When you hear the term PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), the image that comes to mind is a combat veteran from the military. While many of our troops coming home from foreign wars and conflicts show signs of PTSD, it’s more widespread than that and can effect people from every walk of life. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder can come from any situation involving violence, aggression or disaster. Any incident involving physical, mental or emotional trauma may cause an individual to develop PTSD. Using acupuncture and Chinese medicine can help individuals affected with PTSD to lower anxiety levels and cope with their daily lives better.

The National Institute of Mental Health says that “PTSD, is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened.” They go on to say “traumatic events that may trigger PTSD include violent personal assaults, natural or human-caused disasters, accidents, or military combat.” People who have been victimized may continually re-experience the traumatic event in the form of nightmares or flashbacks. They may become angrier than they previously were and remain in a state of hyper-vigilance. Usually they have difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, which can lead to paranoia and depression. Patients can only be diagnosed with PTSD if they’ve been experiencing these symptoms for over a month and it must negatively effect their work and social life or radically alter their ability to function normally.

As previously mentioned, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder can arise from many different situations. The one constant is that the person believes their life was put in grave danger and their mind is constantly reliving it making it impossible for them to move forward with their life. Examples of these situations might be physical assault, sexual assault, acts of terrorism, natural disaster or mental/emotional trauma. Although most people will experience some kind of trauma over their lifetime, only a small percentage of people will actually develop PTSD. There is evidence to support some genetic predisposition, but early childhood traumas and the severity of the trauma plays a crucial role.

Typically, patients with PSTD are on adrenal overdrive. In Chinese medicine the adrenal glands are correlated to the function of the kidneys, which can be negatively be impacted by fear. The most common Chinese medical diagnosis for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is often a Kidney deficiency, Heart or Spleen deficiency and Shen disturbance (The names of the organs are capitalized, as they are in Chinese medicine, to signify the organ meridian and not to imply there is a physical dysfunction with the organ). Acupuncture and herbal formulas can play an important part in relieving symptoms of PTSD. Auricular points are great to help control areas of the brain regulating stress and nervous function. Using an auricular treatment along with a whole body approach is more applicable to patients with this condition. Also, relaxation techniques and counseling should be employed to complete the healing process.

There two ways that a person may experience PTSD:

1)A person experiences or witnesses a situation where death or serious bodily harm was threatened to either the patient or others

2)The patient experiences intense fear, helplessness, or horror

PTSD symptoms may include, but are not limited to:

•Flashbacks, hallucinations, illusions, and feeling as if the event is recurring

•Angry outbursts

•Obsessive thoughts

•Stressful, recurring dreams

•Marked distress caused by physical or mental signs that resemble the trauma

•Insomnia

•Inability to concentrate

•A hyper-alert state

•Startling easily

•Irritable Bowel Syndrome

PTSD symptoms can begin immediately after a trauma, or manifest later, possibly even years.

The conventional treatment for PTSD utilizes therapy and counseling, and sometimes medications to help with anxiety, depression, insomnia, and lack of concentration.

Treatment using Chinese medicine and acupuncture involves using points to help stimulate the part of the brain where emotional memories are stored as well as help the patient to steadily process the trauma comfortably and safely. The acupuncture treatment should be gentle enough to begin stimulating the brain, emotions, and begin working through the trauma, without actually triggering any symptoms of panic or flashbacks. This may be accomplished with ear (auricular) acupuncture and various body points to help balance the Qi and calm the mind.

Gentle massage may also be helpful before, during, or after the acupuncture treatment. It may help the patient keep a sense of being “grounded” in their body without triggering any symptoms.

Additionally, herbal formulas may be used to help the patient maintain a feeling of calmness and continue processing the trauma in a safe and effective manner.

All of these treatments can be greatly complemented with conventional talk therapy, journal writing, exercise, yoga, meditation, EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique), equestrian therapy, and art therapy. The acupuncture will help you begin processing the trauma as well as keep you feeling balanced, while the other therapies can help provide an outlet for working through the trauma. By combining the different therapies with acupuncture, the patient can have a complete support system to help them work though the trauma and become free of the hold PTSD has on their life.

