See Monkey Do

When I turned 44 I never dreamed that I would have to hear my Orthopedist say that I had RA (Rheumatoid Arthritis) and it was to the point I had to stop working.

I had been in Customer Service and a Legal Secretary for 17 years and suddenly these words stopped me dead in my tracks and gave me a slice of reality. My Doctor no longer wanted me working in an office or following my career. I would now be at home and on “the light duty list” of life.

He said many flights of stairs were a big no and that I could not jog or do extrememly strenuous exercises. Long walks over a mile were out, yet I could swim and make short walks and ride a stationary bicycle. If I had any pain, I was to take my prescription meds and use the RICE method. Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. I discovered blue ice and used it also. It made my knee feel like it was on fire and then deadened the pain. I finally had to wear a knee brace if I made any long walks or had prolonged sitting or standing. I had a “trick back” with a hiding pinched nerve that sometimes left me no feeling in both legs and put me in a wheelchair. The two herniated discs that stayed aflame didn’t help any either. But, on a good day, I let my cane rest against the wall and feel blessed I could walk normally that day.

So, being a poetess and writer, I purchased a computer, printer and a good word program and began pursuing my real dream….writing. I now have the time to write and research and create. I have to get up and walk about some every hour and do most of my dictation standing, but it does get the creative juices flowing.

At night I have cramping toes, ankles, throbbing knees and a sore neck, but oh it was worth it to write again.

Caitlyn Carrington lives in Texas with her fiance and her two children. She is busy completing the last 4 chapters of her Arthurian Romance novel “The Celtic Soul” and has her own website http://www.caitlyncarrington.tripod.com called “freelancer’s realm” where she hopes to help other writers and poets.

Each month, Anna feels like she is getting further and further behind. The smallest incidents set her off. She cries easily and lashes out at her husband and feels alone with her emotions and her confusion. This may sound familiar to you or resembles the symptoms of a friend you know.

Why do so many women suffer from PMS? Why do so many women take for granted that there can be nothing done about this monthly beast that knocks at their door every month and only every now and then for the rest of us? Many women believe that only medicine can help them; at best, many think that natural herbs will provide some relief, and many times, it is true.

Medical science labels about 150 different PMS symptoms and one would think a permanent cure for all of us could have been found, regardless of which symptom we experience! Such is my findings. I have been working as a therapist in private practice for over 15 years and have decided to research PMS from a different standpoint. I found every woman is very unique even though we all have a hormonal system that medicine would like to treat identically.

After having grappled with PMS myself and finding no cure through conventional medicine, I undertook my own introspection on a path to find a permanent solution. Having succeeded, I then started investigating the subject with women experiencing very diversified PMS symptoms.

Whether it was Anna who was afraid to lose control of her anger while she was menstruating, or Linda, who had not menstruated for over a year and a half, or even Carmen, whose cycles were reducing in length from one month to the next, to the point of bleeding every day, each one found a cure that turned out to be very intimate, personal and unique.

I borrowed an exercise from Neurolinguistic Programming to elucidate the monthly beast. The result? Once every woman finds the hidden message that PMS is trying to convey to her, a healing of some level happens and at best, the disappearance of symptoms. For some women it was overnight, for others it took examining few cycles to get to the depth of the symptoms.
I proposed that every woman look at the pleasure hiding behind their PMS. At first each one of these women thought the idea being absolutely farfetched, even ridiculous. With a little introspection, after listing all the sufferings their PMS provokes every time, the women started to see there could be a benefit of some kind, hence finally making the link with what our subconscious is trying to reveal we have to do about certain issues in our life.”

I also discovered PMS as a hideout for all that we have not attended in our recent or ancient past. It feels as if when life decides we should be ready to deal with an old ghost long hiding in our closet, our soul will make numerous attempts at letting us know we have some cleanup to do. Are we attending to it? I would say not the majority of the time!

There are women who suffer from PMS in relation to atrocious childhood experiences, others start their symptoms after age 30 due to their relationship, job dissatisfaction, or forceful passion to be or do something different, often times letting societal pressure dictate what that should be. I think the only pressure we should listen to is our higher Self - our higher values about life and its nature. The rest only encumbers the success of our mission on earth.

I hope to have created an approach that will guide every woman to contemplate on her own and see the change operate in front of her consciousness. I hope to be able to compare my own findings to Dr. Deepak Chopra’s belief that: “A mind capable of erecting such obstacles must be able to destroy them” and “When patients experience a conversion, it is their perspective on things in their lives that transform, not the facts themselves.”

When I started researching PMS and its realities, nothing was written about linking PMS with our invisible world or our subconscious. I have become convinced that there is little cost to finally heal this beast. On the other hand, there is a great cost for not taking it seriously and not attending to the messages PMS is trying to deliver.

This is a new path to all women who desire to become more conscious and acknowledge they are co-creators of their life, not only their success but their health at all levels.

Pauline Houle is Therapist with 20 years experience. She has a background in Social Work and Psychodynamic trainings that really make a difference in people’s lives. She has a Masters Degree in Transpersonal Studies, which has been a great help in keeping her focused on the big picture of PMS and what women need to know in order to cure it.

