo as your new anxiety therapy.

As I meet so many people with anxiety, I do notice we have one thing in common. We are all extremely sensitive to others and often get caught up in other people’s energy.

In essence, if someone is angry, in crisis, or negative – we pick up on it because most anxious people are extremely empathetic.

Unfortunately, it brings us down we don’t separate ourselves from them. Maybe I’m not speaking to you on this one, but I know that I sometimes feel drained after I talk to someone like that.

A few years back I had an photo done of my energy field.  Right after the photo was taken, I talked to a man who had a medical condition similar to me. He drained me and I felt totally discombobulated for hours. I went back to the people who did the photo of me earlier and they did another one. Literally, my energy was drained and it showed up on the photo!

I wish I could find those pics so I could post them for you. But, I didn’t protect myself and I let him drain me. That’s the eye opener, yeah he drained me but I let him. I let him steal my mojo!

How does this relate to anxiety?

Being drained from situations like this is very hard on your stress processing centers.  Have you ever  been drained after being somewhere or with someone?  Maybe even anxious from the drain?

So how can you personally protect yourself?

This is what I do, I learned it from an Energy Medicine expert named Donna Eden. She calls it the ‘zip up’. Has something to do with making your central meridian stronger so you can ward off other people’s negative stuff. I found a video on You Tube that shows you how to do it.

Donna is the queen of energy healing, talk about a lady with good vibes!

The other thing I do is envision an invisible shield around myself where people’s negative stuff bounces off and disintegrates. I make special effort to be conscious to do this when in crowds or I know I’m going to meet up with people that might drain me. It really works, simple anxiety therapy.

In a few days I will post on what to do if you do get zapped.

Now go practice keeping your energy to yourself!

Jen Springer is a Holistic Nutrition Expert who currently serves 10,000 clients.  Her approach to health is refreshing and out of the box, yet makes so much sense.  Through her entertaining and informative webinars, blog posts, and personal recovery program Let’s Get Physical: Anxiety is NOT All in Your Head, her clients quickly get results even though  they’ve spent years of chasing for answers. Jen has been a health educator and practitioner for the last 10 years.

Gluten & Your Alligator Complexion

by Jen Springer

We all know about eating gluten free.  But for a long time there was one thing I forgot about … MY FACE!

Dermatitis herpetiformis is caused by the ingestion of gluten.  This itchy, blistery, insanely scratchy rash shows up on the elbows, knees, buttocks, and back of neck … most of the time.  It’s a common symptom of celiac, but this is not what this post is about.

It took me a few years to realize that even though I didn’t eat gluten, I should also not put it on my skin or hair!

Technically gluten can’t be absorbed through the skin, the protein molecule is too big.  But on the face it can create red pimply looking bumps that are really annoying and difficult to get rid of – especially if you don’t know what’s causing it.

On the scalp, it can create severe dandruff and even scaly sores!  Ask me how I know … found this out personally after purchasing organic “high protein” shampoo, conditioner, and hairspray.

As soon as I stopped the super high protein hair care my scalp cleared up.  But dealing my rashy face was a bit trickier.

Where the rash shows up on the face can give you an idea what organ is taking a big hit from food allergies. Mine always showed up on the corresponding lung points – cheeks. No surprise. When I was really sick I would get asthmatic from gluten exposure.  Since the lungs and large intestine are closely paired, it’s not unusual for inflammation in the gut to show up as breathing problems.

My face was inflamed for so long that eliminating the gluten alone didn’t completely get rid of the redness.  The skin needed some help “de-flaming”  (that’s a technical term!).

Salicylic acid is an ingredient I found to help  reduce the inflammation of my skin the most. It can be synthetic or the preferred source is wintergreen oil.

Ingredients to watch out for in your products? Anything using these terms: wheat, barley, hydrolyzed wheat protein, oats, protein, wheat germ, or triticum vulgare. These are especially found in creams, lotions, and hair care products.

If you’re face has blemishes that you’ve been desperately trying to resolve, it’s time to check your labels.

Please share this post with gluten free peeps you know, we must spread the word so we all have gorgeous glowing blemish free skin together!