Post traumatic stress disorder is a severe anxiety disorder caused by serious trauma. Post traumatic stress disorder can cause flashbacks and nightmares and ongoing negative thoughts and emotions, along with a negative inner voice. PTSD often results in an inability to sleep or stay asleep. It negatively affects behavior, relationships and job performance.

Many military personnel who return from war experience PTSD. Its symptoms are often quite severe and continuous. Many experience childhood trauma and spousal and other traumas that result in PTSD. Conventional medical intervention can help stabilize and reduce symptoms. But, conventional treatment alone is not enough to end PTSD.

To end PTSD, integrated holistic therapy is also needed.

The holistic approach seeks to end the emotional grip of the trauma that caused the PTSD and help move the person toward happiness – an ongoing feeling of inner peace, peace of mind and joy. This requires a combination of mindfulness and positive thinking exercises, zone-out meditation, deep breathing exercises, visualization exercises (intended to flush out the painful past), heart-centered, spiritual prayer and Reiki and other forms of energy healing (such as acupuncture, acupressure, integrated energy therapy and emotional freedom techniques).

The holistic approach also relies on diet, exercise and natural supplements to help reduce anxiety and depression, common symptoms of PTSD.

The holistic approach is intended to provide the patient with the tools needed to end the emotional grip of the trauma and thereby stop ongoing negative thoughts and emotions, an ongoing inner voice and end related anger, depression and anxiety.

Most of us were born happy, full of wonder and positive energy. Then trauma hits. The traumas in life often change our beliefs from positive to negative, from “the world is a wonderful place” to “the world is a scary place.” These traumas cause us to hold onto painful memories and the related negative emotions. These traumas change our beliefs from positive to negative in the unconscious and conscious minds.

These negative beliefs then lead to negative thoughts and a negative inner voice. The negative thoughts and negative inner voice lead to a state of agitation and ongoing negative emotions, such as anger, guilt, fear, anxiety, worry.

Our thoughts and inner voice effect our emotional state and our emotional state effects our minds. Our emotional state affects the state of our minds. The state of our energy bodies directly affects our thoughts and emotional state.

Traumas often do terrible damage to the energy body. Traumas create emotional blockages. These emotional blockages manifest as energy blockages in our energy body (chakras and meridians in particular) that restrict the free flow of chi energy through us. These traumas can separate us from our higher self (soul) and inner child at the same time, robbing us of any ongoing feeling of inner peace, joy and wonder along with peace of mind.

A damaged energy body along with energy blockages and attachments can negatively impact brain chemistry and brain waves. They lead to a negative inner voice and negative thought patterns along with depression, anxiety and mood disorders.

Happiness is achieved and maintained when you feel ongoing peace in your heart and torso, sustain a peaceful mind and feel ongoing joy (high vibrations). To achieve and maintain this ongoing feeling, we need a healthy energy body. We need to live in our heart/body center and not our heads. We need to live in the flow and in the moment with full attention and awareness. When in the moment, we do not want to live in our thoughts about the future or the past or somewhere else. To achieve a state of happiness we need to do the inner work (meditaiton, prayer and visualizations)and get energy healing.

Negative energy is toxic. If negative energy gets into our energy field, it will lead to negative thoughts and a negative inner voice. These negative thoughts lead to ongoing negative emotions and negative acts, and speech. They lower our vibrations.

Happiness requires us to raise our vibrations and cultivate a peaceful spirit and mind – ongoing peace of mind, inner peace and joy. Happiness requires us to change our conscious and unconscious beliefs from negative to positive (this is done primarily through energy healing and positive affirmations). Happiness requires us to achieve inner peace and peace of mind and raise our vibrations. This is done primarily through meditation and visualizations.

For happiness, we must let go of most beliefs (and certainly all rigid and negative beliefs) and open our hearts and minds. We must change our beliefs from negative to positive through energy healing and positive affirmations. When our beliefs change from negative to positive, our thoughts and inner voice will change from negative to positive. When our thoughts change from negative to positive our acts and speech will change from negative to positive.