Contact: Pauline Houle : pauline@paulinehoule.com
514-277-6097 or 518-563-6834
http://www.paulinehoule.com

Some can see it coming while for others it is sudden, but for 75% of the American women undergoing menopause is part of their lives with no sure or safe cure. It is Hot Flashes.

Hot flashes are an intense hot feeling on the neck and head, accompanied by racing heartbeats, sweating, dizziness, headaches and anxiety, described as vasomotor symptoms. It creates a flushing or redness of the face. Its duration can vary from few minutes to an hour, and is followed by chilliness.

Besides menopausal women, some pregnant women, men undergoing hormone therapy, persons with hyperthyroidism, low blood pressure and low blood sugar suffer from hot flashes occasionally. Women under treatment for cancer suffer from hot flashes regularly.

During hot flashes, the blood vessels on the neck and head dilate and allow more than normal blood to flow through them. Though this process is well-documented, we do not know the cause. The suspicion is on the thermostat action of the hypothalamus, which somehow goes haywire. It may be mainly due to changes of hormonal levels.

Women start having hot flashes just before menopause and gradually stop having them after stabilizing in the post-menopausal period. A fraction, around 10%, have them in old age. The median time is around 3 to 8 years.

Women could live with mild hot flashes without much problem. The ones with moderate hot flashes may take some steps, such as healthy lifestyle changes, exercises and some over-the-counter drugs to manage them. But when the hot flashes are very severe, medical intervention is the only option. The common treatment for hot flashes is estrogen supplements. But with the scare of breast cancer and estrogen linked, other treatments are tried, with success in some cases and unsuccessful in some cases. It is mostly a trial-and-error procedure.

Another factor is very interesting: this condition affects mainly Western women. Studies done in Mexico, Japan, Hong Kong and Pakistan indicate that only about 10% of the menopausal women suffer from hot flashes. We still do know what makes the difference. A person needs to make a personal decision as to what type of treatment is acceptable, considering that the prescription drugs carry a risk and hot flashes are mostly a temporary condition.

How do you wear your high heels? Are you the type that either
never wears them, or do you kick them off and hit the dance
floor in stockinged feet? Have you ever wondered how the
supermodels do it, or the women you see downtown who appear so
comfortable?

Maybe they took an exercise class. Crunch Fitness Gyms in the
U.S. is now offering “Stiletto Strength.” Women can pay their
hard-earned dollars to work out their legs and “prep” them to
wear high heels.

Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but haven’t high heels been around
for a very long time?

I remember learning to wear high heels when I was thirteen years
old. While my mother was at work, I dug through the collection
in her closet, selected my favorite pair - four inches high,
white with a little black ribbon that went all the way around
the opening of the shoe - and I taught myself to walk in them.
True, my first attempts were more clomps than delicate steps,
but I kept at it. Every Saturday that my mother was away, I was
developing my calves, thighs, ankles, knees and feet, on my own!
I didn’t pay anyone.

True, I did manage to give myself a lovely life-time scar from
prancing about in dangerous areas, such as near heating vents on
the floor easily flipped up by the toes of pointy shoes;
however, my scar was borne of where I chose to practice, not the
practicing in and of itself.

I am one of those women who wears high heels with relative
comfort. I don’t take them off in public, even if they’re
killing me - and who are we kidding? Wearing high heels hurts.
Even the gym where these amazing classes can be had makes no
promise that your feet won’t still hurt. They do state what most
high-heel-wearing women already know: it hurts less the more
used to them that you are, but they are never without pain. My
method of endurance came from a positive affirmation gleaned
from Donna Karan’s advice in a Dry Idea deodorant commercial:
“Never let them see you sweat.” I applied that advice to the
endurance needed for wearing high heels. It worked for me for
then, and it’s still working now.

But a class? Unbelievable. Had I but known what a great
money-making plan this would be, I could have been charging
whole classrooms full of my junior and senior high peers!

Classes for wearing high heels. What else can we take classes
on? How to put on a pair of pantyhose? How to sit in a chair or
how to hold a pencil? Oh wait - those last two have been done.
We called those specialized classes, Kindergarten.

I guess I’m just being nostalgic, remembering the days when we
learned standard lessons in standard ways. But if people want to
part with their hard-earned money, I’m thinking I might hold
classes on how to watch T.V.

Contrary to what you thought Sportswear and Chic can go
together. Here’s some helpful tips to achieve that chic
sportswear look:

- Mix white with a a bit of grey or blue - Tuck slim fitting
shirts into loose pants - Tuck fitted tanks into tailored shorts
- Use a belt to define your waste - Keep your hair simple - Keep
your accessories simple - Mix preppy favourites with teenties
inspired seperates - Loose capri pants with a fitted tank and
cotton jacket - Mix and match classic seperates in cool shades

Remember for your sportswear look to take on that chic look
you’ve got to stay focused from head to toe. So this season wear
those casual sportswear seperates and maintain your chic look!