Jen Springer is a Holistic Nutrition Expert who currently serves 10,000 clients.  Her approach to health is refreshing and out of the box, yet makes so much sense.  She has a track record of  helping people have the “A-HA” moment they need in order to start rebuilding vibrant health which is their birth right. With her guidance, people quickly get results even though  they’ve spent years of chasing for answers. Jen has been a health educator and practitioner for the last 10 years.

This week’s post got thrown off a few days because the flu fairies decided to pay me a visit and I couldn’t even think straight enough to type a logical paragraph. Gee, thanks flu fairies! Not sure the cause, but feeling anxious when your body goes into battle with immune guns a blazin’ is not uncommon. How does one fight off the virus and help anxiety?

I always know when I’m fighting off a bug because I feel restless and anxious. The day before it hits me, I feel lightheaded too. If I can catch these subtle cues, I can often pull out the voodoo and kick it before it kicks me! I have my favorite arsenal of goodies that support my body with it’s effort to annihilate the virus.

First, Ningxia Red (of course) gave me the ammo to put my immune system in overdrive. This time, I did 3 ounces twice a day. Second, Essentialzyme metabolic enzymes (3 caps, three times a day). Enzymes go after that virus like a homing device programmed to find it’s target. KA POW, break it down! Third, my oil diffuser was full of Breathe Again because I got congested and I needed something to keep away the possibility of a bronchial infection. Fourth, Emergen C Immune Defense fizzy drink to fuel my body with more strength to fight the nasty flu bug. I love the 1000 mg of vitamin C I get in the Emergen C’s! Fifth, Longevity Capsules contain essential oils known to kill virus and support the immune system. I did one capsule in the morning and one in the evening.

And last, but most important of all was my Life 5. On the day I could feel my body fighting, I took 4 Life 5′s. On day two and three I took 3, and day four I took 2. I will continue to take one or two an evening before bed until all signs of the flu are gone. Life 5 have 8 billion live cultures of super strain, anti-biotic resistant good bacteria your intestines need to fight off any nasty cooties such as the flu. Most people don’t realize, but the gut is where viruses tend to start out first. If you are carefully attentive to how you feel, you’ll notice subtle cues your body is fighting a virus even before you see any full blown symptoms. These cues are gas, minor constipation, or slightly loose bowel movements. When I sense any of these signs I take copious amounts of pro-biotics and amp up my game with the  immune support I mentioned in the previous paragraph.

I can only speculate why I get anxious when I’m fighting a virus. My guess is that because the adrenals are in overdrive when the immune system is under attack, they can’t perform their duty of keeping everything calm, cool, and parasympathetic. My body was in “fight or flight” with a virus attacking it, so my calm brain chemicals went out the window temporarily and I felt anxious and restless. My solution: pop 200 mg of GABA.  Poof, anxiety gone. GABA is available at most health food stores. It calmed down my body and mind because GABA is the neurotransmitter that make us feel everything is A-OK.

Luckily, the worst thing this flu gave me was a fever for 4 days. To handle that discomfort I took epsom salt / baking soda baths with Joy oil added. Occasionally, I popped only one Advil because for reasons I cannot understand, the fever inflamed my left hip bursae as if someone lit a blow torch in there. It hurt so badly I couldn’t sleep, weird huh?

I warded off any secondary bronchial infections by doing “my thing” as I mentioned above. Every time I get a virus that affects my respiratory system I go into full combat mode to protect my lungs. They are one of my weakest organs and if bronchitis develops, I will cough for at least 3 months. GRRRR, but not this time around!

It’s now day 5 and I have a little lingering cough and fatigue, but that’s it.  Most people aren’t doing this well after being hit like this.  I am grateful for GABA and Joy oil helping with the anxiety this virus stirred up. I’m also grateful for the oils, herbs, and other healing tools I have access to that keep me going healthy and strong. Just remember, anxiety is usually caused by a physical imbalance in the body. It’s our body’s way of trying to communicate something is not right and out of balance. The tricky part is playing detective and figuring out what exactly is going on!