While rigid and negative beliefs lead to negative thoughts, negative energy blockages and attachments compel negative thoughts and a negative inner voice. Negative energy blockages and attachments must be flushed out and cut through meditation, visualizations and Reiki and other forms of energy healing. So long as we consciously or unconsciously hold onto painful memories and the negative energy they generate, this will compel negative beliefs, negative thoughts and a negative inner voice.

Positive energy/life force is the antidote to negative energy. Positive energy is high vibration energy. It counters and burns off negative, low vibration energy. It cleans out the negative energy blockages that come from trauma. Energy healing is needed to end the emotional/energy grip of trauma. When the energy body is healed, the memory will still be there, but the emotional grip of the memory will fade.

Reiki and other forms of energy healing are important. But, you need to play a role in healing your energy body. Your role is through daily meditation in the heart, prayer from the heart, visualization exercises, positive affirmations, mindfulness, positive thinking and living in the moment with full attention and awareness. You must also sincerely forgive yourself and all others, so you can enjoy your life going forward.With these exercises, coupled with Reiki and other forms of energy healing, you will be healed and you will feel a lot better.

Live in a way that maximizes positive energy and minimizes negative energy. Build up positive energy (inner power, balance and love) within yourself through daily meditation and prayer exercises and by cultivating love and positive energy through your daily routine. Reduce stress in your life. Be kind, positive and patient. Smile, laugh and enjoy music. Focus on the positive.

To be happy requires you to live in the moment with full awareness and engagement. To live in the moment with full awareness and engagement requires you to live in your heart and your senses and not in your thoughts. This requires you to be mindful of your thoughts and to (a) stop (i) negative thoughts, (ii) thoughts that are in the past or future and (iii) thoughts that take you away from the moment and then (b) get back to the moment.

The path to happiness is self love, high self esteem and high self confidence. As you do the inner work, happiness will automatically follow..

To achieve happiness, you need to substantially reduce stress. Most stress comes from ongoing negative thoughts and a negative inner voice. But, it is also important to reduce stress factors and triggers. To accomplish this, we must avoid people, situations and environments that stress us out. To reduce stress, we must avoid conflict and drama and clash of egos. We must accept, forgive, detach and let go. Coping skills are important. They involve positive thinking techniques, learning how to get back into balance, being able to put events and situations into perspective and building and maintaining boundaries.

We can’t change the past and the future is unknown. We cannot control or change others. But, we can change our reactions and we can change our own energy through Reiki and other forms of energy healing and inner work.

Reiki and Energy Healing

Reiki is a method of stress reduction and relaxation. It is a form of energy healing. It comes from Zen Buddhism in Japan. It is often used with other forms of energy healing such as integrated energy therapy, acupuncture and massage. The Reiki practitioner channels chi energy (Divine, life force energy) into the patient to promote healing. The practitioner can provide Reiki healing hands on or long distance. If provided hands on, the recipient can sit up or lie down, fully clothed.

Reiki and integrated energy therapy works to cleanse and heal the energy body (the soul/higher self, aura, chakras, meridians and nadis). Each of us has an energy body that is incorporated into the physical body. Each cell of our body is mostly energy. Reiki works to restore healthy energy in the cells. A healthy energy body draws, processes and distributes chi energy through the body. If the energy body is blocked or damages by stress, trauma or negativity, chi energy is not properly drawn in, processed and delivered. It does not flow freely, as it would in a person with a clean, healthy and intact energy body, a person in a balanced and relaxed state. Illness ensues.

Reiki is used to help get the energy body to function properly again and to relax and de-stress the body. The energy body consists of the soul or higher self, the aura, the chakras, the meridians and the nadis. The soul or higher self is Divine and is our source of chi energy (life force energy) from the Divine. The soul connects to the aura and heart chakra. When we are fully connected to our souls and our aura, chakras, meridians and nadis are cleansed and healed, chi energy flows freely into and through us. This keeps us healthy (mentally, emotionally and physically) and moves us to ongoing peace of mind and an ongoing feeling of inner peace and joy.

