Tag Archives: Self Care

Want To Stop Feeling Depressed?

It is a gray and rainy day on the Big Island of Hawaii.

I started the day with a conversation with a depressed (and depressing) friend.

It really set the mood for the morning.  My friends dark energy just seemed to cling to me.

When I took my daughter to the bus, the cold wind and pounding rain seemed to match my mood.

Last week when we were traveling down our road on the way to the school bus stop, my daughter was awe struck by the beautiful view, and grabbed the camera to take a picture through the wind shield, which was over due for a cleaning.

I was so surprised when I got home and took a look at the picture.

stop feeling depressed

Through that dirty window, she had captured the awesome beauty of the morning.

I chuckled, and thought, “wow, awesome beauty shines so brightly, ya don’t notice how murky your field of vision is.”

It reminded me of life.  No matter how stuck in the mud you are, just keep your eye on awesome, and you will be transformed.

 

Today, just the memory of that beautiful morning shines a light on my dark mood.

I am blessed.

You don’t have to be depressed.

Reach out to friends and family with the intention of uplifting spirits and you’ll find that is exactly what you’ll do!

 

Many blessings,

Carrie Tucker, RCP

The Life Breath Coach

Heart Failure Solutions

PS– Remember everyday:

  • Relax and Release tension
  • Exhale Slowly
  • Be active in a way that adds joy to your life

Plus pure water ~whole foods~sunshine~and laughter

If You wheeze do you have asthma

If You Wheeze, Do You Have Asthma?

If You wheeze do you have asthma

Does wheezing mean that you have asthma? 

Good question.

Your doctor will diagnose you with asthma when you have wheezing that reoccurs over an extended period of time.

You just have “reactive airways” when you wheeze with a cold, and it goes away.  When you return to your doctor complaining of ongoing wheezing, you are eventually considered “asthmatic”.

 

Asthma is considered to be a disease that “inflames and narrows the airways”.

 

It is commonly accepted that asthma is not curable, and it lies dormant waiting to flare up at anytime.

The treatment for asthma is a combination of oral and inhaled medication to make your airways less inflamed.

Recently advisers to the FDA recommended that the drugs, salmeterol (Serevent) and formoterol (Foradil), not be used for young children and there is concern for young adults.

They want the drugs used for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but not asthma.

 

These drugs are considered to carry too high a risk for asthma-related complications and death!

These drugs have been used routinely to TREAT asthma and COPD for years.

Now they are saying that they are just too dangerous when used without steroids!

 

Steroids are used to reduce inflammation

Does any of that make sense to you?

Heck, doesn’t make any sense to me, and I have been taking care of asthma patients for well over 20 years.

 

So if you wheeze, DO you have asthma?

Do you have a disease you will have to medicate the rest of your life?

Maybe you do, and maybe you don’t.

 

You certainly DO have the power to reduce inflammation, and you can do it without dangerous drugs!

Less inflammation is always a good thing.

However, there is a bigger issue here that we need to talk about.

 

Wheezing can also be caused by fluid in the lungs.

  1. There are a variety of reasons that you might have fluid in your lungs.
  2. Fluid in your lungs is a cause for major concern. 
  3. The cause of your fluid imbalance should be identified as soon as possible!

Heart Failure is often MIS-diagnosed as asthma!

 

If you are actually dealing with heart failure, low oxygen levels are a huge concern!

Oxygen and other essential nutrients can not be transported where they need to go when you have excess fluid interfering with the process!

Tight wheezy lungs can compound a fluid retention situation quickly for a heart failure patient.

Shortness of breath can become a scarey trip to the hospital, QUICK!

 

Even if you don’t have heart failure, fluid retention robs your health.

The excess fluid you retain over works your heart.

Low oxygen level will cause quick distress to a failing heart.

 

If you are wheezing, you are definitely experiencing inflammation and narrowing of your airways.

Whether you actually have asthma or not, how do you reduce the inflammation in your breathing passages that causes your wheezing?

You just read that the FDA has issued warning about the safety of asthma drugs.  They don’t do that often.  In fact, there are many drugs available today that science is proving to be harmful without any warning being issued to the user.

Your doctor gets to decide if what you are drugging is worse than the side effects of the drug you are about to swallow?

Or do YOU want to decide if you are willing to take the risk of developing deadly side effects?

 

To Reduce Inflammation:

  • Remember that only fresh fruits and vegetables and fresh fruit and vegetable juices become alkaline in your body.  Everything else is acid forming.
  • Sip water all day.
  • Avoid prepared fruit juice and soda.  (If you drink your fruit you are better off using a blender than a juicer.)
  • Eat nuts raw, not roasted.

 

  • Sit for a few minutes in quiet stillness daily.
  • Keep your meat and dairy consumption to a minimum.
  • Focus on slow exhale all day.  (Lift your chin and explore your slow exhale followed by a short pause if you can.)
  • Get plenty of sustained activity.
  • Choose peace and happiness.

If you reduce inflammation, you will reduce the incidence and severity of your wheezing and shortness of breath.

Your joint pain will diminish.

You will sleep better.

Your mental irritability will decrease, and your attitude will improve.

If you wheeze, do you have asthma?

Reduce your inflammation and find out if your wheezing goes away.

Need Help?

Join the Life Breath Club

 

Many blessings,

Carrie Tucker, RCP

The Life Breath Coach

Heart Failure Solutions

 

PS-  If you have severe swelling at your ankles, and you have just been diagnosed with asthma, get a second opinion!