What do amino acids, protein, and enzymes all have in common in relation to anxiety relief?  When our digestive tract is healthy, the protein we eat (beans, fish, beef, chicken, nuts, cheese, certain grains, and dairy) is broken down into amino acids via enzymes.  Our body uses the amino acids to make all sorts of stuff, including BRAIN CHEMICALS that make us feel calm, cool, and collected.

Under physical or emotional stress, our digestive system shuts down.  The process of food being broken down and absorbed properly can come to a screeching halt if the stress becomes chronic.  Even short stints of stress creates problems. How many of us have had bowel problems under stress? I’ll refrain from any graphic details!

This is why part of finding anxiety relief permanently is to heal the digestive tract.  How can we make brain chemicals if our intestines look like Swiss cheese? It’s not possible.

This is what I did to heal my gut so I could make my own neurotransmitters and feel like a human again.

1. Identified using the ALCAT.com test what foods I was having allergy to and I strictly eliminated them.

2. Ramped up on high levels of a super strain probiotic (Life 5) to start healing the leaky gut and rid my body of yeast overgrowth.

3. Took potent enzymes with every meal. I used a combo of Allegany Nutrition and Young Living’s.

4. I did not eat any sugar or refined grains.  Well … any grains for that matter.

5. Used gentle fiber to cleanse my digestive system, my favorite are fresh ground flax seeds and apples.

6. For the first year and a half, I took a custom amino acid formula by Metabolic Maintenance because I couldn’t digest protein on my own. It was spendy but worth EVERY penny.  If anyone is having severe anxiety problems, I highly recommend having this done!

This process took a few years. Yes, that is a long time. However, my body endured decades of abuse through stress, poor eating, and lack of supplementation and it wasn’t going to heal overnight. But I can say now that I did it because most of my food allergies are gone, my body isn’t anxious anymore, and I lost a bunch of weight.   How is your body’s protein inventory? More on that in my next post!

Heads up before New Years Eve!  If you suffer from anxiety, panic, and stuff like that … watch out for anxiety and/or panic attacks the next day.  I have known many people this happens to; it used to happen to me too. With these secrets, you’ll be able to have a good time and still keep up on your anxiety therapy.

I figured these tricks out through self experimentation because I used to have panic attacks the next day even after 1 drink!  Of course abstaining is the best way to avoid post-drinking anxiety.  However, here are a few tricks if you decide otherwise.

1. Do not drink alcohol without having a big meal full of good fats and protein. This will help keep your blood sugar balanced.

2. Have about 2 ounces of Ningxia Red before bed and 2 ounces first thing the next morning.  This packs in a bunch of minerals, vitamins, and amino acids that help the adrenals and balance blood sugar.

3. Apply my favorite oil for blood sugar balancing before alcohol, before bed, and first thing the next morning – coriander.

4. Take a handful of digestive enzymes (Detoxyme) before bed and a few when you first wake up (wash it down with Ningxia Red).

5. Drink 8 ounces of water before bed and another first thing in the morning when you wake. Dehydration adds to anxiety!

6. Have anxiety busting essential oils on hand. I like to use them before bed and when I wake up, especiall Stress Away.

Adrenal and liver stress is the root of post-partying anxiety. As your body gets stronger and healthier, you probably won’t have this happen.  But for now, help your body out and you’ll have a much better New Years Day.  Have a Happy and Healthy New Year!

What triggers anxiety for you?  We’re all different. Some of us just feel anxious all the time for no apparent reason. Others of us know what sets us off like giving speeches or test taking.

I’ve made a list of 10 of the most common anxiety triggers I can think of. If you have any, please share!

1.  Steroid Hormone Imbalances – especially lack of progesterone in women and testosterone in men.

2. Neurotransmitter Imbalance – especially low epinephrine, serotonin, and GABA.  (neurotransmitters are brain communicating chemicals).

3. Coffee – standard coffee creates a surge of adrenalin (epinephrine) that can cause anxiety.

4. Blood Sugar Drops – a quick drop in blood sugar causes the body to send out a surge of adrenaline (epinephrine), cortisol, and hgh.  When our adrenals are weak, this can make us feel super anxious or even have a panic attack.