When healthy, the aura is an intact and vibrant energy field that surrounds our body. The body contains many chakras. Chakras are whirling vortexes that break down chi energy and deliver it to the meridians and nadis. The main charkas are found on the torso, throat, forehead, and crown. The meridians and nadis are energy channels that correspond to the arteries, veins and nerves. These energy channels deliver chi energy to each of the cells and organs (including the brain).

If the flow of chi energy is blocked, this will result in illness. Energy blockages come from stress, negativity and trauma. Stress, negativity and trauma often open the energy body. Negative or dark energy (which is all around us) flows into the energy body and embeds in the cells as a result of trauma, and then blocks chi energy (positive energy) from flowing properly.

Blockages from trauma lead to PTSD and brain disorders. The blockages can be seen as emotional blockages that hold the trauma and related negative emotions in the cells. The blockages can be removed through Reiki and other forms of energy healing including integrated energy therapy and acupuncture. They can also be removed through inner work- meditation, prayer and visualizations.

Trauma will rip and tear the aura. some soul loss occurs and negative and dark energy can invade a damaged energy body and lead to a feeling of incompleteness, a negative inner voice and obsessive and running negative thoughts. Reiki and other forms of energy healing such as integrated energy therapy help repair these cracks and fissures and restore our connection with our souls.

Reiki and other forms of energy therapy along with meditation, prayer and visualization exercises will help repair the energy body and this will lead to inner peace, peace of mind, happiness and feeling balanced and good again.

Mindfulness and Positive Thinking Exercises

Your thoughts have a direct impact on your emotions. Your emotions determine your well being. Your emotions determine whether you are happy or unhappy, agitated or peaceful, confident or full of self doubt. Your thoughts determine whether you feel good about yourself, others and the world.

The people you think about become the most important people in your life. The events or things you think about become the most important events and things in your life. So, if these people, events or things make you feel unhappy, angry, hateful, worried or agitated, they are negative. If they make you feel happy, balanced and good, they are positive.

You can control your thoughts. But, first you need energy healing. This is because a damaged energy body and energy blockages and attachments will lead to negative thoughts, obsessive thoughts, a negative inner voice and ruminations. So, the first step is to get energy healing. Next, you will need to do daily, heart-centered meditation and spiritual prayer exercises along with visualizations. These exercises are set forth below.

To stop a negative inner voice and ongoing negative thoughts, you must assert control over your thoughts and your beliefs. You must adopt open and positive beliefs. Open and positive beliefs lead to positive thoughts. Negative and rigid beliefs lead to negative thoughts. Positive affirmations are a great way to change your beliefs from negative to positive. YouTube contains many positive affirmation exercises that you can do. In the beginning, you will need to do them a few times each day, especially in the morning and at night. Rigid beliefs must give way to an open mind. This is because rigid beliefs lead to negative thoughts, conflict and drama. Our goal is inner peace and balance.

Also, take a few minutes each morning and evening to express gratitude for all you have. Focus on life, health, friends and family, food, shelter, clothing, all the body parts that work, etc. Daily expressions of gratitude help transform our thoughts from negative to positive. They take our focus off loss or lack and bring our focus to our blessings.

You can change your beliefs and thoughts through application of your conscious will and intent to that task. As you consciously adopt positive and open beliefs and change your thoughts from negative to positive, you will feel more positive, balanced and happy.

Negative thoughts are thoughts that generate anger, fear, hate and jealousy. These emotions felt on an on an ongoing basis and related ongoing thoughts are toxic and lead to depression and anxiety. They also will drain your energy, the energy you need for life and happiness.

Positive thoughts are thoughts that make you feel happy and good inside. They are thoughts that make you feel balanced and peaceful. To change your thoughts and thought patterns, you must be mindful of your thoughts and emotions.