PPS– Remember everyday:

  • Relax and Release tension

  • Exhale Slowly

  • Be active in a way that adds joy to your life

Plus pure water ~whole foods~sunshine~and laughter.

 

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Is Passion Love?

Nick's flowers

My three year old has been passionate about flowers since before he could walk.

Every now and then we spend time together gathering a bouquet to bring color to our home.

His awe of flowers is a precious thing to watch.

Is that innocent passion pure love?

Love is your soul’s directive.

You can feel like a worn out hag at 30 something, and then find self love at 40 something, and feel like a kid again.

Passion makes you wake in the morning with a twinkle in your eye.

If it is a positive passion, it will cause you to focus with intensity, and manifest positive experiences in your life.

Have you ever heard of the law of attraction?

You attract into your life what you focus on.  Passion certainly causes a very intense focus!

What is a positive passion? Continue reading Is Passion Love?

Caregiver, When Is Death a Valid Choice?

Caregiver, when is death a valid choice?UPDATE 12/28/2012

Do you ever ask yourself when is it okay to choose death?

That may sound like a ridiculous question.

However, when you are dealing with chronic illness in the elderly population the answer is, whenever the patient chooses it.

As a caregiver that can be difficult to accept.

Difficult it may be, but beyond your care and nurturing, your patient’s health and wellness is beyond your control.

You can offer care and advice, but it is up to your patient to choose life … or not.

Many patients feel that their disease has eliminated the opportunity to choose hope and they are tired of suffering.

Sometimes the pain is so obvious that the family prays for an end to the suffering right along with them.

Though, it can be difficult sometimes to see how much pain someone else is in.  You can’t walk a mile in their shoes.

If suffering isn’t obvious, it may be very difficult for you to accept that a loved one has given up!

You likely won’t give up on them even if they give up on themselves!

The good news is that there are LOTS of simple ways to ease pain and discomfort.

You can do a lot for your loved one!  When their pain level subsides a bit, they may find a little leftover hope to help themselves!

The answer is not drugs!

 

The most respectful thing you can offer a loved one is the right to die with dignity.

Unfortunately, that could take months to years, and the only thing you can do, is offer your care.  Privacy is something to take very seriously. If you can honor their space and keep them comfortable, you are doing all you can.

Educate yourself so that you will know what they need, but leave the decisions up to them as much as possible. If that means drugging their pain, that is their choice.  What you can offer is the idea that there are solutions available.

Let them know “death is a valid choice”!  

It might be enough to shake them up and make them realize that they are making a choice. 

AND that they can choose differently.

 

Supplemental oxygen will help alleviate pain. 

Though, if you have to force it on the patient it likely won’t benefit them as much as the fight will hurt them!

Encourage your loved one to use oxygen to keep them more comfortable, but if they refuse, be gentle with them AND yourself, and allow them that choice.

They will need to help themselves because you just can’t do that for them.

 

Using oxygen through the night will make a HUGE difference! 

This is a great way to convince them that supplemental oxygen is worth the effort and irritation.

If you meet a lot of resistance to your encouragement to use utilize supplemental oxygen at bed time, try starting oxygen when they get up in the middle of the night to urinate.

At 3am their oxygen level is probably at it’s lowest point, due to fluid creeping into their lungs while they are horizontal.

If you can get them to comply with night time use, they should benefit noticeably from the effort very quickly.  Journal their feelings for them because you may need to convince them that it is helping even when it is obvious!

Sometimes feeling better can motivate further change.  Your loved one may choose to do more to help themselves when they notice it is making a difference!

Encourage supplemental oxygen with activity next, though realize that public use of oxygen is usually resisted due to pride and convenience.

Just enhancing sleep and activity with supplemental oxygen is a great place to start!  If you can get them to do that much, bring them to the “Life Breath Club” and let the “Life Breath Coach” talk them into taking another simple action to help themselves.  They will turn the corner one step at a time!

 

As the “Life Breath Coach” I teach an Action Plan I call BLESS.

It works like gang busters to cause healing for the individual that radiates out into their community.

B – Breathe

Learn how your breathing makes you sick and what you can do about it.

L – Love

Learn how to navigate life from your heart space.  Love really IS the answer.

E – Eat

Discover why it is more difficult to nurture your health with food than it use to be.

S – Sit

It is difficult to cultivate Stillness in this day and age, but it is an important key to your healing.

  • Seek Quiet Stillness
  • Invite Natures Healing Power
  • Take Time To Connect

S – Speak

Sacred Breathing will create miraculous healing and give your Voice strength.

Use your Voice to tell your story to give others hope to heal!

Heal Your Heart

Embrace Change

Lift Spirits To Raise Hope

Put People First

Strong communities have the power to heal heart disease.  It’s a scientific fact that nurturing communities WILL prevent heart disease and stop the epidemic of heart failure that the world is facing today.  The studies were done in the 1960s that prove it!  It’s up to each of us to create strong nurturing communities.

Will Yours Be the Next BLESSed Life?  Will Yours Be the Next BLESSed Community?

 

Become a member of the “Life Breath Club” today!

Click on the link below to learn more about member benefits.

Life Breath Club Member Benefits

This is a private membership to protect your medical privacy.

It’s FREE!

 

Many blessings,

Carrie Tucker, RCP

The Life Breath Club

Heart Failure Solutions

 

PS-  Most importantly, take care of yourself!

You will be a much better caregiver and have more to offer, if you nurture yourself.

 

PPS– Remember everyday:

  • Relax and Release tension
  • Exhale Slowly
  • Be active in a way that adds Joy to your life

Plus pure water ~whole foods~sunshine~and laughter