5. Adrenal Fatigue – weak adrenals can’t keep up with calming brain chemical demands.

6. Food Allergies – if our body doesn’t like certain foods and has an extreme response it can go into fight or flight. Flight can equal ANXIETY!

7. Phobias – test taking, traffic jams, heights, airplanes, spiders …. need I say more!

8. Thyroid Hormone Imbalance – very common, often overlooked.

9. Vitamin / Mineral Deficiency – B VITAMINS (esp. B6, B12)!  Magnesium, zinc, calcium, vitamin D, vitamin C, chromium.

10. Infection – sounds weird, but I have known people who have had low grade infections that caused anxiety. Once the infection was gone, poof – no more anxiety.

Funny, most of these triggers aren’t “In Your Head!”.  Surprised?  More on that  HERE.

Have you ever heard about using lavender or chamomile for calming stress and anxiety relief?  Since 2001 I have been educating people on the benefits of medicinal quality essential oils  (not bath and body or health food store stuff).  When I became personally ill in 2007 with panic attacks, anxiety, depression, and is when I realized they help steady and calm the mind.

But why would we want to use essential oils? How do they work?  What are they?  I am going to do a series of posts on essential oils because they are one of the fastest and safest forms of relief I have found for myself and my clients. In an instant a deep inhalation of Stress Away blend can take me out of fight or flight and back to serenity when I’m stuck in a traffic jam.

Essential oils are the protective forces of a plant. They are what make herbs, conifer trees, seeds, flowers, roots, and tree resins have aroma.  Have you ever been in an herb garden and smelled your hands after running them through a peppermint plant?  Or at Holiday time enjoyed the fragrance of a Christmas tree?  You’re smelling the essential oils!

Essential oils are volatile (evaporates quickly) liquid and not greasy like olive or vegetable oils.  They work so quickly because they are instantly absorbed through the skin and are distributed throughout the body.

They also affect the brain as soon as they are inhaled, think of the nose is an extension of our brain. It is the most rudimentary and ancient of senses and we get a response faster via aroma than if we experienced stimulus through the eyes, ears, or touch.  The olfactory nerve in the nose is a part our limbic system – the seat of our emotions.  Oils that have relaxing and calming properties reach the limbic system during a deep inhalation and can result in the AHHHH of relief.

When I was very sick and the anxiety was 24/7, I used essential oils to keep me grounded and “hanging in there” while my doctors figured out what was wrong with me.  I did not want to use addictive drugs like benzodiazepenes (Xanex and Valium).  So, I used Harmony and Grounding oils applied to the on the base of my neck, temples, and abdomen.  I even diffused them at night while I slept!

Please, whatever you do … don’t run out to the health food store and get essential oils.  Almost all commercially available oils have man made chemicals in them that can mess up an anxious or depressed brain even worse. They are what we call “neurotoxic” (toxic to the brain and nervous system).  Visit http://www.AnxietyTherapyRemedies.com for more information or contact me directly for assistance choosing the right oils for your situation.

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A few months ago I started working out, again. I had tried a few times over the past few years but after exercising for a few weeks, anxiety returned.   I couldn’t figure out what was causing it. Then, a week ago I had to prepare a lecture on blood sugar.  As I did my research, I read that exercise induced hypoglycemia can happen up to 24 hours after physical activity.  “Ah ha!” I thought.  Maybe now I can get this anxiety cause handled!

Pre and post work out I would check my blood sugar levels and they would test within normal range.  This didn’t make sense because I was showing classic signs of hypoglycemia, including anxiety. Sheri Colberg mentioned in her article Dealing with Exercise-Induced Hypoglycemia that blood sugar levels may test normal during a hypoglycemic episode, especially during and post exercise. Symptoms occur due to rapid blood sugar changes, so a person needs to know the signs their body gives to identify when there’s a problem.

When the glycogen is depleted from the muscles during exercise symptoms like shakiness, weakness, dizziness, anxiety, confusion, profuse sweating, and extreme muscle fatigue may occur.  Know these first hand!  I consulted with a personal trainer who is well versed in nutrition. He said to try consuming some kind of carbohydrate and protein when symptoms occur and during the cool down.