The key is mindfulness. Mindfulness is the process by which you become fully aware of your thoughts and change them from negative to positive. Through mindfulness, you consciously monitor your thoughts and emotions. Then, you consciously apply your will and change them from negative to positive. Through mindfulness, you quickly identify when you have negative emotions – i.e., anger, fear, worry, guilt, resentment, regrets, etc. Then you quickly identify the beliefs and thoughts that are causing these emotions and you change them from negative to positive.

Positive thoughts require open beliefs and an open mind. This requires you to let go of rigid and narrow beliefs and change them to positive and open ones (through positive affirmations). You then use your mind more for observation and tasks and less about judging and analyzing people.

Positive thinking requires you to forgive self and others and to let go of past wrongs and the grip of past traumas and injuries. Look at the painful past as lessons and nothing more. Then let go of it. To let go and detach from the painful past is forgiveness. This is important for positive thinking.

Rigid beliefs lead to negative thoughts. This is because rigid beliefs lead to opinion and judgment-oriented thoughts. These thoughts tend to generate negative energy/emotions and drain your life force energy. They tend to keep you in a state of agitation. This is especially true with respect to rigid opinions and beliefs about self and others.

So, for positive thoughts and positive thought patterns, it is essential to open your mind, let go of negative and rigid beliefs and stop ongoing opinion/judgment thoughts. Become more of an observer and suspend judgment and opinion to the extent possible.

Go with the flow. Avoid clash of wills and conflict. This leads to negative thoughts and negative thought patterns. Accept others for what and who they are and what they believe. Do not try to change them. Your efforts to change others will lead to negative thoughts. The only person you can change is yourself. So, focus your efforts on that task.

The conscious mind is affected by subconscious beliefs. So, for positive thinking and positive thought patterns, it is essential to change your deeply held beliefs from “negative and rigid” to “positive and open/flexible.” Likewise, it is essential for you to adopt positive and kind beliefs about yourself and purge conscious and subconscious memories of the painful past and past injuries. This will quiet the negative and critical inner voice and replace it with a kind and positive inner voice.

In order to change beliefs and open your mind, do the meditation and visualization exercises and positive affirmations described below.

Positive thinking requires you to open your heart and fill yourself with unconditional love. This leads to an ongoing feeling of inner peace and happiness and quiets the negative inner voice. It is difficult to have positive thoughts when you feel bad. So, it is important to cultivate an ongoing feeling of peace and happiness. These wonderful feelings you will experience in your heart and torso. This is done by the meditation and visualization exercises described below and by purging negative energy/emotions you may be holding onto – i.e., anger, fear, anxiety, sadness, resentment, regrets, guilt, etc.

Thoughts that make you feel agitated, angry, afraid, depressed, hateful or jealous are negative thoughts. If you feel agitated, then change your thoughts. Otherwise, stop your thoughts altogether and be in the moment, in your heart and in your senses. When you experience life in the moment, you will stop negative thoughts. When you experience life through your heart and senses and not through your thoughts, you will be more happy, balanced and peaceful.

Positive thoughts are thoughts that are focused on positive and productive activities such as work, errands, the daily routine, studies and enjoyable events. They are focused on details and process and not results. They are focused on positive plans. They are focused on loved ones and how to make loved ones happy.

Negative thoughts are often thoughts that are focused on the painful past, the anxious future or the people who hurt you. These negative thoughts crowd out thoughts about the positive, kind and loving people and pets in your life and happy memories.

Positive thoughts are focused thoughts. Negative thoughts tend to be unfocused thoughts. Negative thoughts tend to come from the side and back of the head. Positive thoughts come from the middle of the forehead. Thoughts become unfocused and then go negative if we do not control them. Unfocused thoughts often lead to a negative inner voice. This negative inner voice is often critical and judgmental toward self and others and it generates a lot of negative energy for us.

Negative thoughts are ego-oriented thoughts. The ego-oriented thoughts that are negative are self -oriented thoughts that make you feel unhappy or bad. These include thoughts in that judge self or others, thoughts that make you feel like a victim, feel self pity, fear, anxiety, anger, hate, etc.

