Apple Cider Vinegar

I have to admit, I get a few weird looks from family when they see my disturbing cringe at drinking a glass of apple cider vinegar, but it is a small price to pay for the amount of benefits it holds for you. There are SO many benefits I couldn't possibly list them all, but if you are looking for an inexpensive and effective cure for one of the following listed in the rest of this post, apple cider is worth giving a go.

My top 5 movies to change your mood

Sometimes when I am in a mood, when I'm feeling a bit down and my mind won't stop replaying things over and over again (catastrophic, mind reading... etc), I like to lie down in bed and watch a movie that really moves me. I know they say its good to sit with your feelings, but sometimes you do need a break. An inspiring movie always seems to be a great influence in changing my mood. The following are a couple of my favourite inspirational movies, ones that make me smile, take me out of my own mind or even make me cry, sometimes our bodies need a good cleanse/ cry to make us feel better again :) I have also chosen movies that might not be the obvious choice for inspiration.

What is Mindfulness?

Stressed out? too busy for yoga? no time for caring for yourself? overworked? sad? Well this little nifty technique called "mindfulness" may just be the thing you need. My first exposure to this now "trendy" form of meditation, was through a therapy group called Dialectal Behavior Therapy, or DBT for short (this is a therapy originally created for people with borderline personality disorder, to help them recognise there emotions in situations and cope with them in a healthy way). Previous to this group, I had never heard of mindfulness. It is so important to mental wellbeing that they do round of minfulness in between each DBT group and now rehabilitation and meditation centers have bought it into practice, to help the every day person relax, feel grounded and more stable. Following is a brief summary of what mindfulness is, what it is helpful for and a few little techniques Ive learnt along my hospital and meditation course adventures.

Healthy recipe of the week

Yes, another glorious week has yet again arrived rather quickly. My weekend was quite interesting, I went to a lecture on re connective healing and volunteered to have it done to me. I must say it was quite a strange sensation, I lay on a massage table, eyes closed, while the teacher held her hands over me, I felt like electricity was running through my body, it was quite amazing. This healing technique is meant to aid in healing ailments you might have and has been said to have fixed bad backs, depression and even addiction. I wonder if it will fix anything for me? I'll let you know if it does.

This weeks healthy recipe is one from my favourite healthy Australian Chef, Teresa Cutter. If you like the meal suggestion, be sure to check out her website at the bottom of the post for many more healthy meal ideas :)

x

Healing benefits of spices #1

 I add spices to most of my meals, cinnamon on my cereal in the morning, turmeric and cumin 

sprinkled on vegies for lunch and paprika on my quinoa for dinner. I originally started adding 

spices because they make a dish taste a thousand times more delicious, then I started doing it 

to cut down on my salt usage, but now I do it for an additional reason, because of their health 

benefits. You'll be surprised at how many spices you have in your pantry, contain health 

benefits that are beyond your wildest dreams. Here are a few of my favourite spices and their 

healing properties.

Healthy recipe of the week

Sometimes when it get's to be mid week, I am tired and lack a bit of motivation to be very healthy. Luckily I always find that if I go back through some of my favourite healthy website recipes, that desire to feed my body nutritious and yummy food comes back. This will be a reoccurring topic each week of a delicious healthy meal that I find inspires me and, yes, I will probably make the dish I pick for dinner that night :) The recipes will be ones that I choose because they are extremely good for your health, mood, body, well being .etc  and I'll also add a little note at the end about why they are good for you. I hope this inspires the healthy desire in you to eat well.

Healing benefits of food #1

I am a strong believer in the healing power of foods. Making sure you are aware of what you put in your body is important, because food has the ability to effect your mood, energy, health, skin and overall quality of life. Try to make sure you have a diet with lots of leafy greens and uncooked vegetables, fresh fruit, fish and grains. I would strongly suggest you to eat raw vegetables whenever you can, cooking can kill the enzymes that benefit your body in such ways as helping it digest food, detoxification and rebuilding. The following is a list of foods and how certain types can aid in healing you. 

Alcohol free hygene product reviews

Why should you go alcohol free with your hygiene products? I have to because I'm on medication where alcohol will make me ill, luckily Ive learnt that it isn't such a bad thing. Alcohol based products are more common then you think ,you'll be surprised if you check the ingredients of your cosmetics, many contain ethanol/ alcohol. Alcohol products dry and irritate your skin and there are current studies to see whether they can increase the risk of cancer. Following is a list of alcohol free products that I highly suggest, a few I have been using previous to finding out they were alcohol free, I used them because they were products that worked really well for me.

Breaking up with your addiction

Whether it's sugar, alcohol, smoking, junk food or anything you can possibly imagine being addicted to, these addictions all have one thing in common, they are bloody hard to quit. So far I have managed to give up drinking and very bad eating habits, I'm just about to start giving up cigarettes. This is my guide I have written about quitting an addiction, which can be used for any habit, this is written from my experiences, not by some bloke in an office reading books about addiction, this is real life experience, much more valuable in my opinion ;)

Advice for happiness

Sometimes when I wake up in the morning, or just suddenly through the day I can be hit by a wave of sadness, emptiness or lack of motivation. This could be due to the fact that emotional dysregulation is part borderline personality, meaning that emotions run are heightened and run up and down a million times a second. But to be honest, I think any human being, "normal" or not, will be hit by these feelings at least a couple of times a week. So here is what I have taught myself to do, to pull myself out of these dark moments

Tips for healthy skin

Despite all of my bad habits, binge drinking (past), smoking, bad eating and no exercise and really anything else you can add to the list of abuses to your skin, Ive always been told that I have really smooth skin. When your detoxing your skin becomes a shocker, because of all the toxins coming out, karma I guess. But usually my skin is pretty well behaved. So I thought I would share a couple of my suggestions that I use to keep my skin looking healthy, or as a lady giving me a massage once said "wow people with your problems dont usually have such nice skin.".... thanks, I guess? None of these tips are from an expert, its just through my own routine

Introduction

In recovery I believe it is important to treat your body with kindness or over kindness if that is possible.

For me, that was something I definitely wasn't doing while in active addiction to alcohol. The only nutrients I received was from the red wine I was drinking, or as one GP liked to put it "Well, at least your getting some nutrients"... that obviously left me giving her a brief "kind of" laugh and the death stare from hell (hello borderline personality coming through). The only exercise I received, was going across the road, to the bottle shop, to buy wine YAY! mission complete for the day. But then it was back to drinking, till I fell asleep and awoke again to the same routine.