I have experimented with this and have had great results. I’ve been using Young Living’s Ningxia Red because it is low glycemic and is full of amino acids.  I add 2 ounces to my water bottle at the end of my work out. Within a few minutes the shakes and fatigue is gone. Plus, the next day I’m fine – no hypoglycemic drops or anxiety.

On the other hand,  I’ve even experimented with just a simple carb (like a fruit juice) without the protein, that did NOT work!  Hypoglycemic symptoms lasted for over an hour and the next day I was wiped out.  Pretty good indicator it didn’t work.

Exercise is an important part of repairing the damage from insulin resistance. Also, it helps balance the feel good chemicals in the body that fight anxiety.  Figuring out what works takes experimentation and patience.  It can be frustrating at times but when the solutions are all figured out, it’s worth it!

I had a terrific question posed to me, “What type of supplements do you use for hypoglycemia?”.   Duh, with all of the posts I’ve done recently on how to eat for blood sugar balance, I forgot to address what I’ve used to remedy the crazy blood sugar swings that gave me panic attacks and anxiety.  Be sure to also look at any of my posts on adrenal support.  Recovering their health is extremely important blood sugar balance and anxiety therapy.

As for the correcting insulin resistance and hypoglycemia, I’ve tried just about everything that claimed to balance blood sugar. Many things dropped me too low. So caution: if a product claims to support diabetes (high blood sugar) it does NOT mean it will balance low blood sugar.  Some supplements (cinnamon, ocotea, green tea extract) gave me anxiety because it caused my blood sugars went down into the 50′s.  So anytime I change my supplementation program I only introduce one new thing at a time, test my sugars frequently, and note how I feel until I’ve determined if it’s working well or not.

Through research and personal experimentation, this is what I’ve found that helps regulate my high / low blood sugar swings:

1. Fiber.  I get 7 grams of fiber through my Power Meal. I also eat a lot of non-starchy vegetables, so there is more fiber there. But, the one thing my body really loves as a fiber source is … an apple.  Very complex and hard to find, right?  Every day I have one along with raw almond butter as a meal or snack and my body is happy.  Fiber has been well documented to help regulate blood sugar levels.
2. Omega 3 fatty acids.  These help anxiety, depression, seasonal affective disorder, etc. but as far as blood sugar goes – they are terrific. They help insulin sensitivity as well as cell membrane fluidity.  Huh?  Helps fix the root problem of hypoglycemia and insulin resistance at the cellular level.  Plus, they help perk up my mental attitude.  My prefered Omega 3 source is Omega Blue and my doctor recommends about 5 grams a day.
3. Reservatrol.  This has been shown to support insulin regulation.  I get reservatrol from my True Source food based vitamin / mineral.  I prefer “food” versus synthetic vitamins.
4. Vitamin E.  Another thing shown to improve insulin sensitivity.  The source that I get my Vitamin E from pairs it up with CoQ-10 – which also has been shown to assist with insulin resistance.  I use CoQ-10 from Ortho Molecular Products. It’s available through health practitioners.
5. Coriander oil.  Historically coriander oil has been used for anxiety and to regulate blood sugar.  Makes sense because many times anxiety is caused by blood sugar swings. This has been a LIFE SAVER for regulating my blood sugar levels immediately while all the other nutritionals I take repair the actual problem over time. I ONLY USE THERAPEUTIC GRADE CORIANDER OIL.  Stuff from the health food store is cheap and it can be very unsafe. I just rub 3 drops on veins close to the surface, usually on the wrists or neck once or twice a day.
6. Herbs.  I have played with many herb combinations over the course of the past few years. Some with wild success, other times not.  The most success I’ve seen is through Ortho Molecular’s Diaxinol and Amazon Herb’s Metabazon. I do only 1 Diaxinol a day and 2 Metabazon’s with each meal.

The combination of items above is what I used that addresses swinging blood sugar levels in the now as well as cellular repair in the long run. Because of their role in blood sugar balance, I also support my liver and adrenals. I did a report on called Loving the Liver that outlines what works for me.  Plus, there’s a recorded training I did called Adrenal Intro Audio that’s accessible HERE.