To be a positive thinker, one must elevate heart and soul over ego and intellect in governance of self. Heart centered meditation, spiritual prayer and visualizations will help achieve this. Heart centered meditation, spiritual prayer and visualizations will help subdue ego, negative thoughts, negative thought patterns and a negative inner voice.

To have positive thoughts, positive thought patterns and a positive inner voice, you need to assert control of your thoughts through application of your will. The locus of your will is the middle of your forehead. The middle of your forehead is the place where you focus your thoughts. The middle of your forehead is the place where you control your thoughts. Focus on the positive and still the inner voice.

As mentioned above, what and who you focus on become the focus of your thoughts. Your thoughts then determine your emotional state. But, you have the power to control and focus your thoughts. You just need the tools to make it happen.

Here are some tools:

White, green and blue cloud meditation

Sit comfortably close your eyes and focus on your breath. Get relaxed. Visualize a bright white cloud slightly above you. Now breathe that cloud deep into your body. Draw it in. Feel it fill your body up with pure white light. Next, do the same exercise with a light blue cloud and then a green cloud. Visualize that these colors – white, green and light blue- fill up your entire body and head and create an intact color aura around you. White is for inner peace, happiness and joy along with healing. Green is for healing depression. Light blue is for healing anxiety. If you have trouble visualizing the colors white, green and light blue, then look at the colors and then close your eyes and imagine them. Look at the clouds for white, the grass and trees for green and the sky and water for light blue and then visualize them with your eyes closed.

Deep breathing exercises

Sit comfortably or lie down. Close your eyes and shift from your head into your heart. Get relaxed. Breathe deeply through your nose into your heart. Hold your breath there for five seconds then breathe out through your mouth. Focus only on your breaths as any thoughts that come in drift away. Visualize that you are breathing in bright white light as pure unconditional love on the in breaths and exhaling all negativity as black smoke on the out breaths. Let go of all negativity. Fill yourself with visualized white light and inner peace. Focus only on your breath Focus on your deep breaths anytime you get anxious or angry. The mind can only focus on one thing at a time. So, as you focus on your breath, the

Meditation/visualizations to get rid of negativity

Here is an exercise to get rid of a stored trauma and the stored related emotions -i.e., anger, fear and anxiety: visualize the image of the painful event from the past or the image that worries you about the future. Close your eyes and visualize this image in a glass ball that hovers a few feet in front of you. Put your hands on this visualized ball and push it with force deep into the ground. Hear and feel the energy cords that attach you to the image snap and fall away. Do this over and over until the image no longer has an energetic grip on you and all related anger and fear melt away. As you push the ball deep into the ground say the following to yourself: “Into the ground, into the core go away, melt away, gone.” In deep meditation, visualize positive scenes that make you feel happy. Focus on scenes from nature and celebrations.Smile.

Alpha, Beta, Delta and Theta Brain Wave Entrainment

Alpha, beta, delta and theta brain wave exercises can be found on YouTube. They provide sound therapy that will help bring brain waves and brain chemistry back to normal. This will help when it comes to positive thinking, inner peace, peace of mind and joy.

Distract and Substitute

When negative thoughts or images come into your mind, shift from your head to your heart and focus solely on your breath. Put your hand over your heart and shift your being to that location in your body and out of your head and thoughts. Always carry an image or images in the back of your mind that makes you happy, whether it is a scene from nature, a loved one, a pet, a place or a scene from the past. When negative thoughts or images come into your mind, identify them, and then distract and substitute. Substitute the negative thoughts or images for positive ones.

Be in the moment with full attention and awareness. Observe and focus on details, process and substance. When in the moment, do not let thoughts take you somewhere else, whether it is the past, the future or another place. Each time they do, re-focus on what we are doing and where you are in the moment. Do not let thoughts rob you of the precious moments of life. When you are done with these focused thoughts, shift out of your head and into your heart and be in the moment, experiencing the moment with your senses and not ongoing thoughts.

When negative thoughts come in, do the following: smile, close your eyes and do some deep breathing exercises. Breathe deeply into your heart or abdomen and focus only on your breath only. Alternatively, stop thinking altogether and just be focused on what you encounter in the moment. Put your hand over your heart and shift your energy there. Now, just be in the moment. Fully experience the moment in your body center and your senses and not in your thoughts. Become an observer. Suspend judgment or analysis of what you encounter in the moment. Just encounter it.

Distract the negative thoughts with music, prayer and mantras. Focus on music. By focusing on music prayer and mantras, your mind will not be able to focus on the negative thoughts. Focus on others who you encounter with some positive words and conversation, some kind words and acts.

Spiritual Prayer

Pray from your heart daily with your eyes closed. Pray with complete focus on the substance of your prayers. Thank and praise the Divine, ask for forgiveness from the Divine and offer all negativity to the Divine. Ask the Divine to take all negativity from you. Visualize that the negativity is lifted from you, making you feel lighter. Forgive yourself and all others and ask the Divine for healing, protection and blessings and know you are forgiven and will be blessed. This will generate positive energy for your health and happiness.

Additional Matters

Stay heart centered and in the moment as much as possible and stay centered in the middle of your forehead with full focus on the moment

Live in your heart and senses and not in your thoughts – stay focused on the details of the moment and experience these details with your senses (when thoughts take you away from the moment, shift back to your heart or body center and the details of the moment)

Believe that life is a precious gift and meant to be enjoyed and that your birthright is to feel happy and peaceful inside

Get into nature often – breathe deeply when in nature (large bodies of water and running water help relieve anxiety and trees and woods help relieve depression). Get moderate sunlight often

When negative thoughts and images come in, shift into your heart and focus on your breath, then on the moment and/or distract and substitute positive images for negative ones

Focus most of your positive attention on the precious loved ones and pets in your life

Focus on positive activities that bring you inner peace and joy

Do something fun, positive and enjoyable each day including nice walks, bicycle, exercise, yoga.

Maximize the positive and minimize the negative in your daily routine

Smile and laugh – watch comedies

Make your home peaceful, harmonious and orderly

Turn off the news and turn on melodic, joyful and harmonious music

Avoid conflict and drama and negative and toxic people and environments

Eat a high nutrient diet (primarily fresh vegetables, fruit, nuts, berries and seeds). Avoid processed foods, refined sugar and starches as much as possible. Exercise daily – cardio and light weights. Stretch and adopt good posture to enhance the flow of chi energy in your body

Holistic research indicates the benefits of the following natural supplements for anxiety and sleep disorders: B complex vitamins, valerian root, holy basil, kava kava, dark chocolate, melatonin, chamomile, passion flower,Gamma-aminobutyric Acid (GABA) andtryptophan (consult your physician)

Holistic research indicates the benefits of the following natural supplements for depression: vitamins C, D3 and B complex, 5 htp, SAMe, Magnesium, St.John’s Wort, Colloidal Gold and Silver and Omega 3 Fatty Acids (flaxseed and fish oil supplements) (consult your physician)

Crystals help with anxiety and depression because they interact positively with the energy body to calm and balance it and raise its vibrations; Carry crystals in your left pocket, hold them in your left hand when meditating and put them over your heart when you meditate lying down – angel light or light blue crystals are good for inner peace, green crystals such as green aventurine and jade are good for depression, rose quartz is good for healing the heart chakra and citrine, orgone and clear quartz will help raise your vibrations. Crystals interact positively with the energy body. Gold will also help raise your vibrations and balance your energy. You can also hold gold in your left hand when meditating and put it over your heart when you meditate yying down.

Take salt baths with lavender essential oil to calm your energy and extract negative energy.

Take showers to extract negative energy (visualize that the water from the shower that streams on your body washes away all negative energy.

Smell essential oils that calm, raise and balance your energy; these essential oils include lavender, rose, floral, orange and citrus, bergamot, cypress, geranium, jasmine, melissa, neroli, sandalwood, vanilla and ylang-